Layla Kueffner and Miles Brown, both from Davidson, worked together to wrap a gift for a Cannon service project.

Cannon School wrapped up its third annual “Project Wrap-In“  Wednesday morning, collecting hundreds of donated and wrapped gifts destined for children served by four local charities, including the Ada Jenkins Center in Davidson.

We have news of that event, plus the cast list and details for Thursday’s performance of “The Curious Savage” at Woodlawn School.

Feeling stressed out by the holidays?  Consider the CMS Parent University free seminar Dec. 10, “Managing Stress for Teens and Parents.”  It’s one of many items in our school calendar listing.

CANNON STUDENTS PILE UP GIFT DONATIONS

Maddie Colcord of Davidson spent over an hour roaming the halls of Target Tuesday night, trying to decide what gift she should buy.  She didn’t know who the recipient would be, beyond that it would be a girl, whose age would depend on what Maddie selected.

The Ada Jenkins table was not big enough for all the gifts intended for distribution to children this holiday season.

“I picked a fashion design kit,” said the Upper School Class President.

Wednesday morning, Maddie joined the entire student body at Cannon School in wrapping handpicked gifts, part of Cannon’s third annual “Project Wrap-In” charity donation event.  Classroom floors were soon scattered with ribbons and scissors and Christmas wrapping paper as students from different grades paired up to wrap presents together.  Maddie later stacked her gift on an overflowing table for the Ada Jenkins Center in Davidson.

The student-run event is overseen by the Service Learning Advisory Council.  Kate Sherrill, a senior from Davidson and the council’s charities liaison, has helped coordinate the Wrap-In for the last two years, and came up with the idea to include the Ada Jenkins Center, which distributes holiday gifts to children whose families are struggling financially.

“We try to support charities that are locally surrounded by our students, so I thought Ada Jenkins would be a great addition,” Kate said.

Kiefer Colcord spoke at Cannon's Wrap In about the Iredell County program for foster children.

Also benefiting from the Wrap-In is the Iredell County child foster care program.  Maddie’s twin brother, Kiefer Colcord, brought in that program after learning about it through service projects at his church, Davidson United Methodist.

“They have 214 foster children they are serving right now,” he said.  “And that’s just one county.”

The other two designated charities for this year’s event are the Salvation Army of Cabarrus and Iredell Counties, and the Cabarrus chapter of Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

Kiefer sat in the gym bleachers watching the pile of gifts grow on the table for the Iredell foster care program.  Once the event concluded, he planned to help load up the gifts for transport to the Iredell County offices.

“They have a big party for the foster children,” he said. “They’ll hand out the gifts to the kids then.”

‘THE CURIOUS SAVAGE’

Woodlawn School’s newly-formed Red Barn Players will be performing their third production  Thursday, starting at 7 p.m. in – you guessed it – the school’s red barn.  The student ensemble, which for this show features an all upper-school cast and crew, performs John Patrick’s The Curious Savage, a gentle comedy with a whodunit twist. Tickets are $3, and the show is recommended for ages 10-up.

The play is directed by drama teacher Beth Helfrich, while history teacher Jeff Donnelly serves as the technical director.  The 10-member cast has junior Erin Johnson in the title role of Ethel P. Savage, and also includes:

A scene from "The Curious Savage," which opens Thursday. (Photo courtesy Woodlawn)

• Terin Patel-Wilson (junior) as Senator Titus Savage
• Riley Beatty (sophomore) as Lily Belle Savage
• Greg Conn (junior) as Judge Samuel Savage
• Chad Raines (senior) as Hannibal
• Tori Rinker (sophomore) as Fairy May
• April Feldman (freshman) as Florence
• Kester Spach (sophomore) as Jeff
• Sophia Spach (junior) as Mrs. Paddy
• Fiona Lynch (freshman) as Miss Wilhelmina
• Paulina Campbell (sophomore) as Dr. Emmett

SCHOOL CALENDAR

• THURSDAY, DEC. 10 – Winter Music Concert and PTA meeting at Davidson IB Middle will feature the school’s band and orchestra, performing at 6:30 p.m.
• THURSDAY, DEC. 10 – Parent University, an educational program sponsored through Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, will host a free seminar, “Managing Stress for Teens and Parents,” from 6:30 – 8 p.m. at Bailey Middle School in Cornelius.  The workshop will focus on strategies designed to help decrease stress for the entire family, and ways to help teens prioritize their various activities and responsibilities.
• THURSDAY, DEC. 10 – McKinney Academy, a private elementary school on Armour Street in Davidson, will hold an open house for interested families at 6:30 p.m.
• THURSDAY, DEC. 10 – Woodlawn Red Barn Players stage “The Curious Savage,” 7 p.m.  See above for details.
• FRIDAY, DEC. 11 – the Bailey Orchestra Patrons will host the second annual Winter Blast! Dance at Bailey Middle, 6-8 p.m.  Tickets are $5, which includes pizza and a drink.  The event includes a raffle fundraiser for the orchestra (with prize gift certificates to local businesses), a professional DJ planing fun dance music and Sno-cones for sale.
• 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.
• MONDAY, DEC. 14 – Bailey Middle’s 6th grade band concert starts at 7:30 p.m.
• TUESDAY, DEC. 15 - Holiday program during the Davidson Elementary evening PTA meeting.
• WEDNESDAY, DEC. 16 - Walk to School Wednesday for Davidson Day
• WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY, DEC. 16-17 – Bailey Middle bands perform at Davidson and other area elementary schools.
• FRIDAY, DEC. 18 – Flu vaccine clinic for Bailey Middle
• MONDAY, DEC. 21 - Two weeks of winter break starts for most area schools.
• THURSDAY, JAN. 7 – Davidson IB Middle will host the first of three January open houses for prospective students, starting at 10 a.m.   Families will be able to hear a presentation about the IB program and tour the school.

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