AROUND CAMPUS

Country Day Breaks Ground on STEM Building

On June 8, Country Day hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for Mingledorff Hall, the new Upper School STEM Building. Donors, trustees, and friends of the school were in attendance as Head of School Kef Wilson and campaign co-chair Christopher Cay made remarks. Construction began immediately, and the 32,000 sq. ft. building is expected to be completed in the fall of 2022. With the opening of this new building, the Upper School quad will undergo more change with the renovation of Minis Hall for eight new humanities classrooms. Livingston Hall will then be converted to house student services such as Learning Support, Counseling, and more. The Upper School campus renovation is the initial phase of Country Day’s $20 million “Invest in Excellence” campaign to improve campus facilities and better meet the needs of students.

Mini-Mester

Another successful mini-mester is in the books! While some of our Middle School students explored the fascinating and dynamic ecology of the Georgia coastline, most students immersed themselves in experiential learning on campus! From yoga to fencing, culinary adventures, sailing, choreography and everything in between, mini-mester is a unique opportunity for our Middle School students to explore something new and fun while interacting with students from other grade levels. Mini-mester encourages our students to be life-long learners and believe that self-initiated learning can be powerfully persuasive and lasting.

STAR STUDENT

Congratulations to Sowah Adjei ‘21, the 2021 Region STAR Student! Sowah earned the highest score on the SAT in a single sitting among all high school seniors in greater Savannah. He selected Upper School Math Department Chair AJ Goldman as his STAR Teacher. Sponsored locally by the Kiwanis Club, the Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program honors Savannah’s highest achieving high school seniors and the teachers who have been most instrumental in their academic development.

An Evening with Wendy Mogel

In February, Country Day welcomed (virtually) Dr. Wendy Mogel, clinical psychologist, parenting expert and NY Times best-selling author, as this year’s Schmidt Lecture Series speaker. Dr. Mogel delighted over 100 members of the Zoom audience — comprised of Country Day parents, faculty, staff and friends — with her disarming candor, quick wit and signature use of cutting-edge psychological research. In her talk, she tackled a wide array of parenting-related topics, including digital citizenship and social media, the benefits of summer sleepaway camp, avoiding “helicopter parenting,” and helping our children manage their emotions— from the cradle all the way through high school. Dr. Mogel’s latest book is Voice Lessons for Parents: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Listen. Additional books include The Blessing of a B Minus and The Blessing of a Skinned Knee.

AROUND CAMPUS

Cum Laude Induction

Congratulations to our newest Cum Laude Society inductees. Founded on the model of the collegiate honor society, Phi Beta Kappa, the Cum Laude Society was founded in 1906 to recognize the scholastic accomplishments of students in secondary schools. Country Day is honored to host a chapter of the Cum Laude Society, one of only eight in the state. From left to right: Haley Avino, Amanda Chen, Vivienne Drake, John Neely, Dalton Spivey, Langston Bass, Fina Dooley, Alexis Almeida, Chatri Rajapaksha, Julia Tomus, Ashley Frym, Olivia Carney, Ethan Myers, Gray Grayson, Alston McCaslin, Luke Vasquez, and Louise Mercer.

SCDS Prioritizes Faculty Health & Wellness

From yoga and strength training to cooking classes and tie-dye parties, the Faculty Wellness initiatives offered something for every teacher. The classes were organized to recognize the enormous effort that the SCDS faculty put into making this year possible and provided an opportunity to unwind and explore new interests with collegues. Director of Counseling Meg Haston enthuses, “Our faculty and staff have worked so hard this year, and while yoga doesn’t mitigate the stressors of this academic year, I hope that these offerings show our faculty and staff that we value the practice of self-care that we want to make space for it, and fund it, here on campus.”

Rethinking How to Serve the Community

Despite COVID-related restrictions, student volunteers persevered and came up with inventive ways to serve our larger community. When Emma West Mixon and Izzy Gonzalez were unable to work with the Ronald McDonald House’s Adopt a Meal program due to on-site cooking restrictions, they tie-dyed and sold masks to raise money for the House. The Red Cross Club, run by Manasi Jain and Landon Stone, remained committed to the cause by reviewing COVID parameters and creating smaller and safer blood drives. Tech Time, a service program that assists senior living residents with electronics, such as phone and computer literacy, pivoted from in-person consultations to creating a library of easily accessible, educational YouTube videos for residents.

The Upper School’s Interact Club, modeled as a junior Rotary, set its sights on our own Little School for a very “hands-on” service project. Over the final weeks of school, club members dedicated their extra time to a restoration and beautification project of The Little School’s playground, starting with a hand and fingerprint art installation that is sure to brighten up the playground for years to come!

MATHCOUNTS

Congratulations to Middle School students Ramon Barboa ‘25 and Emma Gordon ‘26 on qualifying for and participating in the State MATHCOUNTS competition in May. The Georgia MATHCOUNTS competitions are presented by the Georgia Society of Professional Engineers (GSPE). With a decline in students entering college to major in engineering and/or technology fields, GSPE has become a strong advocate and host of the Georgia MATHCOUNTS competitions to encourage students at the middle school level to strive for excellence in math and science.

Interact Club Lends a Hand on The Little School Playground

AROUND CAMPUS

SCDS Students Earn Top Scores on National Spanish Exam

Earlier this spring, Upper School Spanish students participated in the National Spanish Exam, a program of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. In addition to many high scorers at the national level, 12 Savannah Country Day students were individually recognized by the Georgia chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese for earning one of the top six scores in this state for their level. Please join us in congratulating all of these students on these prestigious honors and achievements. !Enhorabuena! Highest scores in Georgia: Pawaan Patel (level 2) and Chatri Rajapaksha (level 5); Second highest scores in Georgia: Sowah Adjei (level 5) and Sofia Pablo (level 2); Third highest scores in Georgia: Mason Howington (level 3-tie), Maria Miller (level 3-tie), Roni Rosales (level 2); Fourth highest scores in Georgia: Henry Berg (level 2) and Fina Dooley (level 4); Fifth highest score in Georgia: Maison Miller (level 3); Sixth highest scores in Georgia: Natalia Dascombe (level 4-tie) and Fiona Wilson (level 4-tie)

Mock Trial Team Competes in the Final Round of State

The Upper School Mock Trial team had an outstanding season and advanced to the final round of the State Mock Trial Competition. The team picked up several accolades, including Kylie Williams ‘21 with two Outstanding Attorney awards, Carson Gay ‘22 earned an Outstanding Attorney award, and Paige Parsons ‘23 won two Outstanding Witness awards. Faculty coach Keith Muller led the team, and volunteer attorney coaches, John Northup ‘92 and Samantha Fassett, gave generously of their time and have been excellent mentors to the students.

Hornet Retirees

Best wishes to these longtime faculty and staff as they enter retirement. These four amazing Hornets have collectively accumulated over 90 years at Country Day.

Angela Denmark: 23 years Lower School Assistant Teacher Judy Walker: 27 years Lower School Learning Support Shirley Mitchell: 26 years Housekeeping Paul Foley: 15 years Lower School Learning Support

Celebrating Campus Grounds

This year saw the rollout of two campus initiatives highlighting Country Day’s extraordinary campus and extensive tree canopy. The Campus Tree Directory was created as an online database and resource, providing species’ names and information for over 1,700 tagged trees. Teachers and students can simply enter a code found on the tree’s unique tag to learn more about each individual tree. In addition, a smaller project quietly took shape this spring—the clearing and marking of Country Day’s 1.5-mile campus trail. Members of the Upper School’s TREE Club (The Real Environmental Enthusiasts) recognized the need to mark the wooded trail that borders the campus footprint. With yellow blazes placed every tenth mile, our teachers and students can identify and make use of the campus trail as another outdoor learning space.

Alumnus Donates in the Name of Faculty Member

When Waldo Bradley ‘00 entered his junior year at Country Day, he acknowledges that he was not a diligent student. That changed when he entered Adam Weber’s physics classroom. “Mr. Weber’s physics classes were transformative for me,” said Waldo. “The way he taught was engaging and thought-provoking to the point that, at the time, I didn’t even realize how hard he was challenging us.” Waldo made a commitment of $50,000 to the Invest in Excellence campaign. Instead of placing his name on a classroom, Waldo has named a science lab in the new Upper School Stem Building ‘The Adam Weber Physics Room’. “I ended up performing on a level academically that I never had before,” said Waldo. “The confidence I gained instilled a newfound approach and appreciation for applying myself, which carried me through the rest of high school, college, and into the real world.” In June, Waldo returned to campus to visit with Mr. Weber and thank him for the impact on his life. “This is the most rewarding part of teaching,” said Mr. Weber. “It is wonderful to see former students and hear their stories.”