Boulder Country Day School: A Private Preschool through IB Middle School located in Boulder, CO Discover your Excellence

BCD's 30th Anniversary Video

In honor of our 30th anniversary we thought it wise to document our history in print and video. In the Fall issue of the BCD Magazine, we recognized those on whose shoulders we now stand and provided a timeline that traces our school’s development from its founding in 1988 to present day. Below please find a link to the video we showed at our 30th Anniversary Celebration last month. In it, you will see and hear from many of our families, faculty, and alumni –past and present – who reflect on the inspiring history of Boulder Country Day. The level of effort and commitment it took to get us where we are today is remarkable, and we thank all of you for helping to carry our school forward into our next 30 years.

30th Anniversary Video

Miss You Already: Why Independent Schools Become Your Family

Annually, at the end of the school year, I visit with each graduating 8^th grader to learn about their experiences at Boulder Country Day.

BCD Celebrates 30th Anniversary

On Wednesday, April 17th, we held our 30^th Anniversary Celebration at the Dairy Center for the Arts in Boulder. The event included performances by alumni musicians Foxman James, senior faculty member at the Boston School of Music Arts, and Henry Dickhoff, professional pianist currently touring with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. As well as performances by Travis and Christine LaBerge, owners of Parlando School of Musical Arts and the BCD Spotlight Singers. It was an elegant evening with 30 years of teachers, parents, grandparents, trustees and alumni joining together to reminisce about the grassroots years, envision a bright future, and celebrate the community that is BCD. Thank you again to all those whose shoulders we stand on.

Time is of the Essence: A Parent's Perspective on Preschool through 8th Grade

“I wish I had been here from the beginning”, said my older son half-way through 7^th grade at BCD a couple of years ago. When I asked him why, he gave me several reasons: The teachers, the students, the community, the opportunities to explore new interest areas, the leadership opportunities, the service projects, the trips, and last but not least “I am finally getting how to balance academics and the rest of my interests- and I don’t have to choose one or the other- I can just be me”. I liked his answers and with our second son saying to me just the other day that he too wishes he had been at BCD “for more time than I will have here in middle school”, I decided to see how much their comments may be more than a personal story. As a trained education researcher, looking further, deeper and more closely is what I am passionate about; -and when personal experience matches with solid data, I am calling that a “Great Day!”

BCD Travel Program Headed to Santa Fe and Denver in April

The BCD travel program creates trips tied to curriculum that enhance our IB education and allow BCD students to discover and embrace their excellence and expand their horizons through unique experiences. This April we have two great trips running.

BCD Arts Week 2019: March 11th - 15th

Next week is Arts Week at BCD. Our students will be exposed to dance, drama, or ceramics depending on what grade they are in. Each year, BCD hosts artists-in-residence during Arts Week. Students work closely with these artists and have the opportunity to delve deeper into a particular medium.

A recent study covered in this Mindshift article found that "adding time for dance, theater, or visual arts isn’t at odds with traditional measures of academic success". Some statistics even show it improves scores on writing tests. In fact, many would maintain that students' lives are enhanced by exposure to the arts at school and to experiences they would not normally have exposure to. Arts Week is a week that we look forward to and that we strongly believe improves the quality of the education we provide.

Below is a full schedule of the week's events:

Working with PS-2: Ryne Haldeman, Dance (Ovation Studio for the Performing Arts)
Working with 3-5: Sean Scrutchins, Drama (Colorado Shakespeare Festival)
Working with MS: Todd Redmond, Ceramics (Todd Redmond Contemporary Ceramics)

The Joyful Classroom

When I was a child, the words joy and school were rarely used in the same sentence. Today, as I look around our BCD elementary school building, joyful is the first adjective that comes to my mind.

2019 BCD Plant Sale

This spring, BCD is planning a school-wide plant sale to support the Shields Scholarship.

Why Choose a PS - 8th Grade School

Boulder Country Day has intentionally chosen to focus on preschool through eighth grade and we believe it is among our greatest assets. We firmly believe that a PS-8 school environment offers distinct advantages during the most critical years of a child’s intellectual, social, and emotional development.

Middle School students attend Civics Day in Denver

Boulder Country Day School middle school students and faculty joined eight other Colorado private schools at the Capitol for a Civics Day on Wednesday, January 23rd as part of School Choice Week.

Identity, Difference and Allyship event - Feb 27th at BCD

On February 27th from 6:00pm - 7:30pm, BCD's Coordinator of Equity & Inclusion, Randi Reinhold will lead a thoughtful conversation on Identity, Difference and Allyship and how we can raise our awareness and challenge stereotypes through reflection and conversation.

Research shows that throughout early childhood, children become aware of cultural identities such as gender, race, ethnicity and ability.

Global Awareness Week at BCD - Jan 22nd - 25th

Next week is Global Awareness Week at BCD and includes the following events:

Celebration of Cultures - January 23rd

Model UN - January 24th

Preschool Olympics - January 25th

Holidays Passports

More and more it seems that schools and school leaders are reluctant to include holiday celebrations and events in classrooms. There is a growing trend in our public schools and institutions to keep all references to faith out of curriculum and instruction, and even some of our independent schools are concerned that celebrating one holiday tradition will marginalize another.

BCD Magazine details 30 years of history

The Fall 2018 issue covered 30 years of BCD history.

Click here to see the Magazine.

Fostering an Attitude of Gratitude – Notice, Think, Feel, and Do!

Thanksgiving reminds me to take stock of the things in my life for which I am most grateful. Of course I am thankful for my family and friends and that I am in good health; I am also thankful that my dishwasher works, that I have hot water whenever I need it, that my husband makes me a cup of coffee each morning as I’m getting ready for work, and that I landed in Boulder with a job that I LOVE to come to each and every day.

CO Educators Diversity Recruiting Fair - Feb 9, 2019

BCD to partipcate in Colorado Educators Diversity Recruiting Fair 2019 as foudning member of the CO Diversity Network.

Register at - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSffvI2u_KiXHoBE---TFQPOJE6ekvDJvJC5uyrEqHcIPMmdhg/viewform

More information on the CO Diversity Network can be found at TheColoradoDiversityNetwork.org.

BCD Takes First Place in Continental Math Competition

Boulder Country Day School’s 4th & 5th grade Continental Math League team won first place in their division at the Continental Math Tournament held at Aspen Ridge Prep School in Erie on Monday, November 5th. Several BCD students placed within their grades including Alexander O’Hearne 1st Place in 3rd Grade and Amitai Sebba 1st Place in 4th Grade. Several BCD students qualified to move on to a state competition.

BoCo High School Fair - October 10th at BCD

Free and Open to the Public. All Boulder County middle school students and their families are invited to come meet with local public and private high schools as well as the over 60 boarding schools that will be in attendance. The event will run from 6:30pm – 8:00pm in the Boulder Country Day School gymnasium and is structured open house style.

More deatails here.

Building Social Intelligence in Preschoolers

Of all the skills we encourage our children to develop, social intelligence may be the most essential for predicting a fulfilling, successful life. Social intelligence is the ability to effectively negotiate interpersonal interactions and complex social environments. It involves effective communication skills, the ability to read non-verbal cues into how other people are feeling and virtues such as empathy and consideration.

Children learn appropriate behaviors by emulating adults. The easiest way to help your child learn qualities such as patience, forgiveness, compassion, generosity, and gentleness is to model these qualities in your day-to-day interactions with other people and with your children.

Preschoolers are social creatures, generally very interested in other and quick to notice and adopt social norms. They're becoming more able to control themselves, and more able to verbalize their feelings, opening up a host of options beyond for communicating and problem solving. The preschool years are a perfect opportunity to teach social habits and skills that will help them throughout their lifetime. If you would like to read a fascinating article that was recently in the New York Times about how work places are really just like preschool, click here.

It is completely natural for preschoolers to experience conflicts. Children this age usually want to have things go their way and yet have other children to play with. The ability to negotiate and compromise is honed through the conflicts that arise between toddlers. Be close by but do not intervene in a conflict until you feel that you absolutely need to. Even when you do intervene, make sure that instead of simply telling everyone what they should do, you help them empathize with each other and understand why they should behave in a particular way.

Some ways you can support the development of social intelligence in your child include:

Support their friendships. Honor and reinforce your child's developing friendships. Talk about them, remember them, create opportunities to play. Remember that children get aggravated with each other, just as adults do. It doesn't mean the end of a friendship, necessarily, just that they need help to work through the issues that come up.
Model respectful relating. Remember that your child will treat others as you treat her. Show your child respect, be tactful in the ways you talk to your child about how they are treating others, and help them work out difficulties when they play together.
Teach your child that people are important. Teach your child consideration for others. Model it for him early on, praise it, help him brainstorm to solve peer problems, and don't let your child intentionally or unintentionally disrespect another person.
Teach kids to express their needs and wants without attacking the other person. For instance:

"I don't like it when you push in front of me like that" instead of "You're mean!"

"I need a turn, too!" instead of "You're not letting me have the ball."

Help your child learn how to repair rifts in relationships. When we think about repairing relationships, we usually focus on apologizing. Giving children a chance to cool down first always works better and then ask them 'How can you fix it?'. Be sure to model apologies to your children and scaffold this process for them.

Remember, that teaching and modeling social skills is a process that takes time and patience. Stick to it - we promise you will see the results.

Why School Climate Matters

At BCD we make a positive school environment a big priority. From excellence in faculty to enthusiasm from parents to attention to physical setting and more, our efforts to develop Bulldog spirit are intentional and strong. But why does it matter?