The fourth grade received a special visitor in February-the children's book author, Lisa Hancock! The Adventures of Sid is based on an experience Mrs. Hancock had while teaching at Country Day. One of her students brought an

The events that followed were quite chaotic and humorous. Mrs. Hancock has dedicated the book to all the students she has taught throughout the years. She also mentioned in the dedication that the book would not have happened but for her wonderful experiences as a teacher at St. Croix Country Day School.

Mrs. Hancock, who now resides in South Carolina, often related the story of Sid to her class. One of her students suggested she turn it into a children's book. It took Lisa three years to write and publish the book, which can be purchased on line or at any major bookstore in the United States.

After Mrs. Hancock read The Adventures of Sid to the class she talked about the writing process. Math and science had been Lisa's focus of interest and she had never had an interest in pursuing the language arts. When asked, Lisa said, "When I talk with students about writing, I strongly suggest that even though they might not consider themselves as a writer, they should write about a topic of interest." She also tells them to, "Believe in yourself because even those things that you never thought you could accomplish can happen with a little positive self-talk and setting your mind to the task."

Lisa has fond memories of her CDS experience, "Country Day's strong academic exposure set the foundation for learning for my sons. The school not only represented a place for learning, but it had the feeling of family --genuine, and reciprocated compassion and caring between the students and teachers."

Lisa and her husband, Dennis (CDS class of '77) are returning to St. Croix to live as Dennis has taken a job with Hovensa as a Network Specialist. They are both thrilled to move back to the warm Caribbean setting that they left behind twelve years ago.