By Victoria Mairal-Cruz, ’12, Contributor
Last weekend, members of the CCDS community, from alumni to students, gathered to attend the annual Homecoming festivities, from the Pep Rally during school, to Fall Fest, to the many Alumni Class Reunions all over Cincinnati.
“I love the community excitement of Homecoming weekend; it’s a lot of fun to meet alumni and hear about what CCDS was like when they were at school here,” Upper School Head Stephanie Luebbers exclaimed. Ramona Weber, ’11, too felt the sense of togetherness at the Homecoming events. “[Fall Fest] brought the Upper Schoolers and the Lower Schoolers together … I met people I’d never met [before],” Weber expressed of her experience volunteering at the event. This mutual feeling of community subsisted throughout the many festivities.
The weekend began on Friday, with the Pep Rally. Student Body President Xanni Brown, ’10, Vice President Isaac Gutman, ’10, and Social Chairs Lisa Racine, ’10, and Becky Hartle, ‘10 led the many school divisions in a communal expression of school spirit. The rainy weather did not thwart students’ support: the rally was instead held in Keeler Theater. The annual tugs of war provoked full-fledged cheers despite the limited number of student able to compete because of the new location.
Fall Fest commenced after school from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., a highlight of the weekend for many Lower and Middle School students. Co-chairs Lori Smith and Tracy Ramirez added many new events this year, including the climbing wall, strolling jugglers and magicians, carnival booths, and a spirit shack, where the kids could get ready for the game. CCDS spirit spread to appearances as volunteers tattooed kids’ faces with Indian headdress tattoos, decorated hair with blue and silver straws, and painted the nails of many girls and even a few boys with blue and silver polish. Once again, unpredictable weather meant that some outdoor activities were moved to the North Gym, but Fall Fest was deemed a success by many students. 5th grader Hailey Spaeth thought that “the Karaoke was awesome!” Her brother, Timothy Spaeth, 3rd grade, preferred winning several cans of soda.
Another highlight was the football game against Dayton Christian. Coach Tim Dunn summarized, the Indians had a “good second half after a shaky first one.” Robert Park ‘11, who watched from the stands, said, “The game was intense… we started to score and … won the game 27 to 7.” During half time, 2009 Distinguished Alumnus Steve Watson ’63, and Athletic Hall of Fame inductees Steve Schmidt ’60, David Collard ’82, Eugene McClellan ’88, and Kathy McCue ’91 were honored on the field alongside coaches Dave Walsh and Joe Thesing.
Many Country Day Alumni dropped their kids off at Fall Fest, and then proceeded to make their way over to Broadwell House for the Alumni Reception at 5:30. Alumni celebrated Rick Van Nuys, beloved 5th Grade Teacher, and reunited with old classmates and teachers. Acoording to Paula Brock, Alumni Director, classes love coming back for reunions to “reconnect with the school.”
Saturday morning brought with it the 4th Annual Homecoming Fun Run, during which members of the CCDS community ran or walked 5k circling the CCD campus. Although it was not as well attended as usual, Pam Long, who works in the Alumni Office alongside Paula Brock, said “People that were there had a fun time.” Unlike other years, this year’s race was non-competitive. However, the first 25 people to cross the finish line still did receive CCDS water bottle. At the race, there was also a CCDS Pet Spirit Contest, in which pets (mostly dogs) got a chance to show off their Indian Spirit, too. Matt Cohen, ’01, presented live music at the event.
Later on Saturday, there was a Distinguished Alumnus and Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon in the Dining Terrace. About 100 people attended the luncheon and the many individual class reunions on Saturday evening provided more private opportunities for Alumni classes to reunite. All the alumni classes with years ending in four or nine held individual reunions throughout the Cincinnati area. When asked about the attendance at the alumni events as a whole, Brock said, “I think it gets stronger and stronger every year.”
On Saturday night from 8-11 PM, Upper School students enjoyed the Jungle-themed annual Homecoming Dance at the Miami Boat Club. The majority of the Upper School attended, and the club was packed with students dancing and talking. Mme. Jeannette Hecker, who helped chaperone the dance, felt that it was “one of the best dances we’ve ever had … Lots of kids [attended].” Mme Jane Kairet, an Upper School French teacher, was spotted dancing with her husband.
Photo by Ilana Habib.