Classroom Connection - January 27, 2011
Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps Summit Planned for Feb. 5
You are invited to the Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps Summit on Saturday, Feb. 5 at Enloe Magnet High. The summit begins at 8 a.m. and continues until 12 p.m.
New Wake County Superintendent Anthony Tata will welcome guests, and community organizations will be there to share information and resources.
Summit topics include:
- Revised Board of Education Policies
- Parental Involvement – Cultural Competencies
- Effective Parent/Teacher Conferences
- Update of Faith-Based and Community-Based Initiatives
- Panel Discussions – WCPSS Initiatives and Parental and Community Involvement
The summit was organized by the Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps Committee and the School/Community Helping Hands Mentoring Program of the Wake County Public School System. Enloe Magnet High is located at 128 Clarendon Crescent, Raleigh, NC 27610.
DIRECTIONS: From I-440/Beltline take inbound New Bern Avenue to Clarendon Crescent. Turn right on Clarendon Crescent and the school is on your right. For more information, you can visit http://www.wcpss.net/isd/racg/
Magnet Schools Hold Information Sessions and Tours
Families who are interested in exploring magnet school options for their children for 2011-12 will have the chance to visit schools in upcoming information sessions and tours. You can determine the specific magnet schools that serve your residential area by visiting www.wcpss.net/growth-management/assignment.html.
Magnet elementary schools will hold information sessions and tours on Wednesday, Feb. 9. There will be two sessions to choose from. One starts at 10 a.m., and the other starts at 12:30 p.m.
Magnet middle schools will hold information sessions and tours on Thursday, Feb. 10. There will be two sessions to choose from. One starts at 9 a.m., and the other starts at 12 p.m.
Magnet high schools will hold information sessions and tours. Each school has scheduled its own event.
| Gifted & Talented/IB Center for Humanities, Sciences & the Arts | Enloe Magnet High School |
Jan. 27 |
6 p.m. |
International Baccalaureate (IB) |
Garner Magnet High School |
Jan. 27 |
6:30 p.m. |
International Baccalaureate (IB) |
Millbrook Magnet High School |
Feb. 3 |
6:30 p.m. |
Center for Leadership & Technology |
Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School |
Feb. 10 |
6:30 p.m. |
Each of these schools also will provide additional tours throughout the coming weeks. Parents can contact schools directly for times. Information about the magnet schools can be found online at www.wcpss.net/magnet. You can call the magnet center staff for more information at 501-7900 or e-mail magnetcenter@wcpss.net.
More information will be provided soon about the magnet online application acceptance period which is set for February 14-28.
Carpenter Elementary Year-Round Holds Parent Information Session
Parents of prospective applicant students who wish to learn more about Carpenter Elementary are invited to information sessions on Tuesday, Feb. 1 at 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. The program and classroom visitation is designed for parents; please do not bring children if possible. A student open house is scheduled prior to school beginning in July.
Ligon and Martin Students Place in Future City Competition
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| Members of Martin's team with Dr. Jerome P. Lavelle, associate dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering, Bryan Burnitt, engineer/mentor, Rebecca Bonham West, teacher, and Bob Eaves, First Gentleman, NC Governor's Office. |
On Saturday, Jan. 15, several Wake County schools competed in the North Carolina Regional Future City Competition. The competition took place at the Talley Student Center on the NC State campus. This year’s event had 20 teams participating from across North Carolina.
Ligon GT Magnet Middle School was awarded second place, and Martin Middle School’s Future Cities Level II Team was awarded third place. Ligon's team was headed by teacher Beth Lengefeld. The team's student presenters were Adam Johnson, Visrut Sudhakar and Anuj Thakkar. Martin's team was led by teacher Rebecca Bonham West. The team's student presenters were Logan Tavares, Jackson Brakebill and Kathryn Powers.
This is the second year that Martin Middle has offered this elective to its students, but it was their first year competing. The team’s award-winning model will be on display during the school’s Open House on Feb, 10.
The Future City Competition serves students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades. Sponsored by National Engineers Week, this national program introduces students to engineering with the popular SimCity 4 Deluxe™ software. Students design future cities with simulation software, build scale models, write essays and give oral reports on their city's design.
Knightdale High Student Named Congressional Page
Knightdale High junior Julian Gilyard has been selected to serve as a page in the U.S. House of Representatives for the 2011 spring session and will soon report to Washington, DC, to begin work. Pages assist Congressional members with their legislative duties. High school juniors with a GPA of 3.0 or higher in core academic subjects may apply to work as pages in the U.S. House of Representatives for a fall, spring, or summer appointment. While serving the House, pages live in Washington D.C., at the Page Residence Hall, a few blocks away from the Capitol and attend classes at the House Page School.
2011-12 Pre-Kindergarten Screening
Information is now available to parents interested in pre-kindergarten screening for the upcoming 2011-12 school year. Your child must be four years old by Aug. 31, 2011.
Screenings will take place at the following sites:
| Sat., Feb. 26 (Appointment Only) |
Sat., March 12 (Appointment Only) |
Sat., March 26 (Appointment Only) |
Sat., April 9 (Appointment Only) |
Sat., April 30 (Appointment Only) |
Sat., May 14 Walk-In Session |
The Universal Pre-Kindergarten Application for 2011-12 has now been posted to our Parents Resource Center and forms page. Please complete this form and mail it to the Smart Start office (address on application) to apply for WCPSS Pre-K programs.
Title 1 Pre-Kindergarten is a federally funded program that serves children with academic needs prior to them entering kindergarten. For questions or additional information, please call the Pre-K Application staff at 919-851-9550.
WCPSS Cheerleading Competition Set for January 29
The 20th annual WCPSS Cheerleading Competition will be held at Southeast Raleigh High School this Saturday, Jan. 29. The first WCPSS Cheerleading Competition was held at Garner High School in 1990. This year’s competition will have 18 middle schools and 16 high schools (JV and varsity). The middle school competition begins at 9 a.m., the high school JV competition begins at 1 p.m., and the high school varsity competition begins at 2:30 p.m. Admission is $5.00.
Heritage High School is Official SAT Testing Site
Heritage High School has been named an official SAT Testing Site. Information is available now on www.collegeboard.com when students register. The test center code for Heritage High School is 34874. You may direct questions to Herb Nowak at hnowak@wcpss.net. The deadline for the March SAT is Feb. 11.
Three Students Earn Top Honors in Poster Contest
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| Shania Khoo, David LaPasha and Audrey Pruitt |
Three WCPSS elementary students earned top honors in the annual Wake Soil & Water Conservation District poster contest. The students were among 975 Wake County fifth-graders who learned about the urban water cycle by entering the “Water: The Cycle of Life” poster contest.
David LaPasha of Hunter Magnet Elementary earned first place and received $100. Shania Khoo of Green Hope Elementary earned second place and received $50. Audrey Pruitt of Alston Ridge Elementary earned third place and received $25.
In the competition, students researched how hard surfaces on the land no longer allow rainwater to naturally soak into the soil. Their posters illustrate innovative ways developed by scientists and engineers to better manage this excess “storm water runoff.”
LaPasha’s poster will compete at the regional level with 10 other counties. His winning poster has red buttons wired to red lights that describe how various storm water practices keep excess runoff from eroding stream banks and carrying pollution to waterways.
LaPasha highlights storm water practices that everyone can do at home to protect the environment while saving rainwater and money:
- Harvest rooftop rainwater with rain barrels, or use larger above or below-ground cisterns to store more
- Build a rain garden in your yard’s low spots to capture storm water runoff and let it soak into the soil
- Mulch garden beds to retain soil moisture and discourage weeds so chemicals are not needed
- Mow grass higher so grass blades can make food to grow strong roots that hold soil firmly in place.
In addition to LaPasha, Khoo and Pruitt, the students recognized for the Top 10 Posters include Allison Saad of Alston Ridge Elementary, Sophia Luo, Kacie Mollin, Erin Boone and Jolene Fernandez of Green Hope Elementary, Wes Hines of Hunter Magnet Elementary and Jaida Williams of Wendell Magnet Elementary.
All Top 10 poster winners receive a blue ribbon and framed certificate and are invited with their teachers and families on a special field trip that will showcase real storm water practices that Wake District’s conservationists installed in an urban community to protect Falls Lake, a recreation and drinking water source for over 400,000 people.
Rolesville Elementary School Holds Spelling Bee
Rolesville Elementary hosted its first annual School Spelling Bee on Thursday, Jan. 20. Pranav Chintalapudi, a fifth-grader in Mrs. Hoover’s class, was selected the school spelling bee champion. He will now head to NC State where he will compete on a regional level with all other elementary and middle school spelling bee champions. Ryan Gomes, a fifth-grader in Mrs. DiGiovanni’s class, was the school spelling bee runner-up.
Students to Compete in Raleigh Regional Science Olympiad Tournament on Feb. 5
Hundreds of high school and middle school students from all over central North Carolina will compete in numerous science and engineering events at the annual Raleigh Regional Science Olympiad on Saturday, Feb. 5 at Green Hope High School.
Olympiad officials are expecting 60 middle and high school teams each with 15-18 members from Wake, Durham, Granville, Vance, Franklin, and Warren counties. Competing in 47 different events, the 30 middle school and 30 high school teams are vying for the opportunity to represent the Region at the State Science Olympiad in Raleigh on April 30, and represent North Carolina at the National Science Olympiad.
“We expect about 3,000 visitors on campus,” said Kim Gervase, co-director of the Science Olympiad. “We stress that the purpose of this competition is for students to learn. Everybody get a chance to complete, but what matters most is their participation as a team.”
The North Carolina Science Olympiad (NCSO) is a nonprofit organization with the mission to improve the quality of science and technology education in all North Carolina schools. It is third in the country in student participation. Currently, 250 middle and high schools representing more than 6,000 students and 60 counties in North Carolina are participating in the NCSO.
The challenging and motivating events of the NCSO align with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study as well as the National Science Education Standards. The events are designed to enhance and strengthen both science content and process skills.
“Local professionals, college students, and Wake County Public School System teachers and volunteers will design events that will produce scores that result in an overall point total to determine first-, second-, third-, and fourth- place medal winners, with trophies from state and national organizations going to the top finishers in each division. Top finishers qualify to compete at the State Tournament held in Raleigh at N. C. State University. The top two placing teams at the State Tournament will advance to the National Tournament.