As one school year ends, plans are well underway to help strengthen and support our Ashley Hall parent engagement in the upcoming year. From volunteering in the classroom to welcoming new families into our special community, there are countless ways to become involved. When you share your time and talents with our school, you join us in our ongoing mission to “produce educated women who are independent, ethically responsible, and prepared to meet the challenges of society with confidence.” We are looking forward to next year!

Kick Off Summer With this Ashley Hall Alumnae Family Event!
Tuesday, May 30 | 6:15pm
Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park (The Joe!)
sponsored by the Young Alumnae Council

Downtown flooding couldn’t dim the spotlight on Senior Project presentations this past Monday. Presented in morning and afternoon rotations in locations spread throughout campus, these nine girls confidently and concisely presented a year’s worth of research in 30 minute time frames offering audience members an in-depth look at the student’s topic of choice. It was their time to shine and shine they did!

Completely student-directed with one-on-one faculty mentoring and ongoing support, Senior Project is a synthesis of intense year-long research, critical thinking, and community outreach allowing students to delve deeper into a specific topic of interest. The participants are selected through a competitive application process the prior spring and the girls begin researching their proposed topic over the summer months. This research then fuels their work over the course of the school year as projects evolve.

The Senior Project program is one more way, Ashley Hall seeks to provide each girl with a head start on the hard work of preparing her for the college experience and the journey beyond.

PQV to this year’s participants:
Carter Bitter | Sex Trafficking in the United States  
Elise Coleman | African American Masculinity: The Process of Change
Erin Goedecke | Sports Injuries in Adolescents and How to Prevent Them
Anna Hildebrand | Malnutrition: More Than a Third World Pandemic
Lauren Marshall | How Do We React To Trauma 
Emily Ockerman | Getting to the Root of the Problem: The Way America Grows Crops and How it Harms it’s Environment, People, and Culture
Elizabeth Puckette |  Charleston: Beyond the Brochure
Zoe Watson | Diverse Representation in the Media
Sophia Yao | Cyber Security

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, giants of American musical theater, created legendary Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 50s and initiated what is widely considered the “golden age” of musical theater. The composers were geniuses at weaving challenging thematic issues into romantic love stories shared through dance and song. Consider The King and I, Oklahoma, South Pacific, and Carousel, all musical theater chestnuts that carry a powerful social commentary punch.

With their original production of Café Carousel, the Ashley Hall Theater Department, under the direction of Director Maida Libkin, created an evening to celebrate and examine the work Rodgers and Hammerstein through the lens of social justice. The team crafted the show’s poignant narrative through meticulous research of the musicals and by working closely with Upper School humanities faculty who teach classes such as Human Rights and International Law, American Studies, and Race Class, and Gender for historical and social context. Café Carousel proved enormously successful giving audiences of all ages much to think about.

Taking their efforts one step further, the Café Carousel cast and crew generously donated a portion of ticket sales, $2,000, to the local Charleston non-profit, My Sister’s House, which provides services and resources to empower victims of domestic violence and their children to live free of abuse. Brava to all!

A heartfelt “thank you” to all of our families and alumnae who supported the Chicora Elementary School gift-giving campaign. This morning in North Charleston, 568 bags filled to the top with new toys, books, school supplies and uniforms, were distributed to our young friends at Chicora. Over 20 cars acted as “sleighs” behind the big Ashley Hall activity bus which was packed to the ceiling with gift bags. A huge PQV to EEC Director and Santa’s special elf, Dana VanHook, and her team of incredible volunteers who pulled this huge effort off seamlessly for the 17th year. The best part of the visit—seeing the children’s faces light up when seeing Santa Claus and a gift bag with their name on it! We believe! Do you?  

The Holiday Market is an opportunity for students to learn about sales and marketing skills while earning money too! Over the next few weeks as the countdown to the holidays begins, the AH Parents’ Association is encouraging students to find their entrepreneurial self within by either working with a team of fellow students or as a solo-run business producing fun items to sell at the December 9, Holiday Market. The students keep all the proceeds from the sale of their items. 

Table registration and information forms for Intermediate and Upper School students are now available.  The deadline has been extended to Tuesday, November 29.

Table Registration and Information Forms