Classroom Connection - December 14, 2010
Hunter Elementary Students Make Scarves for Needy
Fifth-grade students at Hunter Elementary have been making scarves in their social studies classes to donate to those in need at the Raleigh Rescue Mission. In all, they will be donating approximately 140 scarves to the Raleigh Rescue Mission. On Wednesday, Dec. 15, a speaker from the Raleigh Rescue Mission will talk to the students about how the mission helps those in need. At that time, students will present their scarves to the Raleigh Rescue Mission.Knightdale High Students Create Christmas Spectacular
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Students Christopher Cunningham, Kyle Randolph, Justine Santos and Patrick Womack wrote the script which incorporates holiday stories and traditions. Knightdale students produce and direct it. Knightdale High Theatre Arts Educator W.O. Jordan said the show is a departmental effort that includes faculty and students.
Principal Carla Jernigan is the narrator and some teachers are in prominent and featured roles. Students from the feeder elementary and middle schools are included. The music is provided by the school's choral and band students. The art is done by the visual arts students. The dance features the dance classes and dance troupe. And the theatre students will act, build sets, create costumes and do the makeup.
Click to listen to Knightdale Students Create Christmas Spectacular
Pizza for the Pupils Returns Dec. 15
Order a pizza from a Wake County Papa John's on Wednesday, Dec. 15, and you can help generate extra funds for Wake County schools. A similar fund-raiser in October raised $5,233 for the school system. Proceeds are split evenly among the 163 Wake County public schools.The Wake County Corporate Operators and Franchisee of Papa John's Pizza will calculate a three-week average of Wednesday sales, and then donate 20 percent of all Dec. 15 pizza sales above that average.
Students Create Holiday Cards for Troops
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Students from Bugg Magnet Elementary joined with Congressman Brad Miller, Garner Mayor Ronnie Williams, active and retired soldiers, local television news anchors and Red Cross workers to sign Christmas cards designed by the students for delivery to servicemen.
Students from three WCPSS elementary magnet schools - Bugg, Douglas and Wendell - worked on the project. Art teachers Wendy York of Wendell Magnet Elementary and Karen Miazga of Bugg Magnet Elementary said their students created the cards so that the local celebrities could write messages to the troops. The Red Cross will deliver the cards to the servicemen.
You can see photos from the card signing here.
Sanderson High Tops in Triangle Food Drive
Sanderson High students have again been named winners in the Triangle Students against Hunger Food Drive. Sanderson students raised more pounds than any school that participated (elementary, middle, and high), and beat last year's school total by over 12,000 pounds, raising 193,099.6 pounds. That means the school raised 97.1 pounds per student or roughly $19 a student. Since the year 2000, Sanderson has contributed over $254,000 dollars and more than 66,000 pounds of food to the NC Food Bank. Sanderson's generosity will help feed many people over the next year, enough to provide 164,089.06 meals. Members of the Executive Council accepted an award for their efforts on WTVD's morning news on Dec. 8.
High Schools Hold Musical Holiday Events
Students in WCPSS high schools have been taking part in many holiday musical events across Wake County throughout the month of December. Marching bands have participated in Christmas parades, singers performed at the State Capitol and singers and musicians will be in concert. You can join the students in getting into the holiday mood at these upcoming events compiled from school websites:
Dec. 14, 7:30 p.m., Garner Magnet High Chorus Concert at Aversboro Baptist Church
Dec. 14, 7 p.m., Winter Band Concert at Holly Springs High
Dec. 14, 7 p.m., Winter Band Concert at Millbrook Magnet High
Dec. 14, 7 p.m., Chorus Concert at Sanderson High
Dec. 14, 6:30 p.m., Band Holiday Concert at Wake forest Rolesville High
Dec. 15, 7 p.m., Orchestra Concert at Sanderson High
Dec. 16, 7 p.m., Winter Band Concert at Cary High
Dec. 16, 7 p.m., Band Concert at Sanderson High
Dec. 16, 7 p.m., Choral Concert at Apex High
Dec. 16, 7 p.m., Orchestra Concert at Broughton High
Dec. 16, 7 p.m., Band Concert at East Wake high schools
Dec. 16, 7 p.m., Band Concert at Enloe Magnet High
Dec. 16, 7:30 p.m., Holiday Concert by Concert Band, Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble at Athens Drive High
Dec. 16, 7 p.m. Band Concert at Green Hope High
Dec. 16, 7 p.m., Winter Chorus Concert at Holly Springs High
Dec. 16, 7 p.m., Band Concert at Panther Creek High
Dec. 16, 6:30 p.m., Chorus and Orchestra Holiday at Wake Forest-Rolesville High
Dec. 17, 7 p.m., Chorus Concert at Panther Creek High
Dec. 20, 7 p.m., Band, Orchestra, Guitar Ensemble Holiday Concert at Apex High
Dec. 20, 7:30 p.m. Band Concert at Broughton High
Dec. 20, 7 p.m., Jazz Band Concert at Leesville Road High
Dec. 21, 7 p.m., Symphony and Concert Band Concert at Leesville Road High
Enloe Students Win Honors at Knowledge Master Open
A team of Enloe Magnet High students earned fourth place in the world and first place in North Carolina in the Knowledge Master Open on Dec. 8. More than 625 schools across the world had student teams in the competition.
The top scoring school was Bellamine Prep in California with a score of 1,764. Enloe's score was 1,746, an improvement of nearly 150 points from last spring's round. The team answered 195 out of 200 questions correctly in just over two hours.
The Enloe students finished ahead of teams from NC School of Science and Math which finished 8th, Raleigh Charter which finished 10th and Early College of Guilford which finished 35th.
In another academic competition, the team of Enloe students that compete in Quiz Bowl traveled on Dec. 4 to Richmond, Va, for the XVIII GSAC Tournament at the Maggie Walker Governor's School. This was Enloe's first foray against some of the best teams in the nation, and the team came away with an eighth place finish. Unranked at the beginning of the year, Enloe's A team is currently ranked 48th in the nation as of Dec. 1.
Southeast Raleigh Magnet High Student Earns U.S. Senate Youth Award
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Southeast Raleigh Magnet High Senior Neel Mandavilli was selected as one of the two North Carolina awardees for the U.S. Senate Youth Program Award 2011. As an awardee, Mandavilli will participate in the Washington Week program in Washington DC in March.
In this competition, high school juniors or seniors must write an essay and create a digital presentation that summarizes their leadership and participation in government and public service. Finalists are given a test on U.S. history and current affairs and are interviewed by a panel of judges from the NC Department of Public Instruction and alumni of the USSYP program.
During the Washington Week, students have the chance to meet with the highest-level officials from each branch of government. The program is merit-based and highly competitive. Each student receives a one-time $5,000 undergraduate college scholarship with encouragement to pursue coursework in history and political science. Now in its 49th year, the program has been fully funded since inception by The Hearst Foundations. Now more than 4,800 strong, U.S. Senate Youth Program alumni go on to serve the country in many ways, often in critical national leadership positions.
The 104 student delegates will hear major policy addresses by senators, cabinet members, officials of the Departments of State and Defense and directors of federal agencies, as well as participate in a meeting with a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Each session with elected officials includes an in-depth question and answer period. Delegates will attend a reception with senators and receive their scholarship award. Student delegates meet the president at the White House and participate in a question and answer session.
Students will also see the Smithsonian museums, Arlington National Cemetery, a symphony performance at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, tours of the Capitol and several famous monuments.
For more information, see http://www.ussenateyouth.org/.
ParentVision: Reviewing Coursework with the Success Series
Many of our high school classes – even AP calculus and statistics – are supported by instructional videos called the Success Series that reinforce classroom teaching and the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. Learn more in this ParentVision video podcast.
Cary High Dean Named Finalist for National Counselor of the Year
Linda Brannan, Cary High dean of student services, has been named as one of 10 national finalists for the American School Counselor Association School Counselor of the Year. The ASCA School Counselor of the Year program honors the best of the best – school counselors who are running a top-notch, comprehensive school counseling program at either the elementary, middle or high school level.
Taking the SAT
Students, teachers and other experts delve into what it takes to excel on the Scholastic Aptitude Test during a video segment featured on The School Connection, the Wake County Public School System's monthly television program connecting you to news, features and information about education in Wake County.
Author Visits Martin Magnet Middle
Newbery-winning author Linda Sue Park spoke to Martin Magnet Middle School seventh-graders in the school auditorium Dec. 14.
Park won the Newbery Medal in 2002 for the book, A Single Shard, the story of Tree-ear, an orphan boy in a 12th-century Korean potters' village. Park was born to Korean immigrant parents, and many of her books have Korean, Japanese, or African characters and settings. Her newest book, A Long Walk to Water, is based on the true story of Salva, one of 3,800 Sudanese "Lost Boys" airlifted to the United States in the mid 1990s. Because of her Asian and African characters and settings, Park's works are a perfect correlation to the seventh-grade social studies curriculum. Park visited with the students though the community partnership Martin has with Quail Ridge Books and Music.
Middle Schools Honored for Sportsmanship
Eleven WCPSS middle schools were honored for sportsmanship for the 2010-11 school year as voted on by each conference.
Honored were Fuquay-Varina and Holly Grove in Southern (Division 1); Reedy Creek and West Cary in Southern (Division 2); Martin, Carroll and Daniels in Central; Wake Forest-Rolesville and East Wake in Northern (Division 1); and Leesville and Wakefield in Northern (Division 2).
The schools that earned recognition received comments from coaches of other teams in their conferences that included:
- Coach was very gracious after game
- Coaches were very helpful with injuries and extended a warm welcome to all the teams
- Student-athletes displayed good sportsmanship
- Coach followed up with an e-mail to congratulate our team
- Opposing players played hard while not losing the focus of good sportsmanship
- Great in assisting to make sure we had everything needed
- Greeted the bus and showed us where to park
- Explained the location of the bathroom and other facilities
- Good control of the home crowd
- Sport safety technician went above and beyond with an injured player on our team
- Played very cleanly, well coached
- Friendly and accommodating
- Sent cards to players injured
- Exhibited great character
The eleven schools will have the "Conference Sportsmanship Banner" to hang up in their school for the Winter sports season.
Financial Aid Workshops for Families with Students Heading to College
The College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) and Wake County Financial Aid Advisor Program will sponsor workshops on Financial Aid for college for parents and students in Wake County. The sites are:
January 5 |
Panther Creek High |
6770 McCrimmon Parkway, Cary, NC 27519 |
January 11 |
Knightdale High |
100 Bryan Chalk Lane, Knightdale, NC 27545 |
January 20 |
Cary High |
638 Walnut Street, Cary, NC 27511 |
The workshops begin at 6:30 p.m.
Sarita Broadway, Regional Representative with CFNC, will be the presenter at each workshop. She will discuss applying to college, filling out the FAFSA, applying for student loans, avoiding too much debt, finding scholarships and grants, saving for college, choosing a career, and more.
A financial aid advisor from the high schools will be present to answer any questions you may have. CFNC and your high school financial aid advisor can guide you through every step of the process and help you make smart decisions as you plan for your education and your future.
Please plan to attend the workshop of your choice. If you can’t make the workshop, you can still learn everything you need to know about planning, applying and paying for college by:
- Visiting CFNC.org or by calling toll-free 1-866-866-CFNC to talk with a telephone representative, or
- Contacting the financial aid advisor at your high school. Call your high school Student Services office the name, day, and time your financial aid advisor is in the school or
- Contacting the WCPSS Financial Aid Advisor Coordinator, Ellen Wardlaw, on Thursday mornings at 919-881-4817.
New STEM Early College to Open Next Fall
Wake County’s newest high school, the Wake NC State University STEM Early College High School, is set to open next fall on the Centennial Campus of NC State University. The STEM Early College High School will focus on science, technology, engineering and math and will allow students to earn both a high school diploma and up to two years of college credit at NC State University over five years.The school will be small by design with only 50 students in its first year. Every year, a new freshman class will be added, until the school reaches its full size of 250 students. The small school model will allow staff to place a high priority on personalization and to create a highly challenging yet supportive learning environment.
Students enrolled in the school will take the courses required for the NC Future Ready Core Course of Study for a high school diploma. However, all courses will carry the theme of science, technology, engineering, and math throughout the curriculum. Students will spend the majority of the first two years of study completing credits required for a high school diploma before they begin taking college courses. By the fourth and fifth years, students will be taking primarily college level courses.
Students at the STEM ECHS will enjoy many of the social activities found in larger schools such as student-led clubs, honor societies, service organizations, dances, and other school events, however, there will be no art or career and technical education courses, and there will be no athletic teams fielded at the school due to its small size.
Students who will be the first in their family to earn a college degree are strongly encouraged to apply. Families interested in the new high school will get the chance to learn about the school’s offerings during an open house scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Jan 6 in the Joyner Visitor Center on the campus of NC State. Applications are available online and have also been provided to the eighth-grade school counselors. Completed applications are due Jan. 14.