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ACTIVITIES OVERVIEW
The Domini-Solving
is held at the start of every school year.
It is, as of today, a traditional activity sponsored to help parents
acquire all the supplies that their children will need to start the new school
year. It is held in the area known as “Caja General”.
Books, uniforms, school shoes, and school gear are sold at fair
prizes.
Personal
Safety Week (September)
Every year, the
health/science teachers prepare an array of activities that focus on
investigating topics about general safety.
This information is collected by students and presented to parents,
teachers and other students in the form of pamphlets and power points and/or
activities including lectures and drills.
Issues such as safety at home/school, fire prevention, earthquake/fire
drills, hurricane season safety tips, are all presented and discussed. Several local institutions (Fire department,
Red Cross, Civil Defense) join in the lectures and visit the school to offer
assistance and training.
Safety Week 2003- 04 This year, the school programmed, with the help of the Red Cross personnel, the training of our staff and High School students on emergency first aid procedures.
In addition to this training, guest speakers were invited to present updated hurricane and earthquake information. The activities also included a fire drill exercise with the Fire Department. This year’s evacuation was carried out in 2 minutes and .34 seconds, record-breaking evacuation after three years of practice.
Safety Week 2005- 06 This year, the school programmed with the help of the Red Cross personnel a second training session for our High School students on emergency first aid procedures. Meteorology sent a guest speaker and the Elementary was visited by the Fire Department.
Open House -
School Day (Elementary) and Night (High School) September
As a way to open the school facilities and help parents meet all teachers, the school hosts this “Open Night.” Parents attend a welcoming, plenary session with the principals and the director of the school, and then are invited to visit their children classrooms to meet with all the teachers. The idea is to help parents and teachers “break the ice”, and share information about the individual programs and the grading criteria for each grade.
Also, the parents volunteer as delegates from the child’s classroom, representing and voicing their needs and interest in the Parent Committee, a representative body in the school community.
Second
Grade picture during Open House 2005
The
A Dominican group from 4th
Grade for the Multi-cultural Fair Inauguration 2005
Halloween
Celebration (October 31)
The traditional American
Celebration of “All Hollow’s Eve” is celebrated in our school by students up to
6th grade, that is, Elementary and Pre-school students. They bring their costumes and treat bags and
have a blast after lunch “trick or treating” each other classrooms!
Halloween Celebration 2003: The Senior
Class hosted a fund-raiser involving a Party for these students, having math
games as tricks for treats.
On Saturday a third Saturday of November, at 8:30 a.m., the
Twenty five to thirty schools are invited to participate with school athletes in one of eight categories; 8-9 year olds ( KM 1 ), 10-11- year old ( KM 2 ), 12-14 year old ( KM 3 ) and 15-16 year old ( KM 4), for a grand total of 500 boys and girls.
A list with the category registered and copy of school ID and birth
certificates must be submitted, one week prior to the event. The athletes run
with the given runner number, placed on the chest of the T-shirt.
The runners must sign in at the table assigned for each category. The first 15 runners per category to arrive
at the FINISH LINE will be given numbers for their arrival position and running
time and only the first 5 runners receive awards.
Each school accumulates points for the first three school’s receiving
the marathon school trophy.
Opening Ceremony for XVI Marathon 2003
Good
Sportsmanship Pledge
Getting ready for the race - Ready- Set - GO
In t
Finish
Line.
Reaching the finish line
Thanksgiving
Celebration (November)
Students prepare
shared-lunch activities, skits or poems per class or grade. The holiday is observed, and the school
closes Thanksgiving Thursday and Friday resulting in a four-day weekend off for
students.
Skit by the First Grade for
Thanksgiving 2004
Nativity
Scene Inauguration. (December)
The Parents’ Committee,
aided by the Art class’s students, prepares a Nativity Scene. The presentation
of the display takes place on December 1st, the formal start of the
Christmas season. That evening, a beautiful activity is held; where the Parent
Committee distributes sweet pastries, hot chocolate and ice cream, along with a
beautiful presentation by the school’s choir.
Nativity Scene 2003 Special guest was the ICDA Choir.
Nativity Scene 2004 Parent Committee Choir sang a
repertoire of songs
Nativity Scene 2005 A Musical Presentation by
Elementary and High School Students
All throughout the first
semester of the school year, the elementary students prepare for a grand
presentation in Christmas. The Show is
the culminating assembly of the hard work of students, parents and teachers
alike. Every year a Christmas Committee
that tries to acknowledge the spirit of the Season selects the appropriate
theme to be developed in the show.
Christmas Show 2003 “How the Grinch Stole
Christmas” by Dr. Seuss was presented to the school community on December 9th
and 10th. One evening show presentation was in January 2004, for the
ICDA community. This year presentation was a group effort with many integrated
curricular activities throughout the semester.
Empathy was the value reinforced throughout the play
Christmas Show 2004 “The Lucky Elf”
was presented to the school community on the 2nd and 3rd
of December. Sharing and Caring were the values reinforced throughout the play.
Christmas Show 2005 “A Candy Store Play ” will be presented to the school community on the 1st
and 2nd of December. The values will be reinforced throughout the
play.
Saint
Valentine’s Day (February)
It is traditional to celebrate Friendship day where all students, young and old, exchange cards, candies, and presents among them.
Saint Valentine’s 2004 - The senior
class hosts a Candy Gram that promotes the spirit of friendship and encourages
students to express their feelings towards one another.
St. Valentine’s Color Day
Seniors – “Eminent”
Valentine Fundraising Activity
Carnival and
The JH/HS students prepare a
wonderful Carnival Show that depicts the traditions and rich folklore of the
Commemoration play of 2003 – “HAY UN PAIS EN EL MUNDO”
The
students recite scenes from the poem, “HAY UN PAIS EN EL MUNDO,” written by the our national poet, Pedro Mir. The play represents scenes from the
Another group with their
interpretations of re-known musicians
Lobby
Exhibit of 2004 – “The Regional aspects of the
The students investigated the 4 main regions of our Country. With the information the students prepared maps and charts and painted scenes from the different regions emphasizing the social, economic and folklore of the regions. The Senior class also presented their investigations of the authors of the Dominican Literature.
Commemoration
play of 2004 – “
The students presented scenes from Dominican Folklore with the traditional ‘Guloyas,’ Papeluse, Palos, and Merengue Dances or ‘Comparsas’. The senior class interpreted the traditional and modern version of the Merengue. This marked the commemoration of Dominican Independence day and was presented on 24th, 25th and 26th of February in the Patrick Hughson Auditorium. The High School students presented the play to the school community in morning and afternoon shows, culminating with an evening gala and the traditional fest of Dominican Sancocho for the ICDA community.
Student’s Interpretation of the Dominican dance ‘El Merengue’
Students preparing the stage
backdrop for the 2005 Carnaval Presentation
Students dancing the Ribbon
Dance (Baile de la Cinta)
Students’ Interpretation of
Spanish Dances -
UN MODEL OF THE
Students from 10 to 12th
grade had the opportunity to participate in the UN Model activity. They
represented in Santo Domingo Forum 2003 the countries of
UN Model
2003 – Santo Domingo
UN Model 2004 -
A loved tradition among
teachers, parents and students, the Field Day is a day to celebrate family and
friends. Everyone is invited to have a
grand time. Seniors sell food, juniors
sell refreshments and every grade prepares a special activity for all to
enjoy. The PE department hosts several
sports tournaments for the entire family to participate in teams.
Field Day 2003 & 2004 - Botanical
Gardens
Science Week
The CDA Science Fair is a single or group activity that targets the application of scientific concepts and skills where student cognitive abilities are evaluated. This activity promotes a healthy spirit of competition, while fostering the right approach to the solution and analysis of problems and situations that occur in the scientific world. Student put to the test their creativity and expertise, through their Olympic competition or investigations, model representations or live specimen experiments.
Visit to the Science Fair 2005 by the Elementary Students
Exhibition from the Dinosaur Era by Elementary Students
Visit to the Science Fair 2005 by the Elementary Students
Elementary Exhibits at the 2005 Science Fair held in April
Science
Fair 2004 – student recognition for their excellent work
Science
Olympics 2003
More challenging are the Science Olympics where the students defend their expertise with written and oral examinations.
As part of the Spanish Literature Curriculum, the 11th
graders put together a special theater presentation. With lots of pride and hard work we have
presented the following
plays:
11th Grade Play
of 2005 - AMOR
GITANO - 19 Mayo 2005
11th Grade Play of 2004 -
11TH
Grade Play of 2003 – WEST SIDE STORY 
Scenes from 11TH Grade Play of 2003 – WEST SIDE STORY
Scenes from 11TH Grade Play of 2003 – WEST SIDE STORY
11th Grade Play of 2002 - MIDSUMMER NIGHT DREAM
11th Grade Play of 2001 – GREASE
Our Spanish Department works
hard at keeping our students abreast with their Spanish proficiency. This
week’s activities focus and stress on Spanish punctuation, grammar and
spelling. Ms. Bienvenida
Ramos, year after year, involves the students in learning the tidbits of their
mother tongue. Congratulations! Here we
see pictures of the competition.
Our Elementary Teachers get together, motivate and sponsor this activity. Students from each grade level compete for the “Best Speller Award.” Each grade level is given the spelling list and is made responsible for his / her grade level and all the words from the previous grades. Here we have pictures of the winners. Congratulations!
Our Mothers are precious to us! On this day, we honor our mothers with music, art, roses and poems. Art pieces are handed out while musical presentations shower the mothers with beautiful caring thoughts. Mothers are invited to attend the musical presentation, receive their children’s art projects, and enjoy refreshments prepared by the Activities Department and the Parent Committee.
Art exhibit 2003
Music presentation 2003
A tradition since the CDA began graduating senior classes. Every year the graduating class celebrates a symbolic “passing of the light” to the junior class. All senior and junior students attend this solemn celebration, where goodwill, fond memories, candles and flowers are exchanged. An emotional celebration everyone treasures, as each senior hands to the incumbent junior a candle and words of wisdom that address issues from their learning experience.
Candlelight Ceremony 2003
Candlelight Ceremony 2004
End of the Year Awards Assembly and Final Grade
The final
assembly of the school year. All
recognitions to academic excellence are handed out, as well as sports awards
and recognitions in any other field (music, art, etc). Grades are distributed to students after the
ceremony in their corresponding homeroom classes.
Award Ceremony for school year 2004-2005
Sports Award – Best player – Athlete of the Year 2004-2005
Commencement Exercise
The ceremony commences with
the entrance of the graduating class in their traditional blue caps and gowns,
accompanied by father and/or mother. The salutatorian (highest GPA ) and valedictorian (highest GPA ) address the graduates
and parents. The ceremony involves awards for academic excellence including
valedictorian and salutatorian plaques, best student per subject area award,
honors medals, and the best overall Dominico-American
citizen award. The students also give out recognitions to special teachers and classmates. The final speech declares the seniors as
graduates with all the rights thereby granted by their High School Diplomas.
After the ceremony, the School offers a complementary toast and farewell for
the graduates and their families.
Graduating Class 1999 –
“UNISON”
Valedictorian
Salutatorian
Graduating Class 2000 –
“EGRESS”
Valedictorian
Salutatorian
Graduating Class 2001 –
“YATABU”
Valedictorian
Salutatorian
Graduating Class 2002 –
“INDELIBLES”
Valedictorian
Salutatorian
Graduating Class 2003 –
“AESTUOS”
Valedictorian
Salutatorian
Graduating Class 2004 – “EMINENT”
Valedictorian
Salutatorian
Graduating Class 2005 –
“EXCENTRIX”
Valedictorian
Salutatorian
The students visit different museums, historical sites, mines, caves, reforestation sites, zoos and gardens. The older students also attend theater and musical presentations, and visit orphanages and old folk homes. We are including pictures from some of these trips.
1st Grade
2nd Grade
3rd Grade
4th Grade
5th Grade
6th Grade
7th Grade
8th Grade
9th Grade
10th Grade
11th Grade
12th Grade
Coming together at Picture Taking day
Community Service Hours Activities (High School)
The students of the
These include: service in the
community health center in 10th grade, Habitat for Humanity project
in 11th & 12th grade and Reforestation in the 12th
grade.
Students from the 11th – 12th grades visited Jaquimelle, Barahona in April
2003 and helped build homes for the indigent. This project was in coordination
with Habitat for Humanities Foundation
They also visited orphanages and homes for the elderly.
The Senior class completed their community
service hours with the reforestation project of “Fundacion
Progreso,” in October 2003.
For fundraising purposes towards graduation activities and expenses, the students learn to organize activities. The class’s unity and creativity are rewarded with successful, well organized activities and field trips.
SENIOR CLASS 2002 INDELIBLES
SENIOR CLASS 2004 - EMINENT
SENIOR CLASS 2005 –
EXCENTRIX
SENIOR CLASS 2006 EXITUS
ALUMNI MEETING 2001 OF THE FIRST 100 GRADUATED SENIORS