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Non-Profit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sacramento, CA Permit No. 1668 @scdsoctagon
VOL.46 NO.1 • Sacramento Country Day School • 2636 Latham Drive, Sacramento, CA •www.scdsoctagon.com • September 28, 2022
BLACK ATTACK On Sept. 16, high schoolers attended Ancil Hoffman, an annual game of capture the flag. Before the game, senior Jacob Chand provided a motivational speech to the black team, who defeated the red team for the first time in six years. PHOTO BY ADAM AKINS
Class trips return after 3 years
School enrollment reaches 574 students
ollowing a 3-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sacramento Country Day is resuming its annual weeklong class trips. “I think it’s great that school trips are back as we didn’t get one in freshman or sophomore year,” junior Julie Tsoi said. According to a Sept. 6 school email, the trips will take place Oct. 11 to 14. However, this year is different than past years. Previously, ninth graders stayed in a hostel in Marin Headlands, kayaking and visiting Alcatraz Island. This year, freshmen will go to South Lake Tahoe, where they will learn camping skills and participate in team-building activities. They will also learn about environmental challenges that arose from the Caldor Fire. Replacing the sophomore campout at Greenhorn Creek Ranch in Quincy, California, is a road trip to visit Owens Valley, Death Valley and the Manzanar National Historic Site. This year, they will learn about water rights issues regarding the
Country Day’s enrollment continues its upward trend, hitting a new Pre-K-12 record for the 2022-23 school year. The school welcomed 110 new students, pushing the total student population at 574, 26 more than last year’s record of 548. Head of High School Brooke Wells points to the school’s values of diversity and inclusion as a factor attracting more families in recent years. “We’re really clear as a school who we are. Compassion, creativity and really good academics are going together,” he said. “Kids come here because they’re safe, and they’re seen and are heard. That allows them to do really well in school.” Fostering equity and inclusion are major focuses in development in the school. During the summer, an all-school read of, “The Identity-Conscious Educator” by Liza A. Talusan, explored identity-conscious strategies to improve interactions within the classroom. “We spent a lot of time trying to understand how being aware of identity helps kids thrive and
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BY RYAN XU
Paiute tribe as well as the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII at Manzanar. High school English and Spanish teacher Diego Panasiti will supervise the sophomore trip and hopes the experience will be a good learning opportunity. “I’m a big believer in experiential education.” Panasiti said. “If we want to learn about westward expansion, we can go where it actually happened.” The junior and senior trip will resume at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. High School Science Department Chair Kellie Whited will be chaperoning the upperclassmen. “The Oregon Shakespeare festival is important to the financial well being of Ashland,” Whited said. “Being able to give back and support the Shakespeare festival as well as the town is important.” This year, the students will watch a selection of six performances with works from Shakespeare and other modern playwrights. The selection — “King John”, “MacBeth”, “The Tempest”, “Confederates”, “Revenge Song” and “Once on this Island” — will be used for discussions and essay reflections after the trip.
Students review new school lunches This year, the school introduced three new restaurants. Juniors William Holz and Ishaan Sekhon are here to provide their honest opinions on the new options. (PAGES 6 - 7)
BY GARMAN XU
Soccer team rebuilds successfully after heavy senior losses Despite losing six seniors in the past year, the soccer team continues to lead the league. (PAGE 10) PHOTO BY SIMONE DEBERRY
trying to create space for identity to be safe,” Wells said. The Donohues were one of the new families drawn in by Country Day’s close-knit community values. After having a frustrating experience with the San Juan Unified School District, Julie Donohue wanted to find a tight-knit independent high school that rewards academic achievement for her two boys, freshmen Liam and Dylan Donohue. She hopes the school will challenge her kids academically. However, Donohue worried her sons would not be able to adjust to the small class sizes at Country Day. She initially felt that it might be harder to fit in, but was later reassured when they toured the campus. “I’m really glad that they had a morning where they went to the school and sat in classes and walked around,” she said. “My boys could immediately see it wasn’t a bunch of cliques. Everyone seemed really friendly and inclusive and were hanging out together, so they felt that they could fit in as well.” Nonetheless, Donohue would like to see the school size grow
to help with expanding activities such as school musicals and sports. The City of Sacramento has made growth possible by raising Country Day’s enrollment cap from 544 students to 598 students by revising the school’s Conditional Use Permit, which determined the school is compatible with the surrounding community. As a result, the cap for high school has been raised from 144 to 180. “We are technically in violation of the 1996 agreement with the neighborhood, but we have operated in good faith to try to get them to amend those terms,” Head of School Lee Thomsen said. “Most importantly, we continue to work really hard at improving traffic, parking and all the things that actually impact the neighbors.” Thomsen said the neighbors and the school have already agreed on plans for installing a traffic light on the intersection between Monroe Street and Latham Drive. As a part of its Conditional Use Permit, Country Day has already contributed $150,000 for the construction
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