Sunday, November 8 dawned cold, wet and rainy—everyone’s definition of a perfect oyster-eating day!  With the fabulous music of Cruise out of Johnsonville, S.C. to warm them, scores of oyster-lovers, pileau fans and Low Country boil gourmets gathered under the big tent on serendipitous loan from Taste of the Town and proceeded to dig in.

Jeep Ford and Brad Payne kept the pots boiling in the parking lot of the Maritime Museum as students ran the freshly steamed oysters over to the waiting tables.  Other students and parents served drinks, hot dogs and bake sale items.  To the side, curious people checked out the silent auction items so graciously donated by TGS parents and local businesses.

When all was said and done (and consumed!), tired Kingfishers realized the event was a huge success.  Thank you to Lisa Haas, Liz Attias and Laura Tate for organizing the event and getting the band.  Many thanks to our oyster chefs Jeep Ford and Brad Payne, and to Joe Exum for managing everything.  Thank you Rhonda and Tim Morris for pileau and pressure washing!  We would also like to thank our sponsors and good friends: Better Brands, Taste of the Town, Grand Rentals, the Maritime Museum, the River Room and Hanser House.

The SCISA State Volleyball championship was held October 23-24 at the Star Center in Spartanburg.  TGS Kingfishers played two games on Friday, the first against Bible Baptist  and the second against Holly Hill. Savanna and Margaret said that the venue was very large and noisy, presenting a new challenge to the girls–there were sometimes 16 games going on simultaneously! Although we lost both games, we still made school history: this is the first play-off that The Georgetown School has ever competed in! Congratulations to the girls, to Coach Montgomery and to Rhonda Morris on a great season.  Many thanks also to all the parents who drove to games and helped our Kingfishers in so many ways.

In the past few weeks, TGS journalism students have been asking a lot of questions about cell phones of their fellow students and of the teachers. The , mini-interviews were part of a project to hone their interviewing, writing, photography and layout skills. Much to our surprise, the school-wide conversation about cell-phone use led to a change in school policy. Instead of being required to turn their phones off during the entire school day, students are now turning in their phones to the teacher at the beginning of each class. Phones can be used (but not misused) during break and lunch. Students and teachers alike are happier with this new policy.

Taylor Griffith, reporter for The Georgetown Times, visited Mme Gates’ fifth period journalism students to speak with them about her background, education and current job. She told students she has a lot of sympathy for kids who think they are too shy to conduct an interview.  “That was me in middle school,” she said, adding that she had to get over it in high school and college. Taylor attended the University of Maryland, majoring in journalism. She is 24 years old, and explained to students how being young is an advantage in the field now: like most young people nowadays, Taylor is expert at handling social media and her older colleagues are not!

Regular season Boys Soccer and Girls Volleyball is ending this week, with fingers crossed for some play-off games. Both teams have experienced much success this fall.  In a few short weeks, senior captains Nathan Gates and Zach McKinley pulled together a team of old stalwarts and new recruits. The highlight of the season was blanking Lowcountry on their home field 2-0.  It has been great to see our new goalie Tamir Brown boot the ball down the field and so many new players and young players out there working hard.

The third year has been the charm for Girls Volleyball! With Rebecca Montgomery leading the coaching, they are on a roll and have enough players for JV and Varsity.  On Tuesday, September 22, the girls took home a nice victory in straight sets over Lowcountry Prep. “The game was tied almost the entire time– it really kept us all on our feet,” Meredith said from the sidelines. The girls look forward to an away game against Conway Christian Tuesday September 29, and their last game of the regular season  on Thursday October 1.

“This is just what we do,” said Meredith to a new student as all of the Kingfishers poured out of the school’s front door and started walking down Highmarket Street. We were on our way to visit the Smithsonian exhibit “Hometown Sports” at the Georgetown County Museum. Museum volunteers welcomed us warmly, then docent Susie Shoman invited us in. The displays and memorabilia traced the history and importance of hometown sports in America. It wasn’t all baseball and football—there were some unusual sports represented too. “We need a Quidditch team at TGS!” said Ethan after he and his friends viewed some photos of less common sports.

      

On the second floor Muff Boyd shared a short history of Georgetown County and told us a little bit about the museum’s highlight: a hand-written letter by the “Swamp Fox” Francis Marion. We saw uniforms, trophies, photos, and yearbooks from teams years ago to present day teams. The students enjoyed the hands-on interactive displays. After about 45 minutes of looking around we journeyed back to school, arriving only a little late for fourth period. Are we getting too big for these types of field trips? No way! Many thanks to the Georgetown County Museum for a fun outing!

Wade Razzi and Melissa Bigner were united in holy matrimony in a service on July 25 at The Citadel’s Summerall Chapel.  Congratulations to the happy couple and our best wishes for a long and harmonious life together!

TGS students began an interesting service project in June: helping Patti Burns conduct a survey of all the graves in Prince George Cemetery. The work will be part of a large, ongoing project sponsored by Georgetown County Library to put a photograph and transcription of every grave marker in the county on line for historians, genealogists and families to use.

The students record data about the shape of the marker, its style and its current condition.  Then they write down its inscription. Many of the grave inscriptions in Prince George Cemetery are quite worn down (some date from the 1700s), so Patti taught everyone to use thin tin foil to make a rubbing to make them stand out and become more legible.

Here is an example of an inscription about a mother from the 1800s: “Truly did she possess that Christian charity which suffereth long and is kind, for being left a widow under very trying circumstances she not only maintained her four children, but her house was ever the home of the friendless and orphan, for she stretched out her hand to the poor, yea, she reached forth her hand to the needy. Ever will her children rise up and call her blessed.”

Proud parents, grandparents and friends, plus students in uniform who had just finished exams, gathered in the Es’Dorn Room, ready to celebrate the end of the year. Our second Awards Day got underway with the Pledge of Allegiance, led by student body president Sarah Exum. Next, Dr. Gates mentioned all the awards from SCISA (and other entities of which faculty were aware) that TGS students had garnered during 2014-2015.

Then Dr. Razzi present the school awards: Sports and Athletic Award–Savanna Morris, Service Award–Top Lee, Arts Award–Nathan Gates, Academic Award–Isabella Neubauer, and Kingfisher Award–Lochlyn Hejl. “Lochlyn actually doesn’t have to wear the kingfisher costume,” Dr. Razzi noted.

Mrs. Judy Sweitzer took a few moments to bid everyone farewell as she stepped down from her administrative position. We wish her all the best and look forward to seeing her as a volunteer.

Dr. Gates closed the ceremony by presenting all the students who received academic
honors this year (93 or above in every class or an overall average of 95).

The Georgetown School of Arts and Sciences held its second commencement ceremony on the evening of Friday May 29, in the Es’Dorn Room of the historic Winyah Auditorium. Sarah Alexandra Exum, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Exum of Pawleys Island, graduated with academic honors  She will attend Indiana University in the fall to study pre-med.

Father Pat Stenson of Precious Blood of Christ Catholic Church gave the invocation, then Dr. Gary Gates, Head of School, and Mrs. Joyce Gates, President of the Board of Directors, welcomed students, parents, faculty and guests to the joyous occasion.

Sarah Exum then addressed the crowd of sixty people, talking about her decision to take a chance in her junior year on a brand-new school.  She thanked the faculty and expressed her love and appreciation for her fellow students.  “I know it’s weird, but I actually liked coming to school,” she said, “I feel very well-prepared for my future at Indiana.”

Dr. Laura Gates then spoke about a painting by nationally-known artist Jonathan Green on display in the Es’Dorn Room.  Green recently made this study of three floating balloons in a blue sky for The Georgetown School during the first annual Georgetown Gullah Festival.   His gift was unveiled at the school’s Awards Ceremony earlier the same day.  “This painting makes me think of our graduates,” Gates said, noting that students, like balloons, must eventually be released from safety and protection and allowed to fly free.  She encouraged Sarah to follow Green’s practice of re-imagining reality to create a better world.

It was all smiles and tears as Sarah prepared to come forward to receive her diploma.  Dr. Gary Gates praised her for her initiative and sense of responsibility over the years.  “Besides her academic achievements, Sarah of her own volition organized our first volleyball team,” he noted, counseling Sarah to make time for herself at college, “When people find out how good you are at everything, they are going to want to put all the responsibility on you.”

After Sarah received her diploma with handshakes, hugs, and applause all around, everyone enjoyed a reception to celebrate her fine achievement. Thank you, Lisa Haas and the PTO for the delicious food–what a great finish to a fantastic year!