Campus Briefs

Spring Weekend 2000, a celebration open to all alumni, with special events for classes ending in 0 or 5, is scheduled for May 5 – 7. Festivities will begin with a groundbreaking ceremony for the new A.J. Huffman Memorial Athletic Center on Friday afternoon. Afterwards, there will be an all-class reception with a special tribute to President Emeritus Jim McCallie at the Coosa Country Club.
The Annual Fund is knocking on the door of one million dollars in cash and pledges. As of Jan. 12, the fund stood at $962,898 in cash, collection and pledges. “In the last year of the Campaign for Darlington, we are encouraging everyone to make a campaign gift through the Annual Fund,” said Sally Bugg, director of annual support. “All divisions are on track to reach their goals.” Leading the way are the resident parents division, alumni, and the Board of Trustees.
Spring Festival Weekend, scheduled for April 14-15, will be packed full of activities including a silent auction, reverse raffle, dinner, Fine Arts Festival, and the Darlington Players presentation of “The Dining Room.”
Darlington Players will present West Side Story at the Rome City Auditorium Friday and Saturday, Feb. 11 and 12, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 13, at 3 p.m. West Side Story, based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, is about timeless young lovers, Maria, played by sophomore Tara Nixon, and Tony, played by senior Luke Farmer. The musical is directed by Upper School faculty member Marisa Ortega and assistant director Morgan McCrary, a junior. Darlington Chorale Director Dan Bishop is serving as vocal coach; Darlington Instrumental Music Director Bill King is musical director, and Rome Dance Centre choreographer Georgie Hall is choreographing the production. Tickets may be purchased for $10 ($5 for students, children, and senior citizens) in advance at 706-235-6051 or at the auditorium prior to the show. Because of mature themes and subject matter, parents should determine whether or not West Side Story is appropriate for children under 12.
Re-enrollment contracts for all three schools were mailed at the end of January and are due Friday, February 18.
Darlington’s Soccer Camp, for boys and girls ages 9 – 14, has been cancelled for Summer 2000 due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts with the Rome Area Soccer Association and the boarding soccer camps that use Darlington facilities. Plans are to reinstate the camp in 2001.
Sam Moss, Dean of Studies and College Guidance, will lead his twelfth trip to England over spring break, March 3-11, accompanied by second year chaperone and long-time assistant director of admission Lea Duncan. A combination of 44 students and families are going on the trip, some of whom have gone before. The group will be visiting Windsor, Stratford, Oxford, London, and Bath.
Students and faculty are continuing their commitment to community service by volunteering to help with projects and organizations including Angel Express, Rebecca Blaylock Childcare Centers, Metropolitan Church, McHenry Elementary School, Beverly Healthcare Convalescent Center, Toys for Tots, and the Open Door Home. Future events in which volunteers plan to assist include Cystic Fibrosis and Diabetes Awareness weeks, the March of Dimes Walk-a-Thon, and a trip to the Atlanta Foodbank.
Matthew Kearney, English and Creative Writing instructor, will present two programs at the Georgia Independent School Association’s November 2000 annual teacher conference: “Writing off Systems of Containment: Institution, Race, Identity, and Language” and “Rationalizing Analogy Answers on the SAT.” Lynx Eye, a California based journal, has nominated “The Random Thoughts of a Navy Bride in Jax, FL,” a poem by Kearney, for the Pushcart Prize, an important national award recognizing the best of poems nominated by editors of periodicals.
Tim Green, physical education department chairman and an International Sports Sciences Association certified specialist in sports conditioning, has been invited to participate in a panel discussion, “Steroids, Supplements and the Overall Strengthening of the Student Athlete,” during a coach’s conference sponsored by RESA (Regional Educational Service Association) at Floyd College, Thursday, Feb. 24. Green will be joined by a group of college and university coaches including Eric Fears, strength coach at the University of Georgia. Approximately 300 coaches have registered for the conference.