Awesomeness Initiative
At Fort Worth Country Day, we want kids not only to learn, but to be passionate about learning.
Our Awesomeness Initiative program gives students the opportunity to hone in on topics they find fascinating and to pursue them, through ungraded elective courses, taught by a teacher who shares their excitement.
Created in 2017, Awesomeness Initiative (AI) activities for seventh- and eighth-graders provide added exposure to skills needed in the modern professional world in a no-pressure setting full of enthusiasm. The courses typically meet five times a semester.
Complementing FWCD’s strong core curriculum, AI courses expose students to Pat Basset’s “Six C’s”:
- Creativity
- Character
- Critical thinking
- Communication
- Cosmopolitanism/cross-cultural competency
- Collaboration
These skills and FWCD’s core values (Integrity, Kindness, Courage, Respect, Responsibility, and Scholarship) are essential components of success in AI.
Fifth- and sixth-graders take part in an AI titled OVERBOOKED, which focuses on all things reading, including a book tasting, connecting with picture books, and book recommendations.
Examples of Past AI Courses
- Calligraphy and Crochet
- Composition, Songwriting and Recording
- D.R.E.A.M. (Design, Re-imagine, Explore, Analyze, Make)
- Forensic Science
- Fashion Design
- Build a Computer. Play Minecraft. Learn Programming
- Mindfulness: Feel Better, Reduce Stress and Enjoy Your Life a Little More
- Culinary Travel across the Continents
- Bake Your Buns Off - The Science of Baking
- World Champion of the World - Fantasy Geopolitics
- Bee Keeping
