St Andrew's School, Delaware

Prep School Admissions
601

@Calmpony: Daughter placed into French 3 her first year at SAS, and took Latin 1 (double language track) that year too. She eventually dropped French Junior Year (she had met requirement with French 4 Soph year) to open up room in her sched for things like Art/Music classes. She still takes Latin (AS Vergil, I think) this year. I love French teacher Diahann Johnson (also head of Modern Lang dept) and was sad when daughter dropped French. Latin dept is strong, despite some turnover in favorite teachers (Mary Kelly)/dept. chair over past year. Would recommend either. No experience with the other langs you mention.

@NCSwimmmom: IIRC, Greek 1&2 are meant for students who already have some Latin under their belts…and are sorta “to take junior or senior year” courses. I think the two semesters of Greek SAS cover 1 semester of college Greek. From the SAS website blurb on Greek 1: "This half-credit course introduces students with backgrounds in both Latin and modern languages " I think a new student without a background in Latin or another lang might get rocked by even this intro Greek course.

602

Long term, over 20 years, Spanish teacher at EHS is moving to SAS. This is a tremendous loss to the EHS community and SAS’s gain. She gave her farewell talk to the community recently and there was not a dry eye in the pews. The community gave her a standing O. I watched online and had a knot in my throat. The fact she is moving to SAS (her alma mater), to pursue a new challenge, speaks volumes about SAS. Treat her well, she is a jewel of a teacher and person.

603

Will second on the Latin program at SAS, as daughter is in Latin 3 and loves it. The couple who were new to the program this year are well liked, and daughter is very appreciative of Mr. Costa’s teaching these last two years. She dropped Spanish after middle school, but 7daughter successfully took French and Latin for two years before dropping one to concentrate more on the sciences. My son is in Chinese 3; most are new to it in III Form, but some bring a year or two with them. Nearly everybody expresses good feelings for Mrs. Chiu, who is doing all the teaching herself, and we have found her interest in her students, and her methods, to be exceptional. She led a three week study/travel trip to China in summer 2013 and I suppose will do another in coming years. I’m not sure about Greek; quite possibly, it’s a 1/2 credit course that meets all year, but for fewer meetings per week, like required arts/wellness courses . . . The Spanish teachers are popular; Señorita Smith is finishing her last year at St. Andrew’s, however. Email the faculty with your questions, by all means! Placement and selection are certainly worth getting accurate answers from those directly involved.

604

Thank you all for the great advice. DS has taken both Latin (1 year in middle school) and French at his current school but I am uncertain if that is enough preparation for Greek. I have emailed the Classics Department Chair at SAS and asked for more information so that we can make the best choice possible.

605

had forwarded the question to my kids, one replied:
“I know that the latin kids like the teachers, there’s definitely a population of latin kids but it’s smaller. on a classics note, the population of greek kids is even smaller but I think they have fun.
Chinese students love it, they love Mrs. Chiu.
Spanish is the most popular, everyone loves all the teachers.
French, I know pople like that as well, don’t know too much about lower levels.”

The other just heartily recommended Spanish track, because all the teachers are incredible.

My own gut is you can’t go wrong with any of them. So your child should pick what they are most interested in.

606

Latin 2 is generally appropriate for students who have already had two years of middle-school Latin (or for Form IV students who started with Latin 1 upon entering SAS). Greek is only for Form IV and higher I believe. The Latin is difficulty but the faculty are excellent.

607

A short clip on how the most important executive decision is made at the “House of Cardinals”!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00GhTVmoh0o&feature=youtu.be

GO SAINTS!

608

Lol! Hilarious!

609

Wow.

If you don’t feel like reading this entire post, that’s pretty much all you need to know about my experience of Arts Weekend 2015 at St. Andrew’s.

Arts Weekend is sort of the unofficial Spring parents weekend (lower caps intentional) to bookend the official Fall Parents Weekend. There are Varsity & JV games, a crew regatta, and other activities (mostly revolving around food) — but the main draw are the shows by the various performing arts groups as well as gallery displays by different art classes.

I think we’ve gone every year my daughter’s been a student at SAS, and enjoyed ourselves every time. But something about this being the final one made it even more special. We missed the Friday night class dinners this year, which are a chance to catch up with fellow Class of XX parents. But we did make it to the orchestra performance…the highlight of which was the debut of a student-composed piece, directed by the composer. This particular young man has been a real tour de force in the SAS performing arts community the past 4 years and will be missed.

Saturday morning, I was happy to see/hear the return of the SAS Pipe & Drum Corps. Yes, prospective boarding school students…if you ever wanted the chance to learn to play the bagpipes, put St. Andrew’s at the top of your list. Headmaster Tad Roach (technically on sabbatical through August, but who has returned for campus events a few times so far and will be presiding over graduation) addressed the parents. I made a point to write down a stat Tad shared with us…that more than 48% of the SAS student body receives some amount of financial aid, with the average award being $45k. I think the annual FA budget at St. Andrew’s is over $5 million…for a school of about 300 students.

While I’m covering numbers….between events, I was able to speak with Director of Admissions Louisa Zendt, who said they had another strong year. Apparently the yield was very high.

The Jazz ensemble took the stage next, and was great. Perhaps even more impressive than the musicianship of some of the “first chair state orchestra”-level soloists was the fact that other members of the group were relative beginners when they started. The whole idea of working on one’s craft as opposed to coming to SAS a fully formed Charlie Parker/Yo-Yo Ma is one that I think St. Andrew’s fully supports (in all things).

The co-ed acappella group Noxontones closed out the morning. Here’s a link to a performance (not this years, though) of their tradition final song “That Lonesome Road”. I got very emotional hearing it this year. Did someone cut an onion up in here?
https://youtu.be/ZoFPZnje3X4

We had lunch on campus and then took 7D1 out to run a few errands before she had to be back for a dance rehearsal. Yes, 7D1, as a senior who had never taken a dance class before (except for those that are part of the frosh-year arts survey course) signed up for Dance as her Spring “sport”.

The pre-dinner program started at 5 pm. After a few strong student short films were screened, it was time for the Dance program to take the stage. Several numbers were performed by different groups at varying levels of experience/talent. 7D1 and her group of relative beginners did a nice job dancing to “L-O-V-E” sung live by the Noxontones. I literally remarked to my wife “Who knew she was that graceful?” :wink: Avi Gold has done amazing things in just 4 years.

I should take a second now to comment on something that I have always appreciated about St. Andrew’s…that the kids really turn out to support their friends and classmates. Even the beginners. Maybe especially the beginners. It’s just part of the ethos of the school.

We chose to go off campus for dinner, but returned for the 8:30 presentation of “The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later”```. I confess that I had not intended to attend because I wasn’t really in the mood for a serious play. But I’m so glad I did. A follow-up to the original Laramie Project, this one deals with how the town and its residents (including the two men involved in the killing of Matthew Shepherd, who are now in jail). All the actors were good, and the student who played convicted murderer Aaron McKinney was particularly strong in a very challenging role. I’m proud of St. Andrew’s for taking on a play that deals with potentially polarizing social issues — and to put it on over a parents weekend, no less.

After Sunday morning’s chapel, we attended the Choral Scholars’ show, which featured a few soloists, including 7D1. Their program included an interesting (perhaps strange is a better word?) Britten piece based on a religious poem written while the author was in an asylum. It featured lyrics like “For the mouse is a creature of great personal valour”…and equally unconventional melodies.

After the “ChoSchos” were done, Tad Roach invited all seniors present to come on stage while he made some closing remarks. It was a touching preview of graduation.

The final performance of 2015 Arts Weekend was one of the best. It featured just two seniors in a presentation of A.R. Gurney’s “Love Letters”. The girl has been a perennial standout in the school’s theater (and singing) productions for a few years now…the boy (this year’s class president) though less seasoned, was equally compelling in his role. A wonderful play, and a wonderful presentation by these two young actors.

You can catch archived livestreams of a few of the performances mentioned above here:
http://livestream.com/accounts/158104/events/4029404

I want to close with two thoughts/observations:

  • For a school with just 300 kids, many of whom are also on sports teams (and hence have very tight schedules), St. Andrew’s has a phenomenal arts program.
  • We were seated early for a performance when Headmaster Tad Roach walked in. On his way to his customary seat in the front of the auditorium, he stopped by to say hello...and it was clear from our brief conversation that he not only knows who my daughter is, but also knows quite a bit about her — including where she’s going to college. I wonder how many parents at some of the larger schools on the forum could say that about their child’s headmaster. I’m sure it’s a byproduct of attending a smaller school…but also a credit to Mr. Roach and the culture of St. Andrew’s.
610

Thanks for providing the great summary, 7D, and for the free-day announcement link Charger.

The weekend was incredible. It was so great to spend time with the teachers and students (and parents) that form this amazing community. The quality of the arts is quite impressive (and immensely entertaining), but what i love most is the sense of joy that the audience exudes along with their enthusiastic support for every effort. There is an awful lot of love flowing around that place.

I’d like to extend a big congratulations to 7D1, on graduating (and her many fine performances). And express my deepest appreciation to 7D for helping to ensure SAS was on our short list of schools to visit. Cheers!

611

Forgot to note that the new Spanish teacher was mentioned (but not EHS). Oh, and there are some other faculty/staff comings and goings…I will hold my tongue on where the current CC Director is going until the school(s) make it public.

Also should mention how damn beautiful the SAS campus is when the weather is just right.

612

Persistence over time is how Seven has gotten to 2,971 posts. But as the St. Andrew’s thread has over 83,000 views since ops started it in 2010, let’s acknowledge that the deep, abiding respect and affection Seven has for SAS is another factor. If any single person is most responsible for the exposure the school currently has on this site, it is Seven (with significant others certainly playing their roles too). On Saturday of the recent Arts Weekend, I became acutely aware that this was probably the last time I’d share stories and performances with Mr. and Mrs. Seven in Middletown, and a real sadness crept over me. When we watched 7daughter perform those dances, there was yet another testament to how kids are encouraged to seize the day at St. Andrew’s and extend themselves in ways formerly unimagined. This is a human community that has warts and all; upon its stage the players come and go. The life of the community endures, and we members, near and far, will always experience emotional highs and lows as we engage with that life. For those other St. Andreans and how they’ve impacted our own lives, we feel privileged and grateful.

613

Too kind, Charger78.

While I’m SAS fan-boi-ing, I might as well share this cool vid the boy’s crew team put together…includes footage of a new boat (donated by an alum, I think) getting christened over Arts Weekend.

Keep in mind that the SAS boathouse and rowing facility is ON CAMPUS. No bike to ride, no bus to take.

https://youtu.be/OUi9biQ4XDo

614

Rain couldn’t dampen spirits at SAS Commencement yesterday.

In a totally “St. Andrew’s” moment, the underformers (in coat & tie and dresses) pitched in to shuttle chairs from the outdoor set up to the back-up venue, the Sipprelle Field House. In a fitting coincidence, the graduation speaker was none other than SAS Alum Scott Sipprelle (Class of 1981), who helped lead the charge to raise funds for the amazing facility…during the 2008-9 financial crisis, no less. More when I have time.

Here’s a link to the livestream of both Commencement and Awards Night (held the night before):
http://livestream.com/accounts/158104/events/4065795

615

Prospective applicants…when you go on your tour of the SAS, be sure to ask to see the “carving” area in the basement of Founders Hall. It’s where year after year of seniors have carved their names/initials/marks into some paneling — so that they can forever be part of SAS. 100% sanctioned, and done the night before graduation…I’d guess into the wee small hours.

616

Just thought I would be really good and make hotel reservations for parent’s weekend in October and the Hampton Inn is sold out!! SAS parents are a well planning bunch!

617

@Calmpony: We only stayed at the Middletown Hampton Inn once…on revisit day. I think they get a calendar of SAS weekends and jack their prices up accordingly. And, as you noted, it books up fast.

99% of the time we visited SAS over the last 4 years, we stayed at the Courtyard Marriott in Christiana, Delaware (Churchman’s Road). About 25 minutes from campus, but generally cheaper and available. My in-laws stayed at the Hilton in Christiana for graduation, and my folks stayed at the La Quinta in Elkton, Maryland.

For the most recent Arts Weekend, I decided to switch it up and we stayed at the Westin in Wilmington. Very nice, but even farther from campus than Christiana.

618

From the SAS web page for “visitors”:
http://www.standrews-de.org/Parents/visiting/index.aspx

I stayed at the quite reasonable Best Western Smyrna the weekend of Hurricane Sandy; it is closer than the others located in Dover (all south of Middletown) and a very easy drive. The Chesapeake City places are also an easy country drive, to the northwest in Maryland, with the scenic Bohemia river along the way and the Delaware-Chesapeake canal the lovely setting for the town.

619

So when is St. Andrew’s going to build the St. Andrew’s Inn on the grassy knoll across the pond? There are simply not enough hotel rooms in the area. A charming ‘SAS Inn’ would certainly help alleviate the problem, especially on Arts and Parents Weekend. It would also help perspective students and parents from out of town touring the school or on visit-back days. Not to mention board of trustee meetings, alumni reunions, and special events like alumni weddings, visiting crew teams… etc… There is no end to how it could be appropriately used and my guess is that it would pay for itself, or even become a modest revenue generator for the school. There is the Andover Inn, the Exeter Inn… Choate has one in the middle of campus, and those schools don’t have the natural beauty that SAS on the pond has. Just a thought.

620

@mantua: Welcome to the SAS thread. I totally agree with you and have mentioned the idea to Tad Roach before. He said it’s something they have definitely considered over the years. I think an SAS Inn/Conference Center would do pretty well for itself between all the businesses in Wilmington, the new Amazon fulfillment center in New Castle, and the school itself.