As a nationally successful in-line skater who is used to being the only girl in the rink and as a home-schooled student who dreams of becoming the U.S. ambassador to NATO, Kelsey Rushing Farson (in photo at right) stood out among applicants for the prestigious UNC-Chapel Hill Morehead-Cain Scholars program. That’s no doubt why the Davidson resident was selected for the honor earlier this month. 
Read of her achievements and also learn about: a memorial program to honor the late Harrison Nichols of Davidson Day; how Stephen Curry used “Tigers on the Prowl” to keep fit; wins for the Bailey Middle “Battle of the Books” and the Davidson IB “Science Olympiad” teams; superior ratings for the Bailey band; and upcoming education forums. Plus, there’s our busy calendar of spring school news.
Farson named a Morehead-Cain Scholar
As Kelsey Rushing Farson waited to hear whether she’d been awarded a four-year, $80,000 scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she decided to kill time before the expected announcement by strapping on her skates and heading for the rink.
“I played about three hours of hockey that day,” she said.
Unfortunately, hockey could not fully relieve the tension when she finally decided to open her e-mail and check into her future. A congratulations message was there to greet her, as she was one of 82 from America, Canada and Great Britain to receive the scholarship.
“Oh, I couldn’t be happier,” Kelsey said. “It still seems too good to be true.”
“We feel very honored,” added her mother, Teresa Farson.
Kelsey applied to six colleges, but worked first on her application to UNC, where the oldest of the four Farson children, Abby, is currently a sophomore. Kelsey went through two rounds of on-campus interviews before learning that she had been named a Morehead-Cain Scholar. The program is designed to recognize leadership and academic excellence. Besides the full scholarship, the program also offers a laptop computer and special summer programs. That includes a month-long backpacking trip this June.
Kelsey is the first Morehead-Cain scholar to be entirely home-schooled. The children of Jak and Teresa Farson study at home in a program they’ve named the DaVinci Academy. The family is a member of a regional home school support network, WINGS, and also part of a local consortium of about a dozen home schooling families. The Farsons moved two years ago from Charlotte to Davidson, and Teresa Farson calls her new home “a haven for home schooling” since it offers a library, college lectures and arts opportunities all within walking distance. Kelsey has studied AP-level European history with her mother, and has also taken online AP courses in physics, macro economics and other topics. She has also coached and participated in debate clubs and won numerous honors at the state and regional level in team policy debate.
She hopes to earn a college degree in public policy analysis and then seek a graduate degree in international affairs. Plus, there’s the skating.
“I want to start an ice hockey team at UNC,” she said.
Kelsey has been involved in skating ever since her dad put together an in-line rink on the family cul-de-sac in Charlotte. She has played on numerous in-line and ice skating teams, and has been named to Team America 2007 and the national in-line 19-and-under women’s team for 2005. She is currently a forward, and one of only two girls, on the Raleigh Assault, a professional in-line hockey association team.
“They were looking for people with unusual backgrounds,” Kelsey explained of the scholarship selection committee. “Being a girl from the South who plays hockey, being home schooled — I think that’s what interested them.”
Davidson Day sets up memorial honors program
Davidson Day has established two school honors in memory of a student who died in February after a long struggle with cancer. An “Award of Recognition” will be given at the end of each school year to students in the Lower School, while the “Harrison Nichols Scholarship” is a new financial aid program for Middle and Upper School students. The new honors were announced at “Harrison Nichols Day,” held March 18, which would have been Harrison’s ninth birthday.
“Harrison was an inspiration to every one of us in the Davidson Day community,” said Bonnie Cotter, Head of School. “His strength, his courage, his love of life and his optimism, even in the face of great pain and hardship, served as a model for us and brought our school family together. We wanted to create a special day that would honor his life and continue his legacy.”
Harrison (pictured at left) died on February 17, 2008, nearly six years after he was diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma, a cancer that forms in the nerve tissue. Even while receiving medical treatments which included numerous cycles of chemotherapy, Harrison continued to attend school, participating by web camera when he was receiving treatments in New York City. Immediately after Harrison’s passing, his friends and classmates decorated the halls of Davidson Day with hand-made sunflowers – Harrison’s favorite flower.
As the school notice on the event concluded, “It was a fitting tribute to a boy who brightened so many lives.”
Davidson Day is a private prep school located at 750 Jetton Road.
Adding height to ‘Tigers on the Prowl’
Davidson Elementary students working on their “Tigers on the Prowl” laps Wednesday, March 12, were surprised to be joined by some rather tall atheletes- namely the Davidson College men’s basketball and baseball teams. The team members were recruited by 2/3 teacher Jennifer Beard, whose class is competing with that of Celia Felthaus to get the most guest laps for the month of March. The Wildcats, including basketball star Stephen Curry, signed autographs and chatted with students while boosting the guest lap totals for Ms. Beard’s class. “The kids were going crazy,” reported parent Tim Dreffer.
“Tigers on the Prowl” is a fitness program designed to encourage students at recess to run laps on the school track, with awards given when students reach various marks, culminating in the coveted Tigers Marathon Club T-shirt award. Parents and other guests have until the end of March to join in to help their students earn the prize of a pizza party with the school’s Tiger mascot. And don’t worry – you don’t have to be an NCAA-qualifying athlete to participate in this March Madness! ‘Tigers on the Prowl’ is sponsored by Artisan Custom Homes, Cashion’s Quik Stop and Knox Realty.
IB Middle wins Science Olympiad regional
Davidson IB Middle School’s Science Olympiad teams competed at their regional tournaments on Saturday, March 8, at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. The varsity team placed first among 16 teams from area public and private schools, defeating Jay M. Robinson Middle, the 2007 national second place winner. The Davidson IB junior varsity team placed second among nine. That means both Davidson IB teams will be advancing to the statewide competition on April 4th and 5th in Raleigh. The teams are coached by science teacher, Tiffany Sabin, and include numerous parent volunteers. The Science Olympiad program is designed to encourage student interest and involvement in science and technology fields.
Bailey Middle band earns superior rankings
The Bailey Middle School seventh-grade band
attended the South Central District Band Festival at Central Academy in Monroe, NC, on Wednesday, March 12. The band played three prepared pieces for judges’ comments and ratings, and earned three ratings of “Superior.” On Friday, March 14, the Bailey Middle eighth grade band attended the same festival where they received a rating of “Superior” in sightreading (performing a piece never seen before). For their prepared pieces, they received one rating of “Superior” and two ratings of “Superior-Plus!” Ruth Petersen is the band director at Bailey Middle School.
Photo: Eighth-grade trumpet player Ben Brooks holds the plaque given to Bailey Middle School for earning an overall “superior” rating.
Bailey Middle team reads its way to an award
Bailey Middle School’s 
“Battle of the Books” team placed third in the school district north region competition, missing second place by a mere point. Lake Norman Charter won the competition, while Alexander Middle placed second. Bailey’s team members, decked out in their “Battle of the Books” t-shirts, are photographed here on the day of the competition, holding some of their required reading.
The quiz-bowl style event requires that teams answer questions about a set number of books, which they have spent the school year reading. (Click here to see the just-released book list for the 2008-09 school year.) Bailey’s team is coached by 8th grade language arts teacher David Hall and consists of 12 members in grades 6-8. The regional competition was held at Bradley Middle on March 6.
Carolina college tours
The Lake Norman Teen Council, together with Davidson Parks and Recreation, will be offering two tours of Carolina colleges, appropriate for students in grades 6-12. The first tour is scheduled for Saturday, March 29, from 8 p.m. – 6 p.m., taking in NC State in the morning and UNC-Chapel Hill in the afternoon. The second will take place on Saturday, April 26, from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., and feature UNC-Greensboro in the morning and Wake Forest in the afternoon. The tours are self-guided and cost $8 per Saturday. An information packet, transportation and chaperones will be provided, though participants should bring spending money for meals. Register online
Education forums for public schools
The first of two Community Education Forums will be held Thursday, March 27, at the Davidson Town Hall. This session will focus on elementary school topics in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district. A second forum will follow on Thursday, April 3, to discuss middle school and high school issues. Both session will run from 6:30 – 8 p.m. Principals from area public schools, as well as Hugh Hattabaugh, the North Learning Community Area Superintendent for CMS, will be present. Discussion items will include an update on facilities and student assignments and a description of curriculum development. There will be time for questions of CMS staff. The forums are intended to offer insight as to how things have changed as a result of the move to decentralize CMS through the addition of the North Learning Community and the North Learning Community Area Superintendant’s office.
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