On Wednesday, September 18, our Upper School students spent the day in grade-level activities with their peers and advisors, focusing on intellectual and social learning opportunities beyond the classroom. The event was dubbed “Community Day,” and each program within the day was designed to emphasize the commitment to further living into our Mission Statement and building community.
While some of the programs were led by experts in their field, others were organized by our student leaders. Also, some activities and grades were on campus, while others went out into the St. Louis area. Regardless of location, all experiences were unique and compelling opportunities for our students to connect, learn, and grow together.
9th Grade – Bonding, a Guest Speaker, and Community Service
In ninth grade, Community Day was all about discovering the Class of 2028’s identity—who they are, who they want to be—and creating a new sense of community together as Upper School students. With the help of senior volunteers, ninth graders worked all day to build class camaraderie.
During the morning, our ninth graders were guided by senior volunteer leaders in bonding as a class. The seniors led fun teamwork activities such as The Human Knot and Charades. They concluded the activity by reflecting on the question: “Who am I at MICDS?” Also, they worked with curriculum surrounding the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in school and played the game Codes Against Academy (This game has the same rules as Cards Against Humanity or Apples to Apples, except these are all A.I. scenarios and reactions to them).
Next, the ninth-grade class welcomed to campus guest speaker Julie Smith, a communications instructor at Webster University and the author of Master the Media: How Teaching Media Literacy Can Save Our Plugged-In-World. She has taught media courses at Webster for more than 15 years and has presented on media-related topics all over the U.S. and Europe. She spoke to our freshmen about the 41 things they should be doing on social media as well as the legal/ethical issues with AI photo generation and manipulation.
In the afternoon, students learned more about the MICDS Honor Council with their advisors by discussing the Honor Code and various case studies. Then, they participated in the freshmen service portion of the day, where they wrote letters for Operation Gratitude and made sandwiches for St. Patrick’s Center. Ninth graders finished off the day by making their advisory flags and crests.
The day was a lot of fun for connecting the freshmen class and interacting with some seniors. « Community Day was a great opportunity to connect with students between grade levels! » reflected Avani Reddy ’25. « It was really encouraging to interact with the students and watch them branch out and try new activities as the day progressed. I hope the ninth graders got a chance to figure out who they want to be in our MICDS community, and I hope they had a fun bonding experience with their peers. »
10th Grade – Teamwork Grows at Go Ape
The sophomore class went off campus all day, participating in team-building activities at Go Ape, an outdoor adventure park that offers ziplining and ropes courses. Reporting to school early on Wednesday, students were ready with athletic clothing, bug spray, sunscreen, and water bottles. With the longest zipline running 500 feet, over 30 unique obstacles, and a 45-foot platform, there was an exciting challenge for everyone.
Kelly Weidenmiller, Upper School Spanish Teacher, said, « The sophomores enjoyed this shared experience of pushing themselves outside their comfort zone on the Go Ape high ropes course. It was amazing to see how supportive they were of each other and how many started on level one, slowly gaining confidence and working their way up to the level three course. Also, one of my advisees, Ananya, shared with our advisory that one of her highlights of the day was playing volleyball with people she wouldn’t normally ever play with. It was a reflection of the great opportunity that the day provided for students to get to know each other in new ways. »
11th Grade – History of St. Louis Tours
The junior class experienced Community Day through tours of the St. Louis area. The students, their history teachers, and class advisors utilized these tours to bring to life the 11th-grade History of St. Louis class. This course strives to help students understand the larger community and the communities in which they live in order for them to become more active and engaged citizens. The course also aligns with our School’s Mission as students aspire to « meet the challenges of this world with confidence and embrace all its people with compassion… » It prepares students « for lives of purpose and service. »
On Community Day, every 11th grader participated in three tours. They experienced a bus tour designed and led by the History of St. Louis teachers. The bus tours visited Bellefontaine Cemetery, Fairgrounds Park, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency site, the former Pruitt-Igoe site, St. Louis Place, Citygarden/Keiner Plaza/Downtown, CityPark, and more. They also went on a tour of the 1904 World’s Fair exhibit at the Missouri History Museum. Additionally, each junior chose a walking tour led by professional guides, taking them through The Hill, The Ville, Downtown, or Forest Park. For lunch, the students ate at the Foundry, witnessing firsthand the growth of Midtown.
The day was a great opportunity for students to engage in St. Louis in ways beyond their everyday lives. They went to many places they had only read and learned about. Experiencing these places in person hopefully brought a new level of perspective and a better understanding of the history of St. Louis while also building interest in the future of St. Louis.
Several students took the time to reflect on how they grew during the day:
Alexa Kummant ’26 gained a new perspective through the day’s explorations. « Until Community Day, I’ve always had negative associations with St. Louis, » she explained. « When we visited Citygarden Sculpture Park, I felt like I saw beauty in the city I had never seen before. The park completely went against all my assumptions or stereotypes about the city; rather than being trashed and crime-ridden, Citygarden was a place of serenity and charm in the middle of a concrete jungle I never knew existed. »
Another student, Amelia Mackin ’26, recommended this experience to everyone and remarked on the historical changes to landmarks that varied in how well they were preserved. « Personally, being able to go around downtown to places that used to be very wealthy and successful, that are now struggling to get government funding, put St. Louis’ historical decline into perspective. Also, seeing how some historical landmarks were properly preserved while some were cast aside was shocking. But, this was a new experience that I enjoyed, and everyone living in St. Louis should see these parts of it. »
Another junior, Eshan Majeed ’26, had a similar observation. « Community Day opened my eyes to the vast differences in the Saint Louis area, » he explained. « Touring the Saint Louis area was a great way to take a break from school while still implementing and developing what we are learning into day-to-day life. It was fascinating to learn about all the different families who helped grow St. Louis in its early days at Bellefontaine Cemetary. It helped me gain a new understanding of the disparity between the wealthy and the less fortunate. »
Gigi Koster ’26 also commented on how seeing St. Louis’ history has shaped its present day. « During the trip, I felt like I was able to witness firsthand how Saint Louis’ past has contributed to its current state. For example, at CityPark, we walked through Pillars of the Valley, a memorial about Mill Creek Valley, a lost neighborhood in downtown West that was demolished in the 1950s for the sake of urban renewal. This neighborhood existed right where the current soccer stadium is. Despite its past, I enjoyed knowing that the Taylor Family decided to memorialize what came before them rather than trying to cover up its past. »
Perspective grew in a number of ways during the tours. Yash Shelar ’26 shared, « While visiting the Ville, I came to the realization that the people living there have their own system of doing things, and most of them have a great appreciation for that. People in other parts of the city tend to look down on what they perceive as being ‘the Hood,’ but the people we encountered seemed to be happy with their lives and did not wish they were born anywhere else. »
12th Grade – Community Service and a Trip to the Zoo
In the morning, seniors traveled off campus and participated in community service projects with their advisories at various organizations in the St. Louis area. They packed and organized nearly four tons of food into donation boxes at the St. Louis Area Foodbank, helping to provide over 6,600 meals to feed the hungry. Upper School English Teacher Ryan Bueckendorf’s advisory supervised and played with two- to four-year-old children in their morning sessions at the Jewish Community Center’s Early Childhood Center. Seniors had play tea parties, climbed trees, sang songs, and helped supervise swimming and play. After the experience, Bueckendorf reflected, « I came away very proud of the seniors. Working with young children takes a lot of energy, and the enthusiasm and humor with which they engaged with the kids was a reminder of the type of citizens our seniors are becoming. Afterward, hearing the pride and joy in their voices as they recounted the kids they’d played with was a testament to the community they have developed in advisory over the past few years. »
Upper School Spanish Teacher Christopher Barker’s advisory took his advisory to Tower Grove Park. The group helped the grounds crew clear invasive bushes and trees in a section of the park where they were growing Scottish links grass. He said, « This was the second time in my 11 years at MICDS that I’ve done some kind of manual labor outside with students, and I loved it. The work was hard, monotonous, and dirty, but it was satisfying because you’re forced to work together and you get to see immediate results. My impression was that the advisees found the work rewarding, even if there were some swollen hands, dirty shoes, and bug bites along the way. At the very least I didn’t hear much complaining about the work, and I do know that the person from the park was very happy to have some help. »
In the afternoon, the seniors headed to the St. Louis Zoo for class bonding and an afternoon of fun together.
That’s a wrap on Community Day! Thank you to our Upper School students for being compassionate and responsible role models, leaders, and classmates while connecting as a class. What a wonderful day impacting the MICDS and St. Louis community with Upper School connections, friendship, service, and community!