Melinda Stephani, the WCPSS Senior Administrator for Social Studies Instruction, presented a special recognition to Ruth Chell who is retiring after 36 years as a teacher. Chell talks about teaching social studies and teaching at Ligon Middle School.

Click here to listen to Teacher Leader Retiring

This is an 11 minute mp3 file.

Click here to listen to Dr. Burns Reports

This is a 9 minute mp3 file.

Teachers and students have been preparing for these exams all year and are hard at work reviewing in the final days before their exams. Here's a group of Cary High students talking about their preparations in class and at home.

Click here to listen to Preparing for AP Exams

This is a 7 minute mp3 file.

When you visit a web server, it can detect how large your computer screen is. Paul surveyed the data and found out that our customers are using larger, higher-resolution displays than they were the last time we refreshed the website, so we took that into account to hopefully give you a better web experience.

With more space to work with, we think our new front page is easier to read and use. Our side navigation bars have better spacing and larger text. Our search bar at the top of the screen is wider and easier to find. The new design also helps us better highlight our multimedia resources such as our blog and our audio and video podcasts. (You can now subscribe to our blog and podcast feeds from the front page.)

We'll have a more formal user survey in the future, but if you have any comments that you can't wait to leave, feel free to use the link below. Our goal is to keep improving the website to make it more useful to you, whether you're a parent, citizen, educator, student or visitor. Thank you!

If you want to learn more, there's also our online Character Education Resource Center (including links to recent audio podcasts) and our December 2007 School Connection TV show, which featured a complete story about Hero Day at Northwoods.

"Every time you are not in class, you have a gap in learning," said Hargens. "A gap in learning puts a student at a disadvantage to learn the next topic in class, especially in a sequential class."

Click here to listen to Attendance: WCPSS PodCast

This is a 7 minute mp3 file.

Each school is organizing its summer school program and there is limited space at each site. The schools will use their NovaNET labs to provide individualized instruction to students for repeat credit only. Registration for WCPSS students will take place at their base schools and each school will determine when applications will be accepted.

You can find more Summer School information here.

This Tdap vaccine booster is intended to help teens ward off whooping cough (pertussis), tetanus and diphtheria. Without it, the protection from childhood immunization wears off over time.

Wake County Human Services recommends that parents talk to their child's doctor to find out whether the child needs a Tdap booster, make sure the child gets the shot before school starts, and take a copy of the child's shot record to school. WCHS has more information in this handy flyer (English, Spanish), including contact information for their health centers in case a child does not have a health provider.

You can also find out more from the state Department of Health and Human Services' Immunize North Carolina project.

UPDATE in response to a question: According to Kelly Creech, the sixth-grade Tdap vaccination is technically not required of year-round tracks 1, 2, or 3 this year, "but we encourage parents/guardians to contact their private physician or local health department for advice on their student's vaccination needs."

National PTA has offered some suggestions for honoring teachers at their website.

You can read more about the honor, see photos of the excited students and hear from teacher Diane Covington here.

• to learn about basic trends in outcomes for WCPSS students over time;
• to study achievement gaps over time;
• to get a sense of the number and percentage of students who are doing well and how many students may need additional assistance to succeed; and
• to understand what practices might help in efforts to assist students in need.

You'll find the reports on their website in PDF format for elementary, middle and high schools.

Three Wake County Public School System Transportation employees who are competing at the Winterville Regional Roadeo talk about the competition and how it focuses their attention on safe driving. Regional winners will move on to the state competition held in Raleigh.

Click here to listen to Bus Roadeo: WCPSS PodCast

This is a 10 minute mp3 file.