Wilmington Academy of Arts and Sciences

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Wilmington Academy of Arts and Sciences
Address
6201 Myrtle Grove Road Wilmington , New Hanover , North Carolina 28409-4524 United States
Coordinates	34°07′11″N 77°52′45″W / 34.11973°N 77.87910°W / 34.11973; -77.87910Coordinates: 34°07′11″N 77°52′45″W / 34.11973°N 77.87910°W / 34.11973; -77.87910
Information
Type	Private
Principal	Beth Upton
Grades	4-8
Color(s)	blue and yellow
Mascot	owls

Wilmington Academy of Arts and Sciences (WAAS) is a private school in Wilmington, North Carolina that focuses on education for academically gifted students in grades 4-8.

History[]

Wilmington Academy of Arts and Sciences was established in 1997 and was founded by Patti Deffendal. Wilmington Academy of Arts and Sciences is the first school in Wilmington, North Carolina to concentrate on advanced academics. At WAAS (Wilmington Academy of Arts and Sciences) there is a 4-5th grade classroom and there are 6-8th grades. WAAS concentrates on Science, Mathematics, Language Arts, Social Studies, Spanish, and Explorations.

Alumni[]

Among notable people that went to WAAS is Sam Spaulding who attended Peking University and was a finalist on the college Jeopardy! tournament. Out of the six high schools in Wilmington, North Carolina, three have either valedictorians or salutorians that are former WAAS students. The valedictorians of the Hoggard High School classes of '08, '09, '10, '11, '12, '13, and '14 have all been WAAS graduates. Many of the kids from WAAS also choose to go to the North Carolina School of Science and Math.

Administration and faculty[]

View of the exterior from Myrtle Grove Rd

WAAS is currently headed up by Beth Upton, a veteran of the New Hanover County AIG program. Current^[when?] faculty includes:

• Director: Beth Upton
• Math Teacher: Jesse Simon
• Science Teacher: Lisa Giacomelli
• Language Arts Teacher: Melissa Puritis-Pulley
• Spanish Teacher: Amie Siebold
• Explorations Teacher: Sandy Errante
• 4/5 Teacher: Austin Adams
• 4/5 Assistant Teacher: Jodi Davis

Extracurricular activities[]

WAAS offers extracurricular activities. The clubs and groups are run by parents and teachers.

• Debate Club
• Girls Tennis: allowed by Echo Farms Country Club
• Boys Tennis
• Math Counts
• Student Leadership Association
• Boys Basketball
• Girls Basketball
• Science Olympiad Varsity and JV
• Theater Club
• Spanish Club

References[]