Community
For decades, Country Day has waged a holiday donation
effort to benefit the Bradley Center, a facility that offers residential,
psychological, and educational services for high-risk children who are unable
to live at home with their families. The school also collects hats, gloves,
mittens, and scarves for the Pittsburgh Homeless Children’s Educational Fund. A
new project for Country Day in 2011 was the Pajama Program, an opportunity for
our community to donate pajamas and books to those in need around the country.
In
most recent years, Country Day has participated in a very special community
service program to raise funds for the American Heart Association called Jump
Rope For Heart. Events are held at schools nationwide and not only help students
learn about the benefits of regular physical activity and heart health, but also raise funds to support vital heart and
stroke research as well as educational programs.
Buddy Programs
At Country Day there is a popular and successful in-school buddy system. fifth grade and kindergarten students pair up twice a month to interact socially, to complete
projects together, and to enjoy playground time. The fifth graders also have second grade buddies with whom they practice oral reading once a week. The fourth grade and pre-kindergarten students also spend special time together on a regular basis.
They play, build, draw, talk, read, and enjoy each other a lot. Other grades also team up
for learning experiences, physical activities, science classes, and recess.
The Buddy Program has been such a
success with the students that we implemented Buddy Families for all incoming
students and their parents to help them navigate their first year at Country
Day. One more example of a creative buddy program is
the one shared with the Presbyterian Home in Oakmont, PA. The oldest students
annually “adopt” a grandparent and spend time throughout the year visiting that
person, creating projects together, and getting to know someone who is in a
different phase of life.
Cub Scouts
The
boys of FCCDS Cub Scout Pack 380 have been hard at work earning many of their
scouting achievements. Every other Monday evening, each of the dens meet to
work on various projects that are fun, educational, and help the scout progress
through the ranks. At home, they work closely with their parents through the
many requirements in their handbooks. The scouts have successfully learned the
foundational principles of scouting such as the motto, pledge, handshake, and
salute. They ha
ve created den flags, chore & hygiene charts, leather coin
pouches, gingerbread houses, and holiday centerpieces. Several of the scouts received their first set of badges during an overnight camping trip that
focused on the aspects of "leave no trace camping". This spring, we
are planning another overnight camping trip and will participate in several
regional scouting events as we did last year. The program has been a great
success because of the enthusiastic parent involvement.
