Lausanne Collegiate School

Infobox Secondary school
name = Lausanne Collegiate School
motto = "Cognitio Veritas honor"
"Knowledge, Truth, and honor"
type = Private coeducational nonsectarian college-preparatory
grades = PreK-12
city = Memphis
state = Tennessee
country = USA
established = 1926, as Lausanne Montessori School
enrollment = 775
mascot = Louis the Lynx
newspaper = "Lynx Link"
headmaster = Stuart McCathie
website = [http://www.lausanneschool.com]

Lausanne Collegiate School, originally known as Lausanne School for Girls, is now an independent, coeducational, nonsectarian school in Memphis, Tennessee, for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. It was named for the city of Lausanne, Switzerland, long renowned as a European center of education.

According to its mission statement:

:"Lausanne Collegiate School is a coed, nonsectarian school whose mission is to prepare each of its students for college and for life in a global environment." [http://lausanneschool.com/Mission.21.0.html]

The school's motto is "Knowledge, Truth and Honor."

The current headmaster of the school is Stuart McCathie.

History

Lausanne Collegiate School was founded in 1926 by Mrs. Emma Jett and Miss Bessie Statler. It was originally a day school for girls. The school was named after Lausanne, Switzerland, to signify that it was founded to cultivate in its students the same high educational standards and respect for the arts that have made the schools of that city famous throughout the world. For much of its history it was a Montessori school, though in 1982 all references to Montessori were dropped.

The school relocated in 1959 to its current location, a spacious, wooded lakeside campus in East Memphis, where it enrolled students in grades PreK-12. The Lower School became coeducational in 1976, and in 1977 boys were admitted to the Middle and Upper Schools. The first boys graduated from Lausanne in 1982, the year a chapter of the Cum Laude Society was formed in the Upper School. Also in 1982, the school changed its name from The Lausanne School to the current name. The nickname changed that year as well, changing from the Lausanne Lightning to the Lausanne Lynx. In 1998, the school dedicated a new, two-story classroom building to accommodate expanding enrollment. A new Upper School science building opened during the 2001-2002 school year, and the renovation and remodeling of the rest of the administrative offices and the Upper School was completed in 2003. With the movement of the 3-year old program out of the Cottage and into Tanner Hall in the summer of 2004, there exists an Early Childhood wing housing 3, 4 and 5-year old students. The George B. Elder Performing Arts Center, a 500-seat "state of the art" theater, opened in November of 2004, and a new Middle School building was completed in May of 2005 housing grades 7 and 8. The new building also includes 2 science labs. Today, Lausanne enrolls more than 700 students occupying classrooms and facilities in five buildings.

In 2008, The women's basketball team won the first state championship in school history.

Technology

The school's technology program, specifically its one-to-one laptop program, is internationally recognized.Fact|date=April 2008weal

Notable alumni

* Marc Gasol (2004), professional basketball player, Spain's National Team, 2007 Los Angeles Lakers 2nd round draft choice.
* Ginnifer Goodwin (1996), actress, best known for the HBO series "Big Love".
* Jonnie West (2006), college basketball player, West Virginia University, son of basketball legend Jerry West.

Media

*Several scenes for the 1993 movie "The Firm" were filmed on the campus. The most notable is the playground scene featuring Jeanne Tripplehorn and Gene Hackman, where the school's main buildings can be seen in the background.

External links

* [http://www.lausanneschool.com/ Official Web site of Lausanne Collegiate School]
* [http://www.laptopinstitute.com/ Official Web site of the Laptop Institute]

----