On Friday, June 5, 2015, students, parents, faculty, and trustees of The Country School celebrated the graduation of the 8th grade class in a ceremony at the school.

Graduation speakers, who were chosen from an anonymous speech-writing contest prior, were 8th graders Caroline Benson and Hannah Murphy.

Graduates included (bottom row, l-r) Claire Kearns, Charlotte Oxnam, Harper Melton, Kathryn Paris, Paige Murphy, Morgan Smith, Kendall Bishop, (second row, l-r) Olivia Keller, Caroline Benson, Natasha Panduwawala, Hannah Murphy, Olivia Thomas, Nicholas Shaw, (third row, l-r) Malachi Graham, Eddie Quick, Will Urquhart, Lucas Joshi, Garrett Campbell, (fourth row, l-r) Henry Esterson, Alexander Stecher-Scott, Dylan Shreve, (top row, l-r) Ryan Summers, and Nicholas Basham.

The Class of 2015 is characterized by its friendly, inclusive nature and strong leadership within the school.

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The Country School, a Kindergarten through eighth grade independent school in Easton, will host an open house on Thursday, October 23rd at 9:30 AM for prospective parents. The open house will feature a tour, a question and answer panel with eighth grade students, and coffee with the school’s headmaster, Neil Mufson. In addition, those who attend will be entered into a drawing for play tickets, local dining gift certificates, and school spirit wear. All are welcome to attend — including younger children — and no prior registration is required.

The Country School celebrates its 80th year serving students in Talbot, Dorchester, Caroline, and Queen Anne’s Counties. The school offers a personalized educational experience that nurtures the potential of each child. For more information, visit countryschool.org or call Admissions Director, Kim Balderson, at 410.822.1935 ext. 130.

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The Country School, a K-8 independent school in Easton, launches a new website on Thursday, September 18th. In addition to information for current families, the school hopes to serve the community as a hub for education-related trends and information for those interested in best practices in the field. The site address is www.countryschool.org.

The website will feature a biweekly blog on topics related to child development, teaching, and community education news. Information about cultural assemblies open to the community — including homeschooling families — will be available for local parents. Event details for free preschool activities, the spring musical, and open houses will be featured as well.

A new video located on the homepage introduces an inside view of the school and its philosophy. “We think helping partner with parents to raise good people is really the most important piece of what we’re doing here,” Headmaster Neil Mufson comments at one point in the video, which shows students at various points of the school day.

As a part of the launch festivities, the school is hosting an online scavenger hunt beginning at 7 PM on September 18th. Anyone is welcome to participate and can win four tickets to the school’s spring musical, Aladdin. For details, visit the school’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/countryschoolMD.

The Country School, a Kindergarten through eighth grade independent school in Easton, began its 80th year of educating children from Talbot, Dorchester, Caroline, and Queen Anne’s Counties on Tuesday, September 2nd. Headmaster Neil Mufson still greets each student with a handshake as they enter the school, a tradition started with the first Headmistress, Dorothy Startt. To honor the milestone anniversary, the school will launch a new website and other outreach initiatives, as well as host celebratory events throughout the year.

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On Wednesday, May 7th, County School students were presented with the results of several national exams in which they competed, including the National Spanish Exam, the National Latin Exam, the Medusa Mythology Exam, and the Maryland Math League Contest.

Headmaster Neil Mufson announced the results of seventh and eighth grade students who took the National Spanish Exam in an all-school assembly. Sofie Neil received the exam’s highest award, a gold certificate; Hanna Soulati and Paige Murphy received silver certificates; Henry Esterson, Kate Paris, Zach Ewing, and Julia Messenger received bronze certificates; Kristin Ketterman, Grace Hill, Zach Danels, Alexander Stecher-Scott, and Caroline Benson received certificates of honor. The National Spanish Exam is an online test that measures achievement and proficiency in the Spanish language of over 150,000 students nationally.

Four Country School students received honors for their performance on the National Latin Exam. Hanna Soulati received the Magna Cum Laude award; Zach Danels and Zach Ewing received the Cum Laude award; Cali Blizzard received a certificate of merit. Administered early this year, the National Latin Exam tests students’ knowledge of the Latin language as well as the mythology, daily life and customs of the Romans. The 2014 National Latin Exam was administered to over 140,000 students in the United States.

Eighth grader Zach Ewing received the Corona Olivae award for his results on the Medusa Mythology Exam. The national exam tests student knowledge of mythical figures and concepts.

Mufson presented certificates to eight students who participated in the Maryland Math League Contest: Kelley Hertelendy, Lucas Joshi, Helen Hutchinson, James Parkinson, Anna Roser, Sydney Nittle, Olivia Hershey, and Giselle Harris. The Math League Contest, which has over 100,000 students participating at each grade level, covers advanced arithmetic, basic geometry, and pre-algebra.

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On Saturday, April 26th, local 8th grader Tyler Judd brought home the top award from the Optimist International Oratorical Contest in Ocean City. He placed first in the Maryland/South Delaware District competition and was awarded a $2,500 scholarship.

Judd delivered his winning speech on his love of acting. “It was easy to speak about my passion,” Judd said with his characteristic grin. “I was so excited but I didn’t tell anyone that I won. My English teacher, Ms. Steg, had to be the first to know,” he said. Judd attends The Country School in Easton.

The first stage of the Optimist competition began locally at the Avalon Theater, where Judd beat out area teens on April 7th. He continued on to compete in Salisbury on April 15th, where he came away with another first prize.

Tyler recalls catching the acting bug in first grade at The Country School when he was cast as Arthur in a class play. He continued his acting career in the Upper School Musicals at The Country School playing the roles of Winthrop in The Music Man, Chip in Beauty and the Beast, Sebastian in The Little Mermaid, Jr. and most recently, Smee in Peter Pan.

“The best feeling in the world for me, is when I’m up on stage and I can tell that the audience is having a good time,” states Judd in the closing lines of his speech. “Whether its laughter after a funny line, a grin in the front row, or even screams of delight, it’s why I love to perform. I hope that before I leave this earth, I will have plenty of opportunities to affect the lives of others or just put a smile on someone’s face. After all, isn’t a smile just enough to impact the world?”

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