Hosting a Naturalization Ceremony “Here today there is only happiness.” - U.S. District Court Judge Susan Dlott
This is what CCDX Week is all about – making lifelong memories and learning about moments bigger than us. As part of the third grade students’ project on immigration, the school hosted a Naturalization Ceremony in our own backyard. Representatives from Senator Sherrod Brown’s Office, Senator Rob Portman’s Office, Daughters of the American Revolution, Sons of the American Revolution, the American Red Cross, and more also participated in this special day. 50 applicants from all over world became citizens in the Carey Family Amphitheater as students, staff, and faculty watched and cheered.
CCDX is an experiential learning week that began as an outgrowth of Country Day Forward, the school’s long-range plan that has launched several initiatives aimed at enriching our students’ learning. This year, CCDX 3.0 took place the week before spring break and students from 18 months to 18 years participated. “CCDX Week is the future of school,” said Head of School Rob Zimmerman ’98. “It’s exactly the kind of thing our school should be doing. We are always thinking of ways we can offer more learning like this throughout the year to make it foundational to the learning experience we provide.” From building and launching rockets to hosting a Naturalization Ceremony or participating in a “Law and Order” courtroom trial, students learned a plethora of new skills during CCDX Week. For months, teachers and students worked hard to develop a variety of classes and projects across all divisions and disciplines.
Benchtop Shower Module The scope of this CCDX course was to introduce basic building techniques to a small group of Upper School students that had expressed an interest in working with their hands. The main objective of this course was to expose the students to hands-on learning beyond the textbook or curriculum, giving them the chance to implement creative problem solving and fine-tune their hand-eye coordination. Throughout the week, the students learned practical skills of building and construction. Their culminating project was the installation of a shower stall, including framing, plumbing, tiling, electrical wiring, and drywalling. “This was an intensely deep dive into the world of design and building technology,” explained Eric Day, Country Day parent, owner of Transom Design/ Build, and course facilitator. “The aim of this project was not just to expose students to construction; the experience could start a possible career path spark to so many fields – project management, architecture, product design, graphic design, engineering, real estate, industrial arts. Our hope was that by the end of the course, the students would be able to master some new skills to apply around 28 | CONNECTIONS
Students learning basic building skills by participating in the Benchtop Shower Module course.
their own homes, understand the career possibilities in the construction industry, and feel more confident in their desire to learn with their hands.” Throughout the course, Day emphasized to the students that they could take what they learn from the course and apply that creative thinking process to other facets of their lives – from class projects to college research papers. “Knowing that the students now feel more confident in using these unique skills in their everyday lives was definitely rewarding. But the smiles on the kids’ faces was the best part of the course for me.”
U.S District Court Judge Susan Dlott welcomed one of the country’s newest citizens during the Naturalization Ceremony.
