CDS Spring Talon

Ryan Kelly, Ed.D. - Head of School

It is hard to believe we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of our first graduating class! I have had the distinct honor of graduating all ten of these classes, the first five as their principal, and the past five (soon to be 6!) as their Head of School. My how far we have come from a high school in a portable building with just over sixty true-believer students (and families), finding its way into the culture of an already thriving PreK2 through 8th grade school, to a premier independent school that is solidly a PreK2 through 12th grade, approaching 1,100 students strong.

In this issue of “The Talon”, you will see some of the great things we are doing to continue to take CDS to greater heights, be it the social-emotional focus and speakers brought to CDS by our counseling team, or the E.E. Ford Grant that enabled us to put resources towards our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiative. Our outstanding IB curriculum will be highlighted, as will the enhancements we have made to add relevant future-ready offerings for our students to prepare them for their future. You will read about the fantastic performing arts that continue to thrive and soar under the leadership of a terrific team of teachers, technical support personnel, and dedicated students and parents.

It is an exciting time for CDS regarding diversity, equity and inclusion. We have launched various initiatives to further promote diversity and support our mission statement.

In January, our entire middle school student body took part in a training offered by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) called “Blind Spots”, as part of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiative. The Blind Spots program focused on teaching students how their unconscious minds work and how they can better “make decisions and take actions that are more aligned with our declared beliefs.”

CDS hosted several special programs and presenters this year that cover an array of important topics. CDS is proud to have started our year by continuing our partnership with Dr. Michele Borba, bringing her back to CDS for the 3rd time. Dr. Borba met with each division’s faculty to provide an understanding and conversation around what children need. She also shared wonderful connection ideas for staff to bring into their classroom and hallways to support empathetic behavior and interactions in students. In the evening Dr. Borba did a parent presentation and those who attended left inspired and motivated, as well.

Amazing things are happening in the lower school! With the opening of the DREAM Lab in August 2018, innovation has been popping up everywhere. Students as young as first grade have been participating in “break out” sessions with Mrs. Layton where they follow clues to successfully break code and each class has used virtual reality to visit places around the world. Nearpod lessons are taking place in the DREAM Lab, as well as in classrooms, and students are interacting with each other through hands on activities that celebrate diversity and creativity. The entire lower division has been learning about Growth Mindset and students are embracing the power of “yet”.

Carrollwood Day School’s newly formed Innovation Department is led by Dr. Matt Treese, Director of Innovation, and has been charged with “greasing the gears” of thoughtful and sustainable innovation in teaching and learning at CDS. Tanya Layton, Lower School Innovation Specialist works with our ECC and elementary teachers and students and Jim Poulin, MS and US Innovation Specialist works with teachers and students in grades 6 – 12. Across all levels, they are introducing processes and resources that faculty can use immediately in their classrooms as well as developing new student-centered programs.

This year, the upper school students performed a moving rendition of The Laramie Project. I cannot tell you how proud I am of that production. It is such an important story to tell and I truly believe we made a difference. Thirteen of our high school students immersed themselves in the world of Laramie for three months. They discovered new ways of telling stories, challenged themselves as actors, and challenged themselves as students. It is a heavy piece about a hate crime and although it was a difficult process, I know the students learned so much about themselves as actors and people.

The theatre department is currently getting ready for the spring performance of Mary Poppins. With the largest ensemble cast we’ve ever had, this show is an unbelievable undertaking and will be the show to see! Make sure to keep your eyes open for ticket sales and join our Friends of the Performing Arts organization to support the Performing Arts program at CDS. Get your tickets now at /cdspatriots.org/Poppins.

The Upper School art classes have immersed themselves in drawing, 3D art, and photography this year. The 9th grade students have been working on drawing from observation and have started a Surrealism unit where they recently visited the Dali museum for an educational tour of the artist’s work. Upon their return they took a virtual reality tour of his artwork so they could experience first hand what it would be like to be inside one of his paintings. Afterwards they were tasked with creating their own surrealist artwork, which will be critiqued by their peers. Six works will be selected and sent off to the Dali museum to compete against other Hillsborough County art students.

The annual Winter Concert held in December showcased the 8th grade and all the upper school music classes for the first time. Mark your calendars now for the Annual Symphony of the Arts on April 16th, when students from both divisions will be presenting a wide variety of entertaining musical selections.

Carrollwood Day School is proud to set the standard for the International Baccalaureate Progamme in Florida, having been the first school in the state to offer the full continuum of IB for students ages three – 12th grade. Our students benefit from inquiry-based learning that starts at the ECC and continues through elementary (Primary Years Programme), transitions to middle school and the first two years of high school (Middle Years Programme), and culminates in the final two years of high school (Diploma Programme and Career-Related Programme).

New for the 2019-2020 school year: CDS is currently under review for final authorization to offer the Career-Related Programme to students. CDS will be the fourth school in the U.S. to offer the full range of IB curriculum. We are implementing the Career-Related Programme focused specifically on two tracks of study – the Performing/Fine Arts and Sports Medicine/Therapy or Sports Management.

As we head into the spring season of our sports, we are so proud to reflect on some of the highlights of the fall and winter sports seasons. We have had several of our seniors sign to play in college and some career highs for players and coaches alike.

Boys and Girls Cross Country advanced to Regional meets Varsity Football advanced to the Regional Semi-Finals Varsity Cheer advanced to the State Championship meet Varsity Boys Soccer won the District Championship Varsity Girls Soccer were District Runners-up

Girls Basketball 1,000 career point scorers Weeyah M. - Class of 2020 Tiasia M. - Class of 2020 Tarriyonna G. - Class of 2020

Boys Basketball 1,000 point career scorers Edgar Z. - Class of 2019

Boys Basketball 2,000 point career scorers Malcolm W. - Class of 2019

CONGRATULATIONS COACH NOHRA

Recently our very own Varsity Girls Basketball Coach, Coach Nohra, celebrated his 600th career win at CDS, putting him among the elite in Tampa Bay-area girls coaching. With a team of three 1,000 career point scorers and a 23-1 season, Coach Nohra has much to be proud of, and we are proud to call him a Patriot.

SIGNING DAY

Kyle B. Stetson University, Football

Will G. Lehigh University, Baseball

Chris B. College of the Holy Cross, Football

Ally-Reese W. Siena College, Volleyball

Blake H. Flagler College, Baseball

Half Way Home…. The college counseling office appreciates all the due diligence and inordinate discipline that the Class of 2019 have committed to their inside and outside the classroom achievements and activities. Their accomplishments are substantive and varied. International Baccalaureate schools have the most rigorous curriculum available to secondary school students in the United States, thus they often work longer, harder, and enroll in more classes than the vast majority of their high school peers throughout the nation.

Some interesting college related statistics for the class of 2019 are listed below (but still subject to being updated).

• Average SAT score: 1244

• Percent of Class of 2019 offered at least one unsolicited academic scholarship: 70%

• Number of unsolicited scholarships offered: 148

• Total dollar amount of unsolicited academic scholarships: $9,594,412

• Average four-year scholarship award per recipient: $64,827

Ammar A., Class of 2019 National Merit Semi-Finalist

Ria P., Class of 2019 National Merit Commended

Stephanie Phillips, Class of ‘09 Stephanie is a professor of technical communication in the Department of Engineering Education at the University at Buffalo in New York. She is completing a PhD in rhetoric and composition and writes comic books for companies like Dark Horse Entertainment, Image Comics, AfterShock Comics, Black Mask Studios, and more. Her next comic will be on store shelves on May 1, 2019.

Kate Moody, Class of ‘13 | Emma Anne Moody, Class of ‘16 | Will Moody, Class of ‘18 Kate is in her second year of law school at the University of Texas. She and her partner recently won the Garder Novice Mock Trial competition. She acts as an articles editor on the Texas Journal for Civil Liberties and Civil Rights and will intern next summer at the Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, where she will work on capital trials and impact litigation dealing with criminal justice reform. Emma is an honor student at FSU were she is double majoring in English and Mass Communications. She has won the McCrimmon Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Composition, is an Honors Colloquium Leader, a middle school Wyldlife leader with YoungLife and has recently had her first photography exhibition in Tallahassee. Will is enjoying his first semester at North Carolina State where he is adjusting well and enjoying cooler weather and football games. He is majoring in Engineering and wanting to specialize in Electrical Engineering.

Nicole Ianni, Class of ‘14 Nicole graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BS in Sports Management and Psychology from Florida State University in May. After graduation, she spent some time traveling in Italy and France before moving to New York City. She is thrilled to be working for BSE Global, the company that owns the Barclays Center, Brooklyn Nets, and New York Islanders.

Alex Chamberlain, Class of ‘14 Alex graduated Magna Cum Laude from FSU with a degree in civil engineering. While at FSU, the ASCE named him the 2018 Student Engineer of the Year and also presented him with their Legacy Award for Leadership. After a month-long graduation trip through Europe, Alex went to work with Turner Construction. He is currently living and working in Cape Canaveral as an engineer on the Blue Origin space project.

Mihir Prasad, Class of ‘14 Mihir graduated May 2018 from Purdue University. He majored in Biochemistry, with a minor in Business. He was part of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. He is currently in Madison, WI, working as an Associate Analytical Chemist for Eurofins, a global food company, in their food technology group.

Austin Barkett, Class of ‘14 | McKenna Barkett, Class of ‘18 Austin graduated Summa Cum Laude from FSU with a BS in Civil Engineering and took an unforgettable trip to Europe before settling down in Manhattan. He is proud to be a project engineer with Gilbane Building Company. His current project is the renovation of Saks. McKenna went off to the University of Florida, after an amazing trip to Africa after graduation. She is pursuing Pre Med/Biology and is a proud member of Kappa Delta

Will Dosher, Class of ‘14 | Claire Dosher, Class of ‘18 Will graduated from the University of Mississippi in May with a BA in English. He was a member of Pi Kappa Phi and is currently working in Nashville, TN, for Chariot Logistics as a broker. Claire is a sophomore at the University of Mississippi majoring in psychology. A member of Kappa Alpha Theta, Claire is a Provost Scholar and a member of Hinge Dance Company. She also works as a dance teacher for 2nd graders and 5th graders.

Mithil Prasad, Class of ‘18 Mithil is attending Robert H. Smith School of Business, at University of Maryland, College Park. He is majoring in Finance and Economics.

Jacob Weinman, Class of ‘18 Jacob is an engineering major at Georgia Tech. Jacob pledged Phi Chi and is a pledge class officer. He is loving GT and Atlanta.

Studio 54 - 25th Annual Red Carpet Gala - Friday, March 8, 2019 Bryan Glazer Family JCC