Benedictine Military School

For the first time since its doors opened in 1902, Benedictine is reaching beyond the metro Savannah area.  The all-male, Catholic secondary school is advancing its mission to educate a diverse population by offering transportation to and from the Pooler, Richmond Hill and Bluffton, S.C., areas.

Benedictine’s athletes will enjoy a brand-new baseball training facility this year.  Dedicated to the memory of long-time baseball fan Larry Crawford, the state-of-the-art facility includes a covered and lighted bullpen, two live pitching areas, clay surface pits for batting practice and a 360-degree view of the action for Coach Bill Curley.  Thanks to well-placed turf inserts, the structure also adapts to accommodate golf practice.

Calvary Day School

Calvary is teaching its students by example by sponsoring more mission projects this year than ever before.  The school community plans to complete one charitable project every month in the coming year.  Recent projects include feeding an African village for two months, giving to military families during Christmas and supporting the families of victims of the recent sugar refinery explosion.

Upper school students can expect curriculum innovations that incorporate the advanced technology that fills its recently completed upper school building.  The lower school is getting high-tech as well, with home Internet access to Accelerated Reader and Nettrekker, a safe, secure educational search engine.

The Cavaliers also welcome a new head football coach, Mark Stroud from Toombs County.  Stroud has been training his new team since the spring and is eager to put his athletes to the test in his first season.

Chatham Academy at Royce

Chatham Academy is celebrating its 30th anniversary as southeast Georgia’s only independent school for students with learning differences.  To honor this milestone, the Mall Way institution has begun a quarter-million dollar construction project.  A large gazebo with ceiling fans will accommodate dining al fresco, an outdoor science classroom will take learning into the natural world, and a new athletic field will support a variety of sports activities.

Chatham Academy students can look forward to playing an important role in all the excitement.  They will plan and plant a garden surrounding the gazebo, which will house student artwork.

Hancock School

Every year at this time, Hancock’s graduating fifth-graders used to make the leap to new schools, seek out new friends and begin the adjustment to new social and academic climates.  But not this year.  The 55-year-old southside institution is growing up — into sixth grade.  It’s the first step in Hancock’s new three-year expansion, which will add a new grade level every year through eighth grade.

For a school that almost met its end when its long-time directors retired in 2004, Hancock Day School is thriving.  Rescued by devoted families, friends and alumni, the southside institution relocated this spring to a brand-new campus, complete with a vast gymnasium, performing stage, library, computer lab, cafeteria, outdoor classroom and playground.

“Sometimes we just stand there and ‘ooh and ahh’ at all the improvements,” says Vice Principal Brenda Brooks, who has helped guide Hancock’s evolution as a teacher and administrator for 36 years. 

This fall, Brooks and the Hancock family will welcome a new principal: Francine Wright, formerly the lower school director of the Brookwood School in Thomasville, Ga.  Previously, Wright served as assistant principal of the lower school at Savannah Country Day.

Rambam Day School

A new enrichment program is stirring up excitement at Rambam, where Judaic and secular coursework team up to prepare students for social responsibility.  Operating in four-week rotations, the new Lion’s C.L.U.B. will fill one period each week with exploratory activities such as chess, cooking, photography, knitting, beading, fitness and archery.

Saint Andrew’s School

Two new administrators and an elite academic program will greet returning students at Saint Andrew’s School this fall.

Head of School Gilbert “Gil” Webb brings 27 years of administrative and teaching experience to the big desk.  No stranger to authority, Webb has served as head of school at Kingsbury School in Oxford, Mich., and Carolina Day School in Asheville, N.C.

Head of Upper School Kathryn “Ryn” Fleischer joins the school from San Francisco, Calif., where she worked as the founding academic dean and dean of faculty at The Bay School of San Francisco.

This fall, Saint Andrew’s also becomes the only independent school in the area to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme, a curriculum that challenges students in their last two years of high school to prepare for rigorous college careers in the world community.

Saint Peter the Apostle

The entire parish community will benefit from Saint Peter’s latest addition: a new parish hall featuring meeting rooms, a gymnasium and a much-needed stage for speakers, assemblies and school plays.

“We’ve always hosted speakers and put on shows, but now we’ll be able to offer a much more extensive lineup,” said Headmaster Kelly Gray.  The parish hall, which opens onto the athletic field, will also include a concessions stand for games.

As part of the school’s new “key to knowledge” campaign, Saint Peter will offer parents online access to grades and progress reports via the Ed-Line service.

Savannah Christian Preparatory School

The largest private school south of Atlanta is about to get bigger.  In the latest leg of its dramatic campus redevelopment, Savannah Christian broke ground this summer for a new 86,000-square-foot upper school building.  This Chatham Parkway campus construction will be ready for student use in 2010.

Meanwhile, the school’s new day-care and preschool building opened this summer, overlooking the spectacular E.D.E.N. wildlife refuge and Civil War historic site.  Three hundred preschoolers and toddlers will have their first educational experiences in this pristine and lovely setting.

Lower school students at Savannah Christian will encounter a new face, as Ruth Ann Palmer of St. Petersburg, Fla., begins her tenure as the new lower school principal.  Palmer will replace Lucy Brannen, who retired this year after 18 years of service.

Savannah Country Day School

Primary students at Savannah Country Day will step into a whole new learning environment this fall.  The 52,500-square-foot building is Savannah’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified school.  Built with sustainable and low-emissions materials, the building also maximizes the use of daylight to conserve electricity.  It’s the most recent addition to an extensive campus redesign that reflects regional architecture and echoes Savannah’s historic town plan.

The new lower school houses grades one through five, a media center, administrative offices and some truly inspiring science facilities.  A hands-on science learning center will enlist student participation with a greenhouse, animal care facility, outdoor classroom and student-maintained garden hydrated with rainwater from the building’s roof.