Community
Our school culture is one of joyful authenticity: at Grayson, your true self is embraced and celebrated. Across all grades, we offer a profusion of activities — the majority of which are created by students, for students — to feed their curiosity, to fuel their creativity, and to forge close connections.
Musical Theatre
Grayson has a thriving musical theatre program: our annual Lower School musical includes every student in PreK-5 on the stage, while our Middle and Upper School students produce a full-scale theatrical production each spring involving most of the student body. It is a truly student-driven enterprise for which they design and create costumes and sets, run lights and sound, and perform on stage. Both recent performances of Urinetown The Musical and Matilda Jr. brought the house down!
Athletics
Beginning in Lower School, we offer a range of athletics programs, including archery, cross country running, ultimate frisbee, soccer, tennis, and fencing. Middle and Upper School students participate on competitive teams. Lower School students focus on developing their technical and teamwork skills and a spirit of fair play.
Competitive Academic Programs
Students across all divisions participate in various local, national, and international academic competitions throughout the year, including:
- Pennsylvania Math League, all divisions
- American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) 8, 10, and 12
- Harvard-MIT Math Tournament (HMMT)
- MATHCOUNTS
- Math Kangaroo, numerous divisions
- Math Olympiad for Middle and Elementary Schools, both divisions
- American Invitational Mathematics Examination (by invitation)
- PiMath Competition, all divisions
- VEX V5 Robotics
- VEX IQ Robotics
- Kibo Robot Programming Challenge (RPC)
- Model UN
- esports
- Reading Olympics
- Competitive Chess
- Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
- Scripps National Spelling Bee
- National Spanish, Chinese, and Latin Competitions
- Fighting Words Poetry Contest from the Pulitzer Center
- Creative Communications Poetic Power Awards
After-school Programs
The Grayson School provides several extended-day programs for Lower School students, including Pre-K before-school care, K-5 after-school care, and K-5 after-school enrichment programs that provide unique and exciting extracurricular experiences. Current offerings include technology, art, games, language learning, and more.
Special Traditions at Grayson Include:
Pi Day
Star Wars Day
Cultural Celebration
VIP Day
Founders Day
Winterfest Celebration of Music and the Arts
Prom / Middle School Dances
Global Studies
Grayson Parents Association (GPA)
Grayson has a very active and engaged parent community. Just as gifted children benefit from like-minded peers, our parents relish the opportunity to engage with other parents who have similar experiences with gifted children.
The GPA leads student community service opportunities, our annual Fall Festival and multicultural celebrations, fundraising, teacher appreciation activities, and classroom and schoolwide social events throughout the year.
There are numerous ways to get involved to foster school spirit, engage with other school families, and support Grayson. Class parent emails and our schoolwide weekly newsletter, The Gryphon Gram, share upcoming events and invite parent leadership and participation.
Alumni
The Grayson School reached an amazing milestone by graduating its first senior class in 2022. Our graduates attend a broad range of highly-selective and very specialized programs across the country, from large public research universities to small liberal arts schools known for strong connections between professors and students.
A small but rapidly-growing group, our alumni remain connected with each other and with Grayson throughout the year by returning to participate in school traditions and welcoming our newest graduates into their ranks at Commencement.
“Grayson provided my student with the perfect learning environment. We knew they were gifted but didn’t connect that with the frustrations they were having in school. It sounds unbelievable but as soon as they started at Grayson, everything fell into place and learning became extraordinary. They learned a language in half the time it would have taken in their prior school, attended 3 international educational trips, and subjects were taught with such depth and understanding that I had never seen before. When we were considering Grayson for our child, parents of a student said that it was a “game changer“ for their son. Saying Grayson was a game changer is an understatement. My student got into their number one college, which had an acceptance rate lower than 5%. That would not have been possible without Grayson. Their college prep and support is AMAZING!”— Alumni parent, Class of 2024
Our Gifted Blog
Our blog shares news and resources on giftedness for parents and educators, research in the field, project-based learning experiences from our classrooms, and other school highlights.
Gifted Resources
Here you will find a few resources to help you to understand, support, and advocate for academically gifted children and students.