Dr. Neubauer grew up in the high desert of Colorado. She attended a rather small high school; her graduating class had only about 120 students. When she was in school, her mom would take her and her older brother to the Gulf of California to go sailing. This experience inspired her to become a biologist.
After graduating high school, Dr. Neubauer attended the University of San Diego. “I was going to college in southern California, or I wasn’t going to college,” she said, after falling in love with the beautiful campus. Overall, she enjoyed her experience in undergraduate school. She then went on to get her PhD at William and Mary in Virginia. There, she did her dissertation on nutrients and a certain type of worm in the Chesapeake Bay.
After earning her PhD, she moved to South Carolina. Here, her first job was being a mom to her oldest daughter, Isabella. After a few years, she began teaching at Lowcountry Prep in Pawleys Island, where she met several of her current colleagues. Now, at TGS, Dr. Neubauer teaches most of the science classes, along with geography, which is one of her favorite classes to teach. Students enjoy her extensive knowledge of science and current events, as well as her wry sense of humor.
Dr. Neubauer has several hobbies. She enjoys many outdoor activities, including tending to her garden, walking on the beach, and riding her bike. She collected rocks as a child, and now collects fossils. Many students know that Dr. Neubauer is a fan of Marvel and DC content, which she became interested in because of her children. However, she says she prefers the movies and shows to the comic books. Her favorite characters are Green Lantern and Wonder Woman.
What advice Dr. Neubauer would give to current TGS students? “You never know what experience, or what information is going to be helpful to you in the future,” she says, “so it’s important to get every experience. Do everything. Play every sport. Do every activity on our school trips.”
Every year TGS hosts our all-you-can-eat Oyster Roast. This fundraiser helps to support student scholarships (which over 65% of our student body relies on). This year, the event took place on November 5, 2023, at Francis Marion Park on Front Street. Before that day, our students and their families sold more than 150 tickets to friends and family around the Georgetown community. The tickets cost $30 each and went fast! This event was a huge success, but there was a lot of prep work before it began.
To prepare for the big day, students, teachers, and parents all brought in items including, napkins, silverware, chips, drinks, and items for the silent auction baskets. Dr. Gates ordered the oysters and picked them up in McClellanville. All of our families turned out to set up, manage stations, and clean. Our school is very grateful everyone who helped out, especially to Ms. Sandy (Kingfisher Crew president and master planner), to Ms. Amy for managing ticket sales, and to Mrs. Karen Hefferman who decorated the whole site with flowers and pumpkins so that it looked very festive and inviting. We cannot forget to express our appreciation to Dr. Tom Crosby and his crew of oyster cookers who kept the delicious food coming from start to finish. Sonny and Lori Burgoon and their family were instrumental in getting everything transported to the site and setting up the plywood tables. Guitarist Duane DeMello set the mood with great live music all afternoon. Kudos to everyone for a job well done!
The day of the Oyster Roast was amazing. There were multiple stations to either get drinks and hot dogs. If you were eating oysters, you claimed your spot at one of our eleven tables. All of the students were at their own station doing their very best for their community. The hot dog stand was run by Ansley, Branton, Caleb, and Gaines. Emily, Nolan, Jackson, and Saylor were helping with sodas and drinks. “Serving drinks has been exhausting,” Emily said, “People have been putting their blood, sweat, and tears toward this event but working has been fantastic!” Perhaps the most important student job was ferrying fresh steamed oysters to the tables. This was done by Kipper, Gracin, Evan, and Baryck.
As in years past, the community loved the Oyster Roast and had a lot to say about how it went. Shay Scott is a new TGS mom and she said, “This is an amazing day, and the oysters are perfectly steamed and salted.” Others, like Cameron Forehand, were very impressed with the organization. “The students did an awesome job putting on this fundraiser,” he said. Another attendee, Nicole Thomas, said, “The event is very awesome, and the oysters are delicious.”
The 2023 Oyster Roast pulled us all together. “This was the most successful oyster roast I have ever seen in the eight years I’ve been at TGS,” said Kingfisher Crew president Ms. Sandy. Congratulations, Kingfishers, and thanks to our many friends.
Kingfishers designed, built, and raced three boats in this year’s Corrugated Boat Regatta, an event that has been part of Georgetown’s Wooden Boat Show for the past eight years. On the afternoon of October 22, the Chicken Sandwich, the Duck-tanic, and the USS Plat-eye competed against some twenty other entries in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd which had gathered on the downtown dock.
Preparations had begun two weeks earlier. Mr. Patrick’s Physics class started their project by building scale models, including one that looked like a car, to figure out the best shape, adhesive, and size. They chose a diamond shape with construction adhesive and duct tape for their vessel, the Chicken Sandwich.
Middle School jumped straight into building their boats, one done by the girls, and one done by the boys. Both boats were rectangular in shape, each with its own unique flair. The girl’s boat was called the Duck-tanic, because they believed it would sink like the Titanic. The boy’s boat, the USSPlat-eye, was named for a ghost in South Carolinian folklore.
Sunday came and all the cardboard boats were on display under the tent downtown with everyone milling around. Soon it was time for the race. Our school’s boats went against each other in the first heat. Zayne boarded the Plat-eye, Ansley and Willow got into the Duck-tanic, and Morgan and Corrin got onto the Chicken Sandwich. True to its name, the Duck-tanic immediately flipped, dumping the girls straight into the water. It was now the Plat-eye versus the Chicken Sandwich, and each side wanted to win. The race was close, but Zayne managed to pull through in the end, rowing the Plat-eye to glorious victory. The Chicken Sandwich finished the race with honor. But right when Morgan and Corrin were about to get out of the boat, the fair vessel sank. Corrin went into the water while Morgan narrowly escaped to the dock.
Although we didn’t win any overall awards, the Wooden Boat Show was a blast. Our boatbuilding was truly a Kingfisher team effort under the supervision of teachers Mr. and Mrs. Patrick, Dr. Neubauer, Mrs. Crosby, and Dr. Gates. Thank you to everyone who came that day and showed their support, those who helped build the boats, those who donated supplies, and those who rowed the boats. It was a great day!
Come and get ’em! The Georgetown School is hosting its annual Oyster Roast on Sunday, November 5 from 1:00-4:00, at Francis Marion Park on Front Street. Enjoy all-you-can-eat fresh oysters and wonderful live music by Will Ness. There will be pileau and hotdogs, a silent auction, and beer, wine, and soft drinks for a cash donation. All proceeds benefit the scholarship fund of The Georgetown School.
Tickets are just $30 and include food plus your first beverage. This event is rain or shine. To purchase tickets, stop by Diamond Collection on Front Street or call the school at 843-520-4359.
Art students at TGS recently turned their skills and creativity to helping a most worthy cause: St. Frances Animal Shelter. Four years ago, St. Frances began sponsoring the Pawliday Card competition. TGS students have entered every year, designing holiday greeting cards to be sold to benefit the animal shelter at local businesses such as the Purr and Pour Cat Café.
The competition was started by Morgan Lowry in 2020 as a way to raise money for the Saint Frances Animal Shelter. All money earned from the sale of the cards goes back to the shelter to pay for supplies and medical treatment for the animals. Extra funding is especially important this year because the shelter is overcrowded.
The Pawliday Card competition has three categories based on age, and TGS swept them all! The winner of the “ten and under” category was Rose (5th grade), the winners of the “11 and 12 year old” category were Ansley, Branton, Willow and Sydney (7th grade), and the winners of the “13 and over category” were Sara (9th grade) and Saylor (11th grade). “The kids did a great job,” Mrs. Patrick said, “I was thrilled that they care so much about animal welfare.”
All the winners were honored on Friday afternoon, October 27, in a ceremony out at St. Frances Animal Shelter. Our winning students received a matted and framed version of their artwork and a $25 gift card for Amazon! Congratulations to all and to Mrs. Patrick!
River Day is a beloved tradition that lets Kingfishers start the school year start with a bang. There is nothing like quality play time on the Black River to bring students together, old and new. Dr. and Mrs. Crosby kindly host this annual event and make sure everyone has a great afternoon.
After lunch on August 18, teachers drove students out to Mrs. Crosby’s house on the river. The first order of business was safety: students donned their life jackets as Mrs. Crosby explained the rules. Then, students headed to the floating docks to go kayaking, paddle boarding, or swimming. The air was filled with shrieking, splashing, and sunshine. New students got to know others–it is easy to meet people when everyone is flailing around in the water!
“Get to know them by flipping their kayak more than everyone,” was Morgan’s advice.
Kids could also go out on motorboats to enjoy the scenic river or go knee boarding and tubing. Dr. Crosby and Mr. Jim Edwards drove their boats. A lot of people tried knee boarding, and many were successful. “I actually got up on my knees this time,” Elijah said. Tubing was also quite popular. Mr. Jim Edwards had fun putting kids in the “spin cycle,” where he would pull the tube in a circle and send everyone on the tube flying.
After a few hours on the river, people began heading back to the deck where Dr. Simmons and Mrs. Patrick were grilling hamburgers and hotdogs. Kids also enjoyed many snacks, such as chips, watermelon, and plenty of desserts. After the cookout, everyone was then allowed to go back in the water for another hour or so. The day ended around 7:00 when parents arrived to collect their tired and happy children. River Day is always a blast–everyone has fun in or around the water and our school year starts off right. Thank you, Dr. and Mrs. Crosby!
On April 26th, our speaker was Rich Schenone from Georgetown Drug and Alcohol Abuse Commission. He had a very frank and personal conversation with the students here at TGS. He began his talk by sharing his own struggle with drug and alcohol use.
In college, Rich was an alcoholic. He had to go to AA and counseling, which helped him get past that difficult time in his life. Rich had a good job as a middle school teacher in New Jersey for many years. Unfortunately, his struggle with addiction wasn’t over. Rich was in a car accident and broke his vertebrae. He was prescribed pain pills and became addicted after being on them for only three days.
Rich and his family moved down to Myrtle Beach from New Jersey soon after his accident because one of his children has rheumatoid arthritis, and they thought the warmer climate would help and he wanted a fresh start. However, things went downhill for him in South Carolina.
“You wanna know what’s cheaper than pills?” Rich said. “Heroin. So, I became hooked on heroin. I could get the same effect from pills for cheaper.”
“I thought I’d move down here and do some fishing and crabbing, but instead I ended up homeless on the streets of Myrtle Beach,” Rich told us. After an arrest and a chance meeting with a former student, Rich was ashamed and finally had the motivation to get his life back together and go to rehab. After that, he became a Peer Recovery Counselor in Charleston. Rich would help doctors figure out which drug an overdose victim had taken, and help patients recover. From there, he moved back to the Myrtle Beach area and now works for Georgetown Drug and Alcohol Abuse Commission. Rich does many public speaking events.
Rich recently did a talk at the courthouse illustrating the difference between his life during his addiction and his life today. He appeared in his former homeless clothes and shoes, left the stage, then returned dressed and cleaned up, highlighting the extreme change sobriety has brought to his life.
“The worst drug is the first drug you ever take,” he told us. We all would like to thank Rich for coming and sharing his story with us.
Spring is here and the high school decided to organize an egg hunt for the middle school, which took place April 19 during Open Forum and lunch. During third period, some high schoolers (Kelsi, Ella, Isaac, Annika, Emily, Morgan, and Bristol) hid most of the eggs outside, and hid the remainder in the downstairs hallway. There were several different-colored eggs, and they were color-coded. Most eggs contained candy, and there were even certain egg colors that were safe for kids with peanut allergies. The silver, golden, and bunny-shaped eggs had better prizes, like money, soda vouchers, and Hot Wheels cars. There was also a large clear egg containing a stuffed animal shaped like an ice cream cone.
After hiding all of the eggs, the high schoolers went into the Auditorium where the middle schoolers were waiting. They announced that the hunt was on. Everyone became very egg-cited when they found out what the prizes were. Baryck and Gracin tried to claim they were middle schoolers in hopes of being able to find the Hot Wheels. Students were then allowed to go upstairs to get their baskets, but some tried to search for the eggs before they were allowed to. After everyone got their baskets, the egg hunters stampeded down the stairs. “I was afraid the teachers would get trampled,” Mme Gates said. There was then a race to find all of the eggs hidden inside, before everyone headed outside. Students then began jumping and climbing up trees to try to get the eggs hidden in hard-to-reach places. It was pure pandemonium. After the hunt was finished, middle school students then got to enjoy and trade the things they found in their eggs. All in all, it was an egg-cellent event.
Branton reacts with extreme surprise when his name is called as high scorer for the Middle School Math Meet team.
The week after the school trip, on March 22 and 23, the High School and Middle School Math Meet Teams competed in the SCISA Math Meet. On March 22, the High School Math Team (Isaac, Ella, Kelsi, Annika, and Morgan) gathered at the school at 7:30 to head to the Sumter Civic Center. Once they arrived there, Dr. Gates took the team to Hardees for breakfast. The Middle School Math Team (Eleanor, Nathan, Sam, Nolan, and Branton) had a similar morning the next day with Mrs. Crosby, minus getting Hardees. Both of the meets began with the speed round. Students were given ten minutes to solve ten math problems. Then everyone was given one hour to answer 50 questions in the written test. While the participants ate lunch, the results were tallied.
TGS had some good results. For the high school, Morgan got the highest score on the team, and got eighth overall individually. For the middle school, Branton got the highest score out of the team, and the whole team got eighth overall. There are now some more trophies for our trophy case! Great job, Math Teams!
The morning was dark and cold when the students arrived with their pillows and blankets to stow their gear in the charter bus. Dr. Gates said good morning to everyone with a short speech and collected all phones, then students said good-bye to their parents and grandparents. Theories about where the bus was heading had been swirling around the school for weeks—students came up with Florida, Tennessee, New York, Washington, and Virginia as possible destinations. The bus headed northwest.
We travelled through S.C. and N.C. and in the afternoon the bus stopped at a rest stop in Virginia. Students were sure they were in Virginia from the signs but were still in the dark about the final destination, wondering if this was just another rest stop and if we were doing something similar to last year’s trip. Soon we had our answer.
In the late afternoon, the bus pulled into Bear Creek Lake State Park in Cumberland County, Virginia, a well-appointed getaway spot along a road with a beautiful dam and waterfall. Students took their gear to their rooms in various cabins and a lodge, then headed out for their first activities: archery and beach volleyball and hiking. (Since Celsi’s Cuddly Coalas, Kelsi’s group, had won the first challenge, they got to try their hand at archery first). The other two teams headed down to play beach volleyball near the lake and hiked to see a beaver dam. After this, the CCC and the United Goobers, Ella’s group, switched, and Ella’s group got to try archery, while Kelsi’s group got to participate in the volleyball championship. The finale of the tournament took place between the CCC and the United Goobers, while Isaac’s group, the Sugar Mamas, got a short archery session. The CCC won the tournament, since the volleyball got hit into the lake. Students enjoyed these activities despite the cold temperatures. Gracin shot nine bullseyes on the archery course so now Dr. Simmons has to give him nine quiz passes. “Here’s a lesson on why you should never gamble,” said Dr. Simmons.
On Wednesday morning, we went to Staunton, Virginia, to see Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It, performed by the American Shakespeare Center at Blackfriars Theater. The ASC has been performing the works of Shakespeare and other playwrights for 35 years. Normally, they put on four or five simultaneous productions in a nine-month season. Until the pandemic struck, they also travelled to dozens of theaters all over the United States, including the Winyah Auditorium. They use Shakespeare’s performance conditions, including universal lighting and seating the public on the stage. This way, actors can interact with the audience. The actors put a modern twist to As You Like It, dressing in contemporary clothes and using cell phones. As always, at the beginning of the play, they sang songs and danced. Many students were pleased to see that Topher and Constance are still part of the troupe and remembered us! The ASC gave us an amazing experience and we hope to welcome them back to our school next year.
After seeing As You Like It, Kingfishers took the short walk to the restaurant, Taste of India, for lunch. Once everyone arrived, Dr. Gates encouraged students to branch out and try new foods while they were there. Most students were under the impression that the food would be spicy, and several people could be heard wondering about it. Once everyone was inside, the food was served in a buffet style. There was a small selection of food varying from tandoori chicken to a vegetable dish. “I went up there to get some more of the chicken but they were out,” Branton said. “So when they had more chicken, Mrs. Crosby sent the guy to my table with a whole tray of tandoori chicken!” Most students got to try something they wouldn’t normally try and we also got to see one of the ASC actors come in to get take-out for the cast.
After lunch, we appropriately took a tour of the University of Virginia, which Thomas Jefferson designed and which has been greatly influenced by his writings and legacy ever since. Our student guide took us around the Grounds and to the original dormitories of the Lawn and explained a lot about the history of this institution which dates back almost to the founding of our country. The students got to see a monument to all the enslaved people who built and worked at UVA, which was very moving and informative.
Thursday morning, we left our cabins at the state park and headed to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s house. We arrived, and were ushered up to the house by bus. Our tour guide, Elizabeth, first showed us Thomas Jefferson’s museum. “He wanted people to know about the history of America,” she said. “That’s why he had the museum right when you walked in.” Then she showed us his office, which was full of bookshelves. “Thomas Jefferson liked to read,” Elizabeth shared with us. Then she showed us his bedroom with its French inspiration.“ Thomas Jefferson loved the design of the house in France he stayed in so much that he completely changed his original design plans” she told us. From there, we went into the dining room. “Thomas Jefferson brought a French chef back with him who cooked two meals a day here at Monticello, breakfast and an early dinner at four o’clock,” Elizabeth told us. “Jefferson would host many people, so the chef had to cook a lot of food.”
After we toured the house, we ventured out onto the lawn. We got a group picture in front of the house! We also got to go to the gift shops, which were filled with all sorts of things, like books, hats, and even a scroll of the Declaration of Independence. Our history lesson did not end with a tour of the house, however. We walked down and observed the slave quarters, which had a very informative video playing when you walked in. From there, we ended the history part of the trip by exploring the horse stables.
After a wonderful tour of Monticello, we stopped by the gift shops scattered around the grounds. Underneath Monticello is a store selling all sorts of foods made out of ingredients grown on the property. About half of the school walked out with a bottle of root beer. Other items popular among our students were strawberry preserves, flower seeds, and maple syrup. After we finished our tour, we made our way to the front gift shop, which had an even broader selection of Jefferson-themed items. Every wall featured shirts and books with his face on it, surrounded by his famous quotes. Multiple notable purchases were made. After about an hour of imploring, Nolan and Jack were finally able to convince Kipper to loan them the money for a pocket watch. “I told that boy not to buy that pocket watch,” complained Ella. Caleb added to his notorious coin collection. The seniors even found a kingfisher plush that they excitedly bought for Dr. Gates. It is now perched on his bookshelf. Monticello was a very successful history and shopping destination for our students.
Randolph Macon College was our next destination. RMC is a small private institution with a student body of 1500 students and it was interesting to see how different UVA and RMC are from each other. “What I most enjoyed about our experience at both schools was seeing the diversity of the campuses or ‘grounds’ as UVA students would say,” Sage said, but she preferred RMC. “It was a better environment than UVA,” she said. “It was less crowded.” We got to see how both schools meet different people’s standards and needs.
After eating dinner on the RMC campus and chatting with some students, TGS went back to the hotel by bus. When we got there the students were told to dress warmly and head down to the lobby after because we were going on a walk. Students speculated about the upcoming activity. Was it ice-skating? Some other kind of physical activity? As we walked for about a mile, the students chatted and some even gave piggyback rides. After almost losing Dr. Simmons, we crossed a few more streets and found ourselves back on the RMC campus. Suddenly Dr. Gates stopped in front of Keeble Observatory with an important announcement. “We are finally going to succeed in doing an activity we have been trying to schedule for ten years,” he said. “We are finally visiting an observatory.” As we entered the building, we walked up flights of stairs, through multiple hallways, and over a bridge to get to the telescope. The room was filled with red lights to dilate the eyes before looking through the powerful instrument. Some people got to see Mars and some people got to see the Orion Nebula. Many people thought that Mars looked like a red dot and that the room was really cool. The observatory was an enjoyable experience.
The next morning we packed up for the ride home and headed over to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts with its amazing collections of art. Dr. Gates said that the American art was very impressive and that all the art was very imaginatively displayed. For example, a tribute portrait from “The New Republic” series by Kehinde Wiley was placed among the medieval icon pictures. It was hard for the groups to stay together but everyone found something interesting to look at, especially Zayne who was so interested he went super-slowly from one painting to another and almost got lost. It is nice to know that Kingfishers can appreciate art!
On the way home, we needed to stop somewhere for lunch. By far, the most requested place to eat at during the trip was Chick Fil A. We piled into the building and our line wrapped around the inside of the restaurant. A curious customer asked us what was happening. We told him that we had come from South Carolina to Virginia on a school trip to visit many different places. “Wow, I wish I went to that school!” he said, after learning what we were doing. The customer service was amazing and the line moved fairly quickly and soon we all were chowing down. After eating, we got into the bus with full stomachs and prepared to go home.
The ride home was very fun. The back of the bus played slumber party games and got to know each other better while the front of the bus quietly conversed among themselves. Almost everyone got their hair braided and we ate many snacks. Towards the end of the bus ride, we got our phones and started to wind down. When we finally made it to the school, it was 7pm and everyone was ready to go home. Another unforgettable road trip for Kingfishers! Thank you teachers, especially Dr. Gates and Ms. Amy, for making it all possible.
By: Annika, Emily, Saylor, Isaac, Bristol, Sage, and Quin
The Georgetown School 
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