Salisbury Academy

SALISBURY — Salisbury Academy students entering school on the first day of the 2018-19 school year will be eager to explore in the school’s new Spark Center maker space, participate in a dynamic mix of enrichment programs and greet their peers.

Recent facilities improvements and faculty and programming expansions complement the school’s  learning environment and further strengthen a community where children are inspired to love learning.

New developments include Spark Center 

The doors to the school’s Spark Center will open on the first day of school. A combination of science labs, art room and a new maker space, the Spark Center is repurposed from what was the early education building. The building will be a place where students are free to invent, problem solve and explore while discovering their interests and a lifelong love of learning.

As another benefit of the Spark Center, a new campus arrangement will strengthen the school’s community. Students in junior kindergarten and kindergarten will join their first- through eighth-grade peers in the main building of the school.

“This new configuration will allow even more opportunity for mentorship, shared learning, and community connectedness — all of which are central to the Salisbury Academy experience,” said Beverly Fowler, head of school.

Enrichment programming will offer students a chance to explore areas of interest through experiences that complement their academic life. Salisbury Academy’s after-school enrichment programs this fall are  thanks to community partners: Lego robotics with the organization BrickEd, a theatre partnership with Piedmont Players and a game design course offered by Horizons Unlimited.

Reaching into students’ school-day, a new partnership with Horizons Unlimited features Salisbury Academy as an official STEM school partner. Students will enjoy weekly and monthly offerings from Horizons educators in coding, robotics, design thinking, game design and computational thinking. Horizons will also provide monthly professional development for teachers at each visit as well as and an end-of-year showcase.

Salisbury Academy will expand its musical arts programming and add new opportunities in theater arts thanks to a new partnership with Catawba College. Through these programs, students will develop and pursue artistic expression through weekly school-day classes and private lessons.

The school’s summer partnership with Muddy Sneakers provided weekly outdoor expeditions and important connections to the outdoor world. Salisbury Academy campers hiked, explored and studied the environment at a variety of interesting, natural sites. The school looks forward to expanding on this partnership and continuing to grow as an N.C. Green School of Excellence during the 2018-2019 school year.

Construction began on an amphitheater for the school’s Outdoor Learning and Play Space early this summer, and the project is nearing completion. The amphitheater will provide an open-air venue for school and community events and expand the school’s outdoor classroom options during the academic day. Other features being built include additional trails and a butterfly garden, with more native plants and trees to be introduced this fall.

Experiential learning opportunities, traditions, athletics and after-school care

Salisbury Academy offers weekly enhancement classes such as world language instruction; music, both as part of the regular curricula and in the form of private lessons at the school’s music conservatory; physical education and art. Students benefit from experiential learning through frequent field trips.

Student activities include robotics, Battle of the Books, N.C. Ecological Studies and the Duke University Talent Identification Program. The school also offers outreach programs with Rowan Vocational Opportunities, Trinity Oaks, Faithful Friends, Rowan Helping Ministries and a number of other local nonprofits.

School traditions include weekly chapel assemblies where guest speakers offer inspirational messages on a different core virtue each month, Grandpersons’ Day, the Bloom gala, Kidsbloom festival, holiday class parties, field day, Christmas program, pep rallies, spirit week and more.

Athletics are an integral part of Salisbury Academy. Students in the fourth through eighth grades may participate in the competitive athletic program. Fall sports include JV and varsity volleyball and cross country, JV and varsity co-ed soccer, and tennis. Winter sports include pep squad, JV and varsity cheerleading, and JV and varsity girls and boys basketball. Spring sports include girls soccer, baseball, golf, track and the Bass Fishing Club.

Salisbury Academy offers after-school care every week during the school year.

The academy’s first day will be Aug. 22. The school is accepting applications for the 2018-2019 school year for early education and lower school, with limited space available in upper grades. For more information about Salisbury Academy visit www.SalisburyAcademy.org.