CALENDAR OF EVENTS     

Our Very Own Headmaster Featured in Lake Norman Magazine
The November issue of Lake Norman Magazine (available on newsstands beginning today) offers special coverage on the private and charter schools in the Lake Norman area. Only one of the area’s educational leaders is the subject of an in-depth feature story; none other than our Headmaster, Bonnie Cotter.

Charlotte Observer columnist Mark Washburn delivers a great story by clearly defining what type of leader Bonnie is: A true visionary whose passion and drive is to make Davidson Day the best school (public, charter, or private) in North Carolina.

At the conclusion of the interview, Mr. Washburn stated that Bonnie is a “very unconventional leader in education which is refreshing. She sees the big picture, and despite being headmaster, Bonnie's pleasant demeanor allows the students to approach her freely.”

Please pick up a copy of the November issue of Lake Norman Magazine today and join us in honoring Bonnie and Davidson Day School.

MS Girls Volleyball Wins Rocktober Tournament
Let the championship run begin for Davidson Day Athletics. Our Middle School Volleyball team won the first annual Rocktober Tournament by defeating United Faith 2-1. This tournament is designed for many private schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area that comptete in Middle School volleyball.

This was a huge win not just for the team, but for the entire school. Head Coach Thomas Whaley was elated after the championship game, “Our victory was the culmination of a lot of hard work and the determination of our girls. They decided very early that they were going to win this championship, and that’s exactly what they did.”

Bonnie’s Blog is Back
After a few months of anticipation, a new segment of Bonnie’s Blog is now available on our website. No matter how she communicates, Head of School Bonnie Cotter enables you to understand and embrace her vision for Davidson Day. Below is an excerpt from her new blog where she shares her view on building Davidson Day's future upon the unwavering passion to develop the potential in each child.

I love our school. This past week, our administrative team went off campus for a day of reflection and planning....It was an amazing day for me as I experienced these 15 very different men and women representing very different functions of the school all rallying around the same, singular vision – your children – and meeting their individual needs as students and as members of our greater community.

To read the entire blog, please visit http://davidsonday.org/bonnies-blog.html.

DDS Lecture Series Kicks Off on November 18th
On Wednesday, November 18th, starting at 8:30am, Davidson Day School will kick off its 2009-2010 Lecture Series.  Mr. Michael Cerkovnik, Head of Lower and Middle Schools at Davidson Day, will present a talk for the school and the community on the book The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle.  

Mr. Cerkovnik describes The Talent Code as "a book that I wish all our parents and teachers would read. It is that important - it is truly a transformative book.” It emphasizes and explains the neuroscience of how to improve talent in a given area (such as sports, music, academics, etc.) Dan Coyle specifically talks about how to increase the speed and accuracy of your movements and thoughts.

Join us at Davidson Day School where we will host a breakfast while Mr. Cerkovnik explores this book’s intriguing concepts in a conversation that could be life-changing.

Powder Puff Football Descends on Davidson Day’s Campus
Just when you thought football was about to come to an end here at Davidson Day, in less than two months, we will have the game of all games! On December 2nd, the ladies will be putting on the shoulder pads and lacing the chinstraps in a game of epic proportions as the parents (moms) will be taking on the school faculty (women).

This is a game that you will not want to miss as the trash talking has already begun. Please click here for further information on a game that is already being billed as the Game of the Year.

CASINO NIGHT 2009 - JUST THREE WEEKS AWAY!
In just three weeks, 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 7:00pm.

Thank you to our wonderful sponsors: StrataForce (The Greene family), Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (Bernie Sandler), Cunningham Wholesale (Gina and Mike Nichols), Piedmont Bank, L.Gordon Iron & Metal (The Gordon family), Stanley Tools, Davidson Chocolate Factory , Devore, Acton & Stafford (The Stafford family), and Waterfront Group (Will & Lavi Adkins).  We are very honored to have your valuable participation in this grand event.

Our Lower School students have been working on some beautiful art work that will be auctioned off during Casino Night 2009. Don’t pass up your chance to purchase one of these fine pieces of art. Please view our photo gallery to see some of the artwork. In addition to the artwork, new items that will be auctioned off will be: Helicopter ride overlooking Lake Norman, Myrtle Beach Condos, and Ocean Drive Condos.

Would you like a chance to win one year’s tuition FREE?! Well buying your raffle tickets now is the first step of making it a reality! Purchase them on your RSVP cards that are enclosed with your invitation, and you will be in a drawing to have a chance to get free DDS tuition for a year.

If you or a family that 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 or Deanne James at deannej02@yahoo.com or Nancy Rosato at n.rosato@roadrunner.com.

Become a Fan of Davidson Day on Facebook
Davidson Day School is now on Facebook and has its own fan page!  Become a fan of the school and see updates, pictures and information about your school.  When you become a fan, you also help us promote the school to the entire Facebook community.  To become a fan, log on to your Facebook account, do a search for Davidson Day School and click on “Become a fan”.  You can invite friends and family to join too!  Email Anne Buechler at abuechler@davidsonday.org for more information.

Charlotte Children’s Theater to Perform “Mousetails”
On Tuesday, November 3rd, the Charlotte Children’s Theater (Tarradiddle Players) will come to the DDS auditorium and perform "Mouse Tails." The play starts at 9:00am and will be shown to the Toddler, Eaglet, TK and Kindergarten classes.  What makes this play very special is that it was written by our very own Joanna Gerdy.

The Tarradiddle Players is a touring company of the Children's Theatre of Charlotte that spreads the joy of live theatre across the Southeast. They have performed for over one million children during their 37 years!

Checkmate for French Teacher Sheena Geiger
Our very own Madame Geiger is not only our MS and US French teacher; she is also a professional cheerleader with the Charlotte Checkers hockey team that is based out of the Time Warner Cable Arena. It is her second season with the Checkers, and they commence their season this Sunday at 2:00 pm with a game against the Gwinnett Gladiators. There is an opportunity to skate with the players and the cheerleaders after the game, so come on out for a fun family activity! You can also catch Madame Geiger and the rest of the Checkmates as they will be performing on Fox News Rising this week!

Academic and Enrichment Center Update
The After School program would like to announce a Flag football and Cheerleading clinic for Kindergarten and 1st Grade boys and girls. 

The Academic and Enrichment Center would like to remind families and students of academic services offered: after school subject tutoring, academic coaching, Language Arts development, Math Concept development, and Headsprout, along with Speech and Occupational Therapy.

Contact Candy Mazze, Director of Programming, at 704-237-5281 for more information about AEC services and After School programs.

Upper School News

DDS Seniors Getting Ready for College
The seniors went to UNCC to tour a college library and practice searching specialized databases last Tuesday. For most of our seniors it was their first time seeing microfilm and microfiche; and they were fascinated by the resource storage. Then the seniors sat down at college library computers with the librarian to research their assigned science topics. They really enjoyed the ultra scavenger hunt and realized that not everything they will ever need for academics is on Yahoo or Google.

The highlight of the day was the librarian's stunned expression by the difficulty of our topics. She told Mrs. Hallman she wished she had the topics ahead of time so she could research them herself first. Typically, when schools come tour the library they have basic topics (music therapy or concussions in high school athletics). So what was the most challenging topic? Mrs. Brown's anatomy and physiology topic was: What is the difference between slow and fast muscle twitch fibers?

Unlike the librarian, our students were not surprised by the complex research questions because they are accustomed to our Upper School classes challenging their critical thinking skills!  But certainly they were glad to unwind at the Student Union for lunch before returning to campus for afternoon classes.

Photo Classes Visit Uptown Charlotte
Last week, Mr. Cotter’s photography students hit the streets of Uptown Charlotte for some unique photo assignments. The Digital Photography I classes took a morning field trip to shoot photos for their architectural photography project. The Digital Photography III classes took a night field trip for a project involving High Dynamic Range (HDR) and cross-processing – two very cool photographic techniques. A picture is worth a thousand words, so check the photo gallery to see our young photographers in the center city.

College Counseling News

College Representative Visit Schedule:
Thursday, Nov. 5th, 2:15pm—Berry College, Mount Berry, GA

Prudential Spirit of Community Awards: This is an awards program available to all 5-12th graders who demonstrate exemplary community service.  The application is due November 2nd.  Please contact Ms. Rand for more information if you are interested in applying at mrand@davidsonday.org or at (704) 237-5222. 

The deadline for the December 12th ACT is Friday, November 6th.  Registration is available at www.collegeboard.com.  

Middle School News

Perfect Model
The MS and US Algebra I classes will be starting their annual scale model project.  Students will be using their knowledge of scales, rates, ratios, dimensional analysis and models to build models of Davidson Day School.  Each group of students will be responsible for measuring the school's exterior walls, converting the units into feet and inches, creating an appropriate scale, and building a replica of our school.  Please stay tuned for pictures of their progress in upcoming editions of The Roundabout.

5th Grade Studies Forest Biome
On Thursday, October 22nd, the 5th Grade classes hiked to Davidson College to collect leaves for their tree projects.  The campus of Davidson College is an outdoor arboretum, so after students tried to identify their leaves with dichotomous keys, they checked their answers by looking at the identification plates found on the trees. Learning to identify trees that are native to our area is but one of the many parts of this biome study.

Lower School News

Fish Naming Week
This was a busy week in the LS Science Lab.  The rainbow trout reached the "swim-up" stage and were released from their holding basket into the big tank.  Prior to the basket release, each student got "up close and personal" with one fish.  Students used magnifying lenses to observe the various parts of the fish and drew diagrams in their journals.  At the end of each class, students gathered around the tank for the "releasing ceremony".  You can be sure that students will be looking for Speedy, Wilbur or Spotty every single time they visit Science Lab.

Early Childhood News

Oh, They Did the Math, They Did the Monster Math!
Students in Ms. Dana's TK were brewing up some math skills as they played "Monster Math", a fun learning center that the teachers conjured up in their lab. The children were working on number recognition and reading skills as they read recipes to make magic potions with spiders, eyeballs and bats. They had a spooky good time playing with monsters as they brushed up on their counting skills and number matching. They also practiced making ghoulish patterns using bats, ghosts and pumpkins. To "sum" up our week of Monster Math, we sang the Monster Mash song with our very own lyrics.

Seasons Change
This week the Toddlers have been very busy learning about the four seasons, beginning with autumn. Through their daily activities, they have become more aware of the changes that take place during the fall season. As the color of the leaves change outside, the color of the leaves inside the classroom also changed. The entire class painted over their green leaves with fall colors and used them to learn how to match and sort by size, color and shape. They also talked about the different things associated with fall such as birds migrating, cooler weather, wearing warmer clothes, pumpkins, apples, rain and puddles.

Sports News

Athletic Calendar
Look at Davidsonday.org/sports for next week’s schedules.

Davidson Middle School Football Receives Media Attention
Lake Norman News, a subsidiary to the Charlotte Observer, wrote an excellent story last week about Davidson MS Football. Athletic Director Kevin Buechler did a fantastic job explaining the DDS philosophy and incorporating that with the Davidson community. Please click here to view the entire story.

DDS Varsity Volleyball's Great Season Comes to a Close
Our Varsity Volleyball team concluded the 2009 season on Tuesday night against number 1 seed Shannon Forrest. After finishing off the regular season last week by placing second in the conference tournament, DDS got the nod for the number 16 seed in the state tournament. It is a great accomplishment for the Patriot Volleyball Team to make states in only their third year as a varsity program. Jade Cotter and Elizabeth Buehler made first team all-conference, Jasmine Hamilton made second team all-conference, and Jeanine Grabowski and Elizabeth Buehler made the all-tournament team. Congratulations on a great season!

Varsity Winter Sports Begin November 2nd
Varsity Boys and Girls Basketball teams will officially begin practice on November 2nd.  Girls will practice from 3:15-5:00pm and boys from 5:00-7:00pm.  Please check the "Athletics" portion of the website for specifics.

Reminder for the Fall Sports Varsity Awards Ceremony
Parents and families are welcome to celebrate our varsity athletes’ successful seasons in the theater on Tuesday, November 3rd at 7:00 p.m. Please RSVP to Lisa Morgan at lmorgan@davidsonday.org by Friday October 30th if you plan on attending.  Semi-formal dress is requested (shirt and tie for young men, game day dress for young women).

Fall Sports Middle School Celebration Dinner
An informal pizza party and celebration of very successful cross country, football, soccer, and volleyball seasons will be held in the Commons for players and coaches on Wednesday, November 4th at 6:00 p.m. Please RSVP to Lisa Morgan at   lmorgan@davidsonday.org if your child will be attending.  $5 will be charged to the players Patriot account.

Parent Council Corner

A Fireside Chat
Parent Council is pleased to announce our first fireside chat on Wednesday, November 4th at 8:30am in the Commons.  In lieu of our traditional meeting, Bonnie Cotter will be with us as we discuss the school year so far through a question and answer series.  Please join us for cider and muffins by the fire!   We hope that you will be able to attend.

Blankets, Bulbs & Cider
We were disappointed that we had to cancel Blankets, Bulbs and Cider this week due to inclement weather.  A big thank you to A.J. Jones for organizing the event!

Winter Used Uniform Sale
Our Winter Used Uniform Sale has been rescheduled for next Wednesday, November 4th beginning at 8:30am to coincide with our parent council meeting.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Sheila Brady at lmbsmom@bellsouth.net.