School Connection

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.

Jan. 13, 2005


PARK SCHOLARSHIPS SEMIFINALISTS ANNOUNCED
North Carolina State University has named 11 WCPSS high school students as semifinalists for the Park Scholarships for fall 2005.

These students include:
Brian Timothy Hiteshew of Athens Drive High School
Philip Pinckney Boyne of Broughton High School
Kenneth Barrett Coriale of Cary High School
Patty Chuang of Enloe High School
Sonya Vipul Patel of Enloe High School
Kaylan Alyssa Christofferson of Green Hope High School
Anne Renee Tomasevich of Green Hope High School
Eric Chun-Jen Shiue of Leesville Road High School
Ryan Brent Nilsen of Millbrook High School
Carrie Virginia McMillan of Sanderson High School
Molly Elizabeth Tully of Wake Forest-Rolesville High School

The Park Scholarship is a four-year, undergraduate merit scholarship that emphasizes scholarship, leadership and service. These prestigious awards are valued at $55,000. Semifinalists are interviewed on a regional basis in mid-January. Candidates invited to final selection activities are interviewed at NC State's campus in Raleigh Feb. 18 and 19. Park Scholars are chosen from final selection activities and notified by March 1.

SIXTEEN WCPSS SENIORS NAMED MOREHEAD SCHOLARSHIP SEMIFINALISTS
Sixteen Wake County Public School System high school seniors have been selected as semifinalists for 2005 Morehead Scholarships to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The students include:
Eleanor Rousseau Oxholm of Broughton High School
Daniel Gerard Randolph of Broughton High School
Theresa Eileen Viera of Cary High School
Annalee Hooper Bloomfield of Enloe High School
Yelena V. Bondar of Enloe High School
Rachel Elizabeth Northeim of Enloe High School
Emily Susan Schrag of Enloe High School
Anastasia Caton of Fuquay-Varina High School
Erin Fisher Sagester of Fuquay-Varina High School
Mark Joseph Godfrey of Garner High School
Kaylan Alyssa Christofferson of Green Hope High School
Guangyuan Zhu of Green Hope High School
Amanda Noel Hayden of Leesville Road High School
Matthew Patrick Owens of Millbrook High School
Molly Elizabeth Tully of Wake Forest-Rolesville High School
Sarah Christine Nicholls of Wakefield High School

The Morehead Scholarship pays all expenses for four years of undergraduate study and is valued at approximately $80,000. Regional selection committees will interview the semifinalists and select approximately 60 finalists. The Morehead central selection committee will interview the finalists in Chapel Hill on March 7 and 8. The 60 N.C. finalists will compete with approximately 55 finalists from other U.S. states and Great Britain. Morehead recipients will be announced March 11.

MORE THAN 550 WCPSS STUDENTS GRADUATE IN DECEMBER
Eight WCPSS high schools held graduation ceremonies for students who opted to graduate in December. East Wake High will have ceremonies Jan. 20. The school had 80 students chose to graduate - the largest number of students at any WCPSS school. Ceremonies have already been held at Garner, Leesville Road, Middle Creek, Millbrook, Sanderson, Wakefield and Wake Forest-Rolesville high schools. Some students took part in the ceremonies, and others will return to march in graduation ceremonies in the spring. Last year, fewer students graduated early and one high school held ceremonies.

In their Jan. 4 meeting, Board of Education members discussed December graduations. The board agreed that Board chair Susan Parry would send a letter of congratulations to each of the graduates. School officials said students are graduating in December for different reasons. Some will go into the workforce. Others will go to university. Some students want to work to earn money to help pay for college.

MAGNET SCHOOLS CONTINUE RECRUITMENT ACTIVITIES
Beginning in January, Wake County families can take a closer look at the educational opportunities available to students in magnet schools. Through evening information sessions and school visits, families will be able to learn about such magnet programs as Gifted and Talented, International Baccalaureate, Museums, University Connections, Leadership and Technology, and Year-Round. They will also be able to meet with representatives from WCPSS's Office of Growth Management and Transportation.

Elementary Magnet Programs
Evening Information Sessions
January 10-13, 2005
6:30-8:00 p.m. (3-30 minute sessions)

Middle Magnet Programs
Evening Information Sessions
January 13 & January 18-20, 2005
6:30-8:00 p.m. (3-30 minute sessions)

Elementary Magnet Programs
School Visits
Tuesday, January 25 & Wednesday, February 2
10:00am & 1:00pm

Middle School Magnet Programs
School Visits
Wednesday, January 26 & Tuesday, February 1
9:00am & 12:00pm

High School Magnet Programs
School Visits
January 31 - February 3
7:00pm

Year-Round
School Visits
Thursday, January 27
9:30am & 7:00pm

For over 20 years, WCPSS's award-winning magnet schools have enhanced the North Carolina Standard Course of Study with innovative approaches to learning that empower students.

To find out more information about WCPSS magnet schools and details about upcoming recruiting events, visit www.wcpss.net/magnet, stop by the Magnet Resource Center located on the campus of Millbrook Elementary or call us at 919.501.7900.

BOARD RECEIVES UPDATE ON MAGNET PROGRAM
At its Jan. 4 committee of the whole meeting, the Board of Education heard from WCPSS Magnet Program Director Caroline Massengill about the program. Massengill told the board the magnet schools continue to provide parental choice and the optimal use of schools. Demand for magnet programs has remained strong. Of 114,000 WCPSS students, 22,000 are in magnet schools. WCPSS has a nationally recognized magnet program that has earned numerous awards and approximately $30 million in competitive grants. Massengill said four schools have new magnet themes and three schools in Garner continue to implement the International Baccalaureate program. The four schools with new themes include Conn Elementary with an Active Learning and Technology magnet; Enloe High as a Gifted and Talented/International Baccalaureate Center for Humanities, Sciences and Arts; Southeast Raleigh High with its Center for Leadership and Technology; and Joyner Elementary with its Center for Spanish Language. The IB program continues to grow, including three high schools, four middle schools and three elementary schools. The latest schools to begin implementing IB are Garner High School, East Garner Middle and North Garner Middle with the Middle Years Programme. Garner High is also piloting the Diploma Programme.

SUPERINTENDENT MCNEAL SUPPORTS COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS FUNDRAISER
Superintendent Bill McNeal will be one of the leaders in the national Communities in Schools Lunch with a Leader fundraiser. The bidding is conducted for ten days on eBay beginning Jan. 18. McNeal is among a number of well known individuals who are giving their time to benefit the local efforts of Communities In Schools, the community-based organization that helps children succeed in school and prepare for life. Other leaders come from the fields of entertainment, journalism, politics, business, sports, and more! Bidding will begin on eBay January 18 and continue through February 11. More information about the fundraiser is available at http://www.lunchwithaleader.com

TWO MOORE SQUARE TEACHERS HIGHLIGHTED IN NATIONAL EVENT
Moore Square Middle School teachers Beverly Almond and Mary Slagle will be recognized by the National Endowment for Humanities at 11 a.m., Wednesday Jan. 26 at the NC Museum of History for their participation in a history workshop. Last year, Almond and Slagle participated in the Thomas Day Education Project- 2004 Landmarks of American History Workshop, "Crafting Freedom: Thomas Day & Elizabeth Keckly, Black Artisans and Entrepreneurs in the Making of America," sponsored by the Museum of History.

The "Landmarks of American History Workshop series is an important component of the NEH project "We the People," a major national history education initiative.

WCPSS HIGH SCHOOLS PREPARE FOR NEW SAT
When the new Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT, arrives in March, it will feature a new writing section, including an essay question, and changes to math and verbal sections. WCPSS high schools have begun preparing for the new test.

The biggest change students will see is the addition of a new writing section with an essay and multiple-choice questions about writing. The math section of the SAT will change with the addition of Algebra II content and the elimination of quantitative comparisons. The critical reading section emphasizes comprehension of passages, knowledge of genre, ability to recognize relationship among parts of a text, vocabulary in context, facility with rhetorical devices and comparative arguments, extended reasoning, and an understanding of cause and effect. Analogies have been eliminated, but analogical reasoning has not; questions of this nature are imbedded in the short reading passages.

The new SAT continues to align with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. The new test may emphasize different skills, but these skills are part of required classroom instruction.

WCPSS high school staff talked about the new SAT in workshops and information sessions this fall. Administrators have conducted SAT writing workshops at high schools, met with high school language arts department chairs and held information sessions for assistant principals, as well as provided high school math department chairs with information and distributed presentations to all high school math teachers.

BOARD ADOPTS 2005 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
At its Dec. 20 meeting, the Board of Education adopted the 2005 Legislative Agenda developed by the WCPSS Legislative Committee and presented at its Dec. 7 meeting. The legislative agenda continues to ask lawmakers to provide increased flexibility and local control by revising public school laws to remove restrictions on funding categories and allow retired teachers to return to work without penalty. Other priorities include seeking:

APPOINTMENTS
At its Dec. 20 meeting, the Board of Education named two new high school assistant principals. The board named Jeremy Parrish assistant principal at Athens Drive High and Elaine Dillahunt assistant principal at Phillips High,

BOARD HONORS STUDENTS WITH SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENTS AWARD
At its Jan. 4 meeting, the Board of Education recognized 17 students with the Spotlight on Students Award. The students included Mikal Griffin of Bugg Elementary, Odiee Anazleh of Hodge Road Elementary, Ruthie Keith of Kingswood Elementary, Shelby Snedecor of Lacy Elementary, Daisy Toledo of Penny Road Elementary, Courtney Maria Cox of Pleasant Union Elementary, Colleen Theriault of Poe Elementary, Rae'Jonna A. Rogers of Powell Elementary, Nathaniel Woodward of Wakefield Elementary, Tara Aida of Weatherstone Elementary, Michelle Rose Fernandez of Wilburn Elementary, Casey Cash of Apex Middle, Austin Olander of Carroll Middle, Meghana Shamsunder of Leesville Road Middle, Kyle Anthony Snell of Fuquay-Varina High, Katie Miller of Leesville Road High and Amy Jean Anderson of Middle Creek High.

STATE HOLDS MEETING ON NEW HIGH SCHOOL EXIT STANDARDS
The NC Department of Public Instruction will hold a meeting on the new High School Exit Standards at 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 20, in Room 150N of the state Education Building, 301 N. Wilmington St., Raleigh.

The Raleigh meeting is one of six being held across the state to receive public comment on options for implementing new High School Exit Standards. The new standards represent the first change to state graduation standards since 2000 and a move toward making high school more rigorous and relevant to students. Students entering ninth grade for the first time in the 2006-07 school year will be the first class expected to meet the new standards.

The Department of Public Instruction provides more information about the Proposals For Implementing The New High School Exit Standards on its website at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/policyoperations/exitstandards/

CALENDAR

Jan. 17 Holiday - Martin Luther King Day
Jan. 18 12 p.m. Committee of the Whole Meeting - Board Conference Room and then at 4 p.m., Board of Education meeting - Board meeting room
Jan. 18 6:30 p.m. - Magnet Middle School Information Session - Wakefield Elementary
Jan. 19 2 p.m. Board of Education facilities committee - Board Conference Room and then at 3:30 p.m. Board of Education community relations committee - Board Conference Room
Jan. 19 6:30 p.m. - Magnet Middle School Information Session - Salem Elementary
Jan. 20 6:30 p.m. - Magnet Middle School Information Session - Jeffreys Grove Elementary
Jan. 20 6:30 p.m., Garner IB Schools Fair at Garner High
Jan. 20

7:30 p.m., Wake County PTA Council board meeting

You can find more information on school events at http://www.wcpss.net/Calendars


School Connection 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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