December Shout Outs Vol 1 · Remember last week’s Shout about Erin Mercs’ and Lia Long’s...

Around Our Schools Shout Outs December 2011: Vol. 1

Shout Out to the

Smith Seabees! Principal Julie Hancock sent

this in: “Smith Elementary

just finished our ‘Can(ned) Do

Food Drive’. This year we

partnered with Lowes Food

for the 17th annual Friends

Feeding Friends Food Drive.

The food raised through our

campaign benefits our local

food bank, Loaves and Fishes.

Our students got very excited

about this opportunity and

demonstrated their "Can-Do"

spirit by raising 3,885

pounds of canned/non-

perishable food items! We

encouraged participation by having classes compete to see who could bring in the most canned food.

All week, students lined up the food items outside their classrooms. It was fun to watch the hallways

become full of cans. On Friday, we counted, collected all the food in our foyer, and announced our

winner. Mrs. Davis' Kindergarten class collected the most by bringing in 280 pounds of food. (Her class

is featured in the picture that is attached.) The grade level to collect the most was second grade and all

together they brought in 924 pounds of food. We are so proud of what our Smith students showed they

"Can Do" when it comes to helping others!”

Shout Out to Eastern High Family and Consumer Science! Remember last week’s Shout about Erin Mercs’ and Lia Long’s classes that baked all those pies and

goodies for Thanksgiving meals for Loaves & Fishes? Well, the grand total ended up being 95 pies,

thanks to more fixin’s donations from staff and parents! Erin also mentioned that her students catered

the Eastern High graduation project presentation dinner, in addition to baking all of those items to give

away! Great job!

Shout Out to Science and a National Science Opportunity for Students with ACC! Twelve students from ABSS high schools are participating in the inaugural ACC Stem Cell Pipeline Class!

ACC is one of only 3 institutions in the NATION to offer this opportunity through a grant with the

National Science Foundation. ACC Department head Bill Woodruff conducts 1 hour of lecture and 3

hours of lab each week with the students with the goal of exposing science-minded students to career

opportunities in stem cell research. ACC was selected for this grant program because it is a national

leader in tissue and cell culture study and is among the top two-year schools in the nation with its

Biotechnology program which began in 1985.


Shout Out to Pre-K 2 at LifeSpan Learning

about Community! Crystal Garris, Preschool 2 teacher at LifeSpan, sent in

this cute story: “My students are learning through

their Unit Topic "Community" ,and what is more

important than our family pets?

"Jelly", a guinea pig from a second grade class

at the Triad Math & Science Academy of

Greensboro, visited to help us learn how to care

for the animals we call our pets. The students

were excited and fascinated to have

the opportunity to pet and hold "Jelly."

In group discussions and activities, we were also able to share

our experiences with our family pets and what ways we care

for them in our own home. This was an enjoyable experience

for Preschool 2!”

Now that is a jelly-belly guinea pig! I think he needs an

exercise wheel in his cage, don’t you?

Shout Out to North Graham! AP Tiffany Cheshire sent in this news about a very unique and fun-sounding event: “On Friday,

December 9th, we will have our 1st NGE Breakfast at the Bus Stop! We will be at Park Ridge

Apartments on Town Branch Road (right behind the school). The bus picks the students up at 7:05, so

we will be there around 6:50, set up with coffee (for adults), orange juice, and Chick-Fil-A for everyone

who shows up. We will be sending home flyers with the students who live in these apartments to help

get their parents out to the bus stop. NGE staff members are going to eat breakfast and chat with the

parents to establish relationships. When the bus comes, we will pack up and head to school. We hope

to do this at least one other time, at a different bus stop, during the year.” Great outreach idea!


Shout Out to Graham Middle

Eighth Grade Teen Leadership

Class! Daniel Privette, cultural arts teacher

from GMS, sent in this very worthy

service project: “Our 8th Grade Teen

Leadership class collected new and

gently loved stuffed animal so to

donate to the Graham Police

Department through our school

resource officer, Officer Lewis. The

stuffed toys are for officers to carry

with them on calls that involve kids

that need some comfort.” Great idea,

GMS Falcons!

Shout Out to Sellars-Gunn and Turning Point! Jodi Hayes, Program Specialist for Exceptional Children, sent in this impressive news: “ In April 2011, our

Turning Point Day Treatment Program partnered with Youth Haven Services to meet state mental health

CABA requirements. In this short time, Turning Point Day Treatment has undergone several changes to

improve mental health services provided to consumers who attend Turning Point Day Treatment. Staff

have gone through many changes and have been flexible in meeting all state mental health standards.

Recently, Turning Point Day Treatment Program in partnership with Youth Haven Services , Inc. received

a 3 year national accreditation with CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities). This

accreditation focuses on quality consumer care, improving services provided in the community, and

outcomes based on consumer input. The accreditation recognizes the programs outstanding services to

consumers and families in our community. Furthermore, all of Youth Haven Services, Inc programs

received this national accreditation in their Burlington and Reidsville offices. The ABSS Turning Point

staff worked hard for this accreditation. Turning Point Day Treatment had to meet national standards to

receive this three year accreditation. Way To Go Turning Point Staff, you did a great job!!!”

Shout out to Western Middle Cafeteria Staff! Jean Chandler, head of the expert Child Nutrition staff at WAMS, sent this invitation in: “If you are out

in the Western section of our amazing school district, stop in to the Western Middle School Café and

experience excellent food as well as see what a 102 health inspection grade A kitchen and staff look

like! We are a great team of caring people that strive to give you all our best each and every day! Come

see for yourselves!!”

Shout Out to Jacob Ingle from Williams High! Check out this great story about one of our Williams High star football players and his amazing talent off

the field: http://www.thetimesnews.com/articles/field-50087-plays-football.html


Shout Out to South Graham! Amy Singer, counselor at SGE, sent this in this great

news: “Last week on Tuesday Nov. 22nd South

Graham gave Loaves and Fishes 3005 cans and $92

in cash! Our students also collected 487 points for

Labels for Education and 334 points for Box Tops for

our PTO to use for new equipment for our school!

Our can drive lasted 2 weeks. The class that

brought in the most cans, Candi Long’s 5th grade

class, brought in 866 items of food! (not all were

cans, some were bottles of water, boxes of cereal,

etc.).”

Look at all of those items to help folks in our

community! That’s Ms. Long’s class in front of

the truck in the next photo. Congratulations,

SGE!

Shout Out To Andrews Principal and Assistant Principal! Pam Burney, social worker at Andrews sent in this Shout Out: “On November 18, 2011, Andrews’ staff

and faculty members were graciously served a catered luncheon by Principal Christian Hairston and

Assistant Principal Alan Scott for staff appreciation! The luncheon was a Pre Thanksgiving feast and it

was delicious! Our staff and faculty members were surprised and very appreciative. This special act of

kindness was priceless! Thank you!”


Shout Out to Junior Job Shadowing!

Robin Bowers, CTE Program Specialist sent this in: “Job Shadowing took place on Thursday, November

17th across our district. Our Career Development Coordinators placed over 250 interested High School

Juniors with local businesses across Alamance County. By allowing a student to spend the day with an

employee, local businesses gave our students a

firsthand look at the workplace in a career of interest.

Students walk through the work day as a "shadow" to

learn about the work environment, the value of

education and to see occupational skills in practice. Job

shadowing is designed to increase career awareness

and reinforce the link between classroom learning and

work

requirem

ents. This

opportuni

ty gives

students

a helpful look into a career and helps them to decide

whether a career they are considering is one they can see

themselves enjoying long term. Some of the sites were:

Alamance Dermatology, Phoenix Animal Hospital,

Burlington Royals, Alamance County Fire Marshall, Mynt,

Lab Corp, Sandvik, and MANY MORE!”

In addition, Pam Smith, Career Development Coordinator at Southern, sent me a bit more information

about shadows from Southern: “A couple of unique placements for us this time were with the FBI office

in Greensboro, Special Agent Jason Youngblood hosting a student, and with an EPA Environmental

Assessor, John Vandenberg. We also had students shadowing at the VA Hospital with a cardiologist and

a radiologist. BD Diagnostics-Women’s Health and Center paired a cytologist with a student interested

in pathology/cytology. WFMY News 2’s Ed Matthews hosted a student interested in meteorology. And

our education partner, Teresa Mansfield with LabCorp, graciously arranged for several students

interested in becoming lawyers to be hosted by LabCorp’s legal department!”


Shout Out to Andrews K-5

Literacy-Math Hispanic

Nights! Kris Gordon from Andrews sent ths in:

“Andrews’ ESL department, with

support from ESL members

across ABSS and staff from Andrews

Elementary, hosted a parent

Information Literacy-Math meeting on

two evenings in November, one for

grades K-2 and another for grades 3-5.

Parents were given information on

each grade level academic goals,

parental involvement and

standardized tests (EOGs). In each

meeting, parents had the opportunity to do hands-on activities on vocabulary, reading, math, and

writing instructional activities that they

can use at home with their children using

their own language.

PTA information was also presented and

many more parents joined the association!

An Alamance

Community College representative

presented information for adult ESL classes

and 40 Hispanic parents were recruited to

start ESL classes with the ACC ESL Program.

Over 100 parents participated!”

Shout Out to Turrentine Trojans! Dr. Ski sent in this great news from North Carolina Special Olympics Vice President A'Lisa Tello:

“On behalf of Special Olympics North Carolina, I want to congratulate you and Turrentine Middle School

for being selected as an official Special Olympics North Carolina Project UNIFY school! Together we can

encourage young people to become agents of change, fostering respect, dignity, and advocacy for

people with intellectual disabilities.” Dr. Ski mentioned that the project grant they applied for includes

money for equipment for adapted PE classes, for field trips to area colleges, and for miscellaneous items

set aside for rewards and celebrations for the selected students. We will have an academic awards

assembly sometime after the first semester that will include a short presentation of our school’s Special

Olympics Project Unify.”


Shout Out to Newlin’s

Terrific Kids! Takesha Briggins, counselor at

Newlin, sent in this great event

information: “On November 18,

Newlin held its Terrific Kid/Honors

Assembly for the first nine weeks.

However, this program was very

different because instead of staff

and teachers presenting awards to

students, the students presented

the awards to their peers! The

assembly was completely student-

led. Fifth grader Khyann Perez was

chosen to be the Master of

Ceremony and each class had its

own representative to present

awards. It was truly a phenomenal program! Also, our Student Government Association members for

this school year were inducted into office at the close of the program. We are so proud of our students

and the leaders that they are becoming!” Look at that great looking group of young leaders!

Shout Out to Western High NJROTC! Master Chief USN (Ret) Rod Butler sent in this very interesting information about the field trip of all field

trips! “Last Friday and Saturday 27 NJROTC cadets took an orientation trip to experience military training.

Friday started off with a visit to North Carolina State University where the Navy ROTC staff gave the cadets a

tour of the campus and a classroom presentation on the ROTC college program and various scholarship

programs in addition to life on campus as a ROTC cadet. We proceeded to Fort Bragg for a tour of some of


base facilities and a stop at Pope Air

Force Base where they were able to see

and touch various static display aircrafts.

After Fort Bragg, we visited the Airborne

& Special Operations Museum. This

museum explores the history of the US

Army and Special Operation units from

1940 to the present through dramatic

exhibits of uniforms, equipment and

personal items.

Friday night we stayed at the Fayetteville

National Guard Armory. The highlight of

the evening was a 90-minute class on

Combat First Aid Training. This training

consisted of the latest modern medical training and equipment that is given to every member of the armed

forces. Many of the cadets were able to experience hands-on-training on various first aid treatments. A

Hercules C-130 pilot from Pope Air Force Base gave a follow-on presentation on medevac procedures after a

soldier is treated from wounds on the

battlefield.

Saturday visited Fort Bragg again for a

stop at the U.S. Army Advanced

Airborne School. Here the cadets

received jump training from 82nd

Airborne Division Jumpmaster

Instructors on how solders jump from

airplanes! Following this the cadets

and parents were able to challenge

and overcome their fear by jumping

from a 34-jumptower, which

simulates jumping from an airplane

by falling four feet until the parachute

harness catches you and ends by sliding down a 75

foot zip line.

Upon completion of this the cadets had lunch at one

of the dinning facilities where they were able

experience eating in a base mess hall. Prior to

returning back to the school the last stop was at the

82d Airborne Division War Memorial Museum,

which tells the history of the 82d Airborne Division

from1917 to present.”

What a great opportunity for these students!


Shout out for Super Spellers in the

Swamp! Kris L’Heureux,

webmistress at the

Garrett Gator Swamp

sent this in:

“Congratulations to

classroom spelling bee

finalists Adam Davis,

Jalen Dikes, Nancy

Drago, Madeline Holt,

Sabrina James, Sage

Kimbro, Courtney

Mann, John Mayle,

Amber Shudy and

Sydney Sorrell! The

spelling competition was a tough challenge and lasted 20 rounds! In the end,

Nancy Drago was our school winner. She will be representing us at the district Spelling Bee!

Shout Out to Graham Middle School and Donors Choose Success! Dayson Pasion, science teacher at GMS was interviewed by News 2 this week about the success that

GMS teachers have had getting projects funded through Donors Choose. Horace Mann Insurance offers

matching funds for some projects, and Dayson talked about some of those. Here is a link to part of the

story that aired this week: http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/article/201461/327/Graham-Middle-School-Teachers-Win-Grant-Money

Here’s some more details offered by Dayson: “I think that this is a great opportunity to showcase how

teachers have become resourceful during fiscally hard times and about how community partnerships

can really make a difference. Horace-Mann did match the donations to my project allowing my class to

receive a class set of Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma (young readers edition), and they’ve

helped to fund or partially fund other projects here at GMS, as has SONIC and Century Link. I used the

book during my intervention/enrichment time to review some of the topics we discussed in class. The

reason that I also chose this book was to get students caring about what they put in their bodies. It is

everyone’s personal choice to decide what they eat but I think they should be educated on what they

are eating. We discussed how water systems become affected by conventional agricultural practices,

how E. Coli affects organisms including humans, how E. Coli can evolve so quickly to become so

dangerous, and environmental stewardship. We even debated on whether or not access to healthy and

inexpensive food should be a right or responsibility. All these topics and the use of scientific literature is

helping move my curriculum towards the new Common Core and Essential Standards that we are

adopting.

With just the Limeades for Learning campaign we had 9 projects get funded for $4,403 at Graham

Middle School. Those projects include:

Mrs. Grubbs- at least 40 non-fiction books and at least 30 books of current fiction for the library

Ms. Jordan – a class set of Webster’s dictionary

Mrs. Clark – a class set of Malcolm X’s autobiography and a class set of the biography of Gandhi

Mrs. Ross – a class set of The Freedom Writers’ Diaries and a class set of The Book Thief


Mr. Pasion – a pond and stream kit to build a model stream for science class, equipment to set up a

trophic structure and predation lab (12 aquaria, gravel, tubing, air pumps) and equipment to start an

afterschool rugby club (8 rugby balls, bag, and 15 scrimmage pinnies)

There are other projects as well that have been funded at Graham and across the county thanks to our

community partners!”

Shout Out to Turrentine Middle AYLA! Tiffany Jones, 6th grade science and social studies

teacher at TMS sent this in: “The Turrentine AYLA

(Alamance Youth Leadership Academy) students

hosted a Book Drive during the month of

November.

All books and money collected will be going to

Turrentine’s library. Any books not needed by the

Trojan library will go to classroom teachers’ libraries,

our feeder elementary schools, or local

apartment/housing complexes within Turrentine’s

district. Thanks to the help of students, parents, and

the community, 3,392 books were brought in and

$776.75 was raised! The AYLA students will be

continuing their goal of improving the school’s library

by hosting a Talent Show on January 13 and a carnation

sale for Valentine’s Day!” Great job, TMS!

Shout Out to Haw River! You’ll have to wait until next week’s Shout Out to hear

more about this great event and find out at HRE staff

member won the chance to Kiss the Pig for raising money

for United Way! HRE held a school-wide event on Friday

complete with a pot-bellied pig named Chocolate Chip.

Details and photos in next week’s edition! Great job,

HRE!


Shout Out to Williams High Area Orchestra Boosters! The Williams High school area Orchestra Booster Club is hosting a fundraiser event at the Five Below

store all during December. The money is to help Orchestra students who are at Smith, Turrentine,

Hillcrest, Grove Park,and Williams High schools. So, while you’re out shopping, take this flyer below

with you and help to support our orchestra students. You’ve got to present this flyer at time of

purchase!

At fiVe BELAt fiVe BELAt fiVe BELAt fiVe BELOOOOWWWW

10% of your purchase with flyer will aid the Orchestra Booster Club who supports

Smith, Hillcrest and Grove Park Elementary, Turrentine Middle, and Williams High School Orchestra students.

Our event will be held at the store for the whole month of December

Store hours: Sunday 11am-6pm Monday-Saturday 10am-9pm Store Location: Alamance Crossing

1477 Boone Station Dr. Burlington, NC 27215

Store Phone: 336-584-9348

At fiVe BELAt fiVe BELAt fiVe BELAt fiVe BELOOOOWWWW everything is priced $5 or less!

• Carries stationery • School supplies

• Collectibles • Books

• Computer software

• Sporting goods

• Electronic accessories

• T-Shirts

• Games

• Hobbies

• Jewelry • Candy

• Bath and Body items

• Room décor

• Snacks and Beverages • Storage And Seasonal items plus much more!!!

Store Purpose Only Purchase Amount (pre tax) $________________ Register: 1 2 3 4 (circle one) Associate: ____________


Shout Out to Newlin 21st

Century Students! Check out this week’s Times-News story about Newlin students being among the first in Alamance

County to try out the synthetic ice rink set up at the Alamance County Arts Council!

http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/graham-50194-icy-isn.html

Items of Interest

GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Fund for Teachers: Grants

The Fund for Teachers provides funds for direct grants to teachers to support summer learning

opportunities of their own design. Maximum award: $5,000. Eligibility: teachers who work with students

in grades pre-kindergarten through 12, with a minimum of three years teaching experience, full-time,

spending at least 50 percent of the time in the classroom at the time grants are approved and made.

Deadline: varies by state.

http://www.fundforteachers.org/about-us.php

Captain Planet Foundation: Grants for the Environment

The Captain Planet Foundation funds hands-on environmental projects to encourage youth around the

world to work individually and collectively to solve environmental problems in their neighborhoods and

communities. Maximum award: $2,500. Eligibility: U.S.-based schools and organizations with an annual

operating budget of less than $3 million. Deadline: January 15, 2012.

http://captainplanetfoundation.org/

Earthwatch Institute: Fellowships

The Earthwatch Institute offers educators fully-funded fellowships for hands-on learning with leading

scientists doing field research and conservation on one of over 100 projects around the world.

Maximum award: fully-funded fellowship. Eligibility: elementary, middle, and high school educators and

administrators of any discipline. Deadline: February 13, 2012.

http://www.earthwatch.org/aboutus/education/edopp/

Disney: Planet Challenge

Disney's Planet Challenge (DPC) is a project-based learning environmental competition for classrooms

across the United States. DPC teaches kids about science and conservation while empowering them to

make a positive impact on their communities and planet. Maximum award: teacher -- $6,000;

classroom: $10,000. Eligibility: any 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th grade classroom in a public or private

school in the United States; 2nd Grade classes can participate if in combination with a 3rd grade

classroom. Deadline: December 23, 2011.

http://disney.go.com/planetchallenge/

U.S. Army: eCYBERMISSION

eCYBERMISSION is a free, web-based Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics competition in

which students compete against other students in their grades for state, regional and national awards.

Teams consisting of 3-4 students and a team advisor would work to solve problems in their community

utilizing the scientific method, scientific inquiry, or engineering design process and can win at the state,

regional and national levels. Maximum award: $24,000 in U.S. EE Savings Bonds. Eligibility: students


grades 6 through 9. Deadline: December 16, 2011.

https://www.ecybermission.com/public/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fDefault.aspx

U.S. Dept. of State: Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching

The Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching program sends highly accomplished primary and

secondary teachers from the U.S. abroad and brings international teachers to the U.S for a three to six

month long program. Participating countries in 2012-2013 are: Argentina, Finland, India, Israel, Mexico,

Morocco, Singapore, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Maximum award: Program costs such as

tuition, room and board, and transportation are covered by the grant; participants will receive a

maintenance allowance designed to assist with the costs of food and lodging during the program.

Distinguished Teachers will also have the opportunity to apply for professional development funds to

support development and research, or cover the expenses of attending a conference or workshop

related to their fields of teaching expertise. Eligibility (for U.S. applicants): U.S. citizens who are

employed full-time at an accredited school in the U.S. or its territories, hold a Master's degree (or be

enrolled in a Master's program at the time the grant begins), and are in at least the fifth year of full-time

teaching. Deadline: December 15, 2011.

http://www.fulbrightteacherexchange.org/dteIndex.cfm

Think there might be an iPad under the Christmas tree for you this year? You might be interested in this information provided by Alamance Community College: I work at Alamance Community College with Marge Rogers, and I'm trying to spread the word about a new class at ACC scheduled for January. It's a short 3-hour "How To" class on how to use an iPad ("The iPad: Etch-A-Sketch On Steroids"). It will be offered twice: 9 am to 12 noon and 1 to 4 pm, in room 104 on ACC Main campus, on Saturday, January 7. The cost is $40. Although the class will be on Main campus, students need to register at the Burlington campus (336-506-4200). Duncan M. Shaw Director of Special Programs Continuing Education Alamance Community College Burlington Center 1304 Plaza Dr.

December Shout Outs Vol 1 · Remember last week’s Shout about Erin Mercs’ and Lia Long’s...

Documents

Transcript of December Shout Outs Vol 1 · Remember last week’s Shout about Erin Mercs’ and Lia Long’s...