around our schools shout outs march 2015, volume 4 ... · around our schools shout outs march 2015,...

Around Our Schools Shout Outs March 2015, Volume 4 Alamance-Burlington Schools Public Information Office

Shout Out to Western High NJROTC Underwater Engineers

Check out the great photo of the Western High NJROTC Underwater Robotics Team in this week’s Times-News! The Western High NJROTC SeaPerch Robotic Team competed at the McDowell SeaPerch Challenge held at the YMCA in Marion, NC, on February 28, 2015. The team spent weeks preparing for the event by building and testing an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and placed first out of 16 teams in the obstacle course event which requires a team to pilot their underwater robot through a series of obstacles in the fastest time! The team also competed in an object retrieval event in which points were awarded

based on the number of rings that the robot can move from a stand to an underwater container and competed in two races in which points are awarded based on the fastest time.

Photo courtesy of Steve Mantilla/Times-News

L to R: Michael Jones, Matthew Knight, Rebecca Anderton, Morgan Powell, Joseph Halacheff, Raleigh Scott, Hayleigh Poteat


Shout Out from Graham Middle Lisa Cates, 6th Grade ELA Shout out for House time at GMS! Our 6th grade students were set with the task of coming together as teams to rebuild the city of Rome. The entire 6th grade team of students and staff worked hard to put Rome back together. Students were divided into houses and then into smaller teams. They then were given limited supplies and a set of directions to build a Roman style building. They could use their Inspire Academy monies earned to buy more supplies to make their building the strongest and the tallest! Please see pictures from the House Intrepidis working hard on their houses.


Thanks to our 6th grade Social Studies Department for making this happen!


Shout Out to College & Career Ready Week at South Mebane Elementary Tammy Yeatts, Assistant Principal Students at South Mebane celebrated the journey to become College & Career Ready by dressing each day in spirit gear to represent the path from elementary school to college. On Friday, students dressed to impress by donning the career clothing of their chosen profession. It was encouraging to see a great number of scientists, doctors, and teachers! Within each classroom, teachers designed opportunities for students to explore careers related to student interests. Students in Kindergarten through second grade had the opportunity to meet Beth Smith, author of Alien Dude! She provided insight into her career as a teacher and a writer while motivating students as readers through a read-aloud of her books. Through collaboration with Darrell Thomas, Kim Davis, & Gina Bader of the Career and Technical Education Center, third through fifth grade students were able to learn about the opportunities available at the CTEC center and careers related to the course offerings.


Not only did the CTEC students develop informative presentations, but they also provided engaging demonstrations as well. The students and teachers of SME were very impressed! Special thanks to the following CTEC students: Cole Hester, Ralph Wampler, Monica Quintanilla, Jada Jones, Abraham Reyes, Garner Fleming, Nathan Langley, Caitlyn Mowry, Cody Davenport, Gina Cazares, Damien Dawkins, Javony Cortes Mavure, Tyrus Autry, Jordan Enoch, and Maura Easter.


Shout Out from AO Elementary Donna King, Principal Congratulations to Caroline Etheridge, 5th grade student at A-O Elementary for a winning entry into the NCPTA Reflections competition! She placed 3rd in the state for the Intermediate (Grades 3-5) Division for her Dance Choreography entry to “The world would be a better place if. . . “ The PTA Reflections is a national arts recognition program that encourages students to explore their

talents and express themselves. The world is a better place with Caroline's dance performances!!!! Caroline is the daughter of AO’s own Laura Bivins and Mark Etheridge. She takes dance at Cente r of Pe rfo rming Arts and has been taking dance s ince she was 3. The title o f her da nce was Thankful and it was in response to "The world wo uld be a be tter place if..."

H ere is the link to the official winners ... http://ncpta.o rg/ index.php/pr ograms/reflec tions -ar ts -prog ram/re flections -s tate -winne rs -20142015/

She takes dance at Center of Performing Arts and has been taking dance since she was 3. The title of her dance was Thankful Here is the link to the official winners... http://ncpta.org/index.php/programs/reflections-arts-program/reflections-state-winners-20142015/

http://ncpta.org/index.php/programs/reflections-arts-program/reflections-state-winners-20142015/

http://ncpta.org/index.php/programs/reflections-arts-program/reflections-state-winners-20142015/


Shout Out to Smith Elementary Lindy Isley, Teacher/Librarian Smith Spirit! Recently the Seabees at Smith Elementary enjoyed spirit week. On Monday they dressed to support their favorite teams. There were college and pro teams well represented. Tuesday was wacky hair day. Students and staff were most creative using curls, mohawks, braids and all types of colors to adorn their heads! On Wednesday, each class wore their favorite color as voted on by their class. Smith was a rainbow of colors on that day. Thursday was cozy day. Here were many sweatshirts, sweatpants and lots of pajamas and robes on that day. It was actually hard to

stay awake when wearing such cozy outfits. The students and staff ended the week with Seabee day. On this day most folks wore t-shirts that had Smith School mentioned in some way or they wore Smith colors. There were even a few actual Seabees in the crowd. It was a fun week.

At Smith School we have a lot of spirit!


Shout Out to North Graham Elementary Jillian Bazemore, School Counselor

In conjunction with lessons on goal setting, and planning for the future on Naviance, North Graham counselor brought all the 5th grade students on a tour of Elon University! For many of our 5th graders this was the first time on a college campus. Led by a student tour guide the students toured the library, the dining hall, the gymnasium and many academic buildings. The students were able to ask many questions and were excited to learn that our tour guide came to Elon all the way from Jamaica! North Graham students have big plans for their futures!


Shout Out from Eastlawn Elementary Anita Christian & Abby Liberstein Eastlawn's Ladies of Excellence visited The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Friday, March 20. During their guided tour of the campus, students learned about UNC's history, explored technology in the library, drank from the Old Well, and ate at one of the dining halls.


Shout Out from Smith Elementary Lindy Isley, Teacher/Librarian She is a Spring Dance at Smi th

Friday, March the 13th turned out to be a lucky day for the third through fifth graders at Smith! They had the opportunity to attend the spring dance after school. Chub May was the DJ and he kept the gym rocking with tunes the children knew and could groove to. Refreshments were sold to hot and hungry dancers. The purpose of the dance was to raise money for the Sound to Sea field trip to be taken by the fifth grade class. The students and some staff members really got down and got funky to the music. For them, this Friday the 13th was a lucky one!

Friday, March the 13 th tu rned ou t to be a lucky day for t he thi rd th roug h fif th gra ders at Smi th. They had the opp ort unity t o atte nd the sp ring dance aft er school. Chu b May was the DJ and h e kept t he gym rocking wit h tunes t he children knew

and could groove to. Ref reshmen ts were sold to h ot and hungry dance rs . The pur pose of t he dance was to raise mo ney for the Soun d to Sea field trip to be take n by the fi fth g rade class . The s tudents and some staf f mem bers really got down and go t funky t o

the mus ic. For t hem, t his Friday the 13 th was a lucky one.5th gra der at AO Elemen tary School. Daughte r of Lau ra Bivins and Ma rk Ethe ridge.


Shout Out to Andrews Elementary Tambryme Hamilton

Our students at Andrews Elementary raised lots of money for the Pennies for Patients Campaign!! Just look at all of their hard work! The students learned why they were raising money through their guidance lessons. Way to go Rockin' Roadrunners!!


Shout Out to Turrentine Middle Sixth Grade Greek Mythology Museum Mari Bradley & Patti Perrou Sixth graders just completed another historic Greek Mythology Museum event that showcases their creativity and knowledge of Greek myths and the science behind them! Students busted myths and used recyclable materials to demonstrate their knowledge of the ancient tales that were created to explain phenomena of the natural world.

More than 300 community visitors toured the museum exhibits!


This was the 9th year of the Turrentine Middle signature event!

“Mythbusters: Where Mythology and Science Meet” Main Gallery Exhibits Included: • Khione, the goddess of snow: Frozen! • Dionysus, the god of wine and theater: Turning water into “wine” • Iris, the goddess of the rainbow: It’s all about the prism. • Hades, the god of the underworld: Invisible? No way! • Baucis and Philemon: an old married couple or a hybrid tree? • The Pythia at the Oracle of Delphi: How did she KNOW?


Shout Out to Garrett Elementary and Hawfields Middle The Mebane Enterprise Garrett Elementary and Hawfields Middle schools partner to feed kids By Holly Bouldin, Staff Writer The Mebane Enterprise 3/25/15 Reprinted with permission. Audrey W. Garrett Elementary School students and parents have partnered with Hawfields Middle School to help feed their classmates across the community. Garrett Elementary School social worker Ambraya Timmons and Hawfields Middle School social worker Tanya Kline said they are the “co-managers” of the project and collaborate with each other to accomplish their common goal. According to 2010 study by No Kid Hungry, one in five children in America lives in a household struggling to provide food for their families. North Carolina ranks within the top 15 states for hungry kids with nearly 27 percent of its youth not getting adequate meals each day. “We share students,” Kline said. “We have families that have students at both schools, so it just makes sense to help the whole family if we can and not have them come to two places.” The food pantry is sponsored by Breakthrough Community Church, located at 703 S. Third St.


Timmons said Food Lion, Lowes Foods and Walmart have also made contributions to the pantry. Hawfields Presbyterian Church has committed to a monthly contribution, bringing not only food, but clothing and school supplies to students in need. She said the church has a “great partnership” with Garrett Elementary and Hawfields Middle that is “very special” to the schools. In addition to support from community businesses and churches, Kline and Timmons said families and students at both schools have given their donations and their time to the cause. Kline said students in the Pride Teen Leadership class at Hawfields found ways to market the food pantry by creating an ad for the school’s website, writing a commercial script and making short speeches in classrooms to encourage donations and raise awareness on child hunger. Timmons said Garrett Elementary School just initiated a student council and wants to do a leadership project to support the food pantry. Both schools also held a canned food drive and threw pizza parties for the class that brought in the most cans for the pantry. Timmons said staff members have gotten involved in the project, donating recycled bags or making bag holders for easy transportation. The social workers said the Parent-Teacher Organizations and Academic Booster Clubs at Garrett and Hawfields are also key volunteers in the food pantry. “They’ve helped us make the food bags so we can go in and pull what we need,” she said. “They’ve helped organize and stock some of it too. We definitely want to show our families and students appreciation. They’ve supported us through the canned food drives, and then we’ve had some families that have individually brought items to donate, out of the kindness of their hearts.” Timmons said the schools have created boxes to feed students’ families during extended weekends and holidays. She and Kline said their long-term mission is for the pantry to have enough food to feed not only students but their families. “Our goal is to grow the pantry to being not just a weekend pantry for the students but maybe a monthly store for families,” Timmons said. “Right now we just focus on the individual student. We want to give larger amounts for the whole family.” The food pantry accepts donations such as: microwave meals and pasta, soups, oatmeal, jelly, peanut butter, bread, crackers, chips, nuts, dried fruit, canned fruit, small cereal boxes, snack bars, snack cakes, bottled water, juice boxes. Individual servings are preferred.


Shout Out to Pleasant Grove Elementary Grace Cole, Media/Technology On Thursday, March 26th, Pleasant Grove Elementary school hosted a Living Wax Museum. Third-graders had researched a famous person from history. Students created a powerpoint or poster and wrote a speech, as if they were that person. After setting up the museum, parents, students, and staff got to walk around. If you stepped on a button, the wax figure would come to life and tell you all about their lives.

Students looked TERRIFIC in their costumes and made sure to bring appropriate props! We got to see many different people, such as: Helen Keller, Jane Goodall, Cesar Chavez, Albert Einstein, and even the First Lady of the United States- Michelle Obama. Special thanks go to the third grade teachers, teacher assistants, and the parents.


We really look forward to next year's museum! Look how many visitors attended our museum!


Our students did an AMAZING JOB!


Shout Out for Garrett Elementary Kris L’Heureux, Technology Teacher Shout Out for Gators getting glazed! This Thursday, Garrett hosted our first Donuts for Dads morning! It was a HUGE success judging from all the smiling faces in the cafeteria. According to Susan Godlewski, Garrett's AMAZING Parent Involvement Coordinator, we had 382 dads (or uncles, grandpas, family friends) at our early morning event!

Gators had to get busy after getting their donuts and listening to a poem "If You Give a Dad a Donut" by Jen Lium; because they had to interview their dads about their favorite things and draw a portrait of their dad to accompany their answers. As you can see, a fun time was had by all! An EXTRA special shout out for Mrs. Godlewski and Mrs. Pritchard for getting up so early to get all those donuts!!


Shout Out to A-B Office Professionals ABAEOP This week, the North Carolina Association of Education Office Professionals state conference was held at Koury Convention Center in Greensboro. ABSS is a member of District 8 that includes Caswell, Person, Alamance, Orange, Durham, and Chatham county LEAs. The Western High NJROTC Color Guard presented the flags at the opening ceremony. A big Shout Out to Tammy Dove, ABSS Finance, Marie Chavis, Superintendent’s Office, and Faye Roberts, ABSS Finance! Our very own career education office professionals were awarded certificates in the NCAEOP Professional Standards Program which recognizes members for continuing education and professional development certification. Congratulations!


Shout Out to Williams High Student Liz Jennings Judy Jennings My daughter has a rare disease-Pitt Hopkins Syndrome. Only about 500 people in the world are diagnosed with this syndrome. To improve research, spread awareness, and celebrate what Liz CAN do, her father, Liz, and I participated in the 1st Million Dollar Bike Ride for Rare Diseases, May 3, 2014. Together with other families, friends, Pedal for Pitt Hopkins Teams, and Penn Med, we raised over $50,000 for research! We plan to do the ride again this coming May 9th. Please share the following videos and link to help others learn more about Pitt Hopkins, and to share in Liz's journey and goal of crossing the finish line again this coming May.

http://www.milliondollarbikeride.org/ Video at the bottom of this webpage has Liz finishing the ride last year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdTXmw76xQk&feature=em-upload_owner#action=share Remember last year’s Times-News article about Liz and her Support for the bike ride? Here it is: Photo at left courtesy of Times-News http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/top-news/sweet-16-burlington-teen-peddles-for-pitt-hopkins-syndrome-in-philly-1.313745

http://www.milliondollarbikeride.org/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdTXmw76xQk&feature=em-upload_owner#action=share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdTXmw76xQk&feature=em-upload_owner#action=share

http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/top-news/sweet-16-burlington-teen-peddles-for-pitt-hopkins-syndrome-in-philly-1.313745




Shout Out to Career and Technical Education Robin Bowers, Director of CTE Corporate partner Sandvik in Mebane hosted a tour of their facility for high school students enrolled in Alamance Community College Computer Integrated Machining courses and their families. The informative visit included details about career options at Sandvik, possible scholarship opportunities at ACC, and a tour of the shop and equipment.

Students were able to interact one-on-one with employees from Sandvik and ask burning questions regarding careers in the field.

In addition to our students and families, representatives from ABSS and ACC were also in attendance.


Shout Out to Graham Middle Priscilla James, GMS Band and Joy Rust, GMS Chorus Graham Middle was well represented by the band and chorus last night at the first-ever Graham Zone Musical Extravaganza led by our own GHS maestro, band director Kyle Dortch! Forty seventh and eighth graders shared two band selections, and 25 eighth graders sang two selections representing two different time periods. This concert was in celebration of Music In Our Schools month, a national program of NAfME, our national music education conference. This K-12 event was well attended, including ABSS Board members and County Commissioner Bob Byrd. We are grateful for everyone's support!

around our schools shout outs march 2015, volume 4 ... · around our schools shout outs march 2015,...

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