From the Desk of the Lower School Director - 6

The first three weeks of school have been rich in both learning and fundraising. Thank you, Beth Cordell, for chairing and coordinating the Sally Foster gift wrap sales. We also thank our families for responding with great enthusiasm and support. Morgan Finley, Morgan Childs and Cole Hickman – who were selected through a drawing for turning in their sales early – will have a chance to experience the money machine for cash prizes on Tuesday, Sept. 21, at 11:30 a.m. in Tiger Hall. Please note that the Sally Foster gift wrap sale has been extended through Wednesday, Sept. 15, so it is not too late to make a purchase. The Lower School will receive 50% from all gift wrap sales and 40% from the Classic Recipes catalog. Parents will be notified as soon as the cookie dough orders arrive at the school in October.

We had a school full of apprentice entomologists who have been learning about insects and their habitats, thanks to Owen and Rebekah Kinney who spearheaded the Insect Expo this past Monday in the gym. Upper School students were on our campus to share their projects and knowledge with our students in grades PK-4.

Interim grades will close on Oct. 1 for students in grades K-4. The reports will be sent home on Wednesday, Oct. 6. Parent/teacher conferences will be held on Friday, Oct. 8, starting at 12:30 p.m. This is an early release day for the students; dismissal is at 11:45 a.m. In order to accommodate all of our parents for this first mandatory conference, the teachers will start meeting the week before. Sign-up sheets will be posted outside the classrooms starting the week of Sept. 20. Please do not delay in signing up for your parent/teacher conference.

Thanks to Beth McRay and Infinity Children’s Services (ICS) for donating their time to screen our PK and K students for speech and language on Friday.

Anyone in grades PK-4 who is interested in tennis may sign up this week in the school office or by phone with Suzanne. The program starts on Monday, Sept. 20. Lessons are $20 per week, Monday through Thursday, from 3:15 until 4 p.m. Students may ride the bus to the Upper School and parents will be able to pick up their children at the courts (in between the football and soccer fields).

Sally Scarbrough is heading up the Bargain Day Uniform Sale, which will be held Sept. 15, 22 and 29 from 12:30 to 2:45 p.m. in Tiger Den (the red brick building behind Thornwood).

This year’s Annual Fund campaign is now underway. I recently read something from the University of Pennsylvania that did a wonderful job describing the purpose of this vital fund for any institution – it is “the custom of making a yearly gift to an institution in which one has faith. It is a friendly, happy custom… a perennial reunion in spirit... a polling of hope and good wishes by those who wish the institution well.” Gifts to Darlington’s Annual Fund support academic programs, athletics, the arts, need-based financial aid, technology, campus improvements, and faculty salaries and benefits. Parent support is welcomed and most appreciated. Our Lower School chairperson for this year is Dr. Jim W. Shealy Jr. Thank you for all that you do to help Darlington School.