THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 11, 1994 TAG: 9408100164
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 19 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: COVER STORY
BACK TO SCHOOL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
Students returning to Nansemond-Suffolk Academy this fall will be able to enjoy improved athletic facilities, upgraded computer rooms and some curriculum additions.
``Basically, our program does not have that many changes,'' said William N. Owen, headmaster of the private school. ``And we didn't launch into any major building program. We took a break.''
But the school has six new tennis courts on the front campus and an upgraded girls' varsity softball field with new dugouts and backstops, Owen said.
And at a huge savings to the school, the Nansemond-Suffolk Academy Alumni Association is renovating the football bleachers.
Hunter Odom, president of the alumni group, said the work is being done mainly on weekends, using volunteer labor. Most of the materials also have been donated, said Odom, an insurance agent with Suffolk Insurance Co. and a 1979 graduate of the school.
The metal frames and railings are being sandblasted and repainted in the school colors - blue and gold. And new wooden seats and foot boards are being installed.
The work is expected to be completed by the end of August or the first of September, before the first home football game, Odom said.
In the academic arena, the school's computer program has been expanded. This year, students will be able to use either of two computer labs - one with IBM-compatible computers, the other with MacIntosh. Each has 15 terminals.
``We feel this will greatly expand their preparation for college,'' said Brenda Kincaid, director of instruction. ``Many of our students who went into engineering, for instance, came back and said they were not prepared. Most engineering courses require IBMs.''
Also this year, the school is offering advanced placement French for the first time, Kincaid said.
Upper school students will benefit from some new equipment, available through a grant from the Hewlett-Packard Co., Kincaid said. The company has donated 30 graphing calculators, valued at about $6,500, for use in advanced placement calculus classes.
The special calculators allow students to solve more complicated problems through advanced technology, Kincaid said.
``We are constantly trying to keep abreast of changes in technology through things like incorporating the graphing calculators and the main type of computers,'' she said. ``We are really pushing technology.''
The school's regular physics classes also will have something new. They will be involved in a pilot program, using the textbook, ``How Things Work,'' by Louis A. Bloomfield, a professor at the University of Virginia. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Ginger Owen will coach girls tennis at Nansemond-Suffolk Academy,
where there are six new courts on the front campus. The school also
has upgraded computer rooms and some curriculum additions.
by CNB