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in Upper School, Athletics

6th Grade Girls Capture The Trident Basketball League Title For A Second Straight Year!

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The 6th grade PCA Girls Basketball Team captured their AAA division and entered the Division I playoffs as the #2 seed. Winning against Porter Gaud in the first round and rolling past Laing Middle in the second, the PCA Eagles earned the right to meet #1 seed Moultrie Middle for the Championship Title Game on Monday, February 11. This final game already had the headlines for a great battle. PCA had a 13-1 winning record coming into the game. So did Moultrie. But, PCA's one loss was to the Patriots. It would be the Eagles' chance to avenge that loss. The game started aggressive, just like Head Coach Eric Cox predicted. Annabelle Cox hit the front end of a one-and-one. And that would be the theme of the game, aggressive play landing someone on the foul line. At halftime, the Eagles lead 12-6. Moultrie would enter the second half like a sleeping giant. Playing with emotion, the Patriots would shift into another gear. But, the Eagles would remain calm and continue to fight. At game's end, there would be 7 PCA Eagles that would score. However, it was Cokey's Suddeth's high percentage of baskets made while at the free throw line that would make the difference, and make her MVP of the Trident League Division I Tournament. Point guard Lily Buceti and Forward Annabelle Cox were also handed All-Conference Awards for the tourney. Congratulations, Lady Eagles on your Division I Trident League Basketball Championship and for a great season!

Posted by Cassy Andrus with
in Community, Lower School, Academics

6th Grade DNR Salt Marsh Field Trip

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One of Charleston's most glorious scenes is how bright blue the skies look as they touch the vibrant green cord grass swaying upward from our surrounding marshes. PCA's 6th grade class received the opportunity to learn more about the beauty of our salt marshes, and their importance in sustaining Charleston's ecosystem on a field trip to the Department of Natural Resources located on James Island last Friday.
 
Students began by recording data of what salt marsh objects were found in a simplistic device known as a quadrad. Piecing together pvc pipe into a square, students marked their areas around the marsh land and identified items such as oyster shells, salt grass and sea lettuce. Making these finds help scientists know the health condition of the local salt marshes.
 
Next, our students were handed every day articles by one of the DNR biologists, and asked to find the metaphor in how that item related to our salt marshes. One group was handed a kitchen sponge. 6th grader, Graham Eller, remarked, "the marsh absorbs bad things from the water." Steering Eller to more specifics, the biologist agreed saying the sponge represented the important need of salt marshes' pluff mud and grasses to absorb wave energy during storm surge and tides.
 
Students continued their scientific research by dragging marsh water into a water net in order to collect plankton samples. Surprisingly, these microscopic organisms that live in our waterways form the basis of our food web, while also creating 60% of our atmosphere's oxygen levels. Students learned the difference between phytoplankton and zooplankton and were asked to identify the creatures under a scientific microscope.
 
Wrapping up the day of exploration and research, the students enjoyed a walk through the Ft. Johnson Trail while reading plaques dotted throughout the woods about local plants and animals. The students ended their chilly morning with a picnic lunch while soaking in the view of the Charleston Harbor, now more aware of the complex ecosystem lurking in the elegant beauty of our local salt marshes.    
Posted by Cassy Andrus with

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