St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School (SSSAS)
Location
,
United States
Coordinates38°49′02″N 77°06′05″W / 38.8173°N 77.1015°W / 38.8173; -77.1015
Information
TypeIndependent preparatory school
MottoLiving our Mission
Established1924
Head of schoolKirsten Adams
GradesJK - 12
Enrollment1,123 (450 in Upper School)
Color(s)Red, White, Green, Gold
       
AthleticsBoys: Interstate Athletic Conference
Girls: Independent School League
MascotSaints
NewspaperThe Voice
YearbookTraditions
AffiliationEpiscopalian
Websitewww.sssas.org
Richard B. Lloyd House

St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School (SSSAS) is an independent Episcopal coed private college preparatory school in Alexandria, Virginia. The school was created from the 1991 merger of St. Agnes School (a girls' school founded in 1924) with St. Stephen's School (a boys' school founded in 1944). The school consists of three campuses within a 1.5-mile radius. The Lower School, grades JK-5, is located on Fontaine Street; the Middle School, grades 6-8, is located on Braddock Road; and the Upper School, grades 9-12, is located on St. Stephen's Road. St. Stephens & St. Agnes honor code is "I will not lie, cheat, or steal nor tolerate those who do".

St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School serves students from across Northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. The old St. Stephen's was one of the founding schools of the Interstate Athletic Conference.

Statistics

Advanced courses offered

The school offers Advanced Placement courses in Art History, Biology, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Comparative Government, Computer Science, Economics (Micro and Macro), English, European History, French Language, Latin, Music Theory, Physics, Psychology, Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, Statistics, Studio 2-D Art, Studio 3-D Art, US Government and Politics, US History and World History.[1]

Statistics

There are 1120 students enrolled at SSSAS; twenty-eight percent are students of color. Twenty-two percent of students receive grants in aid.[1] Sixty-five percent of the faculty hold advanced degrees.[2]

Administration

The school is governed by a Head of School, Kirsten Prettyman Adams, an Assistant Head of School, Bob Weiman, and a Board of Governors.

The Board of Governors consists of 27 members. Twenty-three members are elected, two serve ex officio and do not have voting rights, and two are non-voting members of the Association of Parents and Teachers and the Alumni Association. The Board is primarily responsible for the school's finances and determines the school's long-term policies.

Honor code

St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School is known for its student-established honor system, which is modeled after the honor system at the University of Virginia. Its foundation, the Honor Code, states, As a member of the St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School community, I pledge that I will not lie, cheat, steal, nor tolerate those who do. The student-run Honor Council is responsible for the administration of the Honor Code in the Upper School. Every year in the fall, at the beginning of the school year, students pledge their commitment to the Honor System by signing copies of the Honor Code.[3]

Athletics

St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School competes in the Interstate Athletic Conference (boys) and Independent School League (girls). The girls' lacrosse team is a perennial power, currently ranked in the top ten in the nation, having finished the 2008 season undefeated. In 1997 the girls' lacrosse team was ranked No. 1 in the nation. The 2010 girls' varsity lacrosse won the ISL league title and the VISAA State Championships. Then in 2009, the girls' lacrosse team won their third consecutive VISAA title as number one.[4]

The sports offered include: baseball, basketball, cross country, field hockey, football, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling.[5]

Arts

The school theatre program, known as the Stage One Players, has won several regional awards for their performances including the Cappies. The 2009 fall production of A Midsummer Night's Dream was nominated for four Cappie Awards (Critics and Artist Program) including lighting, make-up, and supporting actor, putting each in the top five out of 54 productions. In 2015 SSSAS was nominated for five Cappies for the "Richard III" production. Two seniors won a Cappies award in the Creativity category for music composition and performance.[6] In addition, SSSAS received two Cappies nominations for the fall production of “The 39 Steps” in the Sound and Special Effects/Technology categories.[7]

In 2003, the school completed construction of a Chapel and Performing Arts Center (CPAC).

Sustainability

Students For Sustainability

St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School has a drive for sustainability. The school will host its ninth annual “Students For Sustainability” conference in spring 2017.[8] The third sustainability conference earned local recognition, where a few attendees were interviewed by WTTG.[9] Students For Sustainability is a conference in which approximately 100 students from the Washington D.C. metro area come together to learn about the issues and discuss plans for achieving better sustainability in schools.[10]

Recognition

The 2016 Ellen Pickering Environmental Excellence Award has been presented to St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School in Alexandria. The award was presented during the Alexandria Earth Day celebration on April 30, an event sponsored by the City of Alexandria Environmental Policy Commission and Alexandria Renew Enterprises.[11]

St. Stephen's & St. Agnes Middle School was selected as a 2016 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School. This is a national environmental sustainability award presented to schools, districts, and post-secondary institutions. Secretary of Education John King announced the honorees on Earth Day, April 22, 2016. Only six private schools were selected this year and SSSAS is the only one from Virginia, the District of Columbia or Maryland. SSSAS was formally presented with the award on July 20, 2016, in Washington, DC.[12]

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 "Private School Review: St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School". Private School Review: St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School.
  2. "Prep School Review: St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School". Prep School Review: St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School.
  3. "St Stephens & St Agnes School Honor System". Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  4. Nelson, Jeff (17 May 2009). "Saints Win Third Straight VISAA Title". Saints Win Third Straight VISAA Title.
  5. "Private School Review: St. Stephen's and St. Agnes". Private School Review: St. Stephen's and St. Agnes.
  6. "Seniors Receive a Cappies Award". 12 June 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  7. "SSSAS Receives Two Cappies Nominations". 20 May 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  8. "Students For Sustainability Conference". Students For Sustainability Conference.
  9. "Students Learn Environmental Responsibility at Students For Sustainability Conference". Students Learn Environmental Responsibility at Students For Sustainability Conference.
  10. "Sustainability S4S". Sustainability S4S.
  11. "Eighth Annual Ellen Pickering Environmental Excellence Award Given to St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School". Alexandria News. Archived from the original on 3 May 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  12. "SSSA Middle School Named A Green Ribbon School". Alexandria News. Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  13. Blau, Eleanor (1 September 1989). "McCall's gets editor in chief". New York Times. New York, New York. p. D4. Retrieved 6 December 2022. A native of Meridian, Miss., she graduated from the St. Agnes School in Alexandria, Va., and received a B.A. in English literature from Smith College. She is a past president of the Women's Media Society and has written articles and poetry.
  14. THE GAME program, Nov. 19, 2016, Harvard Football News, pg. 38, by line, Steve Conn
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