LEADERSHIP THROUGH OUTDOOR EDUCATION
Charleston Collegiate's beautiful 30-acre campus includes an Outdoor Leadership and Education Center with nature trails, kayak program, a tidal swamp with dock, plus low ropes and high ropes courses with team-building elements that are unique to our campus and curriculum.
The kayaking component allows students in 4th grade and beyond to study a history and science-based curriculum focusing on South Carolina's rich history and its marsh, river, and harbor ecology. Students in Preschool play "I Spy" around campus, identifying the different types of trees and birds. Third grade students observe the school's chickens, reporting their findings and teaching other classes about the chickens' roles in the ecosystem. Ninth graders are often seen on the low ropes elements working on their communication skills in their leadership course.
The Outdoor Education program provides students with hands-on opportunities to learn risk management concepts, effective communication skills, group dynamics, and survival skills in an outdoor classroom setting. These experiences break down barriers and social cliques, freeing students from any sense of entitlement that can be associated with a private school education.
CREATIVITY AND THE ARTS
Our Fine Arts Program ties all of our academic courses together using the ‘cross-curricular learning’ approach to deepen comprehension.
Students are able to write a script and act out the water cycle in science class, create an artistic representation of a character from the novel they are studying in English class, create artwork based on the time period being studied in history, and film their own commercials for selling the app they created in S.T.E.M. class. Starting in second grade, students write, direct, and act in their own plays.
As they grow and focus their appreciation and understanding of the arts, they progress into Upper School students using our state-of-the-art filmmaking and editing lab, producing videos for international corporations or competing in photography competitions around the country.
Our Fine Arts Department’s mission is to give our students a creative outlet as well as a competitive edge in today’s world.