The Darlington Podcast

Welcome to Episode 55 of The Darlington Podcast! 

In this episode, Director of Pre-K to 8 Hope Jones talks with third-grade literacy and science teacher Jamie Massey and fourth-grade literacy and science teacher Dr. Michael Natarella, who also teaches a fifth grade science class. They discuss the benefits of Darlington's skills-based curriculum for students in these grade levels, particularly as it relates to several of their annual projects such as the Third Grade Wax Museum and the Fourth Grade Invention Convention.

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Welcome to Episode 54 of The Darlington Podcast! 

In this episode, Carson Raymond, director of major gifts, chats with Charlotte Baker ('02, LD '22), Gaines Dempsey ('94, LD '22) and Katy (Hatch) Hollingsworth ('93, LD '22) about their experience as recent members of the Leadership Darlington Class of 2022. They reflect on what they learned about the school, how they plan to give back and provide insight for those who might be interested in the Leadership Darlington program.

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Welcome to Episode 53 of The Darlington Podcast! 

In this episode, Assistant Director of Boarding Admissions Avery Cypress talks with Upper School science teachers Mike Hudson and Jaclyn Haynes and sophomore Isabella Spears about the DarFarm. Cypress talks with Hudson, Haynes and Spears about DarFarm activities, opportunities to get involved and the 7th Annual Spring Plant Sale that will run through the month of April. 

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Welcome to Episode 52 of The Darlington Podcast! 

In this episode, Director of Enrollment Management Matt Peer talks with Director of Soccer Academy Chad Liddle, sophomore Sydnee Barndt from Eagle River, Alaska and junior Jack Quandt from Boise, Idaho about the Darlington School Soccer Academy. Peer talks with Coach Liddle and the students about the benefits of the Soccer Academy, their favorite trips, time management as a student athlete, their future plans and more. 

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Welcome to Episode 51 of The Darlington Podcast! 

In this episode, Professional Development Coordinator and Senior Ventures Instructor Rebekah Kinney talks with seniors Elsa Quay Corbin of Rome, William Feng of Shanghai, China, Nadejda Spasova of Sofia, Bulgaria and Elliot Luitwieler of Rome about their Senior Ventures projects.

Senior Ventures is a year-long academic program built on a framework of leadership, innovation and community engagement. Through a proven self-guided exploratory process, seniors whose proposals are selected for this program work independently to develop a project that’s interdisciplinary in scope and is connective, performance-based, investigative, or entrepreneurial.

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Welcome to Episode 50 of The Darlington Podcast! 

In this episode, Head of School Brent Bell talks with Laura Whitaker, CEO of Extra Special People, Inc. following her March 17 address as the inaugural speaker of the Darlington School Leadership Institute Speaker Series. 

Laura Whitaker was named executive director of Extra Special People, Inc. at the age of 19, after the sudden passing of the organization's founder. Whitaker began her relationship with ESP by working as a counselor and, subsequently, a leadership team member in 2003. She became the organization's CEO in 2022. 

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Welcome to Episode 49 of The Darlington Podcast! 

In this episode, Head of School Brent Bell talks with boys' varsity coaches Reid Owens (tennis), Al Shorey (soccer), Melissa Smyly (lacrosse) and Kevin Hunt (track and field) about the spring athletic season at Darlington. You'll hear a little about each team and what we might expect to see over the next few months. Note: This episode was recorded on March 15, and unfortunately Jared Willerson (golf) was unable to attend due to a golf tournament.

The thrill of competition. The rush of a championship. Our athletic program offers you everything you'd expect from a private school. However, the Darlington athletic program is so much more. CLICK HERE to learn more about athletics at Darlington or schedule a private tour and see our facilities for yourself. 

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Welcome to Episode 48 of The Darlington Podcast! 

In this episode, Director of Pre-K to 8 Hope Jones talks with sixth-grader Brier Lanier, seventh-grader Soren Chapman and eighth-grader Gracie Cowan about their week-long grade-level trips in February. Sixth-graders visited sites in south Georgia and Florida; seventh-graders took part in a living history tour, visiting several locations in North Carolina and Virginia; and eighth-graders took a tour of Georgia. The students share their favorite moments, excursions and memories while Hope talks about how the trips connect to Darlington's curriculum.

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Welcome to Episode 47 of The Darlington Podcast! 

In this episode, Head of School Brent Bell talks with boys' varsity coaches Reid Owens (tennis), Al Shorey (soccer), Brendan Leezer (lacrosse), Jared Willerson (golf), Kevin Hunt (track and field) and Matt Larry (baseball) about the winter athletic season at Darlington. You'll hear a little about each team and what we might expect to see over the next few months. 

The thrill of competition. The rush of a championship. Our athletic program offers you everything you'd expect from a private school. However, the Darlington athletic program is so much more. CLICK HERE to learn more about athletics at Darlington or schedule a private tour and see our facilities for yourself. 

Click here for complete show notes >>

Welcome to Episode 46 of The Darlington Podcast! 

In this episode, Carson Raymond, director of major gifts, chats with Dan Powell ('08), whose podcast "Archive 81" recently became the #1 trending show on Netflix in its screen adaptation. Powell shares about his Darlington experience as the child of longtime faculty member David Powell and his winding career journey in the audio and sound industry.

Carson Raymond has served as director of major gifts since 2019 and spends much of his time on the road visiting with alumni, listening to their stories, and sharing news about what's going on at Darlington today. He is often featured as the host of Darlington Connects episodes of The Darlington Podcast. Carson's previous roles at Darlington, from 2010-2012, included teaching Upper School Spanish, coaching soccer, and working with the residential program. 

Dan Powell is a New York City-based audio engineer, sound designer and composer. He currently works at The New York Times audio team as a Senior Sound Designer & Composer, where he helps lead original scoring and sound design efforts for its growing collection of newsroom podcasts, including The Daily. He is also the co-creator of "Archive 81", a fiction podcast that has been adapted into a Netflix original series. Dan graduated from Darlington in 2008 and attended Syracuse University, where he graduated with a B.A. in English.

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