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!