‘Tigers on the Prowl’ gets kids running
Did you happen to notice all the kids in blue t-shirts running the Day Care Dash at Town Day? 
They were Davidson Elementary students who have earned membership in the school’s marathon club by running lots and lots of laps at recess. Learn more about their achievements, find out how much money Davidson IB raised during their recent Darfur awareness walk, and get the scoop on Fay VanHecke’s national writing award. Plus, consider helping proctor an exam at Bailey Middle. And don’t forget our school calendar, which has listings for the Cannon School arts jam, the 5K race organized by Woodlawn students and more.
DES Tigers prowl through marathons
Now in its fifth year, Davidson Elementary School’s fitness program, “Tigers on the Prowl,” continues to get students running. The program, launched by P.E. teacher Walter Rabb, involves students running laps in designated places on school grounds. Teachers record laps run during recess as part of the goal of completing a marathon (or 26.22 miles) over the course of a school year. Students earn prizes along the way, culminating in the coveted “Tigers on the Prowl” marathon-club t-shirt.
Students gathered in their t-shirts for a group shot before running in the Day Care Dash Saturday morning on the Davidson village green. (See photo, with Mr. Rabb standing at the far left and wearing a baseball cap. Click on the photo to enlarge it.)
This year, 712 students have earned their marathon t-shirt, while 156 students have run more than one marathon and seven have recorded over four marathons.
“It’s going extremely well,” Mr. Rabb told DavidsonNews.net. He pointed to the increasing number of older students who participate, proving that it’s become cool to run, and also to a new “Boys on the Run” pilot club that started this spring. The club is modeled after the popular “Girls on the Run” program. This spring, Mr. Rabb met weekly with about a dozen boys, all of whom completed the Daycare Dash 5K race Saturday.
During the month of March, classes invited guests to help them run laps as part of a Tigers on the Prowl competition to get a pizza party. Guests included members of the Davidson College men’s basketball team (including star Stephen Curry, who signed autographs after recording his laps), baseball team and track team. The track team members put in the most sweat equity, racking up over 60 laps for Celia Felthaus’ 2/3 class (in the photo, Kim Colley, the Davidson College school record holder in the 100-meter dash, raced to get her next lap tally marked on the back of her hand). Recording the most guest laps for March was Allison Spruill’s second-grade class, which totaled 626.
The Tigers on the Prowl program is sponsored by Artisan Custom Homes, Knox Realty and Cashion’s Quik Stop.
Darfur walk raises $2,800
Davidson IB Middle School hosted a community “Walk for Darfur” April 26 to raise awareness about the genocide that is taking place in the Darfur region of Sudan. 
Over $2,800 was raised at the event, which had walkers circling the baseball fields on South Street. (Learn more about the walk from coverage in our April 16 school notes post.)
Davidson IB partnered with North Mecklenburg High School and Davidson Elementary School to educate local students prior to the walk. North Meck students Ian Chesser and Peter McKelvey presented an educational assembly on Darfur to middle school students, while IB 8th-grader John Edwards made a presentation to DES fifth graders.
IB Principal Jo Karney pointed out how the event impacted students at her school by noting the response of one of her students - Michael Cross - who she said was having a discussion about politics and religion in the Middle East during a family car ride.
“As the conversation was winding down Michael piped up and said, ‘The Middle East is certainly an issue, but don’t people know about Darfur and we need to do something about that!’” Ms. Karney said in a press release about the event.
IB student gets national recognition
Faye VanHecke, an 8th grade student at Davidson IB Middle School, will be recognized for a national writing award. Faye’s poem, titled “Vietnam Boots,” placed in the top 1% of all submissions in The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for 2008. Faye will be attending the national Scholastic Awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City on June 4-6, where she will receive an American Voices Award. She is one of 36 in the North Carolina delegation of award winners, but the only student from Davidson.
Faye, the daughter of Michael and Evelyn VanHecke of Davidson, previously received the Gold Key Award at the regional awards ceremony on February 10.
Proctors needed at Bailey
Bailey Middle School will need 75 proctors per day for six days to oversee End of Grade and End of Course exams. The school is asking for volunteers from the community to help out. There will be a teacher in every room, but a proctor is needed as a second person to help if the need arises. The volunteer position does not require any special skills or pre-authorization.
End of Grade test times are from 8:15 – 11:30 a.m. on Monday, May 19; Tuesday, May 20; and Wednesday, May 21.
End of Course tests will be Tuesday, May27; Wednesday, May 28; and Thursday, May 29 – also at 8:15 – 11:30 a.m.
To serve as a proctor, contact Bailey School Volunteer Coordinator Lora Chisholm at
ldchis@bellsouth.net or call her at 704-895-4148.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
- Tuesday, May 6, 6:30 p.m., Davidson Elementary PTA general meeting and Honors Choir concert
- Wednesday, May 7 - Walking Wednesday for May at Davidson Elementary.
- Friday, May 9 - Cannon School’s annual Arts Jam will include hands-on art activities and musical performances by the John Alexander Quartet and Cannon’s Upper School Jazz Band. The free event is open to the public from 6 - 8:30 p.m., concluding with a fireworks display.
- Saturday, May 10 - “Trivia Night Under the Stars” for Davidson Elementary will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Beaver Dam Park.
- Saturday, May 17 - Selection interviews for rising 6th graders interested in joining the Bailey Middle School band.
- Saturday, MAY 17 - “Ready, Set, Go Green!” 5K trail run and fun run, organized by students from Woodlawn School, to raise money for the Davidson Lands Conservancy’s land acquisition fund. The race will begin at 8:30 a.m. at Fisher Farm Park, off Shearer Road. See our April 2 news item about the event.
- May 19-21 - End of grade tests for grades 3-8 in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Also note that the new science test for 5th and 8th graders will be held May 22.
- May 29-31 - Students at Davidson Day perform “Snoopy! The Musical”
- May 30-31 - The Science Olympiad Team from Davidson IB Middle, which placed second in the state, will represent North Carolina in the national Science Olympiad Tournament in Washington, D.C.
- Wednesday, June 4 - Walking Wednesday for June at Davidson Elementary. This will be the last Walk to School Wednesday for the 2007-08 school year.
Send calendar items and press releases about local school news to us at lauriedennis@bellsouth.net. Don’t forget to include a contact phone number, in case we have questions.
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