News

Davidson Day English Teacher Steve McGill is featured in a recent article by Melinda Burris published on the City Lifestyle Charlotte website.  The article chronicles Steve's work as an author and private hurdles coach and includes how Steve became inspired to embrace the sport of hurdles. 

Read the full story: https://citylifestyle.com/charlotte-nc/articles/wellness/coach-steve-mcgill

Congratulations to all the Patriot student-athletes who received awards at the Nov. 16th Fall Sports Recognition Ceremony!

On Friday, October 30, 2020, the Davidson Day Cross Country Team competed in the NCISAA 2-A Private State Championship Meet, and the Varsity Boys Team finished the day as State Champions. 

Cross Country meets are scored based on the team's fastest five individual race times, and the lowest score wins.  With strong individual performances from Mitchell Zammitti '22, Ben Slay '21, Max Carr '21, Holden Perry '21, and Thomas Watson '21, who were the top five finishers for Davidson Day, the team scored a 90, winning handily over the second-place finishing team who scored a 130.  The Patriots Varsity Boys Cross Country team also won the Foothills Athletic Conference Meet earlier in the month. 

The Davidson Day Varsity Girls Cross Country team finished 10th overall after placing second in the Foothills Athletic Conference Meet earlier in the month. 

Congratulations, Patriots!

Every action a student chooses reflects that student's character and values. Each academic quarter, the middle school honors a student in each grade for an act of character, a time when the student took action and displayed a character trait in line with the Middle School Patriot Pledge, to show compassion and respect, to be a leader and a role model, and to give 100 percent. 

The Davidson Day Patriots Cross Country Team ran an impressive Conference Meet on Monday, October 19, 2020, as the boys team ran away with the conference championship finishing in first place, and the girls team finished in an extremely close second place. 

Now streaming in Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, and many other popular podcast applications: The Davidson Day Community Podcast, hosted by Head of School Pete Moore.

In each episode, listeners will hear stories from different members of our supportive and diverse community.  

You’ll hear fascinating tales from parents, board members, alumni, and the wonderful people who work at Davidson Day. 

Two episodes are now available, and new episodes will publish twice monthly.  You can also listen to all podcasts here on this website. 

Last week, Bryant Dowens '28 guest taught Mrs. Saunders' 4th Grade class, sharing first-hand lessons about starting, operating, and growing a small business, which 4th Grade is studying this month. ⁠
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Bryant, who runs the online Etsy business Infinity Brothers, makes and sells a wide variety of bracelets.  

In explaining how small businesses like his operate, he told the origin story of the business, how he is responsible for paying taxes, briefly summarizing concepts like profit margin and operating expenses, the challenges and benefits in managing the business, and how--and why--he shares a portion of net profits with nonprofit charities. ⁠

The 14th annual Maya at the Playa Conference, one of the leading Maya conferences in the world, took place over a four-day period from October 1st through the 4th.  Click HERE for the article written by Davidson College's Davidsonian staff writer Erin Papakostas '23.

Juniors Estella Sawyer and Gerren Tomlin were recently named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Phenom Watchlist, which lists the top volleyball prospects across the country.  Recognition for outstanding achievement and/or career achievement in the sport of volleyball is a prerequisite for all student-athletes considered by the association. Go Patriots!

Davidson Day Senior Mallorie Haines, who will attend Davidson College and join the Davidson College Women's Basketball Team, was ranked this week among the top 100 seniors in the nation by espnW and HoopGurlz.

Today, in a school-wide ceremony held virtually on the Zoom platform, Head of School Pete Moore and Chair of the Davidson Day School Board of Trustees Renee Brown celebrated and acknowledged the service of Mr. Wes Wehunt, who led the Davidson Day community as Interim Head of School during the 2019–2020 Academic Year.

Athletics teach us to persevere and go beyond boundaries. Through participation in athletics, our student-athletes learn the values of hard work, dedication, teamwork, and fair play. At the present moment, we continue to plan for athletics to be an option for students during the 2020–2021 Academic Year, though it may look different.

I've prepared a brief two-minute video to explain a few of the changes that you'll see this year, which are designed to keep our students, coaches, and community secure and supported as they practice and compete.

Ron Johnson, Director of Athletics and Head Boys Basketball Coach, was selected as a "Coach of Distinction" by Ascension Sports Consulting earlier this week.  

In awarding this honor, the organization wrote:

"Coach Johnson is class personified. His ability to shape young boys into young men is well documented. On the court , Coach Johnson has left a legacy at The Burlington School and now doing the same at Davidson Day School."

The organization also published a brief multimedia clip in announcing the award on its Facebook page.

Davidson Day School welcomed the 53 members of the Class of 2020 as alumni following their annual Commencement on Saturday, August 1, 2020, on Wolter Field at Davidson Day (postponed from the originally scheduled date of May 21, 2020). Interim Head of School, Mr. Wes Wehunt, and Head of Upper School, Michael Smith presented each graduate with their diploma in the innovative, creative outdoor ceremony where graduates maintained social distance and were celebrated for their accomplishments and resilience.

We continue to prepare for the start of the 2020–2021 school year, and I would like to provide an update on our fall athletics programs and timeline. 

Davidson Day School's new Head of School, Mr. Pete Moore, started on July 1, after being appointed on February 7.

Recent displays of racism and violence in our country, highlighted by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, compel us to reinforce our commitment to diversity and inclusion in delivering our educational mission of cultivating academic excellence through collaboration, creativity, and character development.

Since the pandemic cancelled the spring sports season, the Charlotte Observer took a different take on their nominations for spring all-star teams. "We asked schools to nominate players who were stars in the classroom and stars in their communities." 

Rising senior Mary Alexander, a star soccer player: "This Davidson College commit had two goals in two games [before the spring season was cancelled]. In 2019, she had 20 goals and four assists and has 99 career goals and 34 assists. She has played varsity since seventh grade. Alexander has a 3.95 weighted GPA and is a member of the Key Club and volunteers during opportunities with them, including at Shirley’s Angels and at the City of Statesville wrapping Christmas presents at for the local homeless shelter."

Rising junior Delaney Brown: "This 4-year starter [for girls lacrosse] has been on varsity since 7th grade. Was a 2020 team captain. In one regular-season game, she had seven goals, passed 100 for her career, and had four ground balls and seven draw controls. Last season, she had 66 goals and 18 assists. Brown has a 4.33 weighted GPA and is on on the Headmaster’s List. Last fall, she traveled to PA, MD, NJ and VA with her club team, the QueenCity Stars while also being chosen to play with Carolina United whose goal is to pull the best players from Raleigh and Charlotte to compete against the best in the North. She’s a member of the Community Service Club and Baking Club."

Click HERE for the entire article.

"I have long held the opinion that good schools are known by what they choose to celebrate, and while we are not able to hold our year-end Honors Assembly in the usual manner, I am thrilled to invite you to view our inaugural Honors Magazine!" - Mr. Michael Smith, Head of Upper School

Junior Guard Mallorie Haines is a member of the All-Observer Girls Basketball First Team.

The Middle School Battle of the Books team competed in the District Competition hosted by Holy Trinity Middle School at St. Matthew's Catholic Church in Ballantyne. We completed against five other schools - Holy Trinity, Cannon, Asheville Christian, Asheville Catholic, and Our Lady of Grace. The team walked away winning the championship and had four perfect rounds - which is extremely difficult! Team members include Anneke Lewis, Nyah Carnaggio, Lilly Carnaggio, Anna Lomax, William Lomax, John Bellissimo, Deolu Akingbade, Alexis Blanchette, and Parker Smith, plus coaches Michelle Mullineaux and Carrie Wehunt. Awesome work, Patriots! The team will now go to the State Competition in Chapel Hill on Friday, April 3. 

Congratulations to our student-athletes who earned All-State and All-Conference honors during the winter sports season!

On Feb. 15, Over The Chessboard held a chess tournament with kids from Charlotte and Lake Norman. Twelve teams and 38 kids participated in the 3-round tournament. Davidson Day got 2nd place in the rated section (where kids must have a USCF membership), losing only to Mt. Mourne, which is a middle school team! Individually Grayson Broadway got 4th place in the unrated advanced section. Luca Trifiletti got 6th place and Nate Trifiletti got 2nd place in the rated advanced section. Hudson Oliphant got 3rd and Will Turek got 2nd (and a trophy) in the rated beginner section. 

Davidson Day Varsity Swimming competed at the NCISAA Division III State Championship Swim Meet on Monday, Feb. 10, 2020, at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, where two Patriots won the state championships in individual events.

Sophia Bellissimo '25 won the NCISAA state championship in the 50-yard freestyle.

Logan Zucker '22 won the NCISAA state championship in the 100-yard butterfly, setting a new state record of 00:49:44 earning All-American Consideration Status.

A full recap is below courtesy of Coach Corey J. Hedges.

Davidson Day School's Mallorie Haines '21 surpassed the 1,500 point mark of her basketball career as a Patriot during the team's game on Friday, Jan. 10 against University Christian.  

Cierra Huntley '20 today received recognition as one of 150 high school volleyball players named as a 2019 PrepVolleyball.com All-American.  

Thaddaeus Freidline '17 today received a nomination for "Best Music Direction" for his work in the 2019 production of “Urinetown” by the Thalian Association Community Theatre in Wilmington, N.C., where he attends UNC-Wilmington.  

 

Every action a student chooses reflects that student's character and values. Each academic quarter, the middle school honors a student in each grade for an act of character, a time when the student took action and displayed a character trait in line with the Middle School Patriot Pledge, to show compassion and respect, to be a leader and a role model, and to give 100 percent. 

Each academic quarter, the upper school honors a student of character in each grade. Such an honor recognizes those students who exhibit character traits in line with the Upper School Patriot Pledge, not to lie, cheat, steal, or plagiarize; nor to tolerate the dishonorable behavior of others.