The importance of the community is apparent in every tradition at Country Day. Several times a year, the entire school joins in events that may allow us to share in cultural inquiry, participate in service to the larger community, or play games together as on Field Day. Each school year opens and closes with an all-school gathering. Our seniors and their Kindergartners form a special bond during their first and last years at Country Day. Our family style lunch emphasizes the social relationship between students and faculty, giving each a chance to get to know the other outside of the classroom. The moving up ceremony in the gym on the last day of school allows students to physically "move up" to the next grade by moving their seats to their new place in the gym. Students moving from Lower School to Middle School are the most excited, and run across the gym to the "big kids area" and are cheered on by the whole school.

As a K-12 school, Country Day has many opportunities to celebrate the richness and uniqueness of our strong community, and to use that focus to teach students responsibility, role-modeling and leadership. Teachers, coaches, staff and administrators strive to teach students that their actions have consequences for the entire community around them, and to teach them to be aware of those around them in a responsible way.

Family Style Lunch
At Country Day, lunch is done a bit differently than at other schools. The dining room itself is like nothing you’ve ever seen; white linen table clothes adorn the tables that rest atop hardwood floors. Silver forks and spoons clank against the ancient white china. Students and faculty are assigned to tables, and each table has a designated server whose duty it is to retrieve lunch from the kitchen. Everyone indulges in that day’s meal, unless they prefer to visit the salad bar. Whatever the appetite craves, however, everyone eats around a table that fosters conversation, much like a family does at home.

Flags Fly for Country Day
This is the unofficial school song, sung at opening and closing ceremonies and on other various occasions. It was written quite some time ago by a kindergarten class, which explains the straightforward lyrics. Simply repeat “Flags fly for Country Day” three times and then yell, “Country Day’s my school, hooray!”

Graduation
If you compare all of the graduation photographs that line the walls on the second floor of the administration building, you will notice striking similarities. As long as Country Day has been in existence, the girls have graduated in long white dresses and the boys in variations of formal wear, usually white. Guests watch the graduates from pristine white chairs in the front circle at an early evening outdoor ceremony. A reception immediately follows in the courtyard.

Grandparents & Visitors Day
All students have the opportunity on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to invite guests to observe their school day. Grandparents, relatives and friends flood the campus to see the classrooms, special productions, and witness what a Country Day school day is all about.

Halloween Parade
Every year on October 31, kindergartners, first and second graders come to school dressed a little differently than usual: in full Halloween attire, face paint included. About ten minutes into the school day, the lower school faculty leads the miniature witches and heroes down the walkway on their Halloween parade. The rest of the school watches excitedly as the procession weaves its way throughout the campus.

Holiday Concert
Sometime after Thanksgiving but before Winter break, amidst all the chaos of another holiday season, Country Day lower school students perform their annual holiday concert. Some songs change from year to year while others remain the same, but the candlelit concert in the lower school atrium is an experience for all carolers and their guests. There is also a less formal daytime version of the concert.

Homecoming
Although almost every school has homecoming, there are some events that are exclusive to Country Day. The jam-packed week consists of many activities, one of which is Fill-the-Gym Night. The goal on this night is for the gym to be filled with cheering fans as the volleyball teams compete. Another tradition occurs among high school students: each class chooses a theme and on its designated day dresses up in full costume. Each class also decorates its respective locker area in that same theme, and the class with the best decorations wins an out to lunch. Of course, there is an afternoon football game that Friday, and a dance for the Upper School on Saturday evening. Held on-campus in the dining room, it is a casual affair and, in the past, when the dance has been held on Halloween, students have come in costume. At the dance, the Daisy King and Queen are crowned. Not to be confused with your typical Homecoming King and Queen, the recipients are chosen based on Daisy Day competition. Daisy Day is actually comprised of two days, one for the boys and one for the girls. On his day, each boy or girl is given a daisy to “protect.” The rules are simple: you cannot talk to a member of the opposite sex (except for in class) or else you must relinquish your daisy. The boy and girl who “win” the most daisies by persuading their peers to chat with them are thus hailed as Daisy King and Queen.

Junior Ring Luncheon
In late spring each year the junior class travels together to an off-campus location for a formal luncheon at which they receive their class rings. There they have the opportunity to sit with friends and talk about their coming senior year, as well as listen to brief speeches from classmates and faculty.

Literary Magazine
The Country Day Literary Magazine is comprised of student volunteers who support the literary and artistic efforts of the Country Day community through a bi-annual publication. The Lit Mag accepts stories, poems, and pictures from all grades, hoping to capture the creative spirit of the entire Country Day student body, faculty, and staff.

Le Mélange
Le Mélange is Metairie Park Country Day School’s yearbook. It covers the lower, middle and upper school divisions and averages 300 to 400 pages. As a publication, it is designed to cover the highlights of the school year, as well as showcase the senior class and its accomplishments.

Little Lunch
Don’t let this phrase intimidate you; it’s just a fancy term for the word “snack.” Served every day, each student is entitled to one of the day’s little lunches during a quick ten-minute break. Four days a week bring surprises, ranging from fruit to graham crackers, but one day consistently remains the same: Thursday. It is on this beloved day that donuts are served, and everyone scrambles to get their hands on one (or two, if you have a picky friend that is nice enough to share!)