Welcome to your go-to hub for all things Principia! Through hands-on, experiential learning students explore their passions, tackle real-world challenges, and grow into tomorrow's leaders.
Duffle bags line the halls of Principia School on Sunday afternoons as students preparing for this year’s Simunye service trip spend hours categorizing, packing, and sorting the voluminous mountain of donated clothes they’ll bring to kids in South Africa.
It's the age-old question: can any of us really affect change? What power do we hold to make a difference in the world or even our community? This fall, students in the Upper School Biology CoLab learned they have plenty, as long as they’re willing to try.
Students embark on a weekend getaway where fresh powder, pizza, and an indoor pool set the stage for their annual ski trip to Chestnut Mountain Resort in Illinois.
Emanuel Harrold, two-time Grammy Award winner and Principia parent, leads a group of middle school musicians from across the St. Louis area in a day-long clinic in Ridgway Auditorium.
In a world where classrooms often mean desks and textbooks, Principia School takes education to new heights—literally—with a trip to Yellowstone National Park.
In early December, Head of School Dr. Merry Sorrells (C’79) announced her plans to retire as Principia’s Head of School in June 2026. In light of this news, the School is excited to announce the next Head of School will be Terry Grigsby (US’97, C’01).
True to Principia's collaborative, co-curricular learning, Jason Hinthorne and Brittany Barnett’s fifth-grade classes turned a history lesson into a holistic, scenario-based undertaking.
For over 125 years, international students have been a vital part of the Principia community, starting with our first Australian student in 1899.
The Monday before Thanksgiving, Lower School students gathered in the gym for their annual Thanksgiving chapel to express what Principia’s founder, Mary Kimball Morgan, described as “genuine gratitude expressed in a forgetfulness of self that reaches out to bless others.” (Education at Principia p. 40)
In the heart of Town and Country, our enthusiastic Principia ninth graders embarked on a colorful adventure: creating a vibrant mural for the community of Town and Country, Missouri.
![Simunye Service Trip: Packing with Purpose, Traveling for Change]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1741641394/principiacollegeedu/knlhuoyxtpshw6l7yf27/SimunyeServiceTrip-PackingwithPurposeTravelingforChange.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1741641394/principiacollegeedu/knlhuoyxtpshw6l7yf27/SimunyeServiceTrip-PackingwithPurposeTravelingforChange.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1741641394/principiacollegeedu/knlhuoyxtpshw6l7yf27/SimunyeServiceTrip-PackingwithPurposeTravelingforChange.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1741641394/principiacollegeedu/knlhuoyxtpshw6l7yf27/SimunyeServiceTrip-PackingwithPurposeTravelingforChange.jpg","width":900}])
![Real-World Learning Makes a Real Impact]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1741111655/principiacollegeedu/stxsjwjenymsn18d2ktx/241114_US_MarylandHeightsCityHallCoLab_KG-6125.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1741111655/principiacollegeedu/stxsjwjenymsn18d2ktx/241114_US_MarylandHeightsCityHallCoLab_KG-6125.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1741111655/principiacollegeedu/stxsjwjenymsn18d2ktx/241114_US_MarylandHeightsCityHallCoLab_KG-6125.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1741111655/principiacollegeedu/stxsjwjenymsn18d2ktx/241114_US_MarylandHeightsCityHallCoLab_KG-6125.jpg","width":900}])
![Principia Hits the Slopes on its Annual Ski Trip]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1741807417/principiacollegeedu/xuzp6dx0gwm59gstza7t/PrincipiaSchoolSkiTrip_1.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1741807417/principiacollegeedu/xuzp6dx0gwm59gstza7t/PrincipiaSchoolSkiTrip_1.jpg","width":512}])
![Grammy winner Emanuel Harrold performs at Principia jazz clinic]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1738688795/principiacollegeedu/ulyaj2fc6ty47nnxhvdq/250125_MS_JazzConcert_DK-26.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1738688795/principiacollegeedu/ulyaj2fc6ty47nnxhvdq/250125_MS_JazzConcert_DK-26.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1738688795/principiacollegeedu/ulyaj2fc6ty47nnxhvdq/250125_MS_JazzConcert_DK-26.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1738688795/principiacollegeedu/ulyaj2fc6ty47nnxhvdq/250125_MS_JazzConcert_DK-26.jpg","width":900}])
![Principia School in Town and Country focus on experiential learning with trip to Yellowstone]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1738181103/principiacollegeedu/f2klfkj3f4l74qgiahar/PrincipiaYellowstonetrip.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1738181103/principiacollegeedu/f2klfkj3f4l74qgiahar/PrincipiaYellowstonetrip.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1738181103/principiacollegeedu/f2klfkj3f4l74qgiahar/PrincipiaYellowstonetrip.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1738181103/principiacollegeedu/f2klfkj3f4l74qgiahar/PrincipiaYellowstonetrip.jpg","width":900}])
![Head of School Announcement]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1733515843/principiacollegeedu/vshxbfstrk8jz86eriov/220614_TerryGrigsby_-7.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1733515843/principiacollegeedu/vshxbfstrk8jz86eriov/220614_TerryGrigsby_-7.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1733515843/principiacollegeedu/vshxbfstrk8jz86eriov/220614_TerryGrigsby_-7.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1733515843/principiacollegeedu/vshxbfstrk8jz86eriov/220614_TerryGrigsby_-7.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1733515843/principiacollegeedu/vshxbfstrk8jz86eriov/220614_TerryGrigsby_-7.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_6/v1733515843/principiacollegeedu/vshxbfstrk8jz86eriov/220614_TerryGrigsby_-7.jpg","width":2200}])
![Principia fifth-grader pitches to Upper School "Sharks" in mock Shark Tank]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1733163347/principiacollegeedu/rrino1taynsl5jobnmr5/241115_LS_JuniorSharkTank_KG-6505.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1733163347/principiacollegeedu/rrino1taynsl5jobnmr5/241115_LS_JuniorSharkTank_KG-6505.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1733163347/principiacollegeedu/rrino1taynsl5jobnmr5/241115_LS_JuniorSharkTank_KG-6505.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1733163347/principiacollegeedu/rrino1taynsl5jobnmr5/241115_LS_JuniorSharkTank_KG-6505.jpg","width":900}])
![Global Roots, Shared Hearts: The Gift of Going Home]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1733348832/principiacollegeedu/vpu4gvvxvwnmgsepbk9x/InternationalTravelFundpv.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1733348832/principiacollegeedu/vpu4gvvxvwnmgsepbk9x/InternationalTravelFundpv.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1733348832/principiacollegeedu/vpu4gvvxvwnmgsepbk9x/InternationalTravelFundpv.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1733348832/principiacollegeedu/vpu4gvvxvwnmgsepbk9x/InternationalTravelFundpv.jpg","width":900}])
![Leadership and Gratitude on Display at Lower School Thanksgiving Chapel]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1733240355/principiacollegeedu/mon0fpdaafmuu4n1hkpz/241125_LS_ThanksgivingChapel-StudentLed_KG-1256.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1733240355/principiacollegeedu/mon0fpdaafmuu4n1hkpz/241125_LS_ThanksgivingChapel-StudentLed_KG-1256.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1733240355/principiacollegeedu/mon0fpdaafmuu4n1hkpz/241125_LS_ThanksgivingChapel-StudentLed_KG-1256.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1733240355/principiacollegeedu/mon0fpdaafmuu4n1hkpz/241125_LS_ThanksgivingChapel-StudentLed_KG-1256.jpg","width":900}])
![Ninth Graders Bring Art to Life in Town and Country]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1731001919/principiacollegeedu/t8lkknaw9b7zkmf8ek8q/NinthGradeMuralPresentation.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1731001919/principiacollegeedu/t8lkknaw9b7zkmf8ek8q/NinthGradeMuralPresentation.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1731001919/principiacollegeedu/t8lkknaw9b7zkmf8ek8q/NinthGradeMuralPresentation.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1731001919/principiacollegeedu/t8lkknaw9b7zkmf8ek8q/NinthGradeMuralPresentation.jpg","width":900}])