Classroom Connection March 9, 2011
WCPSS Teacher of the Year Semi-Finalists Named
The 24 semi-finalists for Wake County Public School System’s 2011-2012 Teacher of the Year award have been selected. The teachers were recognized by their peers for dedication to children as well as each teacher’s quest for professional and personal excellence. The 24 semi-finalists are:
Leslie Bailey, Baileywick Elementary School
Debra Baize, Holly Grove Middle School
Kevin Boynton, Dillard Drive Elementary School
Kathryn Caggia, Olive Chapel Elementary School
Priscilla Chappell, Enloe Magnet High School
Ashley Cooper, Underwood Magnet Elementary School
Kristen Curley, Oak Grove Elementary School
Rhonda Dunn, Zebulon Magnet Middle School
Matthew Garcia, East Wake High School of Health & Science
Henry Hammond, Jr., Athens Drive High School
Kyle Hamstra, Davis Drive Elementary School
Catherine Hantla, Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle School
Mary-Kathryn Hixson, Broughton High School
Shireen Mehl, Fuquay-Varina Elementary School
Alicia Miller, Wake Forest Elementary School
Saswati Mukherjee, Farmington Woods Magnet Elementary School
Julie Oliver, West Millbrook Middle School
Stephanie Rhodes, Sanderson High School
Shannon Russell, Carpenter Elementary School
Amy Scheffel, Joyner Magnet Elementary School
Daniel Strain, East Garner Magnet Middle School
Patrick Tart, Banks Road Elementary School
Kate Whittier, Daniels Middle School
Maia Wirth, Wendell Magnet Elementary School
Congratulations! A reception on April 13 will honor the semi-finalists and name the 12 finalists. The Wake County Public School System will name the 2011-12 Teacher of the Year at the annual banquet on May 12.
World War II Hero Speaks at Holly Grove Middle School
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The sixth graders at Holly Grove Middle School had the pleasure of meeting a World War II hero, retired US Air Force Colonel Hal Shook. Shook was an Air Force fighter pilot that served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
The sixth graders were completing their studies of WWII and the teachers thought that it would be valuable to bring in a living war hero. “Col. Shook provided real life experiences that aligned with our instruction of the European side of World War II,” said Social Studies Teacher Cory Dams.
Shook shared experiences about his involvement with D-Day, various missions in which he participated during WWII and living during the Great Depression. He stressed that in order to accomplish a large task, it takes everyone working together.
The students, captivated by Shook’s presence and the crowd of over 300 sixth graders, hung on his every word. At the end of the presentation, they gave him a standing ovation and many students lined up to shake his hand and thank him for his service to our country. Holly Grove Middle School Principal, Kenneth Proulx was moved by the presentation. “It was amazing to see our students so enthralled with Col. Shook’s presentation. It was great to see our younger generation respect and honor a man who served to protect our freedom,” said Proulx.
The staff at Holly Grove Middle School presented Shook with a Bulldog Certificate of Appreciation, which stated:
In recognition and appreciation for your valiant service in protecting and preserving our freedom as a pilot in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War; and for sharing your experiences with the staff and students of HGMS so that we may never forget the sacrifices of our soldiers, we present this certificate of appreciation to Col. Hal Shook USAF (Ret.)
North Forest Pines Creates Science Museum
The Science/Math/Technology SIP group recently created an in-house Science Museum at North Forest Pines Elementary School. The museum houses ongoing displays of student science projects. Flanked by pillars, a large sign proclaims “NFP Science Museum” while a cardboard Einstein invites you to enter. The museum is divided into grade-leveled sections with key science standards and related projects displayed on tables and walls. Students can tour the museum during break periods in the school day, and formal teaching sessions on its contents are scheduled to occur in upcoming months.
“Showcasing student work is an important aspect of any good program,” points out Lori Buchanan, a member of the Science/Math/Technology SIP group. “While celebrating student successes, it allows other students to learn from peers and motivates them to reach new heights themselves.”
Jeffreys Grove Fifth-Grader Wins State Reading-Writing Contest
Joey Johnson, a fifth-grade student at Jeffreys Grove Elementary School, was selected as the North Carolina winner (grades 4-6) for the 2011 Letters About Literature competition. The contest was administered through the State Library of NC as part of the national Letters About Literature competition.
Letters About Literature is a national reading-writing contest. To enter, readers write a personal letter to an author, living or dead, from any genre – fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, contemporary or classic – explaining how that author’s work changed the student’s way of thinking about the world or themselves.
Johnson was selected from amongst 1,641 entries and from 164 semi-finalists to win at the state level. The winners at the state level receive cash awards. He will now go on to compete in at the national level. National winners will be announced in late April. If Johnson wins, he will receive a $500 Target gift card, and the Jeffreys Grove media center will win $10,000.
Oak Grove PTA to Hold Community Yard Sale
Families can get a head start on their Spring cleaning while helping to support Oak Grove Elementary. Oak Grove Elementary PTA will be hosting a Community Yard Sale and Vendor Showcase to try to raise funds to purchase SmartBoards for each classroom at the school. The school is collecting donated household items for the event scheduled in April.
WHERE:
Oak Grove Elementary
10401 Penny Road
Raleigh, NC 27606
WHEN:
Saturday April 2, 2011
9:00am – 1:00pm
A SmartBoard is an interactive whiteboard that uses touch detection the same way as a mouse or keyboard. A projector is used to display a computer’s video output on the interactive whiteboard, which then acts as a large touch screen. The school currently has 18 SmartBoards in various classrooms.
School families are invited to donate household items to sell at the Yard Sale. Local vendors are invited to showcase their products and services as part of the Vendor Showcase at the event. Local small businesses will have booths selling various items and will donate a portion of their sales to the PTA for the fundraiser.
The PTA hopes to raise $68,000 to cover the purchase of the new SmartBoards and plans to donate all proceeds of the Yard Sale and a portion of the vendor sales to the SmartBoard Fund.Contact: Kristin Prince at 233-5823 for details.
WCPSS Renaissance Model to Provide Support for Four Elementary Schools
North Carolina recently received a $400 million grant from the Federal Race to the Top competition to be used over the next four years to help increase student achievement throughout our state. The Wake County Public School System will receive $10.2 million of those funds for use in activities designed to improve the academic achievement of students in our school district.
A portion of these funds will be used for our Renaissance Model. WCPSS developed the Renaissance Model to provide support for four of our elementary schools that could benefit from the extra resources provided by this grant: Barwell Road Elementary, Brentwood Magnet Elementary, Creech Road Elementary and Wilburn Elementary. Read More ...
Superintendent Tata Assembles Team to Begin Work on Student Assignment Plan
Superintendent Tony Tata has assembled a team of Central Services administrators to begin work on the development of a new student assignment plan for the Wake County Public School System. On March 8, Tata announced the staff members that will be serving on the student assignment team. Read More...
Extended Video Interview with Superintendent Tata
Tony Tata sat with Chip Sudderth, WCPSS Communications Specialist, for an interview which was excerpted for The School Connection, our public access and web TV show. You can watch the extended interview here, or on the superintendent’s website.
National School Social Work Week, March 6-12
Please take a moment to congratulate your School Social Worker on his or her contribution to the education of WCPSS students during National School Social Work Week, March 6-12, 2011.
To eliminate the achievement gap, students need to attend school. School Social Workers continue to play a key role in eliminating barriers to student attendance through collaboration with students, families, school personnel, and community resources. School Social Workers link students and families with school and community resources, reinforce successful learning skills through one-on-one or group activities, provide crisis intervention as well as counseling services and support.
All WCPSS School Social Workers are licensed professionals with a Master’s level education and are active members of the community through volunteer work and/or participation on boards, organizations and/or committees.
Pizza-powered Promotion Supports Schools on March 16
Wednesday, March 16: That’s the next date that your purchase from Wake County Papa John’s pizza restaurants will directly support WCPSS schools. The Wake County Corporate Operators and Franchisee of Papa John’s Pizza will donate 20 percent of their March 16 sales that exceed their three-week average. The donation will be divided equally among our 163 schools to support technology in the classroom. Thank you for directly supporting your child’s classroom, and thanks to Papa John’s Pizza!
Millbrook Magnet High Hosts Bolivian Students
Five Bolivian students arrived in Raleigh on March 7 for a three-week visit to the United States through the Partners of the Americas program. The students will be living with host families from Millbrook Magnet High during their North Carolina stay.
Highlights of their visit include a breakfast at the school with their host families, school administration and Millbrook’s Hispanic student leaders on March 8; attending Spanish 4 classes to provide opportunities for Millbrook students to practice conversation with native speakers on March 11; and a reception at The State Club on NCSU’s Centennial Campus on March 18.
The students’ visit ties in with the school’s International Baccalaureate magnet program. Partners of the Americas is part of the John F. Kennedy Alliance for Progress.
Millbrook Basketball Teams Go to State Finals
Millbrook High School will be playing for the state championships in women’s and men’s basketball next Saturday, March 12 in Chapel Hill. The games will be held at the Dean Smith Center, 5 p.m. for the women’s championship and 7:30 p.m. for the men’s championship.
WCPSS Senior Administrator for Athletics Bobby Guthrie says this is a tremendous accomplishment for Millbrook in having both the men and women playing for the state championship.
“WCPSS high schools have participated in state championships in basketball before, and have won in both women’s and men’s championships, but in my 16 years as the Senior Administrator for Athletics, this is the first time that the same high school in WCPSS has both women and men playing in the same year,” said Guthrie. “Go Millbrook Wildcats!”
Project Enlightenment Provides Parent Counseling Services
Wake County Parent Consultants are providing individual services to families with children kindergarten age or younger who meet certain eligibility requirements. You can find details on the parent counseling referral form on Project Enlightenment’s website.
Project Enlightenment has decades of experience with the issues that families face while raising young children. The staff consists of Karen Buchanan, MS; Toqui Kennedy, MA; Michelle Chachkes, LCSW; and Lynne Johnston, LCSW. Their objective is to provide specific interventions that will increase the child’s success in his/her home and school environments.
Short-term counseling services are based on a model involving: assessment of needs; collection of relevant data; and education/counseling around the referral concerns. Additional referrals and resources will be provided for those families that do not meet criteria or for those whose needs exceed the limited intervention model offered.
To schedule an initial appointment:
- You can call (919) 856-7800 and leave contact information.
- If an agency is making the referral, you can call or you can fax the completed referral form to Project Enlightenment at (919) 508-0810. Please also complete and fax the Permission for Parent Consultation form if an outside agency is faxing information or leaving referral information for a parent.
Individual counselors may be contacted through the Project Enlightenment office at (919) 856-7774
Millbrook High Grad Returns to Describe Life as Army Engineer
You can read about Millbrook Magnet High Class of 2007 grad Nic Pilley who returned to his former classroom to describe his life as a U.S. Army Captain serving as an engineer in Iraq in the latest edition of the Bridges Newsletter. The newsletter is written by students of Lindy Poling’s Lessons of Vietnam class. The spring 2011 edition focuses on different subjects concerning the lessons of Vietnam and recent international relations including: The Medal of Honor, The Midterm Elections, Human Rights in Vietnam, and WikiLeaks. Amazing artwork by Elizabeth Stevenson’s art students accompanies many of these articles. You can find the newsletter here.
Good Luck to Garner Magnet High’s Scotty McCreery on American Idol!
Garner Magnet High junior Scotty McCreery has been named a Top 13 finalist for the tenth season of American Idol. As the young country singer faces his competitors on a Los Angeles stage, he’s also keeping up with his studies.
“He’s an outstanding young man,” says principal Drew Cook. “As talented as he is a singer, he’s an even better person. Whether it’s his peers, teachers, community members, he’s just a good-hearted kid. It’s nice to see something good happen to a really good person.”
Cook says that McCreery has been working on his classwork for several hours a day with a teacher on the road while staying in constant contact with his teachers at Garner Magnet High. It’s an additional workload that his older competitors don’t have to face.
“He’s an honor roll student, an athlete, and he’s always very humble,” says Cook. “He was the lead in our school musical last spring, and everyone was blown away. I think people have recognized, the last couple of years, the level of talent he has.”
Globetrotter Visits Yates Mill Elementary
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Ant Atkinson, a member of the famous Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, visited the students of Yates Mill Elementary showing off some of his basketball tricks and encouraging the students to be active.
PE teacher Cindi Parker introduced Atkinson, a Wilson, NC native and a Barton College basketball star, onto the school basketball court surrounded by excited students and teachers. Atkinson led teams of students through a series of exercises shooting and dribbling the basketball while other students cheered.
Click to listen to Globetrotter Visits Yates Mill Elementary
This is a 10 minute mp3 file.