CALENDAR OF EVENTS     

Michael Cerkovnik to be Featured on Fox News Morning Show
To help promote Davidson Day School’s 2009-2010 Lecture Series (beginning November 18th), Michael Cerkovnik, Head of Lower and Middle School, has been asked to appear on the popular local TV morning show, Fox News Rising. The hosts of Fox News Rising, Anna Kooiman and Mark Mathis, will have a sit-down interview with Michael as he talks about the book The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle. The interview will take place on Tuesday, November 17th during the 8:00 morning hour.

Please tune in and help us celebrate Michael as he represents Davidson Day on this grand stage.


Charlotte Children’s Theater Performed “Mouse Tails”
to a Rousing Audience
On Tuesday, November 3rd, the Charlotte Children’s Theater (Tarradiddle Players) gave a sensational performance of the play, Mouse Tails. The play was watched by the Toddlers, Eaglets, TK & Kindergarten classes.  As stated in the last Roundabout, what makes this play very special is that it was written by our very own Joanna Gerdy. Hats off to Joanna for creating a play that had the kids captivated the entire time.

Annual Fund 2009-2010
Davidson Day School is swiftly becoming one of the premier independent schools in the region. Our excellence is due primarily to the projects and programs that operate above and beyond our standard curriculum. Annual Fund dollars further the educational experience through a range of student enrichment opportunities and program enhancements.

Thank you to our Board of Trustees, our staff and faculty, and our families who have already sent in their donation to this year's Annual Fund.  Led by 100% of our trustees, 81% of DDS staff and faculty have given, and 32% of our families have given.   Click here for the Annual Fund Giving List as of November 6, 2009.

For those of you who have not yet given -- please do.  Our goal this year is not to ask for large donations.  Even small gifts, when pooled together toward the common cause of educational excellence, will make Davidson Day's great plans a reality.  And few other investments ever offer such extraordinary returns.

Should you have any questions, please contact this year's Annual Fund co-chairs:  Stephanie Pierce at 704-895-5583, and Ginny Remmey at 704-987-0764.

Jenny Falcone Wins Tennis State Championship
Junior Jenny Falcone won the N.C. Independent Schools state championship Sunday in Wilson, NC by defeating Katy Cananda (The Elon School) 6-0, 6-0.

This state championship for Jenny caps off one of the most impressive seasons by a local high school tennis player in recent memory. Jenny, who is nationally ranked in the country (Girls 18-under), didn't lose a set the entire season and finished with a game record of 144 wins to 4 losses. Since arriving at Davidson Day, Jenny has been featured on News 14, Davidsonnews.net, and in two weeks she will be featured in the Charlotte Observer.

Congratulations Jenny on having a season for the ages.

Volunteers Needed for DDS Open House
Volunteers are needed for the Admissions Open House for prospective DDS families.  This Saturday morning program is an opportunity for people to find out more about the amazing programs offered at DDS.  Teachers, students, administrators and current families will be hosts to families interested in learning more about our school. 

The Open House is scheduled for Saturday, November 21st from 10:00am-noon.  Volunteers are needed to help set-up the Commons, mingle with prospective parents during the event and help clean-up after the event.   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 be a part of Davidson Day as well.

CASINO NIGHT 2009- JUST 15 DAYS AWAY
In two weeks, Davidson Day will present Casino Night 2009. This exciting event will be on Saturday, November 21st at Race World USA. The action begins at 7:00 p.m.

Click here for our list of fabulous prizes and auction items.

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 & Meta (The Gordon family), Stanley Tools, Davidson Chocolate Factory, Waterfront Group (Will & Lavi Adkins) and Devore, Acton & Stafford (The Stafford family). We are very honored to have your valuable participation in this grand event.

Our Lower School students have been working on some beautiful artwork 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 click here to view some highlights.

Buy your raffle tickets now to win free tuition for an entire school 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.

DDS Chorus Performed at The Pines Retirement Community Center
60 of our Davidson Day students made Wednesday, November 4th, a special day for many Davidson residents as the DDS Chorus gave a mini-concert to residents at The Pines Retirement Community Center. Many of the DDS parents came out to show their support. What made the event even more special is the chorus sang “Happy Birthday” to one of the residents who was celebrating his 100th birthday!

Special thanks to Katherine Ward-Washington for helping put together a performance that The Pines residents truly cherished.

Academic and Enrichment Center Update
The AEC would like to announce T2 Sports and Conditioning as a new After School offering at Davidson Day School. 

   
Upper School News

College Counseling News
College Week Live has launched its Fall 2009 college fair, and it will be available until Saturday, November 7th.  This is a free online college fair, where you can chat with college representatives, watch virtual tours of over 200 college campuses, and learn more about the college application processes.  You will need to create a username and password to use the website.  Please view this link: http://www.collegeweeklive.com/

The registration deadline for the December 12th ACT registration is Friday, November 6th.  Registration is available at www.actstudent.org.  

The College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) College Application Week will be Monday, November 16th - Friday, November 20th —this is a great opportunity to apply to some NC colleges for free!  There is also a lot of great information about college admission and financial aid for colleges in North Carolina.  Please view this link for more information: http://www.cfnc.org/

Middle School News

MS Social a “SPOOK-tacular” Success
Last Friday, 60 middle school students celebrated Halloween Eve by attending the second MS Social of the year. Students enjoyed an evening of eating, pumpkin carving, scary story-telling, and “Thriller” dancing! In addition to the festive activities planned for the social, many also attended the school play, Nightfall with Edgar Allan Poe. A hauntingly good time was had by all!

Students donned their costumes for the evening and prizes were awarded in several different categories. Congratulations to the winners: Aaron Augustine as “Angel of Death” (scariest costume), Tori Whaley as “Sponge Babe” (funniest costume), Jack Strachan as “Scottish Bagpiper” (most original), and Marin Harnett and Annie Echols as “Conjoined Twins” (most original).

Many thanks go out to the students who enthusiastically participated, the parents who helped to decorate the Commons, and the faculty members who made the night possible. See you at the next MS Social.

MS Students Learn There is More to Tea than Drinking It
In 5th and 6th Grade, students are working on an interdisciplinary unit using the novel Three Cups of Tea as their focal point. The students have been doing research in technology, writing monologues in theatre, working on collage in art, writing about compassion, as well as having literary discussions in Language Arts. The kids state that they have many more projects in the works that will be revealed at another time, so keep your eyes and ears open.

You’re Never too Young to Have Compassion
Davidson Day students are never short on talent and in (5th grader) Nicole Chinundet’s case, compassion. In her own words, Nicole writes about compassion and how she has implemented it in her life at such a young age.

When I was in Kindergarten, there was a girl that was feeling down. I went over to her and gave her some tips on how to solve the problem. She went over to the teacher and told her why she was in a bad mood. Later that day the teacher went to me and said that I did a very good job today. She awarded me with an eagle award. An eagle award was for something that you did independently to help someone. I realized then that you always help a friend in need. That is what compassion looks like to me.

Lower School News

Go Speed Racer
Everyone knows that Caleb Tate is fast on his feet, but little did you know he is also lightning fast behind the wheel. This Saturday and Sunday, Caleb will race in the WKA Grand Nationals (go-kart racing) at none other than Lowes Motor Speedway. After speaking with Caleb, this speedy 2nd grader shows no signs of fear. “I love to race,” says Caleb. “When I’m on the track, it’s the best feeling in the world.” Looks like Dale Earnhardt Jr already needs to start watching Caleb in his rearview mirror.

If you want see to see the rise of a potential NASCAR superstar at an early age, go to calebtate.com.

Davidson Fire Department Surprises Second Graders
This past Wednesday, the Davidson Fire Department made a surprise visit to both second grade classes. The students looked in awe as the bright red fire truck pulled up right before their very eyes. Right before the firefighters left to take care of an emergency call, they left these valuable tips for the kids regarding firefighters:

• Most fire stations no longer have poles due to better safety.
• Fighting fires with heavy gear is like carrying around a second grader on your back!
• Firefighters switch places every fifteen minutes to ensure their air supply doesn’t run out.

Davidson's Finest Visit Kindergarten Class
Mrs. Cusick's Kindergarten class had a visit from the Davidson Police department last Friday.  The officers discussed Halloween Safety tips with the students before they ventured out for trick or treat. 

Pumpkin Pinch Pots
Just in time for the season, first graders formed pinch pot pumpkins out of clay and glazed them a bright pumpkin orange color.  Some students drew a jack-o-lantern face on their sculptures and others left them as plain pumpkins.  You can check out the pumpkin patch in the main commons area in our new beautiful glass display cases.  Thanks to all of the families of Davidson Day School who purchased framed art work during the spring art show which helped to pay for the new displays.  This will help to showcase our student artwork for many years to come.

Early Childhood News

TK Learns About the Five Senses
Ms. Dana and Ms. Tracy's TK class experimented, explored and learned all about the five senses. The children learned to mix primary colors to make secondary colors using eye droppers for their sense of sight. They then used smelling jars to differentiate between specific scents and played with different textures for their sense of touch. They also had a tasting party to explore their taste buds and things that are sour, bitter, salty, sweet and spicy. To conclude this unit, the children made a book about the five senses to help them remember all that they explored.

Please check out our pictures in the photo gallery.

Busy Bodies
The Eaglets have also been busy studying the five senses.  They made binoculars and telescopes with paper towel tubes for their sense of sight.  During their exploration of their sense of hearing, they made paper plate shakers, matched sounds with sound canisters, and played Sound Bingo.  Using their sense of smell, the Eaglets explored a variety of scent canisters and made a graph of their favorite scent.  They also set up a flower shoppe in their Dramatic Play area and built flower beds in the Block Center.  Over the next two weeks, the Eaglets will participate in activities related to their sense of taste and touch.

Please check out our pictures in the photo gallery.

Sports News

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

Mandatory Meeting for all Winter Athletes and Parents
On Tuesday, November 10th, there will be a mandatory meeting for all student-athletes participating in winter sports. The meeting starts at 7:30 pm and will be held at the Davidson Day Commons.  This is an opportunity to speak with Athletic Director Kevin Buechler and the winter coaches about schedules, expectations, and team philosophies. Parents of the student-athletes are also expected to attend.

Please RSVP to the following coaches:

V Boys Basketball: Ron Johnson - rjohnson@davidsonday.org
V Girls Basketball (7th-12th): Kevin Buechler - kbuechler@davidsonday.org
MS Boys Basketball: Thomas Whaley - twhaley@davidsonday.org
MS Girls Basketball (5th and 6th): Patricia Bowen - pbowen@davidsonday.org
MS Swimming: Jennifer Yarbroug - jyarbrough@davidsonday.org

Please go to http://www.davidsonday.org/sports/ for weekly gym schedules, game schedules, and updates.

Parent Council Corner

A Fireside Chat
Our first Fireside Chat with Head of School Bonnie Cotter was warmly received. Many topics were discussed including what are your expectations, as a parent, of a Davidson Day School graduate, Capital/Annual Campaigns and dress code. With the success of this event, we plan to host another Fireside Chat with Bonnie after the holidays. Thank you for your time, questions and comments. We look forward to seeing you next month.

Box Tops for Education First Collection Winner
Congratulations to Mrs. Fuller's 2nd grade class.  They are the winning class for our first round of Box Tops for Education collection with a total of 623.  They are the recipients of a free dress down week and a pizza party!  The classes listed below put forth a great effort and were not far off the lead.  Great job from all classes.

Mrs. Cusick - Kindergarten (552)
Mrs. Raybourn - 3rd Grade (508)
Mrs. Loveday - Montessori (452)
Mrs.  Hitzemann - 1st Grade (334)

Remember to keep collecting for our second round contest starting now and ending February 22nd.  Our grand total is 3316 Box Tops which is $ 331.60 earned for our school.  Let's double that for our second round of collecting!!!  We can do it!!!  Thank you to all Box Tops room volunteers. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Sharon Cantey at sharoncantey@yahoo.com.

Volunteers Needed for Panthers Concessions
We are in need of volunteers for the concession stand on Saturday, December 26th  for the 4:00pm Meineke Car Care college football bowl game.   If you are able to volunteer, please sign-up on the poster located outside of the Commons.  Please contact Alexa Lupfer at alupfer@bellsouth.net with any questions.  Thank you!

Winter Used Uniform Sale
Our Winter Used Uniform Sale was a huge success. Due to this, we will continue to offer sales at various morning Parent Council Meetings. We will be sure to announce these dates in advance. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact Sheila Brady at lmbsmom@bellsouth.net.

Powder Puff Football
Due to scheduling difficulties, our Powder Puff Football game will be rescheduled for the spring. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Lisa Kaouss at hklk44@gmail.com.