Shady Side Academy

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Shady Side Academy
"Fide Semper Vincere" ("By Faith Always to Conquer")

School type	Private (5-Day Boarding and Day)
Established	1883
Affiliation	None
Grades	Kindergarden to 12th
President	Thomas Southard
Students	~1000 Students
Athletic Conference	WPIAL (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League)
Colors	Old Gold and Navy Blue
Mascot	Indians
Location	Fox Chapel, PA, USA
Website	www.shadysideacademy.org

Coordinates: 40.5225° N 79.88278° W

Shady Side Academy is an independent school in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area, and one of the most prestigious in the United States.^[1] It was initially founded as a boys' boarding school in 1883 in Pittsburgh, though the Senior School was only established at its current suburban campus in Fox Chapel — just outside of Pittsburgh — in 1921. A later merger with another local private school, The Arnold School, resulted in a new campus: a Junior School, located in Pittsburgh's Point Breeze and serving kindergarten through fifth grade students. In the 1950s, the Academy purchased an estate less than a mile from the Senior School campus, creating a middle school for grades six through eight. In the 1970s, the Senior School became co-educational, and the Junior and Middle Schools followed suit in the nineties. Starting in the fall of 2007, a pre-kindergarten will be added to the academy and will be located on the junior school campus. The total enrollment across all grades fluctuates but is generally slightly under 1000 students.

1 Environmental Action
2 Extra-Curricular Activities
3 Athletics
4 Notable alumni
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Environmental Action

Shady Side Academy is also well known for its strides it has made for environmental protection. The recently built Rowe Building highlights their concern for the environment. The $6.8 million renovation of its main senior school building will emphasize environmentally friendly approaches, from glass that lets more light into classrooms to rainwater collected and used to flush toilets.

'It's something these kids can really sink their teeth into,' said Marc Mandor, principal of evolveEA, a green consulting firm in Friendship. 'It's saving the earth, but it's also giving them a better environment.'"^[2]

[edit] Extra-Curricular Activities

Shady Side Academy has over 30 active clubs and extracurricular activities.^{[citation needed]}

Currently, Shady Side participates in Model United Nations conferences, NAQT quiz bowl competitions, the Western PA Math League, Science Olympiad, and forensics competitions, principally the National Forensics League.

In 2004, Shady Side placed 3rd in the nation at the National Science Olympiad Tournament at Juniata College, a tournament with over fifty schools from all around the nation. They did this after placing 1st at both the Regional and State Science Olympiad Tournament which earned them a position in the National tournament. In 2005, the team also placed 1st in the Regional and State Science Olympiad Tournaments, which got them into the National Tournament again, this time held in the University of Illinois, the 2005 runner-up in the NCAA basketball championship. Here they placed 9th in the nation.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, 2005, and 2006, Shady Side was the season champion of Pittsburgh-based game show Hometown High-Q. At the 2006 NAQT Nationals, the team finished 5th overall.

Since 2003, the school has sponsored a benefit concert led and organized by a student group with the name "Untucked" as a homage to the school dress code which before 2004 required all shirts to be tucked in. Recent bands to appear at Untucked include local favorite, The Clarks, and virtuoso guitarist, Robert Randolph and the Family Band. The Untucked event is usually held at the end of the year and includes many activities beyond just the band itself

Thanks in part to the newly built Hillman Center for Performing Arts on the Senior School Campus, Shady Side has become progressively more well-known for its music and theatre programs.^{[citation needed]} Recent performances include: Amadeus, Footloose,A Midsummer Night's Dream, Pygmalion, South Pacific, Oliver!, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

A sample of the clubs offered at Shady Side Academy include: French Club, Latin Club, German Club, Spanish Club, Chinese Club (Chinese is taught at the senior school), Current Events Club, Middle Eastern Affairs, Liberal Alliance, Speech and Debate, Christian Fellowship, The Noam Chomsky Society, Robotics Club, and many others not listed here.

Additionally, Shady Side has an active chapter of Amnesty International, a Middle Eastern Affairs club, as well as numerous language and nationality clubs. While Italian is not offered at Shady Side Academy, there is an active Study of Italian Club, intent to learn the language.

Shady Side Academy produces many publications over the course of the school year as well. SSA News, the school's newspaper, releases an issue every month, all of which are fully published on campus by students. The Egerian is Shady Side's highly exclusive literary magazine produced once a year under the leadership and editing of a student committee. The Risk published by Sarath Malepati has been distributed semi-annually since 1997, has poked fun at students and faculty alike. Both a science and political magazine are also published.

[edit] Athletics

Shady Side's athletic team name is officially the Indians. It is very widely employed, and attempts to change it have been thwarted by various alumni.^[3]

In 1924, Shady Side Academy was a founding member of the Interstate Prep School League (IPSL) -- a league composed of Mid-West preparatory schools. In 1993, the school joined the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL), which is the league that local public schools compete in and is part of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA). The switch allowed them to compete for regional and state championships against local schools. Since the switch, Shady Side has won four state championships: two in boys' basketball, one in boys' swimming, and one in boys' tennis, along with numerous WPIAL championships, particularly in stereotypically affluent sports such as tennis and golf. The Shady Side Girls' Tennis and Field Hockey Teams won the 2006 WPIAL Championship titles for AAA and AA, respectively. The Girls' Tennis team went on to place second in the PIAA Championships.

Several teams do not compete in the WPIAL. The ice hockey teams compete at the Division 1 Prep Level. The boys' team is a member of the Midwest Prep Hockey League and the girls' team competes in the Women’s Ice Hockey League of the Mid- Atlantic. The boys' lacrosse team, which won the Western Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association championship in 2004 and were State Runner-Ups in 2004, participates in the Midwest Scholastic Lacrosse Association as well as the previously mentioned WPSLA. The squash team also is a prep level team, composed of top rated junior players.

Shady Side Academy's main academic and athletic rival is Sewickley Academy, others include The Kiski School, Western Reserve Academy, Fox Chapel High School, University School, North Allegheny High School, and The Ellis School.