A transcript is also available, as well as a news article.

(Downloadable in QuickTime)

The No Child Left Behind Act requires all public high schools to report the percentage of students graduating in four years. For the last school year, that means tracking the students who entered ninth grade for the first time in 2005-06, and seeing how many of them earned their diploma by the spring of 2009.

The new report compares the rates for WCPSS as a whole as well as various student subgroups. It, and more reports of our students' progress, can be found at the department's online reports archive.

The board named as principal Mark Savage at Heritage High, Ken Proulx at Holly Grove Middle, Bob Smith at Mills Park Middle and Fran Venezia at Alston Ridge Elementary.

Savage has served as principal of Wakefield High since 2006. Prior to that, he was principal and assistant principal at Wakefield Middle. Earlier he was a teacher at Leesville Road High.

Proulx has served as a senior director in WCPSS Organizational Development and Support since 2008. Prior to that, he was principal of Holly Ridge Middle. Earlier he had worked as a principal, assistant principal and teacher at schools in Beaver Falls and Carthage, New York.

Smith has served as principal of Durant Road Middle since 2005. Prior to that, he was an assistant principal at Apex High. Earlier he was a teacher in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Venezia has served as principal of Farmington Woods Magnet Elementary since 1996. Prior to that, she was an assistant principal and teacher in Dallas, Texas.

The board named as principals Lisa Spalding at Turner Creek Elementary and Nancy Allen of East Wake Middle

Spalding has served as principal of Green Hope Elementary since 2005. Prior to that, she was an assistant principal and teacher at Green Hope Elementary. Earlier, she taught at Morrisville Elementary and Baucom Elementary.

Allen has served as a Curriculum Specialist with the Carteret County Public Schools since 2008. Prior to that, she was an assistant principal and teacher at East Wake Middle. Earlier, she taught at the NC School of Science and Math.

The board named Cheryl Munn an assistant principal at Southeast Raleigh High.

The four board members were honored by parents and educators.

Click here to listen to Four Board Members Honored for Service

This is a 7.5 minute mp3 file.

Click here to listen to Dr. Burns Reports

This is a 5 minute MP3 file.

The 12 students include:

Ho Yoon Chung of Broughton High on Violin I
Chung-hyun Ma of Enloe Magnet High on Violin I
Wesley Shang of Enloe Magnet High on Violin I
Ben Hu of Enloe Magnet High on Violin II
Hadriane :Preston of Enloe Magnet High on Violin II
Angela Ning of Enloe Magnet High on Viola
Brandon Cheng of Enloe Magnet High on Cello
Samantha Song of Enloe Magnet High on Cell
Jason Chin of Leesville Road High on Bass
Bryan Hansen of Cary High on Bass
Chelsea Fuller of Enloe Magnet High on Trumpet
Kyle May of Green Hope High on Percussion

The students performed a program that included the Star Spangled Banner by John Stafford Smith, Overture to La Forza del Destino by Giuseppe Verdi, Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia from Spartacus Ballet Suite No. 2 by Aram Khachaturian, Menuet Antique by Maurice Ravel and Commando March for Orchestra by Samuel Barber. Dr. James Allen Anderson, director of Orchestral Activities and Music Director of the Appalachian Symphony and Chamber Orchestras served as conductor.

Participating WCPSS schools and orchestra directors include Greg Logan of Broughton High, Marta Patridge of Cary High, Beth McCollum of Enloe Magnet High, David Wilson of Green Hope High and Mark Stiles of Leesville Road High.

"Typically, the shelter houses over 300 animals at any given time," said Nancy Clemmons, a shelter employee. "Dogs and cats are the most common, but occasionally also goats, sheep, and birds may find their way into the facility."

Bolts of Kindness got its name from the Lufkin mascot - a lightning bolt. Led by the National Junior Honor Society, this school-wide campaign promotes donations of pet food, supplies and cash to the Wake County Animal Center.

The school's Mutt Strutt dog walk took place in the Historic Oak View Park on Nov. 7. Twenty members of the Lufkin National Junior Honor Society donated their time running a fundraiser and selling dog treats to benefit the shelter. Some dog treats were home-made by students; others were donated by the Wag Pet Boutique in the Creedmoor Road Stonehenge Market. To help sell the treats, eighth grader Katie Lee brought her adorable Pomeranian Ginger, whom she dressed in a pink gown bearing the name Princess on its back. There was fundraising help from NJHS advisor Lisa Kelly-Rouse and parent Renee Bischoff.

This year's Mutt Strutt was an educational experience with mutts of different hues, shapes, and sizes. Meanwhile, dog owners had a chance to check out the stands advertising various dog agencies and services in the Triangle.

Most impressive size-wise this year were two huge black Newfoundlanders (weighing 130 -165 pounds), noble-looking great Dane puppy Duchess, and German shepherd Rex, trained to never leave his master's side and to fulfill his every command.

For more information on how you can help the Wake County Animal Center, call 212- PETS or visit the center's website.

Thanks to: Mirka Christesen, Lufkin Road Middle AG Resource Teacher, for sharing this information.

Enloe Chorus teacher Ann Huff said it went fabulously well! "The kids represented us beautifully," said Huff. "I was so proud of them.

The King's Singers are a celebrated, long-lived, Grammy Award-winning British a cappella vocal ensemble. Their name recalls King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars in 1968. Today the ensemble remains one of the world's most popular and sought-after vocal groups.

One of the King's Men, Christopher Gabbitas described in the group's blog their visit to the Carolinas, performing as guests of the NCMEA Conference in Winston-Salem.

"It's always wonderful to teach and sing with talented children but in this instance it was a double pleasure as we were joined on-stage during our concert by the Enloe High School Choir, who did a great job of performing Eric Whitacre's "Seal Lullabye" - a piece Eric was considering arranging for us when I last spoke to him, but one which suited the piano/voice arrangement perfectly," wrote Gabbitas.

Another of the King's Men, Timothy Wayne-Wright writes that they hosted a masterclass at the Benton Convention Centre and heard the Enloe High School Choir.

"Here was a group of very talented youngsters, eager to learn and under the superb direction of Ann Huff, the sound they made was simply fantastic. We gave them a couple of points each to try and fine tune their sound and ensemble singing and immediately they took them on board and improved. In the evening's concert the same choir sang Eric Whitacre's magical piece Seal Lullaby - a great start to the second half. After this, we had the honour to perform Bob Chilcott's A Thanksgiving with them. It went extremely well and we were all happy to see the children having such a good time on stage," wrote Wayne-Wright.

During the conference, Huff was voted by the NC membership to serve for the next two years as one of four executive officers on the association's state board.

Barbara Townson, current chapter President of the Assistance League says the new clothing and shoes are truly a necessity for some of the neediest. Townson says they believe schools will see increased self esteem and improved attendance resulting in better academic performance by the children they help.

This is the eleventh year the organization has provided the project they call Operation School Bell. 850 children will benefit from the program.

Townson says she only wished they had more funding to help more children. A local school counselor recently told her about a child who was repeatedly absent because the child had no shoes to wear to school. "This should not be happening in our backyard," said Townson.

Assistance League Triangle Area is an all volunteer, nonprofit organization that raises funds for philanthropic projects through direct contributions and grants, as well as donations and sales at their North Raleigh resale shop. The organization is dedicated to meeting the needs of the Triangle community through service, resources and financial support.

At East Millbrook Middle students earned their way into attending the concert with passing grades and good behavior. As a school using the Positive Behavior Support program, administrators determined this would be a great way of rewarding students who met these expectations.

"Our kids had a great time," said principal Andrew Livengood. "We are very grateful to the folks in Child Nutrition Services for making this happen for our students."

Each school received an Epiphone guitar from the Gibson Guitar Company, one of the events sponsors, for agreeing to host the events.

The musical milk messages were helping students to think about nutrition and the benefits of drinking milk. Milk is available to students in all Wake County Public School System cafeterias. Milk is a healthy alternative to soft drinks which have been removed from all WCPSS middle schools and limited in high schools.

The concerts were brought to the schools by PET Dairy and Milk Rocks!, a multifaceted school campaign that promotes the benefits of milk as a healthy alternative to sugar-based drinks. Milk Rocks! is a student-focused marketing initiative developed by New York-based MilkMedia, a pioneer in communicating with elementary, middle and high school students, and Evergreen Packaging, the nation's largest producer of school milk cartons. The campaign stresses the benefits of a healthy, active lifestyle and promotes drinking milk in paperboard packaging.

This high-profile effort to promote a healthy lifestyle among school-age children comes at a time when obesity in teens is at an all-time high. Currently, sugar-based drinks are being replaced with healthier beverages in schools across the country. Research has shown that schools can increase milk consumption by providing colorful and interactive milk cartons, offering a variety of flavors, and incorporating some simple marketing.

Christian serves as the spokesperson for Milk Rocks! She is a 19-year-old Ventura, California native whose songs have been featured on television and radio. The band consists of three brothers who play the drums, bass and guitar, and their sister who is the lead singer.

The visitors will get a chance to understand the school's leadership magnet theme and to see how the school is infusing a 21st century skill set into the day to day business of learning and teaching at Combs

Principal Muriel Summers says the visitors will see project based learning activities showcased over the two days.

Click here to listen to Combs Holds Leading and Learning in the 21st Century Expo

This is a 8.25 minute mp3 file.

A transcript is also available.

(Downloadable in QuickTime)