One of Country Day’s incredible additions to their faculty is Ms. Christine Bridge, who teaches English in both the Middle School and the Upper School. Ms. Bridge, who hails from Vancouver, British Columbia, has a background in university and private school education. Before re-locating from Vancouver to Cincinnati in 2018, she taught education classes at her alma mater, the University of British Columbia and at the prestigious Mulgrave School. Discussing her transition from Vancouver to Cincinnati, Ms. Bridge says the experience has been “absolutely seamless”. She enjoys the Midwestern friendliness and the ease of Cincinnati’s suburban lifestyle.

Upon her arrival in Cincinnati, Ms. Bridge continued to teach online at UBC and taught summer courses of English 100 and the University of Cincinnati.  Although this is Ms. Bridge’s first official year teaching at Country Day, she is not unfamiliar to the campus or its students, as she was the long-term substitute for Mrs. DiMatteo’s 8^th grade class in the unprecedented spring of 2020. Luckily, Ms. Bridge was able to meet and get to know her students before the switch to CCDSConnected after the March break. Although she remembers the time as a bit chaotic, she is grateful for the experience, as teaching in 8^th grade helped her better understand the progression, expectations, and abilities of her 10^th grade students. After her stint as a substitute ended, Ms. Bridge said she could not bear the thought of leaving Country Day. “I feel like I’m home”, she says as she praises the “sense of community, comradery, and collegiality” of the teaching faculty and the students. Luckily for Country Day, Ms. Bridge was hired as a permanent faculty member and currently teaches 6^th grade, 10^th grade, and 12^th grade Honors English classes.

Reminiscing on her decision to become a teacher, she cites her love of literature and writing and her desire to pass that to her students, “to light the spark of the love of reading in young people has always been a goal”. She most enjoys building relationships with students and helping them find success through fostering confidence and promoting critical thinking. After almost 30 years in teaching, her mantra is, “I love what I do, and do what I love”.

Her book recommendations pay homage to her Canadian citizenship, as praises the work of Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, Margaret Lawrence, Michael Ondaantje, Carol Shields, Thomas King and Richard Wagamese.

We are so excited to have Ms. Bridge as a new addition to the Upper School faculty!