How can a student relax and celebrate the end of the fantastic first year of The Georgetown School?  On Friday May 23, students and faculty drove out to Black River for an afternoon and evening of fun on the water at the lovely waterfront home of Mrs. Lane Crosby.  After a brief period of awe and exploration, the excited students jumped into various water sports: swimming, sliding, kayaking, wake-boarding, knee-boarding.  Some people were content to relax in rocking chairs on the beautiful gazebo.  Others spent hours on the boat with Dr. Tom Crosby going up and down Black River.  Still others swam around the dock and slid down the slide.  Everyone made a Kingfisher tie-dye tee shirt.

By the time 6:00 rolled around, Mr. Razzi and Drew Crosby had the grills going on the deck, preparing hot dogs and hamburgers for the hungry and wet kids.  When 7:00 came, everyone thanked the Crosby’s and packed back into the cars, tired and happy.  It was a great day and we appreciate the generosity and hospitality of the Crosby family so much.

Family, friends and faculty gathered Friday evening of May 30 in the Es’Dorn Room to honor the first two graduates of The Georgetown School, Chris Elliott and Chandler Lee.  Mrs. Joyce Gates, president of the Board of Directors, welcomed everyone and gave the floor to our salutatorian and our valedictorian.

Chandler addressed his fellow students with kind and humorous words, telling them, “You have given me many memories I will hold onto for the rest of my life.”  He then gave advice to the Committee of Stuff, Coding Class, the soccer team, Spanish Class, the Middle School, math classes and the rising seniors.  Chandler said in closing, “I wish I were with you longer.”

Chris spoke of his decision to transfer to TGS in his final year of high school.  Some people told him, “Wow, that’s risky,” and “It’s crazy to switch in your senior year.”  But he knew the new school (which was no more than an idea at the time) was the place he wanted to be.  He expressed pride in everyone and in the progress that his fellow students made this year.  Chris closed with heartfelt thanks to his teachers, saying, “I’ve spent countless hours with you and learned so much from all of you.”

Dr. Gary Gates addressed the assembly on the subject of our school’s motto: Non nobis solum nati sumus (Cicero).  It means “we are not born for ourselves alone.” He quoted Pericles: “We do only kindness to others, not because we stop to calculate whether this will be to our advantage, but in the spirit of liberality, which motivates us.”  This kindness is related to the ideal of service and the true definition of a gentleman.  Dr. Gates said that Chris and Chandler conducted themselves in a very gentlemanly way this year: “You were out in the heat of August, before we had even secured a school building, making sure we’d have a soccer team…And when we got students, you made sure they became a student body—trucking them around, setting up movie nights, ginning up school spirit from thin air.”  These selfless acts bind Chris and Chandler strongly to our community.

Mrs. Joyce Gates and Dr. Gates handed Chris and Chandler their diplomas together, then there was thunderous applause and great joy.

Rags Coxe, deacon of Prince George, Winyah, closed the ceremony with a prayer for the school and the graduates, then the music came up.  They were congratulated by family and friends at a lovely reception in the hall, the perfect and relaxing end to a banner day at The Georgetown School.

Thank you for coming out, family, friends and supporters.  This year would not have been possible without you.  Thank you, P.T.O., for putting on the reception, and thank you, Mr. Coxe, for blessing our assembly with beautiful and considered prayers.

Friday evening May 9, the drama classes presented “An Evening of Fun with Shakespeare” under the direction of drama coach Judith Gates.  The Prince George Auditorium was packed with family and friends as the curtain went up and Shakespeare himself welcomed the crowd.  The actors presented Acts I-IV as a series of comic vignettes.  After intermission, the tone turned tragic as Act V was played in its entirety.  Finally, Shakespeare reappeared to give his opinion of their performance and the curtain came down.

“I was nervous but it was fun,” says Elizabeth Exum, who played the role of Prince Escalas. She added, “I was so quiet before I got into my costume, then I was able to get LOUD!”  Lizzy Culliton (Capulet) said, “Being on stage was nerve-wracking at first, but then everything came naturally.”   Mrs. Gates has been emphasizing the importance of commitment to the ensemble all year.  “The greatest joy for me was to see the kids fulfill their commitment to each other,” she says, “It wasn’t always easy but they have learned a truly valuable lesson.”

Thank you, “Momma” Gates for a great year!  We know how hard you worked and everything turned out fabulous.  Almost everyone in the whole school participated in the drama program and began to understand the challenges and joys of theater.  Special thanks go to Senora Yorky and Mrs. Anna Skerman for their support in costuming and blocking and to Prince George, Winyah, for loaning us the Bourne Building stage.  Just remember, all the world’s a stage!

Dan Machowski is known as “the knot man” because he is an expert at it who enjoys teaching the skill to others.  Dan is recently retired from DNR and now spends time coaching the sailing team of Bishop England.  Our journalism classes at TGS invited Dan to visit on Wednesday, March 7th.  We interviewed him about his long-time involvement in the Wooden Boat Show.  The interview will appear in the book we are producing to celebrate the show’s 25th anniversary.

Dan has been to almost every Wooden Boat Show, teaching adults and kids alike to tie interesting and useful knots.  He taught us a few while we ate our lunch during his visit, including the knot for handcuffs, which we immediately put to use for Romeo and Juliet!  Dan invited the students to help out at his booth this October during the 2014 Wooden Boat Show and we look forward to seeing him again.

By Top Lee

On Tuesday, April 22, several students took a break from spring break and joined Dr. Neubauer and Mrs. Sweitzer at an environmental talk and a documentary to celebrate Earth Day.  The event began at 3:00 with an award-winning film entitled “Plastic Paradise,” a documentary on the Pacific Garbage Patch and the harmful effects it’s having on islands, the coastline, and the ocean.  Angela Sun, the producer of “Plastic Paradise,” travels to Midway Atoll to discover for herself the Pacific Garbage Patch, and goes on to examine how plastic is hurting our health and our oceans.  

After the screening, several people went up to the stage and gave talks on plastic and the environment.  Kelly Thorvalson, Sea Turtle Rescue Program Director, drove up from the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston to talk about the turtle rehabilitation.  She told everyone that the program is expanding, and so far has been very successful, releasing more than 130 turtles back into the wild, many of them injured from plastic debris.  

After the official part of the event was over, most of the people stayed in the lobby for trash-free/plastic-free snacks and to discuss the talks.  Overall the event was a success with about 70 people coming out to support the Earth Day talks.