Good News
April 11 , 2007 |
EAST GARNER STUDENT NAMED NATIONAL SAVE STUDENT OF THE YEAR
East Garner Middle School eighth grader Casey Story has been recognized by the National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) for her volunteer work and efforts in preventing school violence with the 2006-2007 National SAVE Student of the Year Award.
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Story received the award for outstanding performance and lasting contributions to the school, community, and students and for exemplifying the ideals of SAVE. Story received the award at the 11th Annual SAVE Summit held as part of National Youth Violence Prevention Week March 26-30.
Story has been an active, hardworking and dedicated SAVE member since she was in the sixth grade. She has risen to the top of her chapter as leader and has helped to organize service projects, the SAVE Club bulletin board, assemblies and led breakout sessions at the Summit. She is assisting in establishing a peer mediation group at her school and organizing outreach to the elementary and surrounding middle schools.
The National Association of SAVE is a student-run, student-initiated public nonprofit violence prevention organization with over 1,600 chapters in 45 states and 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 .
SOUTHEAST RALEIGH BAND HELPS NEW ORLEANS
The Marching Bulldogs of Southeast Raleigh High School visited New Orleans for spring break.
 Southeast Raleigh High students unload band equipment for New Orleans schools. |
On March 26, the band played at Jackson Square in the French Quarter and went to J. S. Clark High School. At the school in an assembly of their seniors, Clark's Band played for the Southeast Raleigh students and the Southeast Raleigh band played for them. Southeast Raleigh students, staff and parents unloaded a UPS truck that donated the transport of supplies from Raleigh to New Orleans. It was filled with donated art supplies, instruments and band uniforms. The Bulldog Marching Band Boosters presented the Clark High principal with a $1500 check to purchase additional supplies. On March 27, the Southeast Raleigh students participated in clean-up with Common Ground Relief in New Orleans Lower 9th Ward. The Boosters presented the organization with a $750 check.
Southeast Raleigh High School’s Band Director Clifton Scott and Band Boosters coordinated a program they called, “Project Make a Difference.” They asked Triangle schools and communities to offer New Orleans schools help. They asked for donations of (1) new and used band instruments, (2) band uniforms, (3) visual arts materials, (4) materials that can be used in fine and performing arts programs, and (5) monetary donations. Donations of money were used to purchase new instruments and refurbish donated instruments, as well as purchase sheet music and supplies needed for visual arts, fine arts and performing arts programs. They planned to purchase a majority of the items in New Orleans in order to help New Orleans-area businesses rebuild.
WCPSS IB EDUCATORS TRAVEL TO GUATEMALA
Fran Venezia, principal of Farmington Woods Elementary, was one of 17 teachers and administrators from WCPSS schools with the International Baccalaureate program that traveled to Guatemala for Spring break. The WCPSS educators helped set up the first school in the remote village of Santiago Zamora, about 45 minutes outside of Antigua.
The Guatemalan village just got their first school building and the WCPSS educators hope to help them equip it. In recent weeks, the WCPSS International Baccalaureate schools have raised money and supplies for the 17 educators to take with them.
“We divided up an extensive supply list and had supply drives at our schools,” said Venezia. “At Farmington Woods Elementary, we have about 150 pairs of scissors, staplers, hole punches, and paints to bring. Millbrook Elementary “K Kids” ran a supply drive for crayons, pencil sharpeners, paper, notebooks, bottles of glue and colored pencils. Other schools collected additional supplies.”
The efforts are part of an action project to link WCPSS International Baccalaureate schools with another part of the world. The educators planned to find ideas and supplies that will help them with lessons for their students.
Venezia planned to attend one of Antigua’s Spanish language schools. Others planned to study Antigua’s Mayan culture, nearby volcanoes or the area’s Spanish colonial history.
WCPSS schools with the International Baccalaureate program include Broughton High, Enloe High, Garner High, Daniels Middle, East Millbrook Middle, East Garner Middle, Farmington Woods Elementary and Millbrook Elementary.
MILLBROOK ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL EARNS NCAE HONORS
Millbrook Elementary School Assistant Principal Paula Trantham has been named the 2007 Assistant Principal of the Year by the NC Association of Educators. Trantham has served as assistant principal at Millbrook Elementary and worked as a teacher at Centennial Campus Middle School and Apex Elementary. She has been an active member of NCAE and currently serves on the board of directors of the NCAE Principals/Administrators Division.
DANIELS STUDENT WINS STATE GEOGRAPHY BEE
Daniels Middle School eighth-grader Tahsin Zaman won the State Geography Bee, beating out contestants from across the state that gathered for the competition at the Exploris Museum in Raleigh. As winner of the state bee, Zaman earned a $100 prize. He will travel to Washington D.C. in May to represent North Carolina in the National Finals of the National Geography Bee sponsored by National Geographic. “This is awesome and we are proud of his efforts!” said Daniels principal Stephen Mares. Tahsin won by correctly answering the question: "Jin Mao Tower, which has the highest hotel rooms in the world, is located in which Southeast Asian City?" He correctly answered Shanghai.
Last year, Zaman made the Top 10 finalists in the North Carolina Geography Bee. At this year’s Geography Bee, Broughton High Social Studies teacher Jane Forde and WCPSS Senior Administrator for Social Studies Melinda Stephani served as moderators for the preliminary rounds.
ENLOE TEAM TO COMPETE IN NATIONAL ACADEMIC DECATHLON
The Enloe High Academic Decathlon Team won the NC Academic Decathlon Championship and the right to represent North Carolina in the National Academic Decathlon, the country’s premier scholastic competition.
Team members are Liyuan Yang, Haoyu Chen, Katrina Connor, Anish Sukumarin, Sarah Aldridge, Lizi Chen, Laura Morgan, Duncan Hardee, and Stephanie Hellweg-Brown.
To win a medal in the strongly contested US competition would be the culmination of years of hard work for senior team leader Liyuan Yang and the other eight members of the team. They must learn the extensive curriculum on their own to compete against teams whose schools teach Academic Decathlon as a class, and stake their school’s reputation on the outcome of the Nationals.
With the help of some corporate donors, the Chinese American community, Wake County Public School System, and parents, the team has received pledges of enough funds to compete at the National Competition at Honolulu, Hawaii.
The team is now heavily involved in intense preparation, with a vow to bring home some metal from Oahu. And they are thrilled to have the support of the greater Raleigh community.
ENLOE PROBLEM SOLVERS HEAD TO REGIONAL COMPETITION
Two of Enloe High School’s Senior Division teams have qualified for an invitation to the 2007 Future Problem Solving of Virginia/North Carolina State Bowl. The two teams representing Enloe and the Wake County School District are: E. Hessel, R. Estrada, K. Wormsbecher and L. Buff; P. Chisnell, R. Watson, C. Hoffman and A. Dmiszewicki. They will be competing in Richmond, VA on April 20th and 21st.
WAKE STUDENTS SELECTED FOR GOVERNOR'S SCHOOL
Sixty Wake County Public School students have been selected to attend the 2007 Governor's School. The program is the oldest statewide summer residential school for academically or intellectually gifted high school students in the nation. The program is open to rising seniors only, with exceptions made for rising juniors in the performing and visual arts. The program is located on two campuses: Salem College in Winston-Salem and Meredith College in Raleigh. Click here for the full list of WCPSS students selected.
34 WCPSS STUDENTS NAMED TEACHING FELLOWS
34 WCPSS Seniors earned NC Teaching Fellows scholarships this year. Another 13 students were recognized as alternates.
The students named Teaching Fellows include Kathleen Denise Riggsbee and Christina Anna Rita Waltz of Apex High; Anna Christian Allen of Broughton High; Afeefa Awad Ayesh, Lauren Michelle Bajorek, Sarah Louise Belles, Caitlin Mary Donovan, Laura Michelle Grabowski, Jessica Lynne Morrow, Audrey Christie-Emily Nestianu of Cary High; Elizabeth L. Alford, Kerry Ann Mootoo and Matthew Sigma Wall of East Wake High; Crystal Nicole Espey of Fuquay-Varina High; William Andrew Dibble and Jenny Rose Hunnicutt of Garner High; Kenjo Kunzo Fujii, Sarah Elizabeth Grzesik and Lindsay Rae Williams of Green Hope High; Ivy Elizabeth McCreary of Knightdale High; Jasmine Chantal Brunson, Kristen Kathleen Eure and Katharine Christene Locke of Leesville Road High; Elizabeth June-Heline Dobbins and Megan Elizabeth Lyles of Middle Creek High; Christopher Richard DiMassimo of Millbrook High; Jessica Nicole Dobyns and Scott Kendrick McFarlane of Sanderson High; Karen Lientte Hawley and Sarah English Smith of Wake Forest-Rolesville High; Nickolas Christopher Fields, Andrea Denise Jones and Laura Nicole Pierrie of Wakefield High.
The students named Teaching Fellows alternates include Lisa Nicole Fanelli, Amelia Nicole Gardner and Kimberly Ann MacDougall of Athens Drive High; Jenna Lynn Myers and Katharine Anne Schulthels of Cary High; Megan Marie Keith of Fuquay-Varina High; Tracy Renee Cottrell of Knightdale High; Amy Marie Wolf of Leesville Road High; Lauren Nicole Pilley of Millbrook High; Cassandra Marie Haran and Melissa Lauren Jones of Sanderson High; Jessica Leigh Thomas of Wakefield High; and Allyson Lauren Sutton of East Wake School of Health Sciences.
Cary High had seven, the largest number of Teaching Fellows, Leesville Road High had four.
The Teaching Fellows Program provides a $6,500 per year scholarship for four years to 500 outstanding North Carolina high school seniors. Recipients must be legal residents of North Carolina and citizens of the United States. Upon acceptance of the scholarship, the student agrees to teach for four years following graduation from college in one of North Carolina’s public schools or United States Government schools in North Carolina. If the recipient cannot repay the scholarship through service, the loan is repaid to the State with a 10 percent interest.
The mission of the program has been to recruit talented high school graduates into the teaching profession and to help them develop leadership qualities such as visionary thinking and risk-taking; qualities
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Teaching Fellows recipients are selected through a collaborative process that occurs at the school district and regional levels. Selection committees are composed of education, political, business, and community leaders from across the state. Over 1,200 volunteers are involved each year in identifying the recipients.
APEX STUDENT EARNS HONOR THAT PROVIDES SUMMER TRAVEL
Apex High School junior George Story has been awarded the Bertie Green Travel Award. Story is among 20 students nationwide honored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese with an all expense paid trip to Costa Rica this summer. Story earned the recognition with a written essay and videotaped conversation, both in Spanish.
HOLLY SPRINGS DANCE STUDENT TO ATTEND GOVERNOR’S SCHOOL
Holly Springs High sophomores Tristan Bailey and Brittany Bailey have been accepted to the Governor's School of North Carolina. Tristan is part of the Holly Springs High dance program and Brittany is part of the Holly Springs High choral program. The Governor's School, is a six-week summer residential program for intellectually gifted high school students, integrating academic disciplines, the arts, and unique courses. Although primarily open to rising seniors only, exceptions are made for rising juniors in the performing/visual arts area. Tristan and Brittany were both selected to represent Wake County in their perspective Artistic fields. They earned their acceptance by auditioning amongst the top finalists from the various school districts throughout North Carolina.
BROOKS FIFTH GRADE CREATES OPERA
Sixty-four 5th graders at Brooks Elementary School have created an opera called “American Students in a Japanese Fantasy.” The 30-minute opera will be presented at 7 p.m. on April 19 and at 10 a.m. on April 20 in the school’s multi- purpose room. Admission is one canned food for the Food Bank of North Carolina.
Students earned positions in the opera company by auditioning for various jobs. These jobs include costumes, makeup, lighting, set design, carpenters, writers, composers, performers, stage manager, production manager, public relations, and historians.
Brooks was selected by Metropolitan Opera Guild’s Education Department to participate in the Creating Original Opera Program. This project is supported by United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County, with funds from the United Arts Campaign and the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency funded by the state of North Carolina and the National Endowment for Arts. Additional funding has been provided by the PTA.
ACTIVE STUDENTS ARE FIRST IN FITNESS
The 25th anniversary of the "First in Fitness" competition gets underway today at Sanderson High School.
Former elementary physical education teacher, Ben Tench, established “First in Fitness” 25 years ago. The event is one of the oldest on-going physical fitness events in the country. Over 50 elementary schools and 22 middle schools will be sending 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.
Ben's idea has grown from a single event involving a handful of schools and about 100 students, to a massive county-wide spectacle involving over 70 schools with thousands of participants, spectators, event coordinators, high school PEPI students, and judges. Over 6,000 parents, students, teachers, and other guests will attend and/or participate in this year's events.
The events will be held at three different venues during the months of April and May. They are:
- Northern Area Elementary First in Fitness - Tuesday, April 10, 2007 starting at 9:30 am at Sanderson High School.
- Southern Area Elementary First in Fitness - Rescheduled for Wednesday, May 2 starting at 10:30 a.m. at Athens Drive High School.
- Middle School First in Fitness - Friday, April 20, 2007 starting at 9:30 am at Athens Drive High School.
- Elementary Magnet Schools Track and Field Meet - Friday, May 11, 2007 starting at 9:30 am at Broughton High School.
With our nation's growing obesity and type II diabetes trend among school-aged youth (especially minority students), Wake County Public School System's "First in Fitness" events provide an interesting contrast to this national and state concern.
AT XTREME BEGINNINGS, STUDENTS CONSIDER CAREERS
The Wake County Public School System will host the Seventh Annual Xtreme Beginnings at 9:15 a.m., Thursday, April 12 at the McKimmon Center.
Approximately 250 community leaders are volunteering their time to meet with 650 Wake County high school students to discuss the diverse topic of careers.
The event, utilizing all of the McKimmon Center, will be comprised of the following:
- Roundtable discussions with professionals representing each of the career pathways
- A Higher Education Fair
- An Employment Fair for students considering going directly to work after graduation
- Practice Interviews & resume critiques from HR professionals
Each year, community business leaders understand the importance of this type of event for NC's future workforce and donate thousands of hours to ensure the event's success.
STUDENT JOB SHADOWS PILOT FEATURED ON COVER OF NATIONAL MAGAZINE
The WCPSS School-to-Career Initiative allows dedicated business leaders and school Career Development Coordinators (CDC) to partner in order to provide WCPSS middle and high school students hundreds of career-related events and experiences each year.
 Holly Springs student Sam Sosnowski gets to job shadow with a flight instructor. |
In March, Sandy Tudor, a Holly Springs High CDC and Megan Kirkpatrick, the WCPSS business alliance coordinator, arranged a unique job shadow experience for Sam Sosnowski, a 10-grade student at Holly Springs High with an interest in aviation.
Sam shadowed Jim Schmidt, a flight instructor for Fantasy Air USA, at the Sanford-Lee County Regional Airport. Schmidt is a retired air traffic controller, holds commercial pilot and flight instructor certificates, and is licensed to fly both single and multi-engine aircraft. In addition, he has experience flying aerobatic aircraft and seaplanes.
What makes this particular shadow experience so unique is Sam shadowed a pilot who is currently featured on the April 2007 cover of the national publication, Sport Pilot Magazine that can be found at http://www.sportpilot.org/magazine/
For more information about the School-to-Career Initiative, go to www.wcpss.net , Click on: School-to-Career.
FULLER ELEMENTARY HOLDS 5TH ANNUAL SCIENCE ENRICHMENT DAY
The Fuller PTA will host the school’s fifth annual Science Enrichment Day 9:30 a.m., Thursday, April 19 to educate students about their environment, expose them to different areas of science available as possible career choices, and of course, to have FUN!
The school has invited area science professionals, educators, and volunteers to conduct hands-on presentations to Fuller students and visitors in small group settings. The school will host a fun-filled assembly for all the students to enjoy. This year's assembly presenters are Imagination Station and their Science on Wheels program. They will conduct science experiments for everyone.
NC STATE ENGINEERS HOLD 2007 EGG DROP COMPETITION
The Egg Drop contest is an annual Eastern NC American Society of Mechanical Engineers activity designed to promote engineering and science in the community. This year’s event is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., Saturday, April 15 at the Talley Student Center on the NC State campus.
The Egg Drop is a fun way to get kids involved and encourage them to go into technical fields. Last year, there were over 100 entries in the contest. The rules are to protect an egg from a 31' fall while minimizing weight and the number of parts and increasing the accuracy of the drop. The winners will receive cash prizes, certificates, and trophies. Other prizes are presented for the Most Creative and the Biggest Splat. For more information visit, http://competitions.asme.org/eggdrop/.