CALENDAR OF EVENTS     

Homecoming Festivities Begin Today
On Saturday, January 9th, Davidson Day is celebrating its first ever Homecoming!  All our families are invited to join our alumni, student body and faculty for tailgating and festivities leading up to the Girls and Boys Varsity Basketball games, which will include the crowning of our first Homecoming Queen.  Special recognition of our alumni during the game will be featured.  Click here for a list of the planned events for Homecoming, please click here. For further details, please contact Anne Buechler at abuechler@davidsonday.org.

Tennis State Champion Jenny Falcone
Receives Award on Fox (WCCB)
Junior Jenny Falcone has been awarded the Sonic Scholar Athlete of the Week. This award is given to local student-athletes who sets a positive example in the classroom, in athletics and in the community.  The award was presented to her (on air) by Fox Sports Director, Bruce Snyder. In winning this award, a check for $500 will be given to Davidson Day. Click here to view the sit-down interview and award presentation.

Early Childhood Admissions Open House
This Tuesday, January 12th at 10:00am, our teachers, students, administrators and current families will be hosting an opportunity for people to find out more about the amazing early childhood program offered at DDS. Please contact Kelly Spiggle at kspiggle@yahoo.com if you are able to volunteer.

Please encourage your friends and neighbors to attend.  Our school is built on amazing families like yours, and we would love to have your friends and neighbors become part of Davidson Day as well.

Davidson Day Welcomes Lauren Marlis as
our New Director of Admissions
Davidson Day is pleased to announce Lauren Marlis as our new Director of Admissions. After spending the last 24 years in Hilton Head, Lauren is proud to call Charlotte as well as Davidson Day, her new home. For the past seven years, she was the Director of Admissions at Hilton Head Prepatory School, where she grew enrollment 20% up to the school's capacity. “Thank you to the Davidson Day School community for the warm welcome I have received in my first week on the job as Director of Admissions,” said Lauren. “What a gem this school is. I am so happy to be here.”

Anne Buechler, who has been our Director of Admissions, will continue to serve an Admissions role this school year as well as take on the additional responsibility of Alumni Liaison, and will return to her passion of teaching in the classroom.

The Davidson Day Family Keeps Growing
Davidson Day would like to extend a very warm welcome to several new students who are completing their first week at Davidson Day. Gabriella (first grade) and McCarthy (third grade), join their brothers H and Jack who are already attending DDS; parents are Steve and Deb Strachan. In the seventh grade, Adam Cosgrove began his new year at Davidson Day. His parents are Michelle and Nelson Cosgrove. In the eighth grade we welcomed Micah Monticello, son of Tony and Dana Monticello and brother of current 9th grader, Caleb. And finally the Davy family: Ethan (1st), Nicholas (TK) and Brody (Toddlers). Parents, Amy and Chris are in-laws to our current family, Doug Yates and Whitney Y.R. Yates. Welcome to all!

FBI & Davidson Police Department Educate Parents on Internet Safety
On Wednesday, January 13th, at 6:00 pm, the visiting artist and lecture committee of the Parent Council will welcome the FBI and the Davidson Police Department on our campus for an Internet Safety Program for our parents, as well as parents in the community. The program will be held in the auditorium

The program will include:

• Information on basic internet safety and ways that parents can better supervise their children's internet use
• Dangers of Chat Rooms and similar sites
• Other Do's and Don'ts of the Internet
• Short FBI video clip
• Parent discussion/Q & A with the FBI and Davidson Police
  

Re-enrollment Dates are Coming Up
In early February, Davidson Day School will be sending out re-enrollment contracts for the next academic year.  These contracts will be due back by February 15th, 2010.  Financial aid applications are due by February 23rd.  You can access Financial Aid application information by going to http://davidsonday.org/application-process-checklist.html and clicking on the financial aid application link.  Please contact Lauren Marlis at lmarlis@davidsonday.org with any questions. 

Davidson Day Away
Please share your family vacation photos with us!  We would love to see where your family travels sporting Davidson Day gear. So as you travel the world and the seven seas in your DDS Spirit Wear, be sure to capture the fun on film.   Davidson Day School wants to post these Davidson Day gear pictures in our photo galleries in the Roundabout.  Over Winter Break, Anne and Kevin Buechler went canoeing in alligator infested waters and Anne proudly sported her Davidson Day sweatshirt as she braved the wild.  Prizes for the best display of Davidson Day wear and for the most original or out of the way photos will be given!   Email your photos to Carrie Lott at clott@davidsonday.org

Save the Date for Grandparents and Special Friends Day
Grandparents and Special Friends Day will be held at Davidson Day School on Friday, March 5, 2010.  Each child is encouraged to bring his/her grandparent(s) or special friend(s) for this exciting day.  Grandparents and special friends will have the opportunity to see all of the wonderful things going on at Davidson Day School, including a talk with Head of School Bonnie Cotter, a walk through the Book Fair, and a visit to each child’s classroom.  As a reminder, the students will be asked to dress in their formal uniform dress on that day.  Please consult your student handbook for the uniform guidelines.

In order to send out invitations, we need to have each student return to their teacher the complete name(s) of their grandparent(s) or special friend(s) and their mailing addresses by January 11, 2010.

Panthers Fundraiser A Success!
Thank you to everyone who volunteered at a Panthers game this season!  You helped to make our fundraising efforts a success!  We covered 11 games and we were fully staffed for every game, which allowed us to raise the maximum commission percentage for each game!  We are in the process of giving feedback to the Panthers about our experience this year.  If you volunteered and would like to offer feedback, please contact Alexa Lupfer at alupfer@bellsouth.net. 

College Counseling News

College Admission 101 Program
Local college admissions professionals will be conducting a seminar in Charlotte on Sunday, January 10th regarding all aspects of the admissions process.  This will be a great opportunity to learn about standardized testing, financial aid, and college planning.  The fee for this program is $120, and the program is designed for 9th-11th graders.  If you are interested in learning more about this program, please contact Ms. Rand for more details at (704) 237-5222 or mrand@davidsonday.org.

Middle School News

Math Olympiad Team News
The results for the second competition of the Math Olympiad Teams are in! On the 7th and 8th grade team, Jake Bringewatt had a perfect score. Other top scorers for the team were Hannah Beck and Rachel Bringewatt. On the team of 4th, 5th, and 6th graders, the high scorer was Nell Buechler. Other top scorers were Aaron Augustine, Nikhil Gavini, Alexis Lynch, Chandler Parrott, Laura Phillips, and Jakob Schall. The next competition for the teams will be on January 13, 2010.

Sports News

DDS Boys Varsity Basketball Team Upsets State Powerhouse Victory Christian
In what the Charlotte Observer billed as “the biggest win in Davidson Day’s young history”, the DDS Boys Varsity Basketball team went on the road and defeated Victory Christian by a score of 58-48. The team is on an incredible roll this season with a current record of 11-3. Don’t miss a minute of the action this Saturday as the team tries to continue its winning way as they take on Covenant Classical School. Tip-off is at 6:30 pm.

Parent Council Corner

Parent Council Meeting
Our second evening Parent Council Meeting was a huge success! Thanks to all who attended. For those of you who couldn’t attend, please use the link below to view the presentation and information that was covered.

Click here for the meeting presentation.


Walking Wednesday Report
Walking Wednesday is coming up on January 20th! This month’s theme is “Winter Wonderland”.  All walkers are asked to bundle up and wear a shirt, hat, or jacket with blue or white on it. As always, walkers may wear their theme attire for the rest of the day to show their support for this great program. We meet at the Sadler Square shopping plaza/The Egg at 231 Griffith Streed in Davidson, and at 7:45 we “walk and roll” to school! Please join in the fun and brave the cold with us! We have had some very successful walks, let’s keep the numbers growing. After drop off, all adult walkers are invited to warm up with some coffee at the Egg. For more information please contact Laurie Dennis at davidlauriedennis@gmail.com