D. W. Daniel Newsletter
November 2018
Message from the Principal
During this month of Thanksgiving, I would also like to take a moment to thank all of those who support our students. Without our talented faculty, we would not be ranked 2nd in SAT scores and 7th in ACT scores out of all traditional high schools in the state. Without our coaches and volunteers, we would not have earned state championships in Girls Golf and Girls Cross Country, placed 2nd in the state in Marching Band, third in the state in Boys Cross Country, 8th in the state in Swimming, and still been in the running for state playoffs in all other sports.
Most importantly, we are thankful for the support of our dedicated parents and guardians who allow for this success to be possible. November is a wonderful month to take a moment, reflect, and be thankful--we have a lot to be thankful for at D. W. Daniel High School. Go Lions!
Scores Are In!
The 2018 SAT and ACT scores were released this week, and Daniel High is proud to announce that our current senior class had excellent results on both assessments. Our SAT average of 1169 was good enough to rank 2nd in SC among traditional public high schools. The Class of 2019’s ACT composite score of 20.8 was 7th in the state among these schools. Both of these scores are well above the state and national averages. We are very proud of our senior class and wish to thank everyone who assisted with this achievement.
In addition, it has recently been announced that Daniel High School had a 90.9% graduation rate for 2018. This is the second consecutive year that this has been over 90%. This is also among the highest in South Carolina. Finally, our AP exam pass rate was 76% in the testing last spring. 382 Daniel students took 753 AP exams in 28 different courses. Many of these students will be able to earn college and university credits with these scores. Thanks to all of our students and to the entire Daniel family for their hard work and dedication over the past year.
Yearbook Reminder
The final deadline to submit senior ads is 11-30-18. Ads may be purchased through www.jostens.com/yearbooks, myschoolbucks, or by cash or check sent to the school.
After-school Tutoring
Tutoring will be held each Tuesday 3:15-4:15 PM and Thursday 3:15-4:45. Students may report to Mrs. Norris' classroom (225) or Mrs. Qualkinbush's classroom (223).
New This Year!
If parents are unable to pick up their children at Daniel on Thursday afternoons, a bus will be provided to drop them off at one of three locations: Walmart in Central, Walmart Market Place in Clemson, and Durham's in Six Mile.
The bus will only run on Thursday afternoons! Parents must fill out the Google Form (https://tinyurl.com/successbus1819) each week before Tuesday for a student to ride this bus.
Math and English assistance will be available each day. If other academic assistance is needed, please email Mrs. Norris, amandanorris@pickens.k12.sc.us, Mrs. Qualkinbush, leeannqualkinbush@pickens.k12.sc.us, or Ms. Bruner, charlottebruner@pickens.k12.sc.us.
Daniel Foundation
The D.W. Daniel Foundation continues to strive for great things this school year, and we thank you for your support! We couldn’t do what we do without your memberships, contributions, and time spent volunteering. Our school benefits immensely from it all!
If you haven’t joined yet, we still need your help! Every month, we receive numerous requests from our faculty for classroom materials and experiences that will impact our students, and it's our goal to make these happen. Just last month, we were able to fund a large faculty request from the Math Department to purchase 50 new rental TI-84 calculators! This will impact so many of our Daniel students and would not be possible without all your support!
Other ways you can help:
• You can still join the Foundation! The “OneDaniel” membership is a great option and benefits both the Foundation and Booster Club. Family and corporate memberships are available.
• Make a tax-deductible donation! The D.W. Daniel Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization, and all monies raised go directly back to the school.
• Order one of our customized Daniel fleece blankets! These soft and cozy blankets have been hugely popular and will keep you warm as the weather changes. They would also make fantastic holiday gifts, so order soon! Order forms can be found in the front office or on our webpage. You can also order through myschoolbucks.com.
• Buy a piece of the Lion’s Mane in the front lobby! There are limited spaces remaining to become part of this unique artwork, so please let us know asap!
• Serve on a Committee! We love our volunteers, and if you would like to get more involved at Daniel, this is a great way!
• Support our DandeLION! The DandeLION shop continues to be very successful, serving many of our students. At this time in lieu of donated items, the DandeLION is asking for financial support so they can purchase supplies more readily to make them available more quickly to students in need. If you are interested in helping or becoming a volunteer, our coordinators can contact you when specific needs arise. Please contact Maggie Bandy or Maggie Lane.
· Attend the upcoming DWD Legacy Event for all Daniel alums! If you graduated from Daniel, this event held on Black Friday in November is for you! This year we are thrilled they are supporting the Foundation, and there will be some awesome silent auction items available, plus donation opportunities. If anyone would like to donate item(s) for the silent auction, please contact Lark McAtee or Maggie Lane from our Fundraising Committee. For more information, visit the DWD Legacy Event page on Facebook.
Thank you all for supporting the D.W. Daniel Foundation!
#OneDaniel
Student Council
Student Council was busy during October. Spirit Week days were matched up with after-school events to raise money for the Pickens County Dream Center. We hosted a hot dog supper and tailgate before the Pickens volleyball game and a spirit night at Joe's New York Pizza. The week was capped off with a 4:30 am wake-up call to host WSPA's Daybreak Kickoff for the second time.
Miss Summit and Mr. DHS registration is open at https://tinyurl.com/MissSummit2019. Register online now!
Tickets will soon be on sale for the Winter Ball/Semi-Formal. Watch social media for the date to be finalized!
2018 Homecoming
Congratulations to this year's winners: Princess Runner Up - Alora Livengood, Princess - Marisa Swedberg, Queen Runner Up - Anna Pilgrim, and Queen - Morgan Davis!
Homecoming pictures are free to download at:
Girls Golf Wins State!
Cross Country Victories at Region & State
The 2018 version of the Daniel High Girls and Boys Cross Country teams hit new highs in overall success.
The 2018 Girls team repeated as State Champions, and the Boys finished 3rd, also capturing both Girls (Ally Wilson) and Boys (Alex Zangara) individual titles. Mari Cagle has won the State Championship three times and added a close second-place finish to Ally to her impressive list of running successes. Maren Sorber completed the Daniel sweep of the top three positions. All State honors were achieved by Ally Wilson, Mari Cagle Lockhart, Maren Sorber, Alex Zangara and Mismeh Balawi. Having all-time personal best times at the State meet were Maren, Ally, Audrey Dodson, Adam Balawi, Mismeh Balawi, Eric Baldwin, Alex Zangara, and Nate Lockhart.
Both Girls and Boys teams also won the Region 1 4A title and took individual titles as well (Girls: Mari Cagle Lockhart; Boys: Alex Zangara). The JV teams also won the Region 1 title with Maleah Balawi and Connelly Ayers taking second place in the Girls and Boys races, respectively.
The Daniel Cross Country runners who contributed to the outstanding season are listed here:
Madi Abernathy, Sydney Akers, Maleah Balawi. Julia Blouin, Clare Boland, Hannah Brown, Annie Buck, Catherine Cory, Georgia Dodson, Audrey Dodson, Kate Dubose, Kate Hollingsworth, Nimasha Jayasinghe, Jordan King, Jane Laurence, Emma Macrae, Stella Mocko, Annaka Osborne, Audrey Sehorn, Eliza Sorber, Maren Sorber, Noah Warwick, Ally Wilson, Connelly Ayers, Adam Balawi, Mismeh Balawi, Eric Baldwin, Liam Chandler, Braxton Coogan, Jackson Dodson, Jack Foulk, Will Herden, Dan Hiott, Sullivan Kelley, Tyler Kellogg, Jackson Lee-Sosolik, Nate Lockhart, Mac Martin, Sammy Miller, Jack Osborne, Jacob Smiley, Xander Smiley, Chris Smiley, and Alex Zangara.
We would like to give special recognition to seniors on the 2018 Team:
Connelly Ayers, Adam Balawi, Julia Blouin, Kate Dubose, Dan Hiott, Chris Smiley, and Alex Zangara.
Since Becky Calhoun won Daniel's first individual title back in 1980, Daniel XC has had a rich tradition. The Girls legacy includes 7 more Girls State individual titles (Gammon, 2004; Haughey 2007, 2009, 2010; Lockhart 2015, 2016, 2017; Wilson 2018) and 7 team titles, two of which included current Girls Coach Perry (1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2017, 2018). The Boys winning tradtion includes 5 Boys State individual titles (Woodard, 1998; Ivancovic, 2012; Haughey, 2013; Slann, 2014; Zangara, 2018) and 1 Boys team title in 2012 (which posted the lowest SC combined team time of 15:57). In fact, since 2006 there has been only 2 years that a Daniel runner has not finished 1st or 2nd in the State Championships. The 2018 team raised the bar by achieving double individual championships and taking the top three positions in a race, which has never been accomplished before.
XC at Region
XC at State
State Swimmers
The Daniel Swim team finished a great 2018-2019 season with a trip to AAAA State Finals. Our girls finished 8th overall!!
State team: John Paul Cawood, Angeline Chen, Ashley Choi, Ally Emerson, Alexa Emerson, Ainara Garcia, Elyse Hollingsworth, Kuba Jermanowski, Cady Kurz, Shelbi Kurz, Lindsay Lui, Ned Mayo, Caitlin Pardue, Juhyun Park, Zane Ross, Arthur Sherrill, Adam Smith, and Reedy Smith.
Eleven female swimmers and five male swimmers qualified for the AAAA State Swim Finals. We had girls in all eleven events, and our boys qualified in 3 individual events and 2 relays. Caitlin Pardue finished 9th in the 100 Backstroke and 11th in the 100 Free. Alexa Emerson finished 10th in the 500 Free and 11th in the 200 Free. Ashley Choi, Lindsay Lui, and Cady Kurz finished in the top 15 in their individual events. The girls relay teams finished 8th, 8th, and 7th and included Caitlin Pardue, Ashley Choi, Reedy Smith, Alexa Emerson, Ally Emerson, Elyse Hollingsworth, Shelbi Kurz and Cady Kurz.
Our boys also represented Daniel well. We are very proud of our swimmers!
Marching Band Places 2nd in State!
The Lion's Pride Marching Band swept their competition at the Gaffney Reservation Tournament of Champions! The band earned first place percussion, first place music, first place guard, and first place in class III, pulling ahead and earning Silver Division Grand Champion.
At the Pride of Pendleton Marching Classic, the band competed against and pulled ahead of the other 20 bands, walking away with the Grand Champions trophy. The Band also earned best music of the day.
The Lion's Pride Marching Band placed 2nd at the 2018 Upperstate Preliminary Competition!
Congratulations to the Band for placing 2nd at State Finals held at Batesburg-Leesville High School!
Strings Success
Congratulations to Lindsay Liu, Sam Bruce, Mari-Cagle Lockhart, Louisa Mai, Hanna Manning, Bryant Garrison, Vivian Dong, and William Hubbard for earning positions in the 2018 Western Region Orchestras. These students competed against string orchestra students from Anderson, Greenville, Oconee, and Pickens counties to earn their spots in each orchestra.
Students who are in the Western Region Senior Honors Orchestra are Lindsay Liu, Sam Bruce, Hanna Manning, and Bryant Garrison.
Students who are in the Western Region String Orchestra are Mari Cagle Lockhart, Louisa Mai, Vivian Dong, and William Hubbard.
The Western Region Orchestras will perform a concert at Anderson University on Saturday, November 10.
Science National Honor Society
On October 10th, Daniel High School's Science National Honor Society had the opportunity to meet Jon Vogel from Clemson University's Formula SAE Team. He presented to them about the student organization, which focuses on delivering a real-world experience of the operations in a racing team. He also talked about the challenges associated with building a car in-house and went on to speak of the successes that his team has had at FSAE competitions in the past year. The SNHS was happy to have him, and for many of the students, it was a first dive into the automotive world.
The next meeting will be Wednesday, November 14th at 5:30pm in room 339. Our guest speaker will be entomologist Dr. Eric Benson. See Mrs. Tidwell for more information.
(Submitted by Rayyan Alam, Senior SNHS Officer)
Relay for Life
Relay For Life raised approximately $419 from the Pink Out Game and T-shirt sales. Thank you to everyone who contributed at the game and to those who purchased a Fight Like a Lion T-shirt.
Academic Team
On October 27 twenty-four of Daniel's finest competed against schools from all over South Carolina and North Carolina at the Tigertown Throwdown Quizbowl at Clemson University.
Model UN
Congratulations to Daniel's Model UN team for competing in the Clemson University Model UN Conference. Out of 17 participants, five won awards for Daniel with Annaka Osborne and Vineet Saraf winning awards for Outstanding Position Papers, Bryant Garrison being named an Honorable Delegate, and Winnie Zheng and Julia Kempton earning Distinguished Delegate Awards. Congratulations to the entire team!
Helen Schmidt, 2018 graduate of D.W. Daniel High School and a freshman at Clemson University, co-chaired the General Assembly at the Clemson Model UN Conference. Helen was one of the founders of the D.W. Daniel Model UN Club last year.
Declamation
The following DHS students participated in the Clemson University International Poetry Declamation on October, 27th: Della Evans, Yalan Huo, Sarah Whitfield, and Jacob Zambrano.
Della Evans placed 1st in the German 2 contest, and Yalan Huo placed 3rd for German 4. Yalan also took the second place prize for Native Chinese.
German Club
Interact Club
What Would Daniel Do?
AFJROTC
Daniel’s “Flying Lions” Cadet Corps Represents Again!
Daniel High School’s “Flying Lions” Cadet Corps has a long heritage of representing not only Daniel High School but also Air Force Junior ROTC in numerous ways in the local communities. One of the main ways the cadets represent is by performing Color Guards in various scenarios throughout the year, and the 2018-2019 school year has actually already set a new mark for total Color Guards performed in the first semester.
The most recent event for the “Flying Lions” to present the Colors was at the Central Walmart Grand Re-Opening Ceremony held Friday morning bright and early at 7:30am. Even at that hour, the crowd on hand was surprisingly large, and it was another great opportunity for cadets to interact with the local community while helping promote patriotism and camaraderie. The Color Guard was commanded by Cadet Jack Riggins, and the team included cadets Courtney Smith, Caitlynn Holder, Mikie Brown, Kaici Smith, Megan Brown, and JD Buckner.
Certainly, performing Color Guards is a great way for the members of Daniel’s AFJROTC Cadet Corps to represent the unit and the school in the local areas. But an added bonus of this program is that it provides the cadets an excellent way to fulfill the AFJROTC Mission Statement, which is “To Develop Citizens of Character, Dedicated to Serving Their Nation and Community.” And in the midst of this already record-setting school year, there’s a good chance you’ll see them soon, presenting the Colors at an event near you!
D. W. Daniel High School
140 Blue and Gold Boulevard, Central, SC 29630
Phone: (864) 397-2900 Fax: (864) 654-9608