From the Desk of the Lower School Director - 23

Our third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students made us very proud last Friday at our annual Spelling Bee. They did a great job in the competition. Our first-place winner was Andy Brunt; second-place winner was Travis Black; third-place winner was Bailey Kozlowski; and runner-up was Harsh Patel. All of these students are from grade 4. Based on the number of points they scored during this competition, three students from each grade will be participating in the Independent School Spelling Bee hosted by St. Mary’s Catholic School on March 3 at 9 a.m. 

I hope to see all of our families at Family Night on Wednesday, Feb. 9. This event includes a visit from noted author and world-class athlete Erik Weihenmayer, the only blind man in history to reach the summit of Mr. Everest. Erik will give a dynamic presentation that you won’t want to miss. It will take place at the Huffman Center on the main campus at 6:30 p.m.

Thank you to all of our families for their generosity and support for Soles 4 Souls. The Lower School led the way with an overwhelming amount of shoes collected – over 300 pairs! As a thank you, our students will have two Tiger Days this week on Wednesday, Feb. 9, and Thursday, Feb. 10.  

As a reminder, we will dismiss at 11:45 a.m. this Thursday to begin our mid-winter break. Classes resume on Tuesday, Feb. 15. Extended Day is available on Thursday from 11:45 a.m. until 5:45 p.m. If your child is participating, please let Mrs. Johnson or Mrs. Kearton know.

Tickets are available for Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” sponsored by Darlington’s Fine Arts Department. The performance will take place at the Rome City Auditorium on Feb. 18 and 19 at 7:30 p.m. and on Feb. 20 at 2:30 p.m. General admission is $10; tickets are available at the door or at Kroger and Traditions of Rome. Tickets for reserved seating are $15 and may be purchased online at www.darlingtonschool.org/musical. Student and senior citizen tickets are $7. There will be a photo op with cast members in costumes on Saturday, Feb. 19.

On behalf of our faculty and staff, I wish all of our students and families a Happy Valentine’s Day as well as a restful and enjoyable mid-winter break.