Connections Winter 2018
Cincinnati Country Day School
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The Country Day Fund comprises unrestricted annual gifts from families, alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends. It costs more than tuition revenue to operate the School and the Country Day Fund is there to help ensure that we deliver on the promise we make to provide each student with a superior education. NEW THIS YEAR – You can designate your gift to one of the five Country Day Fund categories * which include: Area of Greatest Need – The most popular designation enables CCDS to distribute funds as needed Arts – Supports theater productions, studio art supplies, music programming, and more Athletics – Supports physical education programs, equipment, uniforms, field maintenance, transportation, and more Faculty and Staff – Supports salaries, benefits, professional development opportunities, and more Financial Aid – Supports need-based and merit-based financial aid *In the event that a category reaches its target, funds will be directed to the Area of Greatest Need.
Support the Country Day Fund today by visiting www.CountryDay.net/go/CCDS For questions or more information, contact Liz Dohrmann '01, Director of Annual Giving (513) 979-0283 or dohrmannl@countryday.net
CONTENTS
6
2 Leadership
24
6
Global Engagement
Five-Year Strategic Plan
13
Global Alums
16 Students 18 Faculty
30 34
20
Joe Hofmeister
Innovator, teacher, leader...
24
Craig Maier '67
26
In Memoriam
30
Class Notes
34
CCDS Grandparents
Distinguished Alumnus
ON THE COVER Students on exchange trip to France, touring the Eiffel Tower.
Connections is published by the Advancement Office of Country Day. Photos by contributing alumni, students, parents, faculty, and staff. If you have questions or believe any information to be incorrect, please contact Ralph Javens at (513) 979-0234 or javensr@countryday.net. Your classmates and the Country Day Community would like to hear from you. Please submit Class Notes to Christine Richart '10 at richartc@countryday.net.
Parents of graduates: If you have been receiving CCDS mail for your graduate at your home address, and they have a permanent mailing address elsewhere, please let us know how to best reach them. We want to stay in touch with our alumni community, and save paper and postage. Please contact Director of Alumni Engagement, Christine Richart '10 at richartc@countryday.net or 513-979-0237 with updated information or send address changes to addresschanges@countryday.net.
Cincinnati Country Day School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age (40 or over), national origin, ancestry, or military service/veteran’s status in the administration of its educational programs and policies, admission decisions, tuition aid programs, employment practices and benefits, athletic, or other school administered programs.
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LEADERSHIP
Dear Members of the Country Day Community, Each fall, I begin the school year by meeting individually with each member of the senior class. In my meetings, I mostly listen. I want to learn from our seasoned seniors about their Country Day experience and get their advice on how I can make CCDS the best it can be. I want to learn, and I always do. Our students are an impressive collective. And, while there is no one apt description for a Country Day student—their backgrounds and interests are varied and rich—they are all bursting with energy. They enthusiastically tackle the daily challenges of the CCDS program, and they are equally excited about the learning to come when they leave Given Road for their next academic homes. As head of school, it is my charge to provide our students with an experience that prepares them for college and life. When our students graduate, they must be prepped and ready for what’s to come and in many cases, what we cannot even predict. That is why the CCDS program fosters the development of timeless skills, including critical thinking, collaboration, creativity among others, skills that are adaptive to changing times and increasing globalization. To further ensure our educational program is evolving to prepare students for the world they will enter, the trustees, in addition to their role as fiduciary stewards of the school, have spent Tony Jaccaci, Head of School considerable time diving into strategic matters. Using generative thinking, the board is lending its expertise to map out plans for future growth. Along the way, the faculty and staff have been engaged in the conversation to gain their input into key areas of curricular focus as we steer toward the school’s 100th anniversary. While we cannot predict the future, we must prepare for it, and essential to the preparation is an understanding of the global challenges and opportunities our students will face. This issue of Connections gives a glimpse of some of the new initiatives the school has launched under the strategic plan’s global pillar: Global Engagement with programs designed to boost our students’ intercultural literacy. From the addition of Chinese language classes to overseas exchanges, our newest programs help provide our students with a deeper knowledge and broader perspectives about life beyond our campus’s borders. Learning takes many forms, and thanks to technology, it now takes place anywhere and everywhere. Our global curricular efforts are evolving how and what we teach, so our graduates can move easily across boundaries and are ready for whatever the world has in store for them. I hope you enjoy this edition of Connections. As always, we welcome your ideas on how to best prepare our students to live in a constantly changing world, a fluctuating environment that many of you in our readership experience every day. Sincerely,
Anthony T. T. Jaccaci Head of School
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Follow Tony on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TonyJaccaci
LEADERSHIP
The Board of Trustees Cincinnati Country Day School’s Board of Trustees has elected a new board president and six new trustees. The new trustees join 19 others on the 26-member board. Jody Brant ’87 is the new president of the CCDS Board of Trustees, replacing Jon Hall, whose term has expired. New trustees are: Monica Hamagami Berghausen ’77, Tina DiSanto, Gina Goings, Martin Hettich, Mary Horton and Brian Page. Also leaving the board due to expired terms are: Kyle Brooks '81, Marianne Castrucci, Dick Durand '73, John Mackenzie and Todd Stegman. Jody Brant ’87 maintains an estate and wealth planning practice at the Katz Teller law firm. He also has a taxation practice, which includes corporate and partnership taxation, individual income taxation, state and local tax matters, gift and estate tax, and non-profit taxexemption matters. He was named “Lawyer of the Year” for Cincinnati in Tax Law for 2016 by Woodward/White’s Best Lawyers in America. In the community, he has been involved as a member and former Board of Trustees chair of the Easter Seals Tristate, member and former board chair of Jewish Vocational Services of Cincinnati, trustee of JVS Foundation and JVS Career Services, treasurer of Friends of CCM, and a member of Leadership Cincinnati (Class 35). At Country Day, besides being a board trustee, he was an Alumni Council member, and he and his wife, Debbie, have served as Annual Fund chairs. Brant graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in 1991. He received his J.D. from Georgetown University in 1997, and his L.L.M. Taxation from the New York University School of Law in 1998.
Berghausen is an established Human Resources professional with over 25 years of global corporate management experience in various HR disciplines. She served as an HR business partner and strategic consultant to various business groups in a highly regulated environment. Prior to joining Fidelity, Berghausen lived in New York City and was an Officer at J.P. Morgan where she worked in Human Resources. Berghausen is a graduate of Cincinnati Country Day School ’77 and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and History from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Cincinnati College of Law and is a member of the Ohio Bar. She resides in Indian Hill with husband Andy and son Max '23, (A CCDS lifer starting in the ECH program) and beloved pets Coco and Winnie. Tina DiSanto has 15 years of experience working as a human resources leader for technology companies in Silicon Valley. DiSanto was an HR business partner for salesforce.com, the global leader in cloud computing, helping them to grow from 2,500 employees to 14,000 in her six-year tenure. DiSanto has expertise in global talent management, executive coaching, organizational development, compensation, training, and recruitment. Prior to salesforce.com, DiSanto was the global director of HR for Hands-On Mobile, an early pioneer of mobile games and applications.
He and his wife, Debbie, and two daughters, Samantha ’19 and Nora ’21, live in Amberley Village.
DiSanto earned her B.B.A. in International Business from Saint Mary’s College in South Bend, Indiana. During college, she studied a year abroad in Rome, Italy, taught English at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland; and participated in mission work in El Salvador.
Monica Hamagami Berghausen ’77 recently retired from Fidelity Investments, a international financial services company, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts where she was vice president of Human Resources.
Several years ago, DiSanto left her career to stay at home with her young children. For the last two years, she has chaired the PA Speaker Series at CCDS, as well as served in multiple capacities at her favorite charity, Dress for Success Cincinnati.
DiSanto has always been an avid home cook and is currently pursuing her degree in the Culinary Arts at the Midwest Culinary Institute. She lives in Indian Hill with her husband Michael and their two children, Rocco ’27 and Luca ’30.
Gina Goings is self-employed, working in event planning, fundraising and sales. She successfully plans and executes 6-8 events annually and has experience in public speaking, training and facilitation. Goings served as sole chairperson for Dress for Success Cincinnati’s Fashion Show, one of the city’s largest fundraising events. Goings also is a weekly career coach for Dress for Success Cincinnati. She created, delivered and facilitated the trustee and staff retreat for Cincinnati County Country Day School around diversity and inclusion initiatives and also presented and facilitated national diversity and inclusion seminars for AT&T. Currently, Goings serves on the Board of Directors for Dress for Success Cincinnati; Board of Trustees for Springer School and Center; and is an active advocate for The Ohio Innocence Project. She has also been involved with grass roots organizations such as Heart to Hand in Toronto, where she served as a captain to help organize and deliver food to needy families, and as President for The American Women’s Club (AWC) of London. Goings, a native of Baltimore, holds a B.A. in Government and Political Science from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her personal interests include gourmet cooking, remodeling and renovating homes, reading and traveling. Her involvement in her local community has always remained steadfast. In 2013, she and her family relocated from Toronto, Ontario, to Cincinnati, to help care for aging parents. Goings resides in Hyde Park with her husband Bill and youngest son, Chase ’19. Her oldest son, Bryden, is currently a junior at Syracuse University (Seven Hills School ’15).
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LEADERSHIP
Martin Hettich is Vice President of North America Home Care at Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati. He also serves as Brand Franchise Leader Global Air Care at P&G. As vice president, Hettich leads the North American Home Care portfolio of brands (Dawn, Cascade, Febreze, Mr. Clean and Swiffer), and manages the P&L. As Brand Franchise Leader Global Air Care at P&G, he leads global strategy, the innovation portfolio and geographic expansion of the Febreze and Ambi-Pur brands. He has served P&G for 28 years in various roles in Europe, Latin America and North America. Hettich studied economics at the Universities of Munich and Cologne in Germany, and earned his Diploma in Economics with work about Spain’s entry into the European Market. In his personal time, Hettich pursues his passion for foreign languages, reading, running, biking, fencing, and spending time with his family. He lives in Indian Hill with his wife Nina and two children: Emil ’23 and Emilia ’30.
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Mary Horton is a passionate volunteer and former public relations professional. Upon graduating with a B.A. from the University of Cincinnati, she and her husband, Peter, moved to Chicago, Illinois. Horton worked for the City of Chicago in the Department of Streets and Sanitation as a public information officer. While at the department, she handled public relations efforts, marketing strategies, external communications, and community relations. She has served on the FallFest and Enrollment and Engagement Committees. Horton has been an Annual Fund and Admissions parent volunteer and a Parents’ Association representative. In addition, she has worked on CountryDate for several years, and she and Peter co-chaired the event in 2015. Horton has served on the marketing committee for the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati since 2013. She enjoys watching her children at school and sporting events, volunteering with different organizations, and spending time with family and friends. The Hortons are parents to Will ’20 and Reed ’25 and reside in Anderson Township.
Brian Page is an educator with Reading Community City Schools and an education consultant. He served as a Working Group Member of President Obama’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability. He has served on boards or provided consultation for the U.S. Department of Education, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the College Board, the Ohio Department of Education, University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, George Washington University, Ohio Attorney General’s Office, National Council of Economic Education, Jump$tart National, and Ohio Jump$tart. Page as been recognized as a National Educator of the Year by the Milken Foundation and Ohio Department of Education; CNN Money Hero; National Council on Economic Education Forbes Award winner. He holds a BBA from Tiffin University and M.Ed. from the University of Phoenix. In his spare time, Page enjoys spending time with his family, volunteering, coaching soccer, and watching The Ohio State University football team. He lives in Kenwood with his wife, Hope, and three children: Christian ’21, Bryce ’25 and Chloe ’26. n
GIVING
ENDOWMENT GIVING
ROGER KAFKER '80
R
oger B. Kafker’s Country Day education motivated the 1980 graduate to give a $2 million gift to create the Triumphant Scholars Program, a scholarship fund for students with significant financial need. Kafker, a managing director at TA Associates, a global growth private equity firm, was also inspired by the author of “Hillbilly Elegy.” “The idea of creating the scholarship at Country Day came to me after hearing J.D. Vance speak on the transformation from living in a small Appalachian town in Kentucky and moving in with his grandparents in Middletown. This is where his story changed. He pushed through barriers and boundaries, growing beyond the working-class neighborhood,” Kafker said.
Vance, a military veteran, is a graduate of Ohio State University and Yale Law School. “I was struck by the huge divide between the lucky few who receive special attention that private schools can offer and the masses of students who simply fall through the cracks at some inner-city location,” Kafker said. The Triumphant Scholars Program, piloted with one student in the 2017-18 school year, provides one to two fulltuition scholarships each school year to academically talented students. Kafker has since challenged the Country Day community to raise an additional $1 million in the next year to help more students. He will match that amount, placing the fund’s total at $4 million.
“I believe that the Triumphant Scholars Program, enabling students with significant financial need to attend Country Day, will change the trajectory of their lives,” Kafker said. “I urge others in the Country Day community – past and present – to help make this dream a reality for those who could not follow in our footsteps were it not for financial support.” Those interested in joining Kafker in support of our Triumphant Scholars Program should contact Louise Vaughan, Director of Strategic Initiatives, (513) 979-0284 or vaughanl@countryday.net, for more information. n
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Five-Year Strategic Plan
Spotlight on Global Engagement by Cindy Kranz
In the past two issues of Connections, we wrote about Environmental Commitment and Innovative Teaching and Learning. In this issue we cover Global Engagement. Each is part of a pillar of the Five-Year Strategic Plan - Country Day Forward.
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e will develop responsible global citizens through curricular and co-curricular opportunities that foster the skills, knowledge, and empathy required to engage ethically and successfully in a rapidly changing and interconnected world. – Global Engagement Pillar Global Engagement is the most ambitious pillar of Country Day Forward, the school’s five-year-strategic plan. This program brings global issues to campus and also gives students opportunities to go into the world. “One of the most important parts of an education today is developing an understanding and empathy for people from different parts of the world,” Head of School Tony Jaccaci said. “I think that’s important to be a good human being, but I also think it’s important on a practical level.” “Country Day graduates are going to build careers in which they collaborate, interact and communicate with people with very different backgrounds than their own. We want to help them understand these different parts of the world and how people look at the world in a different way.”
“I think travel abroad is a great way to become globally engaged, but you can become globally engaged right here in Indian Hill,” Jaccaci said. “We can help students do that by the choices we’re making in the curriculum, the books they read, the things that they study, the relationships they form, and using international families in Cincinnati as resources to talk about their experiences growing up in different parts of the world.” “You can also travel to another part of the world through conversation and connection through the technology that we’re using now,” Jaccaci said. For several years, Upper School language students have used the internet to connect with language coaches who are native speakers in other countries. Another way to get students globally engaged is to have them think about where they get their information, Jaccaci said. “In America, we get it from a narrow band of sources. We should encourage our students to think more widely about international news and media sources to enrich their understanding of how people are seeing world events.” Much was accomplished in 2017-18 in the Global pillar and more is planned for this year:
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EXCHANGE WITH SCHOOL IN FRANCE
Innovative Teaching and Learning We will create the most engaging educational environment by continually examining how students best learn and use that research to continue developing the most effective and pioneering teaching.
Global Engagement We will develop responsible global citizens through curricular and co-curricular opportunities that foster the skills, knowledge, and empathy required to engage ethically and successfully in a rapidly changing and interconnected world.
Fifteen exchange students from Lycée St. Andre in Colmar, France, spent a week at CCDS last fall shadowing classes and attending mini-courses designed for them. They toured Cincinnati landmarks. In turn, the 15 CCDS host students traveled to Colmar in March to visit their exchange partners’ school. (See the story on the CCDS visit to France later in this section.) CCDS SAYS “NI HAO” TO CHINESE The Department of Modern Languages launched a Chinese language and culture program in 2018-19. Chinese is offered as a combined course for seventh and eighth graders in the Middle School, and Chinese I&II is offered in the Upper School. Courses will be added in the coming years as the program builds. “We’ve wanted to add a third language for some time,” said Modern Languages Department Chair Jeanette Hecker. “Chinese was the best choice given China's increasing role in the world. It was also great timing with the arrival of Tony Jaccaci as Head of School.” Jaccaci came to CCDS after five years as executive principal at YK Pao School Secondary Division in Shanghai. Rhoda Weston (pictured) has been hired to teach Chinese, as well as work with the international student program. In addition to her teaching duties, Weston will develop outreach strategies for promotion of CCDS in foreign markets, act as an advisor to Chinese language speaking students while enrolled at Country Day, and work with the college counseling office to develop and implement college counseling information sessions for international students’ parents and host families.
“One of the most important parts of an education today is developing an understanding and empathy for people from different parts of the world”
Head of School Tony Jaccaci
Environmental Commitment We will instill a culture of sustainability and purposeful connection to the natural world through education, partnerships, action, and self-assessment that will empower and inspire our community members to be stewards of our environment.
“Bringing Chinese on board is really going to be important,” Jaccaci said. He envisions more exchange or travel opportunities for students and thinks those destinations that make the most sense are countries where the three languages taught at CCDS - Chinese, French and Spanish - are spoken. Traveling for service learning is another possibility. GLOBAL EDUCATION BENCHMARK GROUP Country Day has joined the Global Education Benchmark Group (GEBG), founded by a consortium of schools interested in global education and students connecting with the world. Upper School teachers Jeanette Hecker and Malena Castro, and Middle School teacher Nico Rumboll, (pictured) attended the GEBG’s conference at Hathaway Brown School in Cleveland. The teachers heard two keynote speakers and could choose among 40 sessions. “Most of the sessions were geared toward implementing more travel in your school curriculum or trying to devise more globallyminded education in the classroom,” said Rumboll, who is teaching sixth-grade social studies and one section of eighth-grade Spanish this year.
questioning the philosophy of travel as service. In terms of global education in the classroom, there were sessions about generating empathy as an academic objective, talking about implicit biases and how kids can discover that we all have them, and talking about non-violent communication.” “You might not think it’s global, but it’s to create global citizens who are less nativist and more internationally-minded in a civic sense,” Rumboll said. Hecker found it valuable to learn what other schools are doing. “I was very impressed with the depth of their programs and the purposefulness with which they’re doing their international education. It’s not just trips for trips sake, but being much more thoughtful about the process and how much we have to learn about other people.” Hecker and Castro are already thinking of ways to enhance the Global Pillar. Hecker suggested inviting more international speakers from the community to CCDS to talk about where they’re from and how they do things differently. “Americans think they are the ones who are sharing the knowledge and bringing the light,” she said. “We have a lot to learn ourselves, and so we can start by bringing people into school.” Rumboll walked away from the conference with many ideas. “Some of the people showed an amazing array of lesson plans and activities and question formulation techniques that show that they’ve worked very hard on their teaching.”
“One seminar was about managing risk and making travel more ethically or service minded, and continued next page CONNECTIONS | 7
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HEAD OF SCHOOL SEMINAR Last school year, Jaccaci hosted his first seminar that focused on international relations. The class is being offered again in 2018-2019.
STUDENTS VISIT COLMAR, FRANCE
T
he French student exchange between Cincinnati Country Day School and Lycée St. André in Colmar, France, was the pinnacle of the Global Engagement Pillar in 20172018 – paving the way to create more international connections. When 15 CCDS exchange students arrived in Colmar, they felt an immediate connection to the French city – all because of the Statue of Liberty.
Seniors are invited to join a year-long discussion with the Head of School. Through the lenses of culture, geography, comparative political systems, economics, and military systems, participants gain a better understanding of the world in which they will soon lead. Trey Smith ’18 took the seminar because he was interested in learning more about the world that he will enter in the future. “I wanted to learn about how countries interact with each other, how trade wars start, and how the economies of two countries can actually prevent a traditional war from breaking out.” “I think the most important part of the class was how we were able to discuss deeply rooted cultural and political issues without attacking the other person, but actually listening to their opinion and creating a discussion based upon learning from other viewpoints while also expressing your own thoughts without fear of predetermined arguments.” n
“The neat thing is that the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty is from Colmar,” French teacher Jeanette Hecker said. “His name is Frédéric Bartholdi, and he’s very famous. As you come into town on one of the highways, they have a replica of the Statue of Liberty.” It was the perfect welcome for the students who visited Colmar and Paris over 13 days in March. They eagerly looked forward to seeing their French exchange partners whom they had hosted the previous October. When the students arrived at Lycée St. André, they were given a welcome breakfast that was covered by the local press. The next day, they had a guided walking tour, all spoken in French, of Colmar. In one of the day’s highlights , Colmar and CCDS students gathered for lunch at a restaurant to eat a Flammekueche. The Alsatian dish, resembling pizza, is made from bread dough, rolled thinly in a rectangular shape and covered with cream, thinly sliced onions and thin bacon strips. The restaurant, with its white tablecloths and typically dressed French servers, provided a snapshot of authentic life in France. It was full of locals having lunch during their workday and a few tourists. After the meal, some Colmar students had their first free bell and went shopping, while others returned to their classrooms. School is in session until 5:30 p.m. It’s a longer school day, but students have more freedom. The next morning, CCDS and Colmar students visited a local nuclear power plant for a private tour. The guide spoke in French and asked questions about science and chemistry. “Our kids were the ones answering the questions in French. He was floored, and the French kids were floored,” Hecker said. “Our science teachers do a really great job.”
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The following day, CCDS students toured a medieval castle, Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg. The castle, on top of a mountain, is built out of the mountain where the entire valley below can be seen. “I think our kids liked the fact that it was really built out of the rocks. They used the actual mountain as the foundation of the castle,” Hecker said.
The castle now serves as a museum of furnishings, tapestries and arms. “There was a little bit of a Hogwarts mood with a dragon hanging, secret little stairways and a double staircase,” said French teacher Jane Kairet. That night, the CCDS students and teachers were invited to a dance party at the school. “They had a blast, and we all were out on the dance floor – students, teachers and parents,” Hecker said. “The music was a total mix. There was a lot of American music, but what was really interesting is our kids actually knew some French songs from classes, and they were singing along,” she said. “There was a real exchange of cultures and, of course, the French kids know a lot of our songs, but they introduced our kids to a lot of their songs.” The following day, the group traveled by bus to Strasbourg Cathédral de Notre-Dame, known as one of the most beautiful gothic cathedrals in Europe. “When we got there, we climbed 333 steps to the top of the cathedral,” Hecker said. “It literally is a very small winding staircase up and another winding staircase down.”
“Not only did they create new friendships in France, they created new friendships right here at Country Day,” Hecker said. “Those kids have a shared experience across grade levels. The blending was amazing.” Paris was the last stop for the CCDS students. They visited the Arc de Triomphe with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the Champs-Elysees for shopping. Dinner was held at a creperie. “The evening meals were fabulous,” Kairet said. “They had a full meal of crepes, the salty crepes followed by the sweet crepes.” The next day, they took a boat ride on the Seine River, went to the Eiffel Tower, the Cathedral of NotreDame de Paris, and Sainte-Chappelle, a chapel built for relics gathered from the Crusades, including the crown of thorns. “The Sainte-Chapelle blew them away,” Kairet said. The chapel is built entirely with columns and columns of stained glass. When the sun illuminated the colorful glass, the students gasped. “It took their breath away,” Hecker said. They also visited the Tribunal de Paris and saw the courtroom where Marie Antoinette was sentenced to death by decapitation. On the last day, they visited the Musee d’Orsay museum and The Louvre. Hecker and Kairet couldn’t have been prouder of the way CCDS students conducted themselves. “We got complimented on our kids everywhere we went,” Hecker said. “Every guide and restaurant said something nice about them.” Despite their nervousness, the students demonstrated their proficiency in French and willingness to
immerse themselves in the language. “Our goal was to make the language come to come to life, and it exceeded our expectations,” Kairet said. Many of the students were surprised by how well they could communicate in French. “I think that’s one of the results of the trip,” Kairet said. “It has really built their confidence, so it’s no longer a subject. It’s something that people use. It’s a skill that they realize they have. I think it really opened up the world to them.” “I think it was all the planning and the correspondence and the communication between the two schools that made it successful,” Hecker said, “Jane Kairet found a really good school.” n
When the French students visited CCDS last October, the students got along well, but they had yet to build close relationships. Their friendships grew over the school year. By the time Country Day students left Colmar, they had become close friends, hugging their exchange partners and sad to leave. Several French students visited their CCDS partners over the summer.
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EXCHANGE STUDENTS SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE AND OFFER ADVICE
H
ead of School Tony Jaccaci met with the CCDS exchange students and asked them to share their experiences and offer advice for Spanish students who will participate in a Spanish exchange in 2018-19.
two weeks improved my foreign language skills.” Ruth Kramer: “The special part for me was how much we bonded. My correspondent and I were not as close as some of the other students when they visited us. To live with her, and go to school made our
Tony Jaccaci: “What is the one thing you shared with your parents or friends that was important to you, really fun, really moving or an important moment during the two weeks you were there?” Sean Stewart: “There was a lot less interaction between the teachers and students. I went to a French literature class and the teacher would read a line from the book, explain it, repeat her explanation and expect the students to take notes on what she said and then just move on. It was kind of Pictures above and below: Colmar, France impersonal. Here, there’s so much friendship evolve easily." more interaction between students and teachers.” Jack Sullivan: “My favorite part of the trip was the food. My host mother was a good cook, and for French people, food is about spending time with your family. We always had dinner at their house, and we would sit at the table for two hours. It really allowed me to understand French culture and the French language so much better.”
Renee Twyford: “It was a great idea to have the exchange program and the touring aspect because, we were able to see student life and family life, and live with them in total immersion. Like the family I was with, the father didn’t know any English, the mother knew a little bit and the girl I exchanged with
Molly Briggs: “The thing that was really amazing was how good I was at French. I was terrified speaking with the family where I could only speak French but I was surprised that after the first night how well I could maintain a conversation with them.” Will Beyreis: “I was shocked by the amount of French I was able to understand, and speak. I could understand people and converse with them, and they could get enough of what I was saying to understand me. My comprehension improved drastically.” Valen Zalants: “It was amazing. It was one of the best experiences that I’ve had, just learning about the French culture. It made me want to learn more about different cultures. Also, realizing how being there for 10 | CONNECTIONS
Anushka Nair: “What I found really interesting was the everyday things that we experienced, because my host family didn’t speak any English. One day, my correspondent had to go out-of-town for a skating tournament, so I was at home with her parents. I went out for lunch with her father, and I spoke the entire time in French.” Nellie Shih: “In one class they asked us questions like, ’Is American high school like in the movies?” I replied, ’Which movies? We’ve got Mean Girls and High School Musical.’ Then they asked, ’Are the lockers as big as in the movies?’ Yes, we can sit in our lockers. They were amazed because I don’t think they can fit their backpack into their locker.” Mary Harten: “The students were all curious about the differences between France and America. They asked us about the Baccalaureate test. They assumed that we took that, and we had to explain to them that we take the SAT or the ACT. Then, they asked about differences in clothing. They’re much more fashionable. I realized that I have no fashion sense.” Katie Ashwell: “I had a lot of fun in France. The experience was different than I was expecting. I like their school system better than the American system. The school day is spread out. It starts later so you have more time to get there. There are daily things that they do like go into town. It’s like they’re interacting with their daily life.” Tabitha Kleiner: “My host family took us to different villages around Colmar, which I loved because I got to see the culture itself. We visited their grandparents and they baked cake for us, and we had tea.”
wasn’t very confident in her English abilities, so you had to learn fast. In Paris, we saw really old museums and churches and I also had the opportunity to go with my host family to Switzerland."
Duncan Laird: “I have been sharing with my parents all of the different cultural differences between the daily lives of our family and the family of my exchange student. One specific thing that I have been sharing with my parents is the food of France is much simpler and cleaner than American food.” Brian Butler: “My favorite thing has to be the food. I
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learned several recipes from the family that I have shared with mine.” Megan Jarrell: “My favorite memory from the trip was getting to celebrate my 18th birthday on our first day there. I woke up to a surprise breakfast and presents from my host family and another pleasant surprise at lunch. They had arranged for cakes to be delivered for all of us to enjoy together. It was definitely one of my most memorable birthdays.” n
“What advice would you give to the students who are going on the Spanish exchange trip next year?” • Don’t be scared. Just talk. • Don’t speak English. • Spend as much time with your correspondent as you can. • Try new foods, even if they’re scary. • Only pack one suitcase. • Go to as many classes as you can. Experience school. • Don’t lose your phone. • Look out for your things. Don’t lose anything. • Connect with your student before you see them in person, whether its Snapchat, text, or Facetime. This helps you know their likes, dislikes, and a little bit about their personality before you see them face to face.
SPANISH EXCHANGE TRIP On the heels of a successful exchange trip with Lycée André school in France, Spanish teachers and students welcomed exchange visitors from Colegio El Pinar school in Spain. Fifteen students from Málaga visited CCDS and experienced Homecoming festivities and other aspects of American home and school life. “It was perfect because the students from Spain had the opportunity to see what Homecoming is about and how we celebrate it. That is something that they don’t have in Spain,” said US Spanish teacher Malena Castro. In turn, 15 CCDS students will visit Málaga for 13 days in March, accompanied by Castro and Department of Modern Languages Chair Jeanette Hecker. The students will stay with their host families and attend El Pinar, a private school similar in size to CCDS and compatible with our values. Like CCDS, El Pinar promotes high academic achievement and languages.
Like the French exchange, the number of student participants is limited to 15, which is considered manageable for an exchange. The Spain program received 35 applications. Matches between CCDS and El Pinar students were made based on age, gender and interests. “Our students were so excited,” Castro said. “I had already shared with them who their exchange buddy was going to be, and I encouraged them to start establishing contact, through email or social media.” Spanish exchange participants/host families are: Senior: Aadhya Ramineni Juniors: Kaitlin Briggs, Dylan Hacker, Anika Minocha, Lizzie Morris, Sylvia Nica, Abby Smith, Laney Stapp Sophomores: Lauren Hettinger, Lila Joffe, Rose Joffe, Catherine Kreidler, Sam Pettengill, Anthony Retzios and Jack Wright n Pictures: Málaga, Spain
• Take advantage of the time with the families as much as you can. • Take lots of pictures of everything - the city, the streets, the stores, the countryside, and pictures with the people on the trip! • Cherish every moment, because it flies by.
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DIMA AND MERLE TEAM UP FOR A UNIQUE HISTORY LESSON Russian. Dima visits his grandparents in Russia for two months every summer and can speak Russian. “We talked some more, and he said he’d be willing to come to my senior elective class, Two Titans Square Off: Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, to talk about Russia and World War II.”
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ome kids just wonder who Merle Black is, but one young student made it his mission to find out. Curious and fearless, Dima Chernovol first saw the Upper School history teacher on the Dining Terrace. “Who are you? Do you teach here?” Dima asked. Black told him he did. That was two years ago, when Dima was in Kindergarten. Since then, Black and Dima have forged an unlikely, but endearing friendship. Dima began writing Black notes, telling him about different inventions he was developing, such as flying machines. “He is the most precocious young fellow,” Black said. “He’s already legendary in the Lower School. He is just the sweetest, brightest, earnest, incredible young man.” Black was struck by Dima’s father’s last name. “This name, Glatfelter, is pretty significant. Between 197175, I went to Gettysburg College, and the chair of the History Department was a man by the name of Charles Glatfelter. Same spelling. Wow! He was the man who mentored me. He’s the reason I majored in history. He’s the reason I became a history teacher.” He emailed Dima’s father and inquired whether Charles was a relative, and it turns out they are related. Black and Dima continued to communicate. He learned the boy’s mother, Tatiana Chernovol, is
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They got approval from Lower School Head Jen Jensen and Dima’s second-grade teacher Ann Gardner. “He came to my class, stood up and presented to the class for 45 minutes. He answered questions. He gave them a language lesson in Russian and a history of Russia in World War II. He just amazed the class, and they were all talking about it.” Eight-year-old Dima was not intimidated by the seniors in the class. “He was completely confident and engaged with the kids,” Black said.
The young boy had done his homework. “Before I went to Mr. Black’s class, I wrote down a lesson plan in my little notebook. My mom got me CD’s in Russian that explained everything about World War II, so that’s where I got knowledge before I went to Mr. Black’s class.” “I told them Russian World War II stories. I told them what kind of weapons they used, what their plans were and all kinds of different fun facts about Russian and World War II.” “I taught them Russian language, and I made them say Russian words,” Dima said. “I taught them how to say, ’thank you,’ ’goodbye’ ’you’re welcome’ and ’pancakes,’ my favorite food.” How about ’where’s the bathroom?’ “No, I didn’t think that would be appropriate.” Meanwhile, Dima sings Black’s praises. “He’s always nice. I may not see him a lot, but I understand that. His schedule is all lumpy. He told me ’Merry Christmas’ during Christmas last year. He says nice words to me. He’s just a good guy.” As for Black, he said, “I don’t see any way that I’ll still be here when he gets into the Upper School, but he’s the type of kid that would keep me here.” n
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COUNTRY DAY ALUMS AROUND THE GLOBE over the world, so getting used to different types of cultures, languages and people was an adjustment.” One advantage of living in Kuwait was that it was a launching pad to travel. Lemen visited 17 other countries during her time there. While Lemen valued her three years in Kuwait, she felt the urge to move on. “I met a lot of expats, and I was friends with a lot of people that I worked with, but you end up hanging out with the same people on a regular basis because it’s such a small country.
Anna Lemen ’10 B.A. Elementary Education and Psychology Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois Third-grade teacher, American School Foundation of Monterrey
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nna Lemen’s window to the world was opened while she was a student at CCDS. “I got the travel bug when I went on my eighth-grade Spanish trip to Ecuador with Senorita Carrillo. That’s where my travel journey began.” Lemen is living abroad, having taught third grade in an American school in Kuwait and now teaching third grade in the American School Foundation of Monterrey, Mexico. Her trajectory began in her senior year of college when she attended a job fair that focused on recruiting international teachers. She received offers for jobs in Kuwait, Honduras and Myanmar.
A friend who had worked with her in Kuwait had moved to the Monterrey school and recommended that she apply there. She got her next job in Monterrey and moved in 2017. “It ended up being a third-grade position, which is what I wanted. I wanted to stay in my comfort zone because adjusting to new countries and communities is difficult, and if you throw in adjusting to a completely new grade level, it makes it a lot harder.” Like her school in Kuwait, many students come from legacy families. Her students all speak Spanish and English at home and school. They take Spanish courses for an hour daily. Most parents are fluent in Spanish, but also speak English. Living abroad has changed her perspective. “It’s made me open to a lot of different ideas and people and cultures and made me more aware of things happening in the world and how it affects others.”
“Being able to see all of that makes me a lot more receptive and tolerant. I don’t think I was ever not tolerant, but I think it’s made me more aware and in tune to the differences.” n
by Cindy Kranz
Travel advice for CCDS seniors “The more time you can spend in one place, the better you will understand the culture and the country, or even just the city, because cities within countries can be so different. It sounds like a long time, but three years in Kuwait was a good way for me to understand Kuwaiti culture and the culture of other Middle Eastern countries around it. “The first year, you’re catching your breath and trying to figure out how to survive. The second year, you feel like, ’OK, I kind of got this.’ By the third year, you fall into routines. I think a lot of times people envision that traveling is like, ’I spent a week in this country. Done. I’ve seen it. I understand where they’re coming from. I understand their culture.’ But, it’s not until you really live day-to-day life that the culture fully starts to sink in.” “If you have the opportunity, it’s a 100 percent say ’yes’ to it. Moving abroad was definitely the best decision I ever made. If an opportunity arises to move abroad or spend a semester abroad, take it!"
She accepted an offer from Kuwait and moved in August 2014. “Because it was my first overseas position, I wanted to err on the safe side. I know people hear ’Middle East’ and think ’chaos,’ but Kuwait was honestly safer than most major U.S. cities.” There were challenges living in Kuwait. “I moved there without knowing anyone. Some of the adjustments were just getting used to a different culture.” “The language is a lot different, but many people did speak English. My students all spoke English, and there is a huge expat community with people from all
Recess field in Monterrey CONNECTIONS | 13
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volunteer for the Jewish National Fund, a nonprofit organizations, which focuses on agricultural projects. “The trips ended in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for Shabbat. I knew I wanted to go back there after graduation.” “What I really like about Tel Aviv is it’s unlike any place I’ve been. I see similarities between different European cities, but Tel Aviv feels unique. I feel it’s also the most international place I’ve ever been.”
Sophie Weinstein ’13 B.A. Art History, Dickinson College ’17 Graduate student, Museum Studies New York University Sophie Weinstein has followed her love of travel to Europe, Israel and Jordan, and has no plans to stop. “Anywhere you travel, you have to be aware of your surroundings and keep your wits about you,” said Weinstein, daughter of Upper School English teacher Deborah Floyd. “It’s terrible that it’s become this way, but I also don’t want to let it stop me from going places.” Her parents worried when she visited Jordan, being Jewish in an Islamic country. But she only experienced kindness from Jordanians who welcomed her.
Weinstein did return after college graduation, having been accepted into a five-month Masa internship program in Tel Aviv called Young Judaea. Her roommates, all Jewish, were from Argentina, South Africa and Brazil. She worked as public relations and archive intern at the Dvir Gallery. When the internship ended, she applied for a work visa and spent four months living in her own apartment to immerse herself more in the local culture. She was hired by Oh-So-Arty, a Tel Aviv startup that provides art tours, with guides in 23 cities internationally. Guides take people to artists’ studios, galleries and museums for exclusive tours where they get to meet artists, curators and collectors. Weinstein continued to work remotely for the company as editorial coordinator in Cincinnati this summer. This fall, she moved to New York to get her master’s in Museum Studies at New York University. She hopes to work for Oh-So-Arty, giving art tours part time in New York. “I knew I wanted to travel after college, but I also wanted it to be relevant to my career path and the
“There’s a stigma about the Middle East, but I personally have never felt unsafe in Israel because they have so much security. I don’t feel like going to the Middle East is necessarily more dangerous than walking down a street in Barcelona.” After her college freshman year, she participated in an exchange and stayed with a family outside Antwerp, Belgium, for two weeks, and traveled with them to Paris and London. The following summer, she went to Tel Aviv, Israel, for two months, working in a makerspace studio where people could rent art space and display work in a small gallery. During her junior year of college, she studied art history through Syracuse University for a semester in Florence, Italy. In 2016 and 2017, Weinstein made two trips to 14 | CONNECTIONS
Art gallery in Berlin
trajectory I was on. I wanted to make sure I was still working in the art world.” Traveling abroad has influenced her goal to work in the museum world because she loves visiting museums when she travels. “It’s such a great way to see a new city and learn about a new culture, and I want to be someone with the responsibility of creating this content for other people to see.” n
by Cindy Kranz
Travel advice for CCDS seniors “It’s easy to get caught up in climbing the ladder, wanting to graduate with the best grades and getting the best job. It’s all very important, but I think traveling allows you to gain a different perspective.” “Other cultures value things differently, and it’s interesting to see that and try to take yourself out of this American system where we’re very results driven, and just see another way of looking at life and success. And, maybe you go back to living the same way, but it will always stay with you and influence you. “I also think, in an increasingly globalized world, abroad experience is really important in the job market. It’s never been a negative thing in interviews or on my CV that I’ve spent time abroad in Europe or the Middle East. Wherever you’re working, customers, co-workers and clients are not just going to be people from America. And so, the more experience you have, I think you’re bettering yourself as an employee and as a human being.”
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growth and transformation. It starts off with them understanding "What do you really want to be?" It’s an easy question in America, but not in the developing country of Tanzania. “If they (children) are thinking of higher ambitions than being inside of their family, then they are less likely to stay at home. Tanzania is a place where they want their children basically to make money for their families, versus be what they actually want to be.”
Rudy Frank ’07 B.F.A. Photography, Arizona State University ’11 Master’s, Nonprofit Leadership and Management ’16, Arizona State Volunteer Coordinator, Tender Mercies, Cincinnati Rudy Frank uses his camera to capture good in the world. After receiving his master’s degree in 2016, he traveled to Tanzania where he produced a video for RENEW, a nonprofit organization that works with youth to focus on life skills, leadership and community service. “RENEW envisions an interconnected world where young people are working together to address issues threatening their community,” Frank said. “We’re on a mission to inspire, empower and enable young people to positively impact the community.” Frank had taken classes at Arizona State with Adam Rubin, co-founder of RENEW, and they became friends. Frank was a photographer, and his goal was to become a visual communications specialist for nonprofit organizations.
Frank did his training at Zanzibar Island, but spent most of his time in the mountain town of Arusha, where he led a workshop. “I got to work with the children themselves at Akeri Secondary School. The students there are considered intermediate level English. Swahili is the primary language, but Arusha has certain dialects to their mountain range, as well.” As media director, Frank produced a video, as well as photographic images, to give RENEW some exposure and awareness that the organization exists. “What we were trying to portray was that these students were transforming themselves after this opportunity to explore internally what they really wanted to be. For most of them, it took a couple of days before they started saying, ’I want to become a doctor,’ because they had been trained their whole life to say it doesn’t matter. I sell fruit. It doesn’t matter. I sell cloths, I sell dresses. That’s it. Why would you ask me ’What do I want to become?’” “They didn’t believe that it was going to make any difference if they answered that question because they didn’t trust us, so we had to build a rapport
with them. We’ve all been somewhere like that. We just don’t know where we want to be, but at least in America we’re allowed to explore that idea.” Frank and other RENEW colleagues started filming the students in workshops as soon as the school day ended. With the video, Frank captured a snapshot of what the children’s daily life is like. “In my opinion, what the children are going through in Tanzania is kind of like a washing machine - just rinse and repeat. You go to school, you leave school, you go to your job, and then you go home, and nobody really asks you about how your day went.” Frank credits his teacher Carole Lichty-Smith for his pursuit of photography. “She pushed me into the AP program, and thank goodness she did. That took me to a whole new level. I have to say, ’thank you,’ to her for believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself.” n
by Cindy Kranz
Travel advice for CCDS seniors “Anybody can travel abroad, but they should consider foreign service. They should experience the world, first and foremost, because you’ll learn more about yourself. You’ll learn more about what you truly desire and what really makes you tick.” “If you’re not willing to put yourself out there to experience something that you aren’t familiar with, you’ll never really know if it could change your life.”
Rudy speaking to students.
Rubin was starting to put visual aspects to the projects he was creating and needed someone to help him develop his organization. He helped Frank secure funds to travel to Tanzania and spend two months helping RENEW grow. “My initial introduction to the entire program was to become one of the first ambassadors of the organization. I needed to learn the actual program itself and how they were going to facilitate the twoweek workshop where we were working with the children in Tanzania.” The three stages of the workshop are discovery, CONNECTIONS | 15
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Two Seniors Win National Merit Scholarships Louis, majoring in biomedical engineering on a preMed track. She enrolled at CCDS in eighth grade. "Throughout the past five years, my teachers and classmates have pushed me to become my best," Kaitlin said. "This positive community fosters deep understanding and inquiry in the classroom, as well as strong personal bonds and support in all facets of life." Kaitlyn Hardesty '18 and Moya Ly '18, won $2,500 National Merit Scholarships. The scholarships are underwritten by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation with its own funds and are the most difficult National Merit scholarships to obtain. Kaitlyn is attending Washington University in St.
Moya is attending Caltech, majoring in mechanical engineering or computer science. She plans on working in industry in robotics. She enrolled at CCDS for first grade. "Country Day gave me the confidence and strong academic background I needed to get where I am today," Moya said.
Sarah Beyreis, Director of College Counseling, said of Moya, "Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Moya is a class she created for middle school (and one or two upper school) girls called Youcode that ran in our library on Saturday mornings in the winter of her junior year. She won the she++ weekend at Stanford last year and a national NWICT award this year in part because of the Youcode class." "Kaitlyn is just amazing. She was admitted Early Decision to Washington U in St. Louis and THEN received a full-tuition scholarship to Wash U months later," Beyreis said. "The dean of the school of engineering called her and told her that they rarely give merit scholarships to students who've been admitted Early Decision, but that Kaitlyn was so compelling they just had to give her the scholarship."
Ellis Island Simulation for 3rd & 8th Graders Enter the eighth grade Third graders re-enacted the role of immigrant children paired with eighth graders, based on past curriculum. The teachers adapted some existing Ellis Island simulations to inspire hands-on experiential learning that could span crossdivisional.
Country Day eighth and third graders brought history to life by re-enacting the joys and hardships of immigrants coming to America through Ellis Island. The annual history lesson has become a muchanticipated classroom lesson for students. The event was enhanced this year to provide a more authentic experience.
Lucia Jaccaci, eighth-grade history teacher, assigned most of her students to a certain character. "They had open information and closed information. Their open information was what country they were from, their age, their profession and their physical strength."
The work involved in the project was worth it, Jaccaci said, because it made the experience more authentic. "That was the goal, to bring it as I remembered it," Schoeny added. "I always fondly remembered Park Gilmore's Ellis Island simulation. From my third and fourth grade view of it, I always thought it was an amazing thing. So, we're bringing it back to its glory and then some." "It went really well, and the kids got into it and dressed up and stayed in character," Lucia Jaccaci said. She hopes the experience brought history alive and made it real and tangible.
"Their closed information might have more details about why they were leaving, whether they were in trouble with the law, if they wanted to start a new business, or if their family had immigrated earlier." Jaccaci said.
"Third grade did a week-long simulation of steerage, the lowest level for passengers on a ship," said thirdgrade teacher Rick Schoeny. "The hull of the ship was taped out on our classroom floors with 3x3 foot compartments per child."
One group of eighth graders serving as the Port Authority station agents, checked and stamped passports.
Third graders were asked to bring a number of items in a pillow sack that served as their luggage.
After being processed, everyone headed for the amphitheater, where Tony Jaccaci and station agents gathered with the American flag and stood in a circle. The immigrants took the citizenship oath, recited
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the Pledge of Allegiance and received an American citizenship certificate.
Taking the oath Pictures: Top- Julia Recker plays a Doctor in the Ellis Island Simulation. Bottom - 3rd grader Gertrude and 8th grader Sam Lazarus play the part of an immigrant family being processed through Ellis Island.
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Country Day Named Top School in Area Cincinnati Country Day School has been named 2019 #1 BEST PRIVATE K-12 SCHOOL IN THE CINCINNATI AREA and #1 BEST PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL IN THE CINCINNATI AREA by Niche, a company that thoroughly reviews U.S. schools and neighborhoods. Niche completes rigorous analysis of dozens of public data sets, using advanced algorithms and statistical techniques along with more than 100 million reviews and survey responses. Country Day also received an overall grade of A+ that takes into account Academics, Faculty, Clubs/Activities, Diversity, College Prep and Athletics. In addition, SAT and ACT test scores and AP classes are considered along with actual reviews by parents, students, and faculty members.
House System in LS and MS Lower School students held a House Reveal event and welcomed kindergartners and new students into the fold. The initiates spun a wheel that revealed their destination as current house members cheered and welcomed them into their Houses: Compassion, Courage, Integrity, Respect, Responsibility. Meanwhile, the Middle School initiated its new House system. Incoming fifth graders remain in the Houses they occupied in fourth grade. Students in grades 6-8 and all teachers broke balloons containing slips of paper that revealed their Houses. Both divisions held celebrations after the reveals.
Year-end Awards Country Day closed the 2017-2018 school year with Awards Day in the Upper School. You can view the complete list of awards under the news section of the website. COUNTRY DAY AWARD
Ruth Kramer - The Country Day Award, the School's highest honor, recognizes that student who, in the opinion of the faculty, best represents those qualities for which we want Cincinnati Country Day to be known. (Photo Head of School Tony Jaccaci with Ruth Kramer)
PETER LEVINSON MEMORIAL AWARD Colin Sam CLASS SCHOLAR AWARDS Class Scholar awards are presented to the top scholar/scholars in each grade for the 2017-18 school year. Templeton Briggs Memorial Award – Class Scholars in Grade 9 Nora Brant, Sabrina DelBello, Michelle Riemann, and Jack Wright Alumni Award – Class Scholars in Grade 10 Natalie de Beer and Anushka Nair Herbert M. Davison Award – Class Scholar in Grade 11 Samantha Brant Julius Fleischmann Memorial Award - Class Scholars in Grade 12 Kaitlyn Hardesty, Isobel Hensley, and Moya Ly
For all of the great academic, philanthropic, art, and athletic news, visit www.CountryDay.net and follow us on social media. CONNECTIONS | 17
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Dr. Jeremiah McCall, US History teacher, published his fifth book, Clan Fabius: Defenders of Rome. It is available now in the UK and will be out in the US in December. In addition, McCall published an important article “Video Games as Participatory Public History” for the Wiley Blackwell Companion to Public History. From Amazon and Clan Fabius: Defenders of Rome: Dr Jeremiah McCall ...is a pioneering advocate of the use of video games as a means for learning history. His previous works include The Cavalry of the Roman Republic (2002); The Sword of Rome: A Biography of Marcus Claudius Marcellus (Pen & Sword 2012) and Swords and Cinema: Hollywood vs the Reality of Ancient Warfare (Pen & Sword, 2014). Also, McCall was recently named to the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation (IFTF)education committee. The organization promotes the teaching of IF in order to broaden its use beyond its cultural niche and to raise its profile in the gaming world. The committee also seeks to advance digital inclusivity by promoting IF’s pedagogical use within racially, culturally, economically, and gender-diverse populations, and across multiple disciplinary fields.
Sloan McKinney Doepke, Montessori Team Leader in the Lower School, has been certified through the IMSLEC (International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council) and IDA (International Dyslexia Association) to teach/tutor language through the Orton Gillingham method. I am using this method in teaching my students as well as tutoring CCDS students.
Steve Conner, Physical Education teacher for LS and MS and Track and Gymnastics coach was named Division III Boys Track Coach of the Year for the 2017-18 Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky high schools. Under Conner's guidance, Cincinnati Country Day was able to win a district title, as well as grab a 17th regional placing.
LEE S. PATTISON DISTINGUISHED TEACHER AWARD This award was created upon the retirement of “Mr. Pat” to honor teachers who emulate his commitment to students, colleagues, and Cincinnati Country Day School. • Full-time faculty members are considered after completion of their first full year at CCDS. • Recommendations are made by faculty members to the Head of School and the Division Heads who consult with a representative from the Board of Trustees and Alumni Council. • Each award recipient receives an annual stipend of $3,333 per year for three years, $1,000 of which is to be used to purchase equipment or teaching materials for the School or for a school-directed project.
The 2018 Pattison Distinguished Teacher Award winners are (i) Tresonne Peters, Grade 2 Team Leader, and Jamie Back, Upper School Mathematics Teacher
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GIVING
PROGRAM SUPPORT
BILL PUGH '78
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ill Pugh’s $100,000 gift to expand and enhance the school's makerspace program is proving to be a game changer. Pugh '78 and his wife, Lisa Orange, established the Innovation and Design Fund, which propels the school's program around designing, creating, and inventing as an extension of the learning process. Pugh, a computer science professor at the University of Maryland, was motivated to make the gift after visiting CCDS. "When I saw the work Marcus Twyford and others were doing to support making activities at Country Day, I decided I wanted to help them take it to the next level." "In looking back on my own learning experiences and working with students, I've found the best way for students to reach their potential is to get
motivated to work on their own ideas for multidisciplinary projects; even better if they do this as part of a team effort," Pugh said. “Projects that are designed to reinforce a technique or skill that was just covered in a course are important, but don’t provide the same opportunities for growth and motivation.” He was also inspired by the writing of Ted Dintersmith, author of “Most Likely to Succeed” and “What School Could Be.”
"The intersection of design and technology are fertile ground for such projects, also sometimes referred to as STEAM education: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics,” Pugh said. “Country Day has been a leader in fostering and encouraging such work." To make an online contribution to the Innovation and Design Fund, visit CountryDay.net/go/CCDS. Please list Innovation and Design Fund in the comments section. n
With support from the Innovation and Design Fund, the school has purchased more equipment and tools and enhanced programs to help students design, build, and create for classes, projects, hobbies, or startups. Students now have opportunities to do more, dig deeper and design independent studies. CONNECTIONS | 19
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JOE HOFMEISTER, INNOVATOR, LEADER, TEACHER AND SO MUCH MORE With evangelistic fervor, Joe Hofmeister preached the benefits of studentcentered learning and technology in education. His dedication propelled Cincinnati Country Day School into the national and international spotlight. Hofmeister was instrumental in bringing the one-to-one laptop program to Cincinnati Country Day in 1996. It was the first school in the country to roll out a comprehensive grades 5-12 Microsoft/ Toshiba Anytime, Anywhere Laptop (AAL) Learning Program. “Joe was the educational leader sought by many schools and associations to speak on the future use of technology in education, particularly in the classroom, way before the internet,” said Charlie Clark, Country Day’s Headmaster at the time. He was probably the most sought-after tech guru for 10 years, thereafter. Our vision carried the day.” Hofmeister, 81, passed away from cancer on April 22, but he left a legacy for decades to come. During his 37 years at Country Day, he was an Upper School math and computer science teacher, director of technology and advisor to The Scroll student newspaper and The Archive yearbook. Clark and Hofmeister first crossed paths in 1994, a month before Clark was hired as the ninth headmaster. The two met at a Chicago hotel where they waited for a bus to the airport after an ISACS Heads Conference. “We bonded then about the prospects of technology in education,” Clark said. His first impression of Hofmeister held true until Hofmeister passed away. “Sincere, visionary, educationally demanding and, at the same time, a forward thinker and an authentic philosopher.” Hofmeister traveled the globe to spread the word about the Microsoft program and technology use in education. His itinerary included Australia, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. In some cases, he was invited by a specific school. Oftentimes, 20 | CONNECTIONS
it was a conference. “During those trips, Hofmeister acted as spokesman, analyst, and how-to-guy extraordinaire,” said Clark, who often accompanied him. “Joe became the education leader and spokesman behind the Microsoft/Toshiba Laptop Pioneer Schools. He remained faithful to any and every student initiative, and he was the substance behind the nation’s pioneer movement to convince others to invest in the AAL program.” Besides spreading the word by traveling, Hofmeister initiated conferences at CCDS, where legions of teachers from all over the country visited to learn more about using technology for student-centered learning. By the time Clark left in 2003, tablets had just been introduced the year before. “A cadre of teachers wowed the crowds attending the workshops,” Clark said. “Joe was the leader of the gang. Literally, he was on top of the world when I left.” LOVING HUSBAND, FATHER Born in Chicago, Hofmeister entered religious life as a Christian brother at age 14. He obtained degrees in theology, math and physics from St. Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota, and taught at schools in Kansas, Minnesota and Nebraska. Hofmeister was transferred to Cincinnati in 1960 for the opening of La Salle High School, where he taught. He eventually left the brotherhood and married his wife, Frances. He was devoted to Frances and their two sons, Scott and Craig. “He would call Frances every night when we were on the road,” Clark said. The couple would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this November.
he was always respectful of different opinions. He had the word “Respect” engraved on the inside of his wedding ring. “We both had a great deal of respect for each other,” Frances said. “He respected what I did and vice versa.” Frances, a psychologist, has her office in the lower level of their home. “It worked out beautifully because Joe took the kids to school, they came home with him, and I would frequently start dinner, and then Joe would come home and finish it. We had a regular schedule. He came home about 5:30, and then we had dinner and helped the kids with homework.” For both Scott and Craig, a large part of their relationship with their dad centered on Country Day. “Since CCDS was such a second home to us, traveling to and from school together, hanging out at school afterwards, playing in and around his office, we were certainly very close,” Craig said. Their dad, a math teacher and author of theology textbooks for high school students and computer books, was integral to their learning. “A lot of our work in school involved either math or English,” Craig said. “He’s the person who really taught me to write, and he’s the person who would do math problems with me in elementary school, growing up, and all the way through calculus.”
“Joe was the educational leader sought by many schools and associations to speak on the future use of technology in education, particularly in the classroom, way before the internet...” Former Headmaster Charlie Clark He taught Scott to write, as well. “He was a writer, and so he was very particular about how to write,” Scott said. “I would hand him my stuff, and they would come back covered in red ink, and that was before the teachers ever saw it.”
Hofmeister took a job teaching religion at St. Xavier High School. He stayed one year and then was hired as an Upper School math teacher at Cincinnati Country Day in 1970.
Scott and Craig also got to see him in action in the classroom. He was their AP Computer Science teacher.
Respect was a key quality that Hofmeister emphasized. He thrived on spirited discussions, but
“My impressions of him as a teacher were absolutely in line with how he always was,” Craig said. “He
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wasn’t that different at home than he was in the classroom or anywhere else. Unlike so many of us, he was basically the same guy, trying to talk about how to get this done, trying to inspire people that this is important. I didn’t think of him as tough or easy.”
Rudowski returned to learn programming and more about computers after Time magazine named the computer the “Man of the Year.” “I thought this was really cutting edge stuff that I wanted to be involved in, and I was fortunate enough to be working with Joe that whole time.”
Hofmeister has been described as a Renaissance man, and his funeral program summarized his essence: Joe was a baker, photographer, thinker, teacher, writer, nurturer, gardener, inspirer, dreamer, painter, friend, innovator, husband, editor, father, and grandfather. He had a twinkle in his eye and enthusiasm for all that is mysterious and wonderful in life. From crossword puzzles, to reading up on just about any subject to producing bushels of vegetables, he really had passion for whatever he was doing at any given moment. “He was very talented,” Frances said. “He was very, very bright. He loved gardening and had a big vegetable garden in the back yard. He loved to bake bread, and when we had a snow day, he was home with the kids. They would bake bread together. He really enjoyed children, and he enjoyed his own kids.” LIFE AT COUNTRY DAY
She left Country Day for other pursuits in 1998. “I was ready to make a change, but I missed him. Working with him was just a joy, and it influenced me profoundly as a writer and with an understanding for change and how you make change happen. I always considered him my boss, but I think he considered us partners, and I was honored to be considered his partner. It was a very strong working relationship.” Frances and Joe at a CCDS function in 2015.
Country Day’s network administrator. “Under Joe’s stewardship, the program flourished, expanding in the 1980’s from a single minicomputer on campus to early personal computers, and then in 1996 to the one-to-one paradigm that we still use today. That is his legacy to us.”
Ralph Klitz arrived as the math department chair in 1969 and hired Hofmeister the next year. “Joe was an outstanding person, an outstanding teacher, a caring teacher,” Klitz said. “He understood kids and was very much an innovative character, so he fit right into our goals in the department, at that time. We were lucky to find him and fortunate to have him join us.”
Joyce Rudowski worked closely with Hofmeister in the computer science department. “We developed a lot of curriculum together because there wasn’t a lot that we felt matched the goals and direction of Country Day School. In 1984, the school purchased the first Macintosh in a school in the city. We were learning everything we could about it and how it operated so differently than the previous computer types that were available.”
“Joe and I and a couple others were very prominent in the ’70s in introducing project-oriented statistics, which is something that Joe could identify with. He did a lot of projects outside the school with kids. He even received national attention for that. Joe wrote an article for the ISACS (Independent Schools Association) bulletin in the early ’70s, describing our program. He was innovative, creative and an excellent teacher.”
A major development a few years later was the HyperCard, a piece of application software and a programming tool that Apple engineers stuck on the Mac. “We looked at it and said, ’This is a fabulous tool for education because you can be learning the programming piece and using curriculum that can be turned into something visual and dynamic,’” Rudowski said.
Meanwhile, Hofmeister also became a leader in the field of technology. “He was always pushing forward with new technology, so we had internet access long before anybody else ever did, and that was partially thanks to Joe’s efforts to keep pushing until we were on the leading edge,” Klitz said.
“Joe was an outstanding person, an outstanding teacher, a caring teacher,”... Former teacher Ralph Klitz
Physics teacher David Laird installed the first computer terminal at the school in 1967. It was considered a bold initiative at the time and garnered national attention. “When the founder of computer technology at CCDS, David E. Laird, died in 1979, it was Joe Hofmeister who stepped up to take the lead,” said Jeff Spain ’71,
Hofmeister and Rudowski worked with the HyperCard, presenting workshops nationally and internationally into the early ’90s. They had also collaborated on writing textbooks about the use of the tool in classroom settings. Then, Apple began struggling. “We stuck with HyperCard as long as we could, but when they stopped shipping it on the new computers, that didn’t make much sense.”
TECHNOLOGY 101 While Hofmeister will be remembered for catapulting CCDS into the national and world spotlight for its use of technology in education, he was not a computer geek. In fact, in his eulogy to his father, Scott revealed his father’s limitations: “Not without irony, my Dad struggled with using technology personally. He did not love his iPhone, and even though he taught AP Computer Science, he found programming to be very frustrating. For him, technology was just a tool." He railed against the centuries old model of education with the teacher, as the source of all knowledge, droning on at the front of the class. Rather, he felt students should be at the center of the learning process and the teacher’s role was to be coach and companion. He believed in the power of technology to transform teaching overall.” “One of the things my father despised was doing the same thing repeatedly,” Scott said. “Even if he was teaching algebra, he was constantly searching for ways to do something new and innovative.” “So, I think when technology came on the scene, it was something new and he thought, ’I have no interest in repeating last year exactly the way it was. How can I jazz this up a little bit?’ I think that’s how he got into technology. He was very curious, and it was a new thing. As he got deeper into it, he realized the power.” “He was no nerd. My dad always had a posse of technology nerds who were at the school, but he was not one of them. His technology skills were fine for what he needed to do. It was clear that it was not his first love. It was not his native tongue.” Klitz agreed with Scott’s assessment. “Joe was really an advocate of technology, but he didn’t want to get bogged down in the nitty gritty stuff. We had some CONNECTIONS | 21
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very talented students, like Jeff Spain '71. If we got stuck with something we couldn’t figure out, we had Jeff or a few others who could help. Joe was very much the innovator, pushing the ideas ahead, encouraging everybody to be involved, but not to the point where we were all counting digits.”
teacher and homeroom advisor through his senior year at CCDS. “My father died early in my ninth-grade year and departed before he got to teach me a few important lessons. Joe filled that void for me,” Herman said. “He taught me how to tie a tie. I remember him showing me and having me practice over and over. Then, as my passion for cars blossomed in high school, he taught me not to be afraid of doing maintenance on my own cars and showed me how to change the oil in my first car.”
THE SCROLL Hofmeister cherished his role as The Scroll advisor. “He saw it as his way of furthering student knowledge. He would absolutely have no tolerance for today’s ’fake news,’” Clark said. “In fact, he decreed that every story the students wrote be backed up by verifiable facts.”
“Probably one of the greatest gifts Joe taught me was to challenge the status quo with a good debate, but most importantly, to learn to disagree with people respectfully. He encouraged me and others to use the power of the written word to express ourselves and influence positive change in whatever media we needed to use to do so.”
“One year, I took The Scroll advisor position away from him and the newspaper became a “miserable failure” in his mind. He did not undermine it, but rather kept pointing out typos and grammatical errors, which would not have happened under his guidance. Needless to say, Joe won the argument. He was back at the helm of The Scroll the next year.” Dr. Tiffany Diers ’89 remembers “Hoho” as the teacher who influenced her the most and guided her through the tough transition to adulthood.
Joe, circa 1970's, teaching a math class.
“Teaching me journalism from scratch and encouraging me to use the paper as a platform for voicing my opinions, he helped me develop confidence in myself and my abilities,” Diers said. “His style was confrontational and that was a good match for me; we enjoyed many arguments and he challenged me to think critically.”
a leader I was ultimately responsible for keeping it there.”
“A defining characteristic was his commitment to excellence. I recall one night we were reviewing the final proof for the paper going to print the next day. We found several errors and determined that the editorial team would need to rework several pages. On presenting this to my classmates however, there was resistance.”
“He was really passionate about The Scroll, and I think in many ways, it was his best fit,” Scott said. “It mirrored his belief in the teacher as coach and guide. He was passionate about the writing.”
“In my pre-Hoho days, I am certain I would have acquiesced to the pressure of the group or tried to do the work myself which was not realistic at that point. Instead, I made a big X with red marker over the pages, making it impossible not to redo them and insisted that we work as a team to get the job done.” “While this was not a great moment of collaborative leadership and did not make me popular at the time, it did set a high bar for the quality of work we all produced moving forward and taught me that as 22 | CONNECTIONS
Hofmeister was also The Archive yearbook advisor briefly before moving on to The Scroll. He thought of them both as journalism, but he gravitated to The Scroll.
“He didn’t make the same impact with The Scroll as he did with technology, but he loved it just the same. The Scroll was not an internationally known paper, and no one came to Country Day to see The Scroll,” Scott said. “But, if you really asked him what he loves the most, in his heart, I think of all the things that he did, the math, the computer science, the laptop program, the yearbook, he really loved The Scroll.” IT’S ALL ABOUT THE KIDS Hofmeister had a gift for connecting with students. For Jason Herman ’94, he was much more than a
Hofmeister advocated for students who wrestled with math. “He did not spend most of his time and energy on the best and brightest students,” Scott said. “He was more interested in the struggling C students than the shining A students. That was a challenge. He thrived on challenges. He was more interested in helping someone who was afraid or really struggling with math. Giving yet another brain teaser to the top kid, not so much.” While their father was certainly capable of teaching the top math students, he preferred to work with the math challenged. “His skill set was making math and computer science really reachable to the masses, reachable to people who hated math and hated computer science,” Craig said. “That quirky, mini Einstein was not his skill set. He would often say, ’That’s Bob Plummer’s thing.”
“Probably one of the greatest gifts Joe taught me was to challenge the status quo with a good debate, but most importantly, to learn to disagree with people respectfully." Former student Jason Herman Hofmeister didn’t consider teaching as a job, but rather a calling. His office and classroom were safe havens for students who didn’t find their names on
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the A honor roll or their passions on the sports field or stage. He was an advocate for socially awkward learners, Clark said. “Many of these kids frequently referred to as ’geeks’ sought refuge in Joe’s office. He always allowed and included them in developing different types of technical innovation as a part of the learning process itself. He saw every day as a workshop for student learning. He was vehemently against ’the sage on the stage’ approach to teaching and learning.” “In fact, he knew that the students before long would be teaching adults about technology. He once said to me, ’Every day I learn more from the kids than I do adults.”’ “He championed the underdog learners who needed help from technology to aid them in their learning pursuits,” Clark said. “Those who knew Joe loved his passion for equity and justice. This educational genius and compassionate man was always there to help every individual he could, even late into the evenings.” LOVE FOR COUNTRY DAY One of his greatest loves was Country Day. When Hofmeister was nearing death, he heard Frances call hospice. He did not want to talk about death, although Frances is sure he knew it was imminent. He told her, “I know what hospice means, and when I’m gone, in lieu of flowers, I want donations to go to Cincinnati Country Day School.” “Country Day let him be who he wanted to be,” Scott said. “It made space for him and nourished him. When my father had good ideas, they invested in them, and that’s what kept him happy and fulfilled there. The connection between my Dad and CCDS was kind of magical and really enabled him to reach his full potential.” Indeed, Clark, Klitz and John Raushenbush, among others, were all enablers. “Joe got respect, encouragement and space to be the best person he could be,” Frances said. “He felt he could really blossom there.”
ALUMNI GATHER AT BORTZ EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER This past Spring, the Country Day Alumni Association and Admission Office hosted local alumni for drinks and appetizers at the new Neil K. Bortz Early Childhood Center. Alumni were able to tour the classrooms and the outdoor playscape. Head of Lower School Jen Jensen and Pre-Primary Program Coordinator Laura Richter were available to answer questions about the program. Some of the alumni who attended included: Tricia '98 and Marc Brown, Neil '93 and Liz Fleischer, Holly '95 and Mike Mott, Louie Randolph '07, Brian Burnett '13, Nat '05 and Caitlin Tracey-Miller, Susanna Schwartz '93, Tom Langlois '77, Rob Zimmerman '98, Mark Han '96, Gautham Prasad '96, Victoria MairalCruz '12, Joanne and Andy Reaves, Libby Hardigg and Bree Ann Murdock '90. n
LEGACY BREAKFAST DRAWS 70 ALUMNI AND CHILDREN Alumni and their children, who are future alumni, celebrated their mutual ties to the school during the annual Legacy Breakfast on the Dining Terrace. Head of School Tony Jaccaci welcomed the crowd of 70 and engaged the audience in a game of CCDS trivia. Take the quiz below. (Answers are on page 35) n 1. What year was the School founded? 2. What date do we consider our Founder’s Day? 3. 1975 was the first year CCD’s graduating class had girls. How many girls were there? 4. How many faculty members were there when the school opened in 1926? 5. Who was the longest serving Head of School? 6. What year was Broadwell House built? 7. How many Heads of School were also alumni? 8. How many acres was the campus when the school opened in 1926? a) 15 b) 20.4 c) 45.2 d) 62 9. What year was the CCDS Code of Conduct approved by the Board of Trustees? Pictured from the Alumni Breakfast: clockwise top, The Lazarus Family, Steve '81, Julie, Sam '22, Gertrude '27. The Joffe Family, Rose '21, Leo '24, Craig '90 , Lucy '90, Lila '21. The Wright Family, Jack '21, Susan, Maggie '19, (Gordon '85). The Zimmerman Family, Rob '98, Harrison '28, Graham '32, (Rania). The Strauss Family, Matt '88, Anna '24, (Carla).
And when Hofmeister blossomed, so did Country Day. n by Cindy Kranz
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Craig Maier '67, 2018 Distinguished Alumnus
C
raig Maier ’67, retired CEO of Frisch’s Big Boy Restaurants, is Cincinnati Country Day School’s 2018 Distinguished Alumnus. Maier spent 38 years working in his family business, , serving as president & CEO from1989-2015. Maier retired after the business was sold. He is a CCDS Lifer, starting kindergarten in 1954. He was the first of eight in his family to attend Country Day, and his aunt and uncle sent six more children to the school. Besides Maier, the Class of ’67 was populated with several other children from well-known family companies in Cincinnati, including Lazarus, Merrell and Pogue.
Restaurants are often considered a risky business, but like any other business, owners have to pay attention to the customers. Maier made it a priority to visit each restaurant twice a year. “In the restaurant industry, you cannot manage the business from an office. You have to be out there with your customers on a regular basis before the business starts to slide. Once it starts to slide, it’s a struggle. If you don’t respond to the little issues right away, all of a sudden it starts slipping away on you.” Since he retired, Maier doesn’t often eat at Frisch’s, but when he does, his favorite meal is a Big Boy on a rye bun with onion rings, coleslaw and a small chocolate shake. “But I can only do that once every six months. There's a lot of calories in that meal.”
“What I remember about Country Day is that we were sure this was the best school in town, and we thought that we were meant to be the leaders of the future,” Maier said.
During his tenure as president & CEO, he was extensively involved in the community, serving in senior board positions for a variety of arts, cultural and educational organizations. He was chairman of the board for Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and president of the Cincinnati Art Museum.
He maintained his connection with CCDS when he and his wife, Anne, enrolled their three children: Avery ’13, Alexander ’15 and Taylor ’15. Anne served on the Board of Trustees and was a CountryDate chair, among other volunteer activities.
He was also a board member for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati Arts Association, Cincinnati Museum Center and Cincinnati Ballet. He chaired the 2002 Fine Arts Campaign.
Maier is a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where he was enrolled in the Honors Program. He was then drafted into the Army, one of the last draftees in December 1971, and served in Greece for two years. “It was one of the best things I've ever done, I'm very proud to say I served in the military.” He then earned his Master of Business Administration at Columbia University and returned to Cincinnati to work in the family business. David Frisch, Maier’s grandfather, founded Frisch’s in 1939, but the family-owned chain took off in the early ’50s. Maier’s father, Jack, who was David Frisch’s son-in-law, eventually became executive vice president and then president and chairman of the board. Meanwhile, Maier worked his way up the chain and owned and operated the New Richmond Frisch’s. As the oldest son in the extended family, it was expected that he would be the next president, and he embraced that opportunity. “It worked out very well. Big Boy has been very good to all of us.”
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As a member of the Cincinnati Business Committee, Maier spent several decades working on its school task force. He chaired the first campaign for the capital bond issue for Cincinnati Public Schools in 2000. After an initial loss, he helped CPS succeed in getting a bond issue passed in 2003 to build and renovate schools.
“Country Day did an outstanding job. When I went to Trinity, I knew how to study, to have my work completed, to be ready to participate in class." -Craig Maier “So, Cincinnati Public Schools got a billion dollars’ worth of new buildings, and they're quite beautiful. One of the highlights of my not-for-profit career was doing that,” Maier said. He still sits in on school task force meetings to provide historical context. Currently, he remains a member of the Dan Beard Council – Boy Scouts of America, a lifetime appointment, and previous chairman of the council. He’s also a Cincinnati Bell board member. Maier credits his position with Frisch’s that allowed him the time and freedom to offer his expertise and financial support to a variety of non-profit
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organizations. How was he able to juggle the business and community involvement? “The answer to that is always the quality of the business and, the quality of people I had working for me, because we always thought that community service was an important thing that a CEO needs to do over the long term,” Maier said. “You get involved with one thing and, before you know it, if you do a good job, then other people want you and then some people ask you back. In the Playhouse’s case, they asked me back twice. I served three complete cycles on their board.” Maier accepted the Distinguished Alumnus award in May during a cocktail reception at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Of the 75 people attending, many were representatives of the non-profits he has served over the years. In presenting the award, Head of School Tony Jaccaci said, “Craig is well known for his humility, since many of his philanthropic deeds go under the radar. He’s never one to take credit or to grab the spotlight. He’s much more interested in problem solving than credit.” Maier told the crowd, “Being in not-for-profit, it was a wonderful thing to be able to take the money and the time that Frisch’s provided and to use the talent that I think I have to make a difference in the community.” “The people who I met in not-for-profit are some of the best folks I’ve ever met. We all do this to make a difference. I think Cincinnati is a place where all of us who have time and resources and talent come together to help all the wonderful organizations that make Cincinnati a better place.” n
How Country Day prepared him for college and life “Country Day did an outstanding job. When I went to Trinity, I knew how to study, to have my work completed, to be ready to participate in class. I distinctly remember an economics class where they would ask a question, and I would raise my hand because that's what you did at Country Day. Somebody mentioned to me that it was really annoying because I always raised my hand. I did it because I did the homework, and that’s what you do.”
by Cindy Kranz
SAVE THE DATE Homecoming &
Reunion Weekend 2019 October 18-19 Reunions for class years ending in 4’s & 9’s
THOMAS D. GETTLER ’76 CREATIVE WRITING AWARD US English teacher Deborah Floyd presented the Thomas D. Gettler ’76 Creative Writing Award to Ruth Kramer '18 at the US Awards Assembly. “Ruth Kramer is a writer’s writer — she uses her powerful pen to give voice to the unheard, to address injustice and to find meaning in a chaotic world,” Floyd said. Kramer ’18 plans to major in English and/or history while minoring in French at Williams College. Ruth Kramer • Winner - National Scholastic Silver Award n
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In Memoriam Raud Kenneth Alamin, an admired and broadly successful member of the Class of ’85, died on June 30, 2017. He leaves behind his wife Stephanie, daughter Isabel, and sons Sebastian and Soren, as well as his parents, Khosrow and Julie Alamin, his brother and sister-in-law, Drs Todd (CCD ’86), Artis, their four children, Healey, Spencer, Lillen, and Burke and a large family of relatives who deeply mourn his passing. He was predeceased by his brother Armin ’88 who also sadly died too soon. After graduating from Union College, Raud received a JD in Law from Franklin Pierce Law School, and practiced law with a firm in San Francisco. Eventually, he embarked on a career in property management. An accomplished athlete, Raud enjoyed all sports especially soccer during his high school years, followed by skiing, surfing and mountain biking. He was a kind and loving son, husband, father and friend to all. We remember fondly the diversity of his skills, charming personality and handsome demeanor. Don E. Beeson of Mason. Beloved husband of Ruth A. (nee Drudge) Beeson. Loving father of Beth (Andrew) Langenbahn and Becky Beeson. Proud grandfather of Nicholas '15, Gretchen '18, and Christopher '22 Langenbahn. Dear brother of Charles (Deanna) Beeson and the late Ronald (Susie) Beeson. Survived by numerous beloved nieces and nephews. Passed away September 5, 2018 at the age of 78. Helen C. Black, a fierce advocate for the environment, a nature educator, and leader of successful and wideranging conservation efforts both in southern Ohio and in Maine, died at her home in Indian Hill at the age of 94. Mrs. Black was pre-deceased by her husband, Judge Robert L. Black, Jr. ’35. Helen is survived by her three sons, their wives and families: William Black ’65 and Jackie Potter of Portland, Maine and their sons, Sam Black and his wife Zohra Ahmed, and Dan Black; Stephen ’66 and Susan Black of Cincinnati, and their children, Christopher Black; Charlie Black, and Heidi Black and her husband, Jay Kincaid, who have twin daughters, Elizabeth and Helen, in Cincinnati; and Luther Black ’70 and Christina Wright, of Seattle. Helen’s contributions to conservation and environmental education have been numerous. For years, in the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s, she volunteered as a nature educator at elementary schools in Indian Hill. She was a generous supporter of the Environmental Council at Country Day for many years. Helen was a founding member of the Redbird Hollow Association, a past president of Ohio Nature Conservancy, and a board member of the Ohio Environmental Council, winning its Lifetime 26 | CONNECTIONS
Achievement Award in 2017. In 1978, Helen was admitted to the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame for her work in conservation and nature education. Chinita Anderson ’90 passed away from cancer May 12, 2018. Chinita is survived by her father Eugene, mother Sarah and brother Eugene Anderson ’92. Chinita worked at NPR’s Morning Edition and was also a playwright. Her works include WE R PUNK ROCK!!!, a semifinalist in Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s 2107 National Playwright Conference. Joseph F. Hofmeister, 81, of Cincinnati, died April 22, 2018, at home with his family. He was born in Chicago, Illinois and his early education was with the De La Salle Brothers of the Christian Schools. He moved to Cincinnati, worked at La Salle and St Xavier high schools, then taught for 37 years at Cincinnati Country Day School. At CCDS, he started as a math teacher, moved into Computer Science, and then led the technology program where he pioneered studentcentered learning, creating one of the first one-to-one student laptop programs in the country. He was an author, painter, gardener, and treasured his time inspiring high school students, in the classroom, in his homeroom, and working on the school newspaper and yearbook. He is survived by his wife Frances and two children, Scott '97 in Berkeley, CA and Craig '91 in Atlanta, GA and four grandchildren. Captain Stephen D. Marvin ’43, USN (Ret), died of heart failure on December 25, 2017 in Honolulu, HI. He was 92 years old. He is survived by his sons Stephen E. and Frederick S. Marvin and his brothers Timothy H. and Terrence C. Marvin. Born in Cincinnati on May 12, 1925, he graduated from CCDS in 1943, entering in 1938. At CCDS he was active in sports, including track and 6-man football. He earned awards culminating in the Fleischmann Prize in 1943. After a brief battle with heart failure he died on Christmas Day. Later on the same day his wife Juanita died. Burial has occurred. He was buried with military honors at the family plot on Oahu. Michael Maundrell ’65, age 71, passed away on June 30, 2018. Loving husband of Gail Maundrell, cherished father of Mark Maundrell, beloved coach, brother of Doug (Helen) Maundrell, Patrick (Molly) Maundrell, Debbie (Ken) Dorsey, and Lori Eberle, and dear stepson of Eulene Maundrell, he also leaves numerous nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. Michael was a dedicated pitching coach of thousands in his career. His last game was on Sunday, July 8th at Midland Field, 7000 Midland Blvd, Amelia, OH 45102 at 5:30 p.m. James P. Orr ’94 “Jim”, loving father of Cameron ’28 and Mackenzie Orr ’30, devoted son of Sandy ’65 &
Potter ’65 Orr, cherished brother of Mimi Orr Manzler ’85, Scott ’84, also survived by Katie Keeton Orr, the Mother of his children. Jim departed unexpectedly from a heart attack Sunday, September 23, 2018. John "Jack" Leonard Roy of Winter Park, Florida and Cincinnati, Ohio died peacefully September 9, 2018 at the age of 89. Jack was the son of the late John and Clara Roy, preceded in death by his wife and soulmate of nearly 63 years, Lynn, and brother Donald, and survived by his four children, Bruce '75 (Cinny), Amy '78 (Jim) Ferneding, Jenny '80 (Ermel) Luckett and Rob '84 (Naomi), nine grandchildren, Abbott (Jessica), Emily and Tucker Roy, Chelsea and Chase Eckert, Wes and Brad Luckett, Jack'21 and Miles Roy '24, great-grandchild, Theo, brother Dave (Nancy), and devoted Samoyed, Lacy. Jack was a former CCDS board member. Lynn W. Roy passed away on May 9, 2017 in Winter Park, FL at the age of 85. Her husband of nearly 63 years, Jack, passed away on September 9, 2018. She is survived by her four children who all graduated from CCDS, Bruce Roy ’75, Amy R. Ferneding ’78, Jenny R. Luckett ’80, Rob Roy ’84, nine grandchildren including Jack Roy ’21 and Miles Roy ’24 and the subsequent birth of great grandson, Theodore Roy. David Michie Strasser '72 passed away on Tuesday, September 4th, 2018 after a difficult battle with Parkinson's disease. He is survived by his loving wife, Denise, and daughter, Lee '07. David cherished the Country Day community for the lifelong friendships he and his daughter made during their time there. Rodney Elliott Vincent '87 was born to parents Future and Rev. Alonzo Vincent and sister Tracy, in Cincinnati, Ohio on February 7, 1970. Rodney applied his intellect and indomitable spirit and achieved with ease. Academically, he started studying Spanish in the third grade, skipped fifth grade, graduated from Cincinnati Country Day School ('87) then Brown University ('91) with a degree in Business Economics. He fell in love with football at age 6, playing for Cincinnati Country Day and winning the That's My Boy award (the Cincinnati high school Heisman), for excellence on the field, in the classroom and the community (even after again breaking a leg and missing his entire Sophomore season). Ultimately, football would also earn him the honor of induction into the Cincinnati Country Day School Athletic Hall of Fame. On academic scholarship, Rodney completed his football career after four more good years playing for Brown University. Professionally, while still a student at Brown, Rodney earned a summer position with Procter & Gamble that he turned into a 20-year career. continued next page
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A good son and brother, a devoted husband and father, a gifted and accomplished athlete, a brilliant mind, a respected and productive business man and an inspiring and trusted leader, Rodney was many things to many, many people. Most and best of all, he was a friend with an infectious smile, profound quick wit, a robust laugh, a loving heart and endless positive, encouraging energy. Having fulfilled his promise, Rodney leaves with a lifetime of lasting memories his wife of 22 years, Esther, their sons Tyler and Jordan, stepson Geo, his father Rev. Alonzo Elliott Vincent (Rev. Elmira) and mother Mrs. Future Hicks (Michael), his sister Tracy, nephew Cayman, siblings of the Vincent and Hicks families, and a host of extended family, friends, teammates, classmates and professional colleagues who he deeply loved, respected and appreciated.
Tom York ’67 passed away March 9, 2018. Tom, a graduate of Princeton Seminary, was a longtime pastor at Knox Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati. He and his wife Barbara Backer also served many other congregations in Wisconsin and Ohio. He is survived by his son, David. A CCDS classmate, Ted Dieck remembered Tom in these words after receiving the email of Tom’s passing: "Tom was our pastor at Knox Church. Decades earlier, he was a solid member of the Service Club at Country Day. Tom was a remarkably generous guy. Thoughtful, kind, and full of energy. He was utterly reliable in our service projects. It was astonishing, then, that he would materialize out of nowhere at our church, precisely when I needed a solid friend I could
trust. I have seen Tom reach out to dozens of people -- each, personally and individually -- at various functions. I have no doubt that he has changed many lives in positive ways that most of us will never know. The last time I heard Tom speak, he surprised me. He rose at our Reunion Dinner to express his thanks to the class for accepting him, all those years ago. He shared his appreciation for the warmth of everyone at the dinner. And he said he had never felt so included. Of course, in saying that, he made us all feel included." n
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The Class of 2018
Class of 2018: Top row (7), left to right: Sam Schwartz, Noah Reisenfeld, Jack Gardner Row 6, left to right: Alexander Kourie-Frias, Nick Jaccaci, Derek Stevens, Sid Chandrasekar, Trey Smith, Blake Lykins, Braydon Benedum, TJ Brock, Max DelBello, Arys Anderson, Blake Adkins, Bobby Flynn, Zachary O’Brien, John Pettengill, Elliott Murley, Matthew Davis, Javin Williams, Morgan Limmer, Shaan Dahar, Jake Seide, Corey Lancaster, Kesler Stapp Row 5 left to right: Tyler Weingartner, John Joy, Jonathan Fan, Tony Wang, Richie Cai Row 4, left to right: Owen Moreno, Noah Michalski, Zack Streit, Alex Chantilas, Thomas Mactaggart, Connor Pohl, Joey Hodson, Bry Aquino, Patrick Magarian, Daniel Nesbitt, Noah Hess, Thomas Retzios, John Blang, Tony Wen, Ruth Kramer. Row 3, left to right: Lenora Croley, Kaity Travis, Jordann Sadler, Gretchen Langenbahn, Emily Ray, Hannah Laird, Haley Vaughan, Lorae Stojanovic, Jessie Lang, Clarissa Conner, Grace Gilbreath, Celia Shepard, Marlo Bryant, Moya Ly Row 2, left to right: Sarah Jarrell, Ayanna Kemp, Megan Jarrell, Josie Rutherford, Emmy Morgan, Tabitha Kleiner, Kaitlyn Hardesty, Priya Chopra Row 1, left to right: Simone Burnett, Sachi Bhati, Izzy Hensley, Liah Apatira, Madeleine Morales, Lizzie Norwood, and Alayna Odom. Not pictured: Morgan Brown, Winnie Fang
GRADUATES MATRICULATED TO: Barnard College Boston Univ. Bowling Green State Univ. Butler Univ. California Institute of Technology Univ. of California, Davis Univ. of California, San Diego (2) Case Western Reserve Univ. Champlain College Univ. of Cincinnati (5) Clarkson Univ. Colorado College Cornell Univ. Univ. of Dayton DePaul Univ. Elon Univ. (2) Emory Univ. (3) Florida Southern College 28 | CONNECTIONS
Franklin Pierce Univ. Georgia Institute of Technology Hanover College Harvard Univ. Hobart and William Smith Colleges Indiana Univ. Ithaca College John Carroll Univ. Kent State Univ. Lehigh Univ. Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst Miami Univ., Oxford (3) Univ. of Miami Middlebury College (2) Muskingum Univ. (2) New York Univ. Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Northeastern Univ. (2)
Lifers: Top row, left to right: John Pettengill, Max DelBello, Blake Adkins, Matthew Davis, Noah Michalski Middle row, left to right: Thomas Mactaggart, Noah Hess, Patrick Magarian, Bry Aquino, Jack Gardner, Daniel Nesbitt. Bottom row, left to right: Gretchen Langenbahn, Emmy Morgan, Priya Chopra, Izzy Hensley, Sachi Bhati, Moya Ly, and Clarissa Conner. Not pictured: Sam Schwartz
Northwestern Univ. Oberlin College Ohio Univ. (3) The Ohio State Univ. (4) Otterbein Univ. Univ. of Pennsylvania Parsons School of Design Rhodes College (3) Savannah College of Art and Design Spelman College Syracuse Univ. Trinity College (2) Vanderbilt Univ. Wake Forest Univ. Washington Univ. in St. Louis Univ. of Washington West Virginia Univ. Williams College Xavier Univ.
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ACCEPTANCES
$9.2 MILLION IN GRANTS & SCHOLARSHIPS
AWARDED
GIVING
CAPITAL GIVING
MIKE '83 & SUSIE LEONARD
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ike ’83 and Susie Leonard felt compelled to fund a new pool after Susie attended a meeting where she learned that plans to redevelop the North Campus did not include a swimming pool. “She came home and asked me what I thought about that and said, ‘I can’t envision Country Day without a pool,’ so that was our charge,” Leonard said. “We could not let that happen. We wanted to ensure that swimming remains in perpetuity at CCDS.” In 2012, they pledged a significant gift for a pool. As work continued on the pool and other parts of the athletic complex, the Leonards pledged an additional million in 2015. The Leonard Family Athletic Center was officially opened and dedicated on Oct. 29.
The Leonards have made other contributions to the school, as well. They have chaired the Country Day Fund Grandparents’ Committee (formerly the Annual Fund) for the last three years, and Mike is a member of the Board of Trustees. The Leonard name is synonymous with Country Day. Four generations of the Leonard family have attended the school. Mike Leonard ’55, who passed away in 2009, made sure his family had access to the best possible education and valued Country Day.
“Country Day has made an indelible impact on my life and our entire family. In addition to academics, I was lucky to have athletics that taught me lessons of life that have been valuable throughout my career and life,” Leonard said. “It’s more than winning. It’s learning the practical lessons of being successful in life: commitment, hard work, perseverance, teamwork, learning how to be humble in victory and gracious in defeat, whether in the pool, on the court or on the field.” n
Leonard’s passion for swimming at Country Day was not just a fleeting interest. He has been the director of Competitive Aquatics and head coach at Powel Crosley, Jr. YMCA for the last 33 years.
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ALUMNI
Class Notes Fall 2018 1964
Cedric (Rick) Vogel ’64, chaired the General Society of Colonial Wars’ 109th General Council in Cincinnati on May 16-20, 2018. Rick also serves as Secretary of the Ohio state society. GSCW’s mission is to heighten awareness of the history of the colonies from the early 17th Century to the American Revolution. Its members can trace their personal lineage to this period. The event included receptions, tours, and banquets at venues throughout Cincinnati, culminating in a Gala event at the Netherland Hilton’s Hall of Mirrors, where a proclamation from the British Ambassador (on behalf of the Queen) to the United States was read aloud to the 185 guests gathered from around the country.
1998
Warner Off ’98 and Emma Off welcomed with joy Robert (“Bert”) Douglas Off and Florence Bailey Off on April 6, 2018.
2001
Sally Hernandez (Dwyer, ’05) and husband Javier Hernandez welcomed their first child, Gracie Rose Hernandez on January 24, 2018 in Chicago, IL. A future Country Day Indian in the making!
Meridy Vollmer McLane ’01 and Price McLane welcomed twins on February 14, 2018, Poppy Virginia and John Alexander. They join big brother Price.
2003
Christopher and Annie (Brownstein) Putt ’03 welcomed Charlotte Louise Putt on January 31, 2018. Charlotte weighed 6lbs 5oz, measured 19.5 inches long, and resides with her parents in Atlanta. Resident babysitters Grandpa and Howard and Grandma Marcia Brownstein are thrilled.”
2004
Taylor Pomeranz ’04 and her husband Daniel welcomed their first child a baby boy named Gili Arnold on January 7, 2018.
2000
Prithvi Bhaskar On March 8, 2018 my wife Sharmeela and I welcomed our daughter, Shalini Saha Bhaskar, into the world. She was born at 11:38 pm and weighed 6 lbs 9 oz. She amazes us every day and we look forward to this next chapter of our lives. Carey Herrlinger ’00 and his wife Haley welcomed their second child on May 17, 2018 a little girl named Harper Rose Herrlinger. 30 | CONNECTIONS
2006
John Bahl ’06 and wife Kelsey welcomed a sweet baby boy named John Charles Bahl III (Johnny) on May 12, 2018. Johnny came into the world weighing 8 lbs. 13 oz and measuring 21.5 inches.
2008
Trey Woeste On May 18th at 11:09 pm, our beautiful baby boy, William Franklin Woeste IV, was born weighing 6 lbs., 15 oz and 20 inches long. Both Momma (Leslie) and baby are home and doing great. We are so excited to start our journey as a family of three.
2009 2005
Peter and Betsy Niehoff (née Jacobs) (both ’05) were excited to welcome Oliver Williams on November 5, 2017. He weighed 5lb. 14 oz. and was 18.5 inches long. He is already looking forward to starting school at CCDS!
Rene Peters Jr. recently collaborated with Visa to find innovative ways to encourage bank and merchant interactions with customers. He graduated with a Masters in Design Innovation from the MMM program at Northwestern School of Engineering in June. He will also receive an MBA from Kellogg School of Management. He has accepted a position with Microsoft and moved to Seattle this summer.
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GIVING
ENDOWMENT GIVING
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raig ’67 and Anne Maier’s three children graduated from Country Day in 2013 and 2015, but as an alumnus and former parents, the Maiers have remained generous supporters. The Maier generosity to Country Day began with Craig’s father, Jack C. Maier, who funded the cafeteria years ago. It was demolished during construction of the new Upper School building in 2000. Besides annual giving, the Maiers have given $200,000 in unrestricted funds to capital building projects, and $250,000 to the Blue & White Triumphant Campaign to grow the endowment fund. They earmarked $25,000 of the Blue & White gift for the Class of 1967’s 50-year class reunion match challenge for the Richard O. Schwab ’67 Middle School
CRAIG '67 AND ANNE MAIER Fund. Classmates Gordon Deane and Schwab also donated $25,000 each. “We put forth the challenge, because in addition to us giving, we’ve tried to encourage other people to give,” Anne said. “When we give, we want people to know we give only because we want to encourage others to give, as well.” The Blue & White gift was unrestricted because the school needs money for the endowment fund, Anne said. “Nobody wants to give money that isn’t glamorous like that, but it’s really important to build that endowment fund. We did that in addition to all our annual giving because many people don't seem to understand you not only give annually, which is really important, but you also give above and beyond that, occasionally.”
Besides monetary donations, Anne has spent countless hours volunteering at the school, including two three-year terms on the Board of Trustees, co-chair of CountryDate and helping solicit money for the Annual Fund (now the Country Day Fund). Since becoming empty nesters, Craig retired as president & CEO of Frisch’s Big Boy Restaurants, and the couple has traveled extensively. What keeps them circling back to Country Day? “The sense of community is very important to us because we have enjoyed meeting so many wonderful people and have made some dear friends over the years,” Anne said. “We enjoy seeing them at community events.” n
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ALUMNI
2010
Emma Weinstein received her Masters in Social Work from University of Chicago and is employed by COMPASS in Chicago as a Group Therapist for Children.
Country Day Atlanta Alumni Event In March, Head of School Tony Jaccaci and Chief Advancement Officer Marihelen Millar were happy to meet the Atlanta area Country Day Alumni. The event was hosted by Kim and John Mount ’87 in their home.
Kai Schneider ’97 and Sarah Habib ’07 hosted Cincinnati’s first ever morning dance party - CincyGetUp on March 15, 2018. Rose Family honored
Mimi and Stuart Rose were honored by the Ohio Arts Council Governor’s Award for the Arts in recognition of their generous support of performing arts centers in Ohio. The Rose Family donated to the Sally Dwyer ’05 and Tonya Greib ’10 Performing Arts Courtyard at Country Day.
iOS phone app The Country Day iOS phone app is available to download free in the app store. The app provides easy access to parts of our website including calendar, athletics, news, social media, giving, faculty/staff directory, and the MyBackPack family directory. The Android version of the app is scheduled for release n 2019.
Country Day Live Our social media presence has grown tremendously, however, it can be daunting to follow everything from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, etc. We have added an area so you may view all the social media highlights in a single place. You may have noticed a section on our homepage titled “Country Day Live” (above). This is a new social media aggregator that pulls in feeds from various CCDS accounts and gives a picture of a day in the life of a Country Day student or teacher. 32 | CONNECTIONS
GIVING
PLANNED GIVING
TOM '77 & ELAINE LANGLOIS
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any alumni call Cincinnati Country Day School their “second home.” For Tom Langlois ’77, it was that and more. Langlois was a seventh grader when his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died when he was a 14-yearold ninth grader. “Like many dads of that era, my father wasn’t very good at keeping the family together after she passed away. So, guys like Sam Tumolo, Joe Thesing and Chuck Yeiser became my parents. They were my second family in many ways.” A staff attorney at the 1st District Court of Appeals, Langlois is serving his second term on the Country Day Board of Trustees and has been Alumni Council president. To give back to the school that
means so much to him, Langlois has named Country Day a beneficiary of real property in his will. “Donors can make a real difference in the future of the school by leaving a legacy gift through their estate. That’s the ultimate expression, that deep appreciation for the dedicated teachers and coaches who mentored and befriended us.” Langlois also plans to contribute by tapping into his retirement plan. “When it comes time to make mandatory distributions from your qualified retirement plans, you can name the school as the beneficiary of those distributions. Country Day, being a nonprofit, doesn’t pay tax on that, and I get to write it off my income.”
meant to us. Country Day had the most profound influence on developing our character and our minds,” Langlois said. “I have very fond memories of what Country Day did for me. And, I want to do my part to help the school make a difference in the lives of our current students.” To learn more about planned giving, contact Marihelen Millar, Chief Advancement Officer, (513) 979-0285, millarm@countryday.net, or Paula Brock, Director of Donor Relations, (513) 979-0282, brockp@countryday.net. n
“Looking forward to our next century, it seems like a good time for all of us to reflect on what the school has CONNECTIONS | 33
GRANDPARENTS
GRANDPARENTS - AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE COUNTRY DAY EXPERIENCE Country Day grandparents comprise a vital part of the school community. They provide extra pairs of eyes and ears to ensure their grandkids receive a stellar education. Grandparents are another set of cheerleaders for their grandchildren. They stand ready to provide emotional, financial or moral support. Since they’ve already navigated child rearing and the education system, they can offer the gift of perspective to their grandchildren’s parents.
is made, wherever it is, I think it behooves the grandparents to support and encourage the school by participating in any way they can to make it a great institution and a great learning experience for their grandchild.”
“I think it’s important that he has stability and consistency in how he’s brought up, and it’s important for us to be here.” Carol Woods
Since Ava is active in performing arts, the Kellars faithfully attend every play, musical or choir concert where she performs. “And, we’ve been willing to support a couple of things that they need,” Barbara said. “Regardless of cost, that’s a statement that ’I care what you’re doing, and I want to be a part of it.’’’
and Brittany coach. “I like to know what’s going on, what is being taught, who he’s around and what his teachers are like” she said. “I think it’s important that he has stability and consistency in how he’s brought up, and it’s important for us to be here.”
“She loves all of her teachers and always has...She thinks that they challenge her and support her. I think she’s received a really good education." Barbara Kellar Ava has attended CCDS since age 3. The school has been a good fit for her. “She loves all of her teachers and always has,” Barbara said. “She thinks that they challenge her and support her. I think she’s received a really good education. Part of that is her, but part of that is the teachers’ ability or willingness to see her separately, if that’s necessary, or just give her a pep talk.”
What’s more, they lend their time and talent to ensure that the school thrives. The Grandparents’ Committee for the Annual Fund (now the Country Day Fund) assists in soliciting Country Day’s grandparent community for gifts to the fund. Mike ’83 and Susie Leonard chaired the committee last year and are chairs again this year.
“They’re very encouraging,” Larry added. “Of course, the culture of the school fits with our ideas of how we would like our grandchild to turn out, in many ways that are even more modern than our own. We’re very pleased, and I think her mother is very pleased.”
We talked with three sets of grandparents who offered their thoughts on why it’s important for grandparents to be involved with their grandchildren’s school, as well as how they are active at CCDS.
The Woods are grandparents to Roman Patterson ’35, whose mother, Brittany Woods ’04, teaches Middle School culture studies and health.
Larry and Barbara Kellar The Kellars are grandparents of Ava Kellar ’19. Both are retired but remain active in the Greater Cincinnati and school community. Larry is a member of the Board of Trustees, and Barbara taught third grade for five years at CCDS. They have co-chaired the Grandparents’ Committee for several years. “Education is so important in a child’s life that the whole family needs to pitch in and make sure that it goes well,” Larry said. “Once the commitment 34 | CONNECTIONS
Robin and Carol Woods
Robin is a familiar face at CCDS, where he substitute teaches in the Middle School and coaches basketball and baseball. He is a retired Procter & Gamble training coordinator. Carol also worked at P&G, which sold her division to a company called Inmar, where she now works. She tries to be involved at school as much as possible. “I feel like if we’re involved and he sees us coming here and we’re comfortable with his teachers, it makes him feel more secure. He knows we’re coming back.” She occasionally picks Roman up at the Early Childhood Center after school because both Robin
Robin believes CCDS is a good school and safe environment for Roman. “I like the philosophy and direction of the school, or else I wouldn’t be here.” Joey Joiner and Angela Barber-Joiner Joey and Angela are grandparents to 7-year-old Samirah Barber ’29 who is in second grade this fall. Angela teaches kindergarten at CCDS, and Joey is retired. “Grandparents play more of a supportive role that supports some of the values that the parents are implementing,” Angela said. “Some parents may not be mature or have enough life experience to know what a child needs at the time.” “Grandparents have done this before. They know more about what’s important and what’s not. They can normalize situations that happen for the parents, put things in perspective, have a different view.” While Angela monitors Samirah’s academic progress, Joey sees his role as more of a financial supporter. “We kind of have to be parents and grandparents. We have Samirah’s best interest at heart and, if it’s up to us, we’re not going to let her fail. As grandparents, we have to be a safety net.”
“In the last year and a half, she’s matured a lot because of the plans that were developed for her once she came to Country Day...” Joey Joiner Angela and Joey attend Lower School curriculum nights that showcase what students are learning. “We do parent-teacher conferences because we’re such a big piece of her life, just to see what she’s working on,” Angela said. Samirah started school at CCDS in kindergarten, coming from a Pre-K program in Montgomery. “She
GRANDPARENTS
came in behind the other kids,” Angela said. Her grandparents arranged for her to receive support services at the school, including tutoring, behavior management, emotional intelligence development, and Students Helping Students. What’s more, they work with her at home on reading, numbers and homework. “In the last year and a half, she’s matured a lot because of the plans that were developed for her once she came to Country Day,” Joey said. And now, the little girl who used to flee= from homework has developed a love of learning. “Country Day has taught her to be an independent learner and an independent thinker,” Angela said. “She thrives from learning now. Learning is fun for her, and that’s totally because of Country Day. Now, she’s ready to learn and excited to share what she’s learned.” “She is in the right place. She’s grown so much in every area, and Country Day is constant stability for her. If one thing really stands out, it’s that stable environment. She knows what to expect. The expectations are clear and consistent, and she’s able to meet them with support.” n
by Cindy Kranz Above: Larry and Barbara Kellar join their daughter, Ainsley Kellar, and granddaughter, Ava Kellar ’19, on the Keeler Theater stage. The Kellars always attend their granddaughter’s theater and choir performances. Center: Angela Barber-Joiner, CCDS kindergarten teacher/team leader, and Joey Joiner helped their granddaughter, Samirah Barber ’29, catch up when she enrolled at Country Day. Below: Robin and Carol Woods stay involved with their grandson’s education at CCDS. Roman Patterson ’35, a student in the Early Childhood Center, is the son of Brittany Woods ’04. Brittany teaches in the Middle School, and Robin substitute teaches and coaches there, as well.
Answers to quiz from page 23: 1. 1926 2. May 3 3. 2 4. 5 5. Herbert Davison - 21 years 6. 1804 7. 1 - Charles Yeiser '39 8. B 20.4 9. 2001 CONNECTIONS | 35
THIS JUST IN
OUR NEW LOOK! New campaign highlights the value of a Country Day education. In the fall of 2018, the school launched a new branding and marketing campaign that builds upon our most unique characteristics while affirming the value of a Country Day education. The result is a consistent look and message to our print, digital and web, social media, and outdoor marketing platforms. The campaign is centered around the notion of the school as a place where students can be challenged as well as be themselves. Below are examples of the new campaign as well as our value proposition.
CHALLENGE YOURSELF. BE YOURSELF.
36 | CONNECTIONS
We are Cincinnati Country Day School. In some ways we are nothing like you’d expect, yet everything you’d hope for your child’s school to be. Joyful and Challenging. Innovative and Inspiring. Diverse and Welcoming. We are one family united to help nurture and grow students, ages 18 months to 18 years, to become exemplary citizens, confident leaders, and the best versions of themselves. Above all, graduates will be fully prepared for finding success in the next phase of their lives with purpose, confidence, and character.
THIS JUST IN
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HISTORIC! Girls Soccer Team Captures State Title
The CCDS girls soccer team won the Ohio High School Athletic Association DIII State Championship. It was the first time in school history that a women's team won a state championship. The entire community was involved as Middle and Upper School students rode spirit buses to Columbus for the match and many teachers, parents, and friends attended the game. The crowd at the game was large, loud and boisterous - almost as loud and boisterous as the students, mainly lower school, who cheered a live stream of the game in Yeiser Auditorium. A special send-off by the Lower School started the teams day as they boarded a bus to Columbus. It was an historic day for the school, made special by the total involvement of the community and culminated a fantastic week where the school had a record-setting Match Day and phenomenal Upper School play, attended by numerous community members. Get all of the details at www.CountryDay.net/go/Champs
MS Pep Rally
The Walk of Champions
LS students cheer the victory from a live feed.