O'Neal is preparing for its first day of school on Aug. 15. Through science, cultural studies and foreign exchange, students are learning more about the world around them.

O'Neal's Lower School will welcome the fifth grade to its facility. Having been part of the Middle School for many years, it has been determined that the fifth grade would better benefit from the academic schedule offered in the Lower School.

In addition to welcoming the fifth grade, the Lower School will be enhancing its after-school clubs to include an Ecology Club. Its Spanish curriculum has expanded to also include the cultural aspects of Spanish-speaking countries. The fifth grade will be piloting the Full Option Science System (FOSS), which promotes learning science by doing science. The construction of an outdoor learning center, serving all Lower School grades starting in Pre-K3, is under way.

The Middle School will have "acting" Middle School Director Jim Adare until Oct. 1, when new Middle School Director Andrea Smith arrives from Canada.

Adare will continue his time at O'Neal to serve as the school's director of academic studies. He is an experienced independent school educator who has worked with the O'Neal faculty on academic curriculum. Adare has spent more than 30 years providing counsel to hundreds of schools across America and overseas.

Smith was an education consultant for Public Consulting Group in Nashville, Tenn. Previously, she held positions as deputy head teacher as well as head of English at schools in London, England. Smith has participated in an exchange program, where she taught English in Rocky Mount. She received her bachelor's degree in social sciences from the University of Ottawa, Canada, and a post-graduate certificate in education from University of Strathcyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom.

The Middle School will have an enhanced physical education and intramural program in addition to its competitive sports program. On the academic front, students will have more time to concentrate on writing skills, and foreign exchange for Middle School ages will continue. French students from the school O'Neal visited last spring will visit O'Neal this spring.

In the Upper School, O'Neal families will be hosting students from France for different periods of time throughout the school year. Several Upper School students are now currently participating in study abroad in Vigo, Spain, and will return soon. Changes in the daily schedule are allowing for more enrichment opportunities in the Upper School.

O'Neal will be kicking off the new school year with the completion of its first-ever summer reading program. O'Neal is inviting the community to read Cathy Davidson's "Now You See It."

Using cutting-edge research on the brain, Davidson shows how "attention blindness" has produced one of society's greatest challenges: acknowledging the digital age, but operating in schools and workplaces designed for the last century. On Thursday, Aug. 23, in O'Neal's theater, Davidson will hold a lecture on the book featuring groundbreaking ideas that will open the doors to new ways of working and learning. Go to www.ONealNow.org to reserve your seat. Admission is free.

Serving students from Pre-K3 to Grade 12, The O'Neal School is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools and is a Core Knowledge National Visitation Site.

The school has dual accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS). O'Neal graduates 100 percent of its seniors, and all are accepted to colleges and universities throughout the nation.

For more information about enrollment to The O'Neal School, call Alice Droppers, director of admissions, at (910) 692-6920 or go to www.ONealSchool.org.