As a culminating activity to their study of the United States throughout the school year, FWCD fourth-graders presented their art to family and friends on Wednesday, May 11, in the Lou and Nick Martin Campus Center. View the slideshow. This celebration of America’s history and the 50 states featured the work of 61 students in the classes of Kelly Jenkins, Joan Massey, Sara McCullough, and Alicia Schordine. These grade-level teachers and the students partnered with Lower School Visual Arts Teacher Dorrine DeChant to bring their studies to life.

The 93 members of the Class of 2022 submitted 759 applications to 165 colleges and universities and were accepted at 135 of them. They have enrolled at 50 different institutions across the United States and internationally. To date, 49% of the class will attend out-of-state colleges and universities; 51% will attend Texas colleges and universities.

A summer reading program in all divisions has long been a tradition at Fort Worth Country Day. Keeping students reading over the summer and fostering a love of reading are important goals. The School works toward these goals by choosing books with literary value that are also popular with readers. For a complete listing of books for all grades, visit the 2022 Summer Reading website or contact Tammy Wolford.

Unity … humility … teamwork … responsibility … kindness … grit … compassion – these are the words Fort Worth Country Day Class of 2022 student-selected speaker Henry Brookman, the last of five siblings to graduate from the School, used to describe the qualities of his class at FWCD’s 56th commencement. View the Graduation Slideshow. He referenced an incident that brought his entire class together. “It was an effort of complete and total unity, humility, teamwork, responsibility, kindness, grit, compassion,” he noted, “Values that we now all understand the true meaning of … ingrained into each and every one of us.”

This spring, Alexis Rollings ’23 was awarded the University of Vermont 2022 Citizen Scholar Book Award. She was nominated by the FWCD College Counseling Office and was recognized during Upper School announcements on Wednesday, May 18. Putting knowledge into action for the betterment of humanity is at the foundation of a University of Vermont education. The Citizen Scholar Book Award celebrates high school students around the U.S. who demonstrate that spirit of citizenship and scholarship.

FWCD seventh-graders and their teachers celebrated FWCD Prairie Day for the first time since 2020. View the slideshow. The Prairie Day program began about 15 years ago as a way to connect the FWCD campus to the prairies being depleted across Texas. In the early years, seventh-grade teachers took their students to the small native prairie FWCD has on “The Hill” by the Ropes Course to find native plants and help eradicate invasive species. 

Congratulations to FWCD student-athletes for their commitment to and participation in sports during the spring season. Pictured right are FWCD’s All-SPC athletes Reagan Hall ‘24, Katie Bruce ‘24, Dylan Davis ’24, Marco Olmos ’24, Rachel Nelson ’23, Sutton Howard ’23, Walker Anderson ’23, and Connor Henry ’23. Seniors not pictured are Rogan Crumley, Betty Weaver, and Luke Wroten. (They were taking AP Exams).

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling narrowly edged out 11 Birthdays by Wendy Maas to be crowned the 2022 FWCD Tournament of Books Champion. This year, 32 fourth-graders took part in the Tournament of Books. Each student participated in a sweet 16 bracket composed of a wide variety of literary genres. The students celebrated with a Championship Breakfast in the Lower School Library on May 4. The FWCD Librarians are proud of the fourth-grade participants and their accomplishments.

FWCD alumni connected with sophomore students in Washington, D.C., for a panel discussion in May. The 10th-graders were enjoying the D.C. visit as a culminating field trip for their American Government class. This trip’s panelists were Ed Landreth ’03, Tom French ’75, Rebecca Vernon ’02, Stephanie Stouffer ’07, Sarah Jane McDonald ’17, Sarah Nolan ’16, Ryleigh Rains ’17, Emily Englander ’12, and Robert Arnold ’14.

Fourth-graders celebrated the amazing food our diverse and beautiful world offers through a delectable program called Flavors of the World. View the slideshow. The program, sponsored by Lower School Spanish Teachers Gaby Booth and Natasha Hatcher and Lower School French Teacher Nevine Watkins, also provided an opportunity to bridge community and cultural diversity.

An FWCD Original, Joaquin Castro-Balbi is Fort Worth Country Day’s Class of 2022 Salutatorian. He will attend Harvard University and study Electrical Engineering and/or Computer Science. “I found that its [Harvard] blend of robust engineering resources and renowned humanities most appealed to my interests,” Castro-Balbi shared. A National Merit Finalist, a College Board National Hispanic Recognition Programs Scholar, and a 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program Candidate, Castro-Balbi is a well-rounded, 3A’s student committed to excellence in every aspect of his school experience and beyond.

Softball FWCD’s softball and boys tennis teams (coached by DeAnn Hall and Sil Azevedo) earned Spring Sportsmanship Awards from the Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC), the athletic conference FWCD has belonged to since 1966.

Which trail begins at Springer Mountain and ends over 2,000 miles away on the top of Mount Katahdin? What is the largest country in the world by population not to have a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council? Questions like these are the norm for students participating in the Geography Bee. Sixth-graders Gabriella Napier, Bennett Klaus, and Thomas Readinger represented FWCD’s Mason Middle School in the Regional Finals for the Geography Bee with International Academic Competitions. “The entire sixth-grade took the qualifying exam during a class prior, and well over 90% of our kids qualified for regionals,” said Middle School History Teacher Tara Westbrook.

Xixi Hillman is Fort Worth Country Day’s Class of 2022 Valedictorian. She will attend The University of Texas at Austin and double major in Biochemistry and Plan II Honors. Her long-term goal is to earn an MD/PhD. A National Merit Commended Student, Hillman has been a part of the FWCD family since fifth grade. “I chose Fort Worth Country Day because the community was welcoming when I visited,” Hillman said. “I was paired with a student of Mr. [Dan] Bloch [H’06], and ironically, in my fifth-grade year, he became my advisor.”

FWCD's award-winning Tuesday Teacher Takeovers give you the inside scoop on some of your favorite teachers! Check them out on FWCD's Facebook and Instagram stories each Tuesday when school is in session! If you miss any, visit the Tuesday Teacher Takeover web page at fwcd.org/tuesday-teacher-takeover.

Join Fort Worth Country Day's Fine Arts Department for the spring ballet, Cinderalla, on Saturday, April 30, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, May 1, at 2 p.m. Both performances take place in the FWCD Scott Theater.  View the slideshow for a peek at this exquisite show, featuring students in grades 4-12.

Rogan Crumley ’22, Luke Wroten ’22, George Soye ’22, Will Davidson ’24, and Rylee Leo ‘22 earned Texas High School Lacrosse League (THSLL) Class C North District honors. The varsity lacrosse team took fourth place in the SPC Tournament. Lacrosse Program Director and Varsity Coach Patrick Diamonon was named THSLL Class C North District Person of the Year. Diamonon’s award honors his advocacy for lacrosse around the state and outside of his own program, his work with the league on various projects, and his promotion of sportsmanship.

Energy was high, laughter was abundant, and smiles were shared in the Moncrief Library on Saturday, April 23, during the FWCD Then/Now/Future panel discussion. Panelists were Dan Bloch H’06, Sharon Foster H’05, Claire-Lise Knecht H’06, Alison Robinson, Joe Breedlove ’78, and Eric Lombardi.

Let’s Go! Let’s Show! Let’s Rodeo! These proverbial words kick off Fort Worth Country Day’s Kindergarten Rodeo each and every year, and 2022 was no different. Kindergarten cowboys and cowgirls showed their stuff in the 53rd FWCD K-Rodeo, as it is affectionately known, on Wednesday, April 27, with a special showing for the 93-member Class of 2022, followed by a parent viewing on Thursday, April 28. View the slideshow.

Original, Hot & Spicy, and Sweet & Sour … those are the three flavors of Johnny’s Home-Style Pickles flying off the shelves at Tiger Farms Market in Burleson. Why is this such a big dill (see what I did there?), and what does this have to do with Fort Worth Country Day? The Johnny behind Johnny’s Home-Style Pickles is none other than Johnny Evans, who works on FWCD’s Plant Operations team.

And the winners are … Femi Adedokun ’22, Kaylee Chisholm ’22, Sydney Cyprian ’22, Jazmine Gomez ’22, Caroline Grebe ’23,  Dabin Lee ’24, and Rocco Leoni ’23! All seven FWCD students were honored with 2022 Slaughter Family Arts Awards (SFAA) on Sunday, April 24. In only its third year, the SFAA has given out nearly 50 awards and more than $25,000 to talented, dedicated young artists in the Fort Worth community.

Capstone at Fort Worth Country Day is an interdisciplinary, summary exercise consisting of four components: exploration, research, a final project and presentation. Its purpose: to foster intellectual curiosity, educational purpose and engagements as students conclude their Upper School experience at FWCD. The 2022 Spring Capstone Showcase features the work of seven seniors: Joaquin Castro-Balbi (Electrical Engineering), Kaylee Chisholm (Ballet Costume Design), Gage Fowlkes (Chemistry Education), Mary McGann (Anti-Houseless Architecture), Mary Elizabeth Mitchell (Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder), Grace Sapienza (Environmental Struggles Portrayed in Art), and Gavin Zoota (Learning in Music). Visit the Spring 2022 Capstone website to view introduction videos from each student and their projects. 

Officers have been elected for the 2022-23 Student Council. “To all of the candidates, you should be proud of yourselves,” said Student Council Co-Moderators Jennifer Giroir and Stefanie Luedtke. “Your willingness to represent and serve your classes and the school is a great example of the Country Day core values.” Seventeen Upper School students were elected to serve; ninth-graders will hold elections for representatives in August.

The 2022 Slaughter Family Arts Awards announced their finalists on April 10, and 16 FWCD students are finalists! Winners will be announced in a live ceremony this Sunday, April 24, from 6-7:30 p.m. at the I.M. Terrell Academy Auditorium. Each finalist receives a $50 scholarship; winners will receive an additional $300.

The final Parent Faculty Association Board meeting of the year on April 18 was all about celebration – celebrating the gift of $200,000 back to the school and the gift of Pam Packer and her two years of service as PFA President. Packer served under anything-but-normal circumstances and led the School’s organization extraordinarily. “Has there ever been a two-term FWCD PFA President, or anyone crazy enough to take on that task?” said Courtney Holm, PFA President-Elect, at the meeting. “ I think not, and thank goodness you said yes because our school and community are better because of your service.”

The Middle School and Upper School Latin teams competed at the 2022 Texas State Junior Classical League (TSJCL) convention on April 8 and 9 at Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio. The Middle School certamen team of Aiden Alband ’27, Michael Head ’27, Andrew Lobo ’26, and Blake Wood ’27 placed third, equaling FWCD Middle School's best performance. This is especially impressive for a team primarly composed of seventh-graders! Overall, the Middle School Latin Club placed fifth in the state, the highest placing it’s ever achieved.

Geraldine Williams joined the Fort Worth Country Day community on April 11 as the Annual Giving Manager in the Advancement Office. She comes to FWCD with demonstrated success in nonprofit development with an emphasis on major gifts, donor relations, and special events. Most recently, Williams served as Philanthropy Manager for the Baylor Scott & White All Saints Health Foundation, where she was responsible for developing and executing strategies to achieve fundraising goals in support of the medical center through the major gift program.

FWCD’s Parent Faculty Association awarded Tammi Hodges (Business Office ) with the April Falcon Wings honor and Linda Stewart with the March Falcon Wings honor. Falcon Wings recognize PFA volunteers, FWCD teachers or staff who soar above and beyond the call of duty to enhance PFA programs or events, or have improved the greater FWCD community through their dedication and enthusiasm. A book will be donated to the library in their honor.

Senior Sawyer Parker will be featured this Sunday, April 24, on the “Sunday Night Sports Special” with Joe Trahan as the North Texas Buick Dealers Scholar-Athlete of the Week. The show starts at 10:35 p.m. on WFAA Channel 8, the Dallas-Fort Worth ABC affiliate. Sawyer has attended Fort Worth Country Day since kindergarten and has been a member of the varsity cross country, track and field, and soccer teams during his four years in the Bass Upper School. 

Are you planning to regain some closet space this spring? As you’re sifting through that clothing, please set aside any gently used, well-cared-for, school and church selections for middle and high school boys and girls to fill the Breakthrough Boutique! Sophomore Co-chairs Katie Bruce and Hannah Cheng are thrilled to again be working on this year’s Breakthrough Boutique clothing drive, which runs through Thursday, June 9.

New Jersey’s loss is Texas’s gain. Stephen Novak, the former owner and Head Chef of The Grilled Cheese and Crab Cake Company in Somers Point, New Jersey, is FWCD’s SAGE Dining Services Senior Food Service Director. Novak’s restaurant was featured on Food Network Chef Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” in 2015. His commitment to Fort Worth Country Day … good food, a friendly face, an open-door policy, and a healthy food program that fits the needs and wants of the community.

With The New York Times acquiring Wordle and WordHurdle and Quordle riding its coattails, word games are center stage once again, including a new word competition in the Lower School: the quintessential spelling bee. On Tuesday, April 5, 34 third- and fourth-grade students stepped up to the spelling challenge, showing great courage when setting foot on the FWCD Scott Theater stage to display their spelling expertise in front of their peers, teachers, family and friends.

March Madness isn’t just about basketball anymore. For the third year in a row, Upper School French classes took part in Manie Musicale, a French song competition in the format of the March Madness basketball tournament, aiming to increase student engagement in the French language and improve French skills using popular French songs. Upper School French Teacher Andréanne Annis and her students go all out! The class even produced a Maniaques de Musique episode. FWCD was the only school to do so and interact internationally.

The Falcon Club Golf Outing was postponed due to inclement weather. With the new date of Monday, April 18, registration has re-opened. Enjoy a day of golf in support FWCD athletics and PE programs on April 18 at Mira Vista Country Club: 1 p.m. shotgun start; scramble/best ball format. Fill out the Registration Form today to be part of the fun!

Join the Falcon Club on Monday, April 4, at Mira Vista Country Club for a day of golf supporting FWCD Athletics and PE programs. 1 p.m. shotgun start; scramble/best ball format. Registration is open, and sponsorship opportunities are still available. Fill out the Registration Form today!

Check out the 4-H Hatch-Cam livestream over spring break to watch the very first 4-H Silkie Chick Hatch! The hatching eggs came straight from the FWCD coop; the hen and rooster parents were shown by FWCD 4-H members at the Fort Worth Stock Show earlier this year. Chicken eggs take 21 days to incubate, but Day 21 for these eggs falls on Monday, March 14, the first day of spring break.

Lexi Gasca ’29 and  partner, Gabriella Javonovic, won first place in grades 4-6 division of the 14th Youth Duo-Piano Competition at Texas Wesleyan University on February 19. The competition celebrates young pianists and their skilled collaboration. Duo-piano playing is defined as performing music specifically composed for a player at each of two pianos. The repertoire chosen for this festival must be originally conceived, arranged or transcribed for the duo-piano genre — not for piano duet or other combinations — and must not exceed a maximum performance length of seven minutes.

What is a community hero? Who are they? FWCD second-graders set out to answer those two questions and more when they identified people in their communities who are making a difference. Firefighters, police officers, nurses, doctors, veterinarians, teachers, pastors and ministers, musicians, speech-language pathologists, nonprofit communications professionals, sports figures, a mayor, and more.

Twenty-eight members of the FWCD Latin Club participated in the Texas State Junior Classical League Area C Convention on Saturday, February 26. This was the club’s first in-person convention since the beginning of the pandemic, and they were excited to be able to compete again! The Middle School club took home a total of 29 Top 5 awards and even more placed in the Top 10.

The Lower School Student Council collected more than 40 boxes of household items for the Union Gospel, including backpacks, underwear, washcloths, travel-size soap/body wash, clear reusable water bottles, laundry detergent, fabric softener,  bleach, Magic Erasers, Lysol air freshener, dish towels, disinfectant spray, Clorox wipes, foot powder, Pine-Sol/ Fabuloso, new pillows, snack-size Ziploc bags, men’s and women’s shower shoes and scrubs. The students traveled to the Union Gospel Mission on March 7 to deliver the items with Lower School Student Council Advisory Theresa Fuss. A big thank you to the Lower School families for their generous contributions!

After months of morning and afternoon practices with advisors Catherine Lampka and Rachael Swinhoe, FWCD’s Middle School MATHCOUNTS Team tested its mathematical know-how at the virtual chapter competition. Three FWCD students competed as individuals and as a team in this year’s competition. At stake: an opportunity to attend the State MATHCOUNTS competition. Jake Hudman ’26 placed first; Andrew Lobo ’26 placed second; and Sean Hong ’27 placed 12th. Both Hudman and Lobo advanced to state, which will take place in person in Austin over spring break.

In the fall, Middle School Latin students competed in two national contests through the National Junior Classical League (NJCL), an organization for middle and high school students in classical courses. The first, the National Classical Etymology Exam, tested students’ knowledge of English words derived from Latin and Greek and the meanings of those Latin and Greek roots. The second, the National Roman Civilization Exam, tested their knowledge of Roman history and daily life. Ten FWCD Middle School students earned 14 medals in total: two Gold, six Silver, and six Bronze.

Spring and spring break are here ... and so are new FWCD GIPHY stickers! Check out the new offerings in the award-winning FWCD GIPHY channel. Use them on social media and in text messages -- wherever GIPHY is integrated. Enter @fwcd in the stickers search bar and view all the options on FWCD's GIPHY channel. See GIPHY’s support section for tips.

Congratulations to all our student athletes for their hard work, dedication and commitment to our winter athletic teams. Here is a list of those receiving postseason honors.

Students in grades 3-12 are invited to join the FWCD 4-H STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Club. The club will host weekly meetings on Mondays from 6:30-8 p.m., beginning March 28, in the Dan Bloch H’06 Science Lab. Join the club for team and individual projects, challenges, exciting trips into the community, special guests, and more. The first challenge is called Galactic Quest: Space Exploration. Let’s unlock the mysteries of space exploration together. Contact Judson Tighe ’25 or Angie Ogle for more information. 

FWCD Boys golf won the Jim Osborne Invitational Golf Tournament at Hawks Creek. Fourteen schools competed and Connor Henry '23 was crowned overall tournament Champion. Way to go Falcons!

Congratulations to Jayda Fulp '25 for earning the distinction of All-American wrestler! She qualified for the 2022 National Prep Wrestling Tournament in Marlboro, Maryland. Jayda and Coach Hugo Munoz traveled to the tournament where she was the runner-up in the 132 pound division.

FWCD’s Head Athletic Trainer, Ed Chisholm was recently invited to serve on a panel for Team Up for Sports Safety (TUFSS). The TUFSS initiative, led by the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI), was established to drive changes and adoption of policies proven to reduce catastrophic sport injury in the secondary school level. This initiative travels state by state and brings together key individuals responsible for improving health and safety policies for high school athletes.

All three of FWCD’s National Merit Semifinalists are now National Merit Finalists. Seniors Joaquin Castro-Balbi, Izzy Gutierrez, and Michelle Pham will continue on in the scholarship program for National Merit Scholar consideration. The selection of some 7,500 Merit Scholarship winners from the group of Finalists is now in progress.

FWCD is preparing for the School’s Founders’ Day celebration, which will take place on Friday, March 4. Founders’ Day is an annual Fort Worth Country Day event that celebrates the School’s incorporation back on March 6, 1962. View the Founders' Day communication to learn what nonprofit organization your student's Quad is collecting for (donation drop runs February 22 through March 3), and what day next week they wear their House T-shirts.

FWCD eighth-graders gave back to the Fort Worth community in a big way by dispersing $9,000 in funding to 11 local nonprofit organizations. The check presentation ceremony on Thursday, February 10, concluded the Falcons for Fort Worth program, a community service and philanthropic learning project developed to instill the values of philanthropy in today’s students. The program focuses on the values of generosity, involvement and responsibility—all character qualities that students carry with them for a lifetime.

Fashion is a language many speak, but Middle School Spanish Teacher Debby Arnold put a spin on things on February 15, asking her sixth-graders to put on a fashion show — and commentate in Spanish. Students took on the roles of models and announcers in this culmination activity on a unit about clothing. Models entered the classroom when the announcers introduced them and then described each item of clothing as the models walked the “catwalk.” 

FWCD parents/guardians and faculty/staff are invited to join together for deeper community connections and participate in fun and meaningful conversations on a variety of topics. The second Community Connections event, hosted by the Falcon Inclusion Team (FIT), focuses on belonging and what it means to create a sense of belonging. Choose from two dates, both in the Lou and Nick Martin Campus Center: Tuesday, February 22 (6-7 p.m.), or Friday, February 25 (2-3 p.m.) RSVP by Monday, February 21, using the Community Connections JotForm. Questions? Contact Nicole Masole, Director of Community Engagement and Inclusion. 

To celebrate 100 days of school, FWCD first-graders sponsored a food drive for the Tarrant Area FoodBank (TAFB). They began collecting items in early February. On Friday, February 11, Lisa Schick, Donor Relationship Manager for TAFB, came to campus to speak with students about the foodbank’s services and how their donation impacts those in need. The goal was for each class to collect 100 food items. The first-graders collected 438 pounds of food for the TAFB. 

Don't forget to pull together your Founders’ Day donations, which will be collected from February 22 through March 3. Students, faculty and staff, through their Quads, will support one of four assigned nonprofit organizations: Breakthrough Fort Worth, Ronald McDonald House Fort Worth, Como Community Center, and Saving Hope Foundation & Saving Hope Animal Rescue Dog Fund.

Kindergarten Kindness Ninjas in Lisa Davenport’s class baked goodies for FWCD teachers and local ER doctors and nurses as a Valentine surprise. These ninjas are committed to making people smile through random acts of kindness.

Andrew Friedman ’26 placed Second Chair Clarinet in the 2022 Texas Private School Music Educators Association (TPSMEA) Middle School Honor Band. “I'm so very proud of Andrew and all of the hard work he put into earning this spot,” said Middle School Band Director Sean Morrow. This year’s Middle School All-Region Band Clinic and Concert is being hosted by The Greenhill School on February 18 and 19. Each year, competition for selection into the middle school honor band becomes more difficult. 

Senior Carter Daly is taking his game to the college level. He made it official earlier this month on National Signing Day when he signed to play football at Harvard University. The Harvard Crimson football program represents Harvard University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Daly has earned Honors or High Honors every semester during his time in the Upper School. He is an FWCD “Original” and has played basketball and lacrosse while at the School. 

Senior Macie Mallick was selected as the North Texas Buick Dealers Scholar-Athlete of the Week. She was featured on WFAA Channel 8 on Sunday, February 13, on Joe Trahan’s Sports Special. The program recognizes North Texas high school seniors who have excelled in academics and athletics and contribute to making their community a better place to live. Nominees must be a senior who is in the top 20% of their class.

Six Upper School students had artwork selected to be featured in and earned accolades in the 2022 Black & White Images Competition and Exhibition. Brooke Baldwin ’24 earned Third Place in the Photo Essay Category with her three images titled Country Club, Kendall Lehman ’22 earned an Honorable Mention for Gaby+Mary in the Portrait Category, Laura Marques ’24 piece, titled Stockyards, was a Featured Selection in the Architecture Category, Alexis Rollings ’23 earned Third Place for San Francisco in Cityscape/Landscape Category, Luke Tierce ’25 earned an Honorable Mention for his photo titled At the Ranch I in the Nature + Animal Category, and Vivian Todora ’23 earned Second Place for her three images, titled Planning, in the Photo Essay Category.

Fort Worth and Fort Worth Country Day were busy places for the Southwest Preparatory Conference Championships on February 10-12. In total, 68 soccer and basketball games were played in four gyms and four fields on three campuses. And there were two full days of swimming and wrestling as well. Every swimmer qualified for the meet, and the Falcon wrestling team finished fourth overall in the tournament. Girls soccer had two one-goal losses, and boys basketball was on the wrong end of a buzzer beater, but overall this was a terrific experience for FWCD student-athletes. Final results/brackets can be found on the Winter SPC webpage.

Thinking outside the box is something students at FWCD learn right from the start. In January, junior kindergarten students focused their studies on transportation. Their lessons culminated in constructing various modes of transportation – from a cardboard box. The students enjoyed the Disney movie Cars before revving up their engines, with drivers’ licenses in tow, to show off their creations to families in a car parade on January 28 along the Butler Kindergarten Building and Fischer Dining Pavilion sidewalks.

As the members of the Class of 2022 ready themselves to leave the nest that is comfortable here at Fort Worth Country Day, they are gaining some life skills through the Practical Arts and Independent Living (PAIL) program during their advisory time. Steve Stackhouse came up with the idea and implemented early incarnations of the program seven years ago when he served as Assistant Head of School and 12th Grade Dean. The PAIL program helps seniors prepare for the real world of dorm life and life on their own in a new town. On February 15, Sheila Cherry and Nolan Hightower shared their knowledge with the class about how to jump a dead car battery of another car and how to change a tire.

A Licensed Professional Counselor, Jeremy Edge is the Owner and Founder of escapingthe.com. He recently was on the FWCD campus to speak to JK-12 parents/guardians about online addictions. View the entire presentation that was filmed. Download Edge’s PowerPoint presentation.

Check out the new offerings in FWCD's award-winning FWCD GIPHY channel. Valentine's Day is here, so let's all spread the love! Use them on social media and text messages -- wherever GIPHY is integrated. Enter @fwcd in the stickers search bar and view all the options on FWCD's GIPHY channel. See GIPHY’s support section for tips.

Clint Hagen will be leading a group to Italy during spring break 2023. Join him for a parent-student interest meeting on Monday, February 28, at 7 p.m. in the Moncrief Library. Explore ancient Rome and its modern legacy in a trip that combines the best of both. Students will trace the impact of Roman civilization from its beginning through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, modern Europe, and the United States. They will visit the excavated ruins of first-century Pompeii, the Colosseum, the Vatican museums, the Sistine Chapel, and experience a first-of-its-kind virtual reality reconstruction of Nero’s palace, the Domus Aurea, all while being led by expert tour guides. This trip is open to students in the Classes of 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. RSVP to Clint Hagen.

Senior Macie Mallick will be featured this Sunday on "Sunday Night Sports Special" with Joe Trahan as the North Texas Buick Dealers Scholar-Athlete of the Week. The show starts at 10:35 p.m. on WFAA Channel 8, the Dallas-Fort Worth ABC affiliate. Macie has attended Fort Worth Country Day since kindergarten and has been a member of the field hockey, soccer and tennis teams. 

Senior Carter Daly signed to play football with Harvard on National Signing Day, February 2, 2022. Daly started at FWCD in kindergarten and has been a member of the football, basketball and lacrosse programs. We wish him all the best and can't wait to follow him as he joins the Harvard Crimson program.

This year marks the 34th consecutive year for Fort Worth Country Day’s Black & White Images Competition and Exhibition. Sponsored by the FWCD Visual Arts Department, Black & White Images provides a forum for exhibiting student photographers from regional private and public high schools, allowing them an opportunity to exchange ideas, receive recognition and display outstanding photography.

Fort Worth Country Day student Joaquin Castro-Balbi ’22 has been named one of more than 5,000 candidates in the 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program and one of two from Fort Worth high schools. The candidates were selected from nearly 3.6 million students expected to graduate from U.S. high schools in 2022. Castro-Balbi is FWCD’s 10th U.S. Presidential Scholars Program candidate since 2000. Last year, FWCD’s Henry Lynn ’21 was named a U.S. Presidential Scholar Candidate.

Trailblazer, respected civil rights activist, community leader, teacher, counselor, mother, daughter, grandmother … Opal Lee is all of these things and more to the Fort Worth community. When she began her walk in 2016 from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C. to draw attention to Juneteenth, the day the Civil War-era Emancipation Proclamation was announced in Galveston, Texas (June 19, 1865; two-and-a-half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued it on January 1, 1863), she became a national treasure. For an extended celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Lee recently joined the Fort Worth Country Day community for the second MLK Forum sponsored by the Country Day Institute. She shared her inspiring story and the journey that led to President Joe Biden signing into law on June 19, 2021, the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, creating a federal holiday to commemorate Juneteenth. This is the first federal holiday approved since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983, and the day of the signing marked the 156th anniversary of the last Black enslaved people being freed in Texas.

FWCD 4-H members represented Fort Worth Country Day proudly in the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo in recent weeks. View the slideshow. From showing chickens, a duck (an FWCD first), and cattle, to participating in the Calf Scramble, serving as representatives for Texas Brigade Camps and working as a Mutton Buster, these students showed their skills and made an impact.

Mary Grace Rymell ’30 served as Lower School Principal for the Day on Friday, January 28. She shared a letter with the Lower School faculty and community introducing herself, sharing that she is a student in Joan Massey’s class and has been a student at FWCD since she was in kindergarten. She also has an older brother, Dylan ’24, who is a Falcon. As Principal for the Day, Mary Grace led the morning assembly; observed classes; and held important meetings with Head of Middle School Stephen Blan, Interim Head of Upper School Peggy Wakeland, and Head of School Eric Lombardi. Her gift to all the Lower School students: A “no homework pass” good for one night’s homework. 

To celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, FWCD fourth-graders explored some of Dr. King's most famous quotes and designed a poster using paper cut-outs. Finished posters are on display on the wall in front of the Lower School Office. Go visit this wall of inspiration. 

Falcon sweatpants, compression shorts, T-shirts, hoodies, stadium blankets, water bottles, mugs and more were flying off the shelves on Thursday, January 20, when the new Campus Store opened its doors. FWCD’s very own Talon did a little pre-shopping before the big rush. All this week, the store’s been the most-visited site on campus as students, parents, faculty and staff flock to it. The store resides in the south hall of the Sid W. Richardson Round Gym building, next to the Technology Office.

Femi Adedokun ’22 represented FWCD at the fourth Dallas Young Artist Exhibition at the Blue Print Gallery in Dallas last week. Adedokun’s artwork was on display with other talented artists in the DFW metroplex. Since its inception, the gallery has been instrumental in giving young artists long overdue consideration. In his exhibited work, Adedokun aimed to express his complex relationship, experiences, and eventual acceptance of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. 

Reshma Niraula ’22 was honored by Fort Worth Sister Cities International (FWSCI) as the organization's Youth Volunteer of the Year in December. Since eighth grade, Niraula has been involved with Sister Cities. Her first exchange trip was to Nagaoka, Japan. Niraula is an advocate for FWSCI by taking on many leadership roles on the Fort Worth Youth International Board. 

Texas High School Baseball has released their preseason rankings for the 2022 season. FWCD is ranked 13th among large schools. They are listed as the third highest SPC school, first in the North Zone. Please check their schedule on the website to see when the team plays so you can come cheer on your Falcons!

Dabin Lee ’24 won first  place in the Dallas Symphonic Festival Competition on January 15. She entered in the Sonatina/Sonata Category (Junior) and played Sonata Op. 2 No. 3, Mvt. 1 by Beethoven. The annual festival is sponsored by the Dallas Music Teachers Association and gives north Texas music students a chance to compete with a concerto or sonata of their choice, with divisions organized by age.

Olivia Kersh ’24 will soon see the play she wrote, Sleep, brought to life on stage. Kersh’s play was chosen for the 2021 Neighborhood Play Contest to be produced by Stage West Theatre in the 2022 Festival of the Kid this May. The contest drew 576 entries from 23 schools this year – double the number of typical entries. Kersh was inspired by professional playwright Rob Bosquez who visited with students during Musical Theatre class to talk about playwriting. The Neighborhood Play Contest is for North Texas students in grades K-12. Students are invited to write a short play, scene, poem, monologue, or prose and submit it into the contest for the chance to be produced onstage during Festival of the Kid. Performance dates are May 16-18.

Ninth-graders Nara Acuna Guba, Charles Portwood, Chappell Carter, Jaya Conmy, Murphy Hoefer, and Elizabeth Dike escorted eighth-grade parents around the Bass Upper School during an evening parent “Step-Up” program on Wednesday, January 26. Earlier in the day, students learned about the Upper School through three rotations: academics, fine arts and athletics, and student support and Upper School co/extracurricular programs. 

Reggie Johnson, Digital Media and Content Manager, is serving as a Social Media Special Interest Group Chair for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Greater Fort Worth Chapter board in 2022. In addition to involvement in regular board meetings, he will be responsible for providing programming and specific opportunities for members who work with social media to interact with one another and to engage with the chapter at large. 

Talent. Dedication. Heart. That is what the Slaughter Family Arts Awards (SFAA) celebrates, as it recognizes and promotes excellence and effort in the fine arts community. Founded in 2020, the Slaughter Family Arts Awards are the brainchild of FWCD alumni and current parents Rebecca (Shaw) ’02 and J Mack Slaughter ’02. They formed the arts organization as a way to give back, both through scholarship and performance opportunities to students who love the arts in school or out of school.

Check out the new offerings in the award-winning FWCD GIPHY channel. February is almost here, so let's all spread the love. You can use them on social media and text messages -- wherever GIPHY is integrated. Enter @fwcd in the stickers search bar and view all the options on FWCD's GIPHY channel. See GIPHY’s support section for tips.

Looking for a family fun evening? Join the FWCD Performing Arts Department for Shrek The Musical on the FWCD Scott Theater stage February 17, 18, 19 and 20. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students. Visit fwcd.org/tickets to secure yours today. Performances are at 7 p.m. on February 17-18 and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, February 20.

Join the FWCD Health and Wellness Counseling Department for Understanding Online Addictions: Gaming, Social Media, and Other Online Content with Jeremy Edge, LPC, Owner/Founder of Escapingthe.com. The event takes place on Monday, January 31, in the Lou and Nick Martin Campus Center from 7-8 p.m. All members of the FWCD community , JK-12, are invited to this important program.

Mark your calendar for Lower School Bingo: The new date is Friday, March 4, same time, same place -- 5:30-8 p.m. in the Sid W. Richardson Round Gym. If, for some reason, you are unable to attend and would like a refund, please contact PFA Treasurer Allisen Prigel via email at aaprigel@gmail.com. For those families who have not yet signed up and can make the new date, registration is open until January 28.

FWCD’s Parent Faculty Association awarded FWCD Security Officer Larice Gallander with the Falcon Wings honor. Falcon Wings recognize PFA volunteers, FWCD teachers or staff who soar above and beyond the call of duty to enhance PFA programs or events, or have improved the greater FWCD community by their dedication and enthusiasm. A book will be donated to the library in her honor. 

Humor, realistic fiction, fantasy, autobiography, mystery, science fiction … what do all these terms have in common? They are types of literary genres. The Awesomeness Initiative course for all fifth- and sixth-graders is titled OVERBOOKED and will focus on all things reading. Throughout the next four AI meetings, students will rotate through four reading-based classes designed to expose them to good literature to encourage them to read more during the second semester.

FWCD Upper School students received some serious award recognition through the Association of Texas Photography Instructors (ATPI) Fall Photo Contest. Kendall Lehman ’22 earned two first-place honors, one in the Advanced Documentary/Street Photography category, the other in the Advanced Informal-Environmental Portrait category. Femi Adedokun ’22 earned second-place recognition in the Advanced Portfolio Category. Rachel Nelson ’23 and Alexis Rollins ’23 both earned Honorable Mentions in the Advanced Portfolio categories.

This year, eighth-grade Latin students took on the task of building a scale model of ancient Rome, combining ancient culture with computer-aided design and manufacturing. This did not happen in a day … it took approximately three weeks.

Amelia Bedelia (FWCD Middle School Librarian Kim Gardner) was back at Fort Worth Country Day to host the Lower School’s Second-Grade Idiom Fashion Show before the winter break. Parents were in stitches as they watched their students take wordplay to the extreme on the red carpet in the Lou and Nick Martin Campus Center. Those pun-filled fashions included bubble skirts, baggy jeans, 14-karat gold necklaces, wingtip shoes, gowns with trains, ruffled party dresses, ball gowns, moon boots, sport coats, hoop skirts, bell-bottoms, balloon and bell sleeves, 10-gallon hats, and boat-neck and turtleneck shirts. Peggy Parish (author of the Amelia Bedelia books) would have been proud as punch! View the video.

Before winter break, Upper School Ceramics Teacher Jerry Mahle presented a check to a volunteer at The WARM Place for $1,708.61. These funds came from our Fine Arts Department Art for Art program, which sold ceramics crafted by Upper School students for a minimum donation of $20.  

The Lower School Change Drive raised $1,980.68. Before winter break, Ava Long '30, on behalf of the Lower School and its Student Council, presented a check to Kit Tennison Moncrief ’70, founder of The Saving Hope Animal Rescue Foundation, and her dog, Hope. Saving Hope works hard to rescue, rehabilitate, and find loving homes for abandoned, neglected and abused domestic animals. 

Our Middle School donated more than 300 toys for the COMO Community Center toy drive this year. We are so pleased with the outcome and very thankful to all who contributed! Lots of children had a joyful holiday season thanks to the generosity of so many! 

The Square Gym was buzzing with smiling faces, laughter, and lots of holiday cheer on Friday December 9, 2021 during the PFA’s annual Holiday Sale. What a fantastic sight to see students in JK-6, along with their parents, shopping for their family and friends. Congratulations to Holiday Sale Chairs Erin Glover and Carolyn Dollahite, for making this day one to remember and the perfect start to everyone’s Holiday celebration. The sale netted roughly $18,000 for the School.

FWCD's varsity cheerleaders hand-made 100 cards and delivered them to residents across the street at Mirabella Assisted Living before the holiday break. The cheerleaders visited with the residents, shared stories and laughs, and were even asked to perform during the residents’ dinner hour. A wonderful time was had by all!