Thankful Has Many Meanings

The Character Education word for the month of November is “thankful” and we have lots to be thankful for at Darlington’s Lower School. With all of the upcoming community service events, we help our children understand the meaning of thankful, grateful, and sharing and helping others. Thank you to all of our wonderful families for their generous donations of warm clothing to McHenry Primary School. Also thanks to Scarlett Roberts and Katia Frisiani who prepared all of the clothing for delivery on Monday.

A “Can-A-Thon” is underway starting Monday to benefit The Salvation Army and the Community Kitchen in Rome. All of the canned goods collected here will stay in Floyd County. There will be drop-off containers for both organizations at Thornwood and the Primary Circle. The economy has taken its toll on everyone and their food pantries have been affected as well. The Community Kitchen has specifically requested children’s favorites, like mac and cheese, Chef Boyardee, etc.  as well as paper towels, 10 ½ plates (styrofoam or paper). Please support this worthwhile event to help our residents in Floyd County. The canned goods will be collected until Nov. 30.

Special thanks to our moms who helped out with “Late Start” this past week:  Sally Scarbrough, Kim Moseley, Nancy Kimball, Stacy Albers, Stephanie Herring, Julie Allen, Lauren Sklar, Lara Cloud, and Laura Zobel. We appreciate the parents’ support for the “Late Start” mornings so we can participate in all-school faculty meetings on the main campus.

Our annual Angel Tree Project gets underway on Nov. 29. This project benefits area families who would not normally have a Christmas celebration. Families who would like to participate should select an “angel” from the Christmas tree in Tiger Hall. There will be a sheet to write down the number of the angel along with your name and phone number. The angel has a description of what the family would like to receive along with the gender and ages of the children.

All gifts should be wrapped in holiday paper and delivered back to Thornwood before Dec. 9. Please make sure you include the number of angel on each package. It is really helpful to have all of the packages labeled securely so there is no mix-up. Our parent volunteers will check everything in. A truck will deliver the gifts on Monday, Dec. 12, to McHenry Primary School. Guidance Counselor Zegie Hilliard coordinates the delivery to their families from the school.

Another annual tradition is Toys for Tots, scheduled this year for early December. The U.S. Marine Corps representatives collect the gifts from the children on the morning of Dec. 2. Darlington has participated in this annual event for over 25 years. We thank all of our families for their generosity and support of these programs (which are completely voluntary). Through your support, we model for our children the true meaning of the holiday season - bringing joy and compassion to others.

On behalf of the faculty and staff of Darlington’s Lower School, I extend a very Happy Thanksgiving to all of our families and friends. Safe travels! School will reopen on Tuesday, Nov. 29.