GCS News Briefs

October 16, 2009

Guilford County Schools Recognized for Graduation Rates

During the 2008-09 school year, three of the district’s high schools graduated 100 percent of students. Weaver Academy, The Middle College at GTCC-Jamestown and The Early College at Guilford are three of only seven schools statewide to accomplish a 100 percent graduation rate. These schools are all part of the district’s magnet/choice schools program.

Northwest High also topped the charts. The school’s graduation rate is one of the top two for schools with 500 or more graduating seniors.
                                                                                      
Overall, the 2008-09 graduation rate for GCS was 79.9 percent, compared to the statewide rate of 71.7 percent. The State Board of Education recognized GCS, along with other districts across the state, at a luncheon Monday.

A unique learning environment, Weaver has a fulltime Academy of Performing and Visual Arts and a part-time Academy of Advanced Technology. The fulltime program provides students with career preparation in artistic disciplines through individualized instruction and cultural enrichment, and the career and technical program provides specialized courses not available at traditional high schools.

The Middle College at GTCC – Jamestown is a high school on the campus of Guilford Technical Community College specifically for students in grades 10-12 who have the ability to do honors or higher-level academic work. It was one of the state’s first middle college high schools in 2001.

The Early College at Guilford was established in 2002 as North Carolina’s first early college high school. The school offers an intensive college preparatory curriculum of advanced level courses and college courses on the campus of Guilford College.

Northwest High is a comprehensive high school with more than 1,900 students, making it the largest school in GCS. If offers a wide array of courses, including 26 Advanced Placement (AP) courses. For more information, please contact Haley Miller, media relations manager, at 370-3200.

GCS Students Named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

Thirty-two GCS students are semifinalists in scholarship competitions held annually by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The students, who attend 13 of the district’s high schools, will continue in the competition for one of about 8,200 National Merit Scholarships or 800 National Achievement Scholarships awarded next spring.

The 24 GCS students who are semifinalists for the National Merit Scholarship were among 1.5 million high school juniors who took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) in 2008. Nationally, about 16,000 students were named semifinalists in the competition. They represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors and are among the highest scoring test takers in each state. Winners of the National Merit Scholarship will be announced starting in April and continuing through July.

Additionally, nine GCS students are semifinalists for the National Achievement Scholarships.  They are among 1,600 African-American high school seniors who were the highest scoring test takers out of the more than 160,000 juniors who requested to be considered for the scholarships when taking the PSAT/NMSQT in 2008. National Achievement scholarship winners will be announced in April.

National Merit Semifinalists
Joy Damon, Patrick Farrell, Thomas Huff, Lane Jones, Meredith Jones, April Lee, Catherine Pan, Heather Seaman and Francis Wong from The Early College at Guilford; Olivia Campbell, Taylor Gerkin, Jonathan Storch and Amy Taggart from Grimsley High; Katherine Rodgers from High Point Central High; Richard Gritter from The Middle College at GTCC-Jamestown; Joseph Graves, Robert King and Valerie Puhala from Northwest High; Katherine Dalldorf and Lindsey Hook from Page High; Minshu Deng from Ragsdale High; Bethany Boring and Chance Cockrell from Southeast High; and Joel Shuford from Southwest High.

National Achievement Semifinalists
Briana Alford from Dudley High; Chloe Griffin and Ismail Kassim from The Early College at Guilford; Brandon Mayfield from Northern High; Joseph Graves from Northwest High; Britney McCollum and Whitney McCollum from Smith High; Vincent Brown from Southwest High; and Eboni Arrington from Western High.

Anti-Bullying Song by Smith Students Wins State Contest

An original song written by Smith High students will be one of 12 songs featured on a CD compiled by the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The song was chosen from more than 500 entries in a contest held last January. 

The CD will be distributed to schools across North Carolina later this year. The purpose is to empower schools, communities and students to prevent bulling and other school violence.

Smith’s music club worked together to write the song, titled “Sing with Me, I’m Bully Free.” After editing and practicing, the song was recorded in a makeshift studio in a classroom at Smith.

Music for “Sing With Me, I’m Bully Free” was by student Ykhoa Hdok, and the lyrics and vocals were by students Jimmy Nguyen, Amber Baldwin and Jacques Baird. Click here to listen to the song. For more information, please contact Noah Rogers, principal, at 294-7300.

GCS Students Selected for N.C. Honors Chorus

Nine GCS high school students and 11 middle school students will participate in the 2009 N.C. Honors choruses. The students were chosen from the state’s best middle and high school vocalists through a selective audition process.

By participating in the choruses, the GCS students will have the opportunity to sing with talented students from across the state and learn from nationally acclaimed choral conductors.

Annually, more than 1,000 students audition for about 160 spaces in each chorus. Students sing their vocal part of the audition piece before a judge and sight-read a piece of music they have never seen. Only about the top 15 percent of auditioned singers are selected for the prestigious choirs.

This year’s performances will take place on Nov. 8 at the Stephens Center at the N.C. School of the Arts in Winston-Salem.

GCS students selected for the High School Honors Chorus are Curtis Moore-Tate from Grimsley High; Austin Leybourne, Caroline Hudson and Valerie Puhala from Northwest High; Simone Price from Southeast High; Jana Hennis, Adrian Fullerwinder and Taylor Blackwell from Southern High; and Claire Pegram from Weaver Academy.

GCS students selected for the Middle School Honors Chorus are Ilinca Scalco and Brandon Stetina from Jamestown Middle; Karina Sizemore and Baajah Mohammed from Penn-Griffin School for the Arts; and Rebecca Evans, Christina Beasley, Hailey Hines, Izell Jenkins, Caitlyn Delgado, Perry Plaine and Bruce Isley from Southeast Middle. For more information, please contact Nathan Street, arts curriculum specialist, at 574-2645.

Remember Bus Safety Next Week and Beyond

National School Bus Safety Week, Oct. 19-23, is a reminder of the important role bus transportation plays in GCS and the safe travel of more than half of the district’s students. This year’s theme, “Avoid Harm, Obey the Stop Arm,” reminds drivers of the importance of stopping when the bus lights flash and the stop sign deploys.

Every year, the National Association for Pupil Transportation sponsors Safety Week as a way to educate students on how to use the bus safely and remind the public about laws concerning school buses. North Carolina law requires motorists to stop for a stopped school bus that is displaying flashing red lights and the stop sign.

The GCS Department of Transportation is working with local law enforcement to organize an “operation stop arm” effort and to remind the public to be alert and careful when school buses are on the roads and children are getting on and off. GCS buses travel more than 50,000 miles to transport about 40,000 students daily. For more information, please contact Jeff Harris, director of transportation, at 370-8920.

Schools Celebrate the Arts in October

October is National Arts and Humanities Month, and GCS is using the celebration to promote the importance of arts in student learning. Colfax Elementary is finding unique ways to incorporate art into every day activities. The school will have “color days” throughout the month when students will wear cool colors (blues, greens, purples), warm colors (reds, oranges, yellows), pastels (light, soft colors) or neutrals (whites, blacks, browns). The school also is incorporating art into its literacy activities by asking students to write about why art is an important part of education and how it is useful in the local and global economy. Throughout the month, student artwork will be on display throughout the school. For more information, please contact Joy Hudson, Colfax art teacher, or Michelle Thigpen, principal, at 275-4332.

Elon’s Juvenile Intervention and Mediation Clinic to support GCS Central Region

Elon University School of Law has established a Juvenile Justice Intervention and Mediation Clinic to provide mediation services for victims and offenders in juvenile crime cases as an alternative to criminal prosecution. GCS’ Central Region will be one of the first direct recipients of the Clinic’s services as the plan is being piloted and tested.  Elon Law Professor Tom Noble who will supervise the clinic says the project will be a benefit to offenders and victims of crimes.

"Teens who commit crimes are less likely to become repeat offenders when they participate in mediation programs, so one of our objectives is to help lower the juvenile delinquency rate in the region," Noble says. "The clinic also seeks justice for victims by giving them the opportunity to face their offenders and, if they so choose, to help define the outcome of the mediation to repair harms done."

A few of the goals of the clinic include:

• Give juveniles the opportunity to take responsibility for and become accountable for their actions;
• Give victims the opportunity to learn about and be intimately involved in the outcome of their cases;
• Give all parties the opportunity to craft an agreement that will address and repair the harm which has been caused by criminal activity; and
• Give the school system and judicial system an additional resource to utilize in resolving juvenile criminal matters.

Services provided by the clinic are also connected to the district’s 2012 Strategic Plan, which includes the establishment of Mediation Services throughout the district. For more information, please contact Terry Worrell, regional superintendent for the Central Region, at 433-7199, or Monica Walker, GCS diversity officer, at 370-3284.

National Park Service Hosts Teachers

The second Colloquium of the Building Bridges Project was hosted on Oct. 2 – 3 by the district’s new partner institution, the National Park Service. They met at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park in the former Tannenbaum Historical Park Museum. Twenty-eight GCS teachers from K-8 and 10th grade learned interesting facts and fascinating stories about Colonial America and North Carolina. Presenters came from various educational settings, including independent scholars, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, North Carolina State University and Guilford College. 

A highlight of the weekend was a tour of the former Hoskins farm and presentations at the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park by costumed docents. The Building Bridges Project is made possible by a grant from the Department of Education’s Teaching American History Program. The project is designed to increase teacher content knowledge, skills and resources in early American history.  For more information, please contact Patricia L. T. Camp, project coordinator, at camp@gcsnc.com or 317-2466.

The Latest News from GCSTV 2:

GCS Newsbreak
Germs and ultraviolet light at Northern Elementary; “Dig Pink”-Volleyball at Grimsley High; Haynes-Inman groundbreaking

GCS Newsbreak
Deshawn Adams at Vandalia Elementary; Rocket Scientist visits Grimsley High

2009 GCS Celebrating Excellence in Education

See the district’s most improved schools be rewarded along with the naming of the GCS Teacher and Principal of the Year. This program is broadcast daily at noon and 6 p.m. 

Profiles of Teacher of the Year-Principal of the Year Candidates

Watch profiles of the Teacher of the Year and Principal of the Year candidates as GCS once again honors some of the best among our faculties and staffs. This program is broadcast daily at 7:31 a.m., 3:32 p.m. and 8:14 p.m.

Staying Healthy During Flu Season

It is the number-one flu threat this season. Check out the latest information on precautions to prevent the spread of the flu virus and how to handle it if someone has the flu.

GCSTV 2-LIVE
WATCH OUR LIVE BROADCAST!  

Now Streaming on the World-Wide Web

Guilford County Board of Education

Watch Board of Education meetings LIVE when they occur.  Encore presentations of board meetings are telecast the day following the meeting and the following Saturday at 1 p.m. You can also watch board meetings at your convenience. The meetings are now archived and available online anytime at gcsnc.com. See them here.

Also on GCSTV 2:

GCSTV 2 Programming Guide

Find out what else is showing on GCSTV 2 here: GCSTV 2 Programming Guide

Showcase Your Talent on GCSTV 2

GCSTV 2 is now accepting student, faculty, staff or parent produced programming.  See the details for submissions here or watch the video.

GCSTV 2 & ABC-45

GCS continues its partnership with ABC-45 television to share current news and feature stories about our district. These Newsbreak segments are broadcast on ABC-45 (Cable Channel 7) during Good Morning America each Wednesday and Friday at 7:25 a.m. and 8:25 a.m.

For more information, please contact Leonard Simpson, broadcast production manager, at 370-8167.