Classroom Connection - December 2, 2011
Pre-Enrollment for the 2012-13 School Year Opens
Pre-enrollment for the 2012-13 school year began Nov. 28 for rising kindergartners and students new to the Wake County Public School System.
Parents of rising kindergartners may register at any nearby elementary school, and parents of students new to the system may register at the nearest grade-appropriate school for their child.
Families may also pre-enroll at the Wake County Public School System’s Central Administration Building located at 5625 Dillard Drive in Cary in the Office of Student Assignment or the Center for International Enrollment if the parents speak a language other than English.
To enroll, parents should bring:
- their child’s birth certificate,
- parent/guardian photo ID,
- proof of address in the form of a water, electric or gas bill or a signed lease or rental agreement.
Parents are also encouraged to bring an updated immunization record for their child. Children do not need to be present during the pre-enrollment process.
Rising kindergartners and new students will need to pre-enroll to get their NC-WISE student ID number prior to participating in the School Choice Selection Process for the 2012-13 school year. Parents will use their child’s NC-WISE student ID number to complete the online selection form.
The dates for the selection periods are as follows:
- Magnet Selection Period: Dec. 5-19
- Round 1 Choice Selection Period: Jan. 17-Feb. 24
- Round 2 Choice Selection Period: March 19-April 9
For more information on pre-enrollment or the School Choice Selection Process, visit the assignment website at assignment.wcpss.net or call 919-431-7333.
Online Magnet School Selection Period Begins Dec. 5, 1 p.m
Beginning at 1 p.m. on Mon., Dec. 5, Wake County parents can participate in the online magnet selection process for the 2012-13 school year.
The magnet selection period will run from 1 p.m. on Dec. 5 through the end of the day on Dec. 19. The selection period is part of the Wake County Public School System’s new school choice student assignment process. Parents interested in magnet programs may log into the student assignment website, assignment.wcpss.net, during this time period to choose from a range of magnet schools based on their home address.
Families may make their choices for magnet schools at any time during the selection period; those who do so at the end of the time period will receive the same consideration as those who do so earlier.
Parents will be notified between Dec. 20 and Jan. 13 of whether their child was selected for one of their magnet choices.
Art Grant Supports Project at Oak Grove Elementary
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Last month Oak Grove Elementary was fortunate to have Emerald Isle-based artist Leni Newell in residence. She worked with the fifth-grade students to create five beautiful banners, each with an educational theme (math, social studies, reading, writing, science).
The students learned silk painting techniques. The banners are hung in the foyer of the school.
This program was supported by the Oak Grove PTA, as well as a grant from the United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County, Inc. Additional support was provided by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.
Powell Elementary Wins Concert with Grammy Winning Artist
On Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m., legendary New York City-based violinist/fiddler, composer, and multi-Grammy winning recording artist Mark O’Connor will join the Powell Gifted and Talented Magnet Elementary School orchestras, led by Orchestra Director Tara Culbreth, for “An American Festival” concert. Sponsored by internationally famous violin company, SHAR Music, and O’Connor, the concert will be held at Powell Elementary, located at 1130 Marlborough Rd. in Raleigh. The program will feature favorite tunes from the popular new O’Connor Orchestra Method, in addition to solo works played by O’Connor. The public is invited to attend this event. Admission is free.
WRAL Recognizes Baucom Elementary Teacher
Adria Matonak, the cross categorical resource teacher at Baucom Elementary, was honored at the WRAL Teacher of the Week this week . WRAL features one teacher every week on its morning and noon newscasts, from the 50 or so counties they serve. A WRAL news reporter visits the teacher’s classroom, surprising her with a token of WRAL’s appreciation for a job well done, and sitting down with that teacher for 10 minutes to talk about the profession, and their experiences.
You can watch her Teacher of the Week video here.
Board Names New Principals
At its Nov. 22 meeting, the Board of Education named Robert Bendel principal of Jones Dairy Elementary.
Bendel has served as senior administrator for WCPSS Human Resources since 2008. Prior to that, he was a principal, assistant principal, guidance counselor and teacher at elementary schools in Franklin County, NC.
The board named retired principal Teresa Abron as interim principal at Durant Road Middle and retired principal Ramey Beavers as interim principal at Wake Early College of Health and Sciences.
Abron has served as an interim principal at Brier Creek Elementary, after serving as principal of Dillard Drive Middle, Fox Road Elementary and Lincoln Heights Elementary.
Dr. Beavers has served as interim principal at Holly Springs High, after serving as principal of West Lake Middle and Cary High. Beavers also worked as senior director for the WCPSS Office of Growth Management.
The board continued the assignments of retired principal Tom Dixon as interim principal at Middle Creek High and retired principle Ed Gainor as interim principal at Brassfield Elementary.
The board named as assistant principal Kelley Simpson at Apex High.
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Green First Graders Knit Caps to Help Others
First-graders at Green Elementary are busy knitting caps. Teacher Toni Kelley has been talking to her students about the importance of community and meeting the needs of others.
The students enjoy creating the hats and the thank you notes they receive from those who receive them.
Listen to Green First Graders Knit Caps to Help Others
Triangle Town Center Businesses Support East Millbrook Arts
The East Millbrook Magnet Middle School Arts Booster Organization will partner with Barnes & Noble at Triangle Town Center for a one of a kind event on Dec. 9. Student artists will be celebrating the holidays with themed performances inspired by the children’s book The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. A percentage of all in-store sales from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. will benefit the school’s awesome arts programs, with online sales extending through Dec. 14 with the East Millbrook coupon code 10610905.
When you dine Dec. 9 at California Pizza Kitchen throughout their business day, or Moe’s Southwest Grill from 4-9 p.m., the restaurants will donate a percentage of all sales in support of the school’s talented students.
Enjoy holiday performances in Barnes & Noble from 6-8 p.m. on Dec. 9 from the school’s African Drum, Advanced Orchestra, and Dance Ensembles, as well as art on display from Visual Art students. In addition, the East Millbrook Actors Ensemble will be reading The Polar Express to children of all ages at 7 p.m. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to support A Day with East Millbrook Arts!
Holly Grove Middle Students Seeking Toys for Tots
The Holly Grove Middle School National Junior Honor Society and the Girls and Boys Basketball teams will support the US Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots. Basketball players will ask for pledges as they participate in a Foul Shot-a-Thon in early December and use the money raised to purchase toys for this cause. NJHS is sponsoring a toy drive during the weeks of Nov. 28-Dec. 2 (track 1) and Dec. 12-16 (tracks 2, 3, 4).
The school is an official Toys for Tots drop off location so please consider donating a new, unwrapped toy for children in need. For more information about Toys for Tots, visit http://www.toysfortots.org/.
Cargill Donates $20,000 to Helping Hands Program
Cargill, Inc. donated $20,000 to the Wake County Public School System Helping Hands Mentoring Program. The donation will assist Helping Hands with after-school mentoring and tutorial sessions, family conferences, enrichment activities, and an achievement and recognition celebration during the 2011-12 school year. Cargill has donated more than $100,000.00 over the last five school years to support the program.
Helping Hands administrator Maurice Moore offered his thanks to Cargill, Inc. community outreach staff Ron Scarborough and Derek Nunn for their support.
The Helping Hands Mentoring Program supports African-American male students in grades 3-8 who are not reaching their potential and are at risk for school failure. The mentors for the program are male educators from within the school system and community volunteers.
High School Freshmen Investigate Careers at Great Xplorations
Ninth-graders recently filled the McKimmon Center, checking out careers at the ninth annual Wake County Public School System Great Xplorations career fair. Approximately 700 students attended along with 200 business and industry representatives.
Great Xplorations is a career development event that provides students the opportunity to learn about a variety of careers, observe and engage in career discussions and gain valuable information about careers.
Listen to High School Freshmen Investigate Careers at Great Xplorations
Middle School Teams Recognized for Sportsmanship
Eleven WCPSS Middle Schools were recognized as Fall Sportsmanship winners. The awards are based on a vote by the middle school fall sport coaches and athletic directors.
The 2011-12 Fall Sports Season Middle School Sportsmanship winners are:
Southern (Division 1): Fuquay-Varina and Apex
Southern (Division 2): Reedy Creek and East Cary
Central: Martin, Carroll and Daniels
Northern (Division 1): Wake Forest-Rolesville and Zebulon
Northern (Division 2): West Millbrook and Durant
WCPSS Senior Administrator for Athletics Bobby Guthrie said the Sportsmanship Winnerswere described as respectful, friendly, hospitable, welcoming, well-organized and thoughtful.
Root Teacher Named Top NC Elementary Music Teacher
The NC Music Educators Association has named Root Elementary teacher Anne Moorman-Smith the N. C. Elementary Music Teacher of the Year. WCPSS Senior Administrator for Arts Education Elizabeth Grimes Droessler offered her congratulations adding “It is so well deserved!” The NC Music Educators Association promotes music as a fundamental component of education and provides opportunities for lifelong learning by supporting teachers, students and communities in developing and fostering excellence in music.
Cary Navy JROTC Cadets Win Drill and Academic Meet
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The Cary High Navy JROTC cadets won first place in the Academic and Drill competitions at the Annual Cape Fear Blue and White Drill and Academic Meet.
The Cary High Academic Team with cadets Donna Supple, Brian Schmid, Daniel Lowry, Anna Earley and Layton LaCorte won first place in the academic competition.
The Cary High Drill Team won the 10-event drill competition, winning first place in three events, placing second in five events and third in one event. Cadet Brian Schmid led the Exhibition Armed Squad and Platoon Teams to first place finishes and the Armed Regulation Platoon to a second place finish. Cadet Donna Supple led the Unarmed Regulation Platoon to a first place finish and Cadet Nereida Rodriguez led the Unarmed Exhibition Platoon and Armed Regulation Squad to second place finishes. Cadet Austin Cobb led the Unarmed Regulation Squad to a second place finish and Cadet Anna Early led the Color Guard in winning a third place trophy. Freshman cadet Kevin Dai led the NS-1 platoon to a second place finish.
The Cary High cadets competed with 12 JROTC schools from North and South Carolina in the Annual Cape Fear meet.
The Cary High Cadets have enjoyed a very successful drill season. The Armed Exhibition Platoon finished first in all four of their drill competitions this fall. Overall, the Cary unit won two major drill meets and finished second in two others. They competed against 37 schools this fall and only lost once to Southeast Guilford High and once to Cape Fear High School, teams which they later defeated. The Cape Fear meet wrapped up the fall drill season.
Vandora Springs’ Project Benefits Garner Area Ministries’ Food Pantry
Please join Vandora Springs Elementary on Saturday, Dec. 10 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for their annual EMPTY BOWL PROJECT to benefit Garner Area Ministries’ Food Pantry. Bring in 20 items of non-perishable food and receive a handcrafted ceramic bowl created by the fourth-grade Art Club. For more information, please contact Jim Hunt at 662-2486 or email-jhunt@wcpss.net.
Dillard Drive Dragonflies Practice Manners with Partner Restaurant
Dillard Drive Elementary second-grade students practiced respect and table manners while enjoying a pasta lunch from Sweet Tomatoes. The event marked the end of a study of the character trait respect delivered by school counselor Angela Poovey last month.
While incorporating the reading and writing curriculum into their study of respect, second-graders focused on polite words, respectful behaviors, and appropriate table manners. Students analyzed stories and poems to identify respectful behaviors. After learning the parts of a letter, students implemented their learning by writing thank you notes to Sweet Tomatoes. Students also created placemats for the pasta lunch, which guided them in table setting and provided a memory aid for the table manners they practiced during the lunch. Students brought the placemats home after the lunch event to connect their learning to daily life at home.
Sweet Tomatoes has supported Dillard Drive Elementary with in-school projects and evening events that have helped to increase parent involvement.
Musician Encourages East Cary Students to get Library Cards
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Beaux Foy, front man for the Indie rock band Airiel Down and spokesperson for the State Library of NC’s Smartest Card campaign, visited East Cary Middle School on Nov. 15.
Before his visit, students had viewed the NC Smartest Card Campaign video featuring Beaux Foy and had been encouraged through daily announcements to complete their own applications for public library cards through the school’s media center.
About two-thirds of the school had an opportunity to hear Beaux’s message about libraries, reading, and education, as he spent time visiting students in the media center, in classrooms, and in the cafeteria.
He engaged students, making relevant and real connections with them through real life activities, athletics, music, and education. He also signed autographs in some classes.