Our Open Forum speaker on Wednesday, October 9 was Stacy Rabon, whose acting career began with training at the University of Nebraska and the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Los Angeles.  Stacy has worked steadily as an actor ever since, including a long-running part on daytime television’s The Guiding Light.  She talked to us about method acting, the audition process, and what a director’s expectations are for someone who is a “day actor.”  She also explained the differences between acting in a play and film acting.  Stacy’s most recently role is in a horror movie, The Occult, set to premiere in January 2014.  She told us that actors have fun doing death scenes. “The one-sheet [movie poster] features my character moments before she gets impaled on a church steeple!” Stacy said.

Students of TGS were very active the weekend of October 12-13.  Saturday, they were downtown at 7:30 to participate in the 2013 Bridge2Bridge 5K, 12K and half marathon Run.  Several faculty and parents were also there and everyone was wearing the new Kingsfishers Running Club T-shirts.  A ninth grader, Joseph Skerman ran the 12K and placed 1st in this age category.

“Crossing the bridges was the most difficult thing,” says Joseph ” I felt like I was going to fall over and die.”  However he kept going and a crowd of Kingfishers greeted Joseph as he sprinted across the finish line.

On Sunday, many students, faculty, and parents gathered for the One Georgetown Walkathon.  Leaving First Citizens Bank at one o’clock, the group traced a five-mile path through historic downtown Georgetown.  Then everyone gathered at Portofino’s Restaurant for barbecue and drinks.  The walkathon raised over $1,100 for the Front Street Fire Relief Fund.

TGS is proud to announce that we will be hosting the 2013 SCISA Regional One-Act Play Competition!  This day-long event will take place in the Winyah Auditorium on Tuesday, October 29 and will feature short dramatic performances by middle and high school students from across South Carolina.  Steele Bremner, chair of the Winyah Auditorium Board was thrilled with the news and happy to help.  TGS appreciates the generosity of the Winyah Auditorium Board in making this fabulous and perfectly-suited auditorium space available for our use.  If you would like to volunteer or help with this event contact Dr. Michelle Neubauer or Dr. Laura Gates.

Larry Watt, Executive Director of SCISA, met with Head of School Dr. Gary Gates at our school on Friday, October 5.  Good news!  We are now members of SCISA and able to participate in all SCISA events, including sports.  Thank you, SCISA, for speeding up the process!

TGS students spent hours at Hobcaw House this past weekend, helping with SCELP’s annual Wild Side Dinner.  The first group of volunteers went down Friday to set up tables.  A second group showed up Saturday morning to put together centerpieces for the tables with our art teacher Mrs. Patrick.  A final group of students did clean-up duty, both during and after the event itself.  It was a lovely evening and we are proud to have played a role in SCELP’s continuing success in protecting the coastal environment.

Join us down at Francis Marion Park at 1:00, Sunday, October 13 for a five-mile walk-a-thon to benefit the Front Street Fire Relief Fund.  The walk-a-thon is sponsored by several local groups, including The Mitney Project, Portofino’s Restaurant and The Georgetown School.

If you can’t walk with us, please consider sponsoring a TGS student in the event.  Call the school (520-4359) for more information.

The walk-a-thon will be followed by a $12 barbecue dinner put on by Portofino’s.  Everyone is welcome.  Proceeds will also benefit the Front Street Fire Relief Fund.

U. S. C. biologist “Hutch” Hutchinson was our guest at Open Forum on October 2.  Hutch told students all about his rather unorthodox education, which consisted of extended periods of attending graduate school, working on farms and spending time in the cypress swamp.  The cypress swamp continues to be the focus of his research.  Hutch is investigating how increased water salinity affects cypress trees at different times of the year.  And he also has a fascinating theory about why cypress trees have knees!  Hutch encouraged students to follow where their own curiosity leads them.

A tragic fire which destroyed almost the entire 700 block of Front Street riverside became a learning experience for The Georgetown School.  Inspired by the Open Forum speaker this morning (Sept. 25), reporter Jason Lesley of The Coastal Observer, students and teachers walked down to Front Street to interview workers and bystanders, and to photograph the events.  Mr. Lesley stressed the importance of providing information quickly and accurately to members of the community and got students enthused about investigating this particular story and helping people understand the terrible news. For most students, conducting an interview was a new experience.

They quickly overcame their shyness, talking to policemen, firefighters, property owners, insurance agents and eyewitnesses.  Students reconvened at the school around lunchtime to choose photos and to begin writing up their interviews in a news story.  To read the story, click here. http://tgsthewire.wordpress.com/