About

John Liggett, Head of School

At The Country Day School, our mandate is to equip students with what they need to be successful. We are committed to offering top academics, athletics, arts, outdoor ed, leadership skills, and character building opportunities, each as a priority, without compromise.
 
Community still remains at the core of all that we do at CDS.
 
 
What do I love most about The Country Day School? That’s a good question.

It is the overwhelming sense of community I discovered the first time I visited.

Community still remains at the core of all that we do here at CDS. In 1971 a group of committed parents first conceived of the idea to start a co-ed private school in King and worked tirelessly to open our doors to 47 students just a year later. CDS has since grown to 810 students with offerings in JK-12 and beautifully situated on the original 100-acre country setting.
 
 
 
“From its beginning 50 years ago, CDS has been the shared vision of some very fine people who came together from all walks of life to create a community dedicated to young people. Our school supports and inspires our students. Most of all, it is a place that feels like home.” - John Liggett
 
 
This is a place where your children can come be themselves and feel encouraged and supported in everything they do. Our tagline – Education with Balance – speaks to our balanced offerings of a wide range of individualized academics, athletics, arts and extra-curriculars that will cultivate a passion in every student and help them achieve a healthy balance. I encourage you to experience some wonderful examples of this by watching our Portraits of a Graduate videos.
 
 
 
Are you just starting your search for an independent school? Or are you well on your way to making a decision?

Whatever stage you are at in this important process, I invite you to explore our website and social media presence, and then attend an Open House or request a personal visit. Once you step onto our campus for a face-to-face visit, you will witness firsthand the feeling of community I talked about earlier.

Thank you for your interest, and I look forward to meeting you soon.

John Liggett
Head of School
 

Our Vision

The Country Day School is committed to offering a superior educational experience that is sensitive to the needs of each student, enables learning and equips students for life.

Our Guiding Principles

List of 9 items.

  • Nurture academic excellence

    We will nurture academic excellence in our students by giving them the academic and life skills they need for continued success. We will offer an academic programme with a focus on balance to provide students with a depth and breadth of understanding. We will aim to develop core academic skills in our students: literacy, numeracy, a sense of historical development, problem-solving, critical thinking, an appreciation of the arts, global awareness, and a life-long love of learning.
  • Build sound and honourable character

    We will build sound and honourable character in our students through curricular and co-curricular activities. We will foster a positive culture of mutual respect that builds trust and engages students in learning. We will aim to develop in our students integrity, mutual respect, leadership skills, responsibility, self-discipline, productivity, and moral maturity.
  • Raise social and global awareness

    We will raise the social and global awareness of our students through our curriculum, community service opportunities, charitable involvement, programme initiatives, excursions and visiting guest speakers. The core traits we will aim to develop in our students are adaptability, global understanding, respect for difference, empathy, volunteerism, and sensitivity to the human condition.
  • Advocate fitness for life

    We will advocate and support a fitness for life philosophy throughout the school. We will maintain an environment where students are encouraged to take part in physical fitness for the love of competition or the pure pleasure of having fun and being active. Whether at recess, in gym class, at practice, or in competition, we will promote in our students good sportsmanship, teamwork, dedication, perseverance, achievement of one’s personal best, and healthy living.
  • Employ talented people

    We will attract, employ and retain the most talented staff to maintain the quality education that we offer. We will protect our employee resources by implementing a comprehensive recruitment and retention strategy. Focal points will be employee recognition and rewards for actions which assist us in realizing our vision. We will cultivate an organizational culture that promotes a sense of community, pride in work, optimism, trusting relationships, collegiality, collaboration and open communication.
  • Promote community involvement

    We will promote community spirit and involvement at our school through our actions, publications and special events. We will recognize the accomplishments of our students and we will celebrate our alumni. We will communicate effectively and openly with all members of our community – students, alumni, parents, past parents, faculty, staff, and friends – to maintain and enhance the positive culture at our school.
  • Foster artistic passion and expression

    We will foster artistic passion and expression by exposing our students to the visual, dramatic and musical arts throughout their CDS journey. 
  • Create a place where all are welcome

    We will create a place where all are welcome by building a community in which people from different cultural and religious backgrounds learn, live and work harmoniously, free of discrimination and with mutual respect and understanding. Our curriculum will teach respect for difference. We will also continue to build our endowment to make our school accessible to those who are currently unable to attend due to financial constraints.
  • Develop the finest campus resources

    We will develop the finest campus resources while responsibly maintaining our present campus. We will continually assess our facilities in relationship to programme, curricular needs, student enrolment and community demographics. We will anticipate future needs by developing and implementing a dynamic master campus plan. We will encourage a philanthropic culture at our school to establish the finest campus resources for our community, now and in future.

Land Acknowledgment

The Country Day School wishes to recognize and acknowledge the land on which the school operates. Our nearest Indigenous Nations are now the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the Chippewas of Georgina Island. The Dish with One Spoon Wampum covenant is often cited as an example of the shared responsibility for caring for these lands among the Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples who would call these their traditional territories. CDS respects the relationship with these lands and recognizes that our connection to this land can be strengthened by our continued relationship with all First Nations, by acknowledging our shared responsibility to respect and care for the land and waters for future generations.

School Information

Junior, Middle and Senior Schools
13415 Dufferin Street, King, Ontario L7B 1K5 

(905) 833-1220 

communications@cds.on.ca
admissions@cds.on.ca

Founded in 1972, The Country Day School is a co-educational private school offering programs in JK-12 and located on 100 acres north of Toronto in King.