Classroom Connection - April 7, 2009
Green Hope High Varsity Winter Guard Earns First Place
The Green Hope High Varsity Winter Guard earned first place this past weekend at the Atlantic Indoor Association Championships held in northern Virginia. The team is preparing to travel to Dayton, Ohio, to compete in the Winter Guard International Championships later this spring.
Enloe High Team Wins NC State Future Problem Solving Bowl
An Enloe High Future Problem Solving team won the North Carolina State Future Problem Solving Bowl on March 27 and 28. The Enloe team of Laura Buff, Madhu Vulimiri, Jackson Bloom and Andre Cerullo earned first place team booklet and the opportunity to compete at the International Conference and Competition. A second Enloe team of Evelyn Kahihu, Anish Patel, David Rund and Ethan Sherbondy earned 1st place in presentation and second place overall. The Future Problem Solving Program International engages students in creative problem solving and encourages students to develop a vision of the future. Both teams competed in the Cyber Conflict category. Both teams are advised by Suzanne Cottrell.
Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle Wins Fitness Competition
Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle School won first place in the Wake County NCAA Regional Pinnacle of Fitness Competition held at the RBC Center on March 30. They advanced to the NCAA National Pinnacle of Fitness Competition held in St. Louis, Missouri on April 5-6. The team also attended the NCAA Women’s Final Four Basketball Tournament while in St. Louis. Pinnacle of Fitness is a nationwide fitness competition.
Willow Springs Plants Vegetable Garden
Willow Springs will have a new 90’ by 30’ vegetable garden that the students have named the “Grow Zone.” The outdoor classroom will help students learn life skills, as well as the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. This project was made possible thanks to a $3,700 Toolbox for Education grant from Lowe’s Home Center. Planting day for the garden will be April 28. Fuquay-Varina High School students who are members of the Future Farmers of America will be coming to assist students with planting. Many parents and community businesses have donated and provided services to establish the garden.
Salem Middle School Students Appear on PBS Show
Tune in to PBS on April 10 at 4pm to watch two Salem Middle School sixth-graders appear on “Dragonfly, TV’s Butterfly Wings”. Emily Simenkis and Julie Hu were cast as “butterfly investigators” and shot with a PBS crew at Durham’s Life and Sciences Museum and Duke University.
Wake Forest-Rolesville Junior Will Attend 2009 Rural Electric Tour
Wake Forest-Rolesville junior Lukas Holub has been selected by Wake Electric to attend the 2009 Rural Electric Youth Tour this June in Washington, DC. Lukas will be joining 1,500 students from across the U.S. for this one-week trip. Students will be touring the capitol, meeting with legislative leaders and examining issues in electricity and climate change. Lukas will also receive a $1,000 college scholarship.
Developing Leadership Skills through Service Learning
A group of eighth-grade students at Centennial Campus Magnet Middle School is currently working on their semester-long service learning project, “Homelessness and Teens in Wake County, North Carolina.” As a group, students decided to collect and donate travel size toiletry items to one of the local shelters in Raleigh.
Involving students in service learning is a great way for them to develop leadership skills while "finding their voice." Over the course of the semester students have completed the following phases of the service learning project: (1) researched homelessness in Wake County and North Carolina, (2) participated in symposiums where experts have shared facts about homelessness in Wake County, and (3) are currently in the process of collecting toiletries items that will be distributed during National Global Youth Service Day, the week of April 24.
How you can help!
CCMMS invites you to join them in demonstrating leadership through service by donating travel size toiletries. Their goal is to prepare 100 packs for delivery during National Global Youth Service Day.
The Wake County School Bus Roadeo
School bus drivers from across Wake County will take part in the annual Wake County School Bus Roadeo next week. Winners will compete in regional competitions and possibly be eligible for the State Roadeo. The competition will take place on Tuesday April 14 at the State Fairgrounds. The roadeo course is set up and judged by Department of Motor Vehicle representatives of the School Bus & Traffic Safety Section. The drivers are judged on how well they completed basic driving skills including maneuvers such as left turns, right turns, backing, offset alley, diminishing clearance, serpentine and the stop line. The friendly competition promotes safety and puts their knowledge to the test.
Athens Drive Theatre Dept to Present Guys and Dolls
The Athens Drive High School Theatre Department is proud to present “Guys and Dolls.” Set in the city of Runyonland, the show is filled with energetic dance numbers, a fight scene, gamblers, and two love stories. The stage performance features Alex Sherron as Nathan Detroit, Barrett Ward as Adelaide, Alec Sturgis as Sky Masterson, Amanda Decker as Sarah Brown, plus a supporting cast of 29 members. Showtimes are April 23-25 at 7:00 p.m. in the Athens Drive auditorium. Tickets: $10.00 at the door.
Salem Middle School's Dakota Lee Discusses Her Book
Seventh-grader Dakota Lee has been visiting schools to discuss her book Flash of Freedom with students. Last week, she was at Lufkin Road Middle School. She's also visited schools in Ohio and her mom was working on arrangements to visit a school in New York City.
At 13, Dakota is a published author with an online video blog where you will find her discussing horse care. She says her interest in horses and writing were both stimulated by reading.
Principal Allen Ellzey and Dakota Lee talk about reading and writing.
Click here to listen to Salem Middle School's Dakota Lee Discusses Her Book