Cincinnati Country Day School
June 2021 Alumni Journal
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Country Day's Newest Alumni |
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Thank You Head of School Tony Jaccaci |
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As the Country Day community knows, Head of School Tony Jaccaci left CCDS this month. Long-time history teacher Merle Black offered his thanks and reflection on Tony’s leadership.
There is one constant of Tony's tenure: “It is all about the students.” We are here for no other reason.
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His first year, Tony went to Mason, Ohio to ride the bus with Country Day students. On a regular basis—rain or shine—he waited outside at the start of the day to welcome students. Every Tuesday evening there was “Booktime at Broadwell,” when Tony read to younger students two books on Instagram; he also regularly read in class to our lower school students. Every fall, he met individually in his office with each member of the senior class to hear what the school is doing right and where it needs to improve.
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Athletic Director Dennis Coyle and Assistant Athletic Director Greg Ross tell me no head of school attends more school athletic competitions. Tony arranged tailgates in support of the girl’s state soccer championship games up in Columbus. Annually, Tony and his wife Lucia spent Saturday afternoons helping run our home cross country meets by spotting the course. During the fall, Friday nights found Tony and Lucia in the stands with students, faculty, and parents cheering for the boy’s football team. During the fall of 2019, Tony invited each athletic team in turn to Broadwell to toast smores over a wood fire. Hard to believe, coming to Country Day on a Saturday by chance, I saw lumberjack Tony in a plaid shirt splitting the firewood! |
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Tony has loved this school without interruption. You may recall the video of his celebration at the long-delayed opening of the Leonard Athletic Center by jumping in the pool fully clothed and swimming a full lap. Tony attended every theatrical performance and art show across the three divisions. He believes in his students and takes great joy in their accomplishments.
No head in Country Day’s history has taken more photographs of our daily school lives than Tony. Tony has been our school’s leading ambassador. This school year played out against a backdrop of national and global challenges: the upsurge in racial violence in our cities, the Covid pandemic, and the 2020 presidential election. In messaging and letters to parents, Tony made it clear that we do not serve our children by shielding them from the issues of our day.
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Tony’s commitment to parents is that their children receive the best education available across greater Cincinnati. What does best mean? We are not a neighborhood school. By design, Country Day is a diverse community. Our student body is drawn from 70 different zip codes and countries—and that is a plus! Tony encourages students “to think globally and to act locally.” Tony has asked us to prepare students for the world they will experience in college and life. Tony promotes global perspectives—perilously atop a ladder, Tony hoisted the world’s nation’s flags high above the dining terrace. Working with parents of different nationalities, Tony opened our school to evening celebrations of Diwali and the Chinese New Year with food, dancing, and plays. Tony has lent his support to Jeanette and Jane’s work with international student exchange, student trips to China and France, and our language department’s addition of Chinese as a third language option.
I close with Assistant to the Head of School Ashley Ward's farewell—"Tony, Lucia, Nick, Sam, Ben, and Meimei, you’re moving on, from busses to boats. Safe sailing and we wish you only smooth waters ahead.”
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Baseball Reached the Regional Final |
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Coach Asif Shah was named Miami Valley Conference (MVC) Coach of the Year, leading the Nighthawks past sectionals and a district championship.
Members of the team had numerous accolades: Jackson Campbell '22 was named MVC pitcher of the year as well as 2nd team all-Ohio by the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association. Cameron Byrant '22, Peyton Ebbing '22, and Jackson Campbell '22 were named first team all-city by the Southwest Ohio Baseball Coaches Association. Davis Campbell '24 and Parker Corbin '24 were named second team.
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Infielder Trey Vredeveld '22 tags out at second base. |
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Pitcher Jackson Campbell '22 scores the go-ahead run against McNicholas High School. |
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Shortstop Cameron Bryant '22 dives for a ball during the first inning . |
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Photo credit: Cincinnati Enquirer |
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By definition, a Country Day Lifer is a student who attends CCDS for a minimum of 12 years, beginning their schooling in or before first grade.
During commencement, faculty member Rhoda Weston recognized the 24 Lifers. They are: RT Adkins, Ella Beyreis, Caroline Blang, Abby Blum, Nora Brant, Rowan Castrucci, Kasey Chopra, Oren Conner, Marley Cox, Sabrina DelBello, Maggie Gardner, Jasmine Gonzales, Celie Hudson, Cole Jeffries, Kamryn Jordan, Evey Kallmeyer, Connor Paff, Sam Pettengill, Grace Ramirez, Marsalis Reed, Michelle Riemann, Spencer Rodenberg, Tommy Scheer, and Jack Wright.
Congratulations to our 2021 Lifers! We are honored that Country Day played a significant role in your education and wish you every success!
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Homecoming and Reunion Weekend October 1-3, 2021 |
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We plan to celebrate reunion year classes ending in ’1 and ’6 on campus. In addition, we welcome classes '0 and '5 who were unable to celebrate their reunions last year. Click here for more details in the coming months. If you would like to plan your reunion, please contact Giles DeCourcy at 513-979-0283.
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Two Students Receive Bethesda's 2021
Junior Volunteer Scholarship Awards
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Jasmine Gonzales '21 and Gauri Midha '21 were named the Auxiliary of Bethesda Hospital's 2021 Junior Volunteer Scholarship winners and each was awarded a $1,500 scholarship in recognition of their volunteer work at Bethesda North Hospital.
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Jasmine Gonzales (left) has volunteered for 257 hours since 2018. She spent most of her time in the hospital’s Mother and Baby Unit. She wrote in her application, “I have cherished my time with the nurses and helping the patients and of course watching the babies. After observing the nurses take care of newborn babies, I knew I wanted to help more people. I love seeing the future generation grow and seeing the smiles on the mother’s faces when they hold their baby.”
With a GPA of 4.43, Gauri Midha (right) worked in Bethesda North’s Same Day Surgery, where she transported patients, took blood work to the lab and “folded countless hospital gowns and fuzzy blue socks.” Later, she moved to Logistics and her favorite part was escorting new mothers as they took their babies and left the hospital to go home. An interesting side note, Gauri’s mother explained that Gauri was born at Bethesda and spent time in the special care nursery as an infant.
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Lila Weizer ’21 was recently offered the National Merit University of Chicago Scholarship to apply to her pursuits at The University of Chicago. In addition to this college-sponsored, $2,000-per-year award, she was offered a university scholarship for $10,000 and was named a Pritzker Scholar through the university's Pritzker School of Medicine, which will provide her with $5,000 each summer for two summers to pursue research or independent projects. |
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During her tenure at Cincinnati Country Day School, she has won or shared the Class Scholar Award each year in upper school, which means she enrolled in the most difficult courses and earned the highest GPA. She also won the Peter Levinson Award in 2020 as the junior who best embodies the spirit of the school.
“Lila has been the top student in every one of her classes – both academically and in character,” said Chuck McGivern, associate director of college counseling and Upper School English teacher. “Lila has always been the scholar of her class; it’s how she is wired – one who learns quickly and wants to learn more. She gets straight As and scores high on every standardized test. But that’s not what makes her stand out. It’s her love for learning and the fact that she knows you can never learn enough.”
Lila plans to double major in molecular engineering and computer science at the University of Chicago, and there is no doubt that her pursuit of knowledge and incredible character will continue to shine through.
“She is a talented scholar, no doubt, but she’s an even better person – good in thoughts, words, and actions,” continued McGivern. “Lila would certainly be my first choice to be the official student ambassador of Country Day – for both who we are and who we aspire to be. If anyone spends just 10 minutes with her, they’ll see what I mean.”
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Faculty and Staff Milestones |
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The following faculty and staff members were recognized for their commitment to Cincinnati Country Day school in the final and only in-person meeting of the year. |
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10 years
Aaron Loberg, facilities
Jonathan Franzosa, upper school science
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15 years
Brady Brandt, associate athletic director middle school, middle school math
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20 years
Casey Schnieber, 6th grade science & team leader, middle school dean of students
Rhonda Pennington, early childhood care
Susan Smyth: lower school kindergarten, language arts
Greg Ross, associate athletic director, head boys basketball coach
Yvonne Green, assistant to college counseling, testing coordinator
Joanna Leung-Brown, early childhood care
Vondale Batchelor, facilities (not pictured)
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25 years
Vanessa Collett, montessori, lower school
Terri Sears, 3rd grade, lower school
Matt Dahl, upper school science, K-12 science department chair
Jeff Spain '71, network administrator (not pictured)
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30 years
Paula Butler, upper school chemistry
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Three upper school advanced placement chemistry students, Pooja Kantemneni ’22, Christian Fitzpatrick ‘22, and Cherry Yu ‘22, were honored at a ceremony sponsored by the Cincinnati section of the American Chemical Society. The students placed in the top 20 out of 112 students who competed in the annual U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad from southwestern Ohio. Christian and Pooja were among 11 local students selected to move on to the second level of the competition. |
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Former trustees Craig '67 and Anne Maier wish Head of School Tony Jaccaci farewell at a reception honoring him for his service to Country Day. Current board members and former trustees were in attendance. |
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Natalie Kaminski '22 and Irene Wang '22 competed in the Midwest Scholastic Rowing Championship. Founded by Bill Hopple ‘71 in 1982, the Cincinnati Country Day School rowing team is the oldest scholastic (single school) rowing program in Cincinnati. |
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Eighth grade students and parents celebrated their graduation with a recognition ceremony in Keeler Theater. |
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Chip Pettengill '79 and Lauren Hannan Shafer '84 caught up at commencement. |
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Max Berghausen '23 and Sai Nalagatla '21 reached state semi finals in doubles tennis. |
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