A special Thanksgiving meal for the staff at Community School of Davidson.

Parent volunteers at Community School of Davidson used the Thanksgiving holiday as a chance to offer a special “thanks” to their teachers, serving up a full holiday meal during a “Thanks for Giving” luncheon (see photo at left).

The charter school does not have a separate cafeteria, so teachers usually eat with their students in their classrooms.  The Nov. 18 luncheon transformed the gym into a dining room, with elegant place settings and a buffet line.

“This gives the teachers some time together,” said parent volunteer Eileen Simon.

School Notes this week includes news of state chorus honors for two Cannon students, Joanna Copio and Stephen Metz, plus an update on the charity golf tournament organized by two Woodlawn students, Scott Murr and Darius Knott, and news of a special plaque for Gethsemane Baptist from Davidson’s newest football team.  We have the honor roll from Davidson IB Middle, and calendar listings of events at “Christmas in Davidson” and more.

HONORS CHORUS

Two Cannon School students, including one from Davidson, were chosen to participate in honors choruses earlier this month that featured some of the state’s best young singers.

Stephen Metz and Joanna Copio at the NC State Honors Chorus. (Photo courtesy of the Copio family)

Stephen Metz, a senior from Concord, and Joanna Copio, a 7th grader from Davidson (her parents are Jim and Diane Copio), were among a select group who sang with honors choruses that performed at the annual North Carolina Music Educators Association (NCMEA) Conference held Nov. 7-10 in Winston-Salem.

The selection process began in October and culminated with auditions before a panel of six independent judges. Stephen and Joanna worked independently for four weeks with Cannon’s Choral Music Teacher Tim Rancont to prepare for the event. Over 2,000 students auditioned –  Stephen was among 176 at the high school level, and Joanna was among 191 at the middle school level selected.

The chorus offers students the chance to work and perform with nationally-acclaimed conductors. This year the High School Honor Chorus was conducted by Jefferson Johnson, Director of Choral Activities at Kentucky University, while the Middle School Chorus was conducted by Jonathan Willcocks, a renowned English conductor and musical director.

GOLF TOURNAMENT SENDS FOUR TO SUMMER CAMP

We reported earlier this month on the efforts of Woodlawn School friends Scott Murr and Darius Knott to organize a charity golf tournament designed to raise scholarship money for kids to attend the popular Davidson College lake campus summer camps.  (See our Nov. 5 post, “Golf tourney honors memory of Woodlawn dad.“) The scholarships are offered 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.

The tournament was held Sunday, Nov. 8, at the Mooresville Golf Course, and Scott reported that 30 golfers participated.

“Over $1000 was earned and with the money, I am able to send four kids to camp,” Scott said.

The tournament winner was Gib Baker, who won the grand prize of a Nike putter.

Stay tuned, golfers, — Scott and Darius are also planning a second spring tournament.

FOOTBALL TEAM THANKS GETHSEMANE BAPTIST

Kevin Buechler (at left) of Davidson Day presented a commemorative jersey and a signed helmet to Ron Raeford as thanks to Gethsemane Baptist.

The debut football season for the Davidson Patriots has now come to a close, and the team, which had a 4-4 record, finished the season by offering special thanks to Gethsemane Baptist Church for the use of their fields.

The Patriots are a combined team of students from two schools located on opposite sides of Griffith Street: the charter school,  Community School of Davidson, and a private school, Davidson Day.  This summer, the two schools formed a unique partnership to offer football to their middle schoolers, with the goal of expanding the program to the high school level.  (See our previous coverage, “Two schools, one team.”)

Davidson Day Athletic Director Kevin Buechler said that when the team formed, it lacked a practice field.  A conversation about this at Raeford’s Barber Shop, while Mr. Beuchler was getting his hair cut, led to Gethsemane Baptist  opening up their nearby field off of Jetton Street to the Patriots. (Barber shop owner Ron Raeford is a member of the church.)

“This worked out great for us,” said Mr. Buechler.

To express their gratitude for use of the fields, the team gave the church a framed jersey and a commemorative helmet signed by all the players.

SCHOOLS A BIG PART OF CHRISTMAS IN DAVIDSON

Christmas in Davidson, set for Dec. 3-5, will include several local schools performing on the Village Green.  School Notes will offer a full schedule of where to find your favorite students in our Wednesday, Dec. 2, post.  Stay tuned to learn about the times for the Davidson Elementary chorus and annual donut stand, the Davidson Day School theater, the Hopewell High “Singing Titans,” the Community School of Davidson performers, and the Woodlawn Choral Group.

Also, note that the horse drawn carriages are sponsored in part by Woodlawn and Davidson Day, while the Christmas trolley is sponsored by Cannon School.  Davidson Day and Cannon School are two of the main sponsors for the entire event.  Click here to learn more about Christmas in Davidson.

DAVIDSON IB HONOR ROLLS

Click here to see the A and A/B honor rolls for 6th-8th graders at Davidson IB Middle.

SCHOOL CALENDAR

• WED. – FRIDAY, NOV. 25-27 - Thanksgiving holiday break for most area schools.
• TUESDAY, DEC. 1 – Flu vaccine clinic for Davidson IB Middle and Davidson Elementary (see previous coverage in our Nov. 18 post, “Flu clinic dates“
• WEDNESDAY, DEC. 2 - Walk to School Wednesday for Davidson Elementary
• THURSDAY, DEC. 3-4 - Davidson Day students perform at Christmas in Davidson (see above for more information).
• MONDAY, DEC. 14 - Cannon School hosts “Young Children and Sports,” staring at 7 p.m. in the school’s Foundation Hall. The free seminar, open to the public, will include a panel of experts on sports medicine and athletics.  See more on the school’s website.
• WEDNESDAY, DEC. 16 - Walk to School Wednesday for Davidson Day
• FRIDAY, DEC. 18 – Flu vaccine clinic for Bailey Middle
• MONDAY, DEC. 21 - Two weeks of winter break starts for most area schools.

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