Briarcrest Christian School
| Briarcrest Christian School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
| Information | |
| Type | Private co-educational elementary & secondary college prep school |
| Motto | With Man, All This Is Possible; With God, All Things Are Possible |
| Established | 1973 |
| Headmaster | Steve Simpson |
| Grades | Pre-K2 to Grade 12 |
| Enrollment | 1547 |
| Color(s) | Green & Gold |
| Mascot | Saint Bernard |
| Nickname | Saints |
| Affiliation | Non-denominational Christian |
| Website | www.briarcrest.com |
Briarcrest Christian School is a college preparatory school with two campuses, located in Memphis, Tennessee (Preschool to Grade 5) and Eads, Tennessee (Preschool to Grade 12). Programs for kindergarten through Grade 8 began in 1973, as Briarcrest Baptist School System, and a program for Grades 9-12 was added in 1974. In the early years, Briarcrest maintained as many as twelve locations in Southern Baptist churches throughout the Memphis area. In 1988, facing severe financial distress, the school disbanded its board of trustees and re-chartered as Briarcrest Christian School. The school is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Briarcrest is also a member of the Association of Christian Schools International, Southern Association of Independent Schools, Tennessee Association of Independent Schools, Memphis Association of Independent Schools, and the College Board.
Mission
The mission of Briarcrest Christian School is to challenge and inspire college-bound students to know and honor Jesus Christ, seek God's truth and wisdom in all disciplines, and to pursue excellence and integrity in their academic, creative, and athletic endeavors so that they might "grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men." (Luke 2:52)
Campuses
East Memphis
The East Memphis campus contains facilities for Preschool-Grade 5. It is located in east Memphis, near the Poplar/I-240 interchange. The facility contains an auditorium, a cafeteria, two libraries, a gymnasium, 4 science labs, 4 computer labs, and 59 regular classrooms. There are also three playgrounds and two practice fields. The building was originally used for high school grades 9-12.
Houston Levee
The Houston Levee campus is located on 84 acres of land in eastern Shelby County. An elementary campus is located at the Houston Levee facility, along with the middle school, high school, and a complete sportsplex. The facilities for students in Preschool-Grade 8 contain a gymatorium, a cafeteria, a playground, and a library. The campus uses a mobile computer lab which has wireless internet access. The elementary and middle school facilities at the Houston Levee campus opened in 2009.
The high school campus contains facilities for Grades 9 to 12. The building contains approximately 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) of instructional and support space for students. The building also contains 27 regular classrooms, 3 computer labs, 5 science labs, a science lecture lab, a library/media center, a cafeteria, a multi-purpose room, and fine arts facilities. The gymnasium contains locker rooms, a fully-furnished weight room, and a wrestling room.
The sportsplex contains a football stadium, track, baseball stadium, softball stadium, soccer field, and a tennis complex containing 6 courts. In addition, the stadium contains a field house and two concessions buildings. The Briarcrest Sportsplex hosted the state Track & Field championships when the TSSAA Spring Fling event was held in Memphis from 2003-2005. Additionally, the Briarcrest Sportsplex served as the backdrop of a 2009 Reebok commercial featuring New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and Giants wide receiver Domenik Hixon.[1]
Athletics
Briarcrest Christian School has fielded varsity sports teams since the mid-1970s. The school's team name is the Saints, and its mascot is a St. Bernard. Briarcrest competes in Division 2, the private school division, in the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association.
Briarcrest offers state-of-the art sports facilities on our expansive grounds. The school fields over 30 athletic teams, including football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, track, cross country, wrestling, tennis, swimming, golf and bowling. In 2009, Briarcrest started a boys' and a girls' high school lacrosse program. Briarcrest also has competitive cheerleading and pom squads.
Competing with both private and public schools in the region, many Briarcrest teams advance to competition and victory at the state level. Since 1998, state championships include the 2003 State Volleyball Championship, 2002 and 2004 State Football Championship, 2008 Boys Basketball State Championship and 1998, 2001 and 2002 Girls Basketball State Championships.
Briarcrest Fine Arts Department
The mission of the Briarcrest Christian School Fine Arts Department is to provide a Christ-centered curriculum that inspires, equips, and empowers students to discover, develop, and demonstrate their God-given talents while establishing a life-long appreciation for the arts. The Briarcrest Christian School Fine Arts Department provides instruction for students beginning in Preschool and continuing through the twelfth grade in art, drama, and music. The department also provides creative and cultural opportunities for all students at the Briarcrest Christian School and members of the Memphis community. The Fine Arts Department offers instruction in visual arts, choral music, instrumental music, general music, and theater. The Fine Arts department lists accomplishments including: artists placing in various competitions, the honors band talent winner performance, the choir, and the theater's productions.
The Briarcrest Christian School Vocal Music Department offers middle and high school students a medium for musical expression. High school students may audition for the Briarcrest Singers or the Concert Choir. They may also audition for the High School Spring Musical. High School vocal students also participate in events sanctioned by the West Tennessee Vocal Music Educators Association. The Briarcrest Christian High School Singers is the high school’s premier vocal ensemble. The Briarcrest Singers provide auditioned vocal students a medium for advanced musical expression. Concert Choir members will receive training in musical fundamentals preparing them for placement in the Briarcrest Singers or a life making music. Each year the choir performs for chapels, churches, and local festivals.
The primary goals of the Band Program at Briarcrest are to enhance the individual's potential to understand music as an art form, to encourage the use of music as a form of expression, and to teach the value of music as an aesthetic experience. The Band Program seeks to provide instruction which focuses on a sequential program of skills development, while allowing the student to grow intellectually and socially. In order to accomplish these objectives, the program is divided into four levels: the High School Band and three Middle School bands. The high school band usually consists of ninth through twelfth grade students. These students are taught skills in music theory and music history through the performance medium. These students participate in the high school Marching Band and the high school Concert Band. The marching band usually competes in 6 marching contests during the fall semester. They also have an award-winning colorguard unit. The concert band competes at the state and national level. This group gives a concert at Christmas, as well as performing in up to five different concerts during the spring semester.
The Briarcrest Christian School drama program is designed to allow students who are interested in acting and staging to participate in plays and musicals. The high school curriculum includes an introduction to theatre arts, classes in acting and dance, and a production workshop class. The dramatic production during the fall semester is a classical or modern selection. Some past fall plays include A Midsummer Night's Dream, Father of the Bride, The Taming of the Shrew, The Crucible, Neil Simon's female version of The Odd Couple, The Nerd and The Fantasticks. The high school play in the spring semester is a musical that involves all areas of the fine arts department: drama, visual arts, choir, and the band. Some past musicals include Peter Pan, Annie, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Carousel, She Loves Me and Oklahoma!. The annual middle school musical is presented in the spring semester. Productions have included Schoolhouse Rock, Jr., The Music Man, Jr., Aladdin Jr. and The Wizard of Oz. The 2008 BCMS production will be Seussical: the Musical.
The curriculum of Visual Arts organized at Briarcrest Christian Schools is both vertical and horizontal in approach. Through the implementation of a cross-cultural and cross-curriculum based approach, each instructor intentionally connects art history and art making to math, science, history and writing. The visual arts are taught from a biblical perspective relating art production to art history, criticism and aesthetics.
Notable alumni
- Todd Adams- Owner, Newby's Restaurant, Memphis
- Tim Dulin - Former Baltimore Orioles & Pittsburgh Pirates player; owner of Dulin's Gameday Sports Academy in Cordova, Tennessee.
- Jeff Fite- Former University of Memphis punter, named All-American in 1990.
- John Hemphill - Actor/ Comedian
- Keith Kessenger - Former University of Mississippi All-SEC & All-American baseball player, former Cincinnati Reds player; Current head baseball coach at Arkansas State University.
- Jim Mabry - University of Arkansas football player; Associated Press First team All-American 1989.
- Michael Oher - University of Mississippi and Baltimore Ravens football player; First team all-Southeastern Conference football team 2006; subject of book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, by Michael Lewis; and subject of the 2009 movie The Blind Side, written and directed by John Lee Hancock.
- Lisa Pickens Quinn - Emmy Award winning television host, Guest Designer: The Oprah Winfrey Show, National Spokesperson: Kenmore Appliances and IKEA, HGTV’s Sensible Chic: 39 Episodes as Design Director and Host. 2009 Winner of Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement -- Program Host.
- James Edwards - host of The Political Cesspool
External links
- The Ballad of Big Mike, New York Times Magazine article on Michael Oher 2005
- Briarcrest homepage
Template:Tennessee college preparatory schools
