ST. GEORGE’SI N D E P E N D E N T S C H O O L

The Story of St. George’s

St. George’s began as a simple idea bandied about over dinner, in a tiny Episcopal rectory, in the winter of 1959. Friends and neighbors came together

to bring the dream to life. A church community took this mere notion and adopted it as a sacred mission: to lay strong

educational foundations, to forge fine character, and to do so bravely and joyfully.

Beginnings: the story of St. George’s

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Within the year the idea became a school, and St. George’s opened its doors in Germantown to both boys and girls and, boldly, to families of all religions

and races. St. George’s Day School began there, in a pair of church classrooms, with just 14 kindergarteners, five first graders, and two teachers.

Almost 60 years later, we are a city-spanning network of three campuses, with sprawling facilities, an exceptional faculty, and nearly 1,200 students from 50 zip codes.

We have added a second lower-school campus, expanded to encompass middle and upper schools, and, most importantly, established a reputation for academic vigor, character

education, and happy and successful students.

We find clarity in our humble beginnings, and draw courage from our boldest hopes.

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Set along the soft suburban swell of Poplar Avenue, perched on a rise above tidy brick homes and elegant

old-growth trees, our Germantown campus houses our original lower school. Here, your child can settle

in for a quiet moment with his favorite book, then create controlled chaos in our Innovation

Lab. Here, too, he benefits from a careful curriculum in which

Beyond all that our students explore on campus, they quickly

become seasoned travelers as well. The youngest children visit the Memphis

Zoo or Lichterman Nature Center, while our older students hike the trails at Reelfoot Lake State Park

and camp in Cumberland Caverns alongside their teachers (and an occasional bat). These outings comprise social

adventures, too, because we take them in partnership with our Memphis campus—a sister school full of new

friends. Germantown stands not only as the start of St. George’s story, but the departure point for

countless little journeys of self-discovery.

A start in the suburbs: Germantown lower school

classic content meets active lessons, and sophisticated

cognitive theory merges with the simple understanding that children learn best

when learning feels fun.

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At home in the heart of the city: Memphis lower school

Just off Kimball Avenue, thriving in the bustle and hum of the city, our Memphis campus houses our second lower school. This campus, and the donors who have funded it since 2001, allow us to offer a St. George’s education to families who might not otherwise have logistical or financial access to an independent-school setting. In turn, these families give back in profoundly rich ways, by paying partial tuition but also

St. George’s Memphis campus builds on the curricular structures and instructional approaches that have served generations of students so well in Germantown, and affords students the same extraordinary extracurricular opportunities to go, see, and do. Here, bright classrooms and devoted teachers greet your child as she arrives for each day of paradigm-shifting, life-changing education.

by investing many hours and much effort, lending special talents and offering fresh perspectives, and enriching the experience of every child, on every campus.

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Converging in Collierville: St. George’s eastward expansion

Down a path leading away from Wolf River Boulevard, on a campus bordered by wilderness areas and dotted with lakes, the Collierville campus houses our middle and upper schools. These two divisions share one impressive building, but occupy separate, cozy wings. Fundraising efforts for what students affectionately call “the ski lodge” began in the late 1990s, spearheaded by a devoted school community and parents who longed to keep their children here beyond sixth grade. And now St. George’s

families can do just that.

Collierville functions as the platform from which we launch our graduates into fine colleges and rewarding careers. It also

serves as the convergence for newly arriving students from both Germantown and Memphis and from many

other area schools—a place where our students meet in the middle.

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St. George’s middle school serves as a true middle ground, where our Germantown and Memphis graduates come together, along with new SGIS enrollees. Here, students find themselves among familiar classmates and fresh faces, all suddenly looking for a place in a new whole. We help them find belonging through our advisory program, in which small groups of students—made up of St. George’s veterans and recent transfers, athletes and artists, the introverted and the outgoing—meet daily with a faculty mentor to discuss problems, share victories, vent, laugh, and form lasting friendships.

We carefully curate these relationships because when we ease emotional pressures, we increase academic energy. At St. George’s, we turn your child’s focus from surviving socially to thriving academically, from finding his place to making his way—to learning and creating, to exploring and enjoying.

And as our students forge connections with each other, their families also come together in meaningful ways— and a vibrant, unified community is born.

A space for community: Collierville middle and upper schools

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By the time your child graduates from the upper school, she knows how to wield the knowledge of an excellent traditional education. She also possesses the intellectual agility that grows from years of active learning. In her senior year alone, she designs and orally defends an extensive Senior Independent Study Project, and participates in a group problem-solving

assignment that not only explores—but attempts to resolve—a complex, real-world need. Our engaging upper school experience teaches

time management, encourages engagement, andcreates polished, resourceful

young men and women who think critically, act creatively,

communicate clearly, and collaborate productively.

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There, they do what kids naturally do: notice differences, explore them, forget them, and transcend them to form friendships. We create an atmosphere in which differences are embraced, not ignored, and hollow stereotypes are displaced by flesh-and-blood individuals, through the process of knowing and being known.

That will to know and be known—to understand and be understood, to hear and to be heard— takes root across all campuses. Our students find common ground despite their different backgrounds, in the simple convergences of being a teenager, being a student, being human. A shared favorite band. A mutual talent for lacrosse. A similar struggle in calculus class. A meeting of the minds between two people who, on paper, couldn’t be more different.

As they interact and connect, St. George’s students change themselves and one another—and change, we hope, the face and fate of a city.

St. George’s commitment to transformative diversity begins on the first day of school, in Germantown and Memphis, where we bring together students from a wide range of backgrounds and beliefs.

A unifying principle: transformative diversity

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From a simple beginning, the story of St. George’s fans out in countless directions, a plot line for every student who has passed through Germantown, Memphis, and Collierville, a tale penned by thousands upon thousands of authors—a narrative, we hope, with no apparent ending.

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We can only imagine where your child’s chapter will carry her, which pages are likely to open to her strong mind and fine character, or what she will inscribe there as she goes, bravely and joyfully.

ST. GEORGE’SI N D E P E N D E N T S C H O O L

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sgis.org

activelearning agile

teaching

to build disciplined minds, adventurous spirits, and brave hearts

Memphis PK-53749 Kimball Ave.Memphis, TN 38111901.261.3920

Germantown PK-58250 Poplar Ave. Germantown, TN 38138 901.261.2300

Collierville 6-121880 Wolf River Blvd.Collierville, TN 38017 901.457.2000

ST. GEORGE’SI N D E P E N D E N T S C H O O L