DA Newsroom
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![Commencement, Closing Exercises Move Online]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1592424057/durham/s2pkmomtcdxzi6uzfajt/US-Commencement-screenshot.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1592424057/durham/s2pkmomtcdxzi6uzfajt/US-Commencement-screenshot.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1592424057/durham/s2pkmomtcdxzi6uzfajt/US-Commencement-screenshot.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1592424057/durham/s2pkmomtcdxzi6uzfajt/US-Commencement-screenshot.jpg","width":1200}])
Families were able to tune in to a virtual version of each ceremony broadcast on Vimeo Live, and were then invited to visit campus for car parades to give their kindergartners, fourth-graders, eighth-graders and seniors a chance to celebrate as a class and have a sense of closure.
![Senior Commencement]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1592423670/durham/uloovtz1wepqkohscazv/Class-of-2020-Durham-Academy-graduation-088.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1592423670/durham/uloovtz1wepqkohscazv/Class-of-2020-Durham-Academy-graduation-088.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1592423670/durham/uloovtz1wepqkohscazv/Class-of-2020-Durham-Academy-graduation-088.jpg","width":600}])
You and your generation — the global Class of 2020 — will solve problems, create beauty and build relationships like no generation before you.
![Pre-Kindergarten Lessons Go Viral]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1592419159/durham/h4wtzbfpsrfqjk47wrxm/Mornings-With-Mrs-Carrow-NJ.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1592419159/durham/h4wtzbfpsrfqjk47wrxm/Mornings-With-Mrs-Carrow-NJ.jpg","width":500}])
Sheri-lyn Carrow began the school year with a full class of 18 pre-kindergarten students, but by February there were just 16. One student left on a long-planned sabbatical with her family to New Zealand and another was diagnosed with leukemia and could not risk returning to school.
![Senior Dancers Perform Remotely, Faculty Dedicate Dance to Class of 2020]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1592405508/durham/juhk7mdknakd0hrljnut/Screen-Shot-2020-05-13-at-104039-AM.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1592405508/durham/juhk7mdknakd0hrljnut/Screen-Shot-2020-05-13-at-104039-AM.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1592405508/durham/juhk7mdknakd0hrljnut/Screen-Shot-2020-05-13-at-104039-AM.jpg","width":800}])
Durham Academy’s annual Upper School Spring Dance Concert and assembly, which would have been held one week ago today, has two showcase pieces — the Senior Dance, choreographed entirely by students, and the Faculty Dance, a piece that’s a fan favorite because it prompts teachers to model what learning and vulnerability (or bravery) look like.
MISSION-DRIVEN
![Kaitlyn Kushner]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1599008389/durham/pg5oqusajvmcq1jsegvy/KaitlynKushner.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1599008389/durham/pg5oqusajvmcq1jsegvy/KaitlynKushner.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1599008389/durham/pg5oqusajvmcq1jsegvy/KaitlynKushner.png","width":632}])
What an amazing journey this has been. I am so happy that I am able to reflect on where this study has taken me and dream about where it will lead me in the future.
![Families Welcome Pandemic Pets]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1592417439/durham/xxy65sau3cesfi8uy6zv/kendall2.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1592417439/durham/xxy65sau3cesfi8uy6zv/kendall2.jpg","width":500}])
No matter the pet, DA families have shown a lot of love this spring.
![Middle School Campus]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1586439478/durham/abqa7dh2j7ehglphsqhu/MS-Overview.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1586439478/durham/abqa7dh2j7ehglphsqhu/MS-Overview.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1586439478/durham/abqa7dh2j7ehglphsqhu/MS-Overview.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1586439478/durham/abqa7dh2j7ehglphsqhu/MS-Overview.jpg","width":1180}])
School is where kids and adults can be fully human together, and we need it back.
![A Letter to My Students, April 26]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1594825364/durham/qvqrenlqbqtv1o6fskoo/Teresa-Engebretsen-crop.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1594825364/durham/qvqrenlqbqtv1o6fskoo/Teresa-Engebretsen-crop.jpg","width":500}])
One thing I know for sure, I will never take walking into my classroom in the mornings for granted again.
![Student Startup Moves Operations Online]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1592405620/durham/k6myjzicswsl20kfq7hz/smilingCompanyPicture.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1592405620/durham/k6myjzicswsl20kfq7hz/smilingCompanyPicture.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1592405620/durham/k6myjzicswsl20kfq7hz/smilingCompanyPicture.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1592405620/durham/k6myjzicswsl20kfq7hz/smilingCompanyPicture.jpg","width":1200}])
TeraThought is a mobile app startup powered entirely by students. Our apps have more than 10,000 customers and span a variety of industries from stopwatch/timer apps to green screen solutions to fitness motivation platforms.
![Tennis Courts]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1555968960/durham/ynez0p8esuuo1z8ukokc/Tennis.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1555968960/durham/ynez0p8esuuo1z8ukokc/Tennis.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1555968960/durham/ynez0p8esuuo1z8ukokc/Tennis.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1555968960/durham/ynez0p8esuuo1z8ukokc/Tennis.jpg","width":1180}])
When coronavirus cut the spring season short, Cavalier coaches were presented with the unprecedented challenge of keeping student-athletes motivated, engaged and active — without the benefit of the in-person interaction and attention that are critical during a typical season.
COMMUNICATIONS STAFF
Leslie King
Director of Communications
C: 678-613-6707
P: 919-287-1729
Kathy McPherson
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Preschool/Lower School News
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919-489-6569 (x6144)
Melody Guyton Butts
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Middle/Upper School News
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Sarah Tart
Brand and Design Manager
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919-489-6569 (x6153)
Jesse Paddock
Videographer
919-489-6569 (x6154)
Pat James
Social Media Strategist
Manager, DA Social Media
Tim McKenna
Director of Alumni Engagement
Alumni News
919-489-6569 (x6149)
Durham Academy's Office of Communications is responsible for all DA digital platforms and print publications, including the school's website, social media, photography, videos, e-newsletters, bi-annual magazine, and press releases.
We encourage our accomplished faculty, staff, parents, students, alumni and parents of alumni to notify the Office of Communications about personal or professional news, announcements or achievements. Email us so we can share them!
It seemed almost like magic the way school transitioned from Durham Academy to Durham E-cademy — poof, from classroom instruction to online instruction in the blink of an eye — but that was far from reality.