Collegiate School 3rd Graders presented the annual Concert of Carols for their families at River Road Presbyterian Church on Dec. 18 to conclude the School’s annual series of holiday performances.

Collegiate School announced today the appointment of the next Head of Middle School, Mr. Tung Trinh. He will begin his new responsibilities on July 1, 2019.

Collegiate School will open at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday (Dec. 12), due to anticipated icy roads early in the morning. 
Early drop off for Lower School will begin at 8:50 a.m. and for Middle School at 9 a.m. 
Cougar Quest and Kinder Quest will open and dismiss as usual.
The safety of our students and families is paramount. Please use your best judgment on traveling to campus.

The Collegiate School Development Office will host a book signing on Monday, Dec. 10, to celebrate a publication penned by Alex Smith ‘65, who spent 47 years as a Collegiate faculty member and development staff member, securing major gifts for the School.

The fifth annual TEDxYouth@RVA will take place on Saturday, Nov. 17, in Collegiate School’s Hershey Center for the Arts. The general public is invited to hear a wide range of local speakers reflect on the theme Elevate.

Collegiate School’s Homecoming today was graced with nice weather, a campus full of returning alums and a varsity football win.

Collegiate School’s Homecoming Pep Rally today was the usual mix of fun, community spirit and school pride, with each varsity team performing and inviting peers to celebrate being Cougars.

Collegiate School celebrated over the weekend the opening of the newest addition to its North Mooreland Road campus - the Stephen P. Adamson, Jr. ’92 Ropes Course.

The course is named in memory of Adamson, who was known for his love of the outdoors. The ceremony and Open House on Saturday brought together family and friends to celebrate not only Mr. Adamson’s legacy, but also an exciting addition to the School’s curriculum and main campus.

During a special presentation last week, five Collegiate students shared how student endowments made possible by the generosity of Collegiate School families enabled them to travel and explore their individual areas of interest. One of those students, senior Azzuri Fleming, received the Mary Parker Moncure Vaden Endowment Award and used her funding to create a community-wide music festival for youth called Beats, Rhymes and Life.

“I did this because I feel like there is a lack of resources and outlets in Richmond for youth who want to pursue music seriously,” Azzuri said.

Retired Collegiate School science teacher Ann Griffin was on hand today to participate in the naming of her former Upper School biology classroom in her honor. While making a recent gift to the School, Collegiate alum Jeff Congdon ‘78, and his wife, Jackie, decided to offer it in honor of Mrs. Griffin, who taught at Collegiate for 39 years before retiring in 2011.

"I often think about how she said I was worth saving,” said Mr. Congdon, who attended Collegiate from Kindergarten through 12th Grade and also sent his sons, Whit ‘02 and Mark ‘05, to the School. “She was a constantly positive influence in my life at that time."

Today, Collegiate School 8th Grade students capped a week of thinking outside the box -- and outside the classroom -- by presenting to their peers, teachers and community leaders creative solutions to challenges impacting the Greater Richmond community. The presentations marked the culmination of this year's Envision Richmond program, the sixth iteration of the entire 8th Grade’s weeklong immersion into local nonprofits, coupled with hands-on lessons that helped the students strengthen their leadership and problem-solving skills and learn how to make a lasting, positive change.

Five Collegiate School students shared during a special presentation today how student endowments made possible by the generosity of Collegiate families enabled them to travel and explore their individual areas of interest.

This week, Collegiate School’s entire 8th Grade will take part in Envision Richmond, an annual grade-level Capstone program that takes students out of the classroom Monday through Friday and immerses them in the local community to hone their leadership and civic engagement skills.

A lithe young man stood center stage inside of Collegiate School’s Estes Multipurpose Room this afternoon, beaming as he shared a tale in the traditional South African storytelling style, his words animated with wide sweeps of his arms. A trio of his peers sat rapt at his feet, and dozens more watched from the audience. “We’re going to teach you guys a dance,” he said and suddenly, Collegiate students, parents and teachers flocked to the front, their heads bobbing and feet pounding to the pulsing beat of a pop song by the Distruction Boyz.

The presentation, by four South African students, was part of Friday afternoon’s Cultural Fair, an exciting end to a week of global learning and creative problem solving.

At Collegiate School’s 8th Annual International Emerging Leaders Conference (IELC) this week, 43 international high school students and 18 Collegiate seniors collaborated in groups to design solutions to real-world environmental issues facing their countries.  

Students in some of Collegiate School’s Upper School biology and Spanish classes participated in a co-curricular activity today that allowed them to study themes across two academic specialties and learn how African music, song and dance have influenced Latin American culture.

Collegiate Upper Schoolers took part in an annual assembly this morning during which they signed the Honor Code in front of their peers and advisors, vowing their commitment to one of the School’s core values.

All across Collegiate School’s campus this morning, excited JK-12th Grade students greeted old and new friends and favorite teachers, shared stories of summer adventures and compared class schedules as they began a new school year filled with opportunities to learn, grow and serve.

A newly renovated Oates Theater served as the setting for the annual All School Opening Meeting today for Collegiate School faculty and staff, led by Head of School Steve Hickman.

About this time nine months ago, Collegiate School’s Oates Theater was a shell of its former self, with construction underway for a transformation that would someday allow more students, faculty, parents and Richmond-area guests to enjoy the space and its offerings.

That day has come, and nearly 200 Collegiate community members and supporters visited campus this afternoon to be among the first to tour the expansive venue (located inside Collegiate’s Hershey Center for the Arts) to see firsthand how worthwhile the renovation has been.

The first USA Basketball Boys Camp to be hosted in the mid-Atlantic region will take place at Collegiate School on Saturday and Sunday, with the School’s athletics staff leading the program.

For the past two weeks, 35 teachers have converged on Collegiate School’s campus to learn music education techniques through a unique collaboration with VCU that has given them a broader network of peers and an understanding of how to incorporate Orff into their curriculum.

Seven teams comprised of high school students from throughout Richmond stood before a roomful of executives, community leaders and others this morning and shared with poise and enthusiasm solutions for complex issues that could change how some local organizations serve their audiences. The 28 rising high school seniors were participants in the 41st Annual Cochrane Summer Economic Institute (CSEI), a four-week immersion program administered by Collegiate School and funded by the Powell Economic Education Foundation, with contributions from corporate sponsors and private donors.

School is not in session, but many Collegiate students are continuing their studies with international travel trips this month.

Collegiate School has selected a lifelong educator and independent school graduate to serve as its next Head of School beginning in July 2019, upon the retirement of current Head of School Stephen D. Hickman. Penny B. Evins will come to Collegiate after a six-year tenure as Head of St. Paul’s School for Girls in Baltimore, where under her leadership the school launched numerous innovative programs, incorporated inquiry-based electives into the curriculum, and experienced a healthy growth in enrollment.

For the second time in three years, Collegiate School’s Upper School robotics team competed at the FIRST Robotics World Championship over the past weekend. The team, Torch 5804, earned the opportunity after finishing as District Runner-Up in the Chesapeake District Championship in April, with a record of 31-19-0 and a ranking of 11 out of 126 teams.

Artistic endeavors of all kinds shone today on Collegiate School's campus as high school dancers, musicians, artists and thespians from around the region gathered for master classes of sorts to hone their skills. Seventy-five students from area public and private schools took part in artsPOWER, an annual daylong event during which the students learn from local professionals and collaborate with like-minded peers in the visual arts, music, dance and theater.

For their second spring production, Collegiate School’s Upper School thespians, the Collegiate Players, will present The Fantasticks by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt next week.

​Dr. Corey Walker, Vice President and Dean of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, visited Collegiate School today to discuss the issues of race, place and space with Upper Schoolers who are studying human rights, the statues on Monument Avenue and the culture of the City of Richmond.

Collegiate School students spent three days this week learning from well-regarded artist Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., whose work has been featured in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Stamperia del Tevere in Rome, and in numerous other museums and university settings around the nation and globe.

Collegiate School hosted six local alums for a Women in STEM panel this afternoon in McFall Hall to share with Upper School girls their experiences, challenges and opportunities in science-, technology- and math-related careers.

A group of Collegiate School students enrolled in the senior Capstone class, CreateAthon: Working with Nonprofits, learned recently that the strategies and ideas they shared with two Richmond-area nonprofits have yielded meaningful results.

For the second time in three years, Collegiate School's Upper School robotics team is heading to the FIRST Robotics World Championship. The team, TORCH 5804, won the opportunity after finishing as District Runner-Up in the Chesapeake District Championship last weekend, with a ranking of 11 out of 126 teams.

Collegiate School’s Lower School Academic Services will hold three Afternoon Answers sessions in the coming weeks for parents and teachers on topics related to academic progress.

Collegiate School's "African Market" opened for 2nd Graders today and also will offer exclusive shopping to that grade level tomorrow. Next week the market will be open to the entire school.

Collegiate School 8th Graders are proud to present Disney's The Lion King Kids as this year’s annual grade-level play this weekend in McFall Hall.

Collegiate School juniors met with 15 college deans and directors of admission from across the country today for the yearly workshop that offers guidance when navigating the college search and application process.

Due to icy road conditions in the Richmond area this morning (Monday, Feb. 5), Collegiate School will open on a 2-hour delay.

Collegiate School Chinese language students will usher in the Year of the Dog tonight with the Fifth Annual Chinese New Year Celebration in the Estes Multipurpose Room on the Lower School campus from 6:30-7:30 p.m.  

Collegiate School will open with a 2-hour delay on Thursday, Jan. 18. Of course, given the uncertainty of road conditions overnight, we will continue to monitor circumstances tomorrow morning and update you if necessary. As always, use your best judgment on whether it is safe to travel to school from your area.

Collegiate School will be closed today (Wed., Jan. 17), due to inclement weather.

Due to continued icy roads and icy conditions on campus, Collegiate School will open with a 2-hour delay today (Jan. 9).
Cougar Quest, Kinder Quest and Activity Quest will open and dismiss as usual.

Martine Tchitchihe, a girls' education and human rights advocate, is visiting Collegiate School to speak with students across all divisions about her experience growing up in Cameroon and her pursuit of an education despite persecution from the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.

Collegiate School’s robotics team gathered on campus this morning for the official start to the 2018 FIRST Robotics competition. Nearly 30 members of the team viewed a livestream broadcast of the unveiling of this year’s design plans and rules.

Collegiate School's 2018 winter play, Impulse, features a collection of eight, short one-act plays by John Cariani, Christopher Durang, Oliver Hailey, John Patrick Shanley and Steve Yockey. Performances will be held in the Sharp Academic Commons Octagon on Thursday, Jan. 11 and Friday, Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m.  

Collegiate School will be closed today (Thursday, Jan. 4) due to inclement weather. Cougar Quest and all of the Quest after-school programs are also  closed. Stay safe and warm.