Joe Dennis, seen here with his son, Kerry, will lead a "walking school bus" on a 40 minute walk to Davidson Elementary.

The calendar says Sept. 1.  The temperature says Oct. 1.  Quite a surprise to have to dig for a sweater yesterday but boy, it felt good!

Wednesday is the debut Walking Wednesday of the new school year, with Davidson Elementary having the first Wednesday of each month.  Keep an eye out for more kids biking and for parents leading “walking school buses” in the morning.  That’s walking school bus leader Joe Dennis at left, who will lead a train of any interested walkers who show up at the corner of North Downing Street and Concord Road Wednesday for the mile-and-a-half trek to the elementary school.  If you want to join him, departure is at 8:20 a.m. sharp!  (Paul Miller will lead a walking bus from Ashby and Lingle at about the same time as Joe.)  You can learn more about Walking Wednesdays on the Town of Davidson website.

Other news for today’s Around Davidson includes a Muchane summer reunion in Kenya; a welcome to a new couple, the Millikins, and their BIG plant at The Pines; a report on a late summer ice cream social; and a few noteworthy notes. Read the full story

These girls were ready for the first day of 6th grade, but something was missing. Find out below. (From left are: Meg Houck, Isabelle Minett and Catherine Semmes.)

It may still say “summer” on the calendar but fall is upon us with classes in session once more and school routines back.  Today Around Davidson has a back-to-school item plus a few photos of youngsters, Abe Kessler and Madeline Nixon, whose first day of school is a few years off.

In addition we have a note about Jamie and Karina Hess, a note about a few thousand hairbands, a welcome back to the Shaul family and a Noteworthy Note about construction at the intersection of East Rocky River and Davidson Concord Roads. Read the full story

A van rear-ended a school bus heading toward Davidson on Concord Road. The driver of the van can be seen in the foreground.

UPDATED WITH MORE PHOTOS 5:20 p.m.

A van rear-ended a  bus delivering students home from the second day of school at Bailey Middle Wednesday afternoon.  Students evacuated the bus and firefighters said there were no injuries to either students or drivers. Read the full story

Allison Cooke (Gordon Clark photo)

Gordon Clark, proprietor of the Davidson Village Inn and an occasional contributor to DavidsonNews.net, was at North Mecklenburg High School Tuesday to watch a bit of sports. He sent along this report.

Volleyball player Allison Cooke of Davidson and soccer players Patrick Harrow and twin brothers John and Will Krentz, also of Davidson, all played key roles Tuesday night leading their teams to victory at North Mecklenburg High in Huntersville. Read the full story

A gang of kids boards the bus in the McConnell neighborhood.

Tuesday was the first day of school for local public school students.

Read on for a collection of photos by readers and DavidsonNews.net staff members. Read the full story

Phillip Hazel casting in the creek in Litchfield, S.C.

Ah, it’s a sure sign summer is over when the yellow school buses rumble through town on their appointed routes to our area’s public schools.  Happy first day of school to all our young people.

A wonderful glimpse of a “final summer fling” comes from DavidsonNews.net reader Stephanie Glaser who shared this photo of her son, Phillip Hazel, “flinging” a net in a South Carolina creek.  Wonderful summertime memories!

Today Around Davidson has news of Lory Morrow’s new assignment with a non-profit school leadership group, along with family notes from Helga and Helmut Bracke about a new grandbaby and a surprise birthday party.  In addition, there are a few follow-up comments about travel in Africa. Read the full story

Terry Hall

She finds lots of parent involvement

It’s not that Terry Hall has never experienced parental involvement – in fact she just spent two years opening a new school near Atlanta where parents were excited and committed. It’s more that Davidson Elementary is a school with, well, an unusually high level of parent interest.

“I’m getting about 60 e-mails per day,” noted Ms. Hall, who began her new job as the school’s principal on July 1. “I’ve actually had days where I’ve set aside time from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. just to meet with parents. The parent involvement here is more than I’ve ever seen before.” Read the full story

The name is no longer Children’s Community School.

The state charter on Griffith Street will start school Monday with a new website and logo, a first-ever class of 8th graders, and a brand new name: Community School of Davidson. Read the full story