Classroom Connection - May 10, 2011
Enloe Magnet High Student Places Second in Math Competition
Enloe High School student and Canadian citizen Calvin Deng took home the second place prize in the 2011 Sun Life Financial Canadian Mathematical Olympiad. The Sun Life Financial Canadian Mathematical Olympiad is Canada’s premier national advanced mathematics competition and is staged by the Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS). Students are invited to participate based on their results in the Sun Life Financial Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge and other competitions. The 81 students who won this year’s competition represent the top mathematical talent in Canada.
“The Canadian Mathematics Olympiad provides students with the opportunity to enhance and develop their problem solving skills and expand their mathematical knowledge. All the students who have been part of this unique and challenging experience deserve congratulations," said Dr. Kalle Karu, chair of the CMS Canadian Mathematical Olympiad Committee.
The CMS is the national mathematics organization whose goal is to promote the advancement, discovery, learning, and application of mathematics. The Society's activities cover the whole spectrum of mathematics including: scientific meetings, research publications, and the promotion of excellence in mathematics education at all levels. The CMS annually sponsors mathematics awards and prizes that recognize outstanding achievements.
Centennial Campus Magnet Middle Awarded for Work
On May 18, English as a Second Language (ESL) students from Centennial Campus Magnet Middle School will participate in a tour of the Executive Mansion, the state Capitol, the NC Legislative Building and the NC Museum of History. The Service Learning Club at Centennial Campus Magnet Middle School is sponsoring this field trip to help English Language Learners gain background knowledge about American government and history. Field trip participants will also learn about North Carolina history.
The field trip supports Service Learning Club goals to motivate students to stay in school by providing students with essential background knowledge. This field trip is the culminating activity in an ESL class unit on North Carolina history and government. The knowledge that students gain on this field trip will reinforce learning from middle school Social Studies curricula. The field trip will also build knowledge that will help English Language Learners to succeed in high school Civics class.
Organizing this field trip is one of the many reasons why Lt. Governor Walter Dalton will recognize the CCMMS Service Learning Club members in the NC Senate Chambers on Tuesday, May 24 at 2:30 p.m. The service projects that these outstanding English Language Learners planned and implemented this year have had an impact in both school and community. Their accomplishments include:
- Winning the the NC Society of Hispanic Professionals Stay in School Video Contest
- Promoting literacy by reading to elementary school students
- Creating grammar and vocabulary podcasts to help English Language Learners
- Organizing Centennial’s International Fair
- Donating funds to pay for two ESL class field trips to help English Language Learners increase their knowledge of US government and history
- Implementing a campaign to battle teen obesity
- Starting Math Challenge contest for Centennial students
Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle Students Earn Honors in Letters About Literature Project
Two seventh-grade students from Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle School were named Level 2 North Carolina Semi-Finalists in Letters About Literature, a project of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. You Jin Oh and Summer Coby were two of 69,000 adolescents who participated nationwide. Their letters, written to an author who inspires them or changed their view of the world, were among 170 chosen from North Carolina as semi-finalists.
You Jin Oh and Summer Coby participated in this project as part of their ROAR enrichment class. WFRMS guidance counselors, Rhonda Pertell and Charlotte Purnell, organized the project and gave the students the opportunity to participate. Congratulations to You Jin and Summer!
E-Readers Enhance Literacy at North Forest Pines
North Forest Pines Elementary is soaring along with 21st Century Learning! They were one of the first schools in Wake County to purchase e-readers, the NOOKcolor, which comes with full color illustrations and audio capability. The new reading tool allows all students to participate in a new and exciting way of reading. Carol Owens and Mandie Hershberger’s classes use the NOOKS on a daily basis in Media learning centers.
In February, the PTA purchased NOOKS for the use of a NOOK Book Club. The purpose of this club was to utilize NOOKcolors to increase interest and excitement in reading. Facilitated by Kristen Argent, the AG teacher, and assisted by Mandie Hershberger, a group of 12 third- through fifth-grade students meet every Thursday after school. These rotating groups of students use the NOOKs to develop critical thinking skills as they interact with the selected book through games, activities, and discussions.
A wide variety of reading levels and interests were considered when selecting the books for the Book Club. Some of the books students were able to select from were The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, and When you Reach Me by Rebecca Stead.
Students will be able to enjoy even more titles next year, as our title list grows.
Monthly Special Education Parent Advisory Committee Meeting
The Special Education Parent Advisory Committee will have its monthly meeting at the WCPSS Crossroads II Administration Offices in Cary on Tuesday, May 17, in Room #1331, from 11:30am-1:30pm.
Superintendent Tata Reports on his 90-day Plan of Entry
May 1 marked the end of Superintendent Tata’s first 90 days on the job.
“After I was hired, a parent was quoted (in a local newspaper) as saying, ‘You’ve been handed a gift, Mr. Tata. You have been given one of the nation’s most respected school systems to manage.’ I agreed then, and I agree now,” said Tata. “I intend to continue to lead this school district with the dignity and respect that it deserves.”
In the first 90 days, Superintendent Tata has visited 91 schools, traveled 8,000 miles around the county and has taken part in about 330 listening events around the county.
In his 90-day plan, the superintendent had five goals:
- Develop a unified governance team that inspires confidence with all stakeholders
- Focus district resources and staff efforts on teaching and learning
- Recruit, retain and train high quality employees, on board them properly and hold them accountable
- Ensure fiscal and organizational accountability that enhances development and implementation of system and structures that support schools
- Establish a supportive, positive and effective district climate and culture singularly focused on the improvement of student achievement using a continuous improvement model meaning that we learn in everything that we do.
You can read the Superintendent’s Report on his 90-day plan of entry here.
Reedy Creek Middle TA Named Teacher Assistant of the Year
Mick McKenna, a teacher assistant at Reedy Creek Middle School, was named the 2011 Teacher Assistant of the Year by the Wake County Teacher Assistants Association during a banquet on May 6.
McKenna is a member of the Behavior Support Team at Reedy Creek Middle and is a former social worker from Scotland. He shared the honor of winning Teacher Assistant of the Year with his daughter becoming an American citizen the same day.
McKenna teaches students at Reedy Creek to take pride in themselves, the country they live in, and the school they attend. He goes above and beyond his daily job performance by helping teachers monitor students’ behaviors.
As the 2011 Teacher Assistant of the Year, McKenna received a $200 cash award; a family portrait session; a spa treatment from SAKS Fifth Avenue; gift cards from Wal-Mart, Angus Barn and Hamricks; a jacket from the State Employees Credit Union; a watch from LeCount’s Catering; a silver tray and flowers.
The other finalists honored during the banquet were:
- Brenda Currin, Leadmine Elementary
- Alisa Dahlhoff, Middle Creek Elementary
- Joan Zipp-Goldstein, Forest Pines Drive Elementary
- Mandie Hershberger, North Forest Pines Elementary
- Debbie Lee, Conn Elementary
- Faye Moon, Wilburn Elementary
- Francinea Williams, Carpenter Elementary
- Rebecca Wood, Northwoods Elementary
- Lisa Woodard, Laurel Park Elementary
Longview Teacher Honored for Teamwork on Gardening Collaborative
NC State University Extension Service awarded the Opal Mann Green Engagement and Scholarship Award to a team of people including Longview School horticulture teacher Patrick Faulkner for their work with the Gardening and Nutrition PIECES Collaborative.
Faulkner along with Suzie Goodell, Michelle Schroeder-Moreno, Seb Prohn, Sarah Smith, Natalie Cooke, Max Sherard, Katherine Andrew, Sun Butler and Amanda Soltes received the award in the “Celebrating the Engaged University” awards ceremony on April 18.
Faulkner has developed a reputation for partnering with community organizations to develop the gardening and horticulture program for his students where he teaches them the value of growing and providing nutritious food to their community.
The Opal Mann Green Engagement and Scholarship Award recognizes her distinguished leadership and dedication to the values of:
- Using democracy in the classroom, in the community, and at home,
- Creating inclusionary teams, and
- Community-based learning and mutually-beneficial action around local issues valued by community members.
She exhibited these values throughout her career, family life, and community volunteer life. Dr. Opal Hurley Mann Green, former faculty member and leader at the county, state, and national level within Cooperative Extension, led an illustrious professional career spanning from 1943 to 1982, and then served as a community leader until 2009.
US Fish and Wildlife Service Honors Centennial Campus Magnet Middle School
The US Fish and Wildlife Service, Southeast Region will recognize Centennial Campus Magnet Middle School for student work on the Shad in the Schools Program. The federal agency will present the Regional Director’s Conservation Award to school representatives on May 10 at a ceremony in Atlanta.
The award recognizes students and their school for efforts in a collaborative project with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The students received 5,000 shad eggs from the state hatchery in Wilmington. They constructed their own hatchery and monitored water quality, temperature, and acidity. When the eggs hatched students transported the fry in a cooler to the nearby Walnut Creek and released the fish into the wild.
The students combined their eighth-grade science curriculum with this model program of environmental restoration. Shad, at one time, flourished in North Carolina. The shad will migrate from Walnut Creek on the Centennial Campus to the Neuse River and eventually to the Albermarle Sound. After they mature the fish will return to Walnut Creek to spawn.
2012-13 Calendars Now Available
The 2012-13 traditional, modified and multitrack year-round calendars are now posted.
President Obama Honors WCPSS Teacher
President Obama named WCPSS Teacher Zebetta King one of 85 recipients of the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
King is the new WCPSS Senior Administrator for Elementary Science. Prior to that, she taught fourth- and fifth-grade academically gifted students at Swift Creek Elementary.
Winners of this Presidential honor receive a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation to use at their discretion. They also receive an expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for an awards ceremony and several days of educational and celebratory events, including visits with members of Congress and the Administration.
King will receive the award in Washington, D.C. the week of May 16. Superintendent Tata congratulated Zebetta King (both pictured right) on earning Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
Listen to President Obama Honors King as One of the Nation’s Best Math and Science Teachers. This is a 9-minute mp3 file.
Food Allergy Awareness Week is May 8-14
North Carolina will celebrate Food Allergy Awareness Week during May 8-14. North Carolina FACES (Food Allergic Children Excelling Safely) Support Group will be marking the week with the following proclamation READ MORE…
NCHSAA Presents Courage Awards to WCPSS Student Athletes
The NC High School Athletic Association honored two Wake County Public School System student-athletes at its 2011 Annual Meeting with the NCHSAA’s A.J. “Tony” Simeon Courage Award.
The association presented Emily Newton of Broughton High School and Craig Mitchell of Fuquay-Varina High School with the awards at the Smith Center yesterday.
Emily Newton has been an inspiration to many, as she overcame a near-fatal liver disorder known as Wilson disease, a rare genetic disorder, and had a liver transplant in March of 2010. The transplant proved to be a perfect match, and she was able to go out for basketball in the 2010-11 season, make the team and play once again.
Craig Mitchell had an acoustic neuroma, a tumor in the brain that was growing unusually rapidly and necessitated a 19-hour surgery at UNC Hospitals on Dec. 30, 2010. He battled back, was medically cleared to play baseball and actually pitched in March, with his younger brother serving as his battery mate.
The association created the Courage Awards to honor individuals who, despite adversity, have demonstrated exemplary character and performance and, as a result, have been an inspiration to all those involved with the programs of the NC High School Athletic Association. The awards honor NCHSAA Hall of Famer Tony Simeon, a long-time coach at High Point Central.
Wake-Forest Rolesville Middle School Hosts Literacy Day
Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle School held its first ever Literacy Day on April 8. Students participated in a Poetry Slam, listened to Principal Elaine Hanzer perform a dramatic reading of “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe, and a librarian from the Wake Forest public library branch visited classrooms giving book talks. The school found a number of ways to highlight literacy. Students and teachers competed in a “Reading Rocks!” door-decorating contest. Art students competed in a literacy poster contest. As part of their daily instruction, teachers focused on literacy in their curriculum area. The day reinforced to students that literacy is a thread in everything that they do.