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Q & A WITH TONY JACCACI think this will be a great school for our own three boys to attend.

What did you learn from the senior lifers when you visited with them?

How important their early years were, from the House to Lower School to Middle School in their preparation for their Upper School experience.

When I spoke with them, they talked about, almost exclusively, their Lower and Middle School experiences. Some highlights were yearly traditions, such as Country Fair and the Wrap-in. They remember coming to Dr. Macrae’s and having him read Dr. Seuss to them.

They told me many other types of things, but how important it all was to their education and Country Day. They told me these are the types of things we hope you’ll preserve as the next Head of School.

Tony and Lucia Jaccaci Tony sat down with Assistant Director of Communications Cindy Kranz during his January 2015 visit as Head of School Designate to answer a few questions about his transition to CCDS: What have you learned about Country Day during this visit that you didn’t know before?

This visit has affirmed what I believed about Country Day as a candidate.

When I came as a candidate, I thought that this school and this community had a wonderful spirit and a common approach to good education, and I think that this visit has affirmed that. I think the thing that I learned this time that I didn’t realize last time is it can be chilly in Cincinnati in the winter.

What question did people most frequently ask you, and how did you respond?

The question that was most asked is, “Why Country Day? What is it about this community that appealed to us?”

I answered this and Lucia answered as well. It was both professional and personal. Professionally, it looks like a school that aligns very well with my own interests and beliefs in education.

Personally, we feel that this would be an excellent place to raise our family.

And as Lucia said, the litmus test is we

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So what book will you read to kids in your office?

I think Dr. Seuss is great. I think “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas,” – I don’t know if Dr. Macrae reads that specific one - but I think that’s a great book to read around the holidays.

You’re now familiar with the “My Day” campaign. What can we expect Tony Jaccaci’s “My Day” to look like?

“My Day” will be different every day.

You can expect that “My Day” will include getting to know students and getting into classrooms, getting out on the sports fields and understanding the clubs and activities and sports that the students do. Also, traveling around Cincinnati promoting the school and getting to know the city a little more fully, speaking with parents and teachers about their interests, so really, in many ways, getting to know the different stakeholders at Country Day. But, I can promise you this, “My Day” is going to look different every day.

How does our technology and its use compare with your school in China?

In our current school, we’re not as mature in integrating technology into the curriculum as Country Day is.

What impresses me about technology at CCDS is the ability of teachers to use technology to improve student learning. It seems to me that it is well integrated, well used, and well

utilized for education, but also for communication, too. I’ve been very impressed with the level to which communication is done here at Country Day.

What might we expect to see in terms of global opportunities and/or the addition of Chinese language for Country Day students?

To me, global education is a critical piece to any child’s education today.

When I came, I spoke about that, and I think the community here at Cincinnati Country Day School realizes that, but I think there’s also a realization that there’s room for expansion of opportunities for children. So that will be something I hope to bring to Country Day. It’s too early to say something like we’re going to include Chinese and we’re going to take kids to Russia or whatever the case may be, because I need to come in and understand the program more fully, because you can’t keep adding things. You have to make choices. So, it’s really important for me to understand the program fully. That’s one of the reasons I’m joining Country Day, because I think a great opportunity for a school like this to become even better is to include broader choices for kids to understand the world around them.

Do you and your family speak Chinese or any other language?

I speak Chinese. I used to teach Chinese at St. George’s. I started the Chinese program there. Lucia began studying Chinese when she arrived in Shanghai and is actually speaking at a good level. My two older boys also speak Chinese at a pretty good level,

but my youngest is at our primary school, and he speaks almost native language Chinese. We all speak different levels of Chinese.

Why did you decide to leave Shanghai and return to the U.S.?

Shanghai is a very dynamic, exciting place to live. When Lucia and I moved there, though, we felt that five years would be an appropriate period of time to then reassess. So, we’ve been there for five years and I think in reassessing, we felt it was time to leave Shanghai. Shanghai is a fantastic place to live, but it also comes at a cost. The air pollution is quite bad and our children spend a great deal of their lives in a car going to and from places. Shanghai is about twice the size of the state of Rhode Island, so my little guys spend hours and hours on a bus every day. And so, we were looking for a place that would continue to provide them with an excellent education like our current school, but where they could also live perhaps a life that is easier.

I said the Pledge of Allegiance at the All-School assembly at Country Day. I haven’t said that in five years.

Suddenly, it struck me. I don’t think my youngest son has ever said the Pledge of Allegiance. Another reason for moving back to the United States is to help my boys understand their roots. They’ve got international experience, but I think it will be good to get to know Cincinnati and the United States.

How do your kids feel about the move?

They’re excited about the new chapter in their life, but they have good friends, so they’ll be a little sad about leaving China. Certainly, meeting the kids here, it seems like a very warm and welcoming community and I’m hopeful and I feel good that they’ll be able to find good friends here, too.

What surprises you most about Cincinnati?

It is such a thriving city and has a lot to offer. I think that people who haven’t been to Ohio before or to Cincinnati, don’t understand how rich the culture is and how good the sports scene is. I had heard that Cincinnati was a great city but when I visited and actually saw it with my own eyes, it was really exciting to consider living here. It seems to be booming at the moment and in a really nice renaissance kind of period.

What do you like to do in your leisure time?

I love to read books and I love sports.

I’m an avid skier. Before I left for China, I was competing in triathlons, so that’s one of the things I’m looking forward to picking up again – running, biking and swimming. The air quality in China is such that I had to cut that part.

dumplings. I’m very good at making Chinese dumplings, so that might be something that I bring to Country Day. Dumplings.

Anything else that you’d like to add?

We’re really excited to be joining Cincinnati Country Day School.

One of the things that Lucia and I are particularly excited about is living in Broadwell House. I think the community should know that we’re both boarding school teachers, so we’re used to living on campus and our kids are used to living on campus, so the fact that we’re going to be living very close is an added plus to joining the community. Also, we’re looking forward to getting to know Cincinnati. There is so much to offer.

We will take any recommendations that people have for great things to do in Cincinnati.

What do you read?

I like to read fiction. I like to read nonfiction. I like to read professionally, as well, so on my bed stand at any moment, I’ll have three or four books that I’m reading at the same time. I also like to read what students are reading in my own school. I read “The Book Thief,” and I thought that was fantastic. I’m also reading a really funny book called, “The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared.” It’s by a Swedish author. It’s a really funny book.

Another book I’m reading now is “How Children Learn.”

What’s one thing that the Country Day community might not know about you yet?

My guilty pleasure is listening to pop music - Katy Perry, specifically.

Another guilty pleasure is homemade baked macaroni and cheese. I cook

All photos of Tony and Lucia were taken during the January 2015 visit.

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STUDENT NEWS SCIENCE OLYMPIAD TEAM Cincinnati Country Day School’s Science Olympiad team had successful year, participating in four competitions. Science Olympiad is a nationwide program in which students demonstrate their skills and knowledge in biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, engineering, and technology.

Thirty-five students in grades 9-12 comprised Country Day’s team. “The level of interest in the team and level of motivation by the students led us to add another competition in Cleveland,” said Paula Butler, US science teacher and a team coach. “In recent years, we’ve only done two to three competitions, but we stretched ourselves this year and did four. It was a lot of fun!”

On March 7, the team earned sixth place in the Cincinnati Regional Science Olympiad Tournament to qualify for State competition for the seventh consecutive year. The tournament was held at the UC-Blue Ash campus, where 24 area schools competed.

Medals were awarded for sixth place or better in each event, and Country Day students earned medals in 13 of the 23 events at Regionals. Winners were: First place: Alex Warner ’15 and Ryan Dougherty ’15, Air Trajectory Alex Warner ’15 and Lorae Stojanovic ’18, Wright Stuff Third place:Mia Fatuzzo ’15 and Joe Lou ’16, Astronomy Ben Stegman ’15 and Ryan Dougherty ’15, Mission Possible Fourth place: Mia Fatuzzo ’15 and Nathan Grant ’16, Anatomy and Physiology Grace Pettengill ’17 and Kenny Wang ’17, Bridge Building Mia Fatuzzo ’15 and Grace Pettengill ’17, Disease Detectives Charlie Sukin ’16 and Kenny Wang ’17, Dynamic Planet Apurva Bhattacharjee ’15 and Moya Ly ’18, Fossils Joe Lou ’16 and Nathan Albrinck ’16, Technical Problem Solving Fifth place: Vishaal Nalagatla ’17 and Nick Krammer ’17, Bridge Building; Kacie Bradfish ’15 and Lorae Stojanovic ’18, Green Generation Sixth place: Taylor Boggs ’16 and Kendall Smith ’16, Entomology Nathan Grant ’16, Monica Ma ’16, and Shaheel Mitra ’17, Protein Modeling Regional Science Olympiad Team members were: Nathan Albrinck ’16, Sachi Bhati ’18, Apurva Bhattacharjee, ’15, Taylor Boggs ’16, Kacie Bradfish ’15, Roshan Chandrakumar ’17, Priyanka Dama ’17, Ryan Dougherty ’15, Mia Fatuzzo ’15, Nathan Grant ’16, Isabelle Hudson ’15, Yerim (Lynn) Im ’15, Sam Jenkins ’16, Nick Krammer ’17, Nicholas Langenbahn ’15, Joe Lou ’16, Moya Ly ’18, Shaheel Mitra ’17, Vishaal Nalagatla ’17, Grace Pettengill ’17, Kendall Smith ’16, Akshay Sonti ’15, Ben Stegman ’15, Lorae Stojanovic ’18, Charlie Sukin ’16, Kenny Wang ’17, Alex Warner ’15, Lily Yu ’16.

Country Day’s Science Olympiad team continued its success at the State competition April 11 at Ohio State University. Competing against the top 40 teams in Ohio, CCDS students performed well, especially Mia Fatuzzo’15 and Joe Lou ’16, who earned seventh place in Astronomy.

Other students who placed in the top half in their events at the State competition were: Alex Warner ’15 and Ryan Dougherty ’15, 11th place, Air Trajectory Grace Pettengill ’17 and Lorae Stojanovic ’18, 13th place, Bridge Building Nathan Grant ’16 and Kenny Wang ’17, 13th place, Cell Biology Alex Warner ’15 and Lorae Stojanovic ’18, 13th place, Wright Stuff Kacie Bradfish ’15 and Moya Ly ’18, 14th place, Green Generation Akshay Sonti ’15 and Lorae Stojanovic ’18, 14th place, It’s About Time State Science Olympiad Team members were: Kacie Bradfish’15, Ryan Dougherty ’15, Mia Fatuzzo ’15, Nathan Grant ’16, Joe Lou ’16, Moya Ly ’18, Shaheel Mitra ’17, Grace Pettengill ’17, Kendall Smith ’16, Akshay Sonti ’15, Ben Stegman ’15, Lorae Stojanovic ’18, Charlie Sukin ’16, Kenny Wang ’17 and Alex Warner ’15.

Earlier this year on Feb. 7, CCDS competed at the Science Olympiad Invitational at Wright State University in Dayton.

This was a large competition in which 41 teams traveled from across the Midwest and from as far away as Texas. Country Day students did well and received 20th place out of 41 teams in this highly competitive venue.

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51 STUDENTS NAMED AP SCHOLARS CCDS had 51 students named 2014 AP Scholars.

The AP Program, administered by the College Board, recognizes high school students who have demonstrated outstanding collegelevel achievement through AP courses and exams with the AP Scholar Awards. The AP Scholar Awards are academic distinctions that students may cite among their credentials on applications and resumes. The award is acknowledged on any AP score report that is sent to colleges.

AP Scholars are granted to students who receive grades of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams on full-year courses. They are: Kelsey Bardach, Apurva Bhattacharjee, Kacie Bradfish, William Cohen, Sofia

DiFrancesco, Jennifer Gonzales, Emma Hoenemeyer, Lindsey Jarrell, Annie Mullee, Akshay Sonti, Hannah Taylor, Annalise Tereck, Blake Thomas, Charlotte Ward, Alex Warner, Patrick Wildman, Connor Wiley and Alexandra Wooden.

AP Scholars with Honor are granted to students who receive an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams on full-year courses. They are: Allison Brinkman, Shifan Fei, Reid Gaede, Ishan Ghildyal, Pratiti Ghosh-Dastidar, Isabelle Hudson, Stephen Liao, Christopher Morgan, Casey Pfister and Ashley Streit.

Scholars with Distinction are granted to students who receive an average

grade of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams on fullyear courses. They are: Sonia Bhati, Julian Braxton, Elijah Engelke, Mia Fatuzzo, Jack Findley, Sabrina Finn, Chase Frederick, Hanna Gottschalk, Elizabeth Grace, Jessica Hall, Austin Harden, Pranav Madabhushi, Lucas Mairal-Cruz, Brian McSwiggen, Anand Mehta, Elizabeth Miller, Victoria Paff, Augusta Pohlman, Alexandra Sukin, Grant Swinton, Douglas Tallmadge, Matthew Valido and Lauren Wiley.

National Scholars are granted to students in the United States who receive an average grade of at least 4 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams. They are: Julian Braxton, Lucas Mairal-Cruz, Brian McSwiggen and Grant Swinton.

MILLER NAMED PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLAR CANDIDATE Elizabeth Miller ’15 was named a candidate for the United States Presidential Scholars Program, one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students. Elizabeth was among 97 candidates from Ohio, including 23 from the Cincinnati area, who were identified for the program because of exceptionally high scores on the SAT or ACT. Eight Country Day students have been recognized by the Presidential Scholars Commission in the last eight years, including three brothers. In

2007, Colin McSwiggen, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was named a Presidential Scholar, and in 2011, Kevin McSwiggen, a graduate of Harvey Mudd College, was a candidate and in 2014 Brian McSwiggen, a freshman at Princeton, was a semi-finalist. In 2008, Joshua Brown, a graduate of Brown University, was a candidate. In 2012, Henry Pease, a junior at Princeton University, was a semifinalist, and in 2013 Holly Dayton, a sophomore at Stanford University, was a semifinalist, and Katie Karnes, a sophomore at Colgate University, was a candidate.

Country Day has had two Presidential Scholars: Hema Magge '97 and Colin

McSwiggen '07. Watch for a more indepth story in the next Connections on Hema and Colin.

To compete for the Presidential Scholarship, Elizabeth completed an application that includes essays, secondary school reports and transcripts. A review committee chose 560 semifinalists from the 3,000 candidates nationwide, and then further winnowed that group to 121 Academic Presidential Scholars.

Presidential Scholars are invited to Washington, D.C. in June to meet government officials, educators, authors, and musicians and to attend recitals and receptions.

Students who earned ribbons or placed in the top 10 were: Alex Warner ’15 and Ryan Dougherty ’15, sixth place, Air Trajectory Nathan Albrinck ’16 and David Yang ’16, ninth place, Technical Problem Solving.

The Science Olympiad team traveled to Kenston High School in Chagrin Falls, outside Cleveland, for an invitational competition on Jan. 17. It was the first time that the team has undertaken an overnight trip. Students performed well in their opening competition of the winter season.

Science Olympiad team co-captains this year were Mia Fatuzzo ‘15, Alex Warner ‘15, and Nathan Grant ’16. The coaches were Paula Butler and Jon Franzosa, US science teachers, and Jamie Back, US math teacher.

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STUDENT NEWS MODEL UN SHINES IN THREE EVENTS Wyoming Competition Thirteen members of the Country Day Upper School Model United Nations club travelled to Wyoming High School to compete with three other Cincinnati-area high schools (Mount Notre Dame, St. Ursula and Mariemont) and with one Columbusarea school (Upper Arlington) in the first-ever Wyoming High School Model United Nations Conference (WYOMUN 2014).

CCDS students swept the show, winning the top honors in each committee. In the Human Rights Council, Lorae Stojanovic ’18 and Siddharth Jejurikar ’16 were recognized as “Honorable Delegates” for their work representing Kenya and Romania, respectively; Soham Basu ’16 was honored as the “Outstanding Delegate” for his work representing Great Britain; and Connor Wiley ’15 was tapped as the “Best Delegate” for his work representing the People's Republic of China. In the Joint Crisis Committee, Cooper Ebersbach ’16 and George Crowley ’16 were awarded “Outstanding Delegate” awards for their work representing the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Korea, respectively; in that same committee, Margaret Hodson ’16 was recognized as the “Best Delegate” for her work representing the Republic of Korea. In addition to these awards, Cooper Ebersbach received the “Best Position Paper” award in the Joint Crisis Committee.

University of Dayton Competition 27 members of the Country Day Upper School Model United Nations club traveled to Dayton to compete in the University of Dayton’s annual Model United Nations conference. This year’s conference was the largest ever held at the university, attracting more than 450 students from more than 20 Ohio and Indiana schools.

Country Day’s young diplomats acquitted themselves well, winning approximately 20% of the awards.

Other Cincinnati-area schools participating included Seven Hills, Walnut Hills, St. Xavier, Sycamore and St. Ursula. The Miami Valley School, a Dayton-area powerhouse, and the

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Park Tudor School from Indianapolis, helped provide top-level competition.

Country Day students winning awards were: • George Crowley ’16 and Sidd Jejurikar ’16, representing Finland (Best Position Paper in the General Assembly 2) • Cooper Ebersbach ’16 and Max Luebbers ’16, representing Russia (Distinguished Delegation in the General Assembly 2) • Trisha Atluri ’16 and Pratiti GhoshDastidar ’15, representing Bangladesh (Honorable Mention in the General Assembly 2) • Soham Basu ’16 and Sean O’Brien ’16, representing Russia (Distinguished Delegation in the General Assembly 1) • Ian Hayes ’16, representing Bangladesh (Honorable Mention in the Economic and Social Committee) Earlham College Competition (Photo below)

25 Country Day Upper School students travelled to Earlham College in Richmond, Ind. to participate in a two-day Model United Nations conference. The CCDS students competed against 225 students from 12 Ohio and Indiana schools. Other Cincinnati-area schools attending the conference included Seven Hills, St. Xavier, and St. Ursula Academy.

Country Day students were impressive. Eleven UN committees or organizations were simulated, and each gave two awards: Best Delegation (first prize in the committee) and Most Improved Delegation. CCDS students won three of the eleven Best Delegation awards, and one Most Improved Delegation award.

Specifically, Connor Wiley ’15 and Pranav Madabhushi ’15 won Best Delegation for their work representing Norway in the World Health Organization; Max Luebbers ’16 and Sidd Jejurikar ’16 won Best Delegation for their work representing the UK the First General Assembly; John Joy ’18 and Lorae Stojanovic ’18 won Best Delegation for their work representing France in the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction; and Teja Atluri ’16 and Soham Basu ’16 won Most Improved Delegation for their work representing the UK in the Futuristic Security Council.

Congratulations to these students, and to all of the CCDS students, for their work at the conference and for representing Country Day in a positive and energetic way.

UPPER SCHOOL PLAY DRAWS GREAT REVIEWS The Upper School’s fall production of “Almost, Maine,” by John Cariani drew crowds and good reviews. Cast members were: Teja Atluri ‘16, Anna Beyette ‘17, Claire Beyette ‘15, Taylor Boggs ‘16, Frank Grossi ‘16, Jack Hupper ‘15, Mickey Masterson ‘17, Elizabeth Miller ‘15, Maggie Miller ‘17, Zach Stacy ‘17 and Haley Vaughan ‘18.

The offbeat romantic comedy is a series of vignettes that deal with falling in love, falling out of love and everything in between. It is one of the most frequently produced plays of the last decade, overtaking “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” as the single most-produced play in U.S. high schools.

SMITHSONIAN DISPLAYS JC VOGT’S PHOTO

JC Vogt ‘16 visited the Smithsonian Institution last fall to see his photo on display. JC’s portrait of his sister, Jelena, was one of two Grand Prize winners in the 2013 Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery Teen Portrait Competition. The photo is located in the Education Center of the National Portrait Gallery, where visitors can get a free lesson on a different medium of art from an artist that specializes in that medium.

Last year, JC won eight Gold Keys for his photography in the Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards regional competition. Those associated with the competition could not recall another individual winning that many Gold Keys in one year. The photo hanging in the Smithsonian is also one of the winning images in the Scholastic competition.

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STUDENT NEWS A HISTORY OF THE STARS: THE ASTRONOMY CLUB IS REVIVED BY RUTHERFORD ’18 Reprinted from the Scroll, the CCDS Student Newspaper - By Margaret Hodson ’16, Perspectives Co-Section Editor For much of the blue-and-white clad student section, the world seemed to revolve around the football players on synthetic turf under bright lights at the Homecoming game. For a different group of around 30 alumni, faculty, students, and parents, the game and this world were not their concerns. While they could still hear the resounding cheers of the Country Day fans, they had their sights focused on a different view: Saturn.

Behind the Homecoming viewing and the recent revival of the Astronomy Club is freshman Josie Rutherford.

Rutherford first became interested in astronomy in fourth grade and learned to use telescope through a Cincinnati Observatory program called FOTOKids. As part of the program, she visited the observatory once a month and learned astronomyrelated information. Current faculty advisor of the club Casey Schnieber said, “Josie knows more about the night sky than I probably do… I know she knows more about the night sky than I do.” She’s brought all of this knowledge back to Country Day, where she hopes to hold viewings once or twice a month. So far, she’s

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scheduled them around home football games. Even after the football season ends, Rutherford would like to continue holding viewings and scheduling them strategically around school events on Fridays or Saturdays.

So far, the Astronomy Club has looked at both Saturn and the Moon. In the future, Rutherford would like to hold a viewing of Jupiter. She explained, “Jupiter is really interesting to look at because you can see its four moons and the giant red spot on it.” She also hopes to obtain a solar filter, which allows for viewing of solar flares and sun spots. Be it Saturn or sun flares, all viewings at Country Day are done from Dickinson Observatory, a small building located to the right of the front soccer fields. It’s a structure that students park next to countless times yet frequently gloss over. This building does not have an imposing presence, but it does have a long history. So does the Astronomy Club.

The Astronomy Club started with Country Day legend Mr. David Laird, a physics teacher at Country Day from the mid-sixties until his tragic death in the fall of 1979. In 1965, the club

began borrowing a telescope from Mr. Philemon “Phil” Dickinson, father of Country Day student Peter Dickinson.

Mr. Dickinson ended up donating his personal telescope to the school, and it was kept in the maintenance shop under the cafeteria. As students became increasingly involved with the club, Mr. Laird eventually convinced Mr. Dickinson to finance the building of an observatory. Mr. Dickinson kindly acquiesced, and thus the observatory with his namesake has been a mainstay on the Country Day campus since 1967. Coincidentally, 1967 is the same year Country Day obtained its very first computer.

For those well-acquainted with the history of Country Day, the coincidence of these two events will not seem coincidental at all. The man behind Country Day’s first computer is also the man behind Dickinson Observatory: Mr. Laird. Mr. Laird was a forward-thinker, and saw the potential that the then-new computers had as an education tool. The computer was primarily integrated into the science classes. Students could do lab experiments (normally in physics), collect data, and write programs

analyzing the data.

Upon my mention of the “first computer,” Dr. Jeffry Spain, the current network administrator, was quick to point it that it wasn’t a computer at all. He explained, “It was a terminal that connected over a phone line to a mainframe system run by a General Electric company in Cleveland.” He elaborated, expounding that a terminal is a teletype, and a teletype is a device with a keyboard and a print mechanism. Country Day’s teletype was an ASR-33, and the rate of communication was about 110 bits per second. To put this in perspective, modern internet connection can communicate about 100 million bits per second. Although the technology dims in comparison to modern computers, Country Day’s terminal was very powerful for the time period.

For the Astronomy Club, the advent of such a powerful tool to campus could not have been more perfectly planned. The club members, including Dr. Spain (Class of 1971) himself, had begun to do some very advanced calculations involving occultations.

In fact, the calculations were so advanced they needed a computer to do them correctly.

An occultation is an event that occurs when one object passes in front of another. In the case of the Astronomy Club, they were interested in observing the moon pass in front of a star. They would time the disappearance of the star and then compare their observations to the theoretical value. As a point of comparison, they used data obtained from a friend of Mr. Laird’s working at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. The computer terminal had no application software, so the Astronomy Club wrote a program to do data analysis on their observations from the occultations.

After the “computer” had processed the data, they would send their results back to Mr. Laird’s contact at the U.S. Naval Observatory.

The Astronomy Club of the late 60s to early 70s was a small group of highly dedicated students that would spend hours staring at the night sky.

They didn’t plan their viewing session too far in advance, but instead often made decisions the day-of based on the weather and the clouds. Dr. Spain remembered, “Things [were] different. If you can imagine, we would often go out at night to watch these occultations. I lived in Indian Hill, Mr. Laird lived in Terrace Park.

So he’d show up at our house at midnight sometimes.” At this point, I interrupted Dr. Spain to ask, “on school nights?” He replied with a calm “yes” before continuing his story: “We’d come out here [to Country Day] for a couple of hours and do this.

You wouldn’t do that today.”

That certainly is true. For one, the Astronomy Club has had a very difficult time maintaining interest after the death of Mr. Laird in 1979.

Speaking of this time in the club’s history, Mr. Brock Miller said, “It’s my sense that at that point, things started to trail off, and for two reasons.”

Aside from the obvious reason, Mr. Laird’s monumental influence upon the club, Mr. Miller also cited the increased busyness of student schedules. Despite having received a 14-inch Celestron telescope in 1977, the astronomy club was largely inactive from 1979-1993. The next big event in the observatory history was in ’93, when money was given to refurbish the telescope and do a little bit of work around the observatory.

The money was given in honor of a middle school student who had died, and a placard was placed inside the observatory in his honor. It was that same year that Mr. Miller came to teach at Country Day. Mr. Miller ran the Astronomy Club with Mr. Nathan Johnston’s (eighth grade science teacher) predecessor, and had some events for both Upper and Middle School students. Speaking of this time period, Mr. Miller said, “It was very hard to get students to come out. The real issue in Cincinnati is weather.” This is something Mr. Schnieber, the current faculty advisor to the Astronomy Club, can certainly relate to. Although Mr. Miller kept the astronomy club going for about 8-9 years, it eventually folded in around 2002 due to a lack of interest. It wasn’t until 2006-2007 that interest was revived and Mr. Schnieber was

given the keys to the observatory.

The third advent of the Astronomy Club came courtesy of Basil Rowe. A Country Day graduate from the class of 1978, Basil Rowe was described as “an encyclopedia of the sky” by Mr. Schnieber. As a part of his attempt to resurrect the Astronomy Club, Mr. Rowe started coming to Middle School assemblies and talking about space. This was 2006-2007, and it was Mr. Schnieber’s first exposure to the Dickinson Observatory. Although he’d taught at Country Day for seven years prior, he had never known there was an observatory on campus. He soon discovered that Country Day has not only a fine observatory, but several quality telescopes and five pairs of stabilizing binoculars.

Although Mr. Rowe’s presentations did drum up some interest, the club frequently ran into issues with the weather. They would schedule viewing sessions, but would be unable to view anything due to an abundance of clouds. They again struggled with the problem of student busyness and found it difficult to maintain a dedicated base of members.

Rutherford has been running into many of these same problems with her club. Although the weather certainly poses a challenge, but Mr. Schnieber and Rutherford are confident about the future of the club.

Mr. Schnieber said, “I know people love to look through telescopes.” For him, the best part about the club is it brings people together. It’s a community rallying point, a place to “share some stories, see some cool things.”

Read one way, the history of the Astronomy Club is one of good intentions sabotaged by cloudy skies and busy schedules. Read another, it’s the story of a club that can never lay idle for long. When Rutherford and the Astronomy Club look up at the night sky, they can do so with pride, knowing that they are part of a long line of Country Day astronomers.

Although Dr. Spain and Mr. Laird may not have heard the roar of the student section as they viewed the stars, they know the feeling of staring at awe at something bigger than themselves and larger than our world.

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STUDENT NEWS STUDENTS IN PASSENGER PIGEON DOCUMENTARY For years, Cincinnati Country Day seventh graders have learned about Martha, a passenger pigeon, in Dan Wood’s science classes. Now, Wood and nine students have a few seconds of fame in a new documentary about the extinction of Martha’s species.

“From Billions to None: The Passenger Pigeon’s Flight to Extinction” was created to illustrate the passenger pigeon’s history and impact. It aired on public television stations nationwide. The documentary was shown on CET in Cincinnati on Sept. 1.

For centuries, the passenger pigeon was the most abundant bird in North America and possibly the world. It was hunted to extinction in a matter of decades. The film explores the bird’s unlikely extinction and its relevance to conservation issues today, including the depletion of the shark species.

Cincinnati plays a role in the story because Martha, the last known passenger pigeon, died at the Cincinnati Zoo on Sept. 1, 1914. The zoo observed the 100th anniversary of her death.

“The filmmakers thought this was an incredible ‘teachable moment’ because Martha’s death changed the way we thought about conservation,” Wood said. “This can be another reminder, another teachable moment that what we do really does have an impact on the living things around us. It’s an opportunity for us to pause and reflect and make some better choices.”

A group of current ninth graders visited the zoo in 2013 to recreate part of the annual seventh-grade trip to the zoo that involves Martha. “It was a fun morning at the zoo and great to be a part of the documentary-making experience,” Wood said.

He teaches his students about Martha (named after Martha Washington) before the zoo field trip. Wood shares a Natural History magazine article about John James Audubon, including a page about Martha. Audubon described in his journal his encounter

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with a flock of passenger pigeons while he was en route to Louisville.

“It was a flock that took three days to pass overhead,” Wood said. “It seemed to block out the sun. Pigeon droppings fell like snow. He estimated their numbers in the billions. He made a comment that it would seem impossible that this many birds would ever go extinct. That was around 1813, and Martha died Sept. 1, 1914, so in about 100 years, that species went extinct. It had a lot to do with human activity. Part of it was incredible hunting pressure.”

Wood discovered the filmmakers were seeking crowdfunding to produce the film and requested that proceeds from a Middle School dance in spring 2013 be donated to the cause. In return, the school would get a copy of naturalist Joel Greenberg’s new book about passenger pigeons and the documentary to help support the curriculum. Middle School Head Theresa Hirschauer agreed.

After Wood sent the donation, film producer David Mrazek contacted him and asked him why the school was interested in donating. Wood explained that he uses Martha in his curriculum, and during the annual zoo field trip, each group stops by a statue of Martha for a photo.

“It’s part of every seventh-grader’s

experience,” Wood said. “He thought it would be great if we tried to recreate the seventh-grade trip in some way.”

In October 2013, the filmmakers came to a Middle School assembly to talk about passenger pigeons, conservation and what it’s like to make a documentary.

The next day, a group of students, then eighth-graders who had already experienced the field trip the previous spring, met at the zoo for filming.

They were: Bryant Aquino, Clarissa Conner, Grace Gilbreath, Ruth Kramer, Moya Ly, Thomas Mactaggart, Josie Rutherford , Jordann Sadler and Kaity Travis.

“From Billions to None,” is the American Conservation Film Festival Broadcast Award Winner for 2014.

Cutline: Cincinnati Country Day students re-enacted their seventhgrade field trip to the Cincinnati Zoo for a documentary about the extinction of passenger pigeons.

Martha, the last passenger pigeon in captivity, died Sept. 1, 1914 at the zoo, spelling the end of that species.

The students, now ninth-graders are, from left, Jordann Sadler, Clarissa Conner, Josie Rutherford, Bryant Aquino, Thomas Mactaggart, Ruth Kramer, Grace Gilbreath, Moya Ly and Kaity Travis. (Photo provided by Dan Wood)

OUT-OF-THE-BOX DAY WITH THE NEW SURFACE PRO 3 FIFTH GRADERS THRILLED WITH COMPUTERS Out-of-the-Box Day is one of the most anticipated events at Cincinnati Country Day School. This year was no different when 54 fifth graders received their new computers.

Students were joined by parents when they unpacked the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Tablet PC. Teachers showed students how to use the machines, and students demonstrated their tablets’ capabilities to their parents.

“For the students, it is a combination of their birthday, Fourth of July, and any other favorite celebration wrapped into one,” said Theresa Hirschauer, head of the Middle School.

“The fifth graders were very excited about getting this new device in their hands, so there were a lot of happy students and parents. The CCDS technology office did a great job introducing the machine and showing the great advantages of technology in the classroom.”

In 1996, Country Day was the first school in the United States to implement 1:1 technology in grades 5-12. The school switched to Tablet PCs in 2003. Earlier this year, Country Day was selected to be included in Microsoft’s Early Adopter Program for the Surface Pro 3.

“Our students and teachers are among the first people in the world to use these versatile devices,” said Rob Baker, Country Day’s director of technology. “The Surface Pro 3 is the thinnest, lightest, and most powerful tablet PC we have ever deployed.

The Surface Pro 3 makes for a lightweight e-reader while retaining full digital inking capabilities — the writing, annotating, sketching, and highlighting functions on which our teaching and learning have come to depend.”

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STUDENT NEWS STUDENTS COMPLETE IMPRESSIVE INTERNSHIPS From creating a database for a company to using mice brains to research a disease, eight Upper School students sampled potential careers through summer internships in math, science and technology.

Paula Butler, Upper School science teacher, and Sarah Beyreis, Director of College Counseling, helped a number of students connect with professors or employers who offered internships.

The students discussed their work during the Science/Math/Technology Expo. Classmates and teachers were invited to hear about their work experiences.

Maggie Bernish ’16 worked at The Ohio State University’s Stone Lab, an island campus on Lake Erie. She worked with Dr. Justin Chaffin.

“My lab partner and I conducted an experiment in which we tested the presence of bioindicators in streams and estuaries around Lake Erie. We attempted to catch rainbow darters, which only live in very clean waters due to their low tolerance of water pollution. The condition of each stream and estuary we visited was determined through pH testing and other methods. We recorded where we could find rainbow darters and where we couldn’t, and we determined that they were most prolific in streams with a pH of about 7.5 and a relatively small amount of particles of sediment. This experiment was a part of my handson course called Intro to Aquatic Biology. I learned about marine life in Lake Erie through a mixture of lectures and field work. We conducted many small experiments and assisted the professors with lab procedures.”

“I learned what it’s like to be a part of a research community where everyone is constantly looking for new ways to solve problems. I was

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surrounded by creative and innovative thinkers with the same interests as mine. I also learned how to design and conduct my own experiments.”

Apurva Bhattacharjee ’15 worked in the University of Cincinnati Immunology Department with Dr. Mary Beth Yacyshyn, mother of three CCDS alumni, who was researching a disease called C. difficile, a bacteria that affects the intestines.

“I used a program called ImageJ to help the doctors quickly and efficiently count pixels in photos of microscope slides. I created a tutorial for other doctors in the lab to use.

This method sped up the process of counting pixels in images and also reduced the chances for human error.”

“I learned that medical research is a very tedious undertaking and requires hours of work. But in the end, it’s worth it because your research could help improve or save lives.”

Elizabeth Grace ’15 worked as an accounting intern under accounting manager Karen King at A&P Technology, an Eastgate-based company that works in braided fiber as a reinforcement method.

“I was responsible for many tasks, such as receiving and sorting mail, stamping new invoices and entering information into a database using the accounting software, and looking through scanned versions of old invoices to make sure they were all accounted for.”

“I also had a project that I worked on for the entire two months I was there: creating a database to organize and calculate data concerning project costs. Using Visual Basic 6.0 for the coding, I created the database on Microsoft Access.

Before this summer, I didn’t know any Visual Basic so I had to learn from online tutorials, and I also got a lot of help from my mother, Ann Grace, a software engineer at the company. In about a month I had submitted a first draft to my boss, who gave me a few suggestions. Though I did not have enough time to finish refining it while I was still working there, it is now in use by the accounting department.”

Nathan Grant ’16 worked in the Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) Lab at the Harbor–UCLA Pediatrics Biomedical Center in Los Angeles under Dr. Patricia Dickson. He wanted to work in the MPS lab because his twin brother Nik was diagnosed with MPS II Hunter Syndrome at age 3.

“My project was to determine the amount of myelin in MPS I mice. On my first day, I was given mice brains from which I was to extract myelin from the right hemispheres. After extracting the myelin, I performed several tests to determine the protein concentration in MPS I mice and control, or normal, mice. The protein concentration would indicate the relative amount of myelin in each type of mice. My hypothesis was that because MPS involves neurological complications, MPS mice would have less myelin than normal mice would. To determine the protein concentrations, I performed Bradford Protein Assays, Western Blots, and Sandwich ELISAs. After learning how to perform these tests, I was able to run the experiments by myself. I also learned how to run cholesterol assays and mass spectrometers as well as how to transfect cells to grow and replicate them.

I also had the opportunity to learn how to conduct a clinical trial by shadowing Dr. Dickson and Dr. Agnes Chen.

At the end of my internship, I presented my data and my lab notebook to the Genetics Department.”

“By working with Dr. Dickson, I learned that experiments take a long time and any tiny miscalculation can cause the entire experiment to go wrong. I had to be very careful, especially when pipetting fluids and dealing with small, delicate objects like the mice brains.”

Pranav Madabhushi ’15 worked at the University of California, Berkeley with Dr. Robert Knight, head of the Department of Neuroscience, and Dr. Avgusta Shestyuk, his post-doc.

“I analyzed statistical data for the functions of the prefrontal cortex.

Using electrocorticography and craniotomies, electrode grids were placed by neurosurgeons on the cortex of the brain where subjects were given eight tasks of varying difficulty to perform. The electrical neuro-activity (brainwaves) were measured and reported back to the lab.

From there, Dr. Shestyuk and I used principal component analysis to map out active brain areas and search for patterns between types of task and area of the brain.”

stem cells to determine which phase of the cell cycle each cell was in, by looking at a heat map of the cell.

Using ToppGene, this was achieved by taking cell cycle data of a different stem cell (as a gold standard), and using that data to build a predictive model (as a classifier). The classifier was trained so that the cell cycle phase of each gene being inputted could be determined. A program

coins (there were a lot) during this experiment. These tests quantified the particulate contamination on the surface, which would allow us to see our improvements. We also tested coining dies and their coatings, as well as our washing processes.”

“I learned how to write a proper lab report. I also learned how to look at solutions like an engineer, changing only one variable at a time.”

Alex Warner ’15 worked for GE Aviation in Commercial Engines Operations (CEO) in Information Technology through INTERalliance.

The organization is a collaborative effort of Greater Cincinnati regional businesses and educators to create opportunities that compel local young IT talent to stay in Southwest Ohio for college and careers. His assignment leader was Christopher Schmidt, who was in charge of the IT group at CEO.

like this that can successfully cluster and classify the cell cycle phase is a valuable resource for the entire field of stem cell research. Data like this will help other stem cell researchers begin to answer important questions of the structure and function of various stem cells.”

“I benefited a lot from this experience, picking up new knowledge of cranial anatomy and cognitive functioning, as well as some advanced statistic methods.”

Ben Stegman ’15 worked at Osborne Coinage in Camp Washington with Jeff Ratterman who is Osborne’s Process Engineer. He also worked with his father, Todd Stegman, who owns Osborne Coinage.

Shaheel Mitra ’17 worked with Dr. Bruce Aronow at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in the Biomedical Informatics division.

This was a part of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program that he was able to enter as a freshman because of a his previous publications.

“I started my position in late spring and we planned our goals. First, we solved a waste water quality issue by adding a new system that recycles water. Second, we were tasked with quantifying the amount of chemicals needed in a verbronze tub. Lastly and most importantly, we needed to solve an issue with blank cleanliness.

“In this study, our team turned single cell stem cells into embryoid bodies.

With these embryoid bodies, we tried to find the most differentially expressed MIRs and genes of the

For this problem, we were trying to reduce the metal/biological material on the faces of the coins (this can cause quality/time issues). I had the opportunity to “tape test” many

“I developed, in Salesforce.com, a powerful (and very popular) cloud-based customer relationship management tool. The tool I developed allows CEO employees to quickly manage/track customer inquiries. When a customer (i.e. Delta Airlines) has a technical inquiry, they call in to the CEO group and they sort through the inquiry. Salesforce (when it is fully implemented) will allow them to pull all required customer information from GE databases without ever leaving the Salesforce platform.”

“I learned what it’s like to work in IT at a large company. Before GE, I had zero IT knowledge. By the end of my internship, I could confidently navigate through all of the code and IT-related processes relevant to my work in Salesforce. I learned to work in teams with other high school interns, college interns and even full-time GE employees, solving real business problems. Overall, my experience at GE helped me realize an aptitude as well as an interest in the computer science field.”

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FACULTY NEWS BUDGET CHALLENGE CREATED BY CCDS TEACHER Dave and Palmira Buten, a Country Day Spanish teacher, have made it their mission to help teens learn money management through Budget Challenge, their online simulation game. H&R Block took notice, and now their game is a national phenomenon.

The company sponsored the teen financial literacy program nationally this year as H&R Block Budget Challenge, adding the incentive of offering $3 million in college scholarships for individual student winners and classroom grants. Block will sponsor the game again next year.

“We want the students to feel confident that when they go out into the real world, they can manage their money,” Palmira Buten said. “If they’re going to make a rookie mistake, we prefer and we hope that they make it on the game. The point of the game is to give kids the opportunity to experiment with applying all these personal finance concepts in a way that mirrors reality, so that when they get to the real world, they know what they’re doing.”

The nine-week game takes the principles of personal finance out of textbooks and allows students to learn by doing. They’re immersed in the financial life of a recent college graduate who’s been working about six months. Each student gets an initial virtual deposit into their checking account and 401(k).

From there, they get a bi-weekly paycheck and start getting bills for different services, such as rent, cell phone, utilities, car loan, car insurance, renters insurance, a credit card and a student loan. Within each vendor category, students face choices. They evaluate terms and conditions, and compare contracts before making their vendor selections.

“Regardless of which choice they make, the biggest differentiator in the score is the student’s performance

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on actually managing the money,” Buten said. “The bills don’t vary that much. You can get a slight edge if you work out the budget up front, but the biggest differentiator is how you play.”

The game is meant to be added to an existing class, such as economics, consumer math or home economics.

Teachers are provided an information packet and teacher’s manual to help them explain the complexities of pay stubs, bills and a 401(k).

Students begin the Budget Challenge with salaries and bills, which carry amounts that mimic real life.

They must pay bills on time, while maximizing savings in a virtual 401(k), and minimizing penalties, such as late fees, overdraft fees and finance charges.

Planning for unexpected expenses is part of the game, too. The simulation includes realistic surprise scenarios and monetary challenges, such as a car accident or lost cell phone.

Players earn or lose points based on their behavior. They get points for putting money in a 401(k), for example, but lose points if they incur bank fees or miss bill payment due dates. Bonus points can be earned by completing quizzes on personal finance topics.

If students have questions, they can turn to Budget Challenge’s online

About the Butens

Dave and Palmira Buten of Mt. Lookout met at Indiana University in Bloomington while they were getting their MBA’s. Dave is a graduate of Purdue University, and Palmira is a graduate of Harvard.

Dave previously worked at Deloitte and as Director of Finance at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. He now works full time on Budget Challenge.

Palmira also worked at Deloitte and then Fifth Third Bank as a Vice President in Finance. She now works with Budget Challenge and part-time at Cincinnati Country Day, where she teaches one section of eighth-grade Spanish. Their daughter, Yvannia, is a first grader at Country Day. customer service center for each of the faux vendors. The Butens employ a team that provides the same kind of customer service found in the real world: answering questions, waiving fees and negotiating bills.

Students can write questions, and get a response within one business day. “If they’re late on a bill, they can write in and ask for a one-time courtesy late fee waiver. We will do that, or if they see something on the bill that looks wrong, if it is in fact wrong, we will fix it,” Buten said.

“Sometimes, we plant errors to see if they’re looking. Sometimes, there are real errors that happen, just like in real life, and we have to fix them. We want kids to look at their bills always with a healthy dose of skepticism to make sure that they’re correct and not just trusting that because it comes through a computer that it’s right.”

How the game evolved Both of the Butens, parents of Yvannia ’26, have MBA’s and extensive business experience, but they had many questions when they bought homes in Cincinnati. They started to

wonder how people learned the skills to understand financial complexities.

“We thought we had quite a bit of combined business background, and we still were confused how everybody does it,” Buten said. “It’s kind of assumed that you learn this stuff along the way. So much of it is trial and error, and we just thought it really shouldn’t be that way.”

The Butens got the idea for the game and formed a company, ProperLiving LLC. They began working on the game in 2005 and, by 2006, submitted their patent application.

It took seven years before it was approved.

“It took a lot of back and forth with the patent office,” Buten said. “There were many times when we almost gave up, but I’m glad we kept going.

It was actually on our last shot – we decided this was our last shot – when we got it.”

Budget Challenge has been in classrooms since 2008. CCDS parent Brian Page, father of Christian ’21, Bryce ’25 and Chloe ’26, was one of the first teachers to use the program. He teaches personal finance, a semester-long graduation requirement at Reading High School.

“The challenge that a financial educator faces is how to bring the content alive and to be able to create an environment for students to road test what they’re learning in class and be able to learn how to actually manage money and have these real world opportunities, but not have real world consequences,” Page said.

It’s not enough to be able to write a check, balance a checkbook or reconcile your balance with the bank statement, he said. The challenge with managing your checkbook is the behavior component. Are you responsible enough to stay on top of your bills and plan for future purchases?

“Those are the kinds of behavioral strategies that are necessary for somebody to be financially healthy, but you can’t teach in the confines of a traditional classroom,” Page said.

“You need a simulation like what they created, so when I was initially exposed to it, I knew it was a winner.

It was what my students needed to bridge what they were learning in my class to how they need to behave outside of my class.”

Besides teaching, Page works for the Butens and has been hired as H&R Block’s Personal Finance Advisor to promote Budget Challenge and financial literacy.

“He’s been using Budget Challenge in his classroom and providing feedback for many years now, and so when they were looking for a teacher that could speak to how our product works and how effective it is in the classroom, we were thrilled when H&R Block chose him,” Buten said.

H&R Block found the Butens and their game on the Internet in May 2014. The company reached out to them and started discussions about sponsoring the game this school year. The Butens demonstrated the game to H& R Block and provided a proposal for how they would collaborate with the company.

Good Morning America has featured the H&R Block Budget Challenge two times in short segments. Page appeared on the Dec. 30 broadcast.

Last year, 4,000 students played Budget Challenge. This year’s H&R Block Budget Challenge agreed to sponsor up to 200,000 students, which allows them to play for free through an accredited class. More than 94,000 students and 7,000 teachers from high schools and home schools in all 50 states participated.

Country Day Middle School math teacher Susie Lewis began doing

Budget Challenge with eighth graders in January. The H&R Block-sponsored game is was used this semester in the upper school, because high school students were eligible for prizes.

Forty-nine students participated with math teachers John Christiansen and Greg Faulhaber.

The H&R Block Budget Challenge provided competition among classes and students through six simulations with different start and end dates.

The 22 highest scoring students within each simulation received $20,000 scholarships. The highest class averages received $5,000 classroom grants awarded to their school. The single highest student across all six of the sponsored simulations won a $100,000 college scholarship.

When American teens were tested on personal finance topics, the average score was below 60 percent, according to the National Finance Education Council. The Butens hope to help change those results with their game, which they describe as a personal finance road test.

“You’d never give someone a driver’s license until they took driver’s education and passed both the written and road tests,” Buten said.

“So why is it with money that we don’t have that same standard? The consequences can be devastating for people who ruin their credit, early on.”

Photos: page 14: 1-Dave and Palmira Buten make their first proposal to H&R Block on May 21, 2014 in Chicago. The couple sought to have the company sponsor their Budget Challenge online simulation game.

2-Dave, Palmira and Yvannia stand with H&R Block CEO Bill Cobb on New York City’s Times Square at the first Good Morning America announcement of the H&R Block Budget Challenge on Sept. 8, 2014. page 15: 1-The Buten family with H&R Block CEO Bill Cobb at the first Good Morning America announcement last September.

2-Dave, Palmira and Yvannia

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ATHLETIC NEWS Fall MIDDLE SCHOOL Soccer Both the girls and boys teams, despite being young, represented their teams proudly throughout the season. They grew as individual players and as a team to lay the groundwork for next year.

Volleyball The girls volleyball teams posted some impressive wins throughout the season. The A-team and B-team ended their seasons with excellent runs in the MVC tournaments, including a semi-finals finish for the B-team.

Tennis The girls tennis team had great success this fall through their improvement as individual and team players. They won multiple matches against tough opponents and had a strong showing at the CCDS Tennis Invitational.

Golf The golf team was inexperienced in match play but learned quickly through their focus during practice.

Many individuals lowered their scores throughout the season, and as a team, they defeated some challenging league opponents.

Cross Country The cross country team posted some of its best finishes in recent years with many runners improving their personal best times with each race. They topped off their season by placing second at the MVC championships.

Football This year’s football team was one of the largest in recent history.

Consisting of predominantly seventh graders, they had to fight hard against several tough opponents, but next year, as eighth graders, they are poised for an exciting season.

YOUTH SPORTS

The CCDS Youth Sports Program was created to provide students in grades K-6 an opportunity to compete and

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learn athletic skills in a comfortable and safe environment.

The youth sports program for grades K-6 kept the CCDS fields in use at all times during the fall. First through sixth graders, 118 in all, comprised 10 soccer teams. Their hard work gave the back of the soccer nets a constant workout! The fields were filled with smiles, grunts of hard work, numerous high fives, team cheers and laughter.

Youth Sports Program also offered a Super Starters program, which was enjoyed by 25 kindergarten students.

The program helps students learn the game and skills of soccer with their friends through games and activities after school.

Winter MIDDLE SCHOOL Boys Basketball The boys fielded three competitive teams. Each raised their skill level and team play throughout the season. The C-team finished third in its division of the CAYBL and was runner-up in the MVC tournament. The B-team played tough defense, and the offense became more productive with each game. The A-team finished its season with a 12-2 regular season record (14-3 overall). The team dominated many of its opponents and competed in an exciting, MVC semi-final game against the eventual tournament champs.

Girls Basketball The B-team grew as a team throughout the MVC season. Their hard work and efforts paid off with exciting finishes and close wins. The A-team faced great adversity, but met each challenge as a team to complete an excellent season with a 9-5 record.

Wrestling The team continued to grow in numbers and experience this season.

The team built its skills and finished the season in the MVC tournament with five wrestlers as MVC champs and four as MVC runner-ups out of 12 wrestlers.

Swimming The swim team was small but swift in the pool this season. They improved

their techniques and made a great impact at many large meets, including the City Championships by placing fourth in the small school division.

Gymnastics The gymnastics team, the largest in recent years, backed up its numbers with record-breaking scores. The team had nine individual event champions in this season’s meets and also posted a second place finish in the CCDS Invitational and a third-place finish at the City Championships.

F.A.S.T. The F.A.S.T. (fitness and sports training) program gives seventh and eighth graders an opportunity to grow athletically through fitness workouts, team challenges, and a weight room regimen. Each day, the F.A.S.T. participants faced a new activity or challenge designed to improve their athletic skills that can be applied to participation in any sport.

YOUTH SPORTS

Country Day fielded 12 basketball teams in the Cincinnati Area Youth Basketball League (CAYBL) in grades 2-6 with more than 100 boys and girls participating. The third grade boys were the regular season division champs while fourth grade girls, sixth grade girls, and fifth grade boys all finished in second place.

Nine teams entered division tournaments at the end of the season.

The third grade boys, fifth grade boys (Snell), sixth grade girls, sixth grade boys (Sesslar) won their divisions while fourth grade boys (Brady) and fifth grade boys (Corbin) were division runner-ups.

SENIORS WHO WILL PLAY ATHLETICS IN COLLEGE

ATHLETICS

SWIMMING

FOOTBALL

Back row left to right: Allie Wooden, University of Southern California, Swimming Kailas Menon, Connecticut College, Rowing Alexander Maier, Trinity College, Swimming Taylor Maier, Trinity College, Swimming Mantero Moreno-Cheek, Amherst College, Football Nathan Gibson, Washington and Lee University, Soccer Will Koustmer, DePauw University, Football Austin Richey, Mount St. Joseph University, Baseball Cameron Alldred, University of Cincinnati, Baseball Celia Macrae, Duke University, Rowing Brianna Maggard, Kenyon College, Soccer Front row, left to right: Luke Deimer, Sewanee: The University of the South, Soccer Kacie Bradfish, Purdue University, Golf Charlotte Jackson, Lake Forest College, Soccer Danielle Wolf, Indiana University, Tennis Will Cohen, Amherst College, Soccer

BASEBALL

ROWING

SOCCER

GOLF

TENNIS

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HOMECOMING

Alumni Luncheon Katherine ’89 and Kyle ’81 Brooks (Distinguished Alumnus), Eleine Brooks, Will ’17 and Jane ’17 Brooks, Herbert Bullock

Pep Rally

FallFest

Football Save the Date HOMECOMING/REUNION WEEKEND 2015 SEPTEMBER 25-27

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Reunion planning is underway for class years ending in zero or five. If you would like to be involved, please contact Paula Brock, brockp@countryday.net or (513) 979-0282 The classes of 2005 and 2010 will have their reunions over Thanksgiving Weekend.

Halftime

Athletic Hall of Fame inductees Coach Howard Brownstein, Coach Marshall Adams, Brittany Woods Patterson ‘04, Kyle Brooks ‘81 (Distinguished Alumnus), Will Callard ’90 (daughters Courtney and Christina) and Head of School Rob Macrae Homecoming and Reunion Weekend 2014 included a traditional FallFest carnival, “The Magic of Country Day,” for students, an alumni reception and football game. The 2014 Distinguished Alumnus and Athletic Hall of Fame inductees were honored at halftime.

The school dedicated the Fred Carey ’80 memorial plaque and rock on the Montessori playground. Carey, a CCDS Upper School English teacher who died when the bicycle he was riding was hit by a car.

An iconic part of the Montessori program is a very large rock that students have played on for more than 50 years. The rock was engraved with the words fredROCK and a memorial plaque was placed adjacent to it commemorating the memory of Carey, who began his Country Day education in the Montessori preschool.

“Fred was inseparable from Country Day, so I’m honored to dedicate fredROCK to commemorate the indelible mark he left behind. fredROCK – the perfect tribute to a man who was a rock for so many,” Head of School Robert Macrae told the crowd.

Following the dedication, the Athletic

Hall of Fame Luncheon was held to recognize this year’s Distinguished Alumnus and induct four former players and coaches into the Athletic Hall of Fame.

They are: Distinguished Alumnus Kyle Brooks '81 is a Lifer and a current parent. He has been a longtime generous supporter of all things Country Day and has been a member of the Country Day Board of Trustees since 2009. Brooks also serves as a member of the Finance, Master Planning and Legislative committees.

Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees Will Callard '90 excelled at basketball, football, wrestling and track. He earned the David McDaniel Award for top male athlete and received All-District football honors serving as captain of the undefeated football team. He was also a state track qualifier for two years.

Brittany Woods Patterson '04 achieved distinction in soccer, basketball and track. She was the recipient of the Shirley Heinichen Award that is given to the top female athlete. She received All-State soccer honors and All-City basketball honors.

She was a state track qualifier for three years.

Marshall Adams coached at Country Day from 1983-2012. He coached multiple All-Americans and numerous state qualifiers in swimming. His teams won over 30 league swimming titles and one individual and one relay state champion titles. He received Miami Valley Conference and Southern Ohio Swim League Coach of the Year honors.

Howard Brownstein coached at Country Day from 1985-2014 and was awarded League, City and State Coach of the Year honors during that time. His teams won 20 Miami Valley Conference, 10 Sectional, and nine District championships. Brownstein is one of only three basketball coaches in Ohio to record 500 career wins.

The basketball team made the State Final Four in 1992. He coached three individual and one relay state champion in track and the track team was state runner-up in 1998.

During Homecoming weekend, seven classes held reunions: 1959, 1964, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, and 1999.

Reunions for the classes of 2004 and 2009 were held over Thanksgiving weekend.

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TURNER FARM TEACHER COMMENTS “We walked to Turner Farm and picked root vegetables from their garden – carrots, turnips, potatoes, parsnips, and radishes.

We also sorted the vegetables by variety.

We had just finished a unit on the food groups and nutrition and were talking about the plant life cycle and planting vegetables and flowers this spring. The activities at Turner Farm were a great review and introduction to these areas.

The students loved it! One of the best parts was walking there. They loved pulling the vegetables out of the ground. The students were amazed at the different sizes and shapes and that vegetables were able to grow in the late fall/winter. They enjoyed seeing the animals, including sheep, a donkey and horses.

The trip was age appropriate, and the farmers were wonderful with the students.

I would take them back again. It definitely enhanced our program!”

-Ginger Halterman, Kindergarten team leader

“We went to Turner Farm to see the bees and observe the honey gathering. The students had just studied pollination in science, so the trip was perfect timing.

We heard a talk about flowers and flower structures. The staff also discussed pollination and the need for different pollinators. The students loved the experience. They enjoyed the walk to the farm and all of the sights and sounds at the farm. They were fascinated by the bee keeping talk and the sight of the natural honey in the hive. The trip was a great opportunity for our students.”

-Valerie Gerber, fourth-grade team leader “At Turner Farm, the students worked with old machinery to see how corn was ground long ago. Students took turns using ancient machinery to grind corn into corn meal.

They were amazed to learn about the many varieties of corn in the world. The students also worked outside with an old-fashioned plow pulled behind a horse. They loved petting the horse and trying to guide the horse with the plow in the garden.

We went to the farm because third grade studies colonial times. We brought some wool back with us to clean and card. Then, we spun some into yarn. Our third graders love to knit, and they loved seeing how yarn is made. The students loved the walk over and were excited to learn about Turner Farm.”

At the time, we were studying Ancient Mesopotamia and talking about things that were needed to establish the world’s first cities. Two things necessary were a constant source of food and tools to help people build shelters and farm the land. This tied in nicely with our curriculum because the students experienced first-hand how tools help people become more productive. They also acquired an appreciation for how hard life would have been in Mesopotamia or any beginning civilization. The students loved being outside and off campus. It was a beautiful walk to the farm in in the light rain, and the kids were energized.”

-Laura Bunnenberg, third-grade team leader

-Beth Langenbahn, fifth-grade social studies teacher

“Last spring, we went to Turner Farm and saw the sheep shearing, the piglets that had just been born and the bee hives. The children liked watching the shearing and especially loved touching the piglets.

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