The Bridge 2012-13

PCDS STUDENTS EXCEL ON LATIN EXAM Ninety percent of Phoenix Country Day School students who completed the National Latin Exam in May received awards for their high achievement. This year, 78 PCDS Latin students (grades 7-12) joined over 150,000 students from across the United States and 13 countries to participate in this competitive exam. Students who scored well earned medals, certificates of achievement, and in some cases, scholarships. According to PCDS Latin teacher Robin Anderson, on average, 30 percent of students worldwide who complete the exam receive an award. The 90 percent achievement rate was a new high for PCDS. Of the 78 students who completed the exam, 70 earned awards, with 30 students earning the highest award possible. Besides Ms. Anderson, PCDS Latin teachers are Stephani Stephens and Rebecca Bernhardt.

MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH STUDENTS RANK HIGH Many Middle School students participated in monthly math contests throughout the school year through the Continental Math League. Every Middle School student participated in the Math League Press contest in the spring.

PCDS 6th-graders placed 13th out of 59 schools across the country and 2nd in the region. Eighth-graders placed 8th out of 48 schools across the country and 2nd in the region. The Middle School MATHCOUNTS team placed 4th at the chapter competition, and one student advanced to state competition.

FRESHMAN WINS COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP IN GRAMMAR BOWL Kyle Kinnie, a PCDS freshman at the time, finished among the final four contestants at the 2012 Arizona EGUMPP Grammar Bowl, winning a $5,000 scholarship to the college or university of his choice. Approximately 500 8thand 9th-graders from around the state participated in the contest, with 23 competing in the finals at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix in April.

POLICY DEBATE TEAMS SHARE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP Three PCDS Policy Debate teams, comprised of students Eric Showers ’12 and Frea Mehta ’12; Jehan Bista ’12 and current senior Nitya Agrawal; and current sophomores Sabrina Whitfill and Fallon Leyba, won the state championship in their division (schools with fewer than 1000 students) at a Speech and Debate tournament held in March in Winslow, Ariz. This is the 8th consecutive year (and 10th out of the last 11 years) that a PCDS team has won the state tournament. For Eric it was a fourth state title, and the second state title for Frea, Jehan, and Nitya.

UPPER SCHOOL STUDENTS EXCEL AT MOCK CONGRESS Nineteen PCDS students attended the Arizona Junior State of America (JSA) Mock Congress in Phoenix in October 2011. Out of approximately thirty proposed bills, only two passed both Houses of Congress, and both were written

by PCDS students. April Curci and Andrew Garner passed a law regulating labeling foods in restaurants, and Lauren Chanen ’12 and Derek Chan proposed a bill on the morning-after birth-control pill. Several other delegates wrote bills that passed their respective houses but failed to win ratification.

According to JSA faculty advisor and History and Social Sciences Department Chair Dave Martin, PCDS students distinguished themselves at this conference of 200 students from Arizona and New Mexico. “They successfully defeated legislation, negotiated compromises, and essentially came to know first hand the difficulty of negotiating legislation,” he said. Megan Lehrer ’12 was named best speaker in the House of Representatives, winning a gavel for her efforts.