Seattle Country Day School

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Seattle Country Day School Inspiring gifted children to reach their potential through inquiry, curiosity, and wonder. A place that gently reminds them every day: You belong.

There are some children whose ability, passion, and curiosity are simply too big for traditional schools. They need a community of learners like them, plus brilliant, tireless teachers who truly understand them and find joy in teaching them. These students do their best learning in a place where rigorous academics are just the starting point—where the day is often shaped by the questions they ask, and where a lesson plan is, by design, more roadmap than agenda. Such students thrive in a place where they will internalize forever the understanding that having your own ideas and using them to solve complex problems is just as important as simply knowing the right answer. And the world needs your gifts. For some, Seattle Country Day School is that place. As one of our students put it: “I feel like a puzzle piece that finally found the right box.”

The fifth-graders in Meg H’s class at SCDS were, loudly and cheerfully, drawing dragons. One dragon had a snout like a s...
10/08/2026

The fifth-graders in Meg H’s class at SCDS were, loudly and cheerfully, drawing dragons. One dragon had a snout like a seal; another looked a lot like a dinosaur; a third had flowers for ears. There were plenty of vibrant drawings because, on a practical level, the project was an exercise in using colored pencils. The drawings were also an exercise in self-reflection; students considered their own character, then created a dragon that could either enhance their strengths or provide them with some balance.

The SCDS yearbook elective is having a meeting. First, they assign some photographic duties. Then, it’s on to the real b...
10/07/2026

The SCDS yearbook elective is having a meeting. First, they assign some photographic duties. Then, it’s on to the real business of the day, which is choosing among several yearbook style guides that the students have painstakingly designed. Teacher Neal B. then adds a layer of difficulty to the discussion: Their decision has to be a consensus. One student opens by asking if any design could be taken out of the running. A second notes that two designs are similar and could be combined. A third student, who’d created a neon-and-black design, says that he finds one of the pastel designs dull, and two students respond by suggesting moving elements from one design into another. While Neal was guiding the conversation along, it was really impressive to see the students bring all their negotiating skills and cooperation to the table!

“Am I using observation or imagination?” asks Maddie C., one of SCDS’s art teachers. She’s looking at the whiteboard and...
10/06/2026

“Am I using observation or imagination?” asks Maddie C., one of SCDS’s art teachers. She’s looking at the whiteboard and drawing a tree. “Imagination!” say the first-graders. When the class heads outside to draw trees, though, they’re taking the other route to art: observation. The class talks about the shapes of the trees, and the way the trunks look. Upon being asked if they could draw every leaf on a tree, one student sensibly suggested that he and his p*ers could “just roughly sketch.” The students then head off, all concentration, to find THEIR tree.

Nicole Jackson, M.D., MPH, UW Medicine’s director of autopsy and after-death services, and three of her colleagues-in-tr...
10/02/2026

Nicole Jackson, M.D., MPH, UW Medicine’s director of autopsy and after-death services, and three of her colleagues-in-training recently came to speak with the students in SCDS’s middle-school forensics elective. Why did our visitors decide to pursue forensic pathology, the medical discipline that conducts autopsies? Dr. Jackson wanted a career with a lot of variety, and forensic pathology had plenty to interest her. One of the trainees thought of autopsies as interesting puzzles, while another said he wanted to help uncover the truth, especially for “people who can’t speak for themselves.” When it came time to ask questions, SCDS students had plenty. How do you ID chemicals in the body? Answer: By testing muscles, salivary glands, and (most often) urine. (“You can learn more from p*e than you ever thought you could,” said one trainee cheerfully.) How long does it take to do an autopsy? Answer: Dr. Jackson completed her shortest autopsy in 30 minutes; the longest one took three days. And the question that was probably on everyone’s mind: How do you cope with odors? Answer: Forensic pathologists appreciate their masks. Many thanks to Dr. Jackson and her colleagues for paying such an interesting and inspiring visit.

Earlier this week, several of our awesome alums…namely, Ainsley C. ’25, Henry F. ’26, Sabine K. ’26 , Mari S. ’26, and S...
10/01/2026

Earlier this week, several of our awesome alums…namely, Ainsley C. ’25, Henry F. ’26, Sabine K. ’26 , Mari S. ’26, and Sid S. ’24.... spent an evening with our current crop of eighth-graders, providing insight into the transition to ninth grade. “Our alums told us that they felt SCDS prepared them really well for high school,” says Glenn Chickering, SCDS’s Middle School division head. Other advice for eighth-graders? Our alums suggested that students go on tours at high schools. That they remember that interviews go both ways; while high schools interview eighth-grade students, students are also interviewing high schools. And our alums offered reassurance, too, as does Glenn, about making friends. “Even though you’re likely going to a bigger school for high school,” says Glenn, “you’ll still find your crew.” Thanks to OUR crew of alums for dispensing their wisdom this week! Photo: Matt Stenovec.

When did typing become, well, FUN? Just in time for fifth-grade tech students at SCDS to enjoy learning this useful skil...
10/01/2026

When did typing become, well, FUN? Just in time for fifth-grade tech students at SCDS to enjoy learning this useful skill. For those of us who remember learning to type “quick brown fox” on an IBM Selectric, these illustrated stories that students are typing along to seem pretty awesome!

A good, solid rainbow visits the SCDS campus at least once a year, and the most recent one visited late last week. A rai...
09/29/2026

A good, solid rainbow visits the SCDS campus at least once a year, and the most recent one visited late last week. A rainy day, then some clearing, then all this lovely color! (If you squint, you might even be able to see the faint glimmer of a second rainbow above it.)

Students were throwing out a bunch of ideas for this tug-of-war game…which was actually an examination of balanced and u...
09/28/2026

Students were throwing out a bunch of ideas for this tug-of-war game…which was actually an examination of balanced and unbalanced forces in science class. The third-graders varied the number of students on each side of the rope; sometimes they chose students they thought were bigger and stronger; and sometimes, they pulled in their teacher, Sarah B, for some extra muscle. One SCDS student fished a list out of his pocket and proceeded to put himself and Sarah on one side and seven precisely picked (and very determined) students on the other. A good and un/balanced time was had by all!

After learning about the Abstract Expressionism art movement, seventh-graders at SCDS received this challenge from Ms. M...
09/25/2026

After learning about the Abstract Expressionism art movement, seventh-graders at SCDS received this challenge from Ms. Meg: Choose a word, then express it with imagery, symbols, color, and texture. Oh, and use at least three different materials. When we asked Corin about his piece, “Nurture,” he pointed out the thoughtful layers: green circles in the background, a flower, splashes of paint, a paper crane, and the sealant-covered tissue paper affixed at the bottom. His classmates chose to portray other words, including two-faced, wise, movement, risk, trust, chaos, and imperfection. It was a super-cool collection…nice job, seventh-graders!

The newest kids on the block at SCDS are not kindergarteners…they’re birds! Over the past few days, several quail chicks...
09/25/2026

The newest kids on the block at SCDS are not kindergarteners…they’re birds! Over the past few days, several quail chicks have pecked their way out of their eggs and taken up residence in the eighth-grade biology lab. These fluffy, feisty chicks are delighting children and adults alike — and they’re being closely observed as part of a Middle School elective on ornithology.

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Seattle, WA

Opening Hours

Monday 7:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 7:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 7:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 7:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 7:30am - 4:30pm

Telephone

(206)2846220

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