Campus Life

At HPCS there’s always something going on: athletic events, the fall play, fine arts competitions, music lessons, STEAM workshops, after-school clubs, and much more! When you’re on campus, you’ll see people laughing together or having serious (sometimes downright hard) conversations, enjoying a snack or studying intently, working hard or taking time to relax with a friend. Basically, you’ll see life happening—people living, learning, and connecting—growing together. We’re not perfect, but we’ve got a good thing going here!

Here’s a glimpse of daily life and some of the highlights of the school year.

Chapel

Each student attends chapel once a week. Students in K5-2nd grade sing, celebrate birthdays, and hear a Bible story from one of the HPCS staff pastors. Students in 3rd-6th grade meet right after and a little bit longer. This year’s chapel theme in Lower School is the parables of Jesus from the Gospels. Upper School students hear from a staff member or pastor teach each week on an aspect of their theme for the year. This year’s theme is “Someone to Talk To: A Series of Conversations” on what God has to say in Scripture about topics taken from a student survey conducted earlier in the year. Topics include how to handle stress, peer pressure, decision-making, friendships, and victory over sin.

Connection Week

Upper School kicks off the year with Connection Week—five fun-filled, relationship-building, activity-packed days to help us better connect with God, each other, and the community. It’s like Christian summer camp right here on campus! We talk about our spiritual growth theme and set the vision for how to live it out in the coming year.

Get Real Groups

During Connection Week, one of the most important things we do is place each student into his or her Get Real Group for the year. Get Real Groups are led by faculty and staff members and modeled after church life groups. They meet once a week for encouragement and connection and provide a safe place to ask questions and share burdens. They invite a culture of peer-to-peer and staff-to-student discipleship and accountability. Every group is different, and we prayerfully and thoughtfully arrange groups that will grow together in truth, love, and service all year long.

School Spirit

HPCS is full of school spirit, and we love having fun together. We designate various days through the year as “Spirit Days,” when we dress in school colors to promote a big game that evening. Early second semester we devote an entire week to school spirit. Each day is a different theme, and faculty, staff, and students all dress accordingly. Whether it’s “Old vs. Young,” “Pirate or Princess,” or “Crazy Day,” you’ll see us all dressed up and having a blast. The week ends with Homecoming on Friday, where we pack the gym with alumni, staff, and students for thrilling basketball games and hilarious half-time activities.

Field Trips & Community Service

Throughout the year, Lower School participates in various service opportunities, such as partnering with Samaritan’s Purse for Operation Christmas Child or writing “Thank You” notes to Honor Flight Upstate veterans. Students go on numerous field trips as well, including to Discovery Place in Charlotte, the Roper Mountain Science Center closer to home, and the long-awaited Creation Museum/Ark Encounter trip in 6th grade. We encourage Lower School parents to attend field trips with their kids to share in the fun and learning opportunities together.

Upper School classes also participate in several field trips throughout the year. Examples include Christmas at Biltmore for Interior Decorating students, the Carl Sandburg Home for Creative Writing, a university cadaver lab for Anatomy students, and the Disney Performing Arts clinic in Orlando for band students. Our Upper School experience includes various service opportunities too, including a Miracle Hill service day at one of their ministry sites and participation in Special Olympics, where each student partners with an athlete for the day. Field experience culminates in a trip to Washington, DC, and New York City—a highlight of the senior year.