The Student Experience
The structure of the school day has been modified to accommodate the necessary health and safety protocols. In doing so, we have worked to preserve the delivery of our mission and our values in the student's daily experience. Here's what you can expect for the 2020-2021 Academic Year.
1) Carpool
Arrival: Arrival times to school have been staggered this year to allow for proper spacing of students entering the building, and everyone must use the carpool line (no walk-ups or off-campus dropoffs will be permitted). Upon arrival to school, all students must complete a health screening form via the PikMyKid app and have their temperatures checked either before they exit their car in the carpool line or at the designated entry points for students who are driving themselves. No cars should enter the Davidson Day parking lot if the health screening form has not been completed. Please exit the carpool line, park, and complete the health screening form prior to re-entering the carpool line.
Dismissal: Dismissal of students in every grade will be coordinated via the PikMyKid app, and everyone must use the carpool line (no walk-ups or off-campus pickups will be permitted).
PikMyKid allows students to be dismissed by family, which will streamline the dismissal process for families who have children in more than one division. Students will stay in their classrooms until instructed by a faculty member to report to the front sidewalk for pickup. This will also reduce the number of students in the front sidewalk at any given time, since students will not be dismissed until their designated driver arrives on campus.
Student drivers who drive younger siblings home will use the PikMyKid app to identify when they are at the front sidewalk to collect their siblings. Student drivers and students who are attending athletic practices or other scheduled events will be dismissed to their respective destinations by the teacher in their last period class.
Instructions for downloading and using the PikMyKid app can be found on the Lower School Hub, the Middle School Hub, and the Upper School Hub located on the Resource board in Patriot Connect.
2) Hours by division
- Early Childhood (Toddlers-TK): 8:45 a.m. - 2:40 p.m.
- Lower School (K-4th): 8:30 a.m. - 3:20 p.m.
- Middle School (5th-8th): 8:00 a.m. - 3:05 p.m.
- Upper School (9th-12th): 8:15 a.m. - 3:05 p.m.
Students can gain entry into the building twenty minutes prior to the designated start time of their school day. Upon arrival:
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Early childhood and lower school students will report directly to their classroom.
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Middle school and upper school students will report to the classroom of their first period class.
3) Gatherings
All large group gatherings have been eliminated. Morning and midday assemblies have been redesigned, and through technology, students will view announcements from their classrooms.
4) Hallway transitions
We have worked to minimize hallway transitions for all students on campus:
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Early Childhood/Lower School: These students will remain with their cohort groups for the majority of the day. To start the year, specialist teachers (art, STEM, world language, and music) will travel to each classroom to teach. Students will still have P.E., either in the gym or outside.
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Middle School/Upper School: The daily schedule for these students has been adjusted to a six-period day with a rotating schedule. Students will still need to change classrooms for each course, but we have reduced the number of transitions each day. Additionally, we have extended the transition time between classes, so faculty may organize class dismissals to minimize the number of students in the hallways at a given time. Faculty will also closely monitor these class transitions to ensure that students do not gather in groups.
5) Lunch
To minimize group gatherings and maintain cohort groups, students will eat lunch in their classrooms or outdoors, weather and space permitting. Hot lunch offerings will still be available for order through the school’s hot lunch program, but we will only offer individually-packaged options. Those lunches will be delivered to each classroom. Individual lunch deliveries will not be permitted due to the restriction of all non-essential visitors to campus. The vending machines located in the Commons will not be in service. Students will not have access to microwaves in the Commons, so those who bring lunches from home need to bring lunches that do not need to be heated up.
6) Water fountains
The water fountain faucets will not be in service; however, the students will be able to utilize the touchless water bottle refill stations throughout the day.
7) Recess & outdoor play
Active recess and outdoor time will be incorporated into daily schedules as much as possible. Playground and field spaces will be available for cohort groups to rotate through and use. Students will wash their hands after playing outside and before returning to the classrooms.
8) Students' personal items
Please limit the items your child brings to campus each day. Students should not share any items with other students and should only bring books needed for that day’s classes. Middle school and upper school students will not use lockers this year, in order to minimize group congregation outside of cohorts; they should plan to keep all books and personal supplies in their backpacks.
9) Off-campus trips
All off-campus field trips and overnight class trips are suspended for the fall semester. If we are not able to reschedule overnight class trips in the spring semester, families will receive a full refund of the related class trip fee.
10) Extended care
After Care will be offered to families. We respectfully request that you use this service only if necessary in order to minimize the mixing of cohort groups. Students will meet in smaller groups this coming year, and we will bring students outdoors as often as possible. Parents will be asked to register students for After Care, so that we can plan effectively for appropriate staffing and spacing.
11) Physical Education
Students will continue to have Physical Education classes. School locker rooms will not be used, and students will not change clothes for P.E. Whenever possible, P.E. classes will meet outside and focus on non-contact activities and games.
12) Athletics
As we enter the new school year, we hope to provide our students with the opportunity to once again engage in competitive athletics. However, due to the health and safety concerns regarding COVID-19, we would do so under the guidance of the CDC, National Federation of State High Schools Association (NFHS), North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA), Novant Health, and our state and local governments.
Click HERE for the status of Fall 2020 Athletics as of July 31, 2020.
Click HERE for the status of Fall 2020 Athletics as of July 31, 2020.
All families with 5th-12th graders will be updated as we progress to the start of the school year.
Davidson Day School
Davidson Day School is an independent private school for students 2 years old through 12th grade in the Lake Norman region of Charlotte.
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