News and Updates
Highlander Hall Fuels Innovation: Winter Startup Pitch Competition
Highlander Hall continues to reveal itself as far more than an athletics and student gathering space. It is also a hub for learning, creativity, and real-world problem solving across disciplines. Most recently, the Burnham Family Film Room was transformed into a high-tech innovation lab as students in the High-Tech Entrepreneurship class hosted their Winter Semester Startup Pitch Competition.
On December 15, six student-founded startups took the stage in a “Shark Tank”–style event, presenting their ideas to a panel of judges from Austin’s business and startup community. Students delivered polished investment pitches that highlighted not only creativity and ambition, but also the critical thinking, collaboration, and communication skills essential to entrepreneurial success.
The range of ideas reflected the depth and diversity of student thinking. The judges’ first-place selection, Baby Bangle, proposed a wearable bracelet for expectant mothers that tracks key health metrics and connects directly to OB-GYN providers. Other concepts included an app connecting teens with local odd jobs, complete with verified background checks; a single-platform planning tool to help teens coordinate social gatherings, including rideshare logistics and waivers; and a platform linking collegiate athletes with potential NIL sponsorship opportunities.
With its flexible design and cutting-edge technology, the Burnham Family Film Room proved to be an ideal incubator for student innovation, supporting everything from film study and academic presentations to entrepreneurial pitch competitions. This event captured the vision for Highlander Hall: a place where students of all interests and passions can gather, collaborate, and bring ideas to life.
Dedicating the Johnson Craft Dunham ‘12 Memorial Court in Highlander Hall
On the evening of December 12, friends, teammates, and family of Johnson Dunham gathered in Highlander Hall to honor Johnson and his enduring legacy at St. Andrew’s. A beloved member of the 2012 SPC Championship Basketball Team and a graduate of the SAS Class of 2012, Johnson tragically lost his life in 2015, leaving behind his parents, older brother, and a wide community of friends who continue to cherish his memory.
At St. Andrew’s, you don’t get a court named after you for being good at sports. You get a court named after you for being a good person.” – Will Temple, ‘12
The competition court in Highlander Hall has been named the Johnson Craft Dunham ’12 Competition Court, or “Dunham Court,” in recognition of Johnson’s life and character. A gifted athlete and deeply respected teammate, Johnson embodied what it meant to represent St. Andrew’s with integrity. As classmate and teammate Will Temple ’12 reflected, “At St. Andrew’s, you don’t get a court named after you for being good at sports. You get a court named after you for being a good person.”
Dunham Court will serve as a daily reminder to future SAS athletes to play with the same competitive spirit, joy, and commitment to teammates that defined Johnson’s life.
St. Andrew's Day 2025: Beloved Community with More Space
Our entire K-12 school community celebrated St. Andrew’s Day in Highlander Hall on the Johnson Craft Dunham ‘12 Memorial Court, giving even more space to participate fully and enjoy the celebration.
1,400 students, parents and faculty joined the service and every inch of Highlander Hall was used.
Service projects were completed in the Student Union and upstairs Auxiliary Gym, the Ben Ledet ‘20 Sports Performance Center was our “holding room” for the Seniors, Kindergarteners and First Graders to gather before their traditional procession, the Burnham Family Film Room was our spot to keep families who were surprising our teaching award winners, and the main lobby served as our “starting line” for the main procession.
Building a Legacy: The Power of Generosity at St. Andrew’s
Paying It Forward through the Raise the Roof Campaign: The Tate Family’s Journey at St. Andrew’s
Highlander Hall Updates
Highlanders Celebrate Grand Opening of $32 Million Athletics Complex and Student Union
On September 5, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School celebrated the long-awaited Grand Opening of its $32 million Athletics Complex and Student Union, a project completed in just over a year.
The day began with a ribbon cutting, blessing of the building, and a spirited pep rally featuring performances by the choir, band, cheer, and dance teams. Students also revealed the name of the new student union, Highlander Hall, chosen by a campus-wide vote.
That evening, the celebration continued with the first-ever games in the new competition spaces. On Johnson Dunham ’12 Court, Highlander volleyball swept Lago Vista 3–0, and Highlander football capped off the night with a 56–6 win over Texas Legacy.
The Athletics Complex and Student Union reflects the strength and generosity of the Highlander community and marks one of the most ambitious projects in the school’s history.
Read more →
We are excited to share that the Athletics Complex & Student Union will officially open on September 5, 2025. This state-of-the-art facility will soon welcome students, athletes, and the entire St. Andrew’s community.
That evening, the Highlanders will make history with the first-ever home games in the new complex — girls volleyball at 6 PM followed by varsity football at 7 PM — complete with our new concession stand.
We’re now in the final stretch of fundraising for this transformational project. Thanks to a $7 million matching gift, every dollar given will be doubled. Let’s cross the finish line and reach our $32 million goal!
Watch our athletes’ reactions to the new complex! →
Announcing an extraordinary $7,000,000 dollar-for-dollar match challenge!
A visionary donor has stepped forward with an incredible $7,000,000 dollar-for-dollar matching gift challenge, propelling us closer to reaching our $32 million fundraising goal for the Athletics Complex & Student Union. Once matched, this extraordinarily generous gift will help us finish Phase 1 of the campaign and shift our focus to our next transformative endeavor—the new Middle School and 6–12 STEM Center.
As we stand at this pivotal moment in St. Andrew’s history, we are focused on providing facilities that reflect the exceptional faculty, programming, and opportunities that define our school. This campaign is not just about upgrading buildings; it’s about exceeding expectations and ensuring our students have access to best-in-class spaces that match the caliber of their educational experience. These thoughtfully designed facilities will be unrivaled in Central Texas, providing the finest spaces for academic, athletic, and artistic pursuits while allowing room to expand programming and enhance every facet of student life.
This campaign allows us to elevate how we support their journeys as scholars, artists, athletes, and servants and reaffirms our commitment to preparing them to be curious, courageous, and compassionate global citizens. All new gifts are eligible for the match—this is an amazing chance to double our impact, and we are profoundly grateful for this donor’s faith in our mission and for the generous and meaningful support of our Highlander community.
Together, we’ll Raise the Roof!
Construction and fundraising continue in earnest!
Steel arrives, and our second story is up!
It has been a very exciting month of construction! Our first batch of steel arrived on campus, allowing our construction team to “raise the roof” on our upstairs practice gym, Student Union, and Highlander Spirit Shop. We anticipate significant and visible progress over the next few months.
Our K-12 students’ “Hopes and Prayers” are poured into the foundation
Our 900+ students’ hopes and dreams offerings were carefully laid into the foundation of the Athletics Complex entry lobby, forever cementing the good wishes for this beautiful new facility.
First half of the Athletics Complex & Student Union foundation is poured
In just six hours, half of our Athletics Complex & Student Union foundation was poured. The Harvey Cleary team poured approximately 300 cubic yards of concrete between 2:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. this morning, with more than 30 concrete trucks delivering material to the job site.
Next week, the second half of the foundation will be poured, along with the hopes and dreams offerings from our K-12 students. These offerings will permanently reside beneath the St. Andrew’s seal in the new Competition Gym Lobby, serving as a lasting reminder of the hope and promise this facility represents.
Ground Blessing Service
We celebrated the groundbreaking of our new Athletics Complex and Student Union with great fanfare. Our Ground Blessing Service took place on August 30 at the site, where we gathered with generous donor families, members of the Board of Trustees, and all Middle and Upper School students, faculty, and staff.
This marked a historic moment in the life of our school. As Head of School Melissa Grubb shared, “Everything that you see here on this campus was built because our families believed in our mission, believed in our collective vision, and chose to give. All of our buildings are here because of philanthropy, faith, and generous hearts.”
Our K–12 students each wrote a “hope” or a “blessing” for the new Athletics Complex & Student Union. These messages were collected and presented during the Ground Blessing Service. During construction, the hopes and dreams of students across all divisions will be placed into the building’s foundation, permanently embedding their aspirations for the years and decades to come.
As the building begins to rise, our Raise the Roof Campaign continues as we work to raise the remaining $14 million to reach our goal. We are deeply grateful for the generosity of the St. Andrew’s community. Onward!
Construction has officially begun, marking an exciting milestone in our Raise the Roof campaign. We’re pleased to share this progress with you and invite you to view the aerial photos below to see the transformation taking place on campus.
From the foundation work to the first structures beginning to take shape, each step brings us closer to realizing our vision for St. Andrew’s. We look forward to sharing more updates as this project moves ahead and as we continue building a strong future together.
News
West Austin News: St. Andrew’s Celebrates Opening of New Athletics Complex and Student Union
"Raise the Roof" Campaign wins Award of Distinction from The Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts Communicator Awards
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School’s Raise the Roof capital campaign branding was recognized by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts with an Award of Distinction in the Campaign | Non-Profit category.
The Communicator Awards honor excellence, effectiveness, and innovation across all areas of communication and are among the leading international awards programs in the field. The awards are sanctioned and reviewed by the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts, an invitation-only group of top-tier professionals from respected media, communications, advertising, creative, and marketing organizations. AVIA members include executives from companies such as Amazon, Big Spaceship, Chelsea Pictures, Condé Nast, Critical Mass, Disney, ESPN, GE Digital, IBM, Nextdoor, Spotify, Time Inc., The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones, Wired, and more.
St. Andrew’s partnered with creative agency Mighty Citizen to develop the Raise the Roof campaign for its $85 million capital campaign to build a new Athletics Complex & Student Union and a Middle School and STEM Center. The campaign name, “Raise the Roof,” speaks both to the ambition of the initiative and to the two-story design of these new facilities. Raising the roof, indeed.
