Private and parochial schools in the Miss-Lou will open their doors to students beginning next week.

Huntington School

Huntington School students will begin classes Aug. 13 with orientation in the morning and a full day of classes. Pre-kindergarten students through sixth grade will report directly to their classrooms while seventh through 12th graders will meet in the gym for orientation and homeroom assignments. Headmaster and Principal Hugh Hathcock said he expects about 200 students this year and welcomes four new teachers in his third year as headmaster and principal.

Teachers report Aug. 11 and some are working in their rooms now, according to Hathcock who said he is ready for the beginning of school.

He said this year, the school will just improve on what it has been doing. By now, starting his third year, he said the children know what to expect from him and he knows what to expect from them.

&uot;It’s going to be an outstanding year,&uot; Hathcock said.

Adams County Christian School

Students at ACCS will begin a full day of school Monday, although teachers begin in-service Wednesday. Orientation for students is Friday, with kindergarten through ninth grade beginning at 8 a.m. and 10-12 grades at 10 a.m.

Headmaster John Gray said the school will welcome two new teachers and about 570 students this year.

Gray said the school worked hard during the summer on the physical plant of the school and also on curriculum.

Improvements were made to much of the athletic facilities, namely the football field area.

&uot;Everything looks great, and we are excited about the new year starting,&uot; Gray said.

This year, ACCS added a dual-enrollment with Co-Lin Community College. High school students can earn credits for high school and college at the same time through certain classes. The only requirement for the teachers is for them to have the qualifications to teach at the college, most of the time a master’s degree.

Gray said he is excited about the program. &uot;It is a good advantage for students knowing they’re going to college,&uot; he said.

Gray said he hopes in the honors English class for seniors, the whole class will get college credit. The classes are monitored by Co-Lin.

A second new curriculum addition for the high school curriculum is for every student to finish the New and Old Testaments by the time they graduate.

Cathedral School

Cathedral School will open for students on Aug. 13 with only a half day of school. Teachers, however, have a retreat Thursday, and those teaching religion will go to Jackson Friday for a work day at the diocese. Also, teachers will have in-service for professional development and time to set up their rooms next week. The school will work on curriculum mapping during their in-service, according to Assistant Administrator and Elementary Principal Kate Cole.

And one project the school started last year, school improvement, will continue this year where the school will evaluate the community, themselves, the way it teaches and see what can be done to improve. A written presentation of that evaluation is expected to begin at the end of this school year.

Cole estimated that about 360 students are enrolled from 3-year-olds to sixth grade but did not know how many were enrolled for seventh grade and above.

&uot;I’m always excited about the beginning of the school year,&uot; Cole said.

This week, through today or Wednesday, the school will be open for people to tour the school, pick up schedules and supply list and forms to register for school. Students can still register after Wednesday however.

Trinity Episcopal Day School

More than 310 students are expected to roam the halls of Trinity Episcopal Day School beginning Aug. 13. This week, teachers are preparing for the arrival of the students and will begin workshops Aug. 11 with five new teachers in tow.

Trinity will welcome three new classes this year to its curriculum. Kindergarten through fourth graders will now have a science lab once a week where they will perform hands-on experiments that are &uot;loosely&uot; based on the curriculum they learn in their classes.

&uot;We are just going to make them think science is cool,&uot; Stephanie Daly, teacher of the science lab said.

The children will be welcomed by a blue, ocean feel room to watch tadpoles grow into frogs and perform experiments on animals, plants and the human body.

Goals for the lab are not only to pique the interests of the students for science but to help students learn the scientific method and to host an elementary science fair.

Also new this year, the school will offer Godly Play, a Montessori-based class that is nondenominational. Students will learn about God and the Bible and then they will draw, paint or use clay to interpret and reinforce what they learned.

Teacher Cathy Davis said the class is based on the assumption that children as young as three years old think about God, and said the class is &uot;a chance for them to wonder.&uot;

Davis also will teach a new drama class for high school students.

&uot;Academically, we’ve got a lot of new and exciting programming,&uot; Chaplain Paul Stevens said. All things he said they are &uot;very excited&uot; about.

One school-wide feature offered this year will be homework posted on the Internet so parents will know what their children have to do.