Classroom Connection - April 13, 2010
Four WCPSS Seniors Named 2010 National Merit Achievement Scholars
Four Wake County Public School System students were named 2010 National Achievement Scholarship winners by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
The WCPSS scholarship winners are Olivia Hart of Green Hope High, Matthew Jones of Enloe Magnet High, Shayna McCormack of Broughton High and Kaosisochukwu Uzokwe of Millbrook Magnet High.The four WCPSS students are among 800 outstanding Black American high school seniors who have won Achievement Scholarship® awards for college undergraduate study. Their awards are being financed by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
Hart was among the 100 winners of corporate-sponsored National Achievement® Scholarships and has earned a National Achievement George Watts Hill Scholarship through the Research Triangle Institute. Jones, McCormack and Uzokwe were among the 700 winners of National Achievement® $2500 Scholarships, single-payment scholarships awarded on a regional representation basis in numbers proportional to the population of Black Americans in each geographic region.
The National Achievement Scholarship Program is a privately financed academic competition established in 1964 specifically to honor scholastically talented Black American youth, and to provide scholarships to a substantial number of the most outstanding participants in each annual competition. More than 160,000 students entered the 2010 National Achievement Scholarship Competition by requesting consideration when they took the 2008 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) as high school juniors. In September 2009, approximately 1,600 of the highest scorers were named Semifinalists on a regional representation basis. To continue in the competition, Semifinalists had to fulfill requirements for Finalist standing, which included having a record of consistently high academic performance; being endorsed and recommended by an official of their high school; earning SAT scores that confirm their PSAT/NMSQT performance; and submitting an essay about personal interests, attainments, and goals.
Some 1,300 Semifinalists advanced to the Finalist level, and all National Achievement Scholarship winners were selected from this group of outstanding students. Achievement Scholar awardees are the Finalist candidates judged to have the strongest record of accomplishments and greatest potential for academic success in college.
Hargens Named Interim Superintendent
The Wake County Board of Education named Dr. Donna Hargens interim superintendent at its April 6 meeting. Dr. Hargens will oversee the administrative duties of day-to-day operations of the school system. She was named acting superintendent by the board in a specially called meeting on Tuesday, March 9. Hargens has served the school system as chief academic officer and area assistant superintendent, as well as principal of Green Hope High and Cary High. She was an assistant principal at Millbrook High. Hargens earned her bachelor's degree from Marquette University, her master's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her doctorate from Seton Hall University.
School Meal Prices to Increase for 2010-11
For the first time in years, the price of meals will increase at school. At its meeting April 6, the Board of Education approved increases in the price of breakfast and lunch for 2010-11.
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WCPSS Child Nutrition Services requested meal price increases of 20 cents for breakfast and 25 cents for lunch. This will make the costs of elementary breakfast one dollar and the costs of middle and high school breakfast $1.25. The cost of elementary lunch will increase to $2 and the costs of middle and high school lunch $2.25.
This is the first change in any meal prices since 2004. This is the first time elementary breakfast prices have changed since 1995.
Child Nutrition Services is an enterprise fund and is required to maintain a balanced budget. Enterprise funds require the full costs of providing the goods or services be financed primarily through payments made by parents and federal funds thus removing the expenses from the tax rate.
Since 2003, food costs have increased 40 percent, state mandated salaries have increased 19 percent, and benefits costs have increased 31 percent. Steps that have been taken to prevent price increases over the past six years include: reduced staffing through attrition (5 percent in 2007-08 and 5 percent in 2008-09); reduced the number of food items offered while maintaining a variety of meal components; used proven cost controlled, pre-planned cycle menus; increased a-la-carte selling prices; reduced food waste through better batch cooking; and improved accountability and procurement practices. The meal prices are comparable to other large school systems in North Carolina.
Helping Hands Mentors Hold Education Summit
The 13th Annual Education Summit of the Harriet B. Webster Task Force for Student Success and the School/Community Helping Hands Mentoring Program will be held 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 17 at Enloe High School. Parents, volunteers and community members can hear from Keith Sutton, a member of the Wake County Board of Education, and interim Superintendent Donna Hargens. The summit will include workshops for student, parent and community stakeholders. There will be discussions on elementary, middle and high school success, academic excellence and gang awareness. A talent showcase for teens is planned and summit participants will qualify for a skate party later in the day. Breakfast and refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Bettye Murchison at bmurchison@nc.rr.com or call 821-7011.
2010 WCPSS Teacher of the Year Finalists Honored
The Finalists for the 2010 Wake County Teacher of the Year were honored in a reception at the NC Bar Association last night. The 12 finalists include:
Margaret Feldman of Salem Middle
Carol Wooten of Hunter Magnet Elementary
Carole Barber of Fuquay-Varina High
Davida Jenkins-Tatum of Harris Creek Elementary
Breanna Harrill of Athens Drive High
Douglas Steve Clark of West Lake Elementary
Jennifer Hunter of North Forest Pines Elementary
Christina Rudd of Cary High
Elizabeth Plotkin of Fuller Magnet Elementary
Paul Bissell Graves of Daniels Magnet Middle
James Ryan of Knightdale High
Alice Verstrat of Garner Magnet High
The Wake County Teacher of the Year banquet is scheduled for Thursday, May 13, when the Teacher of the Year will be honored.
Four Teachers Receive Diane Kent-Parker First Year Teacher Award
Four WCPSS beginning teachers have been honored with the Diane Kent-Parker First Year Teacher Award. The winners are:
Niki Britt of Reedy Creek Elementary
Karen Hall of Aversboro Elementary
Lindsey Evans of Apex Middle
Preston Williams, Jr. of Middle Creek High
Dr. Stephen Gainey, WCPSS Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, applauded the winners for being recognized by their peers for their dedication to children as well as their quest for professional and personal excellence.
The teachers will be recognized at the Wake County Teacher of the Year Banquet on May 13.
WCPSS Students Win in NC Science Competition
Nine WCPSS students earned recognition in the N.C. Student Academy of Science annual statewide competition. Three WCPSS students earned first place honors.
Middle and high school students from across the state showcased their original science research papers and gave an oral presentation to participate in the March 29 NCSAS event. Students who competed were selected from eight district competitions that took place throughout the state earlier this year.
The WCPSS students who earned recognition included:
- Jennifer Li of Enloe High earned 1st place in High School Biotechnology Advanced with her research entitled "Sensitivity of Human Glioblastoma Cells to Temozolomide is Mediated by Glutathione S-transferase"
- James Kieffer of Wakefield High earned 1st place in High School Biological Science with her research entitled "Seed Germination of Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) in Response to Gibberellin A3 Treatments"
- Chelsea Sumner of Knightdale High earned 1st place in High School Physical Chemistry - Advanced with her research entitled "The Effect of Catalase on the Oxidation of Hydrogen Peroxide on Carbon Fiber Microelectrodes Using Fast Scan Cyclic Voltometry"
- Xavier Joyner of the Wake Early College Health and Sciences earned 2nd place in High School Physical Chemistry - Advanced with her research entitled "Non-covalently Bonded Inclusion Compounds of Nylon-6 with Cyclodextrins"
- Adam Berry and Jacob Berry of Heritage Middle School earned 3rd place in Middle School Biological Science with their research entitled "Turn on the Lights!" Can UV Light Be Used To Reduce Food Borne Illness?"
- Michaela Jones of Knightdale High earned 3rd place in High School Biological Science - Advanced with research entitled "Phophorylative Regulation of Nrf2-mediated Antioxidant Response"
- Ivan Kuznetsov and Yash Mehta of Enloe High earned 3rd place in High School Engineering/Technology with their research entitled "Enhancing Solar Cell Efficiency Through Coating by Flame-synthesized Transition Metal-oxide Nanoparticles"
Kuznetsov and Mehta were presented the NCAS Nanobusiness Talent Award.
NCSAS is an organization for students in grades 6-12 in alliance with the North Carolina Academy of Science (NCAS). Its objectives are to promote the study of science, technology, and mathematics; assist students to pursue careers in science and technology; and encourage students to use their talents for the improvement of themselves, their schools, and their communities.
Chairs of Hope to Benefit Cancer Society
Vandora Springs Elementary's annual Chairs of Hope event is scheduled for Thursday, April 15 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the school.
More than 20 chairs, hand painted by the school's fifth-grade art club and staff members, will be auctioned off in a silent auction format. All proceeds from the event will go to the American Cancer Society.
Vandora Springs art specialist Jim Hunt said this year marks the 10th year of the Chairs of Hope project. He invites everyone to come out and support this community outreach project through the arts.
Will Allen Works with Longview Students
Urban farmer Will Allen of Growing Power of Milwaukee, Wisconsin has been working with Longview School Agriculture teacher Patrick Faulkner and his students this week.
Allen has been brought to Longview School in a partnership with the US Department of Agriculture and the Interfaith Food Shuttle. Allen brought worms with him to help the school begin vermicomposting to build nutrients in soil to support the school's garden and green house.
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Board Names New Principals
At its April 6 meeting, the Board of Education named Charles Miller as principal at Powell Magnet Elementary and named retired principal Charles Langley as interim principal at Middle Creek Elementary.
Miller has served as principal at Middle Creek Elementary since 2006. Prior to that, he was an assistant principal at Weatherstone Elementary and an assistant principal intern at Lead Mine Elementary. Earlier, he was a teacher at Powell Elementary.
Langley retired from WCPSS in 2008 after serving as principal of Willow Springs Elementary for 14 years. Since that time, he has served several months as an interim assistant principal at North Ridge Elementary and interim principal at West