From the Headmaster's Desk

Back from the North Carolina Independent School Heads Conference

2012-01-24T09:37:00.000-08:00

Each year the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools (NCAIS) holds a conference for heads of school at Mid-Pines near Pinehurst and I attend. Best practice in independent school education is the focus, and fellowship with other heads of school is a side benefit. I find that I often learn as much from casual conversations with fellow heads between meetings as I do from the actual presentations. At this point in my tenure at Gaston Day, I have become friends with many other school heads, and the Mid-Pines Heads Conference is a welcomed opportunity to meet, visit, and compare notes.

Pat Bassett, Executive Director of the National Association of Independent Schools, was the keynote speaker this year. Pat is retiring from his position after a long and distinguished career as an independent-school educator. I particularly admire and respect Pat because he provided valuable advice to Gaston Day School on recruiting and enrollment management during my first years here. Pat Bassett is wise, forward thinking, and challenging. I always learn something from his talks.

This year, here are some of the things that stuck with me and that I will be discussing with my colleagues. First, mobile applications are joining web sites as a way for newcomers to find Gaston Day School. Schools are also beginning to post QR barcodes on printed publications so that readers with cameras on their cell phones can easily access web sites.

Pat noted that he was on a panel recently with two Ivy League college presidents and, as part of their program, they discussed the three greatest deficiencies that they see in incoming students. First is a lack of resiliency. According to the the presidents, schools and parents overprotect their children and, as a result, college freshmen are less adaptable, tough and resilient than those in the past. Second, too many students come to college with alcohol problems. High-school drinking is epidemic. Third, students come to college with poor writing skills. On this last point, I think Gaston Day School has every reason to feel good about how well we are preparing our students. Not only the writing awards we win, but the positive feedback we get from our graduates indicate that they are exceptionally well prepared to write in college.

Finally, Pat shared a survey given to a large number of high school students asking them what their parents wanted most for them. The number one answer was happiness. Followed by success. Being a caring and good person came in third. Bassett found these responses troubling. He suggested that an over emphasis on success makes our students anxious to the point of requiring therapy and medication (according to him 30-40% of all college students have to take medication for depression or anxiety while in college). He believes an over emphasis on happiness prevents our students from accepting the necessity and value of struggle and challenge. What do you want most for your children? After listening to Pat Bassett and thinking about his survey, what I want most for my own children and Gaston Day School students is for them to be responsible.

Living a responsible life requires sacrifice and commitment. Living a responsible life requires hard work and hard study. Living a responsible life requires concern for others. Living a responsible life means taking care of your health and cultivating enjoyable pursuits. I think Gaston Day's mission captures this in its last section. Here is our mission in full: "To educate our students, prepare them for success, and instill a desire to make a positive difference in family, community, and the world." The desire to make the world a better place reflects our sense of responsibility toward others.

Gaston County History

2012-01-24T09:33:00.000-08:00

Gaston Day is producing a new web site and Martha Jayne Rhyne, Director of Admissions, has asked me to write a brief history of Gaston County so that out-of-town visitors will know more about us. Many of you may not know that my Ph.D is in history, that I was a Queens University of Charlotte College Professor before coming to Gaston Day, and that I am a state and local historian. Here is my first draft for the new web site. Feedback is welcomed.

Scotch-Irish, German and English pioneers settled the area that would become Gaston County in the 1740s, establishing homesteads, claiming old Catawba Indian fields, and clearing new land for farming. Agriculture would remain the primary occupation and source of livelihood until the 20^th century.

The American Revolution was particularly brutal and violent in Piedmont North Carolina as neighbors split evenly into patriots and loyalists, with resulting feuding and bloodshed. After the Revolution, settled life resumed. Several important changes occurred around 1800. Farmers began purchasing slaves and producing surplus crops for market. Religious revivals also erupted here and throughout the American South. As a result, Baptists and Methodists grew rapidly and surpassed older Presbyterian and Lutheran churches as the largest denominations.

Gaston County was created in 1846 when its territory was carved out of Lincoln County. Dallas became the first county seat and the center of political life. The original courthouse, the old jail, the Hoffman Hotel (now the Gaston Museum of Art and History), and several other buildings from this era survive in and around the Dallas square today.

Like most of North Carolina, the majority of Gaston County supported the Confederacy during the Civil War. Gaston County soldiers enlisted in large numbers, fought mainly in the Virginia theatre of the war, and sustained high casualties. Union victory brought an end to slavery. Tenant farming and share cropping became new sources of agricultural labor and funding.

The last quarter of the 19^th century saw agricultural prosperity return and the textile industry emerge. Powered first by water and then by hydro-electricity, cotton mills would grow throughout the first three-quarters of the 20^th century, and Gaston County would become a world center of textile manufacture. Many mill workers migrated from the mountains and Piedmont to work in Gaston County factories. Gastonia replaced Dallas as the new county seat in 1911.

With textile manufacturing as its primary source of wealth, Gaston County became an emblem of New South prosperity before and after World War I. The Great Depression devastated the local economy, which only fully recovered during World War II. While manufacturing boomed in the 1950s, family farms vanished. Few remain today although the Cotton Ginning Days Celebration each October in Dallas recalls our farming heritage.

The 1960s were a time economic expansion and social transformation as desegregation and integration brought full equality to African-Americans. Downtown Gastonia declined and shopping centers and mall proliferated. New residential developments were built farther and farther away from downtown. Gaston Day School was founded in 1967 as a group of local civic leaders founded a non-sectarian, college-preparatory school.

The years since 1990 have been a time of transition for Gaston County as textile manufacturing declined and relocated abroad. Fortunately, Gaston County is connected to and benefits from the Charlotte region’s dynamic economy. Belmont and Mt. Holly on the eastern fringe of Gaston County have become bedroom communities for Charlotte. Gastonia still balances its independent, local identity and growing involvement in the Charlotte metropolis.

What is Slow-Parenting?

2011-12-01T10:10:00.000-08:00

GDS Lower School Head, Marianna Davis, forwarded me this April 8, 2009 blog from Lisa Belkin with The New York Times. Belkin's blog is called Motherlode. Both Marianna and I find much to be admired in the notion of Slow-Parenting and hope readers will find it thought provoking. The blog is reprinted here in its entirety.

What is Slow-Parenting?

By LISA BELKIN

A running theme on Motherlode is that life simply goes by too fast. Carl Honoré thinks he has the solution. He is the author of “The Power of Slow: Finding Balance and Fulfillment Beyond the Cult of Speed,” and, more recently, “Under Pressure: Rescuing Our Children from the Culture of Hyper-Parenting,” which is being re-released in paperback in the United States today.

Together the books have become a bible of sorts for those who are part of what has been dubbed the “Slow Parenting” movement, although, as Honoré will tell you in a moment (patience, patience), that is not his term.

He and I talked by email — Honoré home in London, me home in New York. The conversation, fittingly, meandered over several days. My questions and his answers were these:

LB: What is slow parenting?

CH: You know, the funny thing is that I don’t use the term “slow parenting” anywhere in Under Pressure. I felt it didn’t communicate all of the complexities and nuances of modern child rearing. It seems to me that today we are speeding up children too much in some ways (academic hot-housing, for example) while slowing them down too much in other ways (not letting them walk to school alone until they’re, um, 23).

That said, the phrase “slow parenting” has gained currency — and so I’m happy to use it.

I take it to mean “slow” in its broadest sense. My first book, “In Praise of Slowness,” examines how the world got stuck in fast-forward and chronicles a global trend towards putting on the brakes. That trend is called the Slow movement.

“Slow” in this context does not mean doing everything at a snail’s pace. It means doing everything at the right speed. That implies quality over quantity; real and meaningful human connections; being present and in the moment.

To me, Slow parenting is about bringing balance into the home. Children need to strive and struggle and stretch themselves, but that does not mean childhood should be a race. Slow parents give their children plenty of time and space to explore the world on their own terms. They keep the family schedule under control so that everyone has enough downtime to rest, reflect and just hang out together. They accept that bending over backwards to give children the best of everything may not always be the best policy. Slow parenting means allowing our children to work out who they are rather than what we want them to be.

Slow parents understand that child rearing should not be a cross between a competitive sport and product-development. It is not a project; it’s a journey. Slow parenting is about giving kids lots of love and attention with no conditions attached.

LB: How did we get this off track in the first place?

CH: We have stumbled into a unique moment in the history of childhood where we feel immense pressure to give our children the best of everything and make them the best at everything – to give them a “perfect” childhood.

We got here because a number of trends have converged at the same time to produce a cultural perfect storm. The rise of globalization has brought more competition and uncertainty to the workplace – which makes us more anxious about equipping our kids for adult life. The consumer culture has reached a kind of apotheosis in recent years and the net effect is to create a culture of soaring expectations: we now want perfect teeth, perfect hair, a perfect body, perfect vacations, a perfect home – and perfect children to round off the portrait.

Demographics have also changed in ways never seen before in history. Smaller families mean we have more time and money to lavish on each child. Parents are more anxious because small families give them less experience of parenting and put their genetic eggs in fewer baskets. Women are having babies much older than ever before, and that can add another layer of worry. If your first pregnancy comes at 38 or 39, then you may well have spent long years fretting over and planning for the child. And if something goes wrong you may not be able to have another one to make up for it. So there is a built-in anxiety from the start.

Parents of both genders are having kids older, or after many years in the workplace. As a result, we end up importing the office ethos into the home. We think, “Well, how can we parent better? Why don’t we do what we do at work when we want to improve our performance: bring in the experts, spend lots of money and put in long hard hours – we will professionalize parenting.”

The bottom line is that parents in this generation have lost their confidence. That makes us easy prey for companies hawking unnecessary tools for child rearing (helmets to protect two-year-olds from toddling injuries, anyone?). And very vulnerable to pressure from other parents (“What, you mean your child doesn’t have a tutor?!?”).

LB: Is the recession a possible reason for parents to slow down?

CH: The recession could play out in two ways.

It could cause parents to push their children even harder in the belief that the world has become still more competitive and if they fail to conquer Mandarin by their fourth birthday they can forget about going to college.

But I prefer the optimistic view, which is that this recession will force us all to rethink every aspect of our society – from the way we run the financial system to the way we consume to the way we raise our children.

When there is less money around, then signing up for every single extracurricular activity suddenly seems like a less attractive option. In these belt-tightening times, and after a period of wild and reckless spending, maybe people will start to rediscover the simple pleasures in life. For families, that means spending time together that does not revolve around buying stuff, following a schedule or building the perfect resume.

This transition will be hard because we are all so marinated in the idea that we have to push, polish and protect our kids with superhuman zeal. That we have to strain every sinew in our bodies, and stretch every dollar we earn to the breaking point, to give them the best of everything and make them the best at everything. But with time I think many parents will feel relieved that they have been liberated from the tyranny of supplying the perfect childhood.

Here in London where I live, one father I know lost his job in banking. The result was his two highly-scheduled children got yanked from most of their extracurricular activities. For several weeks he felt like a failure but last Sunday he woke up and realized that the family had a completely free day stretching out before them (instead of the usual manic dash to take the kids to multiple activities) – and he actually felt good about it. “I exhaled and it was like I was letting out a breath that I’d been holding for years,” he told me.

A Great Fall Season to Be a Spartan Athlete!

2011-11-10T10:38:00.000-08:00

Great independent schools have strong athletic programs. Several years ago, the National Association of Independent Schools (the member association to which Gaston Day belongs) did a large study to identify early predictors of success in college. The results surprised me at first, but not so much upon further reflection. The number one predictor of college success was how early an independent-school student took their first algebra class--no real shock there since math is fundamental to a good education. But the number two predictor of college success had nothing to do with academics. Instead, the number two early predictor was participation in high school athletics. Athletics teaches self-discipline, goal setting, tireless preparation, competitiveness, resiliency, team work, and how to receive constructive criticism. These are qualities that lead to success in college and in life.

School athletics not only teach valuable life skills, they are vital to school spirit and student satisfaction. Teammates become friends and form important social bonds. Students celebrates athletics, and attending home games becomes a source of excitement and fun.

This fall sports season has been especially enjoyable. The boys varsity soccer team was one of the best in school history. The team was the first to ever advance to the NCISAA State 2A Soccer Tournament Final Four Playoffs, this year held in Fayetteville. Gaston Day School ultimately lost in the semi-finals to Carolina Friends School (Durham) 1-0 in overtime. It was a wonderful game that our team nearly won. I drove down to the game to be part of the excitement.

Earlier in my career here as head, Gaston Day's boys and girls varsity soccer teams rather routinely went to the 1A State Soccer Final Four. I always attended and began to take for granted that going to the Final Four was part of my annual school calender. Then Gaston Day's enrollment grew, and the school was promoted into the larger and more competitive 2A classification in state athletics. Suddenly, playing bigger and better schools, the GDS soccer team did not make the state playoffs for several years, and it dawned on me that I might never have the privilege of going again. It was sweet to be back, and I savored the whole experience as I drove down and watched the game at Fayetteville Academy. Those lean years have made me appreciate just how special it is to have a championship-caliber soccer team.

Our other fall sports also did well. Our Girls Varsity Volleyball team made the state playoffs for the first time in recent years. We hosted the 2A State Volleyball Tournament here at Gaston Day, and Athletic Director Casey Field, Assistant Athletic Director Josh Lutkus, and their colleagues delivered a first-rate event. The Girls Varsity Tennis Team is made up of very young and very talented players. Watch out for them in the next several years--I predict great things are ahead. And Coach Beth Allen produced another outstanding Varsity Cross Country team. Our middle school teams were strong across the board as well.

With eleven years of perspective, I believe this was one of the best fall sports seasons that we have ever had at Gaston Day. Congratulations to our coaches and athletes for providing the rest of the school with so many thrilling moments and happy memories. Now we turn to the winter season and basketball. More thrills and more fantastic games are on the way.

"The Reluctant Roughhouser"

2011-10-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

Lawrence J. Cohen and Anthony T. DeBenedet, authors of The Art of Roughhousing: Good Old-Fashioned Horseplay and Why Every Kid Needs It (Quirk, 2011) wrote the following article, which appears in the most recent issue of Independent School. I share it with you because I think it is important and because it recalls pleasant memories of roughhousing with Emily, Louisa and Isaac. Here is the article in its entirety. Hope you enjoy it. Perhaps it will inspire you to roughhouse.

Some parents are ready to roughhouse at the drop of a hat (or the whack of a pillow!). They know that horseplay builds closer relationships, helps children feel more comfortable in their bodies, and increases their ability to handle competition. Other parents see that roughhousing could be tons of fun--for someone else. They might be scared of injuries, or they might avoid roughhousing because they think it stirs kids up.

If you are worried about roughhousing, we hope you will reconsider after you read our tips for keeping it fun, safe, and under control; our warm-up routine to help you over your reluctance; and some simple games to get started.

* Extra enthusiasm: Be loud, wild, outrageous, and exuberant.
* Improvisation: Follow the flow. You might start with a pillow fight, move on to playful wrestling, and end with a game of chase.
* Keep it light. Get silly, lose your dignity, and fall over a lot.
* Make contact: Physical contact is the name of the game, even if it's frequent high-fives during non-roughhousing games like checkers or catch.
* Tune in: Make eye contact with your child. Notice and read his or her facial expressions. Does he or she need things toned down or revved up?
* Take breaks: Pause frequently (we like to shout, "banana!" which means everyone freeze). Pause for upset feelings and injuries--even imaginary injuries--but go back to the roughhousing as soon as everyone is ready. Pause for reminders about the rules (no necklocks, punching or kicking!).
* Start earlier: Roughousing calms children, rather than escalating them, as long as you start early enough that they can wind down on their own timetable, well before bedtime.

Here's a warm-up routine you can do with your child, your spouse, or a fellow reluctant roughhouser. Try each move for a few minutes or until you get the hang of it. Notice your feelings as you complete this exercise.

1. Stand face-to-face a foot apart and take turns loudly shouting, "Ha!" This gets everyone giggling and loosened up.
2. Hold your hands in front of you, elbows bent, a few inches from the other person's hands. Start moving slowly in a circle, or back and forth in a line, trying to feel the "force field" between your hands so that it feels like you are pushing or being pushed, even though there is no actual contact. Flow between leading and following.
3. Now touch palms, Keep elbows bent. Gradually push harder and harder, but exactly match your strength to each other, so that neither person moves, or you both move in a slow circle.
4. Add elements of competition. Try to get the other person of the mat or out the door. Keep elbows bent and avoid sudden shoves. Make it as much a dance as a competition.
5. Get on the carpet or a mat, on hands and knees next to each other, facing the same direction, shoulder to shoulder. Start to interact in slow motion, bumping into one another, flowing above and below each other.
6. Add an element of competition, stepping things up. Try to get the other person flat on the ground. When you do this with a child, let them win most of the time.

Finally, here a few roughhousing games to get you started.

* In The Sock Game, everyone gets on the floor with shoes off and socks one. On the count of three, grab for the other people's socks while trying to keep your own socks on.
*This game can flow easily into Incoming, a wilder game where everyone has a pile of rolled up socks that they use as missiles, like a dry indoor water balloon fight. Make sure to ham it up with loud sound effects and dramatic death scenes.
* Chase and miss is a simple game where you chase your child with goofy boasts, then trip and fall at the last moment, missing them.
With Bodylock, grab your child, claiming that they will never get away from you, then somehow they manage to squirm away.

Shrinking Privacy and the Challenge of Social Media

2011-10-06T07:31:00.000-07:00

A recent article in the Gaston Gazette (Monday, Oct. 3, 2011) highlights the challenges that social media poses for everyone, and certainly for schools. Before turning to the main points of the article, let me begin with some observations on how privacy has shrunk in my eleven years as Head at Gaston Day. Before the advent and expansion of social media, youthful indiscretions--the kind that are part and parcel of growing up as a teenager--transpired either completely away from adult view or, when they did come to the attention of supervising adults (parents, teachers or school administrators), disciplinary consequences were handled quietly and with a minimum of public exposure. Those days are gone. Now teenage mishaps and mistakes are routinely shared on Facebook and quickly become a matter of public discussion and, at times, controversy. There is also a really good chance that the episode will end up in the newspaper.

Social media has made school culture and administrative decisions more transparent. Many parents welcome this transparency--until and unless the incident involves one of their own children. Personally, I regret the way in which social media has the potential to turn every adolescent mistake into a public embarrassment. Obviously, at one level, I also regret that every school crisis or misbehavior becomes a public black eye for Gaston Day School. But that's the way it is these days for every school. School administrators live with the sure and certain knowledge that social media will sooner or later bring some private transgression involving his or her school before the public. When times are good and our schools are calm and well behaved, we know it will not last forever. When someone makes a mistake--student, teacher, administrator--educators must quickly and correctly repond to the ensuing public debate, balance public demands and private considerations, and ride out the storm of controversy. Resilency has become a hallmark of educational administration. How quickly can a school bounce back from one Facebook controversy and resume a more stable learning environment? How many public controversies will surface this year?

If the loss of privacy as a result of social media only affected school administrators, then perhaps we could accept it as the cost of doing business. Unfortunately, it sometimes has terribly damaging consequences for our students and children. This brings me back to the Gazette article: "Experts: Sexting, Facebook can put students in danger." In that article, Sameer Hinduja, the co-director of Florida Atlantic University's Cyberbullying Research Center, states: "Many [young people] haven't set secure privacy settings on their profiles, and may not realize how easy it is for a Facebook friend to spread embarrassing content from a private profile. Add in impulsivity, multitasking and the ability to instantly post or text from a mobile device, and the results can be disastrous." According to Hinduja, "13% of children 11 to 18 [have] received a naked or semi-naked photo of someone from their school Nearly 8% admit sending a photo." When an embarrassing photo is shared on Facebook with nearly everyone who knows a teenager, the personal humiliation can be overwhelming to the point of desperation.

What can we do to protect our children from misusing social media? Here is a list of tips for safe online usage printed in the same Gazette article:

* Learn about and use the privacy and security settings on social networks. Consider restricting access to your page to a select group of people. For example, your friends from school, your club, your team, your community groups, or your family.

* Think twice before posting pictures you wouldn't want your parents or future employers to see.

* Be cautious about how much personal information you provide on social networking sites. The more information you post, the easier it may be for a hacker, thief of stalker to commit a crime.

* Install a security suite (antivirus, antispyware and firewall) that is set to update automatically.

* Use tools to manage the information you share with friends in different groups. If you're trying to create a public persona as a blogger or expert, create an open profile or a "fan" page that encourages broad participation and limits personal information. Use your personal profile for trusted friends.

* Let a friend know if he or she posts information about you that makes you uncomfortable.

* If someone is harrassing or threatening you, remove the person from your friends list, block the person, and report the incident to the site administrator.

* Make sure that your password is long, complex and combines letters, numerals and symbols. Ideally, you should use a different password for every online account you have.

* Be cautious about messages you receive on social networking sites that contain links. Even links that look like they come from friends can sometimes contain malware or be part of a phishing attack.

* Be aware people you meet online may be nothing like they describe themselves, and may not even be the gender they claim.

* Flirting with strangers online could have serious consequences. Because some people lie about who they really are, you never really know who you're dealing with.

Source: Florida Atlantic University

Social media is here to stay and has so many positive features. Even so, there is also a risky, darker side. Parents should seriously discuss the responsible use of social media with their children. Parents also need to remain vigilant and supervise their childrens' use of social media to ensure safety. I hope the tips above are useful.

The GDS Writing Program, The Gaslight, and Wiley Cash

2011-09-23T08:27:00.000-07:00

Last week, Kristin Paxton-Shaw, GDS Director of Public Relations, forwarded me a voice message from an alum, Wiley Cash, who identified himself as a writer about to have his first novel published, had just received The Gaslight, was impressed with our students writing awards, and wanted to know if there were opportunities for him to interact with our students. Wanting to know more about Wiley, I googled him and discovered that he is someone to be proud of. Wiley graduated from Gaston Day in 1996, received his B.A. from UNC-Asheville, his M.A. in English from UNC-Greensboro, and his Ph.D. in English from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. He is now an assistant professor of English at Bethany College in West Virginia.

Wiley's first novel, A Land More Kind Than Home, will be published by William Morrow/ HarperCollins (one of the finest publishing houses in America) in April, 2012. Leading southern authors, including Clyde Edgerton, Ernest J. Gaines, Bobbie Ann Mason, Gail Godwin, and Fred Chappell are giving Wiley's book enormous, advanced praise. Here is what Fred Chappell, one of the region's most distinguished authors, says, "I try to state the truth and dislike flinging superlatives about with mad abandon, but I have been so deeply impressed by A Land More Kind Than Home that only superlatives can convey the tenor of my thought: it is one of the most powerful novels I have ever read."

After reading that, I decided that I needed to talk to Wiley. So I called him immediately. He was friendly, humble, and funny. He came to Gaston Day as a junior and credits two of our English teachers, Cynthia Furr and Rob Hannah, with initiating his quest to be a writer. According to Wiley, those were the first two adults ever to take him seriously as an intellectual. Now he wants to reconnect with Gaston Day and interact with current Gaston Day student writers. The School is exploring ways to make that happen.

The whole episode has made me proud at three levels. First, I am so proud to discover that Gaston Day has a tradition of writing excellence that reaches back to Wiley's years--one that produced a great new southern writer. Second, I am so proud that we have such a fantastic writing program currently--one that draws a writer like Wiley Cash back to Gaston Day and motivates him to interact with our talented student writers. Finally, I am really proud that The Gaslight is effectively communicating our success and accomplishments to a wider audience of alums and friends.

Stay tuned as the relationship with Wiley Cash grows. Hopefully, he will come to campus in the near future and share his gifts with a new generation of Gaston Day writers--young writers who may someday find the same success as Wiley Cash. Wiley did it, and so can they.

The First Week

2011-08-29T06:25:00.000-07:00

We have completed our first four days of school and, so far, things are going exceedingly well. Opening enrollment was 496, up about ten students from last year. More than likely, we will go over 500 in enrollment during the next two weeks since we usually add a half dozen new students during that period. For a historical perspective, the school had an enrollment of 365 students eight years ago. Then we went into a period of sustained and steady growth, adding approximately 30 students a year for five years, and peaking in enrollment at 514 in the 2008-2009 school year. Then the Great Recession hit, and surprisingly, our enrollment fell by only one student the following year. Last year, however, the effects of the economic downturn were felt more keenly as enrollment declined significantly for the first time in seven years to 486. It is good to be growing again.

As usual on the first day of school, the middle and upper schools started with a convocation in the Pamela Kimbrell Warlick Auditorium. I had three points in my opening remarks. First, I always like to remind the older students how much we care about them. It may sound corny, but they need to hear that the faculty and staff care deeply about them as people and students. We are devoted to their success. Second, I encouraged returning students to be welcoming to newcomers. In a typical year, the middle and upper schools will have as many as 60 new students distributed throughout the seventh through eleventh grades, and it is not always easy to be a newcomer. Finally, I encouraged the students to start strong and fast this year. This is not the time to be slack.

The School also welcomes four new teachers. Toni Zito is teaching upper school science. Jenn Shea is teaching upper school Spanish. Monica Chopra is teaching middle school social studies. Kristy Smith is teaching in the Learning Academy. We are thrilled to have such highly qualified, enthusiastic new colleagues.

Athletic competition has begun, and the Spartans are meeting with early success. Our boys soccer team is 5-1 and off to one of the best starts in recent memory. The girls tennis team defeated Gaston Christian on Tuesday. The girls volleyball team has also started well.

I am handing out Gaston Day stickers and license plates in the carpool lines. I hope everyone will proudly display them. Seeing those stickers and plates all around town and county raises awareness of the school for those not attending GDS and makes those of us already here proud.Go Spartans!

Parents, I encourage you to dine at GDS and experience the new, delicious food service for yourself. Our children are eating healthier and tastier food.

Ready, Set, Start School

2011-08-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

You can see and feel it. New teachers here for orientation. Old teachers back on campus. Shipments of new books carefully stacked and sorted. The boys soccer team practicing every day. Fresh pine needles around all the shrubs. School really is about to start. The excitement, the activity, and the pace of preparation are accelerating. Tuesday, August 23, is the first day.

What has happened this summer? We have new roofs on both the Pamela Kimbrell Warlick Visual and Performing Arts Center and the Jim Henry Student Activity Center. We have painted all the school fences. Andy Warlick has given a generous gift to the "It's All Good!" Capital Campaign and, as a result, I have a new title and am now the Anderson Davis Warlick Head of School, which makes me proud and happy. FLIK is our new food service, and I have eaten three of their meals--they were delicious. And, as usual, we have been working feverishly in the Admissions Office to recruit new crop of students. I am happy to tell you that we will be 5 or 10 students larger this year than last. Gaston Day is growing.

This morning we had our first full faculty breakfast, which really is the start of school for the teachers. We learned that Wade Glaser sailed in the Caribbean for a month. Beth Allen became certified to be a captain of commercial sailing vessels. Nancy Brewbaker took a cruise to Alaska. Laura Nunley got married! We are back from recreation and adventure to resume our teaching duties. With a flurry of final preparation, we will be ready for next Tuesday. What a joyful day it is when the new students arrive!!

I hope all of you have had a happy, rewarding summer. I hope you are looking forward to the start of school as much as we are. Welcome back!

Funding Gaston Day: Tuition, the Annual Fund, and Capital Campaigns.

2011-05-05T12:56:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Gaston Day School is involved in a Capital Campaign, the "It's All Good!" Campaign, to raise $3 million to fund capital improvements, capital reserves, and our endowment. I am thrilled to tell you that, so far, we have raised about $2.4 million toward our goal. And we are now going to the broader parent body to ask them to consider giving to this effort. As a part of our conversations with many prospective supporters in the campaign, people often ask, "How does this money relate to tuition dollars and the annual fund?" This is such a fundamental and important question that I thought it's worth an explanation from the headmaster's desk.

Tuition is the principle way that Gaston Day funds its operations. Tuition dollars account for around 95% of all the annual operating dollars that we use to pay for everything at Gaston Day. The other 5% of our annual operating budget comes from two places: the annual fund and earnings from the school's endowment. The annual fund allows us to use peoples' generous contributions to produce income that otherwise would have to come from tuition. It is a tax-deductible, voluntary way for us to keep our tuition as low as possible. Without it, tuition increases would be higher, parents would have to pay the increase, and they would get no tax deduction.

Gaston Day School also has an endowment valued at just over $2 million. These monies are invested at the Community Foundation of Gaston County and produce roughly $100,000 a year in income for Gaston Day. Again, this is money that we use to maintain our buildings and pay for scholarships. We only spend partial earnings (roughly 5%) of the money in our endowment and never touch the principle. Again, without this money, we would have to charge more in tuition to replace these funds.

Capital campaigns are a final way that we fund Gaston Day. We have a major capital campaign every 5-7 years. Usually, we set a goal of several million dollars to be used to pay for capital needs and also to grow our endowment. Gifts to the capital campaign are voluntary (like the annual fund) and generally larger in amount. Pledges to the capital campaign are typically paid over a four-year period because of their large size--so donors are able to split their gifts into several payments. The typical Gaston Day family will only have the opportunity to participate in a capital campaign once or twice during their childrens' years here.

As I mentioned, capital campaigns are voluntary, but they are also absolutely necessary. Independent schools, like Gaston Day, simply lack the ability to fund their many capital needs without occasional capital campaigns. Those who give generously to capital campaigns are really helping to fund the school so that it can educate all our children. Those who do not give anything to the capital campaign are depending on others to pay for an important part of the cost of their own childrens' education.

Thankfully, Gaston Day has many generous parents, former parents, and alumni. These people deserve our profound thanks because they help to pay for all our childrens' education. They also deserve our assistance and participation in capital campaigns at an appropriate level, which of course depends on each family's particular financial circumstances. It is part of the responsibility of attending an independent school.

Giving away money is always a serious matter and, honestly, it can be difficult, even for a good cause. At its best, however, giving to Gaston Day brings a sense of ownership and, yes, satisfaction. Hopefully, donors experience the joy of giving to a cause that is going to make their children's education better.

We are so grateful to parents who enroll their children at Gaston Day and provide us with tuition. Others go one step further and give to the annual fund each and every year, and to occasional capital campaigns every five to seven years. We give our thanks to them as well for their generosity in helping Gaston Day succeed in its mission. We are doing our best to be faithful stewards of the gifts you entrust with us, and to give your children the best education possible.

Why Middle Schoolers Like Gaston Day

2011-04-27T07:27:00.000-07:00

Jennifer Newcombe, Middle School Coordinator, recently surveyed middle school students and asked what they like best about Gaston Day. The top vote getter, with a 39% response rate, was the good relationship that they have with their teachers. Second, with 33% response rate, was the relationship they have with their school friends and going to a school where everyone knows each other. Third, with 24% was the athletic program. Fourth, with 17%, was the quality education which is preparing them for college.

After these top four come a host of reasons with much smaller responses: the schedule, food, science (especially frog dissection!), field trips and dances, a clean school, plays, all these and many others made the list at lower response rates. Below are some quotes taken from the survey.

"The students and teachers respect each other."
"The arts here are amazing."
"The friends you make will last you a lifetime."
"There are a bunch of different sports you can do."
"Teachers treat us the age we are--they don't treat us like babies."
"Classes are fun and we get a lot done."
"You'll have lots of friends."
"Many opportunities and students are well behaved."
"P.E. is very amazing!"
"GDS prepares you for college."
"Middle School baseball is awesome. Please play!"
"Gaston Day has real spaghetti."

If you would like a copy of Mrs. Newcombe's summary of the results, please ask her for one. The results are revealing and encouraging.

Lessons from the Storm

2011-04-13T07:18:00.000-07:00

Just when I thought we were passed the prospect of a snow closing, the wind struck last week. It was certainly one of the worst power failures that I have experienced since coming to Gaston Day ten years ago, and it shut down the school for two days. Every new situation provides valuable lessons, and this one was no different. First of all, we learned that it is very difficult to communicate when you lack electricity. I arrived at school at about 5 am on Tuesday morning, hoping that there would be no power outage at school. Obviously, those hopes proved false.

How do you communicate with parents when phones and E-mails don't work? The answer is cell phones. We did our best to get the message out, relying on word of mouth and the power of cell phones to spread the news. Regrettably, we had about twenty families that did not get the message and showed up for school. All in all, however, we were pleased that the vast majority of our families received the school-closing alert on such short notice and with our standard means of communication shut down. Kristin Paxton-Shaw, Director of Public Relations, will be developing a cell-phone calling tree plan for similar situations in the future. She also is looking at some systems that are automated and broadcast news to cell phones from a central source.

The second lesson learned is that there may be cost-effective ways to install platforms for generators that could have had the school up and running on the second day we missed. Installing permanent generators would be too expensive. But with some reasonable preparation, we can have the infrastructure in place to bring in rented generators if this happens again. We are very interested in exploring this improvement. How many years will it be before we have an ice storm or a wind storm that knocks out power at Gaston Day? Who knows? But eventually it will happen.

We also realized that certain precautions that Bob Larkin, Director of Technology, has taken over the last 18 months really paid off. We have placed over 50% of all our computers and file servers on UPS equipment (battery backup), moved our E-mail services to an offsite facility, and consolidated all school and financial information at a site in Boston. These changes were made to simplify our technology infrastructue and allow for the continued operation of our school. This meant the school returned back to normal quickly and with minimal damage to our computers and systems when the power was restored at 9 pm, Wednesday, April 6th.

Finally, although we could never have anticiapted this, I am confident that many of the trees, recently cut down for the new driveway, would have blown down in this storm and created a major mess. The lesson here is that sometimes our decisions have unintentional, fortunate consequences.

On a personal note, I cannot stand for school to be closed when we are scheduled to be opened! When Gaston Day School is forced to close due to inclement weather or power failures, the school administration's entire focus becomes getting school open again as quickly as possible, while ensuring the safety and well being of our students. Our business is educating children: it is a serious task, and the less school we miss, the more our students learn. It is so good to be back at school!

The Excitement of Homecoming Week

2011-01-26T12:19:00.000-08:00

There really is nothing like Homecoming Week at Gaston Day. Each day has a theme. Monday is pajama day. Students, large and small, and even the less inhibited teachers are dressed in flannels and bathrobes. Tuesday is denim day. Wednesday: tacky day--and believe me when I tell you that the outfits really are outrageous and weird! Thursday: fictional character day. Friday: blue and white day.

Striking the balance between a week of gigantic school spirit and academics is tricky. Students try to convince teachers that Homecoming Week should be less demanding. Teachers are more or less sympathetic, but also recognize the need to maintain academic focus. Parents and students swing from enthusiasm to exhaustion. Should there really be this many important assignments and tests on Homecoming Week, they ask?

Meanwhile, the excitement and anticipation around the Homecoming Court and the crowning of the Queen is steadily and inexorably building. Who do you think is going to win? Who do you want to win? Is it a popularity contest, a beauty contest, or both? Who will have the prettiest dress? Who are the escorts? How are the mothers doing?

On Thursday night, there is a Hall of Fame Dinner at which new members are inducted into the Gaston Day School Sports Hall of Fame. For me, the evening is nostalgic and emotional as so many of the Hall of Famers are my schoolmates, coaches, or former students.This year's inductees include Lud (1973) and Sandra Garrison Hodges (1975); Coach and Athletic Director Ronnie Digh (1968-1976); Andy Warlick (1975); and T.J. Taylor (2005). Doug Meyer-Cuno, GDS graduate and current Board Trustee, is responsible for conceiving the idea of the Hall of Fame, and he has chaired the Hall of Fame Selection Committee for the last two years. In addition to the dinner, new Hall of Famers will be introduced on Homecoming Night and their Hall of Fame Plaques unveiled.

And then, it is Friday! By this time the excitement (madness?) has built to a fever pitch. There is a whole-school pep rally Friday afternoon. This includes the annual faculty-student basketball game, which pits students not on the varsity basketball team against a hodgepodge of faculty members. Victory for the faculty is a game without injury.

And then, it is show time! Homecoming night features a varsity double-header, the introduction of the Hall of Famers, and...drum roll, please... the introduction of the Homecoming Court and the announcement of the Homecoming Queen, voted on by the upper school student body.The stands are usually packed, our class representatives and their escorts look fabulous, and it is a wonderfully uplifting and happy evening! How could anything be more full of youthful promise, pageantry, and celebration? If Homecoming doesn't make you feel good about life, I am not sure what will.

So I invite everyone to come to Homecoming on Friday and have the time of your life!! The excitement, anticipation and fun really is steadily building. It won't be long now!

A Great Night to be a Spartan!

2011-01-26T10:37:00.000-08:00

Athletic Director Casey Field has established a new customary greeting for Gaston Day students. In response to his question, "What kind of day is it today?" Students have been coached to respond "It is a great day to be a Spartan!" Wednesday night, December 1st, in the James Henry Center Activity Center Gymnasium proved the new slogan is true. There were double-header boys and girls basketball games against Lincoln Charter School. It was the first time I have seen both squads in action, and neither disappointed. GDS students decided that the theme for the evening was "nerd" night, and they came dressed appropriately. I split my time between my post standing in Hal's Corner during the girls game and sitting on the top row of the bleachers where I could take it all in during the boys. The gym looked great. Coaches Field and Lutkus have gotten Andrea DeFrancisco to decorate the place with some sharp-looking graphics.

The girls game was a thriller. New Coach Harry Adams has assembled a really exciting team. They are disciplined, but fast paced on offense. On defense they press after ever opponent score, and they are relentlessly scrappy. Junior Jordan Whitesides is a gifted scorer. Sidney Smith is a strong post player. Eighth grader Morgan Whitesides is already a crackerjack point guard. And Liz Davis and Samantha McCurry are our other two starters and great role players. The game was close from the beginning. At one point in the second half we pulled ahead, only to fall behind by a dozen points. In the closing minutes, the Whitesides sisters lauched a furious comeback and only missed by a jump shot at the buzzer sending the game into overtime. The loss was tough, but when I congratulated Coach Adams on the effort, he looked me squarely in the eye and said, "Don't worry, Dr. Rankin, by the end of the season we will be where we should be." There was a confidence and resolve in his words that left me utterly convinced that our girls team is going places.

I moved up into the bleachers for the boys game. We start junior Ben Carstarphen and four freshman: Abram Olson, Keyshawn Woods, Ben Bennett, and Shontrell Hopper. The game was fairly evenly matched, but our boys began building on a small lead almost from the outset. Keyshawn Woods made several passes and shots that took my breath away. As young as they are, the Spartan boys are talented, unselfish, and tough. How can you look at all that youth and not be optimistic about the future of Spartan boys basketball? We will take our lumps this year at the hands of older, more experienced, and more talented teams, but the future belongs to the Spartans! On this night, we won!

As entertaining as the boys game was, the Gaston Day nerds were a close second. On the top row, Maddy Deely, Laura Gaddis, Nicole Kollman, and Hannah Newcombe were doing a synchronized dance routine that looked like an imitation of the Supremes in their heyday. Stewart Hansen was the most realistic looking nerd. Both Stewart and Blake Porter did solo dance gigs courtside. McKenzie Whalen had on a beenie with a propeller on top that flashed and sparkled as it spun. There were probably thirty to forty GDS middle and upper schoolers having a blast! Rooting for the Spartans and enjoying being teenagers. You could not look at the whole gang without smiling!! The youthful joy was contagious!! A GDS basketball game is a boisterous, wholesome happening, and you really need to be there to experience it. I felt younger just watching!

There were a lot of visitors in attendance both from Gaston Day and Lincoln Charter. I had fun watching them split their attention between the games and our nerds. They would watch the game and applaud the good play. They would look at the nerds and laugh. The whole scene was alive and entertaining!! I guarantee that every one of the visitors left with the favorable impression that Gaston Day students know how to have fun at a basketball game, and that Gaston Day girls and boys basketball teams are worth watching.

Congratulations to Coaches Field, Lutkus, and Adams on creating such wonderful basketball programs. Congratulations to our basketball players on your amazing commitment, teamwork, and hustle. Congratulations to our students for being the zaniest, happiest nuts around. It was simply a great night to be a Spartan!

Gaston Day Alum Making His Mark Locally in Textile Manufacturing

2010-12-02T09:40:00.000-08:00

The December issue of Our State, North Carolina Magazine has a feature article on Belmont and 2004 GDS alum Davis Warlick is a major part of the story. After graduating from GDS, Davis attended and earned a business degree from the University of Georgia. When he finished school he received a job offer on Wall Street, but decided that what he really wanted to do was come home and enter the family business. He now is manager of Parkdale Mill's Plant 15 in Belmont. According to Davis, "A lot of people around town say textiles are something of the past, but there's still a plant here, a very profitable plant... Textiles are not dead here in Belmont."

As Gaston Day School Head, it is incredibly satisfying to see recent graduates like Davis return home and begin to invest themselves locally. One of the last things that I say in my commencement charge to our graduating seniors each year is an invitation to return to this area when they have completed their educations and are beginning their careers. There are real advantages to coming back to this area. Because of the network of Gaston Day families and alums already here, returning graduates are surrounded by influential people who care about them and their success. They belong.

Obviously, many Gaston Day School graduates will move away from Gaston County, put down roots far away, and make their marks elsewhere. And we celebrate the accomplishments of all our alumni, near and far! But there is a special satisfaction in knowing that many Gaston Day graduates will return home and settle here. They will be fulfilling our mission "to instill a desire to make a positive difference in family, community, and the world" in Gastonia, Lake Wylie, Belmont, Shelby, and Lincolnton.

I hope you will read about Davis in Our State. Under his leadership and management, Plant 15 and its employees are in great shape. We all celebrate his success and the fact that it is happening close to home.

Artspace, Downtown Gastonia, and Gaston Day

2010-09-30T12:49:00.000-07:00

On October 12, 2010, at 7 pm in the Pamela Kimbrell Warlick Visual and Performing Arts Center at Gaston Day, the largest non-profit real estate developer in America, Artspace, will be making a brief presentation and holding a community question-and-answer session, and you are invited. Why is the Artspace visit important and why should you attend? The answer: Artspace is exploring the possibility of a major project in Downtown Gastonia to renovate an old building and convert it to living-working space for artists. Revitalizing Downtown Gastonia has long been a major challenge facing this community. Artspace may be part of the answer. Their projects in other cities across the nation have helped spur urban revitalization and artistic renaissance. When we look at what other communities like Greenville (SC), Asheville (NC), and, closer to home, Rock Hill have done to bring life back to their downtowns, we realize that Gastonia can and should have a similarly exciting, energetic and attractive downtown. That will be good for this city, for this county, and for Gaston Day School. It will mean that our community has a healthier center city with fine restaurants, attractions, and thriving businesses. We already see it beginning to happen downtown. An Artspace project could be a major catalyst for continuing downtown's comeback.

Is it a sure bet that Artspace is going to pick Gastonia for a project? Absolutely not. They must determine that there is a building suitable for renovation, a sufficient population of artists in the area who will move into their building, and secure the necessary funding. Is it a sure bet that they are interested enough to come and visit us? Absolutely, yes! And the more community support and interest they see here, the more likely they are to pick Gastonia for a project. Are you interested in Downtown Gastonia? Are you interested in the Arts? Are you interested in the livability of Gastonia and Gaston County? Are you interested in attracting newcomers to our community? If the answer to any or all of these is "YES!" please come to the Pamela Kimbrell Warlick Visual and Performing Arts Center on October 12, 2010, at 7 pm and listen to what Artspace has to say. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain from the Artspace visit. Who knows, it may be the start of something great for Downtown Gastonia.

Traffic Safety at Drop-Off and Pick-Up

2010-09-20T07:58:00.000-07:00

When you next come to lower-school carpool, you will see yellow, plastic stanchions and chains serving as an additional safety barrier to prevent children from straying into traffic. Drop-off and pick-up are certainly one of the most dangerous, daily events at Gaston Day. My rough estimate is that cars enter and exit 72,000 times during the school year. Every single trip must be accomplished without accident or injury.

Here are some "Don't and Do's" to keep your child as safe as possible during lower-school carpool.

Don’ts

* Don’t let your Pre-School or Lower-School child exit the car in drop-off into the parking lot or—another way of saying the same thing—make sure he/she gets out onto the sidewalk. A person can never be involved in a parking lot accident if they don’t step into the parking lot!

* Don’t drop off or pick up your child in the Lower-School Parking Lot or anywhere except the designated areas. There is a total lack of supervision in non-designated areas and cars are moving without expecting to see children crossing. It is convenient and speedy to drop your child off in a non-designated area, but dangerous!

* Don’t park in the spaces in front of the flagpole unless you have already dropped your Pre-K or Lower-School children off in the designated place. A child who walks across the parking lot to enter school must cross moving traffic. Remember: a person can never be involved in a parking lot accident if they don’t step into a parking lot!

* Don’t pull around a stopped vehicle in the carpool drop-off line without the signal, eye contact, and motioning permission from the traffic attendant. A child may jump out of the stopped car into the parking lot when you pull out. The traffic attendant can see if things are safe and will motion for you to proceed if appropriate. The only exception to this rule is for those far back in morning drop-off line who let their children out before entering the right lane around the traffic island. If so, you may cautiously proceed around the left side of the traffic island and wait for the traffic attendant to motion you when it is safe to proceed out.

Do’s (Encouraged, but Optional)

* Let your children get out by themselves. You stay in the car. Getting out of your vehicle to help your children slows down the carpool line. Most parents who do get out recognize this and begin running to speed things up. At that point, they have violated a cardinal message that we try to teach the children: don’t run in a parking lot. Also, they have put themselves at risk since they are now out in the parking lot, and a person can never be involved in a parking lot accident if they don’t step into the parking lot.

* Try to have your children ready when you get to the drop-off point: jackets, coats, sweaters, and book bags on, if possible (and sometimes it isn’t possible); kisses and displays of affection completed, if possible (and sometimes it isn’t possible). This is a courtesy for drivers waiting patiently behind you and, for younger children, a way to minimize separation anxiety.

* Once you let your child out and see him proceeding toward the door, stop looking at them, look at the road in front of you, and slowly pull away. This is one of the most dangerous moments in drop off, especially when very young children are involved. There is an art to making sure that your child is clear of the car and moving toward the entrance, and then moving away. Particularly for the youngest ones, once they are clear of the car, if you continue to wave, talk and maintain eye contact, you are pulling them emotionally back toward the vehicle. In the worst cases, they will break and run after you and try to enter the parking lot. If possible, once the child is out of the car and in the care of the attendant, just leave. It minimizes the anxiety and the child quickly regains composure once you are gone. But if you must intervene (and we generally advise against it), make eye contact with the traffic attendant who will direct you to a parking space in front of the flagpole and you can walk across and comfort your child.

The root of most violations of good safety practice at drop-off and pick-up is the desire for convenience. Many of us aren’t even aware that are doing something unsafe; we are just trying to get our children to school quickly and with a minimum of inconvenience. Please understand that when school employees have to ask you to comply with best safety practice, we are just trying to keep your children safe! In that moment, it may seem as if we are being unnecessarily picky or on a power trip, but please believe me when I tell you we are not!

Our perspective is informed by constant surveillance of the parking lot: we see many of those 72,000 chances and know what it takes to keep drop-off and pick-up safe. It requires a disciplined, orderly, extra-cautious daily routine. We simply cannot make exceptions in established safe practice to be more convenient because eventually the result may be an injured child. Please help us keep Gaston Day safe and please know that when we ask you not to do something during carpool, it is because we know that allowing certain minor violations to go unchecked will eventually erode the safe environment and may eventually lead to an injury.

We hope the the plastic stanchions and chains make Gaston Day a little bit safer.

SMART Boards, Bandwidth, and Megabytes: The Technology Initiative at Gaston Day

2010-09-15T11:15:00.000-07:00

When Parents Association leaders, Heidi Tringali and Jennifer Kacmar, came to me last year with the idea of putting a SMART Board in every classroom at Gaston Day, it was a totally unexpected gift! Without their hardwork and the money the PA raised to buy the SMART Boards, Gaston Day teachers would not have this fantastic teaching tools at their disposal. As with most new technology, the SMART Boards have also presented us with unexpected challenges. In some cases, we have found that the computers supporting the SMART Boards are not powerful enough and fast enough.

So we are also playing catch up to make sure that we have the everything necessary to fully utilize such a great teaching tool.

Getting the SMART Boards is part of a broader strategic initiative to improve technology and technology education at Gaston Day. The School's Strategic Plan identified these as areas needing more attention and improvement. The School is responding on several fronts. First, Bob Larkin, Director of Technology, has upgraded our infrastructure in important ways. Gaston Day has increased its Internet bandwidth from 1.5 to 13.06, more than 800%. We have rewired our campus to create more reliable service. And we are using a technology company to house our servers off campus and thus eliminate maintenance.

Gaston Day has joined the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools (NCAIS) Virtual Education Consortium, which provides member schools with an array of on-line services, including classes and tutorials. Our Lower School students are already pioneers in on-line education through the Rosetta Stone Program in Spanish. Upper School students now have the opportunity to take an on-line elective course with the approval of the Head of Upper and Middle Schools. In the future, all students will take our mandatory Health Class in an on-line format. Why? So that our students will be ready for college. Increasingly, colleges and graduate schools require classes that are only offered on-line. We want our Gaston Day School students to experience on-line education here so they will be well prepared when they have to take them in later educational settings.

Finally, the Books, Brains, and Beyond Program is teaching basic computer skills to our kindergarteners through fourth graders. Fourth graders also take a separte typing class to make sure they are able to use a key board. When a Gaston Day student advances into Middle School, they possess these basic skills.

In all these ways, Gaston Day School is ensuring that our teachers and students have the proper, up-to-date tools of technology, and that they know how to use them. Simply put, technology education has become integral to a complete college-prepatory education. Gaston Day recognizes this and intends to be a leader in this facet of education.

A Report from the 2010 Junior-Senior Retreat

2010-09-03T08:16:00.000-07:00

Seventy-four Gaston Day Juniors and Seniors travelled in school buses and rented vans to the Episcopal Conference Center at Valle Crucis (outside Boone) for the annual Junior-Senior Retreat on Sunday. As for many years, I drove one of the buses and was a chaperone along with Tim Tinnesz (Head of Middle & Upper Schools), Sarah Ince (Director of College Placement), and Holly Mason (Theatre Instructor & Senior Homeroom Advisor). The purpose of the retreat is to prepare students for the college admissions process and also to have fun. We did both.

We have been going to Valle Crucis now for at least eight or nine years. So I know the director and the place well--they are becoming old friends. Several things struck me again during our visit. First of all, how much larger the Upper School at Gaston Day has become. Some eight or nine years ago, one of my first Junior-Senior Retreats at Valle Crucis had eleven seniors and twenty-two juniors. The difference in energy and decibels between thirty-three and seventy-four young adults is unmistakable. All those kids made me realize how far we have come as a school.

A second observation: the college admissions process really is complicated and difficult. In 1974, when I applied to University of Virginia, Wake Forest, and the University of North Carolina, nobody at Gaston Day helped me. I was on my own. Those days are over. Our students really do need Mrs. Ince's assistance, and they are so fortunate to be at an independent school like Gaston Day where the faculty and college counselor guide them through such an arduous and important process. I simply don't know how students do it at a large school with limited counseling resources.

Another thing that I witnessed at Valle Crucis is just how great it is to be a young adult. We built a bonfire at 10 pm on Sunday night and about half the kids were doing an Indian dance around it. Forty young people hooping, hollering, and having the time of their lives!! The others were playing ping pong or running around with chums. How can you watch that boisterous celebration and not be happy to work at a place like Gaston Day?!! I had to remind myself of that later when the senior boys were up all night having water fights and generally doing what senior boys do when they are in a dormitory setting with each other. Yes, I was very tired on Monday morning.

But most of all, I was gratified to be part of a wonderful educational and social experience for our kids. The Junior-Senior Retreat requires considerable forethought and planning. Kudos to Mr.Tinnesz, Mrs. Ince and all their assistants back at school for staging such a successful event. Our juniors and seniors are on their way to great colleges and universities, and we are beside them all the way.

Relics of My GDS Basketball Career

2010-08-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

About six months ago, my GDS classmate Parks Neisler (1975) stopped by my office to give me a photograph of our 1974-1975 Boys Varsity Basketball Team. What a flood of memories that picture brought back to me! There we were: ten teammates and Coach Ronnie Digh, youthful and proud in our basketball uniforms on the steps of what was then known as the Multi-Purpose Room ( a name that seems so quintessentially 1970s) and now is the Commons. I often see Lower School students standing in the same spot at assembly reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

We were arguably the second best independent school boys basketball team in the state that year. Coach Digh kneels in the photograph just behind our Charlotte Independent School Athletic Association Regular Season and Conference Tournament Champion Trophies. As I recall, we had a record of just under twenty wins and slightly more than five losses. In those days, we played far fewer games. Two of our losses that season were to Oak Ridge Academy in Greensboro: Once in a close game in their gym and once by two points in the first round of the state playoffs in our gym here (now the George F. Henry Library). Oak Ridge cruised through the rest of the state playoffs to become state champions. I am embarrassed to admit that, after 35 years, I still wonder why the ceding committee paired two of the best teams in the state in the first round--time to let that go, isn't it!

We joined a brand new conference that year: the Charlotte Independent School Athletic Association (CISAA) and were its inaugural boys basketball champions. Member schools included Carmel Academy, Charlotte Country Day, Charlotte Christian, Charlotte Latin, Gaston Day, Providence Day, and Valleydale. I am 53 years old now, but I still remember the incredibly satisfying feeling of going into the gyms at Charlotte Country Day, Latin and Providence Day and knowing that we were going to clobber them! The CISAA exists today with Charlotte Country Day, Charlotte Latin, Charlotte Christian, and Providence Day still members, but Gaston Day School's enrollment is not large enough for us to belong. Still, there is pride in knowing we were champions of that conference in its first season.

With one or two sad exceptions, my teammates have gone on to very successful lives. Andy Warlick, President and CEO of Parkdale Mills, was our 6'4" starting point guard. Dolph Sumner, a prominent Gastonia attorney, was a key substitute. David Lawing, a local banker, was our center. Parks Neisler, who helps run his family's textile manufacturing firm, was a shooting guard. When Parks gave me the picture, I hung it in my office--proof positive to my current students that I really was young once and I really am a true blue Spartan.

Last Friday I was walking back from lunch in the dining hall and decided to inspect work in one of the storage rooms next to Lisa Olson's art classroom. We are clearing out that space for future use. In the corner was a heap of perhaps thirty old Gaston Day athletic trophies. Old trophies quckly lose their value as they are replaced by newer ones. Only truly remarkable trophies, like state championships, find their way into the Trophy Case of the Jim Henry Center. The heap of old trophies in question was in a puddle of water in the corner of this storage room. I couldn't resist them and walked over and reached into the pile and pulled one out. Lo and behold, I held our 1974-1975 Regular Season CISAA Boy Basketball Conference Championship Trophy in my hand! The base of the tropy had been sitting in the water and was rotten.

I brought the trophy back to my office and, yes, it was the same as one of the two trophies in the team picture. In that moment, a weird mood swept over me as I began to wonder how such pieces of my past as the team picture and the trophy could possibly have survived and come back to me. It was another reminder of how fortunate I am to be head of school at my alma mater, where I am not only surrounded by exciting daily challenges, but also important memories and even artifacts of my past.

The trophy was beyond repair. I took the engraved plate off the base and glued it to the top of the team picture. I invite you to come see it in my office if you like. Hopefully, things are happening to our students that will make just as much of a lasting impression. Gaston Day is a place that sticks with you.

Sharing Our Success

2010-08-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

I would like to take a moment to brag about Gaston Day School. In Lower and Middle Schools, our ERB test scores place us among the top schools in the nation. Our 2009-2010 SAT scores averaged just under 1200 (critical reading and math), the highest in Gaston County. The Upper School pass rate on Advanced Placement Exams is over 90%.

The class of 2010 is attending schools such as UNC-Chapel Hill, the University of Virginia, the University of Michigan, Washington and Lee University, and Kenyon College. Gaston Day has produced a finalist for the Morehead-Cain Scholarship at Chapel Hill each of the past four years. For 2010, Crawford Rhyne was the only Morehead-Cain finalist from Gaston, Lincoln, and Cleveland counties. In 2009, Charlotte Lindemanis was our first Morehead-Cain Scholar winner. In all the 27 graduates of 2010 were offered over $2.7million in scholarship and financial aid awards from the colleges to which they were accepted.

• English: Our English Department has been recognized by the National Council of Teachers of English for “excellence in our English instructional program.” Blutopia, the school literary and art magazine, earned national recognition, including the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medal, the North Carolina Media Association Tar Heel Award for the best high school magazine in North Carolina, and the National Council of Teachers of English PRESLM Superior Award. GDS students have earned a remarkable 24 regional, state, and national English writing awards in 2009-2010 alone, including 15 prestigious Scholastic Writing Gold Key awards. Mary Louise Montgomery was one of 15 freshman selected as a finalist for the Thomas Wolfe Award at Chapel Hill.

• Foreign Language: Kassandra Leiva placed 9th in the state on the National French Exam. Eleven Upper School students received gold, silver or bronze awards for their performances on the National Spanish Exam.

• Science: In only its third year, the Gaston Day School Science Olympiad Team advanced for the first time to the State Championship. Mahroosha Hussain and Grace Russell placed 5th in their category.

• Math: Daniel Thompson scored in the 90% and Spencer Thompson scored just below the top third of all participants in the American Mathematics Society Contest, given to the nation’s top math students.

• Fine Arts: In visual and graphic arts, Gaston Day School won 27 Gold and Silver Keys in the Scholastic Arts Award. Gaston Day swept 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places for the Pinnix Prize for the top art work in all Gaston County schools. In band, we had two of the 160 students selected to the All-State band. And, as usual, Gaston Day’s drama productions are some of the best in the country. If you think that is an exaggeration, note that USA Today selected our spring musicals as the best in the state and one of the best in the country.

As important as academics are, good character is even more important. Gaston Day’s mission states that we “will instill a desire to make a positive difference in family, community, and world.” Every Upper School student must complete at least 25 hours of community service per year and many do much more. 30 Middle and Upper School students earned a Bronze President’s Volunteer Service Award, 5 students received Silver, and 12 students were recognized for 250 hours with the Gold designation. Each Middle School grade served one day in the Salvation Army Soup Kitchen. This year, the entire school raised $7,300 for Pennies for Peace to build schools in Afghanistan. Whenever Mr. W. Duke Kimbrell asks me about the school, he is interested in the moral character of our young people. If the commitment to help others through service is an indication, Gaston Day students are compassionate and caring.

The recession has created a challenging environment for the nation’s independent schools. Surprisingly, our opening enrollment for 2009-2010 was the largest in 30 years. Gaston Day has produced modest operating surpluses each of the last five years. We intend to eliminate all debt in the next year. Deferred maintenance, the cost of new technology, and raising faculty salaries are all important issues facing the school. We plan to have a capital campaign in the near future which will focus primarily on maintaining our campus and other capital improvements. We are so grateful for all the ways in which each of you supports the school and for your loyalty in these challenging and exciting times. I am particularly grateful to the Parents Association for helping us equip about one-third of our classrooms with SmartBoards, which replace blackboards as the most advanced, interactive, instructional tool. Thank you, PA.

As we look ahead, the administration, faculty, and staff are committed to building upon the future. We know that we exist solely to serve our students and their families and we are grateful for the privilege.