News and Announcements

School Opening

Wilson Hall is opening for on-campus instruction (parents may choose live remote learning) on the following dates:
Grades 1st-5th - August 25th
Grades 6th-12th - August 26th
Preschool & Kindergarten - August 31st.

School Uniforms

Wilson Hall is partnering with Lands' End for school uniforms for the 2020-21 school year. For more information regarding ordering the uniforms, please click on this link. The dress code and uniform requirements may be found under the resource documents on Parents Web by clicking on the Family Login tab at the top of the page. 

Celebrating the Class of 2020

The 53 members of the Class of 2020, the 50th graduating class, joined the 2,527 people who count themselves among the ranks of Wilson Hall’s alumni. Merit-based scholarships, valued at $4.9 million, were awarded to 96% of the graduates. The scholarships included nine full academic scholarships, 32 half academic scholarships, eight Palmetto Fellow Scholarships, and 36 Life Scholarships. The average SAT score for the top 25% of the class is 1384, with a high score of 1490, and the average score for the entire class, with all seniors taking the SAT, is 1203. Over 88% of the graduates took at least one Advanced Placement course, with the average student taking at least four, and were eligible to receive college credit.

Every member of the class gained acceptance to a four-year college or university, earning admission to 60 colleges and universities. The graduates will attend college at 22 different schools in seven states. In addition to attending South Carolina institutions such as Anderson University, Charleston Southern University, The Citadel, Clemson University, Coastal Carolina University, College of Charleston, Francis Marion University, Presbyterian College, University of South Carolina, Winthrop University and Wofford College, the graduates will attend the following schools: College of William and Mary, Davidson College, Pepperdine University, University of Georgia, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of South Florida, Utica College, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University and Wingate University.

Members of the Class of ’20 volunteered over 3,000 hours of community service during the school year. The recent graduates contributed to the school’s newspaper which was named the Best in State, and participated on the Chess Team, Competition Dance Team, Debate Team,  Literary Meet Team, and Reading Fair Team which won multiple state championships during their high school careers. They also won the top awards in the state for art and music competitions, and they were members of the state champion softball team. 

Matthews Receives State Service Award

Senior Mary Catherine Matthews received the Larry K. Watt Award presented by the S.C. Independent School Association to recognize the academic service-based achievements of seniors. It is one of the highest awards presented by the association which has over 110 member schools, and Mary Catherine is the only student who attends an AAA school in SCISA to receive the award. To be eligible for the award, the student must be nominated by the school and recommended by the headmaster. The nominee must have a minimum of 50 hours of documented community service after June of the student’s junior year (Mary Catherine has 440 hours) and a minimum 3.0 GPA. Once nominated, the student must submit a 500-word essay outlining the importance of community service as well as three letters of recommendation from school or community leaders who have personally witnessed their service initiatives.

Congratulations 2020 Graduates

Jones Named Carson Scholar

Junior Breland Jones was selected as a 2020 Carson Scholar and will receive a $1,000 scholarship award that will be invested for her college education. Established by Dr. and Mrs. Ben Carson, The Carson Scholars Program awards students who have embraced high levels of academic excellence and community service. 

Blum Wins Essay Contest

Wilson Hall students were well-recognized in the annual Myrtis Osteen History Essay Contest and received prizes totaling $1,500. Senior Alex Blum won the highest award, a $1,000 scholarship, in the contest which was open to all Sumter County high school students who were asked to submit an essay with the theme “The Value of History to Me.” The following students placed in the competition: 3rd place – senior Waverly McIver, 4th  place –  sophomore Madi Smith, and 5th place – freshman Kirti Reddy. Mr. Tom O’Hare, a history teacher, coordinated the essays on behalf of the school. The students were introduced and read their essays during the Sunday Student Recognition Program at Sumter County Museum’s Heritage Education Center. With the purpose of encouraging history in the Sumter area, the competition is sponsored by Beauregard Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Sumter County Historical Commission and Sumter County Historical Society.

Lucado Visiting Campus

Wilson Hall is hosting world-renowned author and speaker Max Lucado for the eleventh annual Mission Series on October 27. The program is open to the community free of charge.

Lucado’s best-selling books have sold 100 million copies across 54 languages worldwide. Every trade book Max Lucado has written during the last 30 years began as a sermon series for his home church Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas. Since his first book On the Anvil was published in 1985, Lucado has been sharing the promises of God in sermons, books, articles and media interviews. His writing is also featured in videos, devotionals, songs, plush toys, greeting cards, booklets, Bible studies, and Bible commentaries. 130 million of these products have been sold around the globe. His books regularly appear on national bestseller lists including the New York Times.

National press has noted the global influence of this unassuming Texas pastor. Lucado was dubbed “America’s Pastor” by Christianity Today, and Reader’s Digest called him “The Best Preacher in America.” The New York Times has named him one of the most influential leaders in social media. He has been featured on countless media outlets including USA Today, “Good Morning America,” “The Today Show,” NPR, CNN, and “Fox & Friends.”

Jones Wins Latin Gold Medeal

Mary Jones ‘22 received a gold medal and a Summa Cum Laude certificate for her performance on the National Latin Exam, and earning a silver medal and a Maxima Cum Laude certificate was Rachel Bostic ‘22. Receiving Magna Cum Laude certificates were Olivia Beasley ‘24, Cameron Coulter ‘23, Ansleigh Epps ‘22, Lucy McIver ‘22, Madi Smith ‘22 and Mary Parish Williams ‘24. Over 150,000 students worldwide enrolled in Latin classes took the National Latin Exam in March. Mr. Ben McIver is the Latin I, II & III and Advanced Placement Latin teacher.

Best of Sumter

Wilson Hall was voted Best Private School in the Best of Sumter 2020 contest sponsored by The Sumter Item. Voting for the annual readers' choice contest was held in February and garnered nearly 400,000 votes.

Students Recognized in Constitution Competition

The team of seniors Sarah Cain, Darden Kelly and Ben Matthews received the award for Most Effective Presentation at the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution competition held at the University of South Carolina Sumter. They are students in the Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics class taught by Mr. Tom O’Hare.           

The entire class, working in cooperative teams, prepared and presented four minute statements before a panel of community representatives acting as a congressional committee. Over 300 students from public and private schools from throughout the state participated in the competition.

By participating in a simulated congressional hearing in which they testified before a panel of judges, students demonstrated their knowledge and understanding of constitutional principles and had opportunities to take and defend positions on relevant historical and contemporary issues.

Dance Marathon Raises over $15,000

Wilson Hall students raised $15,100 for the Prisma Health Children’s Hospital by hosting its fourth annual mini-dance marathon (additional funds were donated after the event). In partnership with the University of South Carolina Dance Marathon which raises over half a million dollars every year through the Children’s Miracle Network, the money raised will go to support bettering the lives of children at the hospital. The main community service project the school sponsors, Wilson Hall has raised a total of $48,425 for the cause during the past four years. Held in the Nash Student Center from 5:00-10:00 PM on January 11, the event featured music, games, activities and food for students of all ages.

In addition to raising money through admission to the event, the committee raised money through the following activities: a Knock Out basketball assembly with upper school students and faculty, a Teddy Bear Parade assembly for lower school students, a movie night on Spencer Field, donations allowing upper school students to wear sweatpants during midterm exams, bake sales, and the solicitation of donations through the Miracle Network’s website.

The student-led event was organized by the following seniors who are members of the Executive Committee: Carly Allred & Elise Osteen – Executive Directors, Madison Landstrom & Madi Sliwonik – External Directors, Kyndal Waynick & Isabelle Weston – Internal Directors, and Campbell deHoll & Ben Matthews – Finance Directors. Ms. Liz Affronti serves as the faculty advisor for the committee and she was assisted by Mrs. Lisa Furse and Mr. Ben McIver.