Sunshine Beach

We've been part of the Keswick family for ten years, and this school has truly been a blessing. The teachers, staff, and faculty love the Lord and care deeply about our kids. I've seen them go above and beyond for families facing serious challenges—they always put in the extra effort. Whenever I've requested a meeting with a teacher or staff member, they've always made time and treated it as a priority. Academically, this school is excellent. It's not a second-rate Christian school; it's top-notch!The staff also deeply invests in our children's walk with the Lord, helping them grow into world-changers for Christ, no matter their calling. Keswick is more than just a school; it's a ministry, building strong connections with everyone in the families, not just the students but parents and siblings too. If you're searching for a Christian school that genuinely partners with the Christian home and Christian church while excelling in academics, Keswick is the place to be!

School is just ok. The teachers are caring and there’s a wonderful sense of community there. Our children had a good experience making friends, loved extra curriculars and it being Catholic was a plus/loved the weekday masses where the kids read and sing in the choir, but the place just doesn’t seem organized and we have found stronger academics elsewhere. We were not impressed by the facilities - outdoor school that’s hot/little shade, floods frequently where my son kept coming home with soaking wet shoes and socks, and just seems like the place is old and falling a part compared to other schools. My daughter said there’s no janitor, which is odd? Also noticed a large teacher turnover rate there and all of our favorite teachers left! From talking with other parents, was told they hired a new principal, priest and management staff a few years ago and that it’s really gone down over the past few years. Heard they have gone through 3 or 4 principals and just can’t find someone who knows how to run it - seems like they’re building the plane while they’re flying it, and it’s an expensive little school. In the years we attended, we were asked to go to multiple websites and apps with all the different teachers, which made navigating middle school harder than it needs to be, especially. Should just use one system. Too many emails and hard to keep track of all the events they want you to be at/not feasible for working parents with multiple children. The school text messages were also out of control and became a joke in our family…literally four text messages in one day and some sent late at night or early morning. Also found an imbalance there with multiple tests being scheduled the same week. We enjoyed both the sports and music activities after school but seemed the two were always scheduled the same days which made it challenging with soccer games and the musical...then our kids had to go home and find time for homework/study for tests, which I guess is an issue with all schools. I think they need to fix this to make it easier on families, though. We really wanted to like this school - kids were happy and loved it, but just seems like the place is dirty, neglected and not running properly. Things are made harder on families then they need to be and they stretch the teachers thin/I felt bad for some of them. Used to have a say in things but they changed the PTA/hired a lady who just talks forever. Felt like a mix between a run down country club and a mission.

GBEMS is an amazing school. With only ~300 students total for K-5, it offers the feel of a neighborhood school — the principal knows every kid’s name — with the academic focus of a magnet. The magnet incorporates digital tools (every student receives an iPad or laptop depending on grade) but they are tools, not the focus. Traditional writing, reading and hands-on activities still are the biggest part of the curriculum, and innovation and excitement about learning and not being afraid to fail are emphasized. Test scores show the academic rigor, and the creativity and big thinking of the kids show up everyday. Our kids love it, and so do we.