Classroom Connection - May 27, 2009
Combs Elementary Teacher is 2009 Wake County Teacher of the Year
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René Herrick 2009 Teacher of the Year |
On May 14, Combs Elementary School teacher René Herrick was selected as the 2009 Wake County Teacher of the Year. During a banquet ceremony sponsored by Wachovia Bank, Superintendent Del Burns presented Herrick the Wake County Teacher of the Year Award. Burns praised Herrick for her data-driven classroom instruction and for her active involvement in the lives of her students. Herrick received applause from hundreds of community and education leaders attending the event.
Herrick has been teaching for five years, the last three at Combs Elementary. She is working on National Board certification. She tutors students after school, and takes part in student recognition with her husband, who is also a teacher by taking students on outings to movies and restaurants. Read the full story here.
Athens Teacher Named Sigma Xi Teacher of the Year
Athens Drive High Math Teacher and Math Department Chair, Shari Fredrick, has been named the NC State University Sigma Xi Teacher of the Year. Each year, Sigma Xi recognizes one middle school and one high school teacher of science or math from public or private schools from Wake, Johnston, Harnett, Franklin, Orange Durham or Chatham County. Ms. Fredrick was awarded a plaque and $400 at the Sigma Xi Spring banquet. Sigma Xi seeks to honor teachers who instill in their students a love of mathematics or science.
Apex High Wins State Women's Lacrosse Tourney
The Apex High School Women's Lacrosse team won the NC Women's Lacrosse Association state championship on May 16 for the third year in a row. Apex defeated the tournament's number one seed Charlotte Catholic 13-12.
Apex had been second seed in the tournament and defeated the 15th, seventh and third seeds en route to the finals. Courtney McLaughlin of Apex High became the school's first All American Women's Lacrosse Player. Cawley Bromley was named the 2009 NCHSWLA ChampionshipMost Outstanding Player. The All State First team included four Apex High players: McLaughlin, Bromley, Sarah Fellows and Elizabeth Szep. Katie Worsdale of Green Hope High was named All State First team goalie.
Ligon Middle Student Excels in the National Geographic Bee
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Shantan Krovvidi |
Shantan Krovvidi, a seventh-grader at Ligon Middle School, took third place at the 2009 National Geographic Bee held in Washington, D.C., on May 20. He won a $10,000 college scholarship. First and second place went to students from Texas and Oregon, respectively.
The winning question was: Timis County shares its name with a tributary of the Danube and is located in the western part of which European country? Answer: Romania.
The Bee, sponsored by the magazine of the same name, pits students in grades four through eight from schools nationwide. Each school holds a competition to determine a winner, then the top-scoring 100 students in each state compete at the state-level. The 55 state and territory winners took part in the preliminary rounds of the 2009 National Geographic Bee on May 19. The top 10 contestants met in the final round. Nearly 5 million students take part in the National Geographic Bee each year.
Krovvidi hopes to be a doctor working for Doctors Without Borders when he’s older. He enjoys archery and playing badminton.
Combs Teacher Selected for Fulbright-Hays Program
Combs fifth-grade teacher Eugene Wheeler has been selected by the United States Department of Education to participate in the 2009 Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program.
Wheeler and 15 other elementary teachers from around the country will spend five weeks in southern Mexico this summer. The program will take participants to urban, rural and remote locations to gain a deeper knowledge on the origins and impact of current issues such as globalization and immigration.
The seminar will explore different expressions of Mexican folklore such as hand-made handicrafts, traditional cuisine, music, medicine and religious practices to prove participants with a new perspective on Mexico they might share with their students and colleagues.
Daniels Middle Musicians Earn Honors
The Daniels Middle School Eighth Grade Band and Jazz Band attended the Heritage Music Festival in New York City March 30 – April 2. The band had a memorable performance at the historic Riverside Church and earned “Gold” ratings in musical competition. The concert and jazz bands also earned the “Adjudicators” awards for high scores in musical competition. Both bands received an invitation to the National Invitational Band and Orchestral Festival.
Ligon Students Take Top Awards in State Math Competition
Six Ligon Middle School students captured top ten positions in Algebra at the NC State Math Competition held at UNC Greensboro on April 30. Michael An, a fifth-grader at Fuller who takes Algebra at Ligon, placed first; Franklin Chen – third; Allen Jiang – fifth; Jenny Wang – seventh; Peter Luo – eighth; and Andrew Zhoe- tenth. In the geometry division Jason Liang took first in the state. In Algebra II Tommy Luo placed seventh.
Martin Middle Student a Finalist in Essay Contest
Martin Middle School sixth-grader Reagan Bigelow was a finalist in the Jesse Helm’s Center “Laws of Life” essay contest. This national contest asked students to write about character traits or proverbs that mean the most to them and to offer examples of lessons they have learned from their life experiences.
Wake Students and Teacher Represent NC in National Mathcounts
Three Wake County eighth-graders were members of the North Carolina Mathcounts Team that participated in the National Mathcounts competition in Orlando, Fl. May 7- May 10. The students participating were:
- Calvin Deng – Ligon
- Younghoon Remy Lee – Davis Dr.
- and Jeffrey An – West Cary.
The team is made up of the top four students from the state Mathcounts competition. The team placed eighth among the 57 states and territories that competed. Calvin Deng placed fourth as an individual. Ligon Math teacher Rohan Lewis earned the honor to coach the team since Ligon took first place in the state Mathcounts competition.
Athens Students Certified as Solidworks Associates
Athens Drive High students Stephen Page, Ryan O'Keefe, Matthew Reeves, Nicolaus Jordan, Zack Bennett, Jay Hughey, Rich Palka, Ethan Johnson and Jessica Wirsing have been named Certified Solidworks Associates. Solidworks is 3D CAD design software. The students are industry certified and can proficiently navigate and use Solidworks Constraint Based software to an industry set standard. Athens Drive High School Career Technical Education teacher Nolan Fahrer teaches these students. They are the only Certified Solidworks Associates listed in the Certified User Directory for Raleigh, NC.Three Athens Students Selected for Summer Ventures Program
Three Athens Drive High students will be doing research this summer in a residential setting for Summer Ventures in Science and Mathematics:
- Guneet Chawla at Appalachian State University
- Rani Patel at UNC-Charlotte
- PianPian Ye at Appalachian State University
The three Athens Drive High students are among 388 students selected from more than 1,400 applicants state wide.
65 WCPSS Students Named NC Teaching Fellows
Sixty-five Wake County high school seniors have been named North Carolina Teaching Fellows, and eight students have been named alternates.
The Teaching Fellows Program provides a $6,500 per year scholarship for four years at one of 18 North Carolina colleges or universities in turn for the students agreeing to teach for four years in one of North Carolina’s public schools.
The 65 Teaching Fellows attend 18 different WCPSS high schools. Apex High had seven students earn the scholarships. Garner High had six. There were five Fellows at Broughton, Cary, Leesville Road, Middle Creek and Wake Forest-Rolesville high schools. The complete list of the 65 WCPSS Teaching Fellows can be found here.
Three WCPSS Seniors Named National Merit Scholars
Three WCPSS seniors were named 2009 National Merit $2,500 Scholars by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.The three students include Alexey Vasilyev of Enloe High, Syed Saleh of Green Hope High and Kyle Swartz of Southeast Raleigh High. Vasilyev has expressed an interest in computer science. Both Saleh and Swartz are interested in medicine. All three received scholarships awarded from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s own funds.
The three students were among more than 2,500 distinguished high school seniors to win the National Merit $2,500 Scholarships. National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners are the Finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills and potential success in rigorous college studies. They were selected by a committee of college admission officers and high school counselors. These Scholars may use their single payment scholarship awards at any regionally accredited US college or university.
Athens Senior Wins Centennial Scholarship
Athens Drive Senior Kimberly Justine Zapko has been awarded the Centennial Scholarship at the NC State University College of Textiles. The scholarship is valued at $47,500 and is among the highest valued scholarships offered at NC State University.
The scholarship covers approximately 80 percent of expenses to attend NC State, on-campus housing and a meal plan, with any remaining funds to be used as a stipend for books and travel expenses for up to eight semesters. Each Centennial Scholar will have access to a $7,500 enrichment fund that will allow him/her to participate in a variety of leadership, language immersion and international studies programs, attend international textile shows and benefit from other approved textile enrichment opportunities.
Students are selected for the award based upon demonstrated high academic achievement throughout high school with proven and potential leadership qualities, extracurricular activities and unique life experiences.
2009-10 Before And After School Programs
Information about the 2009-10 Before- and After-School Programs, including the fee schedule for the new Wednesdays-Only After-School Program, is now available online.
Board Names Principals
New principals have been named for Dillard Drive and Carnage middle schools. Jacob N. Bryant will become the principal of Dillard Drive Middle in Raleigh. Bryant has been the principal of Jeffrey’s Grove Elementary School since 2006. Bryant replaces Teresa Abron, who is retiring.
David Schwenker will become principal of Carnage Middle in Raleigh. He has been principal of Hunter Elementary School since 2001. Schwenker replaces Delores Fogg who is retiring.