Charleston's Independent School Directory 2019-20

www.CharlestonsPrivateSchools.com | www.CharlestonSchoolDirectory.com | www.ed.sc.gov INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS CISD 197 Beyond the Gates ASHLEY HALL’S LOWCOUNTRY CLASSROOMS L ocated in downtown Charleston, Ashley Hall has an enviable urban campus within walking distance of numerous historic sites and thriving downtown businesses and nonprofits on the peninsula. However, when the allure of using the Lowcountry as a classroom beckons, the surrounding coastal area, including East of the Cooper, is only a hop, skip and a jump away. Glittering on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, the Lowcountry coastal landscape offers an abundance of maritime forests, marshes, beaches and rivers primed for exploration with purpose. From the Early Education Center to the Upper School, Ashley Hall students take full advantage of Charleston’s maritime connections. Fourth graders find it authentic and invigorating to study ecology on the shoreline at Camp St. Christopher, kindergartners investigate sea turtle nesting sites near the ocean in the spring, and primary students are thrilled at their first sighting of alligators at Cypress Gardens. Specifically structured to include research experiences in the field, honors biology II offers students a chance to study botany and ornithology at the Pitt Street Bridge, Caw Caw Interpretive Center and Clemson’s Coastal Research and Education Center. Emphasizing conservation, sustainability and the Lowcountry’s complex ecosystem, each trip provides a hands-on experience that brings Ashley BY JENNIFER TURNER Hall’s curriculum alive in a tangible way. In the Intermediate Program, Ashley Hall’s specialized division for fifth and sixth graders, boats are the order of the day. Fifth graders embark on a year-long odyssey of boat building with the Lowcountry Maritime Society. A STEAM initiative that also teaches building craftsmanship and teamwork, completion of the boat-building project is a rite of passage that concludes with students launching and rowing their hand- engineered wooden boats. For sixth graders, a partnership with the international organization Educational Passages led to the creation of The Spirit of Ashley Hall, a 5-foot unmanned miniature sailboat that students assembled themselves. Equipped with GPS tied into a robust tracking website portal and propelled by ocean currents and winds, each miniboat allows students to monitor a multitude of oceanic phenomena. Stepping beyond the gates of her school, an Ashley Hall girl is well prepared to expand her sphere and thus broaden her understanding of the world. Amid blue skies, live oaks, and windswept beaches, conservation adventures leave a lasting impression, and Ashley Hall girls truly embrace the wide expanse of the Lowcountry as their classroom. Ashley Hall is located in downtown Charleston at 172 Rutledge Ave. Learn more at ashleyhall.org, or call 843-722-4088. Photo by Nichole Sloan.