Summer Missions Accomplished and a Look Ahead to the New School Year
It’s hard to believe it has only been four years since we launched the Greenwich Country Day Upper School (Grades 9-12). In June, our first full class of seniors graduated. They were pioneers in 2019 as we opened the doors to this new division, and they helped us create the culture and program for the Upper School. Four years later, they have been accepted into their first-choice colleges and are heading off to the most selective universities in the country.
The decision to add a high school after 90-plus years as a Nursery-Grade 9 school, gave us a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity to build a high school for the future unbounded by decades-old curriculum, pedagogy, schedules, or traditions. At the same time, it gave us an opportunity to review our Nursery through Grade 12 program, aligning curriculum to a common set of student outcome capacities, and ensuring that our strong culture of a caring community and Tiger Pride was integrated across both campuses.
We have designed a high school that is based on learning that is both deep and joyful, interdisciplinary by nature, real-world focused, experiential, and guided in part by the students themselves. It is deeply rooted in our core beliefs around knowing, loving, and valuing each student, enabling them to discover and develop their strengths and interests, and in creating a sense of belonging and relationships that will last a lifetime. This work is ongoing and was a focus of teacher workshops after school ended in June and throughout the summer.
In addition to holding GCDS summer programs — camp, an academic program for students attending Waterside School in Stamford, hosting the REACH Prep summer program, and a summer program for refugee children at French Farm (GCDS’s “third campus”), construction crews were busy on campus. Families, faculty, and staff will see the following fields, facilities, and grounds improvements when they return to school:
• Our youngest learners will enjoy a new Nature’s Playspace in front of the Lower Elementary School, incorporating the surrounding landscape, vegetation, and topography. A multisensory experience, the space has boulders to climb, a stream to dam, logs to practice balancing, and will constantly evolve, guided in part by the curiosity and imagination of the children themselves.
• Offit Fields, located at the end of Cardinal Road, is nearing completion and includes two playing fields — a stadium for football, soccer, and lacrosse, with a state-of-the-art surface, a new scoreboard, and stadium seating. The second field is for field hockey and softball finished with the same surface used by the top field hockey programs in the NCAA.
• Construction of The DON (The Determination Over Negativity Mitchell Family Athletic Center named for NBA All Star Donovan Mitchell, Class of 2012) is underway with demolition of the former South Gym in progress. When it is completed, in about a year, it will be the centerpiece of our athletic facility. It will house a full-size NCAA basketball court and have the ability to divide in half, yielding two full courts running perpendicular. The building will also be large enough to host all-school events and assemblies.
As we ready for the new school year, I am looking forward to being inspired by our students as they adapt, question, analyze, and collaborate with others to find new solutions and to discover and develop what is finest in themselves.
On the Subject of AI
While the use — or misuse — of Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms, such as ChatGPT has recently seen some school districts banning these platforms, the outcome of the discussions at Greenwich Country Day School has been different. Students and teachers agree that this technology is here to stay — and will only get better, more efficient, and more detailed in the future. They determined that as we learn to live with this new technology, we will utilize policy that places communication and trust between students and teachers at the forefront, setting an expectation for disclosing use of AI in their work.
Meanwhile, we continue to explore the following:
• Benefits – Like most things, new technology comes with both positives and negatives; we are still exploring what artificial intelligence tools mean for teaching and learning.
• Use Purpose – Encourage students to ask themselves if they are using the technology to aid research or further curiosity or are you using it as an inappropriate shortcut or crutch.
• Reliability – The information from ChatGPT is not currently citable, and thus, right now, not a credible academic source — regardless of how reliable it seems.
• Accuracy – ChatGPT can give false or misleading information.
• Missed Opportunities – Consider the impact of robbing yourself of the experience of learning to be a great writer.
• Scholar Integrity – Academic honesty applies in all aspects of teaching and learning.
While this new technology is clearly a work-in-progress and will continue to evolve, the commitment to academic integrity is the foundational premise we rely on for navigating the constantly changing education landscape.
Greenwich Country Day School
401 Old Church Road (Nursery-8)
257 Stanwich Road (Upper School)
203-863-5600
www.gcds.net
Head of School:
Adam C. Rohdie
Enrollment: 1,445
Student/Faculty Ratio: 5/1
