CALENDAR OF EVENTS     

The Votes Are In! (Student Council)

After two weeks of competitive elections and positive campaigning, the people have spoken and the votes are in! DDS is proud to present to you the 2009-10 Student Council for Upper and Middle School:

 Upper School

Middle School

November 21st is Casino Night 2009 -- Save the Date!

In just two more months, Davidson Day will be presenting Casino Night 2009! This exciting event will be on Saturday, November 21st at Race World USA. The action begins at 7:00 pm

To make Casino Night 2009 a huge success, we need to collect prizes such as vacation home getaways, gift certificates, spa packages, restaurant gift cards, tools, gift baskets, wine, sports memorabilia, etc. If you or a family you know or a business you admire are interested in donating to this year’s event, please contact Susan Sandler (Casino Night 2009-Chairperson) at sandler411@mi-connection.com.

DDS After School Music Opportunities Fall 2009

Davidson Day School Music is thrilled to offer after school music lessons and ensembles for Fall 2009! Please contact kward@davidsonday.org with any questions or for pricing and more information. Click here for a weekly itinerary.

Say Cheese!

From Monday, September 21st – Wednesday, September 24th, St. John Photography will be visiting Davidson Day School, to take Color Semi-Formal Portraits of your child.

The week after the shoot, you will receive printed proofs as well as a 6-digit code to view and purchase photos on our website. In addition if you order online by the deadline on your proof envelope and spend at least $25, you will receive a FREE 5x7 of your choice!

When dressing your child, deep, rich colors look best – reds, blues, pinks, etc.  But anything is okay as long as you love it!  Patterns are great, too; and if it’s cold, sweaters and sweater-vests look great. If rain is forecast, please assume that any showers will be brief and pictures will be taken as scheduled.

Note: There are no up-front fees or obligations to purchase any of the prints. Please call St. John Photography directly with any questions you may have:  704-889-7800.

Please click here for photo dates and time.

Academic and Enrichment Center Update

Academic Services
The AEC continues to provide quality specialized instruction for its students. Kristen Metzler, an AEC specialist, provided a Conceptual Physics lesson to one of her students in AEC: having him create his own ice cream to demonstrate the effect salt has on ice. Once the mixture took form, both the instructor and student “studied” or rather sampled their results. This lesson is just one example of how AEC instructors can bring a concept to life for Davidson Day students.

After School tutoring is now available for all grade levels and subject areas. Please contact Candy Mazze at 704-237-5281 for more information.

Extended Day
The first session of After School enrichment programs has begun. Programs have had great enrollment and the variety of programs offers something for all interest levels. Look for more information about these and future programs in October.

Reminder: There will be no Extended Day September 25th due to school being closed.

Technology

Parent Portal / Gradebook passwords have been issued and all login reset requests have been attended to. If you have not yet received your password, please email support@davidsonday.org. You will receive a response within 24 hours (M-F).

You can access the Gradebook Portal by going to http://parentportal.davidsonday.org and selecting "Gradebook Portal" from the menu to the right. One thing to keep in mind is that "Grade History" is for all past school years at DDS. If you are a new family, this report will be empty. To get current grades, scroll down and select "Grade Book." Also, please note that the Grade Book function is only applicable to Grades 4-12.

7th - 12th Graders have received their passwords to the Student Grade Book Portal. This is where they can see their homework, assignments, grades, and tests (same items that parents can see). If they cannot access it and need their password reset, please have them email support@davidsonday.org.

Information Regarding DDS Lunch Program

Lunch menus for October are now available on line by clicking on the link below. Hardcopies of the lunch menu are also available at the magazine rack in the front lobby area.

Completed lunch menus must be turned in to the school by 8:30 am Thursday, September 24th. Early Childhood and Lower School students should turn their menus in to their teachers. Middle and Upper School students must turn in their menus to the Services Office (Room 701) by placing them in the lunch menu basket.

Please honor this deadline as no late lunch submissions can be taken or honored.

Prior to completing your child’s lunch menu, please do the following:

• Review any external school activities that may affect your child’s lunch selection by checking the calendar located on the parent portal.

• Make a copy of the lunch menu for yourself.

LS-MS-US October Lunch Menu
Early Childhood Lunch Menu

Any child that does not have a lunch will be served crackers, fruit, and vegetables and the family will be charged. Please direct all questions and concerns to the Lunch Coordinator, Dr. Seward at 704-237-5266. Thank you for your support in our school's process of providing healthy and nutritious lunch selections for our students.

Upper School News

Upper School Hits the Road for Knowledge,
Bonding and Much More
For three days only, Davidson Day School’s student population will decrease by 33%! The chief reason behind the drop-off is the entire Upper School will be out on class trips from September 29th to October 1st. 

The freshmen will be working on building community and leadership skills while experiencing the high ropes course at Extreme Challenge.  Atlanta will play host to our sophomores as they enjoy the Georgia Aquarium, High Museum of Art and CNN just to name a few. Our juniors will visit the nation’s capital and all it has to offer including the Museum of Natural History, Supreme Court and so much more.  And rounding out the trip, the seniors will bring their strong backs and great attitudes to War, WV as part of a building team for Big Creek-People in Action. 

These trips will also include college visits for our underclassman as they visit schools like Furman, Wingate, Georgia, Virginia Tech, and Morehouse.

Photography at Davidson Day Is Alive & Clicking
The visual arts are thriving at DDS, and our Upper School Digital Photography program is a prime example. This year, instructor Paul Cotter has expanded the availability of classes for Digital Photography 1 & 2. He’s also introduced a pair of new higher-level photography courses, exposing students to more advanced photographic lighting techniques and Photoshop skills.

Paul is also working with Middle School photographers, who created the first-ever Photography Club at Davidson Day this fall. The cameras are clicking – and our talented young photographers are doing exceptional work.

College Counseling News

Advanced Placement Scholar Awards
Two students at Davidson Day School have earned AP Scholar Awards from the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on AP exams.  Class of 2009 graduate Matthew Leonard qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award, and senior Meagan Waldrip qualified for the AP Scholar Award.  These awards are based on students’ performance on AP exams.  Congratulations to these two students on a job well done!

PSATs
PSAT information has been sent home with your student, along with test information.  The PSAT will be administered here at Davidson Day School on Wednesday, October 14th in the morning to all 9th-11th graders.  The charge for the exam is $13 payable by check or using the Patriot Account.  If you are paying by check, please submit your payment to Meaghan Rand by September 28th.  Please feel free to contact Ms. Rand at mrand@davidsonday.org or at (704) 237-5222 if you have any questions. 

College Fairs
There are two Charlotte-area college fairs in the near future:

Monday, September 28th from 6:30-8:30 pm: Christian College Fair at Charlotte Christian School (7301 Sardis Road, Charlotte)

Sunday, October 4th from 2:00-5:00 pm: Charlotte Independent School College Fair at the Ballantyne Hotel (10000 Commons Parkway, Charlotte).  This fair is available to all 10th-12th graders, and over 150 colleges were in attendance last year.  If you would like to attend this college fair, please contact Ms. Rand, as you need to register to attend. 

SATs
The deadline for the November 7th SAT is October 1st.  Registration is available at www.collegeboard.com.  

College Representative Visit Schedule:

If a student would like to attend one of these college counseling sessions, please contact Meaghan Rand at mrand@davidsonday.org or at (704) 237-5222.

Middle School News

Avery Sommer Lends a Big Hand Where it Counts
When people say “great help sometimes comes from the unexpected”, this saying fits one special 5th grader like a glove. Avery Sommer has taken it upon himself each day to lead a helping hand to support the kids in the After School program. Whether it’s handing out paper, going to his locker to get extra pencils, or helping the younger students with their homework, Avery does it all. The leadership qualities that he shows to the kids in the After School program are immeasurable. Thanks, Avery, for being an excellent role model that the younger kids can look up to.

Lower School News

Passport to the Arts
The 2nd Grade students have been preparing themselves for a journey to discover Art around the world. They created their own special passport with their photos inside which they will stamp after each continental lesson. Designs for passport covers included eagles, our beautiful planet Earth, and international flags. The students enjoyed finding out where their classmates were born. The children also got a good look (and an even better laugh) at Mrs. Langley's real passport from way back when she was eight years old and moved to England with her family.

Early Childhood News

Who Says It’s Too Early To Learn Geometry
TK has been studying geometry! The class has had a great amount of fun by learning that shapes can be found everywhere in their environment. The children made a shape mobile to show all the shapes they learned about. This includes a sphere, cone, pyramid, and cube. To top it off, the class illustrated their own shape book. Sounds like the kids in TK are shaping their own path to success!

Reading the Room
It's time to get reading! As Ms. Nina’s TK children diligently work to develop and improve the literacy skills that are so essential to their academic success, they may enjoy Reading the Room.  When Reading the Room, a child may appreciate a bit of comfort and encouragement with the visual images and spirited stories and nursery rhymes they are so familiar with. Congratulations to Ms. Nina’s TK class on a job well done!

Montessori Class is Introduced to Johnny Appleseed
This week the Montessori class is learning about Johnny Appleseed, and how he walked across North America. Last week we cut up and tasted four different types of apples and they were all oh so delicious! To no surprise to some, Granny Smith apples won as Favorite of the Class.

International Peace Day
On Monday, September 21st, our Montessori class, along with Montessori Schools across the world will be participating in International Peace Day. 50,000 Montessori children from around the world will sing “Light a Candle for Peace” throughout the day. The time for our Montessori class to sing will be at 11:15 am

Sports News

Athletic Calendar
Visit www.davidsonday.org/sports for next week’s schedules.

Middle School Cross Country Runs Wild
The DDS Middle School Cross Country team had a very strong performance in the XC Meet they participated in last Tuesday. The Boys team, led by Jake Bringewatt (2nd place), finished with 43 points; which earned them a very respectable 2nd place finish. The Girls team won their meet with a total of 21 points. Melissa Zammitti continues to amaze everyone by finishing in the top spot with a time of 14:49. Congratulations to the entire team on a job well done.

Varsity Soccer Team Enters the Win Column
The Patriot Boys Soccer team earned their first victory on Tuesday 3-0 vs. Victory Christian Center School.  Demond Gates led the charge with two goals and Omar Caldwell ventured out from his goalie position to score a second half goal.  Aaron Seward secured the shutout with a solid second half at keeper.

Lady Patriot Varsity Volleyball Takes Success to New Heights
The Lady Patriot Volleyball team has been playing hard over the course of the past four weeks, and this week was no different. After Tuesday night’s win against Victory Christian, the team was running on an impressive 6-2 record. Ka Funderburk and Jasmine Hamilton had standout games for the Patriots! Funderburk sparked the Patriots with four digs and four aces, while Hamilton had six digs, six kills, and two aces on the night. With both Ka and Jasmine being new to DDS, they have certainly been a key to the team’s success this season.

Parent Council Corner

Walking Wednesday
Our first Walking Wednesday of the school year was a huge success! Thanks to all of you who walked and rolled with us to school this past Wednesday. For those of you who couldn’t join us this month, plan to walk with us on October 21st.

Parent Council Meeting
Mark your calendars for our first evening Parent Council Meeting. It will be held on Wednesday, October 7th beginning at 5:30 pm in the Commons. To accommodate our working families and everyone’s busy schedules, we will be providing childcare and a light dinner. This meeting will be in addition to our regular morning meeting at 8:30 am that same day. We hope to see everyone there!

Note: If you are planning to attend our evening Parent Council Meeting, please RSVP Kelly Spiggle at kspiggle@yahoo.com.

Harris Teeter and Davidson Day Team-up for Education
Harris Teeter's Together in Education program has kicked off for the 2009-2010 school year.  They will donate 2% of all Harris Teeter brand purchases to our school for each VIC card that is linked to Davidson Day.  

This program starts fresh every September and lasts through May, so if you have linked your VIC card in the past, you will need to RE-link it for this school year. 

 It is FREE and only takes a minute to register in one of three ways:

1. Send your VIC card # to Deanne James via email: deannej02@yahoo.com, or
2. Register by going to the www.harristeeter.com and using our school code (Davidson Day's school code is 3520), or
3. Next time you are in Harris Teeter, tell the cashier that you want to link your VIC card to School # 3520.

Please pass this along to your family and friends who shop at any Harris Teeter in the Southeastern United States and might also be willing to link to our school. The more cards we have linked to Davidson Day, the more funds Harris Teeter will contribute to the betterment of our school!

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Deanne James at deannej02@yahoo.com.

Box Tops for Education - Join in Today!!
Box Tops for Education offers three easy ways to earn cash for our school through everyday activities such as buying groceries, shopping online and purchasing books.

Clip: Clip Box Top coupons from hundreds of participation products and send them to your child’s homeroom. For Upper School, turn them into specially marked collection boxes. Box Tops are worth 10 cents each when our school redeems them from Box Tops for Education. For a complete listing of products, go to www.boxtops4education.com.

Shop: Shop at your favorite online stores through the Box Tops Marketplace. Up to 8% of each qualifying purchase is automatically donated to our school.  There is no additional cost to your purchase and many exclusive deals and discounts can be found! Many of your favorite stores such as Target, Nordstrom and Home Depot, to name a few, are participating retailers.  Just register online to enjoy shopping at 100’s of participating stores, at no additional cost to you!

Buy Books: Purchase books online at Barnes and Noble through the Box Tops Reading Room.  DDS will receive 6% of your new book purchases and 3% of all other online purchases.

Exclusive web benefits:
     - Enter online promotions for chances to win Bonus Box Tops
     - Print money-saving coupons for your favorite Box Tops brands
     - Enjoy easy online benefits through Box Tops Marketplace and Reading Room

To learn more, visit www.btfe.com or contact Sharon Cantey (Box Tops Coordinator) at sharoncantey@yahoo.com  

Join the PAC Now
The DDS Fall sports season is off to a great start!  The school and the student athletes are very excited about the upcoming sports year. Support the DDS Athletic Department and show your Patriot pride by becoming a member of the Patriots Athletic Club. Join our efforts to make DDS students’ athletic experience the best! 

For annual membership information contact Megan Lynch at MeganML65@aol.com or 704-231-9797 or download the membership form by clicking here. GO PATRIOTS!

Volunteers for Home Games
Davidson Day School and the Patriot’s Athletic Club are looking for volunteers for after school concessions and all home sports games. If you are interested in showing your Patriot pride by volunteering, please contact Heidi Uszenski (Co-chair, Concessions) at (704) 962-9929 or hju62@mi-connection.com. Remember, volunteers make it happen!

A Random Act of Kindness
Ms. Francine Seward, Montessori Teacher Assistant:

On Monday, Sept 14th, as I was about to leave school, I suffered an unfortunate problem when my car ran out of gas in the school parking lot.  I asked several people if they had a gas can that I could borrow but I had no such luck. Mrs. Erin Breunig, and her two sons Mark and Jake, were walking down the sidewalk and I asked her the same question. Unfortunately, Mrs. Breunig didn’t have a gas can but the unique thing is that didn’t stop her from helping me. She took it upon herself to go across to the gas station to see if they had an extra can. Not only did she come back with a gas can but actual gas in it as well! I am so grateful for the entire Breunig family for helping me during a tough time. WHAT A WONDERFUL ACT OF KINDNESS!!!!