About

Education With Balance

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.
 
As a school of balance, we don’t operate from a “one size fits all” approach. Instead CDS differentiates instruction and seeks to meet the individual needs of each student. This approach is in everything we do. We cultivate the passion a child brings with them, or help them to discover one here.

Balance does not have to mean trying everything, but it does mean being exposed to people, ideas and opportunities across key priority areas, including:

Academically, we want our students to be open to different academic subjects and styles of learning. Our faculty are constantly checking and enhancing the curriculum – all with an eye on providing students with opportunities to achieve success.

Athletically, we embolden them to try their hand at multiple sports early on until they find those that they truly enjoy.

Artistically, we offer numerous opportunities for CDS students to explore the arts, whether that be on the stage, in the concert hall, or at an easel. 

Environmentally, we want our students to appreciate nature and become stewards of the environment. Taking the learning outdoors with a purpose fosters environmental responsibility while also enhancing health, wellness and the capacity to learn.

When it comes to developing leadership skills, there are numerous extra-curricular opportunities at CDS and students are encouraged to participate and play a role in fine tuning everything from the activities offered, to the direction they take. Character building is an underlying theme in everything we do.

The Country Day School is a school where students are encouraged to sprint for a try on the rugby pitch; continue their pursuit of the saxophone in the Jazz Band; and lead a Social Justice Club meeting after school. 

It is an exhilarating pursuit of individual interests. It is what we call education with balance. Our recent graduates articulate this philosophy beautifully in a series of video vignettes entitled Portrait of a CDS Graduate.

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Please contact the Office of Admission if you should have questions. 

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.

Providing Education With Balance

List of 3 items.

  • Challenge the Student

    Challenging the student requires commitment to the development of the whole child. While the pursuit of knowledge forms the foundation of a child’s education, we believe that the cultivation of imagination, moral maturity and a love of learning is of equal importance. This is why we take a balanced approach to education, never considering the extras to be frills.

    We achieve balance by pairing a solid foundation in math, science, language and social science with visual art, drama, music and a multitude of extra-curricular activities, including athletic pursuits and excursions to places near and far. We challenge our students to become well-rounded, to reach their full potential and to make a positive contribution to society.
  • Develop the Mind

    Developing the mind requires much more than the very best physical and technical resources. We know that these tangibles are essential, yet teaching and learning are fundamentally human endeavours. Academic skills as well as personal and social maturation are best nurtured through direct human interaction. This is why so much care is taken in selecting our teaching staff.

    Our faculty is talented, committed and involved. Our exceptional team of core teachers works closely with specialist teachers in the areas of visual art, drama, music, technology, library science, and physical education to provide the very best education available to our students.
  • Strengthen the Character

    Strengthening the character is not achieved through one lesson, over the course of a single year, or as a result of one experience. At CDS, we understand that guiding the personal and ethical development of children takes place over the long term. This is why we expose students, at every level, to a host of formal and informal character-building experiences, commencing in Junior Kindergarten.

    We recognize students’ achievements, and we redirect them when they stray off course. At CDS, students are taught to respect others and themselves. We equip our students with the tools they need to develop morally and to make sound decisions in 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

CDS wishes to recognize and acknowledge the land on which the school operates. For thousands of years, these have been the traditional lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. We also recognize the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabe and the Haudenosaunee peoples who also shared this land.  CDS respects the relationship with these lands and recognizes that our connection can be strengthened by our continued relationship with all First Nations, by acknowledging our shared responsibility to respect and care for these lands and waters for future generations.

School Information

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.