Classroom Connection - September 22, 2009
Vandora Springs Elementary Pitches in for Cans for a Cure
Vandora Springs Elementary students are urging the community to recycle for a good cause. The Cans for a Cure project is an aluminum can recycling effort to benefit The American Cancer Society. People may bring by their bagged-up cans to Vandora Springs this Saturday, Sept. 26 from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Vandora Springs Elementary is located at 1300 Vandora Springs Road in Garner. All proceeds will go to benefit ACS.54 WCPSS Students Named Merit Scholar Semifinalists
Fifty-four students from 13 Wake County Public School System high schools were among the approximately 16,000 semifinalists in the 55th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
The academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,200 Merit Scholarship awards worth $36 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must advance to the finalist level of the competition by fulfilling several requirements. About 90 percent of the semi finalists are expected to attain finalist standing and approximately half of the finalists will be selected as Merit Scholarship winners.
The WCPSS semifinalists include:
- APEX High School: Allen M. Hawkes, Mary E. Koenig, Ryan K. Minster and Eric B. Porter
- BROUGHTON High School: Patrick A. Royal
- CARY High School: Thomas A. Pendlebury and Monica B. Tabor
- ENLOE High School: Matthew A. Baltzell, Hannah C. Brown, Staci M. Cooper, Jacob T. Ehrlich, Emerald Ellis, Jessica C. Feng, Grant A. Forrest, Tyler P. Grant, Rachel A. Harris, Samuel F. Henry, Prashanth P. Kamalakanthan, Kai Kang, Alexandra Kuznetsov, Andrew S. Lee, Jennifer C. Li, Ryan T. McGarvey, Angela Ning, Shiv P. Parikh, Allison M. Parks, Ekaterina Roze, Ethan Sherbondy, Shreyas S. Tikare and Madeline White
- FUQUAY-VARINA High School: Shane V. Lympany
- GREEN HOPE High School: Coleton B. Boyer, Spencer J. Cunningham, Amanda L. Gurkin, Gabrielle E. Hodgins, Joanna U. Kim, Sonia F. Liao and Jordan A. Wadsack-Stewart
- LEESVILLE ROAD High School: Jessica N. Golden, Brian F. Jackson, James C. Wei and Edwin Woodhouse
- MILLBROOK High School: Derek M. Eidum
- PANTHER CREEK High School: Kalli R. Felix, Anand Kannan, Mary E. Mudd, Gayatri Surendranathan and Elizabeth A. Whitfield
- SANDERSON High School: Katherine A. Meeks and Christopher G. Schaeffer
- SOUTHEAST RALEIGH High School: Calvin Kao and Julie R. Robinson
- WAKE EARLY COLLEGE of Health and Science: Khrystina N. Murray
- WAKEFIELD High School: Burton J. Westermeier
More than 1.5 million juniors in nearly 22,000 high schools entered the 2010 National Merit Program by taking the 2008 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state's percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.
To become a finalist, a semifinalists must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the school principal and earn SAT scores that confirm the student's earlier qualifying test performance. The semifinalists and a school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, which includes the students' self descriptive essay and information about the semifinalist's participation and leadership in school and community activities.
Approximately 15,000 semifinalists will advance to the finalist level and it is from this group that all Merit Scholarship winners will be chosen. Merit Scholarship designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin or religious preference.
Parent Matters Newsletter Available
Parents can read the Fall Issue of Parent Matters, a newsletter for WCPSS parents published three times a year. Parent Matters provides parents with valuable information about the school system including ways they can help support their children's education.
The latest Parent Matters newsletter includes:
1. Superintendent's Column
2. In-depth Q & A on Wake Wednesdays
3. Preparing for Flu Season
4. Improving Relationships with Tteachers
5. School Meal Payment Options
6. Wednesday-Only Child Care
7. Full Circle- WCPSS's Newest Television Program
8. The Parent Learning Toolbox
Separate versions are published for the parents of elementary students and the parents of secondary (middle and high school) students. The latest issue of the newsletter is available for download in its entirety here in English and Spanish. If you have comments, ideas and/or suggestions for future stories, please send an e-mail to the editor at asmith9@wcpss.net.
Schools Celebrate Constitution Week
Durant Middle School held an assembly on Sept. 17 to mark Constitution Day and join in the national recognition of the US Constitution. Teaching about the US Constitution in schools in September was established by a federal law five years ago.
WCPSS Social Studies administrators provided daily announcements for the three levels, K-5, 6-8 and 9-12, which focus on the Constitution and its connections with North Carolina. Additionally, a movie Symbols of America: The Constitution was purchased for every school in the district to use during Constitution Week.
This special time was set aside because the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention held their final meeting on Sept. 17, 1787. Only one item of business occupied the agenda that day, to sign the Constitution of the United States of America.
The Constitution contains the basic laws of the United States in its seven articles and 27 amendments. Completed over 200 years ago, it is the oldest national constitution in the world still in use.
Reedy Creek Elementary Art Program Ranks No. 2 in State
Kim Atkins, art teacher at Reedy Creek Elementary in Cary, has been recognized by Artsonia, the world's largest online kid's art museum, for outstanding leadership in the area of Arts Education at Reedy Creek Elementary. The school's online art gallery, www.artsonia.com/schools/reedy1, ranks No. 2 in the state.
The Leadership Award presented to Atkins honors teachers who go beyond the classroom walls to encourage family and community involvement in arts education. The award also recognizes significant achievement in the area of technology integration within the school arts program.
During the 2008-09 school year, the Reedy Creek Elementary gallery showcased 2,417 pieces of artwork. This popular collection of art has been visited more than 18,237 times and has received 619 comments from family and friends. In addition, family members can purchase keepsakes imprinted with the child's artwork with Artsonia donating 15 percent of their annual product revenue back to the school art program. This past year, the art program raised $435.88.
Wakefield High Senior Attends Congressional Leadership Conference
Wakefield High School Senior Savannah Smith was invited to attend the two-week Congressional Student Leadership Conference, CSI: Forensic Science, on the campus of Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. During this two-week youth leadership conference, Savannah had the opportunity to learn from police officers, crime scene experts and lab technicians. Savannah was selected for this conference due to her experience in her high school CSI class taught by Laura Stiles. Savannah is considering majoring in biology in college and learning more about DNA, then maybe stepping into forensic science.
Partnership Elementary Uses Technology for Distance Learning
Partnership Elementary third-grade teacher Ashley Moser is utilizing a grant and technology to teach her students about caterpillars in New Orleans. Using Skype and a blog, Ms. Moser's class will work with Tulane University researches in October to study how caterpillar habits were affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Ms. Moser received a grant to take part in this project through the Earthwatch Institute. For nearly 40 years Earthwatch has been working to protect our planet. One way Earthwatch hopes to raise awareness about environmental issues is by working with teachers and students in their classroom, looking at environmental issues.
New Board Member Takes Oath of Office
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Dr. Morrison is sworn in. |
Carolyn Bond Morrison was sworn into office as the newest member of the Wake County Board of Education on Sept. 15.
Dr. Morrison was sworn into office by husband Fred Morrison with her son Jimmy Earp standing beside her. Also on the podium with Morrison were Wake County Sherriff Donnie Harrison and Avera Acai, who is one of the first graduates from the Peace College Education Department and a current teacher at Lacey Elementary. Acai held the Bible on which Morrison placed her hand for the oath.
Morrison fills the District 6 seat on the Board of Education left vacant when Beverley Clark resigned from the board.
Dr. Morrison recently retired after serving as the director of the Division of Education at Peace College. Prior to that, she was an associate professor in the School of Education at Campbell University and was chairperson for the State ABC Assistance Team for the NC Department of Public Instruction.
She had a long career in the Wake County Public School System serving as a principal at Lynn Road Elementary and Root Elementary, as a WCPSS Elementary Curriculum Consultant and as a teacher at Green Elementary.
She is a member of the Board of Visitors at Peace College, received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine from the state of NC, and served as an elder and deacon at her church, First Presbyterian Church of Raleigh, NC.
She is married to Fred G. Morrison, Jr., the Senior Administrative Law Judge for the NC Office of Administrative Hearings.