Presbyterian Day School

First victory is in the bag for the Crusader Tennis Team! Way to go, boys! 🎾

To end a great first week in 3rd Grade, the boys completed a Twizzlers Tie Up challenge on Friday. Each group was given 10 Twizzlers and 3 minutes to tie the Twizzlers in a knot. The catch was that each partner could only use one hand! They accepted the challenge and did great! The boys learned that communication is important when working with others, to ask for help when you need it, and, most importantly, that teamwork makes the dream work!

Mr. Sewell joined Coach Albertine for 1st Grade’s first class meeting. PDS boys are known around Memphis for their firm handshakes, and we practice this skill early and often!

Most mornings, Mr. Sewell greets elementary boys with a handshake at the door. Our 1st Graders are new to this tradition, so today, Mr. Sewell talked to them about the elements of a good handshake: a firm grip and making eye contact.

We know that boys learn best by doing, so four 6th Graders demonstrated proper handshakes, and each 1st Grader tried it out!

Our littlest learners are off to a great start! Today was the first day for Young Knights and Pre-Kindergarten! We are so glad they’re here! ❤️💙

Happy First Day of School! 6th Grade kicked off the morning by ringing the bell and processing into convocation behind a bagpiper. We are thankful for these leaders who started our year off well! All around the school, there was a buzz of energy and excitement as boys found their classrooms, lockers, and desks. We are so excited to see what this year holds! ❤️💙

This morning, we started inservice with our annual prayer walk. As faculty and staff walked the halls, we prayed for each classroom and area of campus. We lifted up each other, our boys, and their families as we all prepare for the new year. We can’t wait to welcome our boys to campus!

Today was our new teacher orientation! Some of these faces are already familiar to our community, and we hope you will join us in giving all of these new Faculty & Staff Members a warm PDS welcome! ❤️💙

L-R:
Ash-Leigh Langston—Junior Kindergarten
Hannah Barber—Junior Kindergarten
Ann Lovelace—5th Grade
Neel Dixon—Director of Auxiliary Programs
Erin Williams—Young Knights
Amy Wilhite—Pre-Kindergarten
Olivia Busby—Senior Kindergarten
Katy Creech—Administrative Assistant for Carissa Lacy
Joey Winterrowd—Director of Technology
Lisa Carter—Senior Kindergarten Associate
Natalie Rudzena—Visual Arts
Sophie Patikas—Young Knights

Our 76th First Day of School is right around the corner, and we are so thankful for the ways you have supported PDS throughout all of our first days…then and now!

It’s not too late to make a gift to the 2023-2024 Annual Fund to support the school during our 75th year! Gifts made through July 31, 2024 will count towards this special year of celebration.

Give now at pdsmemphis.org/give ❤️💙

Happy Fourth from PDS! 🇺🇸

We can’t wait to cheer on Harrison Williams ‘08 as he competes in Paris! Go Crusaders and Go Team USA! 🇺🇸

Happy Juneteenth from PDS!

Happy Father’s Day from PDS! We are so thankful for the many fathers, grandfathers, and father figures in our community!

Week One of Camp has been so much fun! From making new friends to splashing around on Water Day, it has been an exciting week! It’s going to be a great summer at PDS!

We are thankful for those who have given their lives for our country!

Congratulations to the Class of 2024! We are so proud of what all these boys have accomplished during their time at PDS! This class lead us well through the 75th anniversary. We will forever remember their enthusiasm and school spirit during this exciting year! We can’t wait to see what the future holds for our newest alumni!

This morning, we celebrated the end of the school year and recognized our 2024 Award winners! They have displayed excellence both in and out of the classroom! We are so proud of them!

Last week, we had the joy of watching SK-3rd Grade Class Days! Our boys and their teachers have been hard at work preparing for these Class Days. They have all worked so hard, and they presented their knowledge in creative ways.

Senior Kindergarteners have been learning about the world and different cultures. Their program highlighted the global knowledge they have acquired.

1st Grade has been learning about our great city. Each boy dressed as a famous Memphian, and they presented a program about the history and culture of Memphis.

2nd Grade has been hard at work writing books. Each boy has written a book and dressed up to reflect a character in the book. They presented their work to their parents.

3rd Grade hosted a wax museum full of interesting historical figures. They created informative posters, and came to life to share about their figure.

Our JK Boys have been learning about being Servant Leaders! They did chores around the house to earn money to give to Carpenter Art Garden! Recently, Carpenter Art Garden visited JK and shared about what they do and the impact of the boys’ donation!

Happy Mothers Day! This week, EC boys welcomed their mothers and special friends on campus. It was a special time for each grade! We are grateful for the many mothers, grandmothers, and mother-figures who make the PDS community so special!

YK has been soaking up the sun! Boys love to play outside!

A hallmark of the PDS experience is exposure to public speaking opportunities. The culmination of this is the Motsey Hudson Speech Contest. Our 6th Graders write and give speeches on a variety of topics of particular interest to the speaker. We are so proud for the work each 6th Grader put into his speech!

This year, our winner was James Lovell and the runner-up was Corey Davis! Congratulations to these two on their excellent speeches!

Field Day is one of a PDS boy’s favorite days of the year! From the potato sack race to the tug-o-war, the competition was fierce! We saw great sportsmanship and grit on display as each class competed to win!

5th Grade spent the last few weeks learning about citizenship, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship. Recently, they got to put those principles into practice as they were employed in various jobs as citizens in JA BizTown sponsored by Junior Achievement! From Mayor to CEOs to meter readers, everybody had a job to do and did it well! We are so proud of how well these young men represented themselves and our school! A huge thanks to the 18 parents who served as adult helpers in the businesses!

Last Friday, 3rd Grade invited their dads and special friends for a friendly game of kickball! We love having these special guests on campus!

The PDS 6th Graders were challenged to a Battle of the Books by the 6th Graders at St. Mary’s! Both schools have been preparing for the past several months by reading books from a common book list. This afternoon, boys went to St. Mary’s to answer questions about the books they’ve been reading, and the winner was determined by which school correctly answered the most questions about the books on the list.

Competition was fierce, and it came down to the final question, but our boys pulled out the victory! We are so proud of their hard work all year!

Thank you to Mrs. Stenberg and Mrs. Porter for coordinating our boys, and thank you to St. Mary’s for hosting this event!

Last week, 2nd Graders were joined by their special guests for the annual Games With Guys event. Dads, grandfathers, uncles, and family friends played board games designed and created by the students. After learning the concepts of multiplication and division, the boys put their learning to the test by creating games—they wrote all the word problems for and then got busy building. Each game had a theme, and the game questions were centered around multiplication and division concepts such as solving arrays, number sentences, and word problems. Whether they experienced the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat, our boys and their guests are winners in our book!

One way to keep boys engaged is by introducing an element of competition. Our 1st Grade teachers used a Math Madness contest to help boys review math facts! The finalists put their knowledge to the test with Coach Fruitt, and the competition got intense! It’s awesome to see the boys get into their math facts!

Last week, 3rd Grade had a blast at Discovery Park of America in Union City! From space and science to cars and tractors, the military and history, these boys had a day full of exploring and hands-on learning. They even learned how Reelfoot Lake was formed and got to experience an earthquake simulator!

Our 2nd Graders had a special visitor today in celebration of Earth Day! “Auntie Litter,” aka Pat Mitchell (Delton Holmes’ grandmother) spoke with the boys this morning. She talked to them about the importance of doing whatever each one of us can do to make our area a cleaner, safer place on Earth! 🌎

Excitement filled the air this afternoon as 2nd-6th Graders met in the gym to spend their hard-earned AR points! The AR Auction was full of exciting items like candy, squishmallows, cheese balls, and fun experiences with teachers! Boys raised their bid cards as Mr. Boyd auctioned off each item, and they cheered their friends on as they won their items.

The AR Auction is a celebration of our boys’ year of reading. Fourth Grader Theo Akhigbe had the most points this year with 1530 points! Way to go, Theo!

Thank you to Mrs. Stenberg and her parent volunteers for ensuring the auction ran smoothly!