Academy News

Shady Side Academy honors five retiring faculty and staff members in 2025, celebrating their 125 years of combined service and lasting impact on generations of students.

Shady Side Academy announced its 2025 faculty and staff award winners on June 10, honoring outstanding excellence, innovation, and dedication across the school.

Shady Side Academy’s new Immersives program reimagines learning through three-week, full-day courses that push students beyond the classroom. From AI ethics to urban waterways, these interdisciplinary experiences connect students with real-world challenges, empowering them to lead with purpose and curiosity.

Middle School students embraced hands-on, interdisciplinary learning during Project Week, an annual tradition that brings academic concepts to life through immersive, real-world challenges. With traditional classes on pause, each grade level tackled a meaningful theme designed to spark curiosity, creativity, and collaboration.

On the morning of May 29, curiosity was everywhere at Country Day School. In classrooms and shared spaces across campus, students in Pre-K through grade 5 met architects and veterinarians, therapists and firefighters—grown-ups who showed them how a spark of interest can grow into something more. 

The Rotary Club of Fox Chapel Area honored nine Shady Side Academy graduating seniors at its May 21 luncheon at the Laurie Ann West Community Center in O’Hara.

Recently, Middle School students published the Spring 2025 issue of “The Spiral Staircase,” SSA Middle School’s digital literary magazine. “The Spiral Staircase” is a student-driven publication highlighting original student artwork and writing, fostering a platform where diverse perspectives can flourish.

This Spring, Country Day School and the Junior School buzzed with excitement as fourth- and fifth-grade students unveiled their Passion Projects to an audience of peers and families. This annual event celebrates student-driven inquiry, allowing learners to delve into topics that ignite their curiosity and creativity.

Shady Side Middle School students earned impressive accolades this year in a wide range of national contests, academic competitions, and arts programs—demonstrating excellence in languages, mathematics, writing, science, and more.

Shady Side junior Evan X. has earned a spot among the top 20 students nationwide in the 2025 USA Biology Olympiad (USABO), securing an invitation to the National Finals at Harvard University from June 22 to July 4. Evan is the only Pennsylvania student to reach the Finals in the past seven years and one of just two in the competition's 20-year history. 

Third and fourth-grade students from the Junior School and Country Day School recently put their creativity and compassion to work at the 2025 Design to Make a Difference Showcase on Saturday, May 10.

Country Day School students took audiences on a whimsical journey with their all-school production of "Alice in Wonderland Jr.," a vibrant adaptation of the classic Disney tale.

Senior School English Teacher Adam Janosko has been named a recipient of the August Wilson Archive Educator Award and three Senior School students—Ahmeena A., Tatum A., and Diya S.—were also awarded August Wilson Student Research Grants. 

Eight Shady Side Academy Senior School students traveled to St. Louis this past weekend to compete in the National Championship of Math League—and even a tornado couldn’t slow them down. The SSA team stayed focused, adapted fast, and delivered a top-tier performance.

The Junior School once again celebrated Lynne Voelp Reed Day with a joyful carnival in the gym, hosted by the Unified Parents' Association with help from Senior School “lifers” who started their SSA journeys at the Junior School.