Miss Scott in her glory at a CDS skating party in the early 1970s.
FROM THE VAULT
T S E H C Y R O M E M ’S T T O FROM GREAT SC EDITOR’S NOTE: Alison Scott, one of CDS’ beloved original teachers and a life-long educator, passed away on January 24, 2014 at the age of 82. Miss Scott taught in the Junior School from 1972-1986. In recognition of her lasting dedication to CDS, the Alison Scott Award is presented each year at Closing Day to a student in the primary grades and a student in the junior grades for their contribution to the arts. The School’s first Headmaster, John Pratt, persuaded Miss Scott to return to Canada in 1972 from where she had been teaching at the Marin Country Day School in California. She had previously taught at the Berkshire Country Day School in Stockbridge, Massachusetts and the Institute of Child Study in Toronto. We corresponded with Alison at her home in Ancaster, Ont. in December and received her permission to print the following piece she wrote for the CDS yearbook, Dayspring, in 1983.
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SPRING 2014 THE LINK
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NE FINE SUMMER day, in 1970, three beautiful young ladies – Margo Dunlap (Bindhardt), Daphne Eberts, and Elena Pratt (Heard) – were sunning themselves, watching their small children splashing happily in the nearby pool. The ladies were saying things like, “Y’know, our kids are going to be ready for school before we know it.” And “golly, I wish there was a little school around here.” And then – “Hey, let’s start one.” Their husbands knew better than to try to change their minds. The ladies with their husbands spent two years asking all their friends if they’d like to have a school, a ‘specially’ nice school for their children. Before very long they discovered the quiet little Eversley School and their eyes lit up. Soon the workmen came again and hammered and nailed, painted and varnished, but this time they had help from Mummies and Daddies, children and teachers. In no time, the one room schoolhouse got a shiny new coat of yellow paint. The other two rooms were very jealous, but they too got new paint. Now they were called the Yellow Room, the Blue Room, and the Green Room. On September 11, 1972, the doors of the Eversley School were opened to 42 children. The school had a new name – The Country Day School. Its Headmaster was John Pratt, and it had three teachers, Christine De Witt, Peter Taylor, and me, Alison Scott.