Cincinnati Country Day School InvenTeam Reveals Invention for Improving Bike Safety

Parents, teachers, classmates, and community members gathered for the CCDS InvenTeam's Mid-Grant Technical Review to find out what the team has been working on since their first meeting last July. 

Their invention? A (patent pending!) safe passing distance indicator for road bicycles. 

Country Day students Ayaan Arif `25, Alex Back `25, Donovan Gray `25, Kate Kranias `26, Lucia Murdoch `25, Kevin Pearson `25, and Jason Starodub `26 explained the application process, their bicycle safety research, the technical details of their invention, and next steps. The students also gave the first public demonstration of their working prototype. 

“I am incredibly proud of our team,” says co-educator Jamie Back, Upper School STEAM teacher and makerspace coordinator. “Each team member presented with poise and confidence, showcasing the team's passion for and understanding of the work we've been doing for months. This was made even more evident during the Q&A portion of the program, when team members answered impromptu questions from the audience with thoughtful and informed responses.” 

During the presentation, the team revealed that their invention had four integral parts that will help bicyclists be safer while cycling on the road: an “always-running” light that will alert motorists of their presence, a turn signal, a green laser line that projects onto the ground on each side of the bicycle to indicate the legal passing distance to drivers, and an AI system that alerts the bicyclist when a motor vehicle is approaching. 

“This journey was not an easy one, but the students gained a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge,” states Angela Barber-Joiner, co-educator and director of belonging and well-being. “It included challenges and celebrations, which built resiliency and agency that will enable them to be confident leaders.” 

A good example would be when technical subteam members Jason Starodub and Alex Back shared details about the working prototype. 



When asked about challenges that the team encountered, Alex Back, technical lead, stated, “When working on the prototype there were a lot of issues. I’ve had to spend a lot of time outside of meetings sometimes painfully going through revision after revision [before finding success].” 

After spending over 250 hours together since becoming a team last June, it was clear that these talented and hard-working students learned so much from this hands-on experience. 

Burke Byer '97

Timothy Dunn

Meredith A. Hilleary '00

Peter R. Kistinger '07

We hope you will join us in celebrating these incredible individuals at the Athletic Hall of Fame Induction on Saturday, May 11 at 12:00 p.m. in the CCDS Dining Terrace. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Kathy Paff at [email protected] or 513-979-0285.

CCDX Week Recap

CCDX is an experiential learning week that takes place every March. Offering developmentally appropriate courses for all students, CCDX promotes learning through exploration. From practicing self-care and mindfulness techniques, to discovering hidden gems of Cincinnati, to diving into canoe building, the arts, or global cultures, to grappling with technology's ethical challenges, students from the ECC through the Upper School explore their interests and engage in meaningful learning. CCDX offers more than 75 course options - many of which are designed and led by students! During CCDX, students and faculty engage in innovative learning and teaching - the hallmark of a Country Day education.

See below for some of the fun we had this past week during CCDX 2024!

Middle School students in the CCDX group Hidden Gems spent the week discovering many of the special things our beautiful city has to offer, starting off with a tour of the murals of Cincinnati!

In CCDX Voices and Choices, the second graders are learning about leadership! This is a topic they have been learning about since the beginning of the year when they started exploring the campus and interviewing school leaders while also studying leaders throughout history.

Kindergarten students learned about photography and tested out different types of cameras. They even experimented with cyanotype printing - a camera-free type of photography that uses objects and light to create an image.

Students in CCDX Sports Medicine spent a day at Beacon Orthopedics. After learning about the inner workings of the knee, they got into scrubs and headed to the lab to work on actual knees, looking at the inner parts of one and learning to suture on the other.

Students learned different techniques for baking and running a small business in CCDX Cupcake Wars.

Fourth graders visited Queen City Clay to learn how to use the pottery wheel and hand build vases.

CCDX Week at the ECC is for the birds! Our littlest learners built nests, searched for birds with binoculars, made bird feeders, created art using feathers and worms, and even had a visit from Nati the Nighthawk!

Country Day goes international! During CCDX, two groups of Upper School students were off on an incredible week of cultural experiences. On the service trip to the Dominican Republic, students worked with locals on a variety of projects, including digging to install an aqueduct for a community in the mountains.

The second group of Upper School travelers headed to Colmar, France, as part of the French exchange program. They were reunited with their exchange partners from Lycée Saint-André, who spent a week in Cincinnati earlier in the school year.

13 Seniors Inducted Into Cum Laude Society

Congratulations to our 2023-24 inductees! From left to right: (back row) Kevin Yang, Elizabeth Zimmerman, Samantha Easter, Emma Rainey, Megan Zimmerman; (front row) Rana Arebi, Marley Handler, Giselle Macias-Jaime, Fleur Helmantel, Jordis Martin, Gracie Mitchell; not pictured: Leo Joffe, Alexander Riemann

The Cincinnati Country Day School Cum Laude Society held its 41st annual banquet on Tuesday, March 5, honoring 13 inductees in the senior class. Cum Laude is an academic honor limited to the top 20% of a graduating class based on weighted GPA. Following the dinner, Chapter President Nat Tracey-Miller gave a talk on maintaining extracurricular passions in college and beyond, while senior Marley Handler highlighted her experience as a CCDS lifer and the connections she’s made with teachers over the years. Retiring physics teacher (and Cum Laude President Emeritus) Brock Miller spoke on the chains of connections that people make across generations, given that he started his career with teachers who started in the 1960s and may be finishing it with colleagues who remain until the 2060s. Finally, Head of School Rob Zimmerman `98 spoke on the Cum Laude’s charge of excellence, justice, and honor, directing students to go out and live lives that will be remembered for those qualities.

SAVE THE DATE!

HOMECOMING & REUNION WEEKEND 2024

Classes ending in 4 and 9 will celebrate their reunions this year. Please contact Peter Fossett '80, associate director of alumni and legacy giving, at [email protected] for more information.

Calling all Ohio taxpayers!

Reminder! Please don’t miss this incredible opportunity to support Country Day’s students through your Ohio taxes!

If you are a resident of Ohio and anticipate $750 or more Ohio income tax liability for the year, you can make a donation to the OAIS Scholarship Granting Organization before April 15, 2024, to receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit on your 2023 tax return. Designate your gift for the benefit of Cincinnati Country Day School (an easy step in the process) and your entire gift will be directed to support the education of our students. Better yet, with a dollar-for-dollar tax credit, you can make this gift at no cost to you! 

Sound too good to be true? Click the button below for more details and links to the relevant legislation. Read for yourself or share with your tax adviser for their guidance.

Thank you for considering this wonderful opportunity to support Country Day!

How to Donate

Please contact Louise Vaughan, director of advancement, with questions at [email protected] or 513-979-0284.

With the incredible support of the CCDS community, everyone was a star at Lights, Camera, CountryDate! Thank you to all who made the evening a great success!

Our 7th annual Diversity Conference was a spectacular success! Upper School students led their peers through a variety of topics, including a panel on women's athletics, breakout sessions on African American fashion, the history of Japanese manga, ethical volunteering, and how to properly make salsa!

The students were also treated to a special guest appearance by Jacob Counts and Adam Ayers of the Cincinnati Dragons, a youth wheelchair basketball team, who informed the students about adaptive sports and then led the students and faculty in a rousing game of wheelchair basketball!

Kindergarteners took flight after finishing their first research project about birds.

Our outstanding student-thespians brought down the house with their incredible performances in the CCDS production of Seussical the Musical!

Sixth-grade outdoor wellness students showcased their primitive shelters to their PreK buddies, and it's moments like these that remind us why our 60-acre campus is so special – every corner holds a new adventure and every grade level (and division!) can connect in joyful ways.

The Second Grade Wax Museum was a whirlwind of historical brilliance! From pioneers to presidents, the second graders brought iconic figures to life with their captivating portrayals.

The annual Country Day Fund campaign runs through June 30. If you have not done so already, please join fellow alumni in making a gift. Look out for details on Giving Day, Tuesday, April 30 - the perfect opportunity to make a gift before the year is out!