Classroom Connection - June 23, 2009
Class of 2009 Earns $66 million in Scholarships
Wake County high school seniors continue to garner praise, accolades and financial rewards as this year they earned a record amount of scholarship money. A record $66.38 million in scholarships were earned by students graduating from Wake County Public School System high schools this year.There are more students and more high schools than in past years, but the sharp increase in scholarship dollars can also be attributed to the aggressive efforts of families and students as well as encouragement by WCPSS high schools.
The $66.38 million earned by the Class of 2009 compares with the $46.78 million earned by the Class of 2008 and the $36.6 million earned by the Class of 2005. There were 8,094 students graduating in the Class of 2009. In the Class of 2008, there were 7,684 students and in the Class of 2005 there were 6,524 students.
Wake Forest-Rolesville Senior Graduates with Perfect Attendance
Jessica Dingle of Wake Forest-Rolesville High School graduated without missing a single day of school beginning in kindergarten of 1996 through her senior year 2009. Jessica attended Bugg Elementary, Rolesville Elementary, Durant Road Middle and Wake Forest-Rolesville High.
Wakefield High's CTE Students to Attend Summer Programs
Several students in Genevieve Perry's Family and Consumer Sciences Apparel program at Wakefield High have been selected to participate in summer enrichment programs.Junior Morgan Ehrenberger was selected from more than 1,000 applicants to participate in the NC State University Summer Textiles Exploration Program of which only 100 students were selected. Morgan is interested in attending NC State University where she would like to study Fashion Merchandising and Marketing. She participates in Wakefield's Mistletoe Market by setting up a business display with a variety of tote bags and fashion accessories she designed and marketed. She made a profit of more than $500 this past year which was later donated to the Susan B. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research.
Five students from Wakefield will attend Jade Austin's Summer Camp. Jade Austin is a young graduate of Cary High School who gave up a scholarship to study fashion in Paris to start her own business in the Raleigh area. Jasmin Sturla, Helen Phan, Jessalyn Maye, Eboni Roundtree, and Esther Choe will be attending her summer camp program. This program will allow them to explore the business of fashion and demonstrate their talent in design and apparel construction techniques.
WCPSS Students Earn Leadership Scholarship
Neel Mandavilli of Southeast Raleigh High and Ashlyn Young of Athens Drive High were awarded the NC Hugh O'Brien (HOBY) Student Representative Award by the Raleigh Jaycees.
The two WCPSS students were among the 10 finalists selected from 226 NC students attending the state leadership program. All finalists were required to write essays, be interviewed by a panel of judges and be nominated by their seminar facilitators. The award provides a $1,500 scholarship for each student to represent NC HOBY at the World Leadership Congress. The scholarship award was presented on Sunday, June 14 at the closing ceremonies of the three-day NC HOBY Leadership seminar at NC State University.
The 2009 Hugh O'Brien World Leadership Congress will be held at George Mason University in Washington, DC, from July 25 to 31. The program will host 400 rising high school juniors from all over the world. The 2009 NC HOBY leadership seminar at NC State University attracted 226 sophomore leaders representing high schools from all across the state. Each sophomore was nominated by their high school for their outstanding accomplishments as a leader and for their future potential as a leader. During the three-day program, students met with government leaders and entrepreneurs to gain an insight into public service and private enterprise. They were provided with guidance and direction on how to initiate and run volunteering projects that benefit their local communities.
Centennial Middle Students Participate in Leadership Camp
Centennial Campus Middle School is conducting its summer camp this week, "Linking Leadership to Learning." The camp runs June 22-26 at the school.The camp is an awesome opportunity for new and returning students. Rising sixth-graders are provided with a special orientation to help the transition process from elementary school to middle school. Rising seventh- and eighth-graders are also given new grade level orientation and exposure to new leadership opportunities. Programming for the camp includes:
- Teen portable challenge course promoting team building offered by Raleigh Parks and Recreation.
- Opening keynote presentation and program by professional leadership speaker and author, Nancy Hunter Denney, called, "Zing, Your Life and Leadership."
- Presentation and program by professional speaker and author, Marlon Smith, the "High Tec" Motivator.
- Instruction on how to use technology to assist in classroom learning.
- Daily physical activity in leadership activities and games
- Small group sessions by Covey trained instructors to include topics in:
- Active Listening
- Characteristics of Confidence
- Group Dynamics
- Covey Leadership Traits
- Resolving Conflict Techniques
- On-line Journaling
- Internet Safety Practices
- Video Orientation Production
- Public Speaking Skills
Schools Compete in NC Technology Conference Competition
Three Wake County high schools and one middle school recorded top three finishes at the North Carolina Technology Student Association Conference Competition.Sanderson High took first place in Architectural Model and Systems Control Technology; second place in Debating Technological Issues and Technology Bowl; and third place in Flight Endurance.
Enloe High took first place in Fashion Design; second place in Medical Technology, and Electronic Research and Experimentation; and third place in Chapter Team, Radio Controlled Transportation and Cyberspace Pursuit
Wake Forest-Rolesville High took first place in RC Marine Power Boat.
Holly Ridge Middle School placed first in the Structural Challenge.
Students also placed in individual competitions:
Alex Bengam, Enloe – second place in CAD Engineering and Animation
Eliza Monroe, Enloe – second place in Career Comparison
Talia Rodriguez, Holly Ridge Middle – third place in Career Challenge
Nathaniel Trumbo, Holly Ridge – third place in Dragster Design Challenge
George King, Sanderson – third place in Future Technology Teacher
Spring Sports Accomplishments
The spring sports season was a successful one for WCPSS high school athletes. The North Carolina High School Athletic Association offers seven state championships in the spring. Wake County high schools won four NCHSAA state championships, finished second in one, and finished third in the other two. Following is the complete list of accomplishments:
Boys' Tennis
• Millbrook HS won the state championship. Chris Grimes is the coach.
• Broughton finished in the top eight in the state.
Girls' Soccer
• Leesville HS won the state championship for the second year in a row. Paul Dinkenor is the coach.
• Green Hope finished in the top eight in the state.
Boys' Track
• Southeast Raleigh HS and Green Hope HS finished tied for third in the state championships.
• Cary finished seventh in the state championships.
Girls' Track
• Southeast Raleigh HS won the state championship. Liz Gary is the coach.
• Millbrook (sixth) and Leesville (10th) finished in the top 10 in the state.
Boys' Golf
• Green Hope HS won the state championship. David Allen is the coach. This is the third state championship in the last four seasons.
• Apex finished sixth in the state championships.
Softball
• Fuquay-Varina HS finished third in the state championships.
• Apex HS finished in the top eight in the state.
Baseball
• Sanderson HS finished second in the state championships.
• Millbrook HS finished in the top eight in the state.
Girls' Lacrosse
• Apex HS won the girls NCHSLA state championship for the third year in a row. Jessica Pinneo is the coach.
Board of Education Adjusts Bell Schedule at Seven Schools
The Board of Education recently made final adjustments to the bell schedule affecting seven schools.The seven schools are:
Hodge Road Elementary, 8:20-3:00
Centennial Campus Middle, 7:35-2:30
Moore Square Middle, 7:35-2:30
Mt Vernon School, 7:50-2:00
River Oaks Middle, 7:50-2:00
Enloe High, 7:25-2:30
Phillips High, 7:25-2:17
Three new elementary schools will open for 2009-10. The bell schedules for the new schools are:
Banks Road Elementary, 9:05-3:45
Lake Myra Elementary, 9:05-3:45
Herbert Akins Elementary, 9:05-3:45
You can find the complete 2009-10 bell schedule here.
ParentVision: Helping Our Youngest Students on the Bus
Find out some of the steps we're taking next year to keep kindergartners and first-graders safe on the bus in the latest ParentVision video podcast!
2009 WCPSS School Counselors of the Year
Three school counselors have been named the 2009 Wake County Public School System Counselors of the Year. They are:- Margaret Ray-Nobles - Holly Grove Elementary School
- Jean Carter - Heritage Middle School
- Tammy Rhye-Butler - Middle Creek High School
"These schools counselors demonstrate the best qualities of WCPSS school counselors and implement an outstanding comprehensive school counseling program at their schools," said Eric Sparks, WCPSS Director of School Counseling
The School Counselor of the Year is named for elementary, middle and high schools. Packets are being submitted for these school counselors to the NC School Counselor Association and the American School Counselor Association for consideration for the state and national award processes.
NCSU Honors Wake County Teachers
Athens Drive High Math Teacher and Math Department Chair, Shari Fredrick, and Garner Senior High Math Teacher Pamela Hedley have been named co-winners of the NC State University Sigma Xi Teacher of the Year. Each year, Sigma Xi recognizes middle school and high school teachers of science or math from public or private schools from Wake, Johnston, Harnett, Franklin, Orange Durham or Chatham County. Fredrick and Hedley were awarded plaques and $200 at the Sigma Xi Spring banquet. Sigma Xi seeks to honor teachers who instill in their students a love of mathematics or science.
Four New Principals Named
Timothy Lee Locklair has been named principal of Holly Springs High, replacing Luther Johnson, who left due to health issues. Locklair has been the principal of Apex Middle since 2004 and previously was a high school teacher and assistant principal in Moore County.
James “Chip” Mack will head Davis Drive Elementary in Cary, replacing the retiring Pat Andrews and becoming only the second principal in the school's history. Mack has been principal of Root Elementary in Raleigh since 1999.
Catherine Yanello was named principal of Wildwood Forest Elementary in North Raleigh, replacing Gretta Dula, who is now principal at Ligon Middle. Yanello has been an assistant principal at Wildwood Forest since 2007.
Judy Dudley was named the interim principal of Carver Elementary School in Wendell. Dudley is a retired principal who has frequently been asked to fill in at schools.
Kevin L. Hill Selected as Board of Education Chair
Kevin L. Hill was selected as the new chair of the Wake County Board of Education during the board's annual meeting June 16. Hill, a unanimous choice for the post, was the only person nominated by board members for the position of chair.
Hill, who served as vice-chair of the board last year, spent his entire career working for the Wake County Public School System. He retired from the system in 2005 after teaching secondary social studies for 14 years and serving as an assistant principal and principal at elementary, middle, and high schools for 14 years. During his career with the school system, Hill also served as a teacher mentor and an administrative mentor.
He is a clinical instructor and assistant program coordinator for undergraduate Secondary Social Studies Education at North Carolina State University. Hill is also a program presenter and social studies methods instructor with the NC State NC TEACH Program.
He is a graduate of three Principals' Executive Programs and is a program presenter at PEP's Leadership Program for Aspiring Principals. He served as President of the Wake County Division of Principals and Assistant Principals from 2001-2003 and was the Wake County PTA Council Co-Principal of the Year in 2005.
During the annual meeting, the board selected Horace Tart as vice-chair. Tart was a unanimous choice for the post. He was the only person nominated by board members for the position of vice-chair. Tart has served on the board for four years.