By Haleigh Miller, ’12, News Section Editor
In the coming 2010-2011 school year, two new teachers will join the Upper School faculty, Mrs. Mary Zimmerman and Mr. John Graves. Both are CCDS alumni, and will be great additions to the community.
Mrs. Zimmerman not only graduated from CCDS in 1992, but she is also a former teacher. She taught math in the Upper School before leaving to start a family. Even after leaving the faculty, Mrs. Zimmerman maintained her bonds to CCDS by staying involved in the community, and tutoring math students. She is looking forward to returning to the school, and said “I’m just excited to be back, back with the faculty, back with the students, and back in the Country Day community.”
Upper School Mathematics Department Chair Mr. Sam Tumolo remembers Mrs. Zimmerman well, and is also thrilled to have her back in the Upper School. “She used to teach here, she’s a Country Day graduate, great student, great athlete while she was here, went on to Cornell… played basketball at Cornell… Taught here for awhile, decided to have a family, and now is in the point where she is able to come back and work part time with us. She’s going to teach three courses, and we’re delighted to have her back,” Mr. Tumolo explained. Mrs. Zimmerman should have an easy time sliding back into the groove of CCDS mathematics. Mr. Tumolo explained that she’s familiar with the department’s program, as she has spent a good deal of time tutoring CCDS students.
In addition to Zimmerman, Mr. John Graves will also be joining the faculty this fall, but in a less traditional capacity. Mr. Graves graduated from CCDS in 2006, and then continued on to Trinity College, where he was named Senior Athlete of the Year for his participation in rowing. This fall, he will be shadowing several classes of history teachers Mr. Eldrich Carr and Department Chair Mr. Merle Black, in addition to assisting Mr. Carr and Mr. Peter Fossett with the Junior Paper. However, Mr. Graves is not only going to be working in the history department— he will also be assisting with the coaching of three Upper School men’s sports.
“I will be assisting the men’s soccer, basketball, and rowing teams. I think I will be able to offer quite a bit as a first year coach because of my level of involvement in these sports as a student four years ago,” said Graves of his future positions.
Like Mrs. Zimmerman, Mr. Graves has high hopes and great expectations for next year. “I am very excited for next year. I am mostly excited to work under and with a group of people who I enjoyed so much learning from as a student. I think it is an ideal environment for me to continue to grow and learn while exploring the teaching/coaching professions as career options,” he said.
Upper School Head Mrs. Stephanie Luebbers is also enthusiastic about Mr. Graves’s involvement next year. She said, “Everyone is universally excited about the positive spirit and energy he brings to everything, he’s very kind and smart and positive, and he brings a great energy to everything, he’s very young, he’s only 4 years about older than our seniors.”
Both of the additions to the Upper School faculty, as alumni, will bring a great feeling of community to the school. “The thing I’m excited for about both of these people is that they’re warm and energetic and both positive spirits and they bring a lot of academic background… experience, and I just think they’re going to be great,” stated Mrs. Luebbers.
Photo by Ilana Habib ’11, Photography Editor
