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Georgetown Days is a biannual magazine celebrating the vibrant spirit of Georgetown Day School. Each issue captures the energy of campus life, showcases the creativity and dedication of our students and staff, and highlights the remarkable achievements of our alumni. The magazine offers a window into a community where students love to learn and learn to change the world.
This issue of Georgetown Days highlights GDS’s current Strategic Vision, which is anchored in the School’s rich history and draws on the wisdom of its charter from nearly 80 years ago. In creating the charter, the founding families created a visionary and countercultural school. This issue explores some of the ways that the Strategic Vision is taking shape across campus as GDS strives to honor its past while remaining responsive to contemporary realities.
Features
![From Where I Stand]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1666642428/gdsorg/svwjr4dz1vptqzxvkgbq/RussellShawheadshot.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1666642428/gdsorg/svwjr4dz1vptqzxvkgbq/RussellShawheadshot.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1666642428/gdsorg/svwjr4dz1vptqzxvkgbq/RussellShawheadshot.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1666642428/gdsorg/svwjr4dz1vptqzxvkgbq/RussellShawheadshot.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1666642428/gdsorg/svwjr4dz1vptqzxvkgbq/RussellShawheadshot.jpg","width":1500}])
Our current Strategic Vision is anchored in our founding. “Audacious Beginnings, Bold Futures” draws on the wisdom of our charter from nearly 80 years ago: that a school can challenge the norms of its day, envision a more just and humane world, and prepare young people to help build it.
![Honoring the Founders’ Vision]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1755032248/gdsorg/pmdiqytoqzevdbsxzguf/MS_Students_Walking_05-06-25.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1755032248/gdsorg/pmdiqytoqzevdbsxzguf/MS_Students_Walking_05-06-25.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1755032248/gdsorg/pmdiqytoqzevdbsxzguf/MS_Students_Walking_05-06-25.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1755032248/gdsorg/pmdiqytoqzevdbsxzguf/MS_Students_Walking_05-06-25.jpg","width":1000}])
In the 2024-25 school year, GDS raised nearly $12 million to launch the GDS Scholars Financial Aid Endowment, which will fund a four-year High School education for at least two new GDS scholars every academic year starting next fall.
![A "Meeting of the Minds"]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1754999094/gdsorg/axt2pucqhdlgqudi9jvq/Magazine_spring_2025_meetingminds-3.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1754999094/gdsorg/axt2pucqhdlgqudi9jvq/Magazine_spring_2025_meetingminds-3.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1754999094/gdsorg/axt2pucqhdlgqudi9jvq/Magazine_spring_2025_meetingminds-3.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1754999094/gdsorg/axt2pucqhdlgqudi9jvq/Magazine_spring_2025_meetingminds-3.jpg","width":1000}])
Third-grade teacher Foun Tang and High School English teacher Nadia Mahdi brought their students together to work on cultivating those routines and deepening each age group’s reading, writing, and analytical skills.
![80 Years and Counting!]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1755229545/gdsorg/pyopgriexp4p4nttgqta/80th_story_thumb.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1755229545/gdsorg/pyopgriexp4p4nttgqta/80th_story_thumb.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1755229545/gdsorg/pyopgriexp4p4nttgqta/80th_story_thumb.png","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1755229545/gdsorg/pyopgriexp4p4nttgqta/80th_story_thumb.png","width":812}])
Commemorating 80 years together as a school begins in August 2025, when GDS kicks off a year-long celebration filled with activities and events designed to honor our rich history, embrace the vitality of our present, and imagine the promise of our future.
![Making Space to Feel]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1754999939/gdsorg/klyjoqlavqytpysd5jax/Leadership_magazine_Spring2025-1.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1754999939/gdsorg/klyjoqlavqytpysd5jax/Leadership_magazine_Spring2025-1.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1754999939/gdsorg/klyjoqlavqytpysd5jax/Leadership_magazine_Spring2025-1.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1754999939/gdsorg/klyjoqlavqytpysd5jax/Leadership_magazine_Spring2025-1.jpg","width":1000}])
Sankalp's leadership course, added to the health curriculum in the 2024-25 school year, are taught once a week to all seventh and eighth grade students.
![Family Perspectives]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1755229623/gdsorg/xq7bo10dnmbejsy6zvo9/Family_Perspectives_thumb_magazine_2025.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1755229623/gdsorg/xq7bo10dnmbejsy6zvo9/Family_Perspectives_thumb_magazine_2025.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1755229623/gdsorg/xq7bo10dnmbejsy6zvo9/Family_Perspectives_thumb_magazine_2025.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1755229623/gdsorg/xq7bo10dnmbejsy6zvo9/Family_Perspectives_thumb_magazine_2025.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1755229623/gdsorg/xq7bo10dnmbejsy6zvo9/Family_Perspectives_thumb_magazine_2025.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_6/v1755229623/gdsorg/xq7bo10dnmbejsy6zvo9/Family_Perspectives_thumb_magazine_2025.jpg","width":2200}])
In the Upper Level Historical Research Seminar, High School students investigated how race, place, and real estate intersect and influence access to opportunities for their respective families across generations.
![GDS Adopts Student-backed Green Energy Plan]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1754997682/gdsorg/dco6ia4ywp6fx0ejfy1h/MacOliverSamphoto_OnlineMagazineSpring2025.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1754997682/gdsorg/dco6ia4ywp6fx0ejfy1h/MacOliverSamphoto_OnlineMagazineSpring2025.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1754997682/gdsorg/dco6ia4ywp6fx0ejfy1h/MacOliverSamphoto_OnlineMagazineSpring2025.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1754997682/gdsorg/dco6ia4ywp6fx0ejfy1h/MacOliverSamphoto_OnlineMagazineSpring2025.jpg","width":1000}])
Three students met more than two dozen times with various GDS administrators, worked on a cost-benefit analysis, conducted a high-school-wide survey to gauge student interest, and penned an appeal to Head of School Russell Shaw in a bid to make their “green dream” a reality.
![History in the Making: Richard Avidon Retires]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1754963989/gdsorg/vl8bgakanktxrhmmeqeq/Avidon_Richard_2558103.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1754963989/gdsorg/vl8bgakanktxrhmmeqeq/Avidon_Richard_2558103.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1754963989/gdsorg/vl8bgakanktxrhmmeqeq/Avidon_Richard_2558103.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1754963989/gdsorg/vl8bgakanktxrhmmeqeq/Avidon_Richard_2558103.jpg","width":1000}])
![Ashley Trout ʼ99: Crafting Wine with Passion and Purpose]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1754968669/gdsorg/puzp3tuuwdfj4q4yidr1/Ashley_Trout_99_Spring2025_magazine-1.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1754968669/gdsorg/puzp3tuuwdfj4q4yidr1/Ashley_Trout_99_Spring2025_magazine-1.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1754968669/gdsorg/puzp3tuuwdfj4q4yidr1/Ashley_Trout_99_Spring2025_magazine-1.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1754968669/gdsorg/puzp3tuuwdfj4q4yidr1/Ashley_Trout_99_Spring2025_magazine-1.jpg","width":1000}])
![Maia Stern ʼ03: Keeping it Raw at NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1754970033/gdsorg/y1ieetso829ne5gsu9hm/Maia_Stern03_Magazine_Spring2025-4.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1754970033/gdsorg/y1ieetso829ne5gsu9hm/Maia_Stern03_Magazine_Spring2025-4.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1754970033/gdsorg/y1ieetso829ne5gsu9hm/Maia_Stern03_Magazine_Spring2025-4.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1754970033/gdsorg/y1ieetso829ne5gsu9hm/Maia_Stern03_Magazine_Spring2025-4.jpg","width":1000}])