Shepherd’s Journey
the Shepherd’s Journey
Program overview
From their first days in Pre-K where curiosity abounds to their last days of eighth grade where they immerse themselves in critical thinking, each student’s path through GSES is unique.
To help ensure every child reaches their fullest potential as a confident, courageous learner, we guide them through The Shepherd’s Journey — a 10-year experience marked by milestones that have become part of our shared story and tradition.
Follow your child on their personal adventure of discovery and growth.
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Through Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Primer, we lay the foundations for personal development by encouraging exploration, connection, curiosity, and communication.
Pre-K: The Reggio Emilia Garden
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Learning happens everywhere — both inside and outside the classroom. The right environment supports students and allows them to explore, discover, and traverse the world around them.
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Kindergarten: Global School Play Day
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Witness the amazing effects of learning through play as your kindergartener builds and develops the critical social and emotional skills needed to navigate the 21st century. Since 2015, more than 1 million students in 75 countries have participated in Global School Play Day—a program designed by educators for children to promote the essential benefits of free, unstructured play.
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Primer: Immersive Experiences
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Primer students dive into immersive, hands-on experiences to discover their passions on exciting monthly field-trips and embark on their journey of genuine inquiry-based learning.
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LOWER SCHOOL
We see the Lower School not only as “the bridge” from early childhood to middle school but also as its own dynamic, joyful, enriching experience. Here, the focus is on imagining and thinking beyond the four walls of the classroom.
First Grade: Cultural Parade
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Celebrate our shared history and rich diversity with the first grade students during the GSES Cultural Parade! This colorful event marks the culmination of weeks of discovery and design thinking in which students explore communities and cultures around the world, work collaboratively, and become problem-solvers.
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Second Grade: Christmas Market
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Create one-of-a-kind gifts with your second grader to sell at a European-style Christmas Market. While they celebrate the season, students also learn the basics of real-world retail, marketing, production, and sales.
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Third Grade: States Fair
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Watch your third-grader take their first steps in social studies, art, science, music, language arts, and math through our States Fair project. Each student creates a Google Slides presentation on one of the 50 states and then shares their findings in a prepared speech.
Fourth Grade: Historical Wax Museum
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See your fourth grader transform into a historical figure before your eyes! Students research their characters’ cultural significance and act out a presentation. Along the way, they sharpen their knowledge — and develop the confidence to speak in front of an audience.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL
The Middle School program at GSES equips students with the tools to succeed in high school and beyond. Your child will take ownership of their learning — developing self-awareness, leadership skills, and the capacity for critical thinking.
Fifth Grade: Tiny House Project
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Experience your student’s success from the inside out as you tour their tiny house! Fifth-graders apply their knowledge of area, perimeters, percentages, fractions, decimals, and more to build their own scaled-down structures — and then invite friends and family to marvel at their handiwork.
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Sixth Grade: CO2 Cars
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See your sixth grader apply the principles of physics to a fun and practical competitive event. In building and racing the ultimate carbon dioxide-powered car against their peers, they’ll analyze the effects of mass, energy, inertia, and more.
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Seventh Grade: Call of the Wild
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Rally around our seventh graders as we lead them through a challenging yet rewarding year. Diving into major literary works, students stretch their knowledge, intellect, and discipline to the limit — and find the confidence that comes from persistence and hard work.
Eighth Grade: Classroom of the Earth Capstone Adventure
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Kick off your child’s final year at Good Shepherd as the eighth graders embark on their Classroom of the Earth trip to Colorado — where all their prior COE experiences and training come together. And then, throughout the year, celebrate as they achieve new milestones, face new challenges, and grow in courage and character.
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The journey continues
While your child may have reached the end of their time at Good Shepherd, The Shepherd’s Journey is far from over. They will leave us as confident learners, compassionate servants, and courageous leaders — equipped and prepared for their next educational adventure and beyond. The experiences and lessons learned in The Shepherd’s Journey are never lost. Instead, they will reappear time and time again — informing, inspiring, and guiding everyday life and relationships.
At Good Shepherd our programs build upon one another, explore our Lower School curriculum.