Match Day 2023

Match Day, our most significant day of fundraising for the Country Day Fund, is coming up this Thursday, November 2. Gifts on Match Day will be matched up to $100,000. This is YOUR chance to double your gift and support all aspects of the student experience at Country Day. We hope all our alumni will consider a gift and help set the stage for success for another amazing school year.

As alumni, you are truly the V.I.P.s of the Country Day community. We are proud of your many accomplishments, grateful for the example you set for today’s students, and sincerely thankful for your ongoing support of the school. Your gifts provide innovative experiences and opportunities, help children discover their passions, build on their strengths, and work in service to others. With you, every student is a star!

On behalf of our students, faculty, and staff, thank you for your support!

Cincinnati Country Day Students Receive Invention Grant to Create a Technological Solution to a

Real-World Problem

Cincinnati Country Day School was awarded a Lemelson-MIT (LMIT) InvenTeam® grant in the amount of $7,500 to create an invention geared towards improving road bike safety. Country Day, which was recently ranked the #1 best high school for STEM in the Cincinnati area by niche.com, is one of only eight high schools nationwide to be selected to have an InvenTeam this year.



“We are thrilled and proud to receive this prestigious grant,” says Jamie Back, InvenTeam co-educator, STEAM teacher, and Makerspace coordinator. “It’s a big responsibility, but because our InvenTeam is such a diverse group, we have been able to come up with innovative and unconventional solutions. We are prepared to make a difference with our invention and the support of this esteemed program.”

InvenTeam members include Ayaan Arif `25, Alex Back `25, Donovan Gray `25, Kate Kranias `26, Lucia Murdoch `25, Ashley Odom `25, Kevin Pearson `25, Jason Starodub `26, and Samantha Wu `26.

“There's something special about working on a team versus being by yourself,” says Kranias. “Working together and watching an invention come together as something that will actually help bicyclists will be really satisfying.”



In early July, the Cincinnati Country Day School InvenTeam participated in brainstorming activities to identify a plethora of ideas with the goal of defining an invention space that could lead to solving an existing problem in the community. While meeting with community members and organizations, one of the school’s valued community members reached out to the team with a possible idea. Ashley Ward, recently retired assistant to the head of school, shared personal details about a bike accident in 2014 that took the life of Fred Carey '80, a much beloved English teacher, dean of students, parent, and alumnus. Carey was hit from behind by an intoxicated driver during a daytime bike ride.



According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, over 100,000 bicyclists are injured or killed every year in the United States. In addition, the National Safety Council reported that the number of preventable deaths from biking accidents increased 44% between 2011 and 2020. Many driver-related bicycling accidents are caused by lack of visibility, even in daylight. To help reduce these deaths and injuries, the Cincinnati Country Day School InvenTeam is inventing a solution to improve road bike safety by increasing cyclist and driver awareness of each other.

“I enjoy biking a lot, so it's cool to be part of a team that has the opportunity to solve a problem that cyclists face on a national scale,” says Starodub. “The direct impact we can make in our community and the overall impact we can make for cyclists everywhere is really special to me.”

Jamie Back and Angela Barber-Joiner, director of belonging & wellbeing and InvenTeam co-educator, initiated Country Day’s InvenTeam application process in the spring, and their proposal was one of 28 accepted across the country. This team of students worked over 70 hours during the summer, school lunchtimes, free bells, weekends, and after school to prepare the final proposal in time for the September deadline. 

Grant recipients were selected by a respected panel of university professors, inventors, entrepreneurs, industry professionals, and college students, including former InvenTeam members now working in the industry.

“We put an incredible amount of time and thought into the grant application, and to have it selected as one of eight schools nationwide makes it totally worth it,” says Arif. “I am looking forward to continuing the process of inventing a solution, which has been very rewarding so far. We started with three unrelated ideas this past summer and by early spring we'll start seeing an actual solution and that's an amazing thing to be a part of.”

Over the next eight months, the Cincinnati Country Day School InvenTeam will develop a solution to the problem.

“The InvenTeams are focusing on solving problems that impact their local communities," says Leigh Estabrooks, Lemelson-MIT’s invention education officer. “Teams are focusing their technological solutions – their inventions – on inequities in health and wellbeing, environmental issues, and safety concerns. These high school students are not just problem-solvers of tomorrow, they are problem solvers today helping to make our world more equitable, healthier, and safer.”

The team will build a working prototype that will be showcased at a mid-grant technical review locally in February, and then again as a final prototype during EurekaFest^®, an invention celebration taking place in June 2024, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

“This is such an exciting time for alumni, parents, and community members to connect with the school. This recognition by LMIT shows the promise of our students and all they can accomplish,” says Barber-Joiner. “With connected and engaged alums and community members who are doing this work, the possibilities for success are limitless. We have already been celebrated as one of only eight schools in the entire country; it’s an incredible validation of the hard work and commitment of our students. With the power of our whole community behind us, we’ll be unstoppable.”

Class of 2035 Plants Lifer Tree

On Monday, October 2, the kindergarten class – the Class of 2036 – planted their "lifer" tree. A tradition going back seven years starting with the Class of 2028, the lifer tree symbolizes the start of a Country Day student's journey throughout the school. Each year, the kindergarten class plants a tree on the campus in the Lifer Tree Grove. 

This year, they planted a black gum tree. It can grow up to 82 feet - how tall do you think it will be in 2036 when they are seniors?! Next time you’re on campus, walk through the Lifer Tree Grove and see all the trees we’ve planted since 2015.  

Save the Date: Homecoming and Reunion Weekend 2024

Friday, September 20 and Saturday, September 21

Classes ending in '4 and '9 will celebrate their reunions next year. It's never too early to start planning your reunion! Contact Peter Fossett '80, associate director of alumni and legacy giving, at [email protected] or 513.979.0283 for more information.

Celebrating Our 2023 Virtue in Action and Distinguished Alumni Recipients

The Cincinnati Country Day School community honored two alumni during the 2023 Alumni Breakfast: Dick Durand `73 was named this year’s recipient of the Virtue in Action Award and Steve Lazarus `81 was selected as the recipient of the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award.

“Every year on Homecoming weekend, it is my privilege to welcome alumni home to their alma mater – to our alma mater,” said Rob Zimmerman `98, head of school. “But this year as I look at the extraordinary and longstanding commitment demonstrated by our two honorees it seems to be more than merely a familiar cliché to call this a home for our alumni. In fact, if you combine all the years Dick and Steve have spent at Country Day as a student, parent, employee, and trustee, you get a staggering 85 years of active engagement.”

Durand, this year’s Virtue in Action Award recipient, has been an integral part of the Country Day community for 60 years. From his first day as a third grader in 1963, he has worn many Country Day hats: student, alumnus, parent, volunteer, employee, and trustee. Often juggling several of those hats at once, Durand has demonstrated a powerful commitment to serving Country Day.

“Country Day is a very different school than it would have been without Dick Durand, and the reminders are visible every day,” said Zimmerman. “We are grateful for Dick’s tremendous example of service and his commitment to Country Day over so many years.”

While he has given much of himself to Country Day, Durand has also made major impacts on the larger Cincinnati area through his award-winning volunteer service to the Cincinnati Children’s Home, the Inter Parish Ministries Food Pantry, and Camp Ernst. A true fan and student of the game of baseball, he has also spent many years coaching and promoting youth baseball throughout Ohio.

“Service to the community and school have been major priorities in my life,” explained Durand. “It is part of giving back for all the opportunities and things that have been given to me over the years. I have been very fortunate to have been able to support the school along with other organizations. I very much appreciate those who have sought out, welcomed, and embraced my advice, guidance, and knowledge. I am especially grateful to have been able to serve this school’s community for years in so many ways and to be able to help make a difference for the betterment of our students.”

A lifer who attended Country Day from kindergarten through graduation, Lazarus, this year's Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, dove right back into the Country Day community after completing his collegiate and professional education.

“Steve’s service has not just been exemplary; it has been extended,” said Zimmerman. “Since beginning his service to Country Day’s Alumni Council in 1989, Steve has been continuously engaged with Country Day every single year as a parent, Alumni Council representative, and trustee, up through today. Thanks in part to Steve’s volunteer leadership, Country Day began this school year with the highest opening enrollment in 20 years…. I am personally very grateful for Steve’s advice, support, and commitment, which has made me a better head of school. He has been the driving force behind so many good things here at Country Day.”

In his professional life, Lazarus is a principal in the law firm of Lazarus & Lewis, where his practice focuses on the representation of public employees and their unions. For more than 30 years, he has been a powerful advocate for public employees, negotiating their labor contracts and protecting their rights in arbitration proceedings, disciplinary hearings, and court cases. Widely acclaimed as an expert in these fields, Lazarus is much in demand as a speaker, as a teacher, and as a panel participant throughout Ohio and Kentucky.

“My Country Day education was integral to my business success,” continued Lazarus. “Country Day taught me critical organizational skills and the ability to think independently. I also developed close bonds with the superb faculty members who helped foster a strong sense of my identity and self-confidence.”

It's Time to Submit Your Nominations for the 2023 Alumni Awards!

Country Day alumni are some of the most accomplished citizens in the world. Each year we recognize a small group for their accomplishments in the greater community and at Country Day.

If you wish to nominate an alum, teacher, or coach, click here to read more about eligibility and fill out the nomination form. 

The annual Mole Day tie-dye project is one of our favorite cross-divisional traditions! Upper School students guide some of our younger students in the chemistry lab to create colorful masterpieces in celebration of Mole Day. Cuteness overload!

The Class of 2028 takes over Washington, D.C.! Highlights include a nighttime memorial walk through the city, Arlington National Cemetery, African-American Museum, and more!

In honor of Fire Prevention Month in October, our pre-primary students got up close and personal with Madeira & Indian Hill Joint Fire District firetrucks and their heroic firefighters. What a fantastic way to learn about fire safety and show our appreciation for those who keep our community safe!

Upper School students spent the day bettering the world around them by going out into the Greater Cincinnati community to pitch in however they could. From Turner Farm, Matthew 25, Cincinnati Parks, Habitat for Humanity, Cincinnati Nature Center, Clutter 2 Care, Stepping Stones, the Miamiville Trail, Oyler Elementary, SEM Food Pantry, Linden Grove School, InReturn, and the Holocaust and Humanity Center, these students spent intentional time dedicated to service leadership.

For the Lower School's first service project in House meetings, they collaborated with Upper School students to make sandwiches for Our Daily Bread. Students in grades 1-4 made 400 sandwiches in record time!

Our Middle School cross country team closed out an incredible season this month, with every runner achieving their personal best times in the final two meets. Congratulations to all the athletes, coaches, and supporters!