What Does DDS Mean to You?
"Looking back, I realize that Dutchess Day School was my home away from home. I was particularly close with some of my classmates, whom I even see in New York City today, and I am in touch with several of my teachers, like Vanessa Park. My brother, Adam, and I remember the ski trips, the ice cream races on Field Day, whale watching, catching frogs at Mrs. Rosse’s house, listening to Miss Dreier read Mrs. Frisbee and the Rats of NIMH and writing a gazillion letters in her class to towns all over the country. I will never forget Mrs. Madlon's pulling teeth, the haunted house in the basement, and starring in some wonderful plays. My home at DDS was where my story began." —Timothy Richards '99
"As a teacher today, I am convinced that the middle school years play an important and formative role in the life of a student. Looking back on my own middle school experience, I feel lucky to have spent that time at Dutchess Day. The teachers at DDS taught me to ask difficult questions, to seek honest answers, and to be an active participant in my own learning process. The faculty was willing to listen to me and always there to laugh with me. At Dutchess, I learned to read, to write, to experiment, to play. I made incredible friends. More importantly, however, I graduated with a strong sense of self and an eager desire to seek new challenges. Thank you, Dutchess, for a wonderful five years." — Reed Weeden '95
"There is something special about a “pre-K to 8” school: as students progress together as friends and classmates from early childhood to the brink of adulthood, they hold a real affection for DDS because it is a wonderful place to grow up." —Charles Umiker, former teacher
“I have always liked Gym. Probably everyone does. I specifically like Gym because you have games of your choice on your birthday. I also like Gym because I am very active. It also gets you moving for the rest of the day. I think Gym is called Gym because the “G” stands for “Get” and the “Y” stands for “Yourself” and the “M” stands for “Moving”. Together it’s “Get Yourself Moving”! I still think of it that way today. I also like sports and you play sports in Gym (a.k.a. Get Yourself Moving).”— Jack ‘14
“I remember when I first visited and someone asked if I wanted to sit next to him. Now I am his best friend.”— Will ‘14
“I like to get out of bed every day because I get to see my teachers and my classmates. I like to play with all the girls and sometimes the boys. I like doing the play and I like to sing the songs.”— Amanda ‘14
“School is Fun” – I love school. I love the classes, they are so cool and I get to learn science, cursive, math and writing. I have the nicest teachers in our school!”— Ava ‘14
“This is my fifth year here and so far I’ve loved it. Also this year I’ve met a lot of new friends. It’s a lot of different than last year because this is the first year I get grades. The school has a lot of sports. My favorite is field hockey. We do a lot of running, hitting field hockey balls and a lot more. One of my favorite subjects is writing. Because I love the things that our teacher wants us to do. If I didn’t go to this school I would try to get in as fast as I can.”— Danielle ‘12
“This year is my sixth year at DDS. I am a fifth grader and my teacher is Ms. Yates. Some of my experiences at DDS are when my class and I hatched chick eggs in kindergarten, when I was in the third grade play, when we learned about ancient Egypt in fourth grade, and tasted blueberry syrup in social studies.”— Samantha ‘12
“I love every subject but my favorite subject in school is science. Recently in science we made mouse trap cars. They are regular wooden model cars but with a specially modified mouse trap.”— Samantha ‘12
“At Dutchess Day, it is like my second home. The people here are really nice and they are like a family. Since it is small you know everyone here. The teachers are really nice and have a lot of knowledge in the subject they teach. The classes are really fun and you still learn a lot. The 5th through 8th grades still get recess. The chef makes a lot of homemade foods and the food is really good! The sports teams are really good and it is socially good. There is a Student Leadership Council. The mascot is a tiger and it is really cool.”— Jake ‘12
“Here at Dutchess Day School everybody knows everyone. We have a lot of community meetings through the school with Monday Morning assemble and Friday assembly. The school believes sports are good exercise. I’m in soccer, golf and volleyball. The school believes it doesn’t matter if you win or lose it just matters if you had fun.”— Ben ‘12
“Dutchess Day is a great school. In my time here at DDS I’ve improved on every skill and gained many new ones. I started here in kindergarten and I’m now in fifth grade. Writing was always my weakest subject but the teachers would take time aside to help me in anyway. Throughout my six years here I’ve enriched my mind so much like only 35% of cotton is made into cloth, 60% is turned into oil and 5% is trash. Dutchess Day is an amazing school to thrive and grow in.”— Alex ‘12
“My favorite thing at DDS is art class. I love how I can practically do anything. I love to draw, paint and do any assignments asked. My second favorite is reading. You can read anything and it is so quiet. Everyone is so relaxed and, as I say, “in the zone”. I love the “zone”! My third favorite subject is social studies. I love the projects you can do! You don’t have only one choice when you’re there, you have at least five.”— Tia ‘13
“At DDS my favorite time of the day is reading. It calms me down and makes me happy. When I read I am in my own world and it is hard to get me out of it. I like how I get to read a variety of books.”
“The times I feel most happy in school are when I hear people reading or reciting my poems and when we do clock partners.”
“I’ve learned to work together in gym and have patience for others to speak in class debates. In history we do skits to get things to make sense and in math we do games to make it fun. In art we learn about the artists and countries we are styling from. In writing there are pictures and objects for us to write about. I think DDS’s small classes help teachers know their students so they can help them more. At DDS learning is fun!”
“I like the way that school is like a third home. I like to see my friends every day. I love reading new books at reading time or just rereading a good book.”— Winny ‘13
“Some of my favorite classes are music and art. Music helps me get better at flute by having to keep a beat and it is fun getting to play different instruments. I like art because I like to draw. I also like reading because it is nice to be able to settle down in the afternoon.”— Hayley‘13
“DDS has really welcomed me this year as a new student. I have made a lot of new friends. Reading is one of my favorite periods. I really like just sitting down with a good book. All of the teachers are very nice here. Writing workshop is really fun. I like writing stories. DDS is a really good school.”