Back to School Information

Dear Grammar School Families,
As we prepare for the coming school year, I want to share several important updates regarding our Grammar School team and leadership structure. Seasons of transition provide opportunities to reflect on God's faithfulness, strengthen our programs, and thoughtfully prepare for the future. I am deeply encouraged by the ways the Lord continues to provide for our school community, and I am excited about the team He has assembled for the year ahead.

Strengthening Our Leadership Team
After carefully evaluating the administrative needs of the Grammar School alongside our leadership team, we have made an important adjustment to better support both our faculty and students.

The Director of Academic Support position has transitioned into a new full-time role: Assistant Head of Grammar School, and Patricia Culp has stepped into this position. As we continue strengthening our curriculum and pursuing excellence in instruction, Patricia's wisdom, leadership, and commitment to Classical Christian education will be a tremendous blessing to our faculty, students, and families.

Administrative Support
Many of you may already know that Karla Scott, our longtime Grammar School administrative assistant, has transitioned to the Upper School to serve as Events Coordinator for Protocol and House. Karla's gifts of organization, planning, and servant leadership have blessed our community for many years, and while we will miss her greatly, we are excited to see the impact she will have in her new role.

We are equally grateful to welcome Erin Duffy as our new Grammar School administrative assistant. Erin brings many years of successful teaching experience and a genuine love for supporting teachers and students. She has already been a wonderful addition to our team.

Staffing Updates for the 2026–2027 School Year

The following updates reflect both growth and strategic planning as we continue building a strong and stable Grammar School program.

Junior Kindergarten
-Junior Kindergarten has grown to three sections.
-We are currently interviewing for the teacher who will lead one section of our three-day program.

Kindergarten
-Kristen Miller will teach Kindergarten mornings and WEE three days per week.
-Maddie Heinz will lead our new second Kindergarten section and teach WEE five days per week. Ms. Heinz is a recent graduate of the University of Memphis.

First Grade
-Jessica McDaniel will move from second grade to first grade and join Mary Grace Grantham.
-Ellen Ellison, a Westminster alumna and current parent of Lucy (rising 4th grade), Conrad (rising 2nd grade), and Lottie (rising JK), will serve as Mrs. McDaniel's part-time aide.

Second Grade
-We are excited to announce Jessica Finfrock, who has recently returned from 14 years in the Middle East with her Memphis-born husband David and their three children (joining 1st, 3rd, and 6th grade), and Catherine Fakes (formerly Keith), a recent graduate of the University of Tennessee and Westminster alumna, as our 2nd grade teaching team.
-Megan Turner, an experienced substitute teacher, will join the second-grade team as a part-time aide for Mrs. Fakes. Megan's daughter, Joley, will be in 9th grade this year.

Third Grade
-Julie Davis and Julie Sliger will serve as our third-grade teachers. Julie Sliger has faithfully served as a third-grade aide for the past two years.
-Trista Autry will serve as the third-grade aide. Mrs. Autry has been a valued substitute teacher this past year and is the mother of Skylar (rising 2nd grade) and Maverick (joining JK).

Fourth Grade
-Sarah Hysong will continue teaching fourth grade alongside Mary Adams who moves from third grade to fourth grade, providing valuable continuity for students and families.

Fifth Grade
-Fifth grade will be two sections.
-Sissy Hickman and Elizabeth Peckham will continue leading students through an integrated humanities experience while helping them develop executive functioning skills and increasing independence.

Math Instruction
-Jenny Young will teach fifth and sixth grade math full-time. Mrs. Young's classroom will be located upstairs alongside her fifth and sixth grade students.

Fine Arts
-Julie Liddy will serve as our full-time art teacher for Junior Kindergarten through third grade and will oversee the Grammar School art program.
-Amillia Stembridge will teach art for fourth through sixth grades. Mrs. Stembridge brings both significant artistic experience and a genuine love for working with upper Grammar School students.

Physical Education
-Claire Morris, a current Westminster parent of Samuel (rising 2nd grade) and Lucas (rising JK), will teach girls' PE for grades 5–8. Coach Morris joins our outstanding PE team alongside Coach Reed and Coach Wilson.

I have great confidence in not simply the positions being filled, but the people the Lord has provided. We are entering this school year with a team of gifted educators who love Christ, care deeply for children, embrace our Classical Christian mission, and are committed to excellence in their work. What remains unchanged in our Grammar School is our commitment to provide a joyful, academically excellent, Christ-centered education that cultivates both the hearts and minds of our students.

I recognize that seasons of change can naturally raise questions. Please know that every decision has been made thoughtfully, prayerfully, and with a long-term vision for the flourishing of our students, faculty, and families in mind. Please feel free to reach out if you have questions. 

Thank you for your continued trust, partnership, and prayers. It is a privilege to serve your families, and I look forward with great anticipation to all God has in store for our Grammar School in the coming year.

With gratitude,
Emily Newman
Head of Grammar School
 

We hope you will find the Summer Reading Plan a useful tool for cultivating a love of good literature and for encouraging your child to read. 

1. Enjoy a book as a family! Reading aloud not only stimulates an interest in good books, but also models expressive, fluent reading. Using appropriate intonation, expression, phrasing, and pausing demonstrates that meaning is embedded in the interpretation of words and fosters comprehension.

2. Set up a daily reading time and provide age-appropriate books. You will find wonderful, graded selections on the attached recommended reading list.

3. Make frequent trips to the library!

4. Periodically have your child read aloud to you as you follow along in the text. This will help you assess your child's reading progress. Encourage your child by helping him sound out words if he begins to struggle.

5. Encourage your child in his required summer reading. Students entering grades 3-6 are required to read two books, but we hope students will read many more. You can find the packet with instructions and book lists here. If you have further questions, please email Mrs. Duffy. 

26-27 Grammar School Uniform Guide

*Please note that dress uniform day is on Wednesdays

Dear Upper School Families,

I look forward to seeing you in a few weeks and hearing about your summer adventures. I had the opportunity to travel to Portugal and learn about their history, architecture, and food. Portugal is known for its seafood and these pastries called pastel de nata, and everything we ate was delicious! I hope your summer has been full of wonder and delight as well!

While you still have several more weeks of summer to enjoy, I wanted to let you know some info about the start of school.  Parents, please make plans to attend our Parent Orientation from 5:30-7:30 pm Thursday, August 6. This will be a time to hear a brief word from Dr. Atwood about some recent changes at Westminster and the school’s long-term goals. It is also a time to fellowship with your child’s teachers and learn more about ways you can get involved this year.

Our first day of school will be Monday, August 10, and the schedule for that day is below.

First Day US Schedule
Monday, August 10

8:15-8:45        7th-11th grade students arrive to set up lockers
8:50-9:05        Homeroom for attendance & announcements
9:10-9:30        Senior Parade 
9:35-10:20      Student Orientation Session 1 in the sanctuary
10:25-10:40    Snack Break + finish lockers
10:45-11:30    Student Orientation Session 2 in the sanctuary 
11:35-12:10    Game
12:10-12:45    Lunch
12:50-1:35      5th Period
1:40-2:25        6th Period
2:30-3:15        7th Period 
    
On the Back to School page, you will find necessary forms for athletics and medical records as well as summer reading lists (don’t forget those annotations!), supply lists, uniform details, the major dates calendar, and hot lunch information. As a reminder, there are some uniform changes that were optional last year but are required for this year. We made these changes to better distinguish our formal dress uniform from the more casual daily uniform. There’s a helpful visual guide for the uniform details in the dress code section below.  

As I shared in an email a few weeks ago, we have made several adjustments to students’ course load for the 2026-27 school year. We believe these changes will create greater focus, integration, and balance in the Upper School experience. Even if you do not yet have a child in the Upper School, we hope it is encouraging to see the intentional thought being given to these decisions. Our desire is to cultivate rhythms that support student flourishing throughout the middle and high school years. You can go here to review the details of these changes.

US student schedules will be emailed to parents and students by Friday, July 31.

Finally, I am excited to introduce our new US faculty. Dr. Alex Happ (WA alum) will be teaching several of our high school math courses. Mrs. Claire Morris will be teaching 8th grade science and 5th-8th grade girls PE. We are finalizing who will be teaching 10th and 12th grade literature and look forward to updating you on that soon! Mrs. Ginny Windsor, Mrs. Karla Scott, and Coach Joe Abrahams have already been hard at work this summer planning for next year in US and are excited about serving our US families. We are grateful for the Lord’s provision in these new faculty and administrators!

Enjoy these last few weeks of summer, and I look forward to seeing you soon.

All the best,

Elissa Roberts
Head of Upper School
 

Below is a list of school supplies that Upper School students will need to have on the first day of school. Items will be broken down by class only if specifics are required. If you have questions, please contact Mrs. Windsor.

You can find supply lists generated into shopping lists by grade HERE. You can choose to auto-populate a shopping cart at Target, Amazon, etc, using this link. If you would like to print off and shop in person, you can find lists by grade HERE. 

 

26-27 Upper School Uniform Guide

*Please note that dress uniform day is on Wednesday unless otherwise noted on the weekly schedule

*House uniform is generally on Friday unless otherwise noted on the weekly schedule

US Regular Schedule for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday    
7:30-7:55        US Homework Labs (T/W/Th)
7:30-7:45        All School Faculty Prayer (M/F) 
8:00-8:05        Prayer, attendance, and uniform check
8:05-8:50        1st Period
8:55-9:40        2nd Period
9:40-9:50        Snack
9:55-10:40      3rd Period
10:45-11:30    4th Period
11:35-12:15    Flex Block
12:20-12:45    Lunch (cafeteria or picnic tables)
12:50-1:35      5th Period
1:40-2:25        6th Period
2:30-3:15        7th Period

US Assembly Schedule for Wednesday
8:00-8:10        Homeroom for attendance and dress uniform check
8:10-8:55        Cantabile (followed by free time if it ends early)
9:00-9:45        1st Period
9:50-10:35      2nd Period
10:40-11:25    3rd Period
11:30-12:15    4th period
12:20-12:45    Lunch (cafeteria or picnic tables)
12:50-1:35      5th Period
1:40-2:25        6th Period
2:30-3:15        7th Period 
 

Your student should have received all the information they need for their summer reading assignments during the last week of school. 
If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Windsor.

You can find our policies and procedures, as well as useful information like the dress code in our Parent-Student Handbook! 

The ‘26-’27 Major Dates Calendar can be found here. 

Please watch for an announcement in The Weekly for the Belltower menu offerings and prices for the 26-27 school year. 
You can view ordering instructions here. 

We have a variety of sports teams offered through our athletic department starting in 1st grade all the way through the Varsity level. Please reach out to our Athletic Director Joe Abrahams (jabrahams@wamemphis.com) if you have questions about a specific sport. Any athlete that participates in a Westminster sport must have the appropriate forms filled out, signed by a parent/medical professional, and returned to the athletic office before the applicable season begins.  Online forms are valid for one school year and medical evaluation forms must be completed on or after April 15th to be valid for the following school year. You can now access and turn in the majority of the forms using this Jot Form submission link. 

In addition to the Jot Forms above, all student athletes need a medical evaluation signed by a medical professional on file with the athletic department before the first practice of a season. 

• Medical Evaluation Form

See carpool guidelines for JK-12th, before and after school care here.

Choir
Choir auditions are currently been held by Mrs. Smith.  If your child is in 3rd-12th grade and would like to participate in choir, but did not get a chance to audition yet, please email Mrs. Smith.

The choir fee for the year is $150, which is divided into $75 per semester. This fee covers music, folders, and uniforms.  Returning singers may trade their old or outgrown uniforms in to Mrs. Smith for a different size.  

Music Conservatory
The WA Conservatory offers several exciting opportunities this year. For private lessons, we currently provide piano, voice, strings, and harp instructors. If you are interested in enrolling, or re-enrolling your student in private lessons please contact John Eric Brown at jbrown@wamemphis.com. Fees range from $20-$50 for 30 minute lessons.

In addition, we have two string orchestras conducted by Mr. Brown. Prelude Strings is the beginning to intermediate orchestra. We continue to keep this great ensemble free of charge to encourage young students. 
For advanced players, we have the Symphony Strings. This is the auditioned, flagship ensemble of the conservatory. In addition to regular concerts, they represent the school by playing incidental music at events and ministering at nursing homes. The fee for Symohony Strings is $150. Please contact Mr. Brown if your student is interested in participating in either ensemble.