St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School
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| Motto | Living Our Mission |
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| Established | 1924 |
| Type | Independent preparatory school |
| Affiliation | Episcopalian |
| Lower School Division Director and Assistant Head of School | Bob Weiman |
| Head of School | Joan G. Holden |
| Students | 1,155 (450 in Upper School) |
| Grades | JK - 12 |
| Location | Alexandria, Virginia, |
| Colors | Red, White, Green, Gold |
| Athletics | Boys: Interstate Athletic Conference Girls: Independent School League |
| Nickname | Saints |
| Yearbook | Traditions |
| Newspaper | The Voice |
| Contact | info@sssas.org |
| Website | www.sssas.org |
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St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School is an independent Episcopal coed private school in Alexandria, Virginia. It 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. Stephen's & St. Agnes School serves students from across Northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Currently enrolled students hail from Alexandria, Arlington, McLean, Falls Church, Fairfax County, Prince Georges County, and Washington, D.C. The old St. Stephen's was one of the founding schools of the Interstate Athletic Conference, a league composed of private schools that once dominated the region's high school sports scene. With strong emphases on academics, arts, athletics, and community service, SSSAS regularly sends graduates to the Ivy League and other elite private colleges and universities. St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School also boasts a strong alumni network for graduates.
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[edit] History
St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School, one of the six Episcopal Schools in the Diocese of Virginia, has a long tradition of providing an excellent college preparatory education in Northern Virginia. The school began as two separate single-sex schools, St. Agnes, founded in 1924, and St. Stephen's, founded in 1944.
Established by a group of Alexandria Episcopalians, both schools' original aims included the intellectual, physical, and moral development of students in Kindergarten through twelfth grade. Over the years each school established its own curriculum and developed its own rich traditions, often coming together as brother-sister schools on important academic, athletic, and social occasions. Both schools instituted an Honor Code, which remains in place to this day.
During the years of the New Deal and World War II, the burgeoning population of the Washington, D. C. area caused enormous growth in the number of students at St. Agnes. It became clear that Lloyd House, the historic property housing both the school and its small boarding department, would no longer be adequate.
Under the direction of Helen Arny Macan, Headmistress 1934-1952, Roberta C. McBride, Headmistress 1952-1977, and Robert E. Leipheimer, Headmaster 1977-1983, the school undertook various building programs that created Macan, Daniel, McBride, and MacKinnon Halls. As Headmaster of St. Stephen's from 1955-1975, The Reverend Emmett H. Hoy, Jr. oversaw the school's building program that resulted in the move in 1957 from its original small site on Russell Road to its new campus on St. Stephen's Road.
In 1991, the two schools merged to become one co-educational Episcopal day school with one administration and two campuses. Joan G. Ogilvy Holden, Head of St. Agnes from 1984-1991, was appointed Head of the new St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School. The old St. Agnes and St. Stephen's campuses underwent extensive renovations in preparation for the merger, and a third campus was created in 1995 when the acquisition and renovation of the former Ascension Academy property on Braddock Road enabled the Middle School to move to its own campus. The spectacular new Chapel/Performing Arts Center was built on the Upper School campus in 2003 upon the completion of the New Century Fund, directed by the Board of Governors and Mrs. Holden.
Since its beginning the school has grown to include 1144 students from diverse backgrounds and a talented faculty and staff of more than 200 men and women whose aims for their students include high standards of academic and artistic achievement, moral growth and behavior, service to others, and athletic endeavor. While St. Stephen's & St. Agnes students undergo rigorous preparation for college, the school equally promotes the good character, spiritual development, and social awareness embraced by the Episcopal school tradition.
[edit] Honor Code
St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School is known for its renowned student-established honor system. 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.
[edit] 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 5 in the nation, having finished the 2008 season undefeated. The school's wrestling program also has a rich history, regularly turning out state and IAC champions; three wrestlers to date have won the Lehigh National Prep Tournament, two of them twice. Many St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School's athletes go on to play at the collegiate level each year. Recent SSSAS alumni compete for Wake Forest University, Yale University, Dartmouth College, Denison University, Princeton University, Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania, Kenyon College, Georgetown University, Columbia University, Davidson College, University of Virginia, Colgate University, Middlebury College, Trinity College, Williams College, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Vanderbilt University, and University of Maryland, among other schools.
[edit] Notable Alumni
- Fred Barnes (St. Stephen's), noted political commentator and Fox News personality
- Thomas Boswell (St. Stephen's), Washington Post senior sports columnist
- Tipper Gore (St. Agnes), née Mary Elizabeth Aitcheson
- Christopher Meloni (St. Stephen's Class of '79), actor who portrayed sociopath Chris Keller on the salacious HBO prison drama Oz; he is currently seen as Elliot Stabler on the NBC police drama Law & Order: SVU
Additionally, John McCain, senator and Republican presidential candidate in 2000 and 2008, attended St. Stephen's from 1946-1949 before ultimately graduating from Episcopal High School in 1951.
[edit] External links
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