Good News
May 25 , 2007 |
WAKE COUNTY TEACHER OF THE YEAR TEACHES ENGLISH AT FUQUAY-VARINA
Paige Elliott was congratulated by Superintendent Del Burns as the Wake County Teacher of the Year in a celebration May 17. Paige was rewarded with use of a new car for a year, a new laptop computer and a $2,000 global studies grant.
Elliott has taught her entire career of 9.5 years at Fuquay-Varina High. She teaches Honors English IV, Paideia 9 and a class on Shakespeare. Elliott is a member of the WCPSS Institute for Teacher Leaders. She earned certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards in 2004.
“With each lesson each day, I strive to make our experiences significant to students’ lives,” said Elliott. “They often feel overwhelmed or desensitized by the material and their efforts. So often a student doesn’t comprehend how the decisions and actions they make today affect tomorrow. Analogies and discussion are how I make the results and consequences apparent to them.”
The Wake County Teacher of the Year banquet is sponsored by Wachovia Bank. More information about Elliott is available at http://www.wcpss.net/news/2007_may17_teacher_ofthe_year/
FOUR TEACHERS HONORED WITH DIANE KENT-PARKER FIRST-YEAR TEACHER AWARD
Four Wake County teachers have been honored with the Diane Kent-Parker First-Year Teacher Award, the first recipients of the award named after the late WCPSS teacher recruiter.
The teachers are Elizabeth Nida of Jeffreys Grove Elementary, Tracey Willner of Davis Drive Elementary, Janice Jarrett of East Garner Middle and Antwayne James of Enloe High.
Nida is a pre-kindergarten special programs teacher at Jeffreys Grove Elementary School. She has committed her life to working with special needs children. She took over a Pre-Kindergarten program that was in disarray, but by connecting early with parents and hosting the first ever Pre-Kindergarten Open House at Jeffreys Grove, Nida was able to win the parents over with her knowledge of providing the level of service that the students need. “Ms. Nida’s parents are smiling when they turn their most prized possessions over to her each and everyday. They are smiling because they know that their children now have a real fighting chance to be better prepared for the challenges that await them in kindergarten,” said Jeffreys Grove principal Nolan Bryant.
Willner is a fifth grade teacher at Davis Drive Elementary School. She is committed to teaching and developing the whole child. Although she is a regular education teacher, her highly qualified status as a special education teacher enables her to meet the diverse challenges in her classroom. “Beginning teachers have tremendous difficulty planning lessons and just keeping up with the day-to-day demands of the job, yet this gal actively sought the position!” She is indeed “committed to student excellence,” said Davis Drive principal Patricia Andrews.
Jarrett is a dedicated visual arts teacher at East Garner Magnet Middle School. Not only does she create relationships with students that help to foster their success in the building and in the community, she is also a leader among teachers on staff as well. “Ms. Jarrett inherited a struggling visual arts program and transformed it into a productive, vibrant, community-recognized program in just a few months. She is always willing to go beyond what is asked of her to make sure that her students and all students have the opportunity to succeed,” said East Garner principal Cathy Williams.
James is a social studies teacher at Enloe High School. He has a gift for establishing strong relationships with his students, as well as, gaining the respect of his colleagues through creative planning and displaying strong classroom management skills. “He has high expectations for his student; however, he also has high expectations for himself to help students meet his expectations. Antwayne has enormous potential in teaching; he has entered the profession performing at a higher level than other first year teacher,” said Enloe principal Beth Cochran.
The Wake County Public School System Diane Kent-Parker First-Year Teacher Award recognizes outstanding first-year elementary, middle, and high school teachers who are nominated by his or her principal and school and have shown significant professional success during his or her first year of teaching. Selection committee members then review the nominations and conduct interviews to select two winners from the elementary school level, one from the middle school level, and one from the high school level to receive this prestigious award.
WAKE COUNTY TEACHER ASSISTANT OF THE YEAR HONORED
The WCPSS Teacher Assistants’ Association has named Patricia Vivanco, a kindergarten teacher assistant from Reedy Creek Elementary School as the 2007 Teacher Assistant of the Year. Vivanco was honored during the association’s annual banquet this month. Vivanco came from Ecuador with her husband three years ago so that he could work on his advanced degree. At her school, Vivanco readily volunteers to assist with tutoring, translating, or anything else that will benefit students. Superintendent Burns offered Vivanco his congratulations for earning this honor.
ENLOE RANKED IN BEST SCHOOLS BY NEWSWEEK
Enloe High School ranked 53 in Newsweek Magazines list of Best U.S. Schools. Enloe has consistently placed in the top 100 schools ranking compiled by Newsweek reporter Jay Matthews in recent years. Matthews bases his ranking on the number of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests taken at a school divided by the number of graduating seniors.
Newsweek expands its list to 1200 high schools on its website. Broughton High School is ranked 383 in the list.
ENLOE HIGH ACADEMIC DECATHLON TEAM WINS HONORS AT NATIONALS
The Enloe High School Academic Decathlon team returned from the National Academic Decathlon Competition in Hawaii on April 25-28 earning recognitions for their participation.
The team included Sarah Aldridge, Katrina Connor, Haoyu Chen, Anish Sukumaran, Lizi Chen, Liyuan Yang, Laura Morgan, Duncan Hardee and Stephanie Hellweg-Brown.
Duncan Hardee earned the ‘Kristin Caperton' Award. Lizi Chen earned a Gold Medal in Math. Liyuan Yang earned the NC High Scorer plaque, which included a $500 scholarship.
The Caperton award presented to Hardee and the Enloe team included a plaque and $1500 cash award. The inscription on the plaque reads, "The Kristin Caperton Memorial Award, presented to the team participating in the United States Academic Decathlon who best exemplifies the characteristics of courage, determination, dedication–traits, characteristic of the former Board of Directors Member."
WCPSS EARNS ENERGY SAVERS AWARD
Mazie Smith of WCPSS Organizational Development will travel to Washington, DC next month to receive the District of the Year Award earned by the Wake County Public School System from the National Energy Education Development Project. The NEED Board of Directors honored the school district for its WCPSS Energy Savers Program.
15 SCHOOLS RECEIVE WELLNESS GRANTS
Fifteen WCPSS elementary schools will receive a total of $450,000 from the John Rex Endowment as part of the Wake to Wellness Grants Program. Each school will receive $10,000 annually for three years. The purpose of the grant is to support the development of programs that create healthier school environments. The 15 elementary schools include Baileywick, Baucom, Cedar Fork, Conn, Farmington Woods, Lincoln Heights, Middle Creek, Morrisville, Olds, Olive Chapel, Penny Road, Vance, Washington, Yates Mill and Zebulon. The Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will oversee the grants and actively assist participating schools.
MOORE SQUARE STUDENTS DISPLAY WORK
Over the past five years the Contemporary Art Museum has been working with students from Moore Square Middle School on an after-school project. The young artists have been creating works that depict what downtown Raleigh once looked like, what it looks like now and what it will look like.
This year students have documented what's going on in their own neighborhoods, focusing on the theme of growth and community identity. The results will be on display through June 30 in four downtown buildings' windows: Cherry Huffman Architects, 135 E. Martin St.; Raleigh Urban Design Center, 133 Fayetteville St.; at the school, 301 S. Person St.; and the Raleigh City Museum, 200 Fayetteville St.
The Contemporary Art Museum is based at N.C. State University's College of Design and runs programs where space is available around the Triangle. A private foundation is raising money to build a home for the museum, along with residential and commercial space, in downtown Raleigh.
DURANT ROAD MIDDLE SCHOOL CONCERT BAND WINS AWARDS
On April 21, 2007, the Durant Road Middle School Concert Band, under the direction of Tony Powell and Steven Kuni, traveled to Tabb High School in Yorktown, Virginia, to participate in the Music Showcase Festival. The band received a Superior rating, placing 1st in the Class AA Band division. The band also won the Grand Champion award for receiving the highest score among all participating middle school ensembles. Two band members, Trevor Haga and Georgia Ditmore, received Outstanding Soloist awards.
CALENDAR NETS $2,300 FOR DUKE CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
Ligon Middle School students learned that a recent graduate, Jackie DiBerto had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Teacher Karen Thorsen's Drawing I class decided to put their first art project of the year into a twelve page calendar and sell it for $5, to raise money for something the patients of Duke Childrens Hospital might enjoy or need. The calendar was published by the WCPSS Print Shop under the advisement of Kim Fendick and students began to sell. They raised over $2,000. This is the second calendar project that has been designated as a Service Learning activity. The first one, a single whole-year page, raised $700 for UNICEF during the Tsunami crisis.
GUTHRIE NAMED TO NCHSAA BOARD
Wake County Public School System Athletic Director Bobby Guthrie was elected to the Board of Directors for the NC High School Athletic Association. This is a 20-member board from NC public schools that make decisions and governs the association’s activities, rules and regulations. Guthrie was elected to a four year term on the board.
CARY CHAMBER HONORS DAVIS DRIVE TEACHER
The Cary Chamber of Commerce honored Davis Drive Middle School Teacher Chris Forgione with its "Leadership in Teaching Award." Forgione was presented the award from the Michael G. Curran Family Foundation that recognizes teachers that go above and beyond the call of duty. The award includes a check for $1,000.
MILLBROOK STUDENTS PUBLISH BRIDGES NEWSLETTER
Millbrook High students in teacher Lindy Poling’s Lessons of Vietnam class have published a special edition of the BRIDGES newsletter. Readers will enjoy interesting articles relating to the 25th Anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the 2007 LOV class Washington, DC field trip, student perspectives regarding the War in Iraq and Darfur. Amazing poetry and artwork are also featured in this special issue!" Please go to: http://mhs.wcpss.net/academics/poling/index.htm
STOUGH STUDENTS DRAFT QUESTIONS FOR GAME SHOW HOST
With the help of N&O freelance reporter Missy Baxter, students in Linda Sebastian’s fifth-grade class at Stough Elementary were able to pose questions to Jeff Foxworthy, host of the new television game show, “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?” Sebastian had her students draft some questions which she provided to Baxter. The reporter posed the questions over the phone to Foxworthy who was preparing for his trip to the Triangle to host the Duke Classic. The students came up with some difficult questions. Foxworthy missed three of the five included in the newspaper. The questions included the location of the Battle of Bunker Hill, the name of the second U.S. president and calculating the area of a triangle. While Foxworthy was in town last weekend, students who will be in the fifth grade for 2007-08 had the chance to try out to be on the show at an area shopping center.
ENLOE STUDENTS SING AT JAMESTOWN 400TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Here’s a follow up - Students in Enloe High School's Chamber Choir and Womens' Ensemble traveled to Jamestown to participate in the 400th anniversary celebration of the founding of Jamestown. One choir was chosen from each state to participate in the celebration. Enloe students joined with 49 other choirs and a 400-piece symphony orchestra for numerous rehearsals prior to the event. The Enloe choirs were one of the small number of choirs that performed a stand-alone performance which included a number of patriotic songs. The Enloe students joined with the entire group of singers and orchestra members to present two performances, one where President Bush spoke. In addition to the concerts, the Enloe students also visited history first hand at the recreated Jamestown settlement and at Williamsburg.
GREEN HOPE STUDENT WINS WETLANDS POSTER CONTEST
Green Hope Elementary fifth-grader Ria Ray’s research and artistic rendition of Carolina Bays as a special NC ecosystem earned her first Place and a $100 cash prize in the regional “Wetlands Are Wonderful” poster contest between 11 neighboring counties. Ray originally earned the Wake County title this past fall when she entered the contest sponsored by Wake Soil & Water Conservation District.
Ray’s winning poster features actual photographs of Carolina Bays, a seasonal and isolated type of wetland found on NC’s Coastal Plain. For a two-dimensional effect, she used real twigs and bird feathers to illustrate the wildlife and plant life endemic to this ecosystem. Ray also incorporated an interactive “facts wheel” that explains the many benefits of wetlands such as flood control, groundwater recharge, filtration of storm water runoff pollutants, wildlife habitat, and recreation. As an example of ways to protect valuable wetlands, Ray suggested buying Duck Stamps at your local Post Office where the $15 goes to purchase and restore wetlands. This is important in light of the fact that NC has lost more than a third of its natural wetlands due to urbanization and conversion of wetlands to other land uses.
WCPSS ENVIROTHON TEAMS EARN HONORS AT STATE COMPETITION
Three WCPSS Envirothon teams earned honors at the state’s premier environmental competition, the North Carolina Envirothon that challenges high school students’ knowledge in five natural resource areas: soils, aquatics, forestry, wildlife, and current environmental issues.
Of the 42 high school teams from across the state, Enloe High had two teams, Sub-chronic Exposure and Flaming Drip Torches. Both scored high on all five written exams. In addition, Sub-chronic Exposure earned gold medallions for scoring a perfect 100 on the Forestry exam and the highest score on the Current Environmental Issues exam that focused on invasive exotic species. Both teams took home an engraved plaque and cash prizes worth $150 and $100 respectively. This is the third year that Enloe’s Envirothon teams have dominated the Top Ten at the state competition. Their greatest achievement was reached last year when Sub-chronic Exposure won the State Champion title and placed 3rd in the nation at the 2001 International Envirothon. At the Area 4 Envirothon that serves as a qualifying event for advancement to the state level, Enloe’s Flaming Drip Torches won first place with each team member winning a $100 college scholarship.
Out of 49 middle school teams, Ligon Middle’s The Five Ecoteers captured first place at the Area 4 Envirothon and placed second overall at the State Envirothon. The rookie five-member team won an engraved plaque, $75 in cash, and gold medallions for earning the highest score in Soils.
The NC Envirothon is sponsored by the NC Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts and the NC Division of Soil & Water Conservation-DENR.
ROLESVILLE STUDENTS INVIESTAGE SCHOOL HISTORY
A group of students at Rolesville Elementary recently investigated the school’s history. Twenty-one students in teacher Stacy Palmer’s class realized the school had a long history. They invited adults in the community who were former students to a history night at the school. Students questioned the former students about the school’s earlier days. Students investigated further using books, historical resources and the Internet. They were surprised to learn the school once had a cannery and there was a small cemetery on the school grounds. They found one current student’s family had been attending the school for four generations, back to the generation of his great grandparents. The students published their work with the help of a Trentini Foundation grant.
WAKE EDUCATION EXCHANGE MEETING TO DISCUSS SCHOOL FINANCE
Wake Ed Partnership invites you to the third meeting in the Education Exchange series on June 11 from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Brier Creek Community Center at 10810 Globe Road. This meeting, which is free and open to the public, will provide Wake County citizens an opportunity to learn more about the 2007-08 school system budget, as well as policies and practices which exist to ensure financial accountability. No registration is required. Gordon Brown, a member of the Wake Ed Board of Directors, will facilitate the meeting. Presenters from WCPSS will be Chief Business Officer David Neter, Finance Officer Mark Winters and Budget Officer Terri Kimzey. Presentations will be followed by time for Q&A and discussion with participants.