For the first time, Sage Hill School welcomed some 140 seventh- and eighth-graders to its sprawling Newport Beach campus on Monday, Aug. 17.
Read more Judge blocks the Trump administration from moving FBI headquarters to DC office building
While the addition of middle schoolers expands educational opportunities at the secular school — about 730 students are enrolled between the middle and high school grades — the first day of school on Monday also marked the official unveiling of a new $55 million, 38,658-square-foot building with classrooms, office space, and a cafe that will serve the school body.
Sage Hill students arrive for the first day of middle school at the new 38,658-square-foot building in Newport Coast on Monday, August 17, 2026. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Sage Hill opens the new school year on Monday, August 17, 2026, with fanfare as it celebrates the addition of a new middle school and gymnasium on its Newport coast campus. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Sage Hill opens the new school year on Monday, August 17, 2026, with a ceremony celebrating its new middle school and gymnasium on the Newport Coast campus. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The Head of Sage Hill, Patricia Merz, speaks during a first-day-of-school ceremony celebrating the addition of a middle school to its Newport Coast high school campus on Monday, August 17, 2026. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Gracie Johnson walks through confetti with her daughter Henley on Monday, August 17, 2026, after a first-day-of-school ceremony at Sage Hill in Newport Coast on Monday, August 17, 2026. The campus just added a middle school. Henley is the granddaughter of Steve Johnson, a co-founder of the high school. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Sage Hill opens the new school year on Monday, August 17, 2026, with fanfare as it celebrates the addition of a new middle school and gymnasium on its Newport coast campus. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Sage Hill opens the new school year on Monday, August 17, 2026, with a ceremony celebrating its new middle school and gymnasium on the Newport Coast campus. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
An excited Sage Hill crowd participates in first-day-of-school ceremonies on Monday, August 17, 2026, in Newport Coast. The high school campus just added a middle school and the Bolen Family Gymnasium. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The structure, which broke ground in late 2024, also houses the 28-acre campus’s second gymnasium, which will seat about 1,000 people. This is the 26-year-old school’s seventh building.
Officials said when the high school was founded, there were always plans to include a middle school.
Read more Big Bear bald eagle Jackie honored by community a week after her death
“Over the past 26 years, Sage Hill has made a lasting impact on education in Orange County and beyond,” Head of School Patricia Merz said in a statement. “Today, we continue that legacy as we become the only independent school in Orange County serving students in grades seven through 12.”
The gym will add to the campus and provide the school’s sports team more opportunities, but it will also be used for school-wide events, including pep rallies and Sage Center Service Learning Days, a spokesperson said.
Read more Man, 20, dies at hospital after being shot while driving in Long Beach