Three students at Davidson Elementary - (from left:) Mayella Strodel, Kylie Skovira and Merritt Strodel - had a good idea that turned into a wildly successful book drive.

The good ideas of our local kids provide the focus of this week’s School Notes.  At Davidson Elementary, a surplus of books on the shelves led three readers to launch a book drive that surprised everyone by collecting over 5,000 volumes. Meanwhile, at Woodlawn School, friends Scott Murr and Darius Knott have paired up to organize a charity golf tournament that will result in scholarships for kids to attend the popular Davidson College lake campus summer camps.  The scholarships will be given in the name of Scott’s father, G. Michael Murr, who died of cancer when Scott was five and who loved boating on the lake.

Also in the news this week is a “Midnight Madness” hoops night being hosted by Davidson Day, and a full calendar of upcoming school events, including the Nov. 15 charity concert at Davidson College that will benefit PTA-Too, a program for special needs children at Davidson Elementary.

WOODLAWN BOYS ORGANIZE GOLF TOURNEY

Last spring, Scott Murr held a fundraiser to sponsor a kid at the popular but costly Davidson College summer camp on Lake Norman.  Scott, then a sophomore at Woodlawn School, had enjoyed the summer camp himself and wanted to set up a scholarship program to honor the memory of his father, Michael Murr, who died of colon cancer when Scott was five years old.

“My dad had a boat and he loved taking that boat out on the lake,” Scott explained.

Scott raised the $300 necessary for a camp scholarship and worked with the Ada Jenkins Center to pick out a ten-year-old beneficiary.

“Then I thought to myself, ‘I have to send this kid again, and I bet there’s more kids like him,’” Scott said.

Scott Murr (at right) and Darius Knott are coordinating a charity golf tournament Sunday.

Meanwhile, Scott and his golf buddy Darius Knott needed to come up with a community service project, a requirement at Woodlawn, where both are juniors.

“We thought about teaching golf lessons, but we’re not that good yet,” Scott admitted.

It was Darius who came up with the idea of a golf tournament, with proceeds to go toward more summer camp scholarships in Scott’s dad’s name.

“We were thinking one scholarship – and if we could get enough for two kids that would be great,” said Darius.  The tournament is Sunday, and Darius proudly reported that the boys have already collected enough to sponsor three summer camp scholarships.

The tournament will be held at the Mooresville Golf Course, located near Woodlawn and the place where Scott and Darius like to play.  Teams of three to four players will tee off starting at 9 a.m.  The entree fee is $40, with proceeds benefitting the George Michael Murr Scholarship program. There will be prizes given to top golfers and also a raffle.

The boys said they have about nine teams so far, with ages ranging from teen to 73.  The first to sign up were their fellow golfers at Woodlawn, and the first official sponsor was the Roger O’Connell Insurance Agency in Davidson.

“”Mr. O’Connell is a really good golfer and he’s been a big help to us in organizing this,” Scott said.

Donated prizes for the tournament include gift certificates or prizes donated by the Roger O’Connell Insurance Agency, Brick House Tavern, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Campania Cafe, Dick’s Sporting Goods, UNCC and Chick-Fil-A.  The boys are also excited about the grand prize to the top golfer: a Nike putter.

There are still spaces available for golfers to participate in the tournament – email Scott Murr for more information.  He and Darius are also planning a second spring tournament.

Scott said that his dad was not much of a golfer, but he thinks he would be pleased to see lake campus camp scholarships in his name.

“It makes me very happy to work on this for him,” Scott said.

DAVIDSON ELEMENTARY READERS DONATE OVER 5,000 BOOKS

Davidson Elementary School students collected over 5,000 books in the first-ever Tiger Paw Book Drive, which benefited students at Hornets Nest Elementary. The book drive coincided with the DES Scholastic Book Fair last month and is part of the continuing “sister school” relationship between Davidson and Hornets Nest, a fellow CMS school located on Beatties Ford Road in Charlotte.

Hornet's Nest Principal Vickie Hicks was joined by students at her school and from Davidson Elementary to unload over 5,000 donated books. (Photos by Kiki Strodel)

The book drive idea originated with Davidson students Kylie Skovira and Merritt and Mayella Strodel, book lovers who wanted to do something about all the books on their shelves at home which they were finished reading. The girls thought about swapping books for the summer, but had many of the same volumes. They decided instead to donate their books, at which point parents Kiki Strodel and Rachelle Skovira approached school librarian Norma Dunbar and PTA member Jackie Noble, who chairs the PTA’s Partners in Schools Committee and coordinated delivery to the Hornet’s Nest Media Center and classrooms.

As the donations poured in, DES parents turned to Tim Dillon of Mooresville U-Haul Storage, and he supplied a U-Haul at a charitable rate to store and deliver the books.

Ms. Noble commented that Hornet’s Nest representatives “were very impressed by the quality of the books – many of the most popular titles for young readers – plus the overall condition of the books has been good to excellent.”

DAVIDSON DAY HOSTS ‘MIDNIGHT MAGIC’

The Davidson Day boys and girls varsity hoops teams will celebrate the start of the 2009-10 basketball season by hosting “Midnight Madness” Friday, Nov. 13th.  Doors will open at 11:30 p.m. for this event, which is free and open to Davidson Day families.

Ron Johnson

The evening will feature door prizes, t-shirt giveaways, and a three-point shooting contest from crowd volunteers. The midnight magic will be capped off by scrimmages from both the boys and girls varsity team.

Davidson Day has high hopes for its fledgling basketball program, following the hiring this spring of head coach Ron Johnson, a former Barry University college player.  (See our previous coverage, “DDS hires Ron Johnson.”) The official season will start Nov. 24 with a home game against First Assembly Christian of Concord.

(CORRECTED – the original version of this article said the event is open to the public.)

SPORTS SCORES

BAILEY MIDDLE – The Bailey Middle team placed third among seven teams at a middle school cross country meet at Freedom Park in Charlotte Oct. 26 organized through the Cross Country For Youth program.  The team’s next meet is Nov. 14 at the McAlpine Greenway Park near Matthews.

DAVIDSON DAY – Varsity volleyball players earning All Conference Awards for the fall season include: 1st Team: Elizabeth Buehler, Jade Cotter; 2nd Team: Jasmine Hamilton; All Tournament Team: Elizabeth Buehler and Jeanine Grabowski.  Davidson Day is a member of the five-school Southern Piedmont Athletic Association (SPAA), a conference in the NC Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA).

SCHOOL CALENDAR

• SATURDAY, NOV. 7 – Cannon School, a private K-12 prep school in Concord, will hold an open house for interested families, starting at 1 p.m. in Taylor Hall.  Attendees will be able to speak one-on-one with school representatives about Cannon’s academic, arts and athletic offerings.
• SUNDAY, NOV. 8 – Two Woodlawn School 11th graders, Scott Murr and Darius Knott, will hold a charity golf tournament at the Mooresville Golf Course, starting at 9 a.m.  (See above for more details.)
• FRIDAY, NOV. 13 - Davidson Day will kick off its basketball season with “Midnight Madness,” open free to Davivdosn Day families. (See above for more details).  The doors open at 11:30 p.m.
• SUNDAY, NOV. 15 - Woodlawn School will host an admissions open house starting at 1 p.m.  Interested family can meet in the new Woods Hall building and learn about the Woodlawn programs and admissions process.
• SUNDAY, NOV. 15 - Davidson College will host a charity concert to benefit PTA-Too, which serves special needs students at Davidson Elementary and other schools.  The concert will feature three a capella groups, performing from 5-6 p.m. in the Duke Family Performance Hall.  Donations will be accepted at the door.  To reserve a free ticket email the college or PTA-Too coordinator Jeni Cooper.
• WEDNESDAY, NOV. 18 - Davidson Day School will kick off its 2009-10 Lecture Series with a breakfast talk by Michael Cerkovnik on the book “The Talent Code” by Daniel Coyle, which looks at the neuroscience of how to improve talent in such areas as sports, music and academics. The talk , which starts at 8:30 a.m., is free and open to the public. Mr Cerkovnik is a developmental psychologist and attorney who currently serves as the lower school and middle school division head at Davidson Day School.
• THURSDAY, NOV. 19 – Second annual International Night at Bailey Middle.  This event will run from 6:30 – 7:30 and feature international music, performances and food.
• SATURDAY, NOV. 21 – Davidson Day will host an open house for families of prospective students from 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in the school’s commons.  Davidson Day is a private prep school serving grades preK-12, located on Jetton Street in Davidson.  Teachers, administrators and current students will be available for interested families wanting to learn more about the school.

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