around our schools shout outs march 2014 volume 2 · around our schools shout outs march 2014...

Around Our Schools Shout Outs March 2014 Volume 2

Eastern High Patrick Stokes, Social Studies Teacher On Thursday March 13, a group of football players participating in an after school weightlifting program decided to clean the Fred Brady Football Stadium by removing fallen debris from the pine trees that separate the baseball and football stadiums! With supportive and thankful cheers from the baseball, softball and track teams, the participants learned the value of manual labor and pride in appearance. The players had to physically work together on some of the limbs and mentally problem solve on some others due to the overwhelming size of the damage.

Following his faculty meeting, Principal Dave Ebert visited with the group to show support and offer a personal “Thank You”. He shook each hand and told the young men how proud he was to have them as a part of his school. For a special group of young Mebane men the day was grueling, but memorably rewarding.


Turrentine Middle Jody Gaedtke, Orchestra Director

On Wednesday, March 12th, the 7th grade orchestra from Turrentine participated in the Music Performance Assessment sponsored by the NC Music Education Association at Shelby Middle School. Even though the students did not meet together for almost a week prior to going, they received a superior rating from all 3 judges for their stage performance and a superior rating in sight reading!

Congratulations, Trojans!


Hillcrest Elementary Alexis Kagel, Music Teacher To celebrate the Winter Olympic games in Sochi, all Hillcrest students studied Russia in a cultural enrichment unit during the month of February. In their specials classes, students were introduced to the music, art, storytelling, games, geography, and scientific discoveries of Russia. To wrap it all up each class created a life size matryoshka doll and covered it with pictures and descriptions of what they learned. "Do svidaniya!"


Certified Nurses Day Lucy Kernodle, Lead Nurse

ABSS celebrated Certified Nurses Day on March 19th for all nationally certified school nurses that have received certification by the National Board for Certification of School Nurses (NBCSN). National certification for the school nurse is a trademarked credential granted to school nurses who meet educational, employment and other criteria and who have successfully passed the national examination managed by the NBCSN. Board Certification of nurses plays an increasingly important role in the assurance of high standards of care for students and their families. Nursing, like health care in general, has become increasingly complex. While a registered nurse (RN) license provides entry to general nursing practice, the knowledge-intensive requirements of modern nursing require extensive education, as well as a strong personal commitment to excellence by the nurse. North Carolina requires that school nurses hired by a Board of Education successfully achieve national board certification within three years of their date of hire. In addition, professional school nurses credentialed by the NBCSN are required to document a minimum of 75 hours of continuing education units in school health-related issues every five years. Less than 20% of American nurses are board certified. Board Certified Nurses make a difference! Gaile Bowling, RN Western High Mary Brady, RN Cummings High Connie Deming, RN Woodlawn Middle/Pleasant Grove Karen Graham, RN Southern High Tina Greeson, RN Alexander Wilson/BE Jordan Sheena Jeffries, RN Western Middle Lucy Kernodle, RN Lead Nurse/CTEC Susan Liles, RN Williams High Alvina Lofters, RN Smith/HIghland Shelley Metters, RN Elon/AO Joan Patterson, RN Sylvan/EM Holt Melissa Randleman, RN Eastern High Latoya Ramsey, RN South Graham/Middle College Cathy Reagan, RN Broadview Middle


Tracy Sanders, RN Graham Middle Deborah Sasser, RN Southern Middle Judy Shepherd, RN North Graham/Haw River Mary Taylor, RN South Mebane/Garrett Tammy Troxler, RN Hawfields Middle/EM Yoder Tracey Umberger, RN Turrentine Middle/Ray Street Academy Brenda Warren, RN Newlin Amy Widderich, RN Hillcrest/Grove Park

Congratulations, ABSS Certified Nurses! Thanks for all you do for students, families, and staff members!

Pathways to Prosperity Day at ACC Robin Bowers, CTE Specialist

On Thursday, March 13th, high school students from Alamance-Burlington, Orange County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools interested in careers descended upon Alamance Community College to enjoy the first Pathways to Prosperity event in the Health Sciences Career and Technical Education Pathway.

Students enjoyed live demonstrations and hands-on activities provided by Alamance Community College instructors and area industry professionals in the fields of Dental Assisting, Medical Assisting, Medial Lab Technology, Nurse Aide/Assist and Nursing.

These are all career areas with robust job opportunity outlooks, and have strong student registration numbers at the high school level.


The Pathways to Prosperity Partnership is supported by the North Carolina State Board of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education and Jobs for the Future. This is the first event to launch this partnership between Alamance-Burlington, Orange County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro

school districts and Alamance Community College.

Check out the story in the Times-News:

http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/top-news/students-make-connections-at-pathway-to-prosperity-1.290900




Eastern High Michael Brumble, Drafting Teacher These Engineering students competed in the NCDOT Bridge Building Contest for Eastern High at the NCDOT headquarters on March 17. They earned a second place finish in the Region just behind last year’s champion team and this was Eastern’s first year in competition! Pictured are : Justin Charamut, Aaron Keeler, Kevin Richardson, and Kevin Riley

The bridges had to be built using only balsa wood and wood glue. They had to carry maximum weight suspended from the center of the bridge. The bridge could not weigh more than 30 grams. The bridge also had to be designed to clear a 3 ft cube under the bridge and a 2 ft cube through the bridge roadway. Go Eagles!


Mr. Brumble added a bit more information about the challenging competition: Students had the opportunity to learn problem-solving strategies and used critical thinking skills in the process of developing their bridge. The real world problem allowed them to work in teams using brainstorming ideas and designing a structure using AutoCad and Inventor software. Using their design they had to construct the bridge to the meet the specs they developed. The team had to write a 3 page report on bridge design and about the design they chose to develop and give reasons for their selection. The team had to orally present their findings to a panel of judges and other teams from across the region.

The competition was about more than building a bridge. It's about education, communication, careers and service to the public. Students developed problem solving skills, research and presentation skills and how to work as a team. Their presentation demonstrated the practical application of math and science skills. It expanded their vocabulary in geometry and bridge design. The best experienced was gained by working with people directly involved in engineering.

The final phase of the competition was the testing of the bridge. The bridge had to span 20 inches and have a clearance of 3 inches at the center. The roadway had to allow a 2 inch block to pass through. Weight was applied at the center of the bridge. This was accomplished by suspending a bucket from the center of the bridge and slowly pouring in sand until the bridge failed.

All County Orchestra Cindy Smith, Broadview and Cummings Orchestra Director

This week, orchestra students from Cummings and Williams high schools and Broadview and Turrentine middle schools came together for All County Orchestra, an event that included two days of rehearsing music and an evening concert on Thursday, March 20, 2014, at Williams High School.

Mr. Will Selle, of ASU, Wautaga High School, and Hardin Park Middle School, conducted the Middle School orchestra in a musical scenic tour.


Dr. Jonathan Govias, of UNC-Charlotte, conducted the High School orchestra in a selection of Spanish-influenced music. A good time was had by all!


Check out the story in the Times-News: http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/top-news/all-county-orchestra-to-perform-at-williams-high-1.293694?page=0

E. M. Yoder Beth Curasi, Academic Coach It felt like Christmas came in March to Kindergarten students at E.M. Yoder when they received a special gift! Ladies from the Hayden-Harman Foundation who helped build the Children’s Museum in Graham came by to bring each student in Kindergarten a new book. These books, purchased by the Hayden-Harman Foundation, put a smile on every child’s face.

http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/top-news/all-county-orchestra-to-perform-at-williams-high-1.293694?page=0


The title of the book was If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. This great text has been a favorite with students for many years. Now they will have the opportunity to get plenty of practice reading it at home since they have their very own copy. We would like to thank these ladies and the Hayden-Harman Foundation for this special gift and for taking the time to present these to our students at E.M. Yoder!!


Turrentine Middle Patti Perrou, Instructional Technology Specialist The 1st Place winner of the ABSS 2014 Middle School Battle of the Books competition was Turrentine Middle! Go Trojans! The competition was held on March 5th, at the Elon Community Church in Elon. The winning team members are: Jos Boswell, Sam Cryan, Isaac Echeverria-Vazquez, Conner Forbis, Nick Fox, Justice Mapp, Hanna Tawasha, Denise Webb, and Colby Williams. The coach of our team is TMS librarian, Say Sink. The Turrentine BOB team advances to the Region 5 competition in Winston-Salem on April 11th, where they will compete against the winning teams from 12 other school systems! Good luck at Regionals!


Elon Elementary Ashley Geise, Technology Specialist Elon Elementary’s PTO sponsored a student art show Thursday night. We are so proud of the amazing work of our students!


There’s more from Elon Elementary…….our students have been busy!

Elon Elementary fourth and fifth graders are participating in Global Youth Service Day on April 12 at Thataways from 1:30-3! As part of our service to our community, we are creating multi media presentations to educate our community about digital citizenship and cyber-bullying. District Attorney Pat Nadolski and Elon Phoenix student athlete Jason Waterman visited our class to talk about digital citizenship and the District Attorney's anti-cyberbullying campaign. The students were so excited to see the real-world application of the things they have been learning in the computer lab!

We would like to send a special thank you to Kristine Gamblin from NC LiteracyCorps for arranging the visit!

Visual Arts Competition Julie Bost, Program Specialist, Professional Development & Special Programs Over 100 ABSS middle and high school students received awards at the Visual Arts Competition held March 20 at the Captain White House in Graham! This event was hosted by the Alamance County Arts Council and the artwork will be on display until April 16, 2014. Go by the Captain White House and check out the amazing art on display!


GREAT JOB to these talented students along with the support and guidance from their Art Teachers! Take a look at the photos of just a small sample of their amazing pieces. Outstanding!


Western Middle Patrick Vernon, Science Teacher

Western Middle eighth grader, Meghna Mahadevan, qualified as one of only 100 students in the state to compete in the North Carolina Geography Bee on April 4th! Our WAMS geography bee was held in December with Meghna taking first place with sixth grade Alex Hardcastle finishing second. In January Meghna took a qualifying test from National Geographic. Only the top 100 scores in are allowed to participate in the state bee. All state bees are held on the same day across the nation. North Carolina’s Bee will be hosted by UNC-Charlotte on April 4, 2014. The winners from all the states will convene in Washington, DC on May 19, 2014 at the National Geographic Society’s headquarters. Good luck, Meghna!

Western High All American Brigade Michael Jefferson, Band Director

Congratulations to the Western High All American Brigade for their exclusive appearance in the St. Patricks’ Day parade in NYC on March 17! Check out the photos of the band, color guard and dance team marching down Fifth Avenue as one of only 15 visiting bands from across the nation selected to perform in the oldest parade in the U.S! This was the 253rd annual parade—the founding year was 1762!


A special thank you to Tracy Woodward, data manager at Eastlawn, proud aunt of a member of the WAHS dance team, who provided several photos during the parade:

Thanks for representing Western High, ABSS and Alamance County so well!


News 2 tweeted the photo (at right) of the band members getting ready!

https://twitter.com/WFMY/status/445589576363409408/photo/1/large


Shout Out to Our Superintendent

Dr. Cox was asked to speak on behalf of the North Carolina School Superintendents Association and its umbrella organization, the North Carolina Association of School Administrators in support of Common Core Standards at a public hearing of a state legislative research committee on Thursday, March 20th. The research committee is considering whether to recommend dumping or overhauling the Common Core Standards used in North Carolina’s public schools. Legislators, who could draft legislation in May, listened to 60 speakers on the often controversial topic. Dr. Cox was the only superintendent in North Carolina to speak.

Check out the article from the North Carolina Association of School Administrators:

http://www.ncasa.net/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=642

On the WRAL article on their website, you can watch a video of the presentations of all 60 speakers. Dr.

Cox’s segment begins around the 1:24 mark of the video: http://www.wral.com/public-sounds-off-on-common-core-standards/13495912/

http://www.ncasa.net/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=642

http://www.wral.com/public-sounds-off-on-common-core-standards/13495912/

around our schools shout outs march 2014 volume 2 · around our schools shout outs march 2014...

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