D E T R O I T C O U N T R Y D A Y S C H O O L

DCDS welcomes new faculty members to the Upper School

22305 West Thir teen M i le Bever ly H i l l s , MI 48025 Issue Number 1 September 2015 Volume LXXX TheDay Times

Compiled by Pranati MovvaEditor-in-Chief

by Stephanie YimEditor-in-Chief

Mrs. Erin Vettraino is the new AP Statistics and regulatr Algebra II teacher. She has previous teaching experience as a math teach-er at Regina High School and has taught advanced algebra, trigonom-etry, and pre-calculus. In addition to teaching, she will be serving as assistant coach for varsity cheer-leading and will also be leading the recycling club. Vettraino attended the University of Michigan, where she earned a BS in actuarial mathemat-ics and statistics as well as an MA in educational studies. Hobbies: Playing the piano and guitar, reading, watching high school and college football, watching the Michigan Wolverines in generalFun Fact: Mrs. Vettraino got married over the summer!Quote: "I have a deep appreciation for the commitment to individualized learning at DCDS. With small class sizes and colleagues who are con-stantly evolving their craft, I know that I will have the resources and support to meet students' needs both inside and outside of the classroom."

The start of the 2015-16 school year brought with it many exciting changes and additions to the Upper School, including the new art facilities, new commons room, neew DCDS logo, and even new faculty. Although we lost some of our vital faculty members last year due to their retirement, we are excited to welcome the newest faculty additions to our DCDS community.

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New common spaces provide a warm welcome for students

The 2015 school year brought exciting new changes to the campus. Over the sum-mer, the Upper School cam-pus was full of activity in or-der to create the new spaces. A new Commons room for the juniors and seniors was created in the former art hallway. The Morris Gym has been reno-vated into an expanded art studio. The former computer lab turned into the language lab, and the addition of new classroom spaces allow some teachers to fi-nally get their own classrooms. A newly constructed multi-purpose turf field is available to the many sports teams DCDS has. The Eisenberg Studio Theater facility is complete and ready to be used for various theatre produc-tions and classes. With all the new spaces available to students, students have to adjust to the changes and successfully navigate around the school. One major change is the Commons room, which was renovated into a quiet study area featuring an assortment of col-orful furniture. Vibrant panels hang from the ceiling in all dif-ferent shapes in a visually ap-pealing way. A tall countertop

provides additional space for students and offers a different perspective than the usual chair and table. The comfy movable chairs and stools allow students to easily congregate in groups to study or work on group projects. Another highlight of the new spaces is the new art stu-dios. Students taking art classes have the opportunity to be the first ones to use the space. The new art studios feature more work space and a second floor mez-zanine. The expanded art studio allows students to have more room to expand their creativ-ity literally and metaphorically. In addition, the for-mer Morris Gym contains an art gallery and also houses the middle school art classrooms. The newly revamped Commons room offers a space for the juniors and seniors to social-ize with their fellow classmates.The modernized space has sev-eral comfortable sofas and tables for students to relax and hang out. Flat screen T.V.s with airplay will be installed in the near future along with charging stations for students to charge their devices. These exciting new changes will add to a memo-rable year for DCDS students.

Ms. Christina White is the new english teacher. She brings with her much teaching experience, as she previously taught a freshmen composition english class at Central Michigan University. Even prior to teaching, Ms. White was involved in marketing communications and pro-fessional writing for five years. She received her undergrad-uate degree in English at Hope Col-lege and received her Master of Arts degree in English Language and Lit-erature at CMU. Aside from teaching English, Ms. White will be coaching the JV women's tennis team. Hobbies: Completed a mini-triatho-lon called the M22 challenge in Glen Arbor this year and the past two yearsFun Fact: She has a wonderful little rescue dog named CloudQuote:"I chose to work at DCDS because I love teaching, and I know this is an institution committed to its students. Because I have expe-rience teaching at the collegiate level, I seek to offer my DCDS stu-dents the opportunity to prepare for collegiate expectations."

Mrs. Jennifer McGinnis, who has six years of experience working in administration in the Troy school district, is the new administrative assistant to the Up-per School Director and Assistant Director. She will be working in the academic office, assisting with tasks that relate to the directors, staff, students and parents. McGinnis graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in clothing and textiles. McGinnis also has two kids, freshman Michaela and junior Connor, who currently attend the Upper School.Hobbies: gardening, cooking, and attending sport gamesQuote: "[I chose to work at DCDS] because it offers a presti-gious academic environment for students with amazing faculty and staff. I am most excited to get to know the students! I hope to use my expertise and skills to continue creating a welcoming, warm, and friendly environment with our team in the academic office."

Ms. Wendy Strip is the director of advancement, and her responsibilities will include fundrais-ing, alumni relations, and marketing and communications. She brings much experience with her to DCDS, as she was previously vice president of de-velopment and communications for the Greater Michigan Chapter of the Al-zheimer's Association. Strip graduated from American University in Wash-ington DC with a bachelor's degree in international relations. She also has a master's of public administration from the University of Pittsburgh. Favorite Things: chocolate, traveling, National Public RadioFun Fact: She traveled to London this summer with her two daughtersQuote: "I'll be working closely with Mr. Shilling and the Executive Leader-ship Management Team, along with the Advancement Committee of the Board of Trustees, to carry out Vision 2020, our strategic plan. Essentially, our goals are to deepen the culture of philanthropy, increase the endowment, and otherwise support the excellence that is DCDS."

Ms. Christa Branchick is the new annual fund manager, and her re-sponsibilities include increasing money in the annual fund as well as increasing participation from families, students, alumni, and faculty in order to benefit the DCDS community. She previously served as a community manager for the American Cancer Society, where she was involved in volunteer manage-ment, fundraising, and special events. Branchick has a BA from Central Michigan University. Hobbies: dancing, working out/cross fit, cookingFun Fact: She will soon be an Army wife and is getting married in October so her name will change to Christa Reid next month.Quote:"I chose to work at DCDS because my parents, who were both teachers, always stressed the impor-tance of education, and I truly believe in DCDS as a school, its mission, and its positive impact on students' lives. I am most excited about getting to work with and meet family, students, alumni, and faculty that help make the DCDS community exceptional."

THIS MAP HIGHLIGHTS the new changes made to the Upper School campus. From left to right: Black Box Theatre, Junior & Senior Commons Room, Language Lab, Baseball diamond, Art Studio and Common area and the Computer Lab.

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Mrs. Erin Vettraino Ms. Christina White Mrs. Jennifer McGinnis Ms. Wendy Strip Ms. Christa Branchick

BACK TO SCHOOL ISSUE2 The Day Times

How to Survive High School 101Yom Kippur (No School) Sept 23

Parent Conferences (No School) Oct 9

Faculty AIMS conference Oct 19(No School)

Spirit Week Oct 12-16

Homecoming Dance Oct 17

Opening night of Dracula Oct 23

Halloween Parade Oct 31

Goal 1 meeting (No School) Nov 13

Thanksgiving Break Nov 25-30

Stephanie Yim and Shruti BramadesamEditors-in-Chief

DCDS students get a glimpse of college life over the summer

Junior Selina Mohanty attend-ed Johns Hopkins University to par-ticipate in a ten-day National Youth Leadership Forums:(NYLF) Envisions Advanced Medical program. There, she learned about future careers in medicine as well as patient care, and diseases. As well as learning in the classroom, Mohanty got to get hands on experi-ence outside the classroom working with cadavers and visiting the University of Maryland’s Trauma Center. “The biggest thing I took away from this program was that in order to

achieve my dreams of becoming a suc-cessful doctor," Mohanty said. "I need to work hard and set goals for myself.” Setting goals and working hard is a fundamental of succeeding in life. Leadership programs stress the importance of getting a good educa-tion and applying knowledge in the real working world. Mohanty was able to experience and learn the importance of setting goals in real life. There are count-less leadership programs that students can participate in and gain lessons that can apply to other aspects of their life.

While a college program of two weeks gets students used to the campus and college life, imagine how a six-week program would makeyou feel. Senior Abby Jordan attended Boston College for six weeks and was enrolled in a summer semester at BC. There, she took college level courses in microeco-nomics and a class called Personality Theories of Psychology, where students study the factors that make up someone's personality, for college credits. “I got to really experience life as a college student, which will help

make that transition easier for me next fall,” Jordan said. “I also learned how to be independent, seeing as all my assignments and exams depended on my completion of them without some-one ‘holding my hand,' which will defi-nitely help me keep on top of my work this year.” In order for a student to be successful in a university's summer pro-gram, they must be independent and will-ing to work hard. Jordan will be able to apply what she learned at BC to her daily studies at DCDS.

by Shruti Bramadesam Editor-in-Chief

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• Make an effort to form a relationship with your teachers

• Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Try things that you've never done before, and you'll be suprised when you end up enjoy-ing them.

• A B is not the end of the world. Work hard and keep on improving.

Freshmen Sophomores

Juniors Seniors

DCDS fall sports teams start off the season on a good note

• College Apps. Get them done. Now. • Have fun! This is your last year of high

school, so make the most of it.• Hang in there, you're ACTUALLY almost

done.

• SAT/ACT start early and get it done!• Manage your time wisely• Sleep at every opportunity. Free block?

Sleep. Advisory? Sleep. Bus Ride? Sleep• Hang in there, you're almost done.

• Although you're not at the bottom of the DCDS hierarchy, that doesn't mean you can go into the Commons Room.

• Now is the best time to take driver's ed. Get it out of the way so that you can get your license and drive to school in no time.

Senior Jalen Wang attend-ed Columbia University over the summer where he attended the Entrepreneurship and Innovation: New Product Development program. During the course of this 19 day pro-gram, Jalen had to design a product with group of four students. His group consisted of high schoolers from around the world, including Germany, Italy and India, allowing for an inter-national perspective on their project. They had to figure out manufactur-ing costs, target audience and other essential details needed to launch a

company, Wang's group product was magnetic clothing inteded the assist the physically disabled. Examples of his intended target audience include people in wheelchairs who find it dif-ficult to stand up. Similiarly, people with Alzheimer’s would find it hard to button up their clothes, so magnetic clothing would allow these people a greater sense of independence. An additional aspect of their project was determing the percentage of people who would buy their prod-uct and calculating the appropriate retail price. Wang's group then com-piled their research into a 200 slide powerpoint and pitched their product to successful business figure Michelle Greenwald and the Dean of Columbia. “Columbia’s summer pro-gram not only offered me an oppor-tunity to work alongside a leading entrepreneur figure and collaborate with international students, culminat-ing a broader perspective of the world, but also allowed me to experience an eye-opening perspective on a future career path,” Wang said.

by Syona VartyManaging Editor

A core component of DCDS is the sports present at the school. Most fall sports start their practice in the middle of August. Both the football and the mountain biking team have already had some games and races. The football team won their home game against Port Huron 38 to 7, and the mountain biking team had a biker take second place at a home race. The cheerleading team is off to a great start this season, and has successfully adjusted to the change in coaching staff. The team now is working with last years assistant coach, Coach McMinn as the head coach. The team has been and will continue to attend football games and perform various cheers and stunts to get the Barnyard cheering for the football team. Everyone has undoubtedly noticed the many changes made to DCDS over the summer. With the new art studios, the new classrooms, the new commons room, and the Eisenberg Studio, the mountain biking team may have to alter their course. “It will make a huge difference in how we train the middle and upper school rid-ers,” head varsity coach Mr. Dougherty said.

This year the mountain biking team has three senior captains: Melissa Connop, Mia Fitzner, and Filip Stankiewicz. With three experienced captains the team is sure to go far this year. “I'm really looking forward to spending time with the team over the next two months, especially on our weekend trip to Canada,” Connop said. “Our eight-hour relay race always builds camaraderie. We have a lot of new freshmen this year, so I am looking for-ward to watching their progress as the season moves forward.” The women's field hockey team has been working hard this year to win as many games as possible in hopes of making it to the state final game this season. The team has won four games, lost one game, and tied their game against Forest Hills in Grand Rapids. "Our most successful game was our game against Regina," varsity field hockey head coach Katie Geyman said."We played on grass and the girls came out focused and ready to play." The women's swim team embarks on their long season with the addition of twelve new freshmen.

"It's a lot of fun to have double the amount of members on the team," junior Jiwon Yun said. "It was hard to get to know all of them, but our team bonding trip at Camp Tamarack really helped us work together as a team as well as bond together also." "Although swimming seem like an individual sport, it's more of a team sport because we have to motivate each other in practice and during races," senior captain Cassidy Tynan said. Like many other sports teams, the volleyball team faces many upcoming chal-leges. Recently, they won against Cranbrook in their annual fundrasiing event Hits fo Hope. "We have two new coaches who bring a lot of new energy and new ideas to the team," senior captain Neha Baddam said. "The team gets along really well and there's a new-found energy in the volleyball program. We're working hard so we can tell it's going to be a great season." With the loss of many talented seniors on the varsity men's tennis team, the other members have to work extra hard to keep the winning streak going. "We've been doing pretty well,"

junior Michael Khaghany said "There's a lot of work to be done before regionals and states. We're really looking forward to our first match with Cranbrook." "We have a tournament this week-end in which we are looking to solidify out lineup for states," senior varsity men's tennis captain Adam Junn. The men's soccer team has had a suc-cessful season so far with a win at Williamston tourment and a tie against Cranbrook last weekend. The men's varsity team consists of 15 seniors, 2 juniors and 5 sophmores. “We play hard and have several players who have gotten injured, but we have a big team with people who can step up and take over if someone goes down,” Men’s Varsity Head Coach Steven Bossert said. “We had a set back against Brother Rice, but we responded well and won six games in a row. The goal was to try to get better at each prac-tice and each game.” Although not all the fall sports were metioned, The Day Times wishes luck to all of the teams, both varsity and junior varisty, for a successful rest of the season with many more wins to come.

Although summer may seem like a time to ditch the books and hang with friends, many DCDS students find the perfect way to learn while having a good time. Summer college programs are the best ways to pursue different interests while being immersed in the college culture. Junior Selina Mohanty, Senior Abby Jordan and Senior Jalen Wang are just a few of the students that exemplify the balance of work and play. These students took advantage of their time off from school to find their passion and potentially dream schools while having the time of their lives. Whether it may be business, leadership, or the sciences, there are a variety of college programs that can keep one busy.

Dates to mark on your calendar

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Jalen Wang Abby Jordan

Selina Mohanty