Beaufort Academy starts fresh year Monday building on success, new trimester schedule
Beaufort Academy starts fresh year Monday building on success, new trimester schedule
With new students, new staff, a new trimester schedule and a new school year, there was a special buzz at Beaufort Academy for Monday’s first day, according to a press release.
“I am so excited my stomach is doing flip flops,” said third grader Amelia Huebel.
Her parents, Scott and Katie Huebel, shared a similar excitement to the end of summer vacation and the start of a new year at Beaufort Academy. “We are thrilled with the teachers and so excited to have both children in the same Lower School building,” Mrs. Huebel said.
Monday’s half-day of classes marked the opening of the 2010-2011 school year at BA. Classes resumed two weeks later than usual because the school calendar switches this year to trimesters, with a three-week “Interim” between Thanksgiving and Christmas for unique learning opportunities.
“I am excited about the first day, meeting new students, our new schedule, the trimesters and the options during the Interim,” said Madeline Griffith, a junior and vice present of Student Government at BA.
This year’s first trimester will end before Thanksgiving and when students return, they’ll be in a three-week session of special learning opportunities called Interim. Students will participate in local internships with area businesses, agencies and professionals, develop community service projects, attend special career exploratory classes, work with artists and historians, and travel on extended field trips that couldn’t be arranged during the regular school year.
Likewise, sophomores and juniors will take their school-sponsored tours of colleges and universities during the Interim. Though all students will have opportunities for travel and enrichment, students who desire additional academic assistance will find BA faculty ready to help during the interim.
The buzz wasn’t all about Interim though. Brandon Massalon, a new ninth grade student at BA, said “I’m looking forward to football, making new friends and the challenges of my classes.”
Beaufort Academy is a private, college preparatory K-12 school on Lady’s Island that serves families from across the Lowcountry, primarily northern Beaufort County.
“We had a great opening day and a great start to an exciting year,” Headmaster Randy Wall said Monday. “The kids are engaged, the staff is ready, and we’ve got some new things on tap such as Interim and the longer core classes.
“Everyone, including the new students, picked up right where we ended last year. It’s exciting to watch the upperclassmen assume new leadership roles on the campus,” he said.
The last school year brought strong results at BA. The Beaufort Academy Class of 2010’s 19 graduates amassed a collective scholarship fund over $2.2 million. Among last year’s graduates:
· Julie Eckstrom received over $150,000 in scholarships from both Carnegie Mellon and Virginia Tech
· Ashton Byrne is attending The Citadel on a four-year Army ROTC Scholarship
· Luke Hetherington is applying his National Merit Finalist Scholarship to attend Furman
· Grace Salzer is at Furman on a four-year nusic scholarship
· Nathaniel Rollings, a National Merit Finalist, received acceptances to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the Air Force Academy, as well as a four-year Army ROTC Scholarship to MIT. He chose West Point.
Other members of the Class of 2010 received acceptances and scholarships from the Honors College at the College of Charleston, Davidson, Colgate, Georgia Tech, Auburn, Roanoke, Clemson, South Carolina, Tulane, Winthrop, Wofford, Mercer, Hawaii, Pace, LSU, and others.
They combined with students from the Class of 2011 to take 68 Advanced Placement Exams last spring and score a passing rate of 75 percent with 21 percent scoring 3; 32 percent scoring 4; and 21 percent scoring 5. A score of 3 or higher usually results in college credit, saving time and money for the students and their parents.
Last spring, Chris Huckabee, now a senior at BA, scored a perfect 800 on the math portion of the SAT, and Lily Westergaard, also a senior this year, earned an 800 in the SAT literature subject test.
For more information, visit www.beaufortacademy.org or call 843-524-3393.
Related posts:
- Beaufort Academy starts school year today, greets new faculty and staff members
- Beaufort Academy kicks off new school year August 30
- Beaufort Academy opens school year to enthusiastic new beginning, leaders challenge students to excellence and achievement
- Beaufort Academy presents Middle & Upper School orientation January 27
- Beaufort Academy sets Lower School orientation plans
