29 Hours

Beginning Wednesday, November 9 at 3:00 and continuing for 29 hours (in honor of our founding in 1929), we are asking you to give to WCDS.

Now, for 29 hours, beginning 3:00 pm on Wednesday, November 9, 2022, and ending 8:00 pm on Thursday, November 10, 2022, we’ll be asking you to give generously to Wheeling Country Day School, so we continue to Learn Everywhere.

It’s because of you that we live on, that we prove, once again, it’s possible here, no matter the challenge to come. Please consider supporting this campaign.

Thank you for your continued support of Wheeling Country Day School. Each gift gives us a chance to be creative and utilize every inch of our beautiful outdoor campus, as well as the state-of-the-art classrooms within.

Thanks to you we’ve also begun expanding our footprint well beyond our campus and into the heart of our community, establishing Branch Classrooms within some of the most historic areas around town.

This year, as much and more than any other, we want you to Be A Learner.

We’re redefining what it means to be a private school with a public purpose. We steer into challenges, we fail spectacularly, and we reach heights no one could have imagined just a few short years ago. 

It’s Possible Here! 

We’re here to make you proud, and we’re so thankful to be on this ride together.

29 Hours of Giving – Be a Learner is a 29-hour participation drive to benefit the Wheeling Country Day School Annual Fund and every single member of the WCDS family. The official effort lasts from Wednesday, November 9 at 3:00 pm until Thursday, November 10 at 8:00 pm.

For years, 100% of the Wheeling Country Day School faculty has participated in the WCDS Annual Fund.

Help match their commitment with a contribution of at least $29 of your own today!

Wednesday, November 9

3:00 - 4:00 pm Kick it off with a $5000 Match

Every dollar you give up to $5000 will be generously matched during the first of our 29 Hours! *The first gift of the hour also wins a gift certificate for new WCDS swag available at The Wheeling Feeling.

4:00 - 5:00 pm Make each donation this hour $247

Give $1 for every child who learns everywhere – that’s 247 children, so you can do the math.

5:00 - 6:00 pm 5th Grade Interns

Our 5th graders chose and interviewed for their newest leadership opportunity by way of WCDS Internships! These learners have stepped up to do nearly everything at our school, from assist with early childhood recess and dismissal to organizing the office with Miss Paula (no small task!). Each intern has logged a whopping 160 hours already this year, leaving us with an ambitious goal of $3200 raised this hour alone. Can we do it!?

6:00 - 7:00 pm 4th Facts

Our mighty 4th graders practice nearly 400 multiplication facts every single week! That means, each week, more than 11,000 facts are completed by 4th grade alone! 

7:00 - 8:00 pm - Alumni Panel

This is a special one. We welcome back nearly 10 past alumni and contemporaries of Miss H to discuss what WCDS meant to them, and especially acknowledge the impact of recently lost educator, Marge Sims. The panel will be moderated by Luke Hladek and Eric Hersey, so you know it’ll stay tight and focused…Every dollar will be generously matched by Jason and Erin Belot up to $5,000 this hour!  

8:00 - 9:00 pm - 7th Grade Poppin’ Wheelies

The 3rd grade students are holding a canned food drive for the month of November. Now, since we love our math at WCDS, here’s a real world word problem for you… All 28 students brought in 2 cans during the first week. During week 2, they brought in TWICE as many as Week 1. If the pattern continues, how many canned food items will they have collected at the end of Week 4? 840?

10:00 - 11:00 pm - CCPI

The Campus – City – Park – Initiative, or CCPI (as Mr Hladek likes to call it) is how our WCDS does middle school!  Our Branch Classrooms have turned into Branch Campuses as we Learn Everywhere in town. Whether we’re 8 Park Road, downtown Wheeling, or all the way over at Wheeling Park, our students are expanding our footprint and getting involved in their community at every turn. Help us stay involved and meet new partners in this hour dedicated to our exciting new program! 

11:00 pm - 12:00 am - Midnight Snack!

Let’s close day one with the night owls! Just pretend we’re the Sham-wow guy and pick up the phone because you’re not going to want to miss this offer! *The latest donation of the night wins a gift card for early morning coffee at Sarah’s on Main! 

Thursday, November 10

5:00 - 6:00 am - Early Risers

First donation of the day gets a Wheeling Feeling gift card. And the first to share a cup of coffee in a ‘Here’ mug gets a gift card to Mugshots. 

6:00 - 7:00 am - A Good Day's Goal

7:00 - 8:00 am - Sleep Machines 8th grade

WAKE UP! This hour we honor the 8th grade bed heads, those adolescent snooze button warriors, the undisputed champions of sleeping in well after they’ve been woken up. Give in honor of every parent brave enough to take on this challenge every morning after Daylight Savings…

8:00 - 9:00 am - SK Leafy Greens, and Yellows and Oranges and Reds

SK has been leafing it up all month long, and now they’re even making leafy self-portraits and stacking these colorful beauties in their windows as a sun catching work of art! We’re still counting, but you can bet your branches it’s going to be a lot! 

9:00 - 10:00 am - 1st Grade Pumpkin Chunkin'

We sure have had our share of pumpkins on campus this fall, and 1st grade is no exception! They’ve roll them, they’ve thrown them, they’ve carved and dug out the guts! After counting and dividing and counting some more, on average, their pumpkins have had 629 seeds to roast. Seems like a great goal to us! Every dollar will be generously matched by McCormick Stables up to $5,000 this hour!  

10:00 - 11:00 am - JK Shutterfles

Recently, our JK kiddos went on a neighborhood walk to learn more about our surrounding community as well as the changing seasons. They made observations and had discussions and took 428 photos along the streets as they walked before coming back to sketch a whole new world. Let’s see how many times we can double that number!

11:00 am - 12:00 pm - Where in the World are…WCDS Teachers (Carmen Sandiego theme)

From Wheeling to Poland to Reggio Emilia Italy and plenty of places in between. But let’s be real, five teachers from WCDS went to Europe to learn with boots on the ground and students in their hearts. What a dream it was and how impactful it will be in the many ways the lessons come home. Let’s just do it. Let’s make this hourly goal $4,000 for all the miles WCDS faculty stretched their legs this year.

12:00 - 1:00 pm - Let’s do Lunch

Tag us in a picture of your lunch and use the hashtag #29HoursLunch for a chance to win a gift card from Sarah’s on Main!

1:00 - 2:00 pm - Preschool Mark Makers

Every day for the past six weeks, the preschoolers have come in and made their marks on a long-term, collaborative art project. In total, they have made 1,125 marks, counted by Miss Arden just today. Can we match them this hour?! 

2:00 - 3:00 pm - GRANDPARENT HOUR

We’ve expanded Grandparents Day virtually the last few years, connecting generations across the world and allowing everyone to be here safely. This year, we’re bringing it back home! Mark your calendars because Friday, April 14 #GPDAY23 is on! Let’s give for the lap-sitting, storytelling, favorite day of the year! 

3:00 - 4:00 pm - 6th SASing the Nights Away

We’ve talked about bringing big field trips back for about three years now, and boy did the 6th grade dive right back in! They spent four days in the Science Adventure School in Jackson’s Mill, WV. That’s 80 hours away, many for the first time ever, and 80 too quiet hours at home. That’s 1,200 cumulative hours for the 6th grade and one heck of a goal for this hour.

4:00 - 5:00 pm - 2nd in the City

2nd Grade went to our Branch Classroom downtown and walked more than four miles around the city! Multiply those four miles by 24 kiddos and you get 96 miles walked by the class! Let’s see how many $96 donations we can bring in for grade 2!

5:00 - 6:00 pm - Edge Fearless Learning

Last year, we talked about our dream to expand to all 55 counties in West Virginia. Since then, the CML has transformed into Edge and our dreams have expanded across the region with endless possibilities ahead. What a way for our small school to share fearless learning with the world! 

6:00 - 8:00 pm - Trustee Power Hour and Home Stretch Match

In the final two hours, let’s make it simple: raise $10,000. Let’s make $100 a minimum gift during this match since once again, 100% of the WCDS faculty has given to the Annual Fund, 100% of the WCDS Board of Trustees has given, how close can WCDS parents come to matching them?! Every dollar will be generously matched by the WCDS Board of Trustees up to $5,000 during these hours!

Featured WCDS Videos