How Our Students Learn to Soar

The first weeks of school are about more than settling into routines. Students are getting to know one another, learning how to work together, and discovering what they can accomplish when someone gives them room to try. Across Seven Peaks, our teachers create those opportunities with care and purpose.

At East Lake, our seventh graders got a memorable lesson in both cooperation and independence. The students were responsible for making their own breakfasts. After a first morning of scattered schedules, missed meals, and wasted food, lead teacher Rodney Kopish and the other adults gave them a challenge: make a better plan for Friday morning, together, without adults in the meeting.

The students had to consider everyone’s needs, choose delegates to present their plan, and revise it when the adults spotted gaps. It took some spirited discussion. Then their delegates returned with a plan that worked, and the whole group celebrated over dinner.

The next morning, students organized themselves by cabin: one made pancakes, another eggs, and another cereal. Students in the cabin without a kitchen woke the others and collected breakfast orders. Everyone had a role, and breakfast ran smoothly.

As Kopish's reflection captures why the experience mattered: “You don't need to be a teacher for the kids to learn.” Sometimes the most powerful thing a teacher can do is set a meaningful challenge, offer guidance, and let students discover what they can work out together.

Learning to Soar Together in First Grade

The same spirit of cooperation is taking shape in our PYP classrooms. In Mariah Runk’s first-grade class, students spent Friday working through group tasks designed to help them practice supporting their teammates.

For first graders, learning to soar can look like listening to a classmate’s idea, finding a way for everyone to participate, or trying again when a group task gets tricky. These small moments build confidence and connection. They also lay the groundwork for the kind of teamwork our seventh graders showed at East Lake.

Across the grades, our students are growing in different ways, at their own pace, with teachers who know when to guide them and when to give them room to lead. That’s how a community helps every student soar.