The Williams School Norfolk

It is never too early to begin thinking about next year!

Deadlines are approaching for submitting your online application for 2024-2025:

*️⃣ Thursday, December 7, 2023: Applications due for the early admissions cycle
*️⃣ Thursday, February 8, 2024: Applications due for the regular admissions cycle

Interested in learning more about how The Williams School honors the individual child? Schedule your campus tour by visiting our website or contacting the School: (757) 627-1383. We look forward to beginning the conversation.

We are so grateful to Rabbi Roz from for joining us this morning in assembly to share more about the history and traditions of Hanukkah. Thank you for such an engaging presentation...we hope you will visit again soon!

Our preschool students recently began their final project-based learning (PBL) unit prior to Winter Break. They are exploring the work of architects, engineers, and builders as they prepare to design and build their own tiny gingerbread houses. Thank you to Mr. Danny Lee from for stopping in to speak with our students about the real-life building process...from drawing plans and using the best building materials to setting a strong foundation. They also discussed the importance of revision along the way.

Kudos to our preschool students for their great questions. We can't wait to see what you create!

It is one of the most wonderful times of the year! Alumni and current families and friends, we hope you are planning to join us next Thursday, December 14, 2023 for two of our favorite traditions:

✨Alumni Reunion: 3:30-5:00 PM (TWS Multi-Purpose Room)
✨The Celebration of Light: Doors open at 4:30 PM at Christ & St. Luke's Episcopal Church.

We look forward to celebrating together!

8th graders participated in a virtual dialogue on Friday hosted by the Global Education Benchmark Group. This meet-up connected students from across the U.S. and world to discuss climate change and its local impacts.

The topic was particularly timely for our 8th grade students; in their yearlong Capstone course, they are working with Wetlands Watch to explore sea level rise in our immediate area.

Today, we were thrilled to begin a special project with and hear from students across grade levels about the The Williams School experience. What a treat to hear their words.

Just a snippet from the day’s conversations: “Williams is special because it makes each person here a better person.”

We hope you will include a stop by TASTE Ghent in your Saturday plans. Thank you for supporting The Williams School’s Class of 2024!

In the final weeks of their non-graded Design Thinking elective, middle school students are constructing catapults from set materials and testing the effectiveness of their designs.

Kindergarten is busy sorting and exploring the attributes of coins.

If you are out and about in Norfolk this Saturday, December 2, please consider supporting the 8th grade’s fundraising efforts by visiting in Ghent. The Class of 2024 thanks you in advance!

We were proud to begin our Wednesday with recognitions of Good Citizens in 4th and 5th grades, as well as our "Owl Awards” in middle school. To our students who were recognized today...thank you for the example you set for our community.

Tuesday’s Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ program was a wonderful celebration of family, community, and the impressive work of our Williams students. Thank you to all who attended! We are grateful for you.

Painting and weaving in 4th grade art. We are so impressed by these Van Gogh-style representations of 419 Colonial Avenue.

Happy Diwali from The Williams School! Kindergarten students celebrated the Festival of Lights by creating their own beautiful diya (lamps) and sidewalk rangoli designs, with the help of their 3rd grade buddies.

It is alway a great start to the morning when Birthday Books are on the assembly agenda. We have some beautiful new additions to our library collection!

Compliments to Chef for the Day Carter, Class of 2029. Taco Tuesday, plus a bonus dessert day featuring chocolate lava cake, was appreciated by all.

Chef for the Day is another live auction item to look forward to at this year’s event: March 23, 2024 at the Harrison Opera House. Please keep an eye out for details to be shared in the coming weeks!

Thanks to our Chef for the Day, lunch looks and smells delicious! Stay tuned for updates.

We’re looking forward to this opportunity for teachers, current students, and alumni to share more about the middle school experience at Williams. Join us!

We were thrilled to welcome Andrea Lytle Peet to campus this morning for an incredible assembly with our 5th-8th graders and parent guests.

Andrea shared bits of her story from her documentary, ‘Go On, Be Brave,’ as well as her book, Hope Fights Back: Fifty Marathons and A Life-or-Death Race Against ALS.

‘Go On, Be Brave’ is a film about Andrea's race against time - a diagnosis of ALS and an attempt at the impossible - to be the first person with ALS to complete a marathon in all 50 states.

We are so grateful to Andrea...for the gift of her time, sharing a message of positivity, and reminding us all of the power of our individual goals. , The Williams School cheers for you!

What better way to wrap up the week than a neon dance party for our 4th and 5th graders! Thank you to the 8th grade class for organizing and sponsoring the event.

Today and always, The Williams School community extends our sincere appreciation for the service and sacrifice of all who have served. We proudly celebrated this morning with our annual Veterans Day Breakfast, which included presentations by middle school leadership and songs from our preschool through 1st grade students.

Thank you to all active duty and veteran service members who attended this morning. It was our privilege to host you.

Today in Ancient World History, 6th grade students were challenged with deciphering each other’s cuneiform messages.

3rd graders dig into soil analysis this afternoon during STEM Enrichment.

We are proudly getting ready for - and looking forward to - tomorrow’s annual Veterans Day Breakfast.

A job well done by today's Head of School for the Day, Mr. Chad Ballard (TWS Class of 2027). His agenda was a packed one, between assembly, meetings with school leaders, and time observing in classrooms. Thank you, Mr. Ballard, for your good work and positive leadership.

Parents and guardians, you may believe what you hear...Mr. Ballard designed tonight a "no homework" night. We also hope you are saving the date for this year’s annual auction: Saturday, March 23, 2024 at the Harrison Opera House. You don’t want to miss the fun or the packages available for bidding!

This morning's assembly was an extra special one. Dr. Hedrick read aloud from the book America's White Table as Coach Robert Gerrard, United States Navy veteran, prepared each piece of the symbolic white table. Ahead of Veterans Day, we are grateful to have shared this moment of remembrance as a community.

“At Williams, you have the opportunity to be the best you can be.” -Chad, TWS Class of 2027

In honor of Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month, 5th grade had a special guest today: Mr. Clay Morad, a native Alaskan and member of the Yuit tribe. The students asked many interesting questions about his culture and traditions. A special thank you to Mr. Morad for his time and Mr. Gordon for arranging the visit.

2nd graders are creating a parade of red, white, and blue to display for Friday morning’s Veterans Day Breakfast. It is our privilege to host this special tradition each November.

Interested in hearing more about our robust and student-centered middle school experiences? Please join us for a panel discussion on Tuesday evening, November 14: 6:00 PM in the MPR. Current and prospective families welcome! We hope to see you there.

We had a fabulous time on Saturday night at the 5th annual TWS Oyster Roast. We are so grateful for time well spent with Williams friends and families, past and present. We look forward to seeing you all again soon!

Thank you to our generous sponsors for helping make the event such a success:
, as well as GB Painting, the Poston Family, and the Robinson Family.

Welcome to Color Wars!

Happy Global Outdoor Classroom Day! In recognition of the day, Kindergarten students harvested Black-eyed Susan seeds for their seed balls, and 2nd graders created a habitat for insects (Bugingham Palace).
What a beautiful day to celebrate learning outdoors.

Tomorrow is Friday! Let’s end the week with our best show of Spirit Week creativity yet:
💙 Kindergarten (Blue)
❤️ 1st Grade (Red)
🧡 2nd Grade (Orange)
🤍 3rd Grade (White)
💚 4th Grade (Green)
🖤 5th Grade (Black)
💜 6th Grade (Purple)
💛 7th Grade (Yellow)
🩷 8th Grade (Pink)

Across our campus, students of all ages are learning about and celebrating the traditions of Día de los Mu***os.

The 7th grade class shares their appreciation to all those who helped make the recent blood drive such a success. We closed out Friday’s event 11 donations over our school goal. TWS will host two additional drives this year (January 12 and April 26, 2024). We hope to see you there!

That’s a wrap on Decades Day. We’ll see you tomorrow for mismatched craziness 😜

Bravo to our Head of School for the Day, Mr. David Goode. His non-stop day included leading assembly, holding meetings with Leadership Team members, a lunch meeting with Dr. Hedrick and Mr. Bone, and time for classroom visits — the most important job. He also leaves his post this afternoon with a very happy student body, thanks to a “no homework tonight” proclamation. Thanks, Mr. Goode!

Head of School for the Day is just one of several exciting live auction packages available at The Williams School auction. Save the Date: this year’s event is Saturday, March 23, 2024. More information to come!

Congratulations to Jessie W., TWS Class of 2022, for completing the Marine Corp Marathon this past weekend in Washington, D.C. Jessie attended Williams from Kindergarten through 8th grade, and she is now a sophomore at Granby High School in the IB Diploma Programme. She placed 5th in her age group. What an impressive accomplishment.

If you know Jessie, you know she is a warrior. Williams is proud of you!

We’re welcoming in November with Decades Day! The Spirit Week fun continues.