St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School

We are thrilled that the new Upper School spaces will be open and ready for the first day of school in September! It has been amazing to watch the progress over the last few months and we are so grateful for the partnership and flexibility our community has shown during construction, in addition to the philanthropic support that has helped bring this project to fruition. We are still actively fundraising to underwrite the remaining costs of this project and look forward to continuing these efforts throughout the next school year.

Congratulations to Ariya Harrington '26, an Upper School student who received a National Gold Medal in the 2024 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, in association with the nonprofit organization Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. Ariya’s poem, Memories of Water, advanced to the National competition after earning a regional gold medal. Below are the Saints who also won regional writing awards earlier this spring:

Ashen Pages, Science Fiction, Dava Boyce '26, Gold Key

In Lieu of Petals, Short Story, Ariya Harrington '26, Silver Key

Red Sky, Short Story, Ella Schneider '27, Silver Key

To a Past Self: Memories in Second Person, Personal Memoir, Ella Schneider '27, Honorable Mention

Go, Saints!

Prestigious accomplishment! August Moon '24 has received a Gold Medal Portfolio Award--the highest honor students can receive in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards! Jurors choose portfolios by high school seniors whose works best represent the Scholastic Awards’ judging criteria: originality, skill, and the emergence of a personal vision or voice. These remarkable artists and writers will each receive a $12,500 scholarship.

August's portfolio, "Transformation Masks," showcases a compelling and diverse array of media, including sculpture, photography, video, and performance art. In August's words, "The masks compare the comfort of childhood with the struggles that come with growth and adolescence." Each piece reflects August's unique vision and ability to communicate deeply personal and profound subjects in a playful and engaging manner. The artworks were developed over three years in his Intermediate, Advanced, and AP 3D art classes.

"It has been a privilege to witness and support the growth and evolution of August's artistic journey," said Upper School 3D Art Teacher Sean Riley. "It was always a delightful surprise to see what August would create in response to my instruction, prompt, or suggestion. His work consistently surpassed my expectations, bringing fresh and inventive perspectives that were inspiring to my teaching practice. This recognition is well deserved, and I am excited to see what the future holds for such a promising young artist."

We are thrilled to announce that the Upper School Empty Bowls Fundraiser in late May raised $1,690.00 during our Evening of the Arts event!

Ceramic bowls of all shapes, sizes, and colors were crafted by students and faculty and sold to support ALIVE, a nonprofit dedicated to helping Alexandrians facing food insecurity and economic disparity.

This year, we were honored to have Rolf Blank, Board President, and Michelle Lockwood, Director of Development at ALIVE!, join us. They shared insights about the mission of ALIVE! and the increasing need for their vital services.

Thank you to everyone who participated and contributed to this meaningful cause!

Guided by our Episcopal identity, St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School values all members of our school community, and we celebrate all of our Saints in the LGBTQ+ community this Pride Month and throughout the year.

We are excited to share that two of our Upper School students received Honorable Mention awards in this year’s Congressional Art Competition in Virginia’s 8th District! Congratulations to Kaia Corens ‘27 for "Nature's Reflection" and Ella Joshi ‘25 for "Heritage.” Check out the full virtual gallery of submissions here: https://beyer.house.gov/photos/

This morning, we celebrated our incredible eighth graders at their recognition ceremony! It was a beautiful event honoring their hard work and achievements. Take a look at these special moments captured during the ceremony. We are so proud of each and every one of you!

A few moments from today's fifth-grade recognition ceremony. Congratulations, Saints!

Middle School Awards Day! 🎉 Wednesday is their Recognition Ceremony. Congratulations on a great year, Saints!

There are days in your life that you will remember forever.

This is one of them.

Congratulations to the on their Commencement today! 💚❤️ Inspiring remarks from our speaker, Bobby Chhabra ‘87 (Chair, Orthopedic Surgery, Lillian T. Pratt Distinguished Professor, David A. Harrison Distinguished Educator and Director, UVA Orthopaedic Center, UVA Health) and Valedictorian Brennan Wise '24. All photos from Commencement will be shared next week!

The SSSAS Class of 2024 💚❤️ Congratulations! We are so proud of you!

Today the Upper School celebrated Prize Day. Tomorrow our seniors graduate! Highlights include: Lower School Second Grade Teacher Anne Kelly received the Excellence in Teaching Award, Brennan Wise is the class valedictorian, and Thomas Matney gave a touching and funny farewell address that really captured the spirit of his class! Congrats to all of our Saints on a great year! 🎉

In nearly one year’s time, it has been incredible to see the construction progress - and near completion - of the new Upper School building! While we remain on track to open the new doors for the 2024-2025 school year, we are still actively fundraising to support this transformational project (www.sssas.org/saintstogether). Check out the Davis Construction time-lapse video to see more of the construction footage! https://bit.ly/3V4NiSj

In this , we caught up with SSSAS 2023 Valedictorian Carter Harris '23, who recently finished her first year at the University of Virginia. She shares insights on her college experience and offers valuable advice to our soon-to-be graduates. https://bit.ly/3yyJNM7

Full circle moment! Last week, senior SaraClaire Chiaramonte '24 returned to her junior kindergarten classroom as the mystery reader--roughly 14 years after being a JK student herself! She shared her experience of "what it was like when you were in JK?" The students loved it so much that one even asked if she could stay and be the third teacher. 💚❤️

Last week we welcomed the Taiko group, "Casual Fifth" as part of our celebration of Asian & Pacific American Heritage Month (AAPI) Month. This Taiko and Dance group, based out of Philadelphia, visited our Lower and Upper Schools. The leader of the group, Mac Evans, is one of David Yee's (SSSAS Director of Service Learning and Community Engagement) best friends from college. He's been in semi-pro Taiko groups for the past decade and he now teaches Taiko at Swarthmore College in addition to leading this group. The group performed Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight” with Mr. Yee when they visited!

Today, we held our annual blood drive honoring the life of Dr. Matthew Geiger, a beloved Upper School Religion Teacher who passed away in 2016 after a courageous battle with cancer. Thank you to all of those in the community who were able to give blood or help with the event!

Brighten, Analyze, Strive, Persist, Encourage—these were just a few of the verbs given out at "Senior Chapel" today. As is the Saints tradition, every senior receives a leather-bound Book of Common Prayer imprinted with a unique, descriptive verb chosen by faculty for each student.

It was also a wonderful opportunity to introduce our seniors to the Alumni Association—a group they will officially join in less than two weeks! Additionally, seniors received their yearbooks and shared the moment with friends over an outdoor lunch.

Congratulations to the 23 seniors inducted as new members of the SSSAS chapter of the Cum Laude Society! The SSSAS Chapter of Cum Laude was established in 1991. To be considered for membership, a senior must stand in the upper 20% of the class and have attained the qualifying average for three years of secondary school. Juniors must have attained the qualifying average for two years and be in the upper 10% of their class.

These students were inducted in June 2023, at the end of their junior year:
Laura Duffield
Heather Hawkins
Claire Helmreich
Colton Jensen
Christian Kappel
Aislinn Moore
Charlotte Nichols
Kate Snyder
Theo Weiman
Brennan Wise

The following students joined the society today:
Lily Adams
James Brabham
Garrett Butler
Olivia Clark
Isaiah Fahden
Marcus King
Mason Mantey
Charlotte McNamara
Oliver Miller
Jack Murphy
David Rhind-Tutt
Elizabeth Rutter
Lauren Scott

On Friday we celebrated our Middle School Arts and Drama Festival! For drama students, Arts Day was a celebration of their growth as artists throughout the year. Each ensemble produced a one-act play, which was performed for their families and peers. Throughout the day drama students performed, participated as audience, and took four master classes.

The Music Department participated in Music in the Parks Festival at Kings Dominion. Band, chorus, and orchestra ensembles performed for a panel of judges to receive specific musical feedback and received Excellent and Superior ratings. The entire music department then spent the afternoon celebrating our year of making music together while enjoying Kings Dominion's amusement park!

Beginning the morning with a creative T-shirt-making activity, the full-time visual arts students dove into the world of digital art by immersing themselves in the Artechouse interactive experience Isekai Blooming Parallel Worlds in D.C. Afterwards, this contemporary exhibition of anime art was supplemented by a walk through the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art so that students could experience the diversity of Asian art from ancient to present day. During the tour, students sketched out inspiring ceramic forms and examined art from all across the Asian continent. The day ended with a brief trip to the National Mall for students to reflect on their exciting 'artventure'.

A great day of celebrating our arts!

Our school archivist needs your help! Did you know there was once a model of the Russell Road building displayed at what's now our Upper School? This historic site was the original home of St. Stephen's School, founded in 1944 before moving to our current location in 1957. Our archivist stumbled upon this intriguing photograph recently and is now on a mission to track down the whereabouts of this model. If you have any leads or information about its current location, please reach out to Erica Williams at [email protected]. Let's preserve this piece of our school's history for our upcoming centennial celebration!

Our Early Saints (age 3) have been learning about art & architecture for the last eight months. They have been focusing on art since January and have learned about artists like Alma Thomas, Yayoi Kusama, Vincent Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, and many more. Inspired by these artists and their different art forms, the Early Saints created their own works of art that was showcased on Monday at a special event called the "Early Artists Art Show!" Their creativity is inspiring!

Congratulations to Brennan Wise '24 for winning a $2,500 National Merit Scholarship! These scholarships are awarded to 2,500 students nationwide based on accomplishments and college potential. Students entered by taking the PSAT in 2022. Around 16,000 semifinalists were named, representing less than 1% of seniors. To become finalists, students submitted detailed applications showcasing academic achievements, extracurriculars, and more.

https://patch.com/virginia/delray/s/iwdip/alexandria-students-win-2-500-national-merit-scholarships-in-2024?utm_source=local-update&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=alert

Yesterday afternoon we held a retirement and farewell celebration for Upper School Academic Center Teacher Anne Sellon and Upper School English Teacher Andy Sidle '78. Let's hear it for these amazing educators! 🎉

Three of our esteemed Board of Governors members, Tim Adams (chair), Reginald Brown, and Erin Streeter, have been named among Washington DC’s 500 Most Influential People of 2024 by Washingtonian Magazine. This prestigious list recognizes individuals who are shaping policy debates in the nation's capital. View the full listing here:

Washington DC’s 500 Most Influential People of 2024 Here’s our list of the experts and advocates, outside the government, who are playing big roles in Washington’s policy debates.