Wow! This year’s annual Super Saturday celebration was particularly joyful—from our Spirit Week activities and pep rally (which rolled into a dance party), to our Quad carnival and fall sports showcase (ending with a fun soccer game under the lights). The strength and spirit of the Shipley community were on full display.
As I shared in my September community letter, rituals and traditions make visible the values that define a community. This could not be more true for this year’s Super Saturday celebration.
Our students lived our definition of educational excellence in athletic competitions, in musical performances, and by volunteering their time and talents throughout the day.
You and our students participated compassionately in the world and lent additional meaning and purpose to the event by raising thousands of dollars for the Brain Tree Primary School, our sister school in Uganda. (Read more about this partnership on our website.)
We all—students, families, colleagues past and present, and alumni spanning many decades—helped build and enjoy a deepened sense of belonging and connection to this community.
And we all had so much fun doing it! (Relive the joy in galleries from the Pep Rally and Super Saturday.)
Many, many thanks to all of the colleagues, volunteers, and partners who made this weekend possible. The laughs, smiles, and cheers that flowed across campus are due to your hard work. In addition, I’d like to highlight our student leaders who contributed in planning, executing, and enjoying a great moment for Shipley.
I hope that you and your family were able to enjoy this past weekend’s events. If not, rest assured there are more opportunities throughout the year to gather in celebration of the Shipley community.
Shipley's Upper School Boys' and Girls' Varsity Squash teams competed at the National Squash Championships in Philadelphia, finishing 34th and 64th in the country, respectively.
Since Dr. Roberta Brandao’s arrival to chair Shipley’s STEAM department in the fall of 2022, she has created a learning environment that fosters creativity, provides relevance, and pushes students to think critically. Learn more about Dr. Brandao's approach and how she makes students feel comfortable about taking creative risks.
This year’s Upper School Spring Musical is Mean Girls, a modern adaptation of the classic movie from 2004. Shipley theater star and Beacon writer Colin Harkins ’23 tells us why audiences should be excited to see the show March 2-4, 2023 in Riely Theatre.
Shipley’s theater program is excited to announce that it will partner with Broadway Green Alliance, a corporation that tries to bring more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices into theaters all around the country. Read more in this article originally published in the Beacon student newspaper.
View a performance of the Lunar New Year Overture by Shipley's Chamber Orchestra, in an arrangement by Richard Liu ’25 and Bambi Tang ’23, and conducted by Mr. Jhonnatan Mata. The performance was organized by the Asian Student Alliance and the Chamber Orchestra in celebration of Lantern Festival, or the end of Lunar New Year.
After an extensive international search, Head of School Michael G. Turner announced the appointment of Chantra Reinman as Shipley’s next Head of Middle School, effective July 1, 2023.
In the Lower School Student Council, fourth and fifth graders hone leadership skills like collaboration, public speaking, and planning as they help with divisional assemblies and other student-led initiatives, while serving as student representatives at admissions events and more. Though the group is diverse, they all have one thing in common: a desire to give back to Shipley.
Shipley's Middle School Boys' and Girls' Squash teams competed at the National Squash Championships in Philadelphia, finishing ninth and 20th, respectively.
Congratulations to Shipley senior Zion Alexis ’23 for receiving numerous awards in the 2023 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, presented by Philadelphia Writing Project, including a Gold Key for his poem, "black boy, PREP SCHOOL." Read the poem and learn more about Zion, his interest in creative expression, and how Shipley has pushed him to grow as a writer in this Q&A.
Head of School Michael Turner announced that Rebekah Adens will be Shipley’s next Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, effective July 1, 2023.
Middle School science teacher Ace Schwarz was one of 10 educators selected to participate in the 2023 NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program (NITARP), which partners small groups of educators with a research astronomer for original, year-long, authentic research projects.
On Saturday, December 3, Shipley’s Upper School Science Olympiad team participated in the 2nd Annual Dick Smith Memorial Invitational. Competing in the B Division, Shipley’s Upper School team finished 31 out of 74 teams. Several students also placed in individual events.
Chess team members Srijan Velamuri ’23 and Adithi Srinivasan ’25 earned first and second places, respectively, at the Interscholastic Chess Tournament, hosted by Shipley on December 9, 2022.
What happens when you combine passion, professional learning, and appreciation of beauty and excellence? You get a teacher who brings enthusiasm and energy to her classroom and students who learn while doing. Learn more about how Middle School Latin teacher Anne Smith shares her passion for mosaics, Roman history, and the Latin language with her students through multiple modalities.
Dr. Harley Givler asked his third grade students to imagine what a storybook's characters would sound like as a musical composition. The third graders performed the composition for their PreK Book Buddies, sharing lessons in emotions, tolerance, and being an upstander, as well as inspiring a love of music.
On Friday, December 2, Shipley hosted the Philadelphia Area Math League for Independent Schools 2022 Playoffs. As a result, the Gators finished fifth out of ten teams in the group category and Bambi Tang ‘23 finished first in the individual category.
The Shipley School is a private, coeducational day school for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students, located in Bryn Mawr, PA. Through our commitment to educational excellence, we develop within each student a love of learning and a desire for compassionate participation in the world.