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February 2009

GCS Students Will “Read Across America”
GCS students will join millions across the country in the ninth annual “Read Across America Day.” The day coincides with Dr. Seuss’s birthday, and many schools and community organizations will hold events to encourage children and adults to read a book. The Guilford County Association of Educators (GCAE) will hold an event at the Jamestown Public Library from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, please contact Mark Jewell, GCAE president, at 336-299-9601.

Parents and community members will join Archer Elementary students in reading toward the goal of completing 12,000 books in one day. If the school reaches the goal, students will vote on a challenge for Principal Patrice Brown to complete at the end of the year, including wearing roller skates for a day or kissing a pig. For more information, please contact Ms. Brown at 336-294-7335.

Kiser Middle Multicultural Showcase
Kiser Middle will celebrate the variety of cultures represented in Guilford County at its “Passport around the World” showcase on March 3 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Students and families who attend the showcase will get their “passports” stamped at each display as they enjoy cultural food, music and dancing. In preparation for the event, students are studying different cultures in their social studies classes and making decorations for the displays. For more information, please contact Sharon McCants, principal, at 336-370-8240.

Senior Project Provides Teddy Bears to Brenner Children’s Hospital
Northwest High senior Megan Hitchcock delivered 85 Build-a-Bear teddy bears to Brenner Children’s Hospital on Feb. 20 for her senior project. Hitchcock, who plans to pursue a career in pediatric medicine, knew she wanted to base her project on helping children, so she developed a charity called “Hope in a Teddy Bear.” Her goal was to put a Build-a-Bear in the arms of every child at the hospital. Through donations from neighbors, friends and family, Hitchcock raised enough money to build a bear for each patient. She also donated books, puzzles and movies for the hospital’s playrooms. For more information, please contact Angelo Kidd, principal, at 336-605-3300.

Battleground Kia Students of the Month
Battleground Kia named Peyton Sterlin Echols of Sumner Elementary, Courey Casterlow of Kiser Middle and Lauren Shepard of Southeast High the January Students of the Month. The students each received a $50 Visa gift card, a $50 Barnes and Noble gift card and a plaque congratulating them on their success. Teachers nominate students each month who have demonstrated a positive spirit, a willingness to help classmates and who are exemplary students. For more information, please contact Brian Clarida, Sumner principal, at
336-316-5888; Sharon McCants, Kiser principal, at 336-370-8240; or Ralph Kitley, Southeast principal, at 336-674-4300.

Northwest High Advances to State Science Olympiad Competition
Northwest High received the second place honor at the Regional Science Olympiad competition on Feb. 21 at UNC-Greensboro. Northwest’s team will advance to the state competition held at N.C. State University in Raleigh April 24 and 25. Grimsley High, Page High, Ragsdale High and The Early College at Guilford also participated in the regional competition. For more information, please contact Angelo Kidd, principal, at 336-605-3300.

GCS Teacher Needs Votes to Win Classroom Makeover
Kimberly Cofer, an eighth-grade teacher at The Academy at Lincoln, hopes her classroom will receive a makeover. She is one of six semi-finalists in Expo’s Classroom Makeover Contest.  Her classroom has received $2,000 in Expo supplies already and it will be awarded a $25,000 makeover if it receives the most votes on Expo’s Web site. Voting is underway at www.expoclassroommakeover.com/officedepot and will be open until March 8. For more information, please contact Rodney Boone, principal, at 336-370-3471.

GCS Students Are Presidential Scholar Applicants
Six students from GCS are eligible to apply to the prestigious Presidential Scholars program. These students are Benjamin Bucior, Emily Ford and Rajlakshmi De from Northwest High, Elizabeth Rodenbough and Jack Woolard from Grimsley High and Alexander Koceja from Weaver Academy. In May, the Presidential Scholars Foundation will announce the 141 students who are chosen from across the country to participate. For more information, please contact Samara Johnson, supervisor of high school counseling, at 336-370-2331.

Dudley High Names Speech Contest Winners
Dudley and the East Greensboro Rotary Club named three students winners of the school-level Rotary Against Drugs Speech Contest on Feb. 13. Junior Susan Thomas won the first-place award and competed in the district speech contest on Feb. 21. Seniors Reggie Johnson and Aowd Ali received second and third place, respectively. The Rotary Club honored the students at its Feb. 17 business breakfast. For more information, please contact Jesse Pratt, principal, at 336-370-8130.

Author Carole Weatherford to Visit Joyner Elementary
New York Times best-selling author Carole Boston Weatherford will visit Joyner on Wednesday, Feb. 25 to conduct three presentations. Weatherford has authored 32 books. She has received the Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration, Carter G. Woodson Award from National Council for the Social Studies, NAACP Image Award and two North Carolina Juvenile Literature Awards. For more information, please contact Trina Bethea, principal, at
336-545-2020.

Storyteller/Author to Visit Johnson Street Global Studies
Storyteller Louise Omoto Kessel will visit Johnson Street Global Studies on Wednesday, Feb. 25 in the school’s gymnasium. Kessel will perform stories from around the globe for kindergarten through second grade students at 9 a.m., for third through fifth grade at 10 a.m. and for sixth through eighth grade at 11 a.m. Families are also welcome to attend. For more information, please contact Trent Vernon, principal, at 336-819-2900.

Fairview Elementary Career Fair
Students at Fairview Elementary will get a head-start on learning about their potential careers. The school’s guidance department will host its third annual career fair on Thursday, Feb. 26 from 8:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. More than 30 professionals from a wide range of careers will attend. These representatives were selected based on the results of a student career interest survey. Students will rotate among the representatives to participate in interactive presentations and discussions, including “Careers on Wheels,” an outdoor showcase of police cars, fire trucks, a city transit bus and a crime scene investigation vehicle. Additionally, on Friday, Feb. 27, students will dress for their profession of interest and participate in a career parade. For more information, please contact Rhonda Copeland, principal, at 336-819-2890.

Jamestown Middle Celebrates Black History Month
Jamestown Middle will celebrate Black History Month with a special program on Feb. 26 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Several notable faces from the community will participate, including Greensboro Mayor Yvonne Johnson. Students will perform Motown vocal selections, dance and instrumental selections. For more information, please contact Denise Richmond, principal, at 336-819-2100.

U.S. Rep. Howard Coble Visits Northeast High
U.S. Rep. Howard Coble visited Northeast High to speak to members of the Navy Junior Officer Reserve Training Corps today in the school’s auditorium. He spoke to the cadets about the importance of leadership, citizenship and developing team-building skills. The congressman also answered questions submitted by the students. For more information, please contact Dr. Anitra Walker, principal, at 336-375-2500. 

Elon University Students Create Story Quilt for the GCS Newcomers School
Students from the GCS Newcomers School can learn to say, “Welcome,” in 300 languages. Elon University students created a five-panel story quilt for the school as part of a winter-term course called Story Magic. Peg Gignoux, an adjunct professor at Elon and textile artist, led her art students through the challenge of illustrating on the quilt an original children’s story she co-authored with Susie Wilde for the Newcomers School. In the story, the main character, the curious feather, travels the globe learning 300 ways to say welcome. Elon students visited the Newcomers School in January with the story quilt. For more information, please contact Jake Henry, principal, at 336-316-5883.

GCS District Science Fair Winners Announced
The GCS Science Fair, held on Feb. 11 at Four Seasons Town Centre in Greensboro, featured more than 300 student projects from elementary, middle and high schools in the district. Each science fair participant received a certificate.  Awards were given in elementary grade divisions and topical categories for middle and high schools. Judges’ Choice elementary award winners and first-place winners in each middle and high school category will advance to the regional science fair competition on Feb. 27 at SciWorks in Winston-Salem, N.C.

A complete list of award winners is available by clicking here. For more information, please contact Robyn Barrett, elementary science curriculum specialist, at 336-312-4332 or Beth Chappell, middle school science specialist, at 336-317-2825.

Florence Elementary Students Provide Service in Multiple Ways
Florence Elementary students and families have been very active in service to the community and abroad. The school provided Christmas gifts for more than 80 children through the Angel Tree project. First grade students prepared and sent care packages to soldiers recently. Also, the school’s Student Council collected 1,700 items through a food drive for Open Door Ministries. The council has implemented recycling in the school and will be starting a penny drive soon. Additionally, the Florence Clown Club will perform at the Baptist Children’s Home on Saturday, Feb. 28 from noon to 3 p.m. For more information, please contact James McNeil, principal, at 336-819-2120.

Mendenhall Middle Students Compete in Essay Contest
Brian Roskelly and Shane Herman, sixth-graders at Mendenhall, recently submitted essays to the Elk’s Lodge “What Freedom Means to Me” essay contest. The students’ essays advanced to the district level and Roskelly’s essay also advanced to the state contest. For more information, please contact Julie Olson, principal, at 336-545-2000.

Aycock Middle Teams Up with Falkener Elementary
The Aycock drum line showed off its talent to elementary students at Falkener as a part of the school’s Black History Month program. The elementary students had the opportunity to learn from the middle school students about various percussion instruments and move to the beat. For more information, please contact Valerie Akins, principal, at 336-370-8110.

Aetna “Gives Back” By Serving Local Schools
The United Way of Greater High Point and Communities in Schools arranged local service projects for Aetna representatives from across the Southeast who were in town for a meeting. About 35 managers from Aetna volunteered at Montlieu Elementary and Andrews High on Feb. 12. At Montlieu, Aetna volunteers read to students in 17 classrooms and donated books worth $400 to the school after the event. At Andrews, the volunteers helped with the school’s Career Fair by advising students on what potential employers look for in job candidates and conducting mock interviews. Aetna contacted the United Way several months in advance with an interest in serving local schools. For more information, please contact Rochelle Bailey, Montlieu principal, at 336-819-2910 or Monique Wallace, Andrews principal, at 336- 819-2800.

GCS Celebrates Youth Art Month
Guilford County Schools (GCS) student artwork will be on display at the Greensboro Cultural Center Feb. 26 through March 26. March is Youth Art Month. An opening reception for the exhibit will be held in the Cultural Center Main Atrium Hall, 200 N. Davie St. in Greensboro, on March 1 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, please contact Joy Hudson, Colfax Elementary art instructor, at 336-275-4332.

Weaver Academy Student Wins District-Level “Poetry Out Loud” Contest
Weaver student Shatahra Jordan performed two complex and lengthy poems to win first place in the district-level “Poetry Out Loud” competition. She will represent GCS at the regional competition in Raleigh this spring. “Poetry Out Loud” is a national contest for youth created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation to encourage poetry as an oral art form. For more information, please contact Pete Kashubara, principal, at 336-370-8282.

Jesse Wharton Elementary Staff Compete in “Biggest Loser” Challenge
Staff members at Jesse Wharton are demonstrating to their students the value of eating smart and exercising through the school’s own “Biggest Loser” challenge. The participants have lost a combined 340 pounds and about 4 percent of their original body fat since winter break. The contest is facilitated by the school’s physical education instructors as an extension of the “Eat Smart, Move More” initiative. For more information, please contact Valerie Bridges, principal, at 336-545-3700.

Zambian Vocalists Visit Falkener Elementary
Falkener students experienced the a cappella melodies and life stories of the Zambian Vocal Group on Monday. The group’s members, who originated from Zambia, Africa, have performed in more than 3,000 schools and 35 states since the 1990s. Their positive message promotes the importance of education and AIDS awareness and raises money for schools in Zambia. Selections from the performance will be broadcast daily on GCSTV 2 at 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. For more information, please contact Edwina Monroe, principal, at 336-370-8150.

Northeast Middle Basketball Game Benefits Cancer Research
Northeast Middle will collect money to benefit cancer research at a home basketball game against Eastern Middle on Thursday, Feb. 5. Tip-off is 4:45 p.m. Northeast also will hold a high school options fair in the commons during the game. For more information, please contact Johncarlos Miller, principal, at 336-375-2525.

Andrews High Hosts Career Fair
Andrews High will host its third annual Career Fair Feb. 12 from 9 a.m. to noon. Students will be able to speak with representatives from more than 50 companies encompassing a variety of careers and industries. At least two of the companies in attendance will be seeking employees for seasonal and summer employment. For more information, please contact Monique Wallace, principal, at 336-819-2800.

Middle School Art on Exhibition in High Point
Artwork by Guilford County Schools (GCS) sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders is on display at the Theatre Art Galleries (TAG) in High Point as part of the Triad Middle School Art Exhibition. About 70 works of art by students from the Triad are professionally mounted and will be on display through April 16. TAG will hold a reception open to the public Thursday, Feb. 19 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the galleries at the High Point Theatre, 220 E. Commerce Ave. For more information, please contact Kathy Moore, TAG education coordinator, at 336-887-2137.

Jones Elementary Artwork Displayed at SECU
During the month of February, the State Employees Credit Union branch on West Market Street is displaying artwork by 19 second and third grade students from Jones Elementary. The students learned how to add depth to a work of art while creating the landscape paintings displayed in the credit union. The display is an example of interdisciplinary learning in action – geography and social studies instruction were integrated into the art project. For more information, please contact Bea Jones, principal, at 336-370-8230.

Southwest Elementary Recognized as Healthy School
The Get Healthy Guilford Coalition recently honored Southwest Elementary with its Healthy School Award. The school’s Health Advisory Committee, led by physical education teacher Anneli Bennett, largely contributed to this honor. The committee leads the school in activities, including Jump Rope for Heart, Walk for Diabetes, a bike-a-thon, GO FAR Running Club and Presidential Physical Fitness testing. It also organizes an annual community exercise program that involves students, staff and families. Families keep fitness-hours logs that, with the help of the PTA, are totaled and credited toward the school’s goal.

Southwest is also one of the first schools in the county to receive “Project Fit America” equipment, which classes can use during outdoor recess to enhance their physical fitness. For more information, please contact Susan Allen, principal, at 336-819-2992.

GCS Students Receive Student of the Month Honor
Battleground Kia named Shermar Patterson of Hampton Leadership Academy, Darvin Jasper of Northeast Middle and Catherine Lane of Ragsdale High the students of the month. For more information, please contact David Jarmon, Hampton principal, at 336-370-8220; Johncarlos Miller, Northeast principal, at 336-375-2525; or Kathy Rogers, Ragsdale principal, at
336-819-2960.

Current Good News

About Guilford County Schools
Guilford County Schools is the third largest school district in North Carolina serving more than 71,000 students at 119 schools. With approximately 10,000 employees, the district’s mission is to graduate responsible citizens prepared to succeed in higher education or the career of their choice.

Guilford County Schools is a national leader in providing specialized schools and instructional programs designed to meet the educational needs of a culturally diverse citizenship. For more information, visit the district’s Web site at www.gcsnc.com.