News

HRA Lower School students enjoyed many holiday-themed activities this week including class parties and the annual gingerbread house decorating event! 

Exams started this week, to help manage any exam stress, therapy dogs recently greeted students!

This year, the LS SCA sponsored the Salvation Army "Angel Tree' project.  Each Lower School class was assigned an "Angel Tree' child.

Recently, the 5th grade invited the current 4th graders to lunch in the Middle School to share lunch, conversation and little bit fun!  

The Hampton Roads Academy Lower School Coding Clubs: the Navi-Coders, a group of young ladies, and the Cool Dashing Coders, a group of young boys, are both competing in the Wonder League Robotics Competition. The competition is a series of five robot coding challenges.

A group of animated sixth grade students sat patiently, awaiting their turn to enter into the dark, gray igloo-like structure. 

A group of Middle and Upper School Latin students headed to the 65th Virginia Junior Classical League Convention, held at the Richmond Convention Center, Sunday and Monday, November 19 and 20.

November’s Lower School Leadership Assembly honored our Veterans. From an introduction of "America from A to Z” and "Thank You, Soldiers," a song sung by all Lower School, HRA veterans and family members of veterans were honored for their service. Click here to view more photos.

HRA’s National Art Honor Society recently inducted 21 new members. The new members were added, each welcomed by candle light and a handshake by current members.

Thank you for supporting HRA during #GivingTuesday!

Today, Headmaster Peter Mertz welcomed grandparents to HRA. Grandparents toured the school with their grandchildren, had a photo taken and enjoyed refreshments and performances by HRA’s Upper School Chorus and Strings.

Feet on floor. Back on chair.  Slowly inhale through your nose, while counting to 4.  Exhale through your mouth, while counting to 5.  Repeat.

On October 29, The Hampton Roads Academy Tri-M Music Honor Society, Chapter #2711, inducted 13 new members.  The Induction ceremony welcomes new members each year who meet the requirements of membership.

The HRA Navigator Club sponsored the 2018 HRA Golf Classic, in memory of Svein Lassen, on Monday, October 22, 2018 at the Williamsburg Golf Club.

Early Decision Admission is offered for grades 5 through 11 in November of each year. The application steps for the early admission process must be completed by mid December, and notifications will be mailed before the Winter Break. An offer of early admission guarantees a place for the student in the upcoming grade and will require a non-refundable deposit, due by January 15, to hold the seat. 

Looking for that perfect Holiday gift? Look no further. The Class of 2020 is again offering Florida fruit and Whitley’s famed “home-cooked” roasted peanuts. 

Today's assembly introduced Lower School’s yearlong theme, "Reaching Out to Serve Others."   This year, each class will be involved in some sort of community service project.  Lower School teachers have exciting plans from growing sea grass for our local wetlands to pen pal activities with local retirement communities.  The Lower School SCA also kicked off the Lower School annual canned food drive!

Blood Donors Needed! HRA is hosting a Fall Blood Drive Tuesday, November 6, from 9 am - 3 pm in the Spencer Gym Foyer.  

HRA’s junior class recently returned from their overnight tour of colleges.  This year, they visited George Washington University, American University, George Mason University, the University of Mary Washington, and Randolph Macon College.  At each stop, students have a private information session and tour as well as a meal in the dining facilities.  They also spend time with HRA alumni at each of the colleges and universities.

Hampton Roads Academy’s Upper School Preventing Animal Cruelty Club 'Stuffed the Bus' full of pet supplies and delivered the supplies to two North Carolina shelters:  Humane Society of Eastern Carolina in Greenville and Craven-Pamlico Animal Services in New Bern this weekend.  

The National Merit Scholarship Program, an academic competition for recognition and scholarships, selected a Hampton Roads Academy senior as a Semi-Finalist student in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program. 

In late September, HRA’s performing arts department presented Almost, Maine written by John Cariani. Almost, Maine is a place that’s so far north it’s almost not in the United States and not quite a town because its residents never got around to getting organized. During the play the residents of this “Almost” town found themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and sometimes hilarious ways.

Juniors and their parents participated in a Mock College Admission workshop facilitated by Davidson College Director of Admission Dave Kraus.

There was a common theme running throughout HRA’s annual Upper School Honor Council Assembly and Middle School Honor Council Assembly speeches - the assertion that the Honor System is a commitment to HRA’s core values, making HRA the distinguished school that it is.

Hundreds of campers ‘Discovered Summer’ at HRA this summer! From Archery Camp, Surfing Camp and Science Camp to Drone Camp, Dance Camp and Academics Camp, there was something for everyone! Click here  to check out photos of the many amazing camps. Look out for 2018 – 2019 Summer Programs registration this winter! 

Great food and great weather made for the perfect back-to-school Food Truck Rodeo! New and returning families enjoyed music, games and great conversations to kick off the new school year. Click here for more photos.

The Hampton Roads Academy community came together to honor our local military, first responders, veterans, and heroes of 9/11 in the Travis Manion Foundation’s 9/11 Heroes Run on September 8 in Virginia Beach. Congratulations, students! 

It is HRA's favorite time of the year! Our students are back! Click here for more photos.

A Convocation Ceremony is an old tradition, an assembly of all of the qualified members of an independent organization marking the beginning of the year in a symbolic community gathering with a goal to further emphasize the unity of a common pursuit.

HRA 7th grader, Issac Lamprecht, competed in the USA Triathlon Nationals Youth Championships this summer as a member of the Endorphin Fitness Youth Triathlon team.  

Vote for HRA during the Daily Press Best of Hampton Roads contest. Vote once now through Sept. 2! www.dailypress.com/bestof

The National Merit Scholarship Program, an academic competition for recognition and scholarships, selected Emily Payne from HRA’s Class of 2018 as a National Merit Scholarship winner. 

Hampton Roads Academy wins ‘Best of 757’ Peninsula award in the Coastal Virginia Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards! Thank you to all who voted for HRA, this year the school’s Summer Program was recognized as one of the best on the Peninsula!

HRA Lower School Science and Technology Teacher and recent Agriculture in the Classroom National Teaching award winner Jennifer Massengill and HRA students were featured on an episode of “Real Virginia." Virginia Farm Bureau's “Real Virginia” is a half-hour TV program that focuses on agriculture news, family-oriented stories and cooking and gardening segments. Click here to watch the segment. 

Lower School students enjoyed a day of fun during the 2018 Field Day. Click here for more images.

Hampton Roads Academy recently celebrated the accomplishments of 61 students during the 2018 Commencement Ceremony in the school’s Svein J. Lassen Auditorium. The graduating students continue the tradition of 100 percent college acceptance and earned more than $4 million in merit scholarships and awards.

Ms. Miesko’s fifth grade students are discovering that many of their classmates have personal connections to World War II such as family members that served in the military, or a relative that was living in Europe or Asia during the war.  

The Hampton Roads Academy Memorial Awards are given annually in memory of those who were very special to the HRA community.

HRA’s Lower School was named the best (most active) BayPort school bank on the Peninsula for 2018 and to celebrate, they were treated to a breakfast! The BayPort program taught HRA students about the importance of saving and being financially responsible.   BayPort representatives visited each Lower School classroom throughout the year and offered developmentally appropriate financial lessons. 

HRA’s Lower School Entrepreneurship Club recently won 1st place in the BayPort Business Competition. Club members presented their car wash/lemonade stand business plan to a group of local business owners as well as BayPort executives.  The club won $500 to fund future club activities. 

HRA seniors were officially release after the annual Senior Release Breakfast hosted by the Alumni Association on May 11. Seniors enjoyed breakfast, speeches and a welcome to the Alumni Association!  Click here for more photos.

In early May HRA 7th grade students, teachers, and parent chaperones traveled to Williamsburg for a day full of fun and educational team-building challenges.

Congratulations to the Hampton Roads Academy AMC 10 and AMC 12 winners. The AMC 10 and AMC 12 are 25-question, 75-minute, multiple choice examinations in high school mathematics designed to promote the development and enhancement of problem-solving skills. 

“Love the Garden, Take A Piece Home…”, was the theme of the Lower School Garden Club’s recent spring garden sale. After the monthly Lower School Leadership Assembly, garden club members filled the sale area with the school garden’s bounty.

The Cum Laude Society honors superior academic achievement at select, mostly independent, schools; HRA is one of only 13 schools in Virginia to have been awarded a Cum Laude charter. Members represent the top 20 percent of their graduating class, and in a class of just over sixty students, this is a distinctive honor.

Hampton Roads Academy senior Bronwyn Keating signed her letter of intent to swim for the James Madison University Swimming and Diving Program.

Hampton Roads Academy’s 11th annual One-Act Festival celebrated four unique, short, one-act plays that featured HRA Upper School students. This year’s plays included: The Acting Lesson by Willard Sims directed by HRA senior Adam Stein, The Fortune Cookie by Tuan Phan and Another Beautiful Story by John Clancy directed by HRA third grade teacher Kate Goddin, and Roanoke by Michael Lew directed by HRA’s headmaster Peter W. Mertz.

Hampton Roads Academy’s annual Founders’ Day celebrated the school’s past, present and future. Distinguished, dynamic and dedicated faculty, staff and volunteers were recognized for their service and the school community honored and remembered special individuals in the history of HRA.

This spring, junior-level AP English students incorporated technology and in-depth research to create podcasts and webpages regarding the passengers and crew members who were aboard the ill-fated Titanic.

HRA’s Class of 2018 recently presented a wide range of engaging, thoughtful senior projects; a culmination of nearly a year’s work. Click here for more photos.

HRA’s 1st & 2nd grade students recently performed An Aesop Adventure. They discovered wonderful fables that taught them valuable lessons as they prepared for the show! Click here for more photos of the show.

Hampton Roads Academy recently announced the two faculty winners of the annual Wythe W. & Mary A. Holt Faculty Award. This annual endowment award is presented to select HRA faculty members who are pursuing further learning opportunities, international travel experiences or research that will enhance their classroom teaching. The award was given to Upper School Spanish Teacher Sarah Andersen and Upper School English Teacher Heidi Speece.

This year’s Capital District’s Key Club Leadership Conference, held in Baltimore in early March, was historic and exciting for Hampton Roads Academy Key Club members.

Recently the National Art Honor Society celebrated HRA artists and their works of art during the 19th Annual Juried Art Show held in the Stacy Philips ‘03 Fine Art Gallery. 

Mixing concrete, moving piles of dirt and building walls are not on all students’ spring break to-do lists, but 16 selfless Hampton Roads Academy students traveled to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic for a week-long service learning experience to do just that.

HRA invites you to “Spend a Day at HRA!” on Thursday, April 12 or Tuesday, April 24 from 8 a.m.  – 1 p.m. Students will be paired with a Student Ambassador in their prospective grade and see what daily HRA life is like from the student’s perspective. 

The Lower School March Leadership Assembly focused on the Lower School's yearlong theme, "Designing Our Future."

Congratulations to the following students who were finalists and winners of the United Jewish Community of the Virginia Peninsula’s 17th Annual Holocaust Writing and Visual Arts Competition for Students. 

Pursuing independent study has been a tradition for Hampton Roads Academy students. While Senior Projects are a requirement for graduation it is also an opportunity for students to learn about a subject that sparks their curiosity, passion or interest. In this Senior Series we will highlight unique, impactful and fun projects from this year’s senior class. 

The HRA community came together to compete in the 11th Annual Sister Cities Global Bee. After an eight year break from competing in the competition, HRA had three high school teams and one faculty team. The high school teams placed first, second and third place in their division. 

HRA recently offered Annapolis Defense and Security's "Fight Like a Girl" College Prep Self Defense Program for girls in the Class of 2018.  The course focused on safety awareness, safety strategies, and defense techniques.

Juniors Peter Galantich and Olivia Basco are 2 of 45 high school students selected to participate on an Operation Smile mission this year. Peter will be going to Santa Cruz, Bolivia and Olivia will be going to Agadir, Morocco.

Due to overwhelming request Hampton Roads Academy will open a new PreKindergarten program for three-year-olds. This perfect addition to the thriving Early Childhood program in HRA’s Lower School will include a single PreKindergarten classroom of 10-12 three-year-old students for the 2018 – 2019 academic year.

A New York elementary teacher who connects her students with an Iowa corn and soybean grower using social media, a Wisconsin elementary teacher whose students made cheese their state’s official dairy product and six other teachers from around the country have been selected as the 2018 Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award winners including HRA’s Jennifer Massengill.  

On February 23, the Lower School Leadership Assembly celebrated the LS SCA Hairathon which benefits The American Cancer Society.  

On Saturday, February 24, Lower School parents, children and faculty gathered on campus for a Lower School Garden Community Day.  Mrs. Massengill organized this event hoping that the Lower School community would come together and assist with re-configuring the garden's beds.  

HRA invites rising 5-10 grades students to “Spend a Day at HRA!” Experience what a day is like for an HRA Navigator!

Senior Alexys Weihl was ranked #1 Soprano II in District 8 for All-Virginia SATB Chorus. Junior Alexandria Grigsby was ranked  #2 Soprano I in District 8 for All-Virginia SATB Chorus. Senior Josh Higdon was selected as alternate 2 Tenor II for All Virginia. Only two students are selected per voice part go to state level.

In early February HRA celebrated its first Annual FUN Night. BRASSWIND rocked the house and everyone had a great time! We are already looking forward to next year! 

On February 15 HRA’s residential students enjoyed a Chinese New Year celebration during lunch.

HRA has made it to the final round of the Coastal Virginia Magazine ‘Best Of’ contest in the Private School category! You can vote every day through March 30! Click here to vote. 

Hampton Roads Academy boys and girls swim team won the VISAA Division II Swim Invitational held at George Mason University. This is the fourth consecutive year that the boys and girls swim team have competed at the invitational and have taken home both trophies.

Registration is now open for HRA’s exciting Summer Camps! Click here to check out the Summer Programs webpage for camp descriptions and details!

Jennifer Massengill, a science and technology teacher at Hampton Roads Academy, has been named Virginia Agriculture in the Classroom 2018 Teacher of the Year.

A HUGE THANK you to all the community who attended the 43rd Annual Noodle Night!   Our one night Italian ristorante was attended by more than 300 diners to help raise money for prom.