One of the many things that makes the Country Day community so great is that amazing faculty and staff. Whether it’s the dining terrace staff, the teachers, or the faculty that manage the inner workings of the school, they come together to create a welcoming environment for all students. And while coming into this environment can see nerve-wracking to new students, new teachers can feel just the same! Just like working any other job, there are expectations and rules to oblige to, but working in schools is a bit different. They must connect with the many students who are unique in their own way.

I decided to get an inner working of these feelings, thoughts, and expectations that new teachers might walk into on their first day. I talked with the seven new Upper School teachers, asking them all the same five questions. Hearing all their answers made me realize how similar their feelings truly were. Below are all seven interviews.

Mr. Miller

Interviewer: What do you teach here?

Mr. Miller: I teach choir and I’m a fifth grader advisor.

Interviewer: How were your first few weeks?

Mr. Miller: Well, it’s my first teaching job so it’s just kind of a little overwhelming but, it’s been really amazing to be a part of this community and to meet lots of new people. Yeah, I just love working here, it’s really great.

Interviewer: What do you think of the community so far?

Mr. Miller: I love how welcoming it is, how open it is, how supportive everyone is, which is a big deal for me personally but for arts teachers. Having a community around you that supports what you’re doing instead of working against you is something that not everyone gets so I feel very fortunate.

Interviewer: How were your expectations of CCD different than your experiences so far?

Mr. Miller: I wasn’t expecting kind of the, I don’t want this to sound bad, I kind of wasn’t expecting everyone to be so nice all the time and all of the community to be so open and welcoming. Cause I’m not from this side of town, a lot of people here are coming from a lot of different backgrounds that I came from so it’s like…you know I guess I was expecting to have a little more of a warming up period but I feel like I just came in and I fit in. That was really cool.

Interviewer: Have you had any moments, whether with faculty or students, that have really stuck with you?

Mr. Miller: Yeah, I do. The school seems to not have very consistent choir teachers, which isn’t to say that they haven’t done a good job, they certainly have, but my expectations are a little different and it’s taken the kids a little while to get used to that. But then last week my fifth graders were my first class to come in and just start doing what they knew they were supposed to

be doing and kinda buying in which was cool. Also, my fifth grade students have started drawing me pictures which I think is really sweet, I wasn’t expecting that. I’m a big words of affirmation person, and with being a new teacher you don’t know which way is up or if you’re doing the right thing and just hearing people like Hirsch or Mr. Zimmerman say, “Hey you’re doing a really good job we’re proud of you, just keep going” that is really helpful for me. Makes me feel good.

Mr. Flick

Interviewer: What do you teach here?

Mr. Flick: So, I’m teaching trig and data analysis, pre AP BC calculus, and linear algebra.

Interviewer: How are your first few weeks at Country Day?

Mr. Flick: It’s been really great. I’ve loved everybody I’ve worked with. All my coworkers and all the students have been great nice respectful. I’ve loved it.

Interviewer: What do you think of the community so far?

Mr. Flick: I think it’s been very welcoming, and everybody like gets along with each other, works together, and helps out each other whenever you need it, so it’s been really great

Interviewer: How were your expectations of CCD different than your experiences so far?

Mr. Flick: I didn’t quite honestly know what to expect cause I’ve been at public schools the last seven years, and I personally went to public schools. I didn’t have any expectations necessarily, but the experiences would have exceeded whatever expectations I even could have had. Yeah, this has been a great experience.

Interviewer: Have you had any moment either with faculty or students that have really stuck with you so far?

Mr. Flick: I would just say overall how welcoming everybody’s been. Before I got here, the math department had a little get together at someone’s house. I went to the football game with all staff members. Everybody always just makes sure that I’m OK and that everything’s going good.

Ms. Poole-Sawyer

Interviewer: What do you teach here?

Ms. Poole-Sawyer: Chemistry.

Interviewer: How were your first few weeks so far?

Ms. Poole-Sawyer: Great, I really love it here. The students are super nice and super welcoming.

Interviewer: What do you think of the community so far?

Ms. Poole-Sawyer: I think it’s a fantastic community. It feels, like I said, really welcoming. I just like how it seems open to everyone and open to everyone’s uniqueness, which is really great.

Interviewer: How were your expectations different than your experiences so far?

Ms. Poole-Sawyer: That’s a good question, I don’t know. I don’t know if I had any specific expectations coming in, I guess being the new teacher you’re always kind of like nervous about how welcoming the students are going to be, but there have been students who have been incredibly welcoming and nice. So, it’s been a really wonderful experience.

Interviewer: Have you had any moments with faculty or students so far that have really stuck with you?

Ms. Poole-Sawyer: Another good question, let’s see. I think one thing that is stuck with me is that I have a few students in my class who have taken the time to reach out and say, “You know this this one thing we’re working on is kind of confusing, could you meet me during my free bell?” First of all, it’s awesome that you have free bells to do that, but then also I think it really shows initiative. I think it’s really incredible for sophomores and juniors to have that initiative already.

Dr. Chandler

Interviewer: What do you teach here?

Dr. Chandler: I teach English; I’m teaching 9th grade, 11th grade college prep, and the senior honors contemporary literature class.

Interviewer: How were your first few weeks here?

Dr. Chandler: Really really good. I was told that this was a really close community when I got here, and I definitely feel that people within my department are incredibly supportive. People outside of my department, like my officemate Mr. Brock Miller and people in other departments, have been really supportive as well. Yeah it’s been really great. I knew that there was like an energy in high school that you don’t get in college as much, and I feel that energy.

Interviewer: What do you think of the community so far?

Dr. Chandler: It’s really strong, but yeah I think general impression is that this is a place where people feel comfortable to be themselves. And, as with all communities, there are you know things you work out, things I’m still discovering. I’ve only been here for months, but that’s one of the big things for me. When we get into a discussion in my classes people feel really comfortable to just share their thoughts, and that’s so impressive to me. I’m so excited to be working in a space where that’s already possible.

Interviewer: How were your expectations of different than your experiences so far?

Dr. Chandler: That’s tricky, I don’t know. I tried not to come in with specific expectations about how the students would be or how the faculty would be and just kind of take it all in and roll

with whatever came my way. I think the thing that I have been most excited about is how eager people are to participate and to engage. As I said I came from college, and well I’d like to say that happens all the time in college, I think that space where you’re new and you don’t know anybody can be really difficult for college students, so they end up clamming up. I kind of expected that I would have to work a lot harder to get people to open up and talk and share, but that’s not happening. Instead, people are really willing to open up and share.

Interviewer: Have you had any moments with the faculty or students that have stuck with your so far?

Dr. Chandler: I do Socratic discussions a lot, as I think other English teachers do, and I think one thing that has stuck with me is just how insightful these discussions are. I’m taking the back seat, I’m watching my students explore these really deep ideas, and sometimes go really in depth on a particular topic, and it just is really fascinating. I feel like this lays the groundwork for some great work, but also it’s really awesome to see people engaging in their own learning in that way.

Mrs. Faber

Interviewer: What do you teach here?

Mrs. Faber: I teach U.S. history.

Interviewer: How are your first few weeks?

Mrs. Faber: They’ve been really great actually. I’ve enjoyed getting to know students and also getting to know other teachers and kind of what the culture is here at CCD. Everybody has been so friendly and nice. I’ve been kind of blown away by that.

Interviewer: What do you think of the community so far?

Mrs. Faber: Oh, I I love it. I think it’s been great, it’s kind of maybe a little bit what I expected, just having come in and my experience with the interview, but yeah I’m still learning a lot.

Interviewer: How were your expectations different than your experiences so far?

Mrs. Faber: I think expectations are pretty solid. Students are academically I thought where I expected them to be or where I thought they would be. I think the community is much warmer than I kind of anticipated. Not knowing what to expect, also having taught at a rival school, people would say CCD does this or that, and I’ve just found that to not be true and I’m really impressed by that.

Interviewer: Have you had any moments with either faculty or students that are really stuck with you so far?

Mrs. Faber: Oh, yes. I do have to say my mentor is Jeanette Hecker, and I love her dearly. She’s been kind of my guiding light through all this. And then DMac is kind of my buddy when I have big questions; he’s the guy that I go to as well. Everybody has just been so warm and lovely.

Mr. Scott

Interviewer: What do you teach here?

Mr. Scott: I’m teaching cpush, social protest and change, and then I also freshman health.

Interviewer: How ere your first few weeks?

Mr. Scott: Pretty good so far. Just getting acclimated to a new school.

Interviewer: What do you think of the community so far?

Mr. Scott: It’s been great. All the students are pretty awesome, everyone’s been really welcoming and accepting, even when bringing a new teacher into the school.

Interviewer: How were your expectations of Country Day different than your experiences so far?

Mr. Scott: It’s a hard question, I don’t know. In certain classes I definitely had a little bit of a learning curve, with I guess what was expected at other schools versus here. I think a lot of the students here are much more engaged and more willing to at least have discussions in class, so that’s very nice change of pace good previous motions.

Interviewer: Have you had any moments with either the faculty or students that stuck with you so far?

Mr. Scott: I mean beating Park Tudor was great. I would just say you know we’ve had some fun lessons in our classes so far, and it’s just been great.

As I said above, hearing all the answers from our teachers here, shines our community in a good light. I hope everyone has already welcomed our new teachers, and our new students, with open arms. If you haven’t stopped by in any one of these wonderful teachers’ offices, I highly recommend it. And to any one of these teachers reading this, welcome.