Classroom Connection – October 29, 2010
Animal Planet Star Honors Hunter EcoHeroes
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Animal Planet Host Dave Salmoni spent the day with Hunter Magnet Elementary students, honoring a team of students who earned second place in the national Siemens "We Can Change the World" Elementary School Challenge. As a reward, Salmoni displayed a variety of animals and talked to the students about the importance of conservation and sustainability.
Salmoni spoke during two student assemblies on Oct. 26. He praised the students for their recycling efforts and talked about finding his passion in caring for animals and pursuing ways to learn more about large African cats like lions. The students were excited and you can click Animal Planet Star Honors Hunter EcoHeroes to listen to students share their experiences (this is a 6 minute mp3 file).
The EcoHeroes found out from their cafeteria manager that their cafeteria produces about a dumpster-full of trash every 2-3 days. They decided to focus their project on reducing waste in the cafeteria and changing wasteful behavior. In order to measure whether their strategy made an impact, students collected data before and after they implemented their waste reduction strategy. They raised awareness of the amount of waste produced in the cafeteria by creating posters and sharing strategies for reduction. Every day for a week, everyone who packed a lunch packed up all leftovers to show their parents how much was being wasted. Hunter has seen a surge of reusable containers and water bottles as a result of the EcoHeroes' efforts. They also added additional recycling bins to help make recycling a habit in the school and asked the principal to include something in his newsletter to parents asking them to pack recyclable lunches. From the project they realized students want to help the environment by recycling, they just need the right tools to do it!
The Hunter EcoHeroes earned for their school:
- an on-site school assembly
- a $3,000 grant for the school
- an opportunity to be featured on a Jumbotron in Times Square in New York City
- a Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge green prize
- a banner for the school
- and Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge temporary tattoos
The Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge gives students the opportunity, tools and inspiration to become agents of change in their community. In the event, elementary school classes were challenged to create sustainable, reproducible environmental improvements in their classroom or school. For more pictures and to continue reading click here.
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Dr. Donna Hargens, WCPSS Interim Superintendent, receives literacy kits from children who wanted to make a donation. |
Make a Difference Day
Many thanks to the volunteers and community members who donated literacy kits for National Make a Difference Day on October 23, 2010. Nearly 5,000 students in Wake County elementary schools have been identified for being at risk of not being on reading level this year. More than 2,000 early literacy kits were collected during our district-wide drive. Click to listen to Make A Difference Day for Literacy.
WFRHS Student a JC Penney’s Contest Semi-Finalist
Hannah Moyles, a sophomore at Wake Forest-Rolesville High school, was chosen as a semi-finalist in JC Penney's Care Share Win Contest. She wrote an essay about her community service project From Ewe to You. As a semi finalist, she won a $3,000 college scholarship and also $3,000 for her favorite charity, Wake SPCA. Congratulations to Hannah.
Seven Wake County Teachers are Bright Ideas Grant Winners
Wake Electric has announced that 39 teachers in Johnston, Franklin, Granville, Wake, Nash, Durham and Vance counties have been awarded Bright Ideas grants, totaling more than $50,000 in grant monies. Seven of those grant winners are teachers from Wake County. The grants will be used for a variety of classroom programs throughout the school year.
“Wake Electric is proud to provide these grants to teachers," said Jim Mangum, General Manager & CEO of Wake Electric, "especially during these tough economic times when school budgets have been hit so hard." Wake Electric offers Bright Ideas grants to individual teachers and administrators at schools operating in counties served by Wake Electric. The Bright Ideas winners will be honored on November 19 at a banquet held at the Hilton North Raleigh.
Grant winners from Wake County for 2010 include:
| Bright Ideas Grant Winner | School | Name of Grant | Amount Awarded |
| Brian Wood | William G Enloe High | Recycled Homework | $1499 |
| Laura L. Rush | Panther Creek High | Modeling Electricity & Magnetism | $ 1500.17 |
| Stephen R. Colbert | Wake Early College of Health and Sciences | Integration of GIS Software and Handheld GPS Receivers Across the High School Curriculum | $ 1481.37 |
| Denise Walsh | Timber Drive Elementary | Laptime Listening | $1500 |
| Monica Stokes | Pleasant Union Elementary | Technology for Special People | $399 |
| Brian Krieger | Wendell Middle | Cultures in Motion: How Sports Showcase Global Connections | $998.60 |
| Karen Waller | Timber Drive Elementary | 39 Clues to Reading | $1500 |
Bright Ideas, sponsored by North Carolina’s electric cooperatives (which includes Wake Electric), strives to improve education in North Carolina’s classrooms by awarding grants to teachers in grades K-12 for innovative, classroom-based projects that would not otherwise be funded.
The Bright Ideas grant program has funded more than 6,500 projects and awarded more than $7.1 million in grant monies to deserving North Carolina teachers. The overall Bright Ideas program reached more than 103,000 students last year alone and has touched more than 1.2 million students over the life of the program.
Wake Electric’s Bright Ideas grant program has awarded more than $530,000 to area educators since 1994. To learn more about the grant program, visit www.ncbrightideas.com or Wake Electric’s website at www.wemc.com.
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| Green Hope High Principal Jim Hedrick (right) congratulated by Dr. Hargens, Superintendent Atkinson and board chair Margiotta. |
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| Panther Creek High Principal Rodney Nelson (right) congratulated by Dr. Hargens, Superintendent Atkinson and board chair Margiotta. |
Two High Schools Honored for Graduation Rates
Two Wake County Public School System high schools were among 20 North Carolina high schools honored by State Superintendent June Atkinson for having the highest four-year cohort graduation rates in the state for the 2009-10 school year.Green Hope High School and Panther Creek High School were congratulated by Atkinson as she highlighted the importance of high school graduation for all students in a ceremony Wednesday in the State Education Building in Raleigh.
Governor Beverley Purdue, Interim Wake Superintendent Donna Hargens and Wake County Board of Education Chair Ron Margiotta joined Superintendent Atkinson in congratulating Green Hope High Principal Jim Hedrick and Panther Creek High Principal Rodney Nelson.
"More than report card grades, state test scores, or SAT results, the graduation rate reflects our ability to keep students engaged in school and learning so that they will earn a high school diploma," said Atkinson. "While I commend the 30 districts and schools we celebrate today for reaching rates of nearly 85 percent or higher, we must do more to ensure every student makes it to graduation day with the skills needed for success in the future."
Green Hope was honored for NC high schools with 400 to 499 seniors. The four-year Green Hope High graduation rate is 92.6 percent and the five-year rate is 94.3 percent. The state began this recognition program in 2008. Green Hope has been recognized for its high graduation rates in each of the three years since the recognition program began. The four-year Panther Creek High graduation rate is 92.8 percent while the five-year rate is 97.7 percent. Panther Creek High was honored for NC high schools with more than 500 seniors. Panther Creek received this honor in its first year of eligibility with the Class of 2010 becoming the first class of seniors to graduate from Panther Creek, one of Wake County's newest high schools.
Overall for WCPSS schools, the four-year graduation rate is 78.2 percent, and the five-year rate is 81.5 percent.
The four-year NC graduation rate is 74.2 percent, and the five-year rate is 74.7 percent. This rate has improved each year since 2006 when North Carolina reported its first measurement of a cohort graduation rate and is up from 2008-09 when it was 71.8 percent.
ARRA Grant Awarded to WCPSS
In conjunction with the Town of Wake Forest and the State Energy Office, WCPSS has been awarded an ARRA grant of more than $200,000 to install energy efficient lighting at West Lake Elementary, West Lake Middle, and Morrisville Elementary. In addition to the grant, WCPSS will receive approximately $50,000 in the form of a rebate from Progress Energy to do other energy saving projects.
“I would like to thank Ms. Holly Spring, the Asst. Engineer at the Town of Wake Forest for allowing us to partner with them, Lib McGowan, and Ray Thaxton from my staff for putting a tremendous amount of time into preparing the information for the grant,” said Bob Bittner, director of Energy and Physical Plant. “Great job!”
WCPSS will begin planning for the three-school project this year and will discuss next steps with the State Energy Office.
Morrisville Student Wins Mathnasium Third-Grade Triathlon
Jerry Zhao, a third-grader at Morrisville Elementary, won second place at the first annual Mathnasium Triathlon on October 17, 2010 in Chapel Hill. He won first place for his division during a competition during the first weekend in October making him eligible for the State competition. Both Jerry and the Morrisville Elementary Math Department received $100 awards.
WCPSS Teacher-Librarian Publishes Children's Book
On Saturday, November 6, Ellen Poppe, the teacher-librarian at Vandora Springs Elementary, will be at Southeast Regional Library. Poppe will be conducting a book signing for her newly released children's book, Tank: An Ugly Dog's Adventure. "Tank" will be present as well, and will also be autographing books. The book signing will be held during an activity titled, It's a Dog's Life. Children, ages 6-10 need to register at Southeast Regional Library to participate in the activities.
To learn more about Poppe and her book, visit www.tankanuglydog.com.
Enloe Students Named Siemens Regional Semi-Finalists
Enloe Magnet High seniors Arjun Bhattacharya and Karthik Ardhanareeswaran have been named regional semi-finalists in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology. The nation's leading original research competition in math, science and technology for high school students, the Siemens Competition is administered annually by the College Board, and awards college scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $100,000 in individual and team categories. A record number of 1,372 projects were received this year for the Siemens Competition. Bhattacharya and Ardhanareeswaran will present their work at the regional competition at Georgia Tech on November 12 and 13.
New Lifelong Learning Workshop Starts in November
Are you a little shy in social situations or have an upcoming event and want to present yourself positively? Register now for “Indelible Impressions—Etiquette Workshop,” offered by Career Development Facilitator, Lauren Johnson, selecting from five exciting training sessions, to include:
1) Presenting yourself positively,
2) The art of communicating,
3) Building relationships,
4) Entertaining and being entertained, and
5) Marking life’s major events.
Enjoy lecture, modeling, and role playing in a charming atmosphere. Targeted for those 14 and up, leave the course with the ability to present yourself with social decorum in any situation. Etiquette makes you aware of appropriate social graces and engenders your responsibility to make others feel welcome. This allows for open doors of opportunity in your life and promotions in the work place. Don’t miss this chance for self-improvement with a beloved instructor in a fun atmosphere.
Indelible Impressions—Etiquette Workshop
Millbrook HS│T│11/23│6:30-7:30 p.m. │$70
Millbrook HS│T│12/14│6:30-7:30 p.m. │$70
Register now in three easy steps:
1. Go to http://cs.wcpss.net/lifelonglearning.
2. Click the “Courses & Registration” tab.
3. Click “Register Online NOW!”
The course is located in the “Personal Enrichment” section. Contact Natasha Baldwin-Garcia at (919) 850-1830 or email lifelonglearning@wcpss.net for more information.
New Online Speaker Sign-up for Board Meetings
WCPSS has introduced online registration for people interested in signing up to speak at Wake County Board of Education meetings. This streamlined process gives people the flexibility to register from their home or office. Online registration can take place at any computer with Internet access. Computers will also be available for speakers to register in-person at the
Administration Building located at 3600 Wake Forest Road in Raleigh. The online registration window will be available to the public on the days board meetings take place for a limited duration before the start of the public comment period. Check the Board webpage for meeting schedules by visiting www.wcpss.net/board.