Start Here, Go Anywhere

A Message from Head of School Kolia O'Connor

Start Here, Go Anywhere. At Sewickley Academy, we find this phrase particularly fitting. Simply put — our students go places.

At this time of year, many of our seniors are hearing from colleges about early admissions, and it is remarkable to contemplate the extraordinary range, literally coast to coast, of colleges and universities at which our graduates will matriculate next year — from Brown, to Penn, Duke, and Davidson. (Read the complete list of colleges and universities the Class of 2010 will attend next fall.)

Furthermore, our students have the opportunity to explore the world during their time at the Academy through our Global Studies Program, which introduces students beginning in Pre-kindergarten to the people and places beyond our borders and culminates in the Middle and Senior Schools with service learning trips abroad. Students go far and wide — to France, Japan, Ecuador, Spain, South Africa, Belize, Germany, and China.

And, it all starts here at Sewickley Academy.

Our school provides students with the firm foundation of a life-long engagement with learning. At the Academy, they develop the intercultural, problem-solving, and analytical skills that will allow them to be successful no matter where they go. And their journeys might lead them anywhere — to the International Space Station or an artist’s studio in Italy; to a kitchen in Manhattan or the Attorney General’s Office in Utah; or to a hospital in Ethiopia or a village in Cambodia.

Because we can’t know in advance what lies ahead, we must ensure an educational experience that prepares our students to be adaptable and resilient, ready to seize opportunities as they come. And our students do! Beginning their life journey at Sewickley Academy means that students have an opportunity to test themselves against high standards and against highly talented peers who reflect diverse backgrounds and come from over fifty different school districts. The culture of the school supports pride in achievement and encourages students to explore and learn as much as they can about themselves and their place in the world.

As we begin the second decade of the 21st Century, we take pride in providing students the tools they will need to be successful in the future. Our biggest wish for our students is, again, very simple — to start here, and then go anywhere.