An annual favorite, Grandparents Day is one of the most highly anticipated days of the year ... for over 850 Skyhawks and their Grandparents.  This year was no different!  Over 700 enthusiastic Grandparents arrived to visit equally as enthusiastic Hammond students of all ages and grades.  These special guests were treated to a morning of music by the Lower School, Middle School Choir, and our Select Ensemble.  In addition to welcomes by Headmaster Chris Angel and Grandparents Committee Chair Sally McWilliams, Student Body President Alex Huntley explained what makes Hammond such a special place.  Following student-guided campus tours, Grandparents and students were treated to a barbeque lunch, compliments of Grandparent Jimmy Stevenson '71.  It was a grand day to be a Skyhawk, grander still to be a Skyhawk Grandparent.

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The Herbert B. Barks Chapter was the second chapter founded in South Carolina. Congratulations to our 2019 inductees:  Mary Fleming Finlay, Federica Hall, Hannah Hedley, Tobi Ogunfowora, Jo Stephens, and Hannah Wassermann.

Homecoming 2019 brought out the school spirit in Skyhawks of every age, grade, and graduating class.  We painted the town red and rolled out the red carpet for returning alums!  Following a day of festivities that included football players and cheerleaders assisting with carpool, a special Friday in the Kiva, food trucks for our Upper School students, and field games for Middle Schoolers.  The day's culminating activity was an all-school pep rally that found us all on our feet cheering for our favorite colors ... red, white, and blue.  

A pre-game Alumni Homecoming Party at the home of Chris and Peggy Angel provided the perfect opportunity for alums to reconnect and reminisce before the Varsity Skyhawks took on the Laurence Manning Wildcats.  At halftime, Wade Oliver and Ellie Rickenmann were crowned Homecoming King and Queen.  Ellie follows in the footsteps of her mother, Laura Herlong Rickenmann '89, who also wore the crown.

Distinguished Alumni and Young Alumni awards were also presented at halftime to Kelsey Chow '09 and Bill Owen '88.

After an impressive 49-7 win over Laurence Manning, the Skyhawk Nation celebrated another red letter day!

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Fall Professional Development found faculty and staff alike rotating through morning sesions including first aid and CPR, and culminating in an afternoon of learning, collaborating, designing, creating, and competing–all of the things Skyhawks of all ages do every day.  An exercise in design-thinking involved groups of faculty and staff members from varying departments and divisions grouped to solve a problem and use design fundamentals, along with limited resources, to create either a tetrahedral kite or pinewood derby-style car.  Following completion of the projects, groups competed against one another to claim a winning group  for the longest and highest flying kite and the fastest derby car.  

August 28 found the Lower School Full Dream Ahead as the Wonder Lab officially opened for students and an open house was held that included visitors of all ages.  The flexible classroom space provides our youngest learners with opportunities to collaborate, connect, imagine, and invent, and helps connect the Lower School curriculum to that of the Middle and Upper Schools, mirroring much of what occurs in the Innovation Center.  A Lower School assembly kicked off the opening followed by a ribbon cutting, and opportunities for students to visit one of several project centers for hands-on exploration.  The Wonder Lab includes a launch pad for instruction, a collaboration room for planning, a wet room, flexible workspaces, a woodworking station, and an open area for exploration and design.  We can't wait to see what these big-thinking little people come up with in this dream of a space!  View the photo gallery.

The Class of 2019, comprised of 71 students, graduated on May 25 with commencement exercises held at First Presbyterian Church. The 54th graduating class was accepted to 85 colleges in 26 states, the District of Columbia and Australia.  They will attend 35 colleges in 18 states, the District of Columbia, and Australia. 

Class members were admitted to numerous highly-selective schools including Rice, Cal-Berkeley, Middlebury, Davidson, UNC-Chapel Hill, Vassar, Southern Cal, and more.
 
Three members of the class were recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as National Merit Scholars.  One member of the class was named a U.S. Presidential Scholar Semifinalist, one of the nation’s highest honors representing the top 621 American high school students.
Twenty-three percent of the class met the qualifications to be named South Carolina Palmetto Fellows, the state’s highest lottery-funded scholarship award.  Members of the Class of 2019 were offered merit scholarships in excess of 6.5million dollars.

Congratulations to the Class of 2019!

Inspired by E-Nable, a volunteer organization dedicated to using 3D printers to help create prosthetic hands for children, Lower School Librarian Bonnie Lynch engaged fourth grade students in a STEAM project that combines both empathy and creativity.  E-Nable hands are unique in that they are designed by volunteers, consist of bright, bold colors and operate without batteries or computers and resemble Power Ranger hands.  In addition to helping children grasp and throw a ball, the hands have had the unexpected benefit of helping deflect bullying due to their novel appearance. Fourth grade students initially created hand-shaped prototypes out of cardboard utilizing straws and string to enable joint action. Using innovative techniques and ingenuity, students learned to use cardboard knives and devise a “needle” to help thread the strings through the straw, creating knuckle action.  The group’s goal is to eventually create a 3D prototype in the Innovation Center’s Maker Space.

Congratulations to the Varsity Baseball team for clinching the SCISA 3A State Title in a match-up against Ben Lippen.  The Skyhawks erased an early five-run deficit and then scored four runs in the ninth inning to defeat Ben Lippen 11-7 in front of a standing-room only crowd at Lexington County Blowfish Stadium.  The State Title win makes the 148th State Championship for the Skyhawk Nation!

In the News!

Kara Glenn (’96) has been a  12 year Hammond student, a Hammond parent to Cole (6^th) and Juliet (2^nd), and now she will become part of Hammond’s staff as Upper School Administrative Assistant.

Emily Held Farr '96 is Making a Difference for All South Carolinians as Director of the SC Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation

On January 13, the Alumni Council hosted its first-ever Career Networking Night for Juniors and Seniors, 

Three State Championship teams were recently recognized at the Statehouse for their 2018 athletic success.  Both the Western and Hunt Seat Equestrian Teams, along with the Varsity Boys Soccer Team, were honored on the floor of the SC House of Representatives.  Congratulations to these scholar-athletes for their impressive accomplishments on the playing fields.

It was a true honor for our Select Ensemble to sing at the 97th SC Inauguration of Governor Henry McMaster this week. By special invitation, the group performed at both the Governor's Prayer Service and at the Inauguration.