Our Activities
With at least 20 field trips per year, please check out Cortona Academy's newest and previous activities and events!
Sample of Our Many Field Trips!
Hillwood and Museum Estates
Our students were excited to explore the Gardens at Hillwood Museum and Estates. Going at the end of the summer allowed us to see the most beautiful floral exhibits. They especially liked the Japanese Zen Garden with its stepping stones. Cortona Academy will be revisiting Hillwood during their fabulous azeala season in Spring of 2025.
Museum of Natural History
Students participated in a program offered by The Museum of Natural History on the ecosystems of coral reefs. With the help of scientists, they were able to identify the creatures that inhabit reefs and how they differ depending upon the location of the reef. We will definitely be back for more of these excellent programs on the '24-25 school year.
Cortona Academy at the Leighey House
Our visit to The Woodlawn-Pope-Leighey House was a special treat. Students were able to see a traditional home created by the family of George Washington, and on the same grounds, a modern Frank Lloyd Wright single family home. Students marveled at the elegance and functionality in the Wright home and because of their fantastic interest in architexture. Cortona Academy will be visiting Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, one of the architectural wondesr of the world. Our October 2024 visit will take place in the replindent beauty of the autumnal leaves for all out '24-25 students and families.
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery was high on our list for a field trip this year. The students were in awe of the beauty and reverence shown throughout the space. They enjoyed the service at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, not missing a single step.
This coming year, Cortona Academy will be participating and revisiting in December for WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA to honor our veterans.
Happy Halloween at Cortona Academy!
At Cortona Academy, our students have school spirit, which is why this week we had Spirit Week: Monday (PJ day), Tuesday (jersey day), Wednesday (twin day), and Thursday (Halloween costume).
Our party this year: Halloween + Ghost Cake! (From The Rad Bakery) While the students were eating, they watched Nightmare Before Christmas in proper Halloween fashion!
Tennis Tournament
In ’21 – 22, our tennis students played in Cortona Academy’s first every tennis tournament! Our tennis team did wonderful, go team!
Relaxation Time at Cortona Academy!
At Cortona Academy, education expands beyond the classroom. Our students are able to succeed because we understand that relaxation and their ability to learn are inherently intertwined!
Cortona Academy's
Weekly Party
Every autumn, Cortona Academy hosts chili cook-off contests! Students can bring in their favorite chili recipe for their classmates to try!
We honor cook-offs for a variety of ethnicities, including Italian, Indian, Irish, Latino, Asian, Middle Eastern, German, French, and much more depending on the requests of the student body.
Cortona Academy Goes to Space!
On October 7, 2021, Cortona Academy students gathered in the Great Room to learn about space from a guest lecturer, Tiffany Rad. She screened her personal video of the launch of Inspiration4 from Cape Canaveral while helping students understand the effects of microgravity and the massive expansion burgeoning of possible careers in the field of commercialization of space. Students also watched excerpts from the Netflix documentary, “Countdown.”
Cortona's Weekend at Waterford
Cortona Academy students and their families visited Waterford, VA. along with faculty. Students got the opportunity to learn about the historical significance of Waterford.
Cortona Academy will continue to have similar continuous events throughout the school year.
Cortona Academy has open Fall admissions! It’s not too late to apply; we have 15 spots still available for grades 4 – 12 beginning Fall Semester 2024!
Love – All
Cortona Academy’s tennis team practices their ready position during Cortona’s weekly tennis class!
Previous September Fun!
Students Enjoying the Last Bounties of Summer
Fall is almost here! At Cortona Academy, we are excited to welcome the crackling of dusty autumn leaves beneath our student’s feet. We understand the educational importance of vitamin D or “the sunshine” vitamin, so we strive to incorporate outdoor activities into our student’s lives! Come onsite to see the 3.5 million dollar AstroTurf field where all Cortona Academy students regularly enjoy sports and leisure time together!
Mr. Astronaut Comes to Cortona's Weekly Party
Education should be a fun and stress-free experience, which is why Cortona Academy has a party a week! This week was a potluck, in keeping with our theme of the year, “Rediscovering Joy.” Our students brought delicious main or side dishes, mimicking the blissful comforts of a homemade meal. And like any family enjoying a homemade meal, our students and staff ate together because here, at Cortona Academy, we are family. The potluck also featured the landing of Mr. Astronaut atop the colorful, custom-designed cake by Rad Baskery showing, with icing, the universe. This week’s party was an extravagant success. Next week, tune in for our first Cortona guest speaker bringing her private films of the launch of Inspiration4 and inspiring future REAL astronauts. Fasten your seatbelts! Another awesome month is ascending!
A Party Every Week at Cortona Academy:
Having fun can never be underrated, not in today’s world! It’s not too late to join our Cortona Family!
On September 8th Cortona Academy celebrated the first of their weekly parties, potlucks, and cook-offs scheduled for the 21-22 school year.
In the Academy’s Great Room, Founder, Sharon Peruzzi Strauchs, began by welcoming new students to the entire Cortona student body. “We are the family behind every student’s family. After this past year, what family doesn’t celebrate absolutely everything positive that may be happening?”
The eagerness Cortona students experience at both onsite and offsite parties defines Cortona Academy. Cortona’s philosophy is that learning should be a positive and welcoming experience that fosters a longing for knowledge.
Weekly parties also celebrate every student’s achievement and effort. For the past 30 years of Cortona’s history of serving students in grades 4 -12, it is Cortona’s relaxed, happy, encouraging environment that directly correlates with each child’s educational results.
Not only do such celebrations encourage students to feel that they are a necessary part of Cortona Academy, but most importantly, they also help solidify friendships, ensuring that each child will form relationships to support them well beyond graduation.
Students Watch the Historic Inspiration4 Launch
Wednesday, September 15, the Inspiration4 was launched into space, a momentous event likened to the first moon landing.
The commercialization of space travel will be the pinnacle of your child’s life moving forward. At Cortona Academy, we profoundly believe that space is the next frontier, which is why our students watched the launch.
The Inspiration4 returned to earth after culminating a total of three days in space. The crew included Hayley Arceneaux, a pediatric cancer survivor. She is markedly the youngest person to travel to space and the first person in space with a prosthetic.
The launch of Inspiration4 aligns with Cortona Academy’s 30th anniversary year, “Rediscovering Joy,” dedicated to Judy Resnik, who died on the Challenger.
Check out some of the pictures captured from the launch!
