St. Agnes Welcomes Class of 2029 at Academy Access

For most Houston students, the week leading to Spring Break is filled with final tests and quizzes and last-minute homework—full of anticipation to get to a week of rest, relaxation, and a well-deserved break. For many Houston eighth graders, though, the week is filled with nerves for another reason entirely: private high school admissions decisions are released! And like many other private schools in the Houston area that week, St. Agnes Academy handed out their own admissions decisions to the incoming Class of 2029!

But, as admissions decisions were sent out and while eighth graders got excited about their upcoming high school years, St. Agnes’ Admissions Department was busy planning how to welcome accepted students to the Academy with an event called “Academy Access.” St. Agnes’ Admissions Department, namely Ms. Brigid Schiro, Director of Enrollment Management, and Ms. Jamie Wissinger, Director of Admissions, work together with the help of St. Agnes’ Student Council to organize this event. It is held for prospective students to get a glimpse of what it is like being an Academy Woman, offering prospective students and families a peek into life and culture at St. Agnes with tours of the school, opportunities to talk to current students and faculty, crafts, and a St. Agnes specialty—inflatable obstacle courses!

Student Council members welcoming in prospective students and their families. (Photo: St. Agnes’ Communications Department)

Last year, the school rolled out the red carpet in a “Movie Stars”-themed afternoon, for the superstars of the Class of 2028. However, this year, Academy Access looked a little bit different. Hosted last Tuesday, newly admitted students joined their future peers and classmates on campus, entering to find a “yellow brick road” leading them through St. Agnes’ hallways to a grand Wicked-themed reception.

In the Courtyard, St. Agnes’ department directors and student representatives received prospective students and parents, sharing various advice and insights on what it’s like to be involved on a sports team as a freshman, performing with St. Agnes/Strake Jesuit Orchestra, dancing with the Tiger Girls Gameday Team at pep rallies, and more. The Old Gym hosted Student Council members chatting with the eighth graders over bingo and Ozian crafts like bedazzling miniature wooden ruby slippers. In the neighboring room, the New Gym boasted the fun inflatables and obstacle courses that grace the campus once a year on the famous St. Agnes tradition of VVD (“Veritas Vacation Day”), where prospective students socialized and got a glimpse of some Classic St. Agnes’ fun. Student Council delegates also guided parents and families on small tours throughout the school.  

This year’s Academy Access was a great success, and St. Agnes cannot wait to welcome the new Academy Women of the Class of 2029 this fall!