Commissioner Ott Visits St. Benedict's Episcopal Day School!

Cobb County Commissioner Bob Ott visited the new middle school expansion of St. Benedict's Episcopal Day School on a beautiful fall day last week.  Chairman of the St. Benedict's Board of Trustees, The Rev. Brian Sullivan, emphasized how Commissioner Ott was instrumental in bringing the neighbors and school together to approve final plan for  St. Benedict's new middle school campus. 

Pictured with Mr. Ott are several members of the 4th grade class on the site of their new field.  Looking at the children on the field and seeing the traffic along Cooper Lake Road and the East/West Connector, Mr. Ott delighted in the visibility of children for the whole community.  Immediately after this picture was taken, one of the students, Brady P., looked up at Mr. Ott to ask him what he did for a living.  Commissioner Ott quickly reverted to his former profession as a teacher by explaining what it meant to be a Member of the Cobb County Commission while teaching the differences between cities, counties and their different government structures.  

With a middle school building that has the capacity to add 60 new children every year for the next two years, St. Benedict’s Episcopal Day School is poised to graduate their first 8th grade class in the 2016.  The expansion includes rooms dedicated to science and math, a multi-purpose room for  P.E., music and a cafeteria, as well as, four classrooms for the current fourth, fifth and sixth grades.  With their new Head of School, Rick Betts (former Assistant Head of School at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School), firmly in place – the future is looking very bright for St. Benedict’s Episcopal Day School. 

Along with rigorous academics, St. Benedict’s offers Spanish to all students from preschool to sixth grade.  Through technology, such as Promethean boards and their one-to-one iPad program, St. Benedict's is able to develop and strengthen 21st Century Skills.   St. Benedict's fine arts and physical education instruction cultivate the whole child, gradually building many kinds of literacy while developing insight, reasoning, creativity and dexterity in to unique forms of expression and communication.   All of this takes place in an inclusive faith-based environment that defines Episcopal Education.   

As the tour was ending, Mr. Ott asked St. Benedict's Assistant Head of School and Director of Admissions, Mrs. Anne Shamanski, about her future plans.  She simply said, “My future plans only go as far as the end of the month when Admissions Coffees begin.  I am very excited about this new chapter of our school, and I am anxious to share our growing school with prospective families."

With so much to offer our neighboring communities, it is easy to see why she will be so  busy as the admissions season begins.

St. Benedict’s Episcopal Day School admits students without regard to race, sexual orientation, color, national, religious or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. The school does not discriminate on the basis of race, sexual orientation, color, national, religious or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, tuition assistance programs, athletic and other administered programs.