Marin Country Day School, Corte Madera, CA, is an independent coeducational day school serving grades K-8 located in Corte Madera, California. The student body is made up of approximately 580 students. The students are expected to follow the school's stated core values of "Respect, Responsibility, and Compassion".HistoryFounded in 1956 by Barbara Mendenhall, the school originally consisted of circus tents located on a thirty-four-acre hillside overlooking the San Francisco Bay, which were given to the school by an anonymous donor. Eventually, money was found to build temporary classrooms, followed by the construction of permanent classrooms and related facilities. The founder's goal for the school was to develop not only the minds, but the character of students. There was an emphasis on the importance of the arts and an appreciation of nature. Those goals remain a part of the school's current philosophy.During the 1950s and 1960s, the student body was under 300 students. The school was divided into an "upper school" and a "lower school". Facilities used by all students included an Assembly Room, Library, blacktop, playing field, riding ring and the Art and Music buildings. For sports purposes, each grade was divided into two teams, the "Blues" and the "Greens". Seventh graders spend a week camping in Joshua Tree. Eighth graders spend a week doing service learning in January each year. Eighth graders graduated on "Step-Up" day by moving up one tier on a set of wooden pilings built into a hillside between the Art and Music buildings. Two other long-standing traditions are the fall Book Fair to raise money for the school, and "Kite Day", which takes place in the Fall. Students, parents and friends of the school picnic and fly kites on the hillsides overlooking the main campus.In the late 1960s, a large gymnasium and additional classrooms were constructed in the vicinity of the "upper field". The student body was enlarged, and a ninth grade class was added for several years. Then it was decided to go back to educating students only through the eighth grade.
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