The 9th and 10th Grade programs are designed to introduce students not only to the rigor of Upper School skill development and content exploration, but also to the Portrait of a Learner Capacities. The faculty in both grades have thoughtfully structured opportunities for fostering growth in interdisciplinary thinking, project development and management, and collaboration. To be recognized as a nominee, students must embody the following criteria:
A dedication, resilience, and innovation in their academic work.
A strong academic record, with clear and consistent demonstration of growth in the Portrait of a Learner capacities, not simply the highest grade point average.
Maturity as leaders and community builders both within their academic classes and within the grade overall.
Each spring, the 9th and 10th grade faculties vote on the recipients of the award for their respective grade.
The 11th and 12th Grade Academic Program is designed to provide each student with the opportunity to pursue a unique path of study while honing their skills in interdisciplinary thinking, independent research, and collaborative problem solving. Nominations for induction into the Academic Honor Society highlight the following qualities, which are taken into consideration by the 11th and 12th grade faculty when selecting each year’s inductees:
Dedication, resilience, and innovation in their academic work.
Pursuit of an ambitious and challenging course of study, demonstration of strength in independent research, interdisciplinary thinking, and project design, management, and execution.
A strong academic record with demonstration of growth in the Portrait of a Learner capacities, including collaboration.
Growth as leaders and community builders within their grade and classes.
Inductees should represent a target of 10% of the graduating class, with a target of 5% of the class being inducted in the Junior Year.
Each year, the Upper School faculty gives awards for the top thesis in each major research or artistic field, including:
The Social Sciences
The Humanities (including World Languages)
STEM Fields
The Visual and Performing Arts
This year saw an impressive array of Junior Thesis projects. The faculty has recognized the following theses with Junior Thesis Awards for the 2023-2024 School Year:
STEM
“Strategy, Subterfuge, and Deception: How Cancer Cells Hide From the Body’s Natural Defenses” (Kai Harashima)
“Partial Differential Equations: How Mathematicians Revolutionized the Economy” (Bobby Jones)
Social Sciences
“The Property Tax and Education Inequality in Connecticut” (Jackson Anderson)
“The Neuroscience and Psychology Behind Equine-Assisted Therapy: Horses Are Capable of Inspiring Change” (Leena Aronson)
“Smog in Our Brains: The Correlation Between Increased Air Pollution and Anxiety and Depression in Adolescents” (Olivia Karanikolaidis)
Arts
“Growing Pains: An EP on Finding Maturity and Self as an Adolescent” (Daphne Hentsch-Cowles)
Humanities
“How Socialist was National Socialism?” (Kyle Bassalik)
“The Mental and Physical Healthcare Disparities of Women in the French Incarceration System” (Reminy D’Albert)
The Kurdziel Most Family Instrumental Music Award is presented to a musician who exemplifies the highest standards for instrumental advancement, artistry, and leadership during their years at GCDS.
The Dale Bartholomew Piano Award is presented to that Upper School student who has shown a passion and commitment to the study of piano during their Upper School years.
The Russell Locke Performing Arts Award is presented to that Upper School student who demonstrates a keen understanding of the voice, willingness to sing solo or in an ensemble, an ability to read music and a passion for singing. The recipient has been committed to concerts, dance, and musical productions throughout their Upper School career
The Upper School Visual Arts Award is presented to that Upper School Student who demonstrates advanced ability in both 2D and 3D visual arts fields, including drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, photography and/ or digital design. The recipient creates artwork that exemplifies creativity, challenges the artistic norms and is a true means of self-expression.
The Douglas Brenninkmeyer Award celebrates character, displayed through athletics…not athletic ability or competitive instinct….though both may be present in the winners. The award memorializes Douglas Brinnikmeyer, Greenwich Country Day School, a multi-sport athlete and scholar in the GCDS class of 1988.
This award is for: Helpfulness in practice, Patience with those who are less talented, Sustained extra effort in the good times and in the down times. Genuine modesty after a team victory or personal triumph.
This award is presented to the students who have most steadfastly displayed Douglas Brennikmeyer’s wonderful qualities throughout the school year.