Ndaba Mandela with Upper School students

From The Head Of School

Just a few weeks ago we were honored to host Ndaba Mandela, the grandson of Nelson Mandela, to speak to our students as part of our Black History Month celebrations. Of the many powerful messages that Mandela shared with our high school, perhaps the one that resonated the most was the idea that the students sitting in the audience could, tomorrow, become change makers. Mandela empowered the students to think big, to serve others, and to change the future. He even quipped that the students held greater power than school administration, based on sheer numbers, and thus, they could and should push for changes they believe in. As you might guess, this was met with thunderous applause. While I am not advocating for a student take-over of our school, I was struck by how in-sync Mandela’s message is with what we are trying to teach our students every day. As you will see in this edition of the GCDS News, we empower all the children in our care to become passionate about learning, to champion causes that help others, to discover and develop what is finest in themselves, and to truly Think Big!

You will also read about the teachers, coaches, alumni, and speakers that inspire our students with industry, field, and experiential expertise—applying their learning in real world scenarios. They are musicians, artists, lawyers, authors, historians, athletes, scientists, engineers, investors, and marketing professionals—and they also include our older students as role models and mentors for our youngest students, as they work collaboratively toward a common goal. The world our graduates will enter looks very little like the world I entered upon graduating high school. Yet, I know with certainty, our graduates will enter that world with the skills needed to succeed, and the heart to make the world a better place.

Adam C. Rohdie

March 2023

Greenwich Country Day School

P.O. Box 623, Old Church Road Greenwich, CT 06836-0623 www.gcds.net

HEAD OF SCHOOL

Adam Rohdie

DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS

Kim Eves EDITOR

Moina Noor

PHOTOGRAPHY

ChiChi Ubiña, Ariana Lubelli-Brown, Chris Mantz, Jen Donnalley, Austin Lehn

MAGAZINE DESIGN

Foogoo Communications Design

MARKETING GRAPHICS

Kirsten Bitzonis

WEBSITE

Kate Flanagan

Please share your comments, address changes, and inquiries

GCDSNews@gcds.net

Send Alumni News and Photos

Liz Orum Duffy ’98 Director of Alumni Relations liz.duffy@gcds.net

GCDS News is published four times each year and is distributed to alumni, GCDS parents and grandparents, faculty and staff, and friends of the school. All rights reserved.

Greenwich Country Day School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin or any other category prohibited by law, in admission policies, scholarship programs, athletic and other school administered programs.

On the Cover: Chiara Andrade, Grade 9, Steve Paul, Grade 11, Hadley Cmiel, Vivienne Esquenazi, Luca Della Pietra, all Grade 3, work on friendship bracelets together during Tiger Time, a clubs period in Upper Elementary School.

Cover

INTERSESSION Applied Studies in Anatomy

Athletics Awards