Darlington School honored outstanding faculty and staff members at the annual Brown Faculty Appreciation Dinner, hosted by the Board of Trustees on Thursday, May 9.
Darlington team places first in Alabama physics competition
February 3, 2012
A four-person team from Darlington School placed first in the 36th Annual Alabama High School Physics Contest last weekend, sponsored by the University of Alabama.
Sponsored, in part, by Darlington School, the city's inaugural Olympic Distance Triathlon included a 1-mile swim in the Etowah River, a 24-mile bike ride around scenic Rome and a 6.25-mile run in downtown Rome. Proceeds from the race will benefit the Boys & Girls Club.
Darlington Physics teacher Donald Sweeney was recently recognized by The University of Alabama for excellence in teaching with the E. Scott Barr Outstanding High School Physics Teacher Award. The award was presented during the 34th Annual University of Alabama High School Physics Contest on Jan. 29.
Outstanding students and faculty recognized at Honors Day and Commencement
May 18, 2009
Upper School students and faculty members were recognized at Honors Day May 15 in Morris Chapel and the following day at Commencement. At Honors Day, Summerbell House was named winner of the 2008-09 Centennial Cup for school spirit.
A four-person team from Darlington School placed first in the private school category and third overall in the 33rd Annual Alabama High School Physics Contest on Jan. 30, sponsored by the University of Alabama. <br /><br />
Participants included Kevin Shen, who placed third individually out of more than 200 contestants; Spencer Carroll, who placed fourth; Ziyang Chen, who placed seventh; and Beau Kanskulthorn. The first part of the contest was an individual examination that included 32 challenging AP Physics questions. Next, the four-person team participated in a Ciphering Contest, where one team member sits in the “hot seat” and answers four questions during a specified amount of time. If the question is answered correctly in less than 40 seconds, the student scores a five. In less than 80 seconds, he or she scores a 3; in less than 120 seconds, he or she scores 1, and no other scores are given. <br /><br />
“All scores are displayed on a screen along with the problem, and it puts real pressure on the students to be fast and yet not make a mistake,” said Donald Sweeney, AP Physics teacher. “Spencer was our first contestant, and he scored the maximum allowed (20 points) for his four questions. Ciphering is a great challenge for the students as they must relax and be very confident in their abilities in order to get the full amount of points.”
Teachers at Darlington understand that every student has a unique learning profile and that those who struggle need teachers who recognize and understand their learning differences. To enhance support and learn new skills for dealing with issues in the classroom, several faculty members participated in this summer’s Schools Attuned session hosted at the Upper School in June.<br /><br />
“Finding a common program, like Schools Attuned, that blends current brain research with best teaching practices has huge advantages,” said Libbie Zimmer, director of Darlington’s Learning Center. “It gives us a common language so we can speak clearly and accurately about a child’s performance. It provides a systematic process that all teachers can use when there is a child who is struggling academically or when a child is not being challenged enough. It encourages teaching in and out of the traditional classroom, which is so important in an environment like Darlington where learning takes place everywhere you turn. And most importantly, it challenges us all to dig deeper with every child because the research proves that all children can learn, we just have to help find different ways to present, connect and relate.”<br /><br />
First developed in 1987, Schools Attuned was launched as a year-round professional development program in 2000, providing K-12 educators with a framework and tools to understand and manage differences in learning in the regular classroom. It also equips general classroom teachers to make the best instructional decisions to ensure that each student can find academic and social success. The program focuses on management techniques such as demystification, bypass strategies, interventions at the breakdown points, and the strengthening of strengths and affinities.<br /><br />
Based on the pioneering work of Dr. Mel Levine, a noted professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, Schools Attuned has been featured in <i>Newsweek</i>, <i>USA Today</i>, <i>Teacher Magazine</i>, <i>Scholastic Instructor</i> and on television’s Oprah and Today Show programs. <br /><br />
"Schools Attuned has refreshed me for the upcoming year. I will definitely be more alert when trying to spot students who may be having difficulties," said Donald Sweeney, physics teacher. "It is important to teach all types of learners. It would be sinful for a teacher not to try and improve his or her methods of transferring knowledge to a student. Everyone deserves the opportunity to learn. Over the past few years, Darlington has benefited greatly from working toward the goal of becoming a truly student-centered learning environment. This has led to better motivation in the students and higher standards for all."<br /><br />
Faculty members attending the workshop experienced a variety of techniques to help them identify with different learning struggles. Topics included memory, neuromotor function, spatial ordering, language, temporal-sequential ordering, higher order cognition, social cognition and attention. <br /><br />
"It's all about individual students' brains, but parents should not think that if their child doesn't get 'attuned' then he or she won't see the results of the program," said Beth Wilson, English teacher. "These principles made the most sense to me for whole groups of kids. When you have small classes full of students who are the same age, they often share strengths and weaknesses. Schools Attuned shows us ways we can adjust our teaching to fit a particular group. I look forward to having somewhere to turn to help figure out why a group of students - or an individual - isn't finding success."<br /><br />
Workshop participants agreed that the most effective part of the class was having the opportunity to work together as faculty to build a common knowledge base that would best serve Darlington students as individuals, classes and the school as a whole. <br /><br />
“I really enjoyed the discussions we had on the eight constructs and on specific cases of selected students who were having difficulties," Sweeney said. "We would spend 40 minutes on case studies and apply them to the subject we taught. The amount of wisdom gained from the small study group was a great asset for future teaching."<br /><br />
For more information on Schools Attuned, please visit <a href="https://www.allkindsofminds.org">www.allkindsofminds.org</a>.
As part of an exchange program Katherine Knight and Mac Gilliland - the two top juniors at the school before Christmas - spent seven days exploring South Ireland with Donald Sweeney, a physics teacher at Darlington since 1999 and native Irishman.
