WCPSS Good News

Goal 2008: WCPSS is committed to academic excellence. By 2008, 95 percent of students in grades 3 through 12 will be at or above grade level as measured by the State of North Carolina End-of-Grade or Course tests, and all student groups will demonstrate high growth.

November 3, 2005

MORRISVILLE ELEMENTARY NAMED BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL
Morrisville Elementary School is one of nine NC public schools to be honored as a 2005 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. Morrisville was the only school in the Triangle of Wake, Durham and Orange counties to receive the award that was presented to 245 public schools in the U.S. Morrisville is the tenth WCPSS school to earn the Blue Ribbon Award. Cary High earned the award in 2002. Brentwood, Carver, Combs, Davis Drive, Powell and Wiley elementary schools, as well as Broughton and Enloe high schools have earned the Blue Ribbon Award.

WCPSS READING PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTED
The National ERF Office has recognized WCPSS Project Enlightenment's Early Reading First (ERF) Program! The federally-funded program, "The Literacy Connection," was featured in a presentation at the National Early Reading First Conference this month. After a review of the program by the Washington office, Mary Ashe, Coordinator of the program, was asked to be the key note conference speaker and to relate the experiences of Project Enlightenment in developing and implementing this exciting research-based literacy program for pre-kindergarten children, teachers, and families.

MOORE SQUARE EARNS NATIONAL ARCHITECTURAL AWARD
Moore Square Museums Magnet Middle School has been honored with a national award from School Planning and Management magazine and the Council of Educational Facility Planners International, winning in the category of Specialized Learning Spaces. The Impact on Learning award was presented last month at the council's national conference in San Antonio

MIDDLE CREEK SENIOR NAMED TO NATIONAL SAVE BOARD
Middle Creek High senior Channing Shor was selected to serve as chairperson of the National Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) Youth Advisory Board (YAB). Recognized as a leader in her school and community, Shor will join a six-member team to discuss school violence issues and develop action plans for SAVE chapters across the nation. The YAB will develop their leadership skills through participation in training sessions, discussions of best practices to prevent school violence, and practice of educational activities for sharing with other SAVE students. They will create goals for the year and a proactive action plan to combat violence through the implementation of the three essential elements of SAVE: crime prevention, conflict management, and service projects. As a member of the YAB, one of Shor's major responsibilities include organizing the National SAVE Day which was Oct. 19 and the National SAVE Youth Summit in April 2006.

WCPSS PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR
The Wake County Public School System named James Overman the 2005 Principal of the Year and Susan Spivey 2005 Assistant Principal of the Year in ceremonies earlier this month. Overman has served as principal of Creech Road since 2002. Spivey has served as assistant principal of Cary Elementary since 1998. Overman received $1,000, and Spivey $500. Each received an Olympus D545 digital camera, Avery personal label printer and storage boxes filled with $150 worth of office supplies. Principals and assistant principals are voted finalists by WCPSS principals and assistant principals. Then a team of school officials reviews the finalists - visiting their schools and reviewing a portfolio prepared by each finalist.

WCPSS COUNSELORS HONORED
WCPSS has selected the 2005 School Counselors of the Year. Aimee Allen of Lincoln Heights Elementary; Belinda Harris of Holly Ridge Middle; and Jeanette Boone of Enloe High were selected for the honor by their peers. The three will now be considered by the NC School Counselors Association Professional Recognition Committee for state awards.

TEN RECOGNIZED WITH WCPSS EMPLOYEE EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Ten Wake County Public School System employees were recognized by the Board of Education with the Employee Excellence Awards at the board's Oct. 18 meeting. The October 2005 Employee Excellence Awards were presented to Mary Ellen Leach, Assistant Principal at Turner Creek Elementary; Henry Ward, Head Custodian at Pleasant Union Elementary; Jane Cocks, Receptionist at Fuller Elementary; Valerie Matthews, Cafeteria Manager at Dillard Drive Middle; Jean Zeblo, Guidance Assistant at East Millbrook Magnet Middle; Robin Blalock, Lead Secretary at Davis Drive Middle; Nancy Allen, Instructional Resource Teacher at East Wake Middle; Libby Leary, Healthful Living Teacher at Durant Road Middle; Kesha Hunter, Applications Technician at Human Resources; and Lalonna J. Griffin, Senior Administrator at Facilities Planning & Construction. The Employee Excellence Awards were created to recognize Wake County school employees for their hard work, and providing one of the country's top-performing school districts. Employees are nominated for the honor and selected by a committee.

LIGON OPENS 'YOUTH BANK'
SunTrust Bank opened a 'Youth Bank' Oct. 26 at Ligon Middle School, the first bank of its kind in the Triangle. Students will have the opportunity to operate and manage the bank and can use the bank to open a deposits only savings account. The program is intended to help students become familiar with basic business and banking skills that they will be able to use in school, in their careers and in their everyday lives.

The bank will be staffed by Ligon students and assisted by Ligon and SunTrust personnel. SunTrust Bank and Ligon Middle School accepted student applications, interviewed students and 'hired' two branch managers, four tellers and two customer service representatives/date entry clerks for each of the three lunch periods to staff the bank. During the year, Ligon students will not only learn the importance of saving, but will also receive financial literacy training and visit a local SunTrust branch to learn more about bank operations.

"It is a great privilege for our school to work with SunTrust and serve as host for the Youth Bank," Ligon Principal Scott Lyons said. "Giving the students the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the business and banking world will allow them to understand not only the importance of saving, but also getting real world experience right here on Ligon's campus."

Only $1.00 is required to open a savings account at the Youth Bank, and no interest will be paid on the accounts. At the end of the year, SunTrust will donate an incremental match on the accounts opened at the Youth Bank.

The Youth Bank is a collaborative initiative by several area leaders including State Treasurer Richard Moore and the Southeast Raleigh Roundtable, a group of residents and community leaders who seek to improve the financial health and well being of the area and its citizens.

WCPSS SCHOOLS RECOGNIZED AT STATE FAIR ART COMPETITION
WCPSS schools dominated the competition at the 2005 NC State Fair for arts and photography. Farmington Woods Elementary and Ligon Middle won first place blue ribbons. Fuller Elementary and Enloe High earned second place red ribbons. Underwood Elementary, Apex Middle and Apex High won third place white ribbons. Schools are judged by level on a collection of six works of student art. In the elementary school category, Apex finished fourth, Baileywick fifth, Durant Road sixth, Turner Creek seventh and Stough eighth. Leesville Road, Washington and Wilburn earned honorable mentions. In middle school, Dillard Drive earned fifth, Reedy Creek seventh and Martin eighth. Salem earned an honorable mention. In high school, Garner earned fourth, Cary fifth and Millbrook seventh. Southeast Raleigh received an honorable mention. Information on State Fair competitions can be found at http://www.ncstatefair.org/2005/competitions.htm

WCPSS SCHOOLS EARN NATIONAL ENERGY AWARDS
At the Oct. 18 Board of Education meeting, school administrators recognized the WCPSS EnergySavers Program and WCPSS schools that were honored by the National Energy Education Development Project (NEED). The WCPSS EnergySavers Program was recognized as District of the Year program at the State Level. Fox Road and Forestville Road were both recognized as Elementary School of the Year at the State Level. Lockhart and North Ridge elementary schools earned Honorable Mention at the State Level. Students from these schools took on individual energy conservation projects that they documented and shared with NEED. As a result, they were honored on the State and National levels at the NEED National Recognition Ceremonies held in June, in Washington, DC.

WCPSS STUDENTS WIN IN WRITING COMPETITION
Two of the three winners of the 2005 Wade Edwards Foundation ninth Annual Short Fiction Awards are WCPSS students. Laurence Williams of Middle Creek High came in second place earning a $2,000 scholarship and Nolan Heath of Apex High came in third place earning a $1,000 scholarship. The results were announced last month at the NC English Teachers Association Conference.

The award is given annually to three NC high school juniors who submit the most outstanding original short fiction. The competition, administered and supported by the NC English Teachers Association and the NC Department of Public Instruction and sponsored by the Wade Edwards Foundation, rewards excellence in creative writing and encourages contemplation of virtues associated with Wade Edwards: humility, strength of convictions, loyalty, honor, charity, determination, the value of family, and the obligations of friendship and community. Wade was a talented high school student whose life ended tragically at the age of 16.

Entries are currently being sought for the 2006 Wade Edwards Short Fiction Award. Essays, which can contain from 500-10,000 words, are due March 1, 2006. For more information, visit http://www.wade.org/shortfic.htm .

ATHENS DRIVE STUDENTS SEEK TO IMAGINE NO HUNGER
Students from Athens Drive High have formed a group to fight hunger. Seniors Jill Willette and Nick Brust came up with the idea and enlisted their families to help. They began making trips to downtown Raleigh on Sunday night to provide food. They've served an increasing number of people and have enlisted the help of fellow students and businesses, which have supplied food. They call the group Imagine No Hunger. You can find out more about their efforts at http://www.imaginenohunger.com

BRENTWOOD STUDENTS TAKE PART IN BIG SWEEP
Brentwood Elementary students worked with other local volunteers last month as part of the state's Big Sweep effort to clean up rivers, lakes and wetlands. The students worked on Marsh Creek. In all of Wake County, Big Sweep picked up 47 tires and more than 550 bags filled with more than 15,000 pounds of debris.

WAKE COUNTY CELEBRATES RED RIBBON WEEK 2005
Across Wake County students took part in Red Ribbon Week during October 23-31. Red Ribbon Week is about encouraging kids to be drug-free. During the week, 60,000 WCPSS elementary students were given Red Ribbons, which stated: "Show Good Character: Don't Use Drugs." Wake County Commissioners officially proclaimed Wake's Red Ribbon week in recognition of drug free youth and the efforts of groups such as 4-H Youth Development Services of Wake County Cooperative Extensions, Pines of Carolina Girl Scouts; Wake County/Occoneechee Boy Scouts; Boys/Girls Club of Wake County; and Oberlin YWCA. For more information on Red Ribbon Week, visit http://www.wakeptacouncil.org/redRibbon.html

DANIELS WELCOMES STUDENTS FROM JAPAN
Students from Japan were welcomed with a special assembly at Daniels Middle School last month. Daniels is an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme magnet school. It has established an exchange program with a school in Japan. School Connection TV talked with a Daniels teacher and student about their visit to Japan earlier this year. You can find that report at http://www.wcpss.net/schooltv/10-2005/07.html

CHINESE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS VISIT EAST WAKE HIGH
Administrators from the Affiliated Senior High School of Hangzhou Teachers' College in China recently visited East Wake High School as the two schools work to establish an exchange program. Dr. Herman Norman, East Wake's principal, visited China last year, working to establish the exchange. Norman says the exchange program will be mutually beneficial. He hopes about a dozen students and several staff will be able to visit China in the next year.

INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS PREPARE STUDENTS FOR GLOBAL SUCCESS
There are more than 40 teachers in WCPSS schools with the Visiting International Faculty Program this year, serving in international-exchange activities in local schools. They are among more than 1,700 VIF educators from more than 50 nations teaching in nearly 1,000 schools in 10 states. The VIF program is headquartered in Chapel Hill, NC. VIF is recognizing teachers it has placed in local schools as part of International Education Week Nov. 14-18, which is sponsored by the U.S. State Department and U.S. Department of Education. You can find more about VIF at www.vifprogram.com and more about International Education Week at http://exchanges.state.gov/iew/

WCPSS RECEIVES AWARD FOR PEST CONTROL
The Wake County Public School System received a Leadership Award at N.C. State University's School Integrated Pest Management Recognition Awards Ceremony Oct. 24. WCPSS is one of the first school districts in the state to implement the IPM program, which utilizes several non-chemical methods of pest prevention, including walk-through inspections, monitoring devices, sanitation, and exclusion. The idea is to only use pesticides if other methods aren't successful; pesticides are a last resort.


WCPSS Good News is published electronically every other week for everyone interested in the Wake County Public School System. Is what you read in this edition helpful? What information would you like to see in future editions? Contact me by calling 850-1829 or e-mailing bposton@wcpss.net.

Bill Poston
Wake County Public School System
Communications Department
3600 Wake Forest Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27611

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