The Banff School, located at 13726 Cutten Road, Houston, celebrated its 50th anniversary at the start of the 2019-20 school year. The private college preparatory school first opened in 1969 by Irmgard Banff and serves students from preschool through 12th grade. "Mrs. Banff moved here from Germany and was surprised to find that at the time, there were no schools offering kindergarten—a very common thing in Germany," said Marissa Binyon, the school's Communications and Events director and one of Banff's granddaughters. "Because of this, she decided to start her own kindergarten. Each year, a grade level was added until the school was K-12." Binyon said she is just one of several of Banff's family members who continue to run the family-owned school. "Our families and our alumni are a very close-knit community and several of our alumni have returned to work at the school and teachers and administrators," she said. "We now have the children of past alumni attending the school. We love being a part of the northwest Houston area and are very excited to be celebrating 50 years." In addition to academics, The Banff School offers a variety of extracurricular activities, including athletics, fine arts and student clubs as well as college counseling services. 281-444-9326. www.banffschool.org