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Middle School Regional Science Fair

Once again, Country Day School 6th-8th grade students took part in the Pinellas Regional Science and Engineering Fair on Saturday, February 4th. The competition included  projects from private and public middle schools throughout Pinellas County.

Participation in an organized science competition is an important part of the Country Day School commitment to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). Under the guidance of science teacher Mr. Kyle Dinger, students worked thru the scientific process; learning to test an idea and evaluate evidence. Our curriculum supports the creative process, promoting independent thinking.

At the 2012 awards ceremony, honors were awarded to:

• Savanah T. and Darcy B. with “Organic Vs. Non-organic”
• Megan O. and Alyssa S. with “Wash Out”
• Lindsey H. with “Get Charged”
• Alicia B. with “Preserving Fruits”

Congratulations to the award winners, as well as all our science fair participants!

St. Jude Children’s Hospital Fundraiser

Student’s in grades 1-8 at Country Day School joined thousands of schools around the country in the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Math-A-Thon® program. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital provides everything for the families for sick children. Along with cutting edge treatment and research, here are some other things that the money collected can do:

• $30 could help St. Jude provide meal cards for a patient family for one day in the hospital’s cafeteria
• $25 could help pay for a No Mo’ Chemo party for a patient finishing chemotherapy treatment
• $30 could help provide books for patients and parents

This list is just a fraction of how these funds make a difference in the lives of children with deadly diseases all over the world.

We are pleased to announce that the students at Country Day School raised $7,123.00!

Students participated by getting pledges from friends and family and in return, doing math problems. Students worked hard on their ‘Funbooks’ by setting personal goals toward completion. Families did their part with their generous contributions and encouragement. Math-A-Thon has the additonal benefit of fitting in with our commitment to the math portion of the STEM program.

USF Young Innovators Competition Semi-Finalists

Young Innovator Emma with 'the Magi-Comb'

It takes ingenuity and imagination to be an inventor. To foster this spirit of creativity in our students and increase our commitment to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), Country Day School entered student projects in the USF Young Innovators Competition

Of the record 536 entries from Tampa bay, (which included high school, middle and elementary age students), there were 60 semifinalists; 20 from Pinellas County and…. 2 from Country Day School. We are proud to offer congratulations to:

Miss Emma Parsley, seventh grade, submitted her invention ‘the Magi-Comb.’

Fifth grader Mr. Josh Prietowith his invention the ‘Baby Bat’.

Young Innovator Josh with 'Baby-Bat'

Entries were judged by an elite panel of invention/product experts including:

Neal Martinelli, Vice President of Merchandising at HSN, Steve Rogai, CEO of TV Goods, Inc., Guy Hagen, Vice President at Tucker Hall, Michael Colitz, III, Shareholder and Patent Attorney at Gray Robinson, Anton Hopen, Patent Attorney at Smith & Hopen and competition founder.

The USF chapter of the National Academy of Inventors will select the top 15 finalists from the 60 semi-finalists.  A presentation workshop will be held on Saturday, February 4 at USF from 10 am to 12 pm.  The live presentation event will take place before a panel of celebrity judges at USF’s Patel Center on Friday, February 10, 2012.

Again, congratulations to Emma and Josh, along with the other semi-finalists!

Target Visiting Artists Program

On Thursday, January 26, 2012, Country Day School will launch the Target Visiting Artists Program! Our first Visiting Artist will be Jennifer Kosharek of Eve n’ Odd Gallery in St. Petersburg.

Jennifer Kosharek is a local artist who creates everything from whimsical handmade rag dolls to beautiful mailart to silly felt bacon and eggs scarves. She is a full time artist and mother of three. Her gallery, Eve n’ Odd, is located on the 600 Block of St. Petersburg, a large community of artists’ galleries and studios in downtown St. Petersburg. Kosherak has exhibited in numerous exhibitions locally, nationally and internationally.

Eve n’ Odd Gallery features outsider, whimsical, folk, Etsy, mailart, fluxus, emo, and handmade art. Most of the art featured in her gallery is created by local artists, but she also features artwork by artists from all over the world. Every month, the gallery participates in Downtown St. Petersburg’s Gallery Hop on the Second Saturday of the month and hosts unique art exhibitions, such as the recent T-Shirt Show in January and the upcoming Hipstaprint/ One Year Anniversary Show in February. You can learn more about Eve n’ Odd Gallery and Jennifer Kosherak on her Eve n’ Odd Gallery FaceBook page or her website: http://www.eve-n-odd.blogspot.com

The classes that will be participating in the Visiting Artist’s Workshops will be:
12:30-1:15pm 1st Grade (Group A)
1:15-2:00pm 4th Grade
2:00-2:45pm 5th Grade
2:45-3:30pm Open Session for Middle School Students

We will continue to host 1-2 artists each month throughout the school year and into the summer. The Visiting Artists will talk to students about careers in the arts, let students see examples of their work, and lead hands-on arts workshops. Different classes will be selected each time to participate in the workshops.

Country Day School’s Visiting Artists Program is sponsored by an Arts Education Grant from Target. Target believes that music, art, dance, drama and visual arts are all part of the well-rounded education our kids deserve. Through their grants, Target helps schools bring more arts and culture into the classroom, enabling them to expand their creativity and their horizons.

Middle School International Trip Announced

After reviewing options for this year, we have determined that the destination of choice is China! This is based on best pricing and timeliness of the learning opportunity for the students. The tentative plans are as follows:

Starting in January, we will engage with a school in China (through skype and other e media) to collaborate on a shared project that preferably incorporates STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and focuses on a globally significant issue. This project would culminate with our visit to China.

During the Spring, we will identify and plan a service initiative to be incorporated into our visit to China.

We will be departing Tampa on April 23rd and returning on May 2nd. The ground itinerary will include spending time with the Chinese students at their school, completing the community service, visiting historic sites and enjoying other opportunities to experience the culture.

CDS Alum Named National Merit Semi-Finalist

Country Day School is pleased to announce that alumnus Carrie Cramer, currently a senior at Clearwater Central Catholic High School, has been named a National Merit Scholar Semi Finalist in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program. Carrie had perfect scores on the Critical Reading and Writing sections of the test. For the 2012 Program, there were only 33 National Merit Scholar Semi Finalists in Pinellas County, a county in which there are well over 33,000 high school students. Carrie is an honor student with a 4.52 GPA and the only semi-finalist at Clearwater Central Catholic High School.

More than 1.5 million juniors in about 22,000 high schools entered the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) which served as the initial screen of program entrants. The semifinalists were selected from a pool of 1.5 million high school students taking the 2010 preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test. The nationwide pool of semi-finalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state.

Carrie has an opportunity to compete for over 8,300 scholarships valued at $34 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship Award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to advance to the next level. More than half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship.

Recycled Innovations Contest Winners!

Our contest winners outside the Channel 10 News studios.

Congratulations to Country Day School 4th graders Tyson & Dylan. Along with the rest of the 4th grade class, they entered the City of Largo’s 3rd annual Recycled Innovations Contest.

Largo’s eco-innovators were challenged to construct useful creations from the contents of their trash can. This online contest encouraged innovators to go beyond recycling by re-purposing their waste. All entries were to be made of 75 percent or more recycled or material that would otherwise be discarded. Contrary to a recycled art show, Recycled Innovations are items that may be reused in daily activities.
The boys were recognized for their achievements at the Channel 10 Studio in a live interview.  Check it out!