QUARANTINE CRASH COURSE: Sophomore spends week focused on photography
With the coronavirus pandemic sweeping through the country and everyone being stuck at home, I wanted to try a new hobby: photography. I have always wanted to learn how to take pictures properly, so I used this time to do…
Country Day summer programs canceled; classes move online
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, almost all County Day summer programs have been canceled. Biology (June 8-July 10) and pre-calculus honors (June 29-July 31) classes will be held online. Among the dozens of summer programs normally offered throughout the summer…
Seniors receive diplomas at drive-thru graduation (SLIDESHOW INCLUDED)
On June 4 at 6 p.m., seniors received their diplomas at a drive-thru graduation ceremony on campus. The celebration featured a DJ; balloons; stations for apple cider, gifts and diplomas; a toast; and honking horns. An online video tribute to the…
Professionals see increase in anxiety, depression due to quarantine
Jamie Pedersen, a psychiatric clinical counselor and the mother of junior Connor Pedersen, recently told a sad story about one of her patients, a high school senior. “It was her last year (in theater class), and the sets she designed…
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…