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.April 10, 2006
ADAMS STUDENT NAMED NATIONAL SAVE STUDENT OF THE YEAR
Adams Elementary fourth-grader Adrian Correa was named the 2005-06 National
SAVE Student of the Year for outstanding performance and lasting contributions
to the school, community and students and for exemplifying the ideals of
SAVE. Correa was recognized by the National Association of Students Against
Violence Everywhere at the 10TH Annual SAVE Summit held April 1 in Raleigh.
Correa has attended every SAVE Chapter meeting at his school, even when his part of the year round school is tracked out. He has been very active in all of the chapter's activities including being trained in conflict management. He works well with all of his peers in the SAVE club as well as his classmates. He volunteers to help and often encourages others. He is friendly, helpful and courteous to his peers in the SAVE Club. Being fluent in English and Spanish, Adrian is very helpful in translating for other students. He goes above and beyond to make others feel comfortable and to work out disagreements.
The National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) is a student-run, student-initiated violence prevention nonprofit organization with over 1,600 chapters in 44 states with close to 200,000 members in elementary, middle, high schools, colleges and communities nationwide. SAVE provides education about the effects and consequences of violence and helps provide safe activities for students, parents and communities. For further information on SAVE, please visit www.nationalsave.org.
COMBS NAMED SEMIFINALIST FOR PRESTIGIOUS NATIONAL AWARD
Combs Elementary has been named an Intel and Scholastic Schools of Distinction
semifinalist. Principal Muriel Summers was informed that the Schools of
Distinction program had reviewed Combs' application and selected Combs to
move onto the next stage of judging.
The awards recognize K-12 schools in the U.S. that demonstrate excellence in implementing innovative, replicable programs supporting positive educational outcomes. The awards showcase the effective use of technology, the benefits of strong teamwork and the development of excellent classroom teachers.
Winners are chosen - one each in elementary and secondary from nine categories.
From among those, one each from elementary and secondary are selected as
"Best of the Best." These winners are recognized for having a
comprehensive program addressing technology, strong involvement of parents
and the community, ongoing professional development, great teamwork, and
for consistently achieving high academic standards.
· Each category winner receives a $10,000 grant from the Intel Foundation
and a host of educational products provided by Scholastic.
· "Best of the Best" winners receive an additional $15,000
from the Intel Foundation for a total of $25,000.
You can find more information about the awards program at http://www.schoolsofdistinction.com/
WCPSS TEAMS EARN TRIP TO NATIONAL ODYSSEY OF THE MIND FINALS
Teams from two WCPSS elementary schools earned second place honors at the
NC Odyssey of the Mind State Finals held April 1 at Appalachian State University.
Davis Drive Elementary School earned second place in the Tech Transfer problem.
Partnership Elementary School earned second place in the Geometry Structure
Div I problem. The students earned a spot to represent their schools at
the World Finals in May. More information about the program can be found
at www.odysseyofthemind.com and www.ncom.org.
CARNAGE TEACHER AWARDED NATIONAL HONOR
Carnage Middle School teacher Anne Wine was named one of eight national
Warren E. Shull Middle Level Advisors of the Year by the National Association
of Student Councils (NASC). Wine will represent the NASC Region III in the
competition for the National Student Council Middle Level Advisor of the
Year Award to be announced in June at the NASC 70th annual conference in
Lansdale, PA. Wine has been the art teacher and student council advisor
at Carnage Middle for six years. During that time she has served on both
the central district and state boards of the NC Association of Student Councils.
Under her leadership, Carnage served as the host school for the 2004 NCASC
Middle Level Workshop. This is the seventeenth year of the Shull Awards,
and Wine's honor coincides with National Student Leadership Week, an annual
event held to highlight the importance of student activities. NASC is the
nation's only national organization providing leadership development training
for high school and middle level students and activity advisers.
CARNAGE STUDENT EARNS NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Carnage Middle School eighth-grader Alcrist Moreta earned first place in
the 2006 Magnet Schools of America Poster Contest for the middle school
level. Alcrist competed with other middle school students across the nation
using the theme "Magnet Schools Promote Diversity." Her poster,
submitted this past January, featured students of many cultures waiting
to enter a WCPSS school bus. Alcrist's poster will be on display at the
2006 National Conference on Magnet Schools in Omaha, Nebraska this summer
and will be featured in an upcoming newsletter.
MARTIN SEVENTH-GRADERS RECOGNIZED BY DUKE TIP
Four Martin Middle School students earned recognition by taking the SAT
as part of the 2006 Seventh Grade Talent Search for the Duke University
Talent Identification Program. Claire Zeng, who scored a perfect 800 on
the SAT Math subtest, was one of the 21 nationwide Merit Scholarship winners
who earned the opportunity to attend the Duke TIP Summer Studies Program.
Four Martin Middle students - Yash Agrawal, Marshall Lochbaum, Rebecca March,
and Claire Zeng - received Grand Recognition. They were among 1,234 students
nation-wide who scored in the top two percent of all seventh graders tested.
Twenty-seven Martin Middle students scored above the national average. More
than 70,000 students from sixteen states participated in the SAT this year
as part of Duke TIP.
FARMINGTON WOODS WORKS TOWARD IB RE-AUTHORIZATION
Farmington Woods Elementary has become the first WCPSS International Baccalaureate
school to have its mandatory five-year site visit by International Baccalaureate
Organization evaluators. Farmington Woods is seeking re-authorization for
its IB Primary Years Programme. Stan Burgoyne, WCPSS Senior Administrator
for International Baccalaureate Programmes congratulated principal Fran
Venezia, IB coordinator Sarah Balkcum, and the entire Farmington Woods'
staff for their presentations to the IBO evaluators. IB evaluators told
Venezia that they loved the school, loved the facility, thought Farmington
Woods had great materials and wanted to know where the school found such
great teachers.
TWO CARNAGE STUDENTS NAMED TO NCASC HALL OF FAME
Two Carnage Middle School students - Susan Deans and Caitlin Harrison -
were named to the NC Association of Student Councils Hall of Fame at the
association's annual convention last month. Both students have been actively
involved in student council for three years and have participated in NCASC
meetings. The Hall of Fame was created to allow local student councils an
opportunity to recognize and honor outstanding student council members.
To be eligible for Hall of Fame recognition the students must be recommended
by an NCASC member school and have demonstrated distinguished and outstanding
service as defined by his or her home student council.
WCPSS SCHOOL TO CAREER STAFF PRESENT AT STATE CONFERENCE
Chris Droessler, School-to-Career Coordinator, and Megan Kirkpatrick, Business
Alliance Coordinator, presented at the NC College Tech Prep Annual Conference
in Greensboro, March 20-22. They were asked to present two different sessions:
-The Invaluable Partnership of Business & Education: Preparing the Next
Generation of North Carolina Citizens - focused on the WCPSS School-to-Career
Initiative and how other counties could replicate it.
-Getting and Using Current Career Data - showed fellow educators how to
take existing state career data and organize it into the NC Career Outlook
Handbook a usable format for parents and students to determine which careers
will be in demand in NC.
The conference's keynote speaker, Dr. Edward Gordon, author of "The
2010 Meltdown - Solving the Impending Jobs Crisis," complimented Wake
County during his speech for developing the NC Career Outlook Handbook.
You can see the handbook at
http://www.wcpss.net/school_to_career/resources/index.html
WCPSS KIDS ARE FIRST IN FITNESS!
WCPSS's "First in Fitness" competition has celebrated its 24th
anniversary this spring. "First in Fitness" was established by
former elementary physical education teacher, Ben Tench, and is one of the
oldest on-going physical fitness events in the country. Over 50 elementary
schools and 20 middle schools sent teams of students to compete in a variety
of fitness events including the mile run, pull-ups, one-minute jump rope,
shuttle run, broad jump, 100-yard dash, a modified triathlon, and other
track and field events. Elementary and middle traditional calendar schools
held First in Fitness events April 5-7. Elementary Magnet Schools will hold
their Track and Field Meet 9:30 a.m., May 5 at Broughton High.
MOORE SQUARE MIDDLE MAKING AN IMPACT IN DOWNTOWN RALEIGH
Downtown Raleigh business leaders shared their vision for the new downtown
area of Raleigh at Moore Square Museums Magnet Middle School's Spring Gallery
Walk. Roger Krupa, Raleigh Convention Center, and Kris Larson, Downtown
Raleigh Business Alliance talked with the school and business community
about the changing downtown area and Superintendent Bill McNeal discussed
the important role of downtown schools in education. The evening featured
student exhibitions and performances highlighting the innovative program
at Moore Square. First opened in 2002, Moore Square Museums Magnet Middle
School's downtown location provides unique opportunities for its students
to draw upon the area's cultural and business resources.
BATIK ARTIST VISITS WASHINGTON ELEMENTARY
Artist-in-residence Leni Newell will be visiting Washington Elementary May
1-5 to work with students. Newell is a batik artist with a studio at Artspace
in Raleigh. She will work primarily with fifth grade students creating eight-foot
silk banners that will hang in the school cafeteria. Students will work
with Newell in small groups throughout the week.
TEACHERS NEEDED FOR SUPERINTENDENT'S COUNCIL
The Superintendent's Teacher Advisory Council (STAC) is currently seeking
applications for three-year terms on the Council, which shares input, ideas
and concerns with the superintendent on issues and challenges facing the
school system. The Council meets about six times throughout the year for
a minimum of four hours each meeting. If you are interested in serving on
the STAC, please email khughes@wcpss.net or call 856-7806 to request an
application. Deadline for applications is April 17, 2006.
THREE WCPSS SCHOOLS TAKE PART IN EV CHALLENGE FINAL EVENT
Students from three WCPSS schools were among several hundred students converging
on Wake County for the 11th annual EV Challenge Final Event Weekend April
7-8. Students from Wake Forest-Rolesville High, East Garner Middle and Martin
Middle were part of the 21 schools from North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia
and Florida to take part in the event. The competition is the culmination
of a yearlong program designed to teach 6th-12th graders the importance
of alternative fuel development and application.
One of the most exciting components of the high school program is the student design and construction of a street-legal electric vehicle, which will be entered into several competitions during the Final Event weekend. High school students will enter their vehicles in a series of range and autocross events. Students also compete in community initiatives, web-site design and public speaking.
Middle school students also apply a multi-disciplinary approach to their design and construction of model solar racecars for competition. The middle school program is based on the Junior Solar Sprint (JSS) program, developed and sponsored by the US Department of Energy. The NC Solar Center coordinates the JSS program for the EV Challenge and works with participating schools to provide a curriculum, instructional assistance and competition support.
The EV Challenge is the country's premier alternative fuel education program, unique because of its integration of several disciplines, including math, science, engineering, language arts and more. The EV Challenge is sponsored by the nonprofit Carolina Electric Vehicles Coalition, Inc. (CEVC), based in Wake County.
-wcpss-
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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