DA's fast philosophers

The recent Philosopher's Way Trail Run, sponsored by Chapel Hill's "Trailheads" running group, attracted over 300 runners to the trails at Carolina North. DA students, alumni, and parents did remarkably well.




Rising sophomore Fred Ward finished 2nd overall in the 7k run (28:08)
Kelly Teagarden '04 finished 2nd among all women (35:48)

Rising sophomore Carl Ward finished 4th overall (28:10)
Wesley Paulson '07 finished 7th (31:22)
David Drewry (father of students Grace, Carolyn, Michael, and Devin) finished 8th (31:31)
Eugene Oddone (father of Cameron, Ania, and Helen) finished 9th (31:45)
Eric Ward (father of Fred, Carl, and Alice finished 14th (33:43)
Erik Paulson (father of Wesley and Luke) finished 21st (35:35)
Eric Teagarden (US teacher/coach and father/pacer of Kelly) finished 22nd (35:48)
Kathy Merritt (mother of Wesley and Luke) finished 31st (6th among women) (38:34)
Gerty Ward (MS teacher and mother of Fred, Carl, and Alice) finished 127th (62:30)

Congratulations, running Cavs!

Seniors in Prague and Budapest, Special O's honors

Study trip to Eastern Europe makes the books come alive
Durham Academy seniors finish the year with Senior Projects, and seniors Ashley Brasier, Si Carpenter, Wyche Carr, Michael Conners, Josh Pathman, Will Ramsey, Sam Schwartz and Sam Shannon embarked on a week-long study trip about the Cold War behind the Iron Curtain. They were accompanied by DA history teacher Dave Gould and his wife, Lyn.

During their time in Eastern Europe, the DA group visited people in Budapest and Prague, some of whom had lived under both the Nazis and the Soviets in post-1945 Europe. In Budapest, they spent two days with Artur Itsak, who showed them his city and recounted stories about the Battle for Budapest during the winter of 1944-45, as well as an enthralling account of the 1956 Hungarian revolt against the Soviets.

The books they read prior to the trip came alive in Budapest when they saw shell marks from the Soviet-Nazi battle on buildings in Buda; stood on the spot where Hungarians pulled down the massive statue of Stalin; spent an evening with Milhaly Kiss, whose family was forced from their home by the Nazis and then by the Soviets; and visited the Terror House where Hungarian secret police imprisoned and tortured Hungarian citizens.

Three days in Prague were full of similar encounters. After guiding the group through the Hrdcany Castle Hill area, Vera Galiova recounted how she watched her father be taken to prison for being a “capitalist” when she was 11. He died 10 years later in that same prison, just before the 1989 revolution which returned the country to the Hungarian people. The group was mesmerized by Jan Ruman’s captivating story of fleeing with his family to Budapest after the Nazi takeover in 1941, returning to Prague after the war and having to scrape out a living, and finally escaping to the West with his wife after the failed Prague Spring uprising of 1968. A visit to Terezianstadt Ghetto and concentration camp was a sobering reminder of the atrocities which occurred during World War II in Czechoslovakia.

On their return to Durham and during the second week of their Senior Project, the group worked in teams to create “I Was There” history media presentations. Their reports were ample testimony to the idea that meaningful history goes well beyond what one can read in a textbook or hear in a class.

“To a person, they now have a much more abiding appreciation about what life under totalitarianism in post WW II Eastern Europe was like during the second half of the 20th century,” said Dave Gould. “It was a Senior Project experience they will not soon forget.”

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Upper School honored for its support of Special Olympics

Durham Academy Upper School was honored at the Arc of Durham County Awards Banquet held May 18. The Arc presented its Community Collaboration Award to the Upper School for its continuing work in hosting the spring games for Durham County Special Olympics.

This marked the 23rd year that the Spring Games have been held at the Upper School. The Upper School suspends classes for the day so that the entire student body and faculty can be involved in Special Olympics.

The Special Olympics Spring Games involve athletes with developmental disabilities who have trained for a minimum of eight weeks to compete in track and field, softball throwing and play activities. More than 382 athletes participated this spring. These special athletes range in age from five to 21, and all are students in the Durham Public Schools.

Commencement 2008

By Laura Collins : The Herald-Sun
Jun 7, 2008

DURHAM -- Durham Academy celebrated not only the academic success of its students during commencement Friday morning, but also the student body's character education.

Valedictorian Sean Sketch spoke on the importance of good character that the academy has instilled in its students.

"As a graduate reflecting back on 14 years, I believe that DA is least concerned about scientific laws we seniors can recite, or the mathematical theorems we can prove," he said. "For the faculty, character development is paramount to this comparatively trivial knowledge. DA has only a few years to nourish our growth. On the other hand, we have the rest of our lives to memorize, recite and prove."

Though character was impressed on the graduates at Durham Academy, academics weren't lost on them; the class averaged a 3.44 grade point average. Ninety-four of the 95 seniors will attend colleges after graduation and one will attend a military service academy.

Guest speaker Tom Morris, who, besides studying at Durham Academy was also a Morehead Scholar, a doctoral student at Yale and a professor at Notre Dame, said the single greatest piece of wisdom he learned in all his time in a classroom came from his first-grade teacher.

"My teacher wrote a sentence across the board. I have no idea why, none of us could read," he told the students. "She wrote, then read, 'Life is not what you want it to be, it is what you make it.'"

Morris encouraged students to continue achieving their goals and gave them "The 7 Cs of Success," which he has written about in his books "True Success" and "The Art of Achievement."

He told the graduating seniors to have:

* A clear conception of what they want;

* A strong confidence that they can attain the goal;

* A focused concentration on what it takes to reach the goal;

* A stubborn consistency in pursuing their vision;

* An emotional commitment to the importance of what they are doing;

* A good character to guide them and keep them on a proper course;

* A capacity to enjoy that process along the way.

The ceremony briefly had the feel of a professional basketball game when Sketch launched T-shirts into the audience. Each shirt had one of the school's seven Principles of Community.

"Yep. I just threw that," Sketch said. "And I'd like to launch these other 'character clothes' in honor of the launching of both the class of 2008."

Andrew in Paraguay, Dr. Friedman in the news

Below is the "who I am and why I'm here" section of a new blog from Andrew Kindman '06. See the whole thing at. http://andrewkindman.wordpress.com/.

Hi everybody - my name is Andrew Kindman (that’s me on the right, though I am generally less pixilated in real life). I am a student at Duke University working towards a double major in Political Science and Economics. This summer, however, I am leaving academia behind in favor of some more hands-on development work.

I am living in Asunción, Paraguay from early May to mid August working as an Microfinance Intern with an NGO called La Fundacion Paraguaya. Paraguay is sometimes known as South America’s “Empty Quarter.” It is landlocked and nearly all of the population is concentrated in a handful of cities, leaving the majority of the country uninhabited, and by most accounts, uninhabitable. While Paraguay is very poor economically is was, until quite recently, destitute in terms of democratic capital.

The 2008 is a landmark year for Paraguayan democracy, the nation having elected for the first time in 60 years a president who is not a member of the Colorado party. We learn from the example of other Latin American countries (notably the PRI in Mexico) that a single party holding such sustained hegemonic control over a nation is likely the result of astute and manipulative economic policy.

This summer I will be working right at the margin between politics and economics at a time when both are making progress in leaps and bounds. It is a very exciting time to be in Paraguay. This blog is a space for anecdotes, reflections, points of interest, pictures, and other miscellanea that may appear over the next few months.

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By ESTES THOMPSON : Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
Jun 2, 2008

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Dr. John Sampson has spent most of his career studying brain tumors. And if diagnosed with the kind of cancer now faced by Sen. Edward Kennedy, he'd pick Duke University colleague Allan Friedman [father of DA alums James '96 and Marshall '06] for a doctor.

"He's one of the best for this type of surgery in the world," Sampson said. "If someone had to choose, he would certainly be on the top of my list."

For the delicate task of removing the cancerous brain tumor that threatens his life, Kennedy went with Friedman, a 59-year-old Chicago native is a respected leader in the field of neuro-oncology who performs the majority of such surgeries at Duke University Medical Center.

Friedman "is one of the thought leaders" in the field of neuro-oncology, said Dr. Otis Brawley, the top doctor at the American Cancer Society. An internationally known tumor and vascular surgeon, he is responsible for more than 90 percent of tumor resections and biopsies at Duke.

"He's an excellent surgeon. His patients are in very good hands," said Dr. Matthew Ewend, the neurosurgery chief at the nearby University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Friedman is Duke's neurosurgon-in-chief and the program director of the university's Division of Neurosurgery. He also serves as the deputy director of the university's Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center. An internationally known tumor and vascular surgeon, he is responsible for more than 90 percent of tumor resections and biopsies at Duke.

Duke's brain tumor center was established in 1937 and has a staff of more than 250 who work only on the research and treatment of brain tumors. Doctors and staff there are currently following the treatment of more than 2,000 patients from around the world.

Friedman is a graduate of Purdue University who earned his medical degree at the University of Illinois-Chicago, and did his residencies at Duke and the University of Western Ontario. His wife, Elizabeth Bullitt, is also a well-known neurosurgeon now focusing on research at UNC Hospitals, just eight miles from Duke.

Friedman lists his clinical interests as brain tumors, skull base tumors, peripheral nerve surgery, pituitary tumors and cerebrovascular disease, according the school's Web site.

Along with tumor research, Friedman is collaborating on research into epilepsy and hemorrhages in the space between the brain and the thin tissues that cover the brain.

Kennedy was hospitalized May 17 at Massachusetts General Hospital after undergoing a seizure at his home on Cape Cod. Doctors later announced the 76-year-old Massachusttes Democrat had a malignant glioma -- one of the worst kinds of brain cancer -- in his left parietal lobe.

His decision to head to Duke, a hospital with a sterling reputation, was of little surprise to his friends.

"I think he likes to conduct an exhaustive search of resources out there and then make a decision. I think that's what all patients should do," said Philip W. Johnston, a Massachusetts Democratic activist and former chairman of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial.

Valhalla for Term Papers

The 2008 edition of DA's Academic Journal is available on the Upper School web page. Click here to read the following papers, then consider submitting your best final projects to Mrs. McNamara. All disciplines are welcome. This year's contents:

o The Enlightenment: Commentaries on Human Nature and Government by Stephanie Roses
o The Journey by Leslie Ogden
o The Invasive Alien Alga: Caulerpa Taxifolia by Alexis Noel
o Davis Liquid Waste by Nick Drago
o Saving the Tomb of Nefertari by Caitlin Burk
o Piecing Together the Constitution: How History and a Few Good Men Shaped Our Constitution by Jenny Denton
o The Ties That Bind: A Comparison of the Red Scare,the KKK and Communism in the 1920’s by Rachel Hodges
o Social Security…Is It Really Secure? by Lauren Bronec
o Communism’s Effect on The United States: End of WWII to the McCarthy Era by Sam Berchuck
o Never Judge a Book By Its Cover: The False Image of The Black Panther Party by Alli Davidson-Palmer
o “AIM”ing to Make a Difference: The American Indian Movement and Its Success by Ashley Brasier
o The Success of César Chávez: Uniting Farmworkers Under La Causa by Anna Cooperberg
o The Media: The Puppeteer of the American Public by Chase Hickok

DA Alum wins Durham Amateur Golf Tournament

From the Herald-Sun, May 26, 2008

DURHAM -- Even after he shot a 64 on Saturday to take a four-stroke lead heading into the final round of the 35th Durham Amateur, Bryce Mueller didn't win the tournament until the 16th hole on Sunday.

When the Duke graduate stepped onto the tee of the short par-4 at Hillandale Golf Course, he might have needed a Tums to calm his turbulent stomach. His nearest competitor, Riverside's Jack Garrett, was in the midst of a back-nine 31 and had just pruned Mueller's lead to one with birdies on three of the previous four holes.

Not only that, Garrett had piped his tee shot down the middle.

Not only that, the 3-wood in Mueller's hands felt all wrong.

He'd taken a 2-iron off the tee the day before, but with the pin on the back of green on Sunday, Mueller wanted to get the ball farther down the hill for a better look at the flag. So, despite his misgivings, he hit 3-wood, coming over the top and hooking the ball toward the road on the left.

For a fleeting second, it looked like the ball would sail over the white out-of-bounds stakes and start bouncing off the pavement into someone's front yard.

"It looked like it was going out, but someone said it hit a tree," Garrett said.

Still, Mueller was nervous enough that he walked down the fairway motioning to his left and then to his right, which was his way of asking if the ball had stayed in or not.

It had by about four yards. But it had also come to rest in a crevice not far from a tree. When Mueller inspected his ball, he put his hands on the hips of his white pants and thought of his options.

He had 125 yards to a downhill pin, a tricky number since he normally hits his sand wedge 110-112 yards. But after plucking a blade or two of grass behind the ball, Mueller figured he had a flyer and trusted his sand wedge.

"I knew it was juiced up and tried to put it back in my stance and contort it a little bit and get a little extra out of it," Mueller said.

The final result was an approach to 12 feet, not a bad result considering it looked like he might be hitting 3 off the tee.

Farther down on the right side of the fairway, Garrett watched and waited for the third member of the group, Eric Ardery, to play up. Just about everything about Garrett's game is quick -- his pace on the course, his short backswing and the speed he generates through the ball, just to name a few.

So after Ardery went just over the green, it wasn't out of character that Garrett only took a second or two before thumping his wedge at the ball. The ball never left the flag, coming to rest maybe 10 inches from the cup for a tap-in birdie.

As the pro-Garrett cheering section roared its approval, Garrett began preparing for the final two holes, assuming that he and Mueller would be tied at 6-under.

"That's what you're thinking -- I've got a chance now," said Garrett.

As Mueller sized up his birdie putt, he used Garrett's shot as motivation. Maybe not so much the shot as what happened immediately after. There were maybe 30 people following the final group, but based on the boisterous reaction to Garrett's shot, 25 of them were cheering for Garrett.

"As a Duke fan, I'd rather have people cheering against me than for me, so that got me pretty fired up," Mueller said.

The putt was simple enough: 12 feet, left edge, don't leave it short like Mueller had been doing earlier in the round, which had led to a rash of three-putts and a squandered four-stroke lead.

"It was one of those gut check putts," Mueller said. "You've either got it or you don't. I knew it was in as soon as I hit it."

When the putt tumbled over the front edge, Mueller took a step toward the hole and punched the air straight ahead of him. First he had imitated Tiger Woods by making a clutch birdie from the trees, then he had mimicked the world's greatest player with the emphatic reaction. Alas, Mueller was wearing a blue-striped shirt, not Woods' Sunday red.

The tournament wasn't over at that point.

Mueller still needed to flush a 6-iron on the par-3 17th for a routine par and then get up-and-down for birdie from right of the green on No. 18, making a 3½ footer to hold Garrett at bay. It was only when that putt dropped that Mueller (64-70--134) finished the tournament at 8-under, one ahead of Garrett (68-67--135), four in front of Dalton Rich (69-69--138) and six clear of Caleb Corry (72-68--140).

But when it was finished, there was little debate where the tournament turned.

"That was the tournament for me," Mueller said of No. 16. "He's younger than me and I felt like I had the experience and everything. Coming down the stretch, I was confident in myself that I wasn't going to mishit golf shots, so that putt was huge for me. I felt like when I made that putt -- now I've got two hands on the steering wheel and it's my tournament to lose at that point.

"It was a great feeling."

Durham's Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year

From the Durham Herald-Sun, May 22 DURHAM -- The Durham Sport Club Scholarship Foundation honored the top student-athletes in Durham on Wednesday night during its annual Scholar-Athlete Awards night at Croasdaile Country Club.

Taking home the top prize of a $1,000 scholarship were Durham Academy's Sean Sketch and Jordan's Michelle Lutz. Winning a $550 scholarship for second prize were Sarah Marion of Durham School of the Arts and [former DA student] Daniel Kimmel of N.C. School of Science and Mathmatics.

Sketch, son of Beth and Michael Sketch, is a two-sport star in soccer and track. A two-year letterman in soccer, Sketch won the coach's award in 2006. In track, he is a three-time letter winner and was team captain his senior year. Sketch was an all-state performer in 2007 and an all-conference selection in 2006 and 2007. His 3,200 relay team won the state title in 2007 and is the school's record holder.

Sketch has won the physics, French and English awards at Durham Academy. He has been accepted to Princeton, Harvard, MIT, Duke, Dartmouth, Notre Dame, Tufts and Bucknell but remains undecided on his college destination.

Nicaragua Art Auction, Mathelete Mallernee, A Concert in a Can, The Golden Baton, and DA's SuperJocks

This year's Nicaragua Art Auction, benefitting the Durham-San Ramon Sister Communities partnership (http://www.san-ramon.org/) will be held on May 30 at 6:30pm. All DA students and faculty are encouraged to submit art work to be auctioned. Artists can choose to donate any percentage to the Nicaragua fund so it is possible to make your own profit. While bidding, it is possible to charge purchases to your Durham Academy account so students and parents can bid. Submit art work (photography, paintings, drawings, etc.) to the art room. For more information, contact Tanya Khatatba or Jordan Adair. The Nicaragua club aims to raise $13,000 to build a school in San Ramon, Durham's sister community. All money collected at the auction will support this initiative. To make a direct donation, contact Jordan Adair at jordan.adair@da.org.

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Jim Mallernee was recently selected for the North Carolina Governor's School in mathematics. He joins the following students in the largest-ever DA contingent going to Governor's School. Congratulations!

Ben Freedman (Choral Music)
Eva Stein (French)
Michael Roubey (Drama)
Elise Hartley (Dance)
Bryan Jadot (Natural Science)
Worth Newman (Spanish)
Nick Cariello (Spanish)

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From the News and Observer's BULL'S EYE blog: Got an extra can of tuna? A local teenager, Jonathan Crawford, is organizing a concert to benefit the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. The concert will be this Friday, May 23, at 7 p.m. in Kenan Auditorium.

Crawford, A Durham Academy 10th grader, is a drummer, but he'll defer the music to four local bands made up of students at Durham Academy and Chapel Hill High School.The concert is free, but donations of non-perishable canned foods are strongly encouraged.

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The photo above, by DA parent Lori Hey, captures some of the teamwork, focus, and determination of DA's recent track season, capped last weekend by the 2nd (girls) and 4th (boys) place finishes at the State Track Meet. Congratulations in particular to individual State champions Adrianne Soo (1600 and 3200), Fred Ward (3200), and Devin Drewry (400), as well as relay champions Worth Newman, Sean Sketch, Devin Drewry, and Carl Ward (4x800), Francesca Tomasi, Allessandra Tomasi, Claire Burridge, and Elise Hartley (4x400), and Francesca Tomasi, Alessandra Tomasi, Mary Sketch, and Adrianne Soo (4x800).

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Among the many letters and awards handed out at last night's Spring Sports Awards Ceremony were these impressive recognitions for five seniors:

TISAC Sportsmanship Awards to Lauren Bronec and Sean Sketch.

Kurt F. Meyer '77 Senior Athlete Awards to Nicole Tozzi, Nicole Pappas, and Isaac Uhlenberg

Tonight is the Durham Sports Club Scholar Athlete of the Year program. DA's nominees are Sean Sketch and Nicole Pappas.

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Creating a Culture of Kindness

Remarks from Michael Ronco (Lead Advisor, Class of 2011)
9th grade class meeting, May 13, 2008

There are a few things I remember from my high school and middle school experiences. The memories I have revolve around joy and sadness. Usually the joys had something to do with sports or girls and the sadness had to do with the way people treated each other.

I was and am an Italian through and through and I went to school were I was called, among other things I can’t say now, "guinea," "WOP," "garlic eater," and "greasy immigrant." On one occasion in 7th grade homeroom – when the teacher wasn’t looking - one of the kids who taunted me the most hit me in the bad of the head with his math text book as he said, “Italian fag." My eyes teared up . . I opened my desk . . . put my head behind it . . .and cried. By the afternoon my head stopped hurting, but my ears still rang with the slur he uttered. I learned early on that in fact sticks and stones can break bones – and names hurt forever.

Those of you who know me understand that I like to be silly, play around, and joke. What I have learned is that it is difficult sometimes to know when to stop joking and playing, and when to start being serious. This is an important lesson for all of us. We all have made mistakes – but there comes a time when we must act respectfully, maturely, honestly, and courageously.
Over the last few months it has become obvious to the community that although we are a class a full of wonderful and productive people, we are also prone to moments of cruelty, meanness, and hatred. Let me be very clear here: I do not think there are people in this room who are mean, cruel and hateful - but we are all prone to acts of meanness, cruelty, and hatred.

These moments can take the form of excluding others, texting, emailing or posting hurtful statements, calling someone a name which causes pain or hurt, or simply not being nice or our peers. Over time, the culture of a group of people can become mean. I do not want to live in or work in a culture of meanness.

For those of you who don’t know Coach Jon Lantzy, our new lacrosse coach (who by the way – is doing wonderful things this season with our team) was once the assistant coach for the number one Duke lacrosse team a few years ago until his entire college coaching career was ruined by the actions of others. His entire future as a college coach disappeared. I spoke to him a few weeks ago about this and told him I was sorry that all happened. He looked at me and pointed to my watch and said, “Which way does your watch run? Mine only goes forward – I can’t get it to go backwards – I can only effect my future with strong character and care.”

I thought of those words a few days ago while I was putting this together and I want to all to remember those words. Our clocks only move forward. Many times we need to forget the past and make carve new directions for ourselves. Although it is much harder to rebuild a reputation, it is very doable.

I would like to challenge everyone in this room today in two ways. First, to rethink your role as a classmate, a friend, an enemy, a teammate. Who is in your group of friends? Who don’t you say hello to intentionally? Whom do you exclude? At whom do you throw verbal barbs? And I would like to just say "stop." Stop. You cannot turn the clock back, but you can be kind, or at least not mean.

The second challenge is to be courageous. Most people in this room neither get bullied or are bullies, but most people in this room have seen it happen to others. I challenge each one of you to be active and help those who are being picked on, excluded, bullied, or harassed. Please do not allow this culture to become one that allows meanness. If you cannot speak to the people who are acting badly, speak to an adult who will help you make a difference.

I would like to read from the hand book the statement about bullying – [Upper School Handbook, page 14.

What we all must do now is change our behavior. Those who are silent bystanders must speak up. Those who are being targeted must speak out to adults for help. And those who are behaving outside of the rules of kindness and decency must stop now. The adults and leaders in the community are committed to nurturing a safe environment, and we will work diligently to end this type of behavior.

Finally, we know this issue is very complicated for some, but we also know that we can all choose to behave with character, decency, kindness, and care. Today – when you leave this room – please act toward everyone with character, decency, kindness, and care.

Karen the Swimming Cav, then Dawg

DA Alumna Karen Guilkey ('04) has been awarded a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. From the University of Georgia press release: "Guilkey, a senior from Chapel Hill, N.C., has a 3.94 grade point average, with a major in Exercise and Sports Science. She earned SEC Academic Honor Roll status three times and has been named a Presidential Scholar and made the Dean’s List. She received the Ramsey Scholarship for Athletic and Academic Excellence and was named to the College Swim Coaches Association All-Academic Team three times. In addition, Guilkey was invited to membership in Phi Kappa Phi honor society as a junior and was a Charter Scholarship recipient.

She was named the recipient of the 2007 Joel Eaves Award as the female student-athlete at Georgia with the highest grade point average. Guilkey, who is a UGA honor society member, also received the Linda Leith Scholar-Athlete Award twice for the highest GPA on the swim team.

Athletically, she was a four-time All-American as she qualified for the NCAA Championship three times in her career. Guilkey ranks fourth in Georgia history in the 100 butterfly and sixth in the 200 butterfly, as well as fourth in the 400 medley relay and 10th in the 200 medley relay.

In the Athens community, she has participated in Relay for Life for four years, helping to raise money for cancer research, and has volunteered with teammates at the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia each year. She has served as a volunteer/intern at the Athens Regional Medical Center outpatient PT clinic.

"Karen is the epitome of what a student-athlete should be," Georgia head swimming coach Jack Bauerle said. "She has worked extremely hard in the pool, the classroom and the community. She's a person who understands what it's all about. She sees the big picture and does whatever it takes to get there."

Catch Senior Issac Uhlenberg on tonight's six o'clock news!

Senior baseball player Isaac Uhlenberg will be featured on the 6:00 pm WTVD (Channel 11) news tonight as the scholar/athlete of the week. Isaac had been at DA since 9th grade. He's also TISAC Baseball Player of the Year and the 2005 recipient of DA's prestigious Magnificent Seven Award for "courage to do the right thing."

Click here to see the archived video on WTVD's web site.

Debate at Tournament of Champions

This just in from DA Debate Coach Jeff Welty: "Both DA public forum teams posted winning records at this selective and highly competitive event (touted by its hosts as "America's Foremost Debate Competition"). Juniors Grace Wallack and Dede Pless went 4-3, narrowly missing the cutoff for elimination rounds. Josh Zoffer and Robert Kindman were the only sophomore team to advance to the eliminations rounds; they lost in the octafinals, finishing tied for 9th in a very strong field. Both teams showed why they are among the best in the country."

"It really was a great tournament -- the quality of the competition in public forum debate has grown by leaps and bounds over the past several years. The kids prepared well and debated well, but every round was a battle.

Summer Reading for Faculty

Summer reading requirements are not just for students - Again this summer, the Durham Academy faculty will be diving into some good books. Group discussions in August will give readers a chance to compare thoughts and look for ways to apply ideas to life at DA. For those who would like to see what teachers will be reading this summer:
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink
Magic Time by Doug Marlette
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
The Price of Privilege by Madeleine Levine
May Contain Nuts: A Novel of Extreme Parenting by John O' Farrell
Excellence without a Soul: How a Great University Forgot Education by Harry Lewis
Understanding White Privilege: Creating Pathways to Authentic Relationships Across Race by Frances E. Kendall

Seniors Tame Dangerous Books

Lanis Wilson and his English 12 class have unveiled their interactive web site "Dangerous Books." There you can find student summaries and reviews of 38 famous banned or dangerous books and an analysis on why that particular book is considered “dangerous.” Read. Enjoy. Respond. Then congratulate the senior contributors.

Cav Wins Second Biggest Horse Competition in Kentucky last Weekend

This weekend Junior Sarah Sessoms and her her horse Memorize (nickname: Tom) won the Junior Exhibitor 5 Gaited Championship and Grand Championship at the Kentucky Spring Premier Horse Show. Congratulations!

DJ Nick and Mars Scientists

Dr. Drago (aka Senior Nick Drago) shared the link to his impressive website. Whether you're planning a house party or just want to see one of our enterprising students in action, check out http://dynamicdj.org, which includes a post about his most recent gig at Special Olympics.

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Howard Lineberger's MONS project is featured on the websites of two prominent scientific organizations:

http://www.jhuapl.edu/newscenter/pressreleases/2008/080328.asp
(The front page for Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab)

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/features/mesdt/
(The front page of the Lunar and Planetary Institute).

Grace Wins Bronfman

Grace Wallack, a Durham Academy junior, has been awarded a Bronfman Fellowship for study in Israel. The five-week fellowship combines classroom discussion led by exceptional rabbis and Jewish educators, with a hands-on experience of Israel and Israeli culture. Bronfman Fellows hear lectures and presentations by influential people, travel throughout Israel and question their Jewish identities and values with other Jewish teenagers from throughout North America.

Twenty-six Bronfman Fellows are selected from across North America with an attempt to create the most diverse group possible. Bronfman alumni include authors Jonathan Safran Foer and Lemony Snicket.

Final Exam for Business Office Black Belt's PE Class

Seven students from the Upper School’s Tae Kwon Do P.E. class competed recently in a tournament in Raleigh. Winning awards at the tournament were: first place, Amanda Holt - High Yellow Belt; second place, Victoria Vaughn - High Yellow Belt; and third place, Alexis Noel - Green Belt, Owen Bryant - Green Belt, Lenae Frazier- Green Belt; third place, Ariel Blackshear-Trvdy - High Yellow Belt; and third place, Annie Straumann - Yellow Belt. The P.E. class is taught by DA controller Melody Clark, a 5th degree black belt, includes both Upper School students and US history teacher Owen Bryant.

Come one, come all to the Spring Music Concerts this week

Two concerts, 7 ensembles, and special guests - all for free.

Thursday - The Spring Music Department Concert at 7:30 pm in Kenan (Featuring Cavalier Concert Chorus, Cavalier Concert Band, and Chamber Music Ensemble, with special guests: Herb Lamb, vocals; Julian Cochran and Will Parham, guitar; Laura Haynes, piano. Also featuring our seniors and their spotlight numbers. Works ranging from Mozart to Schubert to Louis Prima to Spring Awakening to Mika, and everywhere in between.

Friday - The Lunchtime Music Groups inaugural Spring Concert at 8:00 in Kenan. Featuring the DA Gospel Choir, Percussion Ensemble, A Cappella Group, and Chamber Music Ensemble (duets and trios + a special appearance by the DA Dance Team.

Class of 08 Gives Record-setting Gift to Library, Upper School

Upper School students and faculty arrived to a treat this rainy morning - the most generous Senior Class gift in the history of the school. The two new cars, placed in the library and breezeway, will be auctioned this afternoon. Proceeds will benefit the US Master-Planned library and financial aid budgets. Said DA Security Chief Larry Isaacs, "Given the speed with which we can get a quick title switch on these vehicles, this donation will start helping the school almost immediately." Added English teacher Jordan Adair: "This is a testament to the creativity and hard work of my seniors, who I feel sure will demonstrate similar ingenuity and effort as they finish my senior elective course." Librarian Asta Smith was particularly grateful for the gift. "We've been struggling to provide quiet study spaces for students all year long. Between now and the auction, we'll be using the vehicle as a quiet study carrel for 1-4 students." To say congratulations and thanks to the Seniors for their clever surprise, the Upper School faculty has decided to excuse them from classes today. Here's to a relaxing day!