Welcome Back!
By Tom Whitworth III - FF/S
I hope your summer vacation is proving to be a time of renewal and rest — renewing friendships, family ties and getting a little rest and relaxation along the way. Enjoy this time since August 16 is right around the corner, and 2010-11 promises to be a great year.
While you have been on a well-deserved break, a great many activities have dominated campus this summer. Our wonderful summer programs for children of all ages, headed by Leann Mann, have been a grand success for many current and potential students, near and far. If you plan to live in the boys’ houses next fall, you will be amazed at the transformation taking place in South and Wilcox Halls. New living quarters will only enhance your Darlington experience and opportunities. We also received a report from The College Board explaining that 78.7% of our students passed their AP Exams—a two-point increase overall from last year—with 175 of the tests, or 56%, having a top score of 4 or 5.
As you all know, we are hard at work on completing a Strategic Planning process that will steer us through the next 3-4 years. There will be much to report at the conclusion of the summer, since all the committees have been hard at work to move the process forward. In order to communicate developments and directions the school will embark upon, I have asked the three Division Directors to arrange a weekly lunch with students for me, rotating each week from the Lower, to Middle to Upper School campuses, and then renewing the cycle every fourth week. I would also like to arrange a Parent Forum for each division during each semester to keep you apprised of our strategic direction. My hope is that we can also use this time to discuss ways to be even more effective in our partnership as we help Darlington students develop their potential within the context of our newly developed school Mission Statement:
Learn with Passion
Act with Integrity
Serve with Respect
The more we talk with one another in open and direct fashion, the wiser we will become and the more effective we will be as a teaching and learning community. I look forward to the opportunities (which will be scheduled and advertised in the fall) we will have to meet, and hope you will feel free to stop by my office in Wilcox Hall to chat.
Division-specific information concerning orientation will come to you from each Division Director, so be on the lookout for that and, as always, please refer to the website calendar which is updated daily. Welcome back and I look forward to seeing you in August!
