Life at JTD
Student Voice
Katherine Ewell '07
How to describe John Thomas Dye School? Surely not with words, for words are too small and confining to encircle the multitude of love that is John Thomas Dye. Maybe with pictures or sculpture we may grasp what JTD really means, but for now words must be sufficient.
I came here in Kindergarten seven wonderful years ago. Kindergarten was a comfortable haven, filled with popsicles and swinging and cooking days and naptime on beach towels. Sam the lion taught me how to read while my teachers taught me how to live, and I will forever remember my breezy Kindergarten days as being filled with joy.
First grade through Third grade blur into each other so much, I don’t know in my memories where one begins and another ends. Hanging jellybeans, making picture books, pretend snowball fights and that yellow polka dot bikini blend into each other like different flavors of ice cream melting in the same bowl.
Fourth grade brought to me a world of Zen, Beta fish, greenhouses and finding out who I was. I remember girls rearranging the teacher’s desk, smiling like they had just gotten the best present in the world, and I remember staring down into the little strawberry licorice-like candle stuffed into a pearly marshmallow during the candle-lighting ceremony and thinking, “Yeah, I get this now”. Fourth grade was my time of realization.
Fifth grade brought me the gain of new friendships and the loss of others. My life at JTD started over then. I was no longer the loner, but the one who was laughing amidst a crowd of rambunctious girls. I finally knew who my friends were, although it was hard to find out.
But Sixth grade was, and still is, my favorite year. I have formed fast friendships this year; through the exploding vacuum at Catalina, my horrendous yearbook pictures, and my friend’s assurances that I do have singing talent and my endless assurances that I don’t, we have remained best friends. To say I enjoyed myself this year is an understatement; this year, JTD has become my second home.
For that is what John Thomas Dye is, home. JTD is crisp, cold watermelon on the lawn, performing the Kindergarten rendition of the Rainbow People in the great hall, wearing leis and dancing to Shakira. It is spinning chairs in computer and worn denim smocks in art. It is playing magic ball in the gym and head catch in music; it is debating with the history teacher whether Led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones is a better band. It is worn Converse shoes and pigtails and my teacher’s kittens. And when I think how lucky I am to have my faithful friends, my face bursts into a smile that is incomparably happy. I am home.
First grade through Third grade blur into each other so much, I don’t know in my memories where one begins and another ends. Hanging jellybeans, making picture books, pretend snowball fights and that yellow polka dot bikini blend into each other like different flavors of ice cream melting in the same bowl.
Fourth grade brought to me a world of Zen, Beta fish, greenhouses and finding out who I was. I remember girls rearranging the teacher’s desk, smiling like they had just gotten the best present in the world, and I remember staring down into the little strawberry licorice-like candle stuffed into a pearly marshmallow during the candle-lighting ceremony and thinking, “Yeah, I get this now”. Fourth grade was my time of realization.
Fifth grade brought me the gain of new friendships and the loss of others. My life at JTD started over then. I was no longer the loner, but the one who was laughing amidst a crowd of rambunctious girls. I finally knew who my friends were, although it was hard to find out.
But Sixth grade was, and still is, my favorite year. I have formed fast friendships this year; through the exploding vacuum at Catalina, my horrendous yearbook pictures, and my friend’s assurances that I do have singing talent and my endless assurances that I don’t, we have remained best friends. To say I enjoyed myself this year is an understatement; this year, JTD has become my second home.
For that is what John Thomas Dye is, home. JTD is crisp, cold watermelon on the lawn, performing the Kindergarten rendition of the Rainbow People in the great hall, wearing leis and dancing to Shakira. It is spinning chairs in computer and worn denim smocks in art. It is playing magic ball in the gym and head catch in music; it is debating with the history teacher whether Led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones is a better band. It is worn Converse shoes and pigtails and my teacher’s kittens. And when I think how lucky I am to have my faithful friends, my face bursts into a smile that is incomparably happy. I am home.
The John Thomas Dye School admits students of any race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic or other school-administered programs.
Located In Los Angeles, CA, John Thomas Dye is an independent school for grades K-6. Students benefit from a challenging academic program, fine arts, competitive athletics, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.
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