Director of award-winning orchestra, choir will move to Mexico
Felecia Keys created the high school choir and conducted Country Day’s orchestra, chamber and choir groups, winning more than 60 awards along the way. Now, after 10 years of directing and teaching, she will retire in June. When Keys came to Country Day, she…
Counselors fight pressure to apply to ‘trophy schools’
Every fall, Country Day seniors begin applying to colleges, many with high hopes of acceptance into highly selective schools. Associate director of college counseling Chris Kuipers said highly ranked schools are “the end goal” for some students, but it’s not…
Teachers, students react as AP exams move online because of COVID-19
Because of COVID-19, all AP exams were put online and made open-resource. Depending on the subject, an AP test usually lasts one to four hours and consists of multiple-choice and free-response questions, such as essays and short-answer questions. The changes…
ZOOMING AWAY: Releasing the elephant from the newsroom
This story marks the end of about 1,000 hours poured into the Octagon this year. That’s an average of 27 hours per week! Between attending paste-ups, elective periods and meetings with Mr. Bauman and the other editors-in-chief; writing, editing and…
How electives adapted to online learning
While electives have made adjustments due to remote learning, some were affected more than others. Music, P.E. and art rely on interactions and on-campus resources. “Band class really can’t function through distance learning,” band director Bob Ratcliff said. “It’s like…
Navy veteran retires after 20 years of teaching at Country Day
“I look back at my years in this wonderful place with great fondness,” middle school math teacher Denise Scruggs said of her 20 years at Country Day. Scruggs, who will retire at the end of the school year, said her favorite…
After 20 years, Glass Knife moves online for adviser’s final publication
The final edition of the Glass Knife under adviser Joanne Melinson is not the typical literary magazine. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was moved online. “I brought up the idea of creating an online publication as soon as school…
Season 7 provides fitting end to interrupted ‘Clone Wars’ series
If you’ve been following “Star Wars” lately, you’ll no doubt be aware of Season 7 of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” which was fully released on May 4. There are many opinions about it on the internet. Mine is that…