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SHADY SIDE ACADEMY AND FOX CHAPEL COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL SIGN LETTER OF INTENT IN PREPARATION FOR MERGER
The boards of trustees of Shady Side Academy ( SSA ) and Fox Chapel Country Day School ( FCCDS ) have executed a Letter of Intent in preparation for a merger of the two schools , with the goal of FCCDS joining SSA as a second elementary school campus in 2017-2018 .
“ The planned merger will be a big moment in the history of these two schools and offer significant advantages to both institutions ,” says SSA Board of Trustees Chair Mike Hannon . “ For Shady Side , it will extend our geographic reach into the growing North Hills , while our existing Junior School continues to enjoy strong enrollment in the thriving East End .”
“ We are very excited about formalizing a relationship that has been very close over the years ,” says Fox Chapel Country Day School Head of School Sharon Smith . “ Historically , Country Day has been a strong feeder for Shady Side ’ s Middle School , so many Fox Chapel Country Day School families are also Shady Side Academy families .”
While a final agreement is not yet in place , the transaction being planned is a merger and not a purchase . Merger discussions between the two schools have occurred on and off for nearly 30 years , but the timing now meets both schools ’ strategic needs . Preliminary merger discussions began in earnest last summer between the two boards , with the objective of establishing an affiliation that preserves the unique attributes of each school ’ s program and culture .
In early February , both SSA and FCCDS notified their faculty , staff and parents of the intention to pursue a merger . Each school has scheduled town hall meetings to share the vision for the merger and to answer questions and hear feedback from constituents . As prescribed by the Letter of Intent , two working committees comprised of trustees , administrators , faculty members and parents of both schools will be diligently working
through the curricular and operational aspects of a merger and sharing best practices this spring . The goal is to draft a final merger agreement before the end of the 2015-2016 school year , which would be presented to the boards of both schools for approval .
If approved , the merger would take effect in the 2017-2018 school year . Both the SSA Junior School campus in Point Breeze and the FCCDS campus in Fox Chapel would continue operating in a similar manner as they are today , with both campuses feeding wellprepared students into SSA Middle School . Historically , a majority of FCCDS graduates have gone on to attend SSA Middle School , which is located less than a mile up the road .
ANNUAL SAINT SEBASTIAN PARISH FESTIVAL
Join in on the fun at this year ’ s Saint Sebastian Parish Festival scheduled for July 11 through 16 on the church grounds , located at 311 Siebert Road in Ross Township . The festival runs Monday through Friday from 6:30 to 10 p . m . and Saturday from 5 to 10 p . m . Admission is free ! This year ’ s festival features a special Kids Zone for children 8 and under , expanded games of chance , thrilling rides with a one-price ride-all-night bracelet , Super Bingo and so much more !
ROYAL OAK ART SHOW
Royal Oak School hosted its Art Show on May 15 . This year ’ s central theme was “ The Forest ” and featured the creativity of children in nursery school through kindergarten . Classrooms contained ponds where paper bag frog puppets waited for passing bugs and sand painted salamanders and crayfish swam . Papier-mâché foxes and raccoons were spread out around the large gym while Warhol silkscreened butterflies decorated the walls . A Picasso waterfall flowed over a cave , housing bats and leading to a papier-mâché beavers lodge . The annual art show is held around the same time every year . Please watch for next year ’ s event and plan on attending ! n
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