Countryside School

Throwback Thursday - Let’s focus on volleyball as we return to 1995 and 2022. My how things have changed! We now have our own high-school sized gym and even host volleyball tournaments.

The recent photo is of our 8th graders following the final volleyball event of the year - our parent-player game. This game is always entertaining and the parents get very competitive!

The 2022 players just graduated from high school in May and are headed off to college and beyond now. And our 1995 team have careers and children of their own!

Throwback Thursday - This week we go back to 2017 and our “Who Killed Caesar?” scavenger hunt. This yearly tradition typically takes place near the Ides of March - where our middle school advanced Latin class solves clues (translating them from Latin) to determine who killed Caesar. The game often involves additional teacher/adult players who the students interact with to receive their clues.

Huge shout out to Magistra McComas, our wonderful Latin instructor, for her creative game each year!

Throwback Thursday – At our Founders’ Day celebration in 2019, our color guard, comprised of our Scouts and Girl Scouts, conducted a flag raising ceremony including retiring the old flag. We appreciate it!

Because we are on the edge of town, it can be exceptionally windy sometimes, so our heavy duty, wind-resistant flags have to be replaced more often than normal.

Remember the time 11 years ago when in a January blizzard and supercold temperatures, the top clip holding our flag broke - leaving it hanging by just the bottom clip?

Then we discovered we could not take the flag down because the rope line inside the flagpole was frozen solid at the bottom. We even had the Champaign Fire Department come out with their blow torches, but they too were unsuccessful. Finally when the weather warmed enough, we were able to pour enough hot water into the flagpole to melt the ice and free the rope!

Throwback Thursday – Remember the Ocean Unit and building the boat in our kindergarten/1st grade classroom? Nineteen years ago - in 2007 - our fabulous boat set sail in the 4th of July parade – complete with bubbles coming from the smokestack! It was so typically hot that day (86 degrees). The older students walked with the float carrying a Countryside banner, and the younger ones rode on the float with Mrs. Doey and Mrs. Cox.

Does anyone have more photos of our "boat float"? Let us know!

Throwback Thursday - We go back this week to the first week of school in 2016. Remember the breakout rooms in a box? This one was Star Wars themed. These students are now in college and graduate school! And this classroom is now our kindergarten room and is painted pale blue. Where does the time go?

World Cup: Scotland plays today! We’re in full support of Scotland coning statues!

Throwback Thursday – This week we travel back to 1997 to the first graduation in our brand new building. We had five graduates that year. Also pictured our board president Anne Slichter and literature and writing teacher Larry McMillan.

On the last day of school in May 1997, we moved EVERYTHING from our previous building into our newly constructed building at the corner of Kirby and Staley. Classes officially started at that building in August.

If you were a part of Countryside back then, please comment and give us more information about events shown.

Countryside takes Japan! The final leg of our journey started in Nara with the Tōdai-ji Buddhist Temple and the bowing (and aggressive!) Sika deer.

We then enjoyed an evening boat tour in Osaka, lots of shopping in the Dōtonbori area, and a street food tour including okonomiyaki (savory pancakes with meats & sauces) and takoyaki (a popular ball-shaped snack with diced octopus).

On our final day we toured Himeji Castle - a feudal castle and UNESCO World Heritage site. We then took the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo to fly home.

We are celebrating 35 years of Countryside and want your logo design!

The winning piece of artwork, judged by our panel, will be celebrated at our 35th Anniversary Launch Party (Homecoming/Fall Picnic) this August. Your logo could be on our promotional materials for our anniversary year and on t-shirts celebrating our 35 years of Joy in Learning!

One Grand Prize winner will receive a $200 Amazon gift card and Countryside swag including a t-shirt with their logo. One Runner Up Prize winner will receive a $50 Amazon gift card.

Deadline for submission: June 30, 2026 at 11:59 pm (Central time).

Eligibility: Contest is open to all in the Countryside community. Those under 18 may enter with parental permission.

How to Enter: www.countrysideschool.org/logo-contest

Countryside takes Japan! Next stops on our trip - Ghibli Park (the theme park based on Hayao Miyazaki's films like “My Neighbor Totoro”) and Kyoto. The sites and activities in Kyoto included a traditional tea ceremony, the Fushimi Inari Shrine with its 1,000 torii gates, the Kiyomizu-dera Temple (a UNESCO World Heritage site), the famous Golden Pavilion, and the impressive bamboo forest.

And we finally have a photo with nearly everyone on both trips. Group photo at the hotel in Kyoto!