The members of Ashley Hall’s inaugural strings class (from left to right: Eliot Hall ’18, Lou Lou Byars ’18, Ann Sheridan ’18, and Meaghan Bonds ’18) are preparing to graduate this year completing the Ashley Hall Learning Spiral. (The program launched in 2004 – how time flies!) When asked their thoughts on the impact of this program, words like “transformative“, “inclusive“, “inspiring” were shared. These talented young musicians have helped pave the way for what is now considered one of Ashley Hall’s signature programs and have surely inspired other young strings players to pick up an instrument. “I love the connectedness of the strings program,” says Eliot. “We’re able to play throughout the year with much younger Ashley Hall girls and also work with other musicians in the community.” Ann chimes in with “classical violin led me to the celtic fiddle, how cool is that!”

The Ashley Hall Strings Program is also available to the community through private and group lessons for both children and adults through the Carolina Strings Academy. For lesson details, click here.

At the beginning of a new school year, everything feels fresh and new. When it includes the exciting redesign of Ashley Hall’s main campus entrance and a beautiful renovation of Lower School, what’s not to be excited about?! Over the summer, work was done on campus including a complete makeover of our Smith Street campus entrance so that it can now fully function as our main campus entrance. (Don’t you just love the new water feature?!) The Pardue Hall entrance has also been reconfigured to serve as the campus’s visitor reception area. Don’t forget all visitors must enter campus through the Smith Street Gate. 

The Lo Dome for the Lower School
A few steps from the Smith Street gate is Pardue Hall with its new and impressive glass roof and enclosed breezeways. Lovingly called the Lo Dome to honor Ashley Hall’s longest active and much beloved faculty member, Lois Ruggiero, the glass enclosure adds over 2,000 square feet offering additional collaboration and learning space for programs such as the school’s ever-growing STEAM curriculum of science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. Needless to say the girls are loving the new space. We can’t wait to see it fully come to life this year! (Parents from all divisions are encouraged to stop by and see the new space in Pardue Hall.) 

As soon as school was dismissed in early June, Ashley Hall embarked on a project to beautifully enclose Pardue Hall that will effectively create an additional 2,000 square feet of multipurpose space for collaboration and increased building safety. The School has lovingly named this new structure and place the Lo Dome in honor of the school’s longest active and universally admired teacher, Ms. Lois Ruggiero.

Research shows that girls must be encouraged to explore STEAM curriculum before the crucial middle school years in order to pique their interest in pursuing degrees and careers in science and engineering-related fields. For precisely this reason, Ashley Hall has dedicated a science teacher for the Lower School supporting the development of STEAM and computer coding initiatives. The Lo Dome will offer our students much-needed climate-controlled space for the girls to build, code, create, and collaborate. If all goes as planned, the Lo Dome will be in place and operational for the August opening of the 2017–2018 school year.

For more information on supporting the Lo Dome project, contact Director of Institutional Advancement, Suzie Smith, at [email protected] or (843) 720-2886.

Rendering by Walker Concepts Architecture.

With Ashley Hall’s individualized approach to education, your daughter is recognized, respected, and ready for success. The School’s enduring mission, crafted in 1909, is how we continue to define student achievement: producing educated women who are independent, ethically responsible, and prepared to meet the challenges of society with confidence. It drives everything we do. As you can see, it’s much more than a test score. It’s how we live our life throughout campus.

Ashley Hall’s exceptional program is intentionally tailored to the way girls learn best—through collaboration, discussion, and individualized attention. The results are remarkable. Our graduates continue to impress with more than $14 million in merit scholarships garnered over the last five years, including three University of North Carolina Morehead Cain Scholars, one of the most prestigious scholarships extended.

Younger students begin to fully embrace the school’s mission through their dedicated work with long-term community partners such as the South Carolina Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital and Water Mission International’s annual “Walk for Water.” Our STEAM curriculum begins in Lower School with creative approaches to coding while Intermediate Program girls design, build, and sail their own hand-engineered wooden boats in a unique boat building project with the Lowcountry Maritime Society.

The Ashley Hall curriculum is rounded out with one of the strongest arts program in the state, including visual and performing arts, and an athletic department known for its sportsmanship and prowess on the field.

Come see the excitement for yourself and bring your daughter along! Financial assistance is available. Click on the button below to inquire.

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With blue skies above and the smooth water of the Ashley River below, a gleeful group of Ashley Hall fifth graders launched their wooden boat fleet from the banks of Brittlebank Park last Saturday. Over the school year, the girls have worked diligently with the guidance of the Lowcountry Maritime Society (LMS) on a unique STEAM project designing, building, and now sailing their own hand-engineered wooden boat.

The girls were guided through the process reading scaled plans and transforming those plans into wooden boats they built themselves. And now it was time to put the boats to the test on the water with passengers! Throughout the year, students also explored local maritime history and seamanship skills as part of this comprehensive project. Research shows that girls decide as early as fifth grade if they will consider careers in the areas of math and science. Ashley Hall is doing its part to pique that interest! Thank you to current parent, Margie Barham ’86 for capturing this wonderful day! 

View Pictures from the Boat Launch

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