Who we are
At any school, it's the teachers, students, parents, alumni, and staff who make the difference. Our school family grows each year, welcoming new friends in the tradition of our school motto: de amicitia - the spirit of friendship. Some current parents were once students here themselves. Some teachers have children who have graduated and come back to canoe on the ponds or chaperone Outdoor Education trips. The sense of family and of a "school home" that children develop here on this remarkable campus -- is part of why Country Day graduates seem so grounded and confident. We are all here to raise children who go on to lives of meaning and purpose. On these pages, meet some of the people who make a difference in the lives of our students -- and of the wider world -- every day.
News of and from the People of Country Day
Next time you walk into the Martin and Melva Bucksbaum Lower School Building, stop by the front desk and introduce yourself to Liz Sinkinson, who joined our school community this fall as Lower School Assistant. Or perhaps you already know her -- from around town or from the first few weeks of school -- as Liz has quickly become a go-to person for parents, faculty, and children on campus. Planning to pick up your child early? Need some help with a project? Wondering where to go for a parent meeting? Need some first aid or a bandaid? Liz is your person.
A graduate of St. Lawrence University with a BS in Psychology, Liz moved to Aspen in 2009 after teaching English in rural China and substitute teaching at a private school in Buffalo, where she grew up. Her first job in the Roaring Fork Valley was an internship at Challenge Aspen; she spent nine years working in local non-profits and met her husband here. Now with two children of her own, Liz enjoys getting to know the youngest Aardvarks (and their parents) in the busy entry hall in Lower School.
"I like that I'm seeing people that I've known for a long time, and also meeting new people," says LIz. "There is a great mix of the community here, and people are just so friendly."
With her CPR, First Aid, and Medicine Administration qualifications, Liz finds herself spending quite a bit of time with children who require help -- often just a word of reassurance and a smile. She estimates that she puts on "at least 10 band-aids a day."
Favorite teacher?
"My English teacher in high school. He had so many different ways of telling stories and making us excited about reading."
School journey?
"I went to a big public elementary school in a rural area just outside Buffalo, then for high school went to a teeny-tiny all-girls school, Buffalo Seminary."
Most popular color for band-aids this year?
"The fluorescent colors are very 'in' this year. I hear it used to be the animal prints, but this year it's definitely the fluorescents. And you don't have to be bleeding to get a band-aid; sometimes it just cheers you up to come for a little visit."