Accreditation visit a success!

This past week three outside reviewers came to Country Day for our five year accreditation review. They observed in our classrooms, interviewed students, parents and teachers. They reviewed all of our self assessment plan and looked at artifacts to document this plan. At the end of the visit they gave us their thoughts and recommended us for re-accreditation for the next five years. they also commended our school for it's warm and caring environment and parental involvement. We are proud of the result!

NAEYC National Conference, Atlanta.

Just returned from several days at the National Assoiation of Educators of Young Children with several CDS teachers and administrators. It was a very stimulating few days of learning, discussion, and planning for future vision and projects. We spent many hours in sessions with presenters from around the world, and enjoyed the camadrie of colleagues who teach young children and are searching for better ways to do so. Our group sought out Reggio sessions which were plentiful and varied. We also explored sessions dealing with exposing Children to nature and natural playscapes. The topic of the Common Core curriculum was also explored in relation to CDS philosophy. We also spent time exploring the exhibits to find new materials to bring back to our students. Our group came home exhausted but pumped up to make our school even better for our students, and even more committed to learning as a lifelong adventure.

A Busy Fall

This Fall has flown by. It has presented many challenges and opportunities for me personally and for our school community. While these challenges are on-going, I have faith that the outcomes will be positive and that our school will continue to be blessed. This is our 25th year as our school was established in 1987 with just 7 students. It is also our year for our 5 year Accreditation review by Advanc-Ed, which used to be called SACS. The review team will be here Dec. 5-6 right before our Silver Bells 25th year Anniversary celebration. We appreciate all of the support our school has been shown by parents and community members.

We begin again....25th Year!

School opened again this week and we began our 25th year here at Country Day.  We had a great start and know this will be our best year ever. We will reflect upon our past, appreciate the present, and envision our future.  Stay tuned to the blog for stories about the history of the school!

Love a Rainy Day

What fun the Preschool and Primary Campers had yesterday playing outside in the rain in their swimsuits! It was the classic summer moment and gave all such joy. We need to appreciate the simple pleasures with kids, and make memories whenever we can.

In the good ole summertime

During the months of June and July The Country Day School transforms into The Camp at Country Day. It is such fun to have a slower pace and the luxury of allowing kids to just Be kids. We swim at Shewood pool, have the ice cream truck complete with music come by every week, go on long hikes in our forest, wade in our creek, find bugs and rocks, and enjoy each others company. This year we are re-discovering board and card games. The Preschool is studying Water in all it's properties, as well as farm animals. Our goats, Trouble and Kidd, play with them in the play yard several times a week. Older campers go to the old Playmor Lanes to bowl and to the dollar movie weekly. There are lots of crafts and cooking, make believe play and time to just enjoy.

Another School Year Draws to a Close......

The 2011-12 school year ends next week. How fast it did fly by. Next year Country Day celebrates 25 years of enjoying educating students. We have grown from our original 7 students, but we still believe the same things about educating students and joining as partners with their parents on this amazing journey. While some things change, technology is the best example, others do not. Kids still love to play in the creek and explore the woods, teachers still are thrilled to see a child reach a new learning milestone, and parents are still our partners in this awesome process. We will enter our next 25 years with a renewed commitment to honor our beliefs into the future, and grow with our students. Have a Happy fun filled summer!

Young Thespians

Our Elementary students have a tradition of presenting class plays every Spring. After the two excellent Productions in the past two weeks, I have been pondering the growth which takes place in students as they prepare for their roles and develop confidence and poise during the many practices. On the final night their excitement is palpable. They are a team and all must give 100% to make it the best it can be. Not unlike a sports team, the plays give students opportunities for self actualization and confidence building. I am glad that these Are a part of the traditions of Country Day School.

A Tapestry of Nations

Yesterday was our annual International Festival at Country Day. There were a total of 25 nations represented by the families of CDS. As you entered the building, you were treated to a blending of sights, sounds and smells all of which drew you from country to country to experience many new cultures in a variety of ways. It was a delight to see children and parents in native dress, all sharing their uniqueness with pride. The lively performances had us all clapping along. It was a wonderful morning which fulfilled a vision we have had for our school since it was founded in 1987, now almost 25 years ago. We are a tapestry of nations!

A beautiful poem

What a nice surprise I received today with the application of a prospective CDS fifth grade student. He had come to visit the class recently and had really enjoyed his day at our school. His parents asked him to write a note to include with his application stating why he wanted to be admitted to Country Day. He decided to write a poem/song which truly touched my heart. From his perspective, Country Day gave him the key to his future. Of course, we granted his request to join our student body and know he will be a great addition...maybe the new CDS poet laureate!

Creativity

I have been thinking a lot lately about the importance of giving kids the time, space and materials to exercise their creative minds on a daily basis. Since much of the influence in my undergraduate work was by association with Dr. E Paul Torrance, who was a professor at UGA in the 60's, creativity has always been of great importance to our practices here at Country Day School. Dr. Torrance did much of the groundbreaking work in this field and is called the father of creative giftedness. I was just at the right place at the right time to be fortunate enough to be influenced by his genius. There is now a international center for the study creativity at UGA which continues his work and research.
We think immediately of the creativity observed during children's work with art and the multitude of materials available to express themselves visually. But there arealso so many other opportunities during the school day to allow kids the time, space and material to exercise their creative muscles. On the playground Preschoolers simply need some sheets to turn a piece of climbing equipment into a castle and set the scene for a creative and elaborate story to be acted out. A mud hole on the yard provides a space for creative play for many kids to think thru scenarios with some very creative and collaborative ideas. The nature studio presents many bits and pieces to make houses for imaginary fairies or to design constructions out of natural items in the sand table. All it really takes is time, space and materials, and the willingness of teachers to understand the value of letting children be creative in many ways. To be continued.....

Great Turnout for screening of August to June, Bringing Life to School

About 100 people met at UAH to view the educational documentary last Thursday. A lively discussion followed the screening with audience participation. The audience was a mix of parents, teachers and education students. Several grads of Country Day shared their thoughts about the influence they felt our kind of individualized education had made on their lives. The roundtable consisted of Dr. pat Kuby, professor at Athens State, Dr. Pam Patrick and Dr. Phillip Kovack, professors, from UAH,and Deborah Baker from the Village of Promise. Each expressed their own concerns and opinions that our current public schools are pushing academics and developmentally inappropriate learning downward into Kindergaten and the Pre-K programs and several spoke of this as a form of educational child abuse. They felt that the joy of learning was being extinguished by third grade. All decried the current emphasis on testing and teaching isolated skills. All felt that more emphasis should be placed upon whole child development which was displayed in the film. We hope to find other films to bring to our community in the future to keep awareness and dialogue going.

Audio Recording (1): August to June Movie
Audio Recording (2): Roundtable Discussion
Audio Recording (3): Roundtable Discussion Ending
Video Recording: Some short clips during Roundtable Discussion

State waivers granted to exempt from No Child Left Behind!

Today the Obama administration has granted ten states a waiver to exempt them from the hated No Child Left Behind federal law. This is wonderful news for the schools, teachers, and students in these states. Without the pressure to constantly "teach the test" teachers will be freed to educate children to their fullest potentials. This law, while well intended, has done great harm to our countries educational system in the past ten years. I am hopeful ALL states will soon be waived and that we can get back to the important business of really educating our nations youth, instead of just trying to jump through federally mandated hoops!

Legislature will consider charter schools

I have previously written about Charter schools, public schools which are freed from much of the problematic central regulation which makes it so difficult for good teachers to educate kids beyond test taking skills. I have said that I did not think Alabama would ever have the opportunity to try them. I may have been wrong. There is a new bill coming in front of the legislature in two weeks that has Gov. Bentley's support and the support of the republican held majority. Locally Phil Williams is behind this bill. The AEA and the superintendents are against it. It will be very interesting to see what will happen. I am told that it will only be for a certain population of students and that Birmingham and Montgomery are the favorites to get a nod to try some pilot schools. Politics come to bear in all things. Of course, my personal preference has always been that parents get vouchers to send their child to whatever school they feel will educate them best....public or private. This was a serious consideration during Bush One and I can only wonder how much better off the state of American education would be right now if it that had been allowed to happen.

The future of the textbook

All I can say is Wow! The prototype of the new Apple textbooks are absolutely amazing. These mixed media experiences give students so much more information presented in so many different ways that they will drastically change the landscape of our classrooms in the next few years. I am so glad we have already integrated iPads into all our Elementary classes and cannot wait to see what our ever eager students will do with the new e texts.
iPAD eTexts

August to June Documentary

On Feb. 16 th at Chan Auditorium on the UAH campus at 6:30 pm, Country Day and our Foundation, Foundation for Educational Progress, will bring the much herald film about the daily life in an excellent classroom to the Huntsville community. I was so touched by the wise teacher shown in her classroom helping her students learn and grow as the year progressed. You can not watch this film and not want this kind of opportunity for your child and for all children in our country. It encapsulated educating the whole child to develop intellect, as well as character, empathy, as well as critical thinking, creativity, as well as perseverance. Why can't this be a reality for all students in all schools? It is a question worth pondering. Please join us to view this film and participate in the discussions following.

AUGUST TO JUNE: Brining Life to School
AUGUST TO JUNE Trailer