IJGA Newsletter: The Oaks October 2019 | Page 3

GREETINGS FROM HERITAGE ACADEMY GLORIA SHOEMAKER It’s a great year to be a student at Heritage! Our dedicated teachers, residential instructors, and coaches have assisted students with transitioning into school, residential life, and training regimens with care. I applaud our students’ many wonderful school and golf achievements since mid-August. Not even a hurricane impeded their success in settling into a new school, new academic understanding and rigor, and new social groups with confidence, resilience, and hard work. meetings, school pictures, yearbooks, college admissions and commitments, college fairs and visiting reps, as well as other interests. Spirit Day/ Pizza Day is the last Wednesday of each month. We had our first Student of the Month assembly in September to recognize students at middle school, undergraduate, and senior class level who consistently display of one of the school’s Honor Code traits: humility, ethics, respect, integrity, tolerance, accountability, generosity, and effort. Our successful Synchronous Education @ Heritage Academy instructional delivery program is growing. Real time life-size video conferencing seamlessly integrates remote students with their teachers and classmates on the Hilton Head campus through multiple screens and AV feed. This technology can also serve students who are away from school for tournaments and emergencies. Students dial into the class on their computers and receive instruction. Synch Ed is just another way we prioritize learning opportunities! We are also proud of the multiple academic support services available now at the Learning Center@ Old Carolina! Seniors will be measured for their graduation caps and gowns soon. The PSAT test for Grade 11 students will be administered at school on Oct. 17. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month when students and staff are encouraged to wear shades of pink in support of treatment research. Through taking on school leadership and service roles, students can earn the Mayor’s Youth Award for Community Service. We encourage all students to stretch themselves to earn this distinction. Heritage now has a chapter of the National Junior Honor Society, and our middle school students are building their resumes of scholarship, leadership, character, and service. Classes are filled with students from 20 countries this year, and all students are actively learning about their subjects AND peers. We place great importance in enrolling a student body so reflective of our world. It is a joy to see students making new friends and taking responsibility for academic and interpersonal decisions. Students are also stepping forward to organize social and service events. Student leadership at school is at an all-time high. We have remarkable students! Events are underway for leadership and service opportunities. To date, the Service Club, the Senior Class, and National Honor Society members have begun volunteering and fundraising for an International Feast Day, the PEP Gala, the Palmetto Ocean Conservancy, NHS Fall induction, and more. Campus is alive with advocacy Our school community collectively shares in facilitating the ways in which our students find academic, personal, and golf success. We believe in the power of education today to shape a better world for tomorrow. We are here in partnership with you to support our students’ learning and to inspire and assist them in reaching their goals. Our annual theme for this year is “BElieve in YOUrself!” We hope every student does just that because we have great faith in their abilities. On behalf of the faculty, I thank you for your partnership. Our focus is consistently on our students’ academic and personal growth and attention to your expectations. Gloria Shoemaker, Head of School 3