GCS News Briefs

March 20, 2009

District Launches Tdap Vaccine Awareness Campaign

GCS has teamed up with the Guilford County Department of Public Health to heighten awareness about the Tdap vaccination requirement for rising sixth-graders.

A state law went into effect early last year requiring rising sixth-graders (current fifth-graders) who have turned 10 and have not received a Tdap vaccine since July 2004 to receive the shot before the next school year begins. The 2009-10 school year begins August 25.

State law also requires schools to exclude students who have not received the shots. Last year, nearly 3,000 rising sixth-graders had not received the Tdap booster shot by the beginning of the school year. Approximately 400 of the sixth-graders were later excluded from school after the end of the 30-day grace period that followed the start of the school year.

For the 2009-10 school year, we cannot accept appointment cards as substitutes for the vaccinations. We encourage parents of rising sixth-graders to get their children vaccinated before the deadline.

The Tdap vaccine protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough). All three of these serious diseases are spread by bacteria. Diphtheria and pertussis are spread from person to person, while tetanus enters the body through scratches, cuts or wounds.

The Guilford County Department of Public Health is offering several weekend clinics as well as weekday clinics with extended hours in both Greensboro and High Point. Tdap booster vaccinations are available by appointment at the health department’s offices, which are located at 1100 E. Wendover Ave., Greensboro, and 501 E. Green Drive, High Point.  Call 641-5563 for a Greensboro appointment. Call 845-7655 for an appointment in High Point. Remember to bring a copy of your child’s shot record with you.

We hope you will help us spread the word about this requirement. Please visit our Tdap page for communications tools. For more information on Tdap, visit www.immunizenc.com.

Substance Abuse Prevention through Leadership

In an ongoing effort to encourage student leadership and prevent substance abuse, GCS is hosting its fourth annual SMART Leadership Teen Summit this weekend. About 160 student leaders from GCS middle and high schools will attend the summit Saturday at North Carolina A&T State University in the Alumni-Foundation Event Center from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The summit celebrates and supports the value of a drug-free school environment by inspiring students to lead their peers in making better choices. It helps them develop creative strategies for being a positive influence and change the trends of substance abuse in their schools.

SMART, which stands for Student Mentoring Awareness Resource Team, addresses substance abuse prevention, intervention and tobacco cessation. Throughout the school year, the program supports student leaders in their efforts to inform peers of the dangers of substance abuse. During the past few years, the program has made a noticeable impact in the number of student leaders stepping forward to start awareness clubs. SMART also provides parent education and an alternative to suspension program for students who violate school tobacco, alcohol and drug policies. The GCS Safe and Drug-Free Schools department facilitates the program.

Following this year’s event theme, “Be the influence… it starts with me,” student leaders will hear from keynote speaker Chad Varga, a former professional basketball player, and will work in groups on their public speaking and teambuilding skills. Parents can participate in the summit as well by attending a concurrent session on nurturing leadership skills within their children.

For more information on the impact SMART is making within GCS, contact Gwen Willis, executive director of student services, at 370-8397 or Vernice Thomas, supervisor of safe and drug free schools, at 621-4026.

Strategic Plan Now Available in Spanish

The GCS strategic plan is now available in Spanish. A full-text translation is linked on the strategic plan section of the district’s Web site. Click here to go directly to the document.

Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green introduced the plan in January, and the district is in the beginning stages of its implementation. The theme of the plan is excellence in all areas, including academics, moral character and operations. It will serve as a roadmap for GCS throughout the next three years.

Based on the input of nearly 4,000 parents, students, employees and community members, the strategic plan is designed to boost student achievement, increase family and community involvement, improve district service, increase the teacher retention rate and improve school safety and discipline. The strategies outlined in the plan are based on measurable goals or on goals to be set once more research is completed. Some of these strategies will be launched before the end of the year. Others will be launched during the next two to three years. For more information, please contact District Relations at 370-8386.

Enrichment Fund Reynolds Award Deadline Approaching

If you know an educator, counselor or other school staff member who actively and resolutely advocates for children in need, please nominate that person for the Enrichment Fund’s Debby Reynolds Award. The winner will receive a $500 award, and the winner’s school will receive $700. Please submit nominations by March 28. Click here for more information or contact Cecilia Adams, manager of community partnerships, at 370-8355.

Attention Social Studies Teachers

The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Teacher of the Year Awards recognize exceptional classroom social studies teachers for grades K-6, 5-8 and 7-12 who teach social studies regularly and systematically in elementary school settings, and at least half-time in middle or junior high and high school settings. Apply by clicking here, but hurry, the deadline is April 1.

2008-09 Rookie Teacher of the Year Finalists Named

Sixty-seven teachers nominated for Rookie Teacher of the Year submitted portfolios for consideration.  A committee of administrators, career teachers and community representatives reviewed and scored portfolios.  The five finalists are:

Robin Britt, Jr. – Brown Summit Middle
Dorinda Carver – Archer Elementary
Joy Daniels – Grimsley High
Virginia Elliott – Parkview Elementary
Melissa Young – The Early College at Guilford

The 2008-09 Rookie Teacher of the Year will be named during a May 6 breakfast, sponsored by Guilford Education Alliance.  The recipient of this award will receive a scholarship to earn a master’s degree at UNC-Greensboro.  For more information, please contact Martha Snavely, executive director for induction and professional development, at 335-3290 or snavelm@gcsnc.com.

GCS Teams Earn State Championship Titles in Basketball

The North Carolina High School Athletics Association (NCHSAA) held its state championship basketball games on Saturday, March 14 in Raleigh and Chapel Hill. The Dudley High School women’s basketball team and the Northern Guilford High School men’s basketball team both advanced through sectional and regional tournaments earning the right to play in the 3A state championship event held at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh.

In a rare occurrence, both teams were paired against men’s and women’s teams from the same school, Gastonia Forestview. The women’s contest was closely contested, but in the end, the Dudley Panthers were victorious. With the coaching of Kris Britton, Dudley defeated Forestview 60-58. Helen Terry of Dudley was named Wendy’s MVP with 16 points, four rebounds, five assists and five steals. Dudley’s Breonna Patterson was selected as the games Outstanding Player.

Although not as close, the men’s contest was equally exciting. Lead by Coach Stan Kowalewski and the play of Chris McCain, the men’s team from Northern Guilford also was successful in defeating Forestview with a final score of 66-54. McCain scored 25 points en route to earning the Wendy’s MVP, hitting 10 of 12 shots from the field. Michael Neal of Northern was chosen as the games Outstanding Player. For more information, please contact Leigh Hebbard, district athletic director, at 370-8950.

Northwest High Goes to Washington

How better to understand the workings of the federal government and the Constitution than to participate in a congressional hearing? Students at Northwest High will do just that as they compete for a national award. The school received its 13th straight state title in the We the People Constitution Competition, and its students will represent North Carolina in the national competition April 24 through April 28 in Washington, D.C.

We the People is a national program organized by the Center for Civic Education to promote civic competence and responsibility through hands-on activities. The congressional hearing competition starts at the district level and progresses to the state and national levels. Northwest finished 14th in the nation last year and hopes to go to the top once again. The team of 34 students will need about $26,000 to finance the trip, so students are brainstorming ways to fundraise. For more information, please contact Principal Angelo Kidd at 605-3300.

Robotics Team Competes in National Finals

The US First Robotics Team #2655 competed this past weekend and placed first in the regional competition.  Six students from Southwest High and one student from Northwest High will now travel to Atlanta in mid-April to compete in the national finals.  For more information on the competition and how you can help the team make to Atlanta, contact Southwest High Principal Alan Parker at 819-2970 or Cecilia Adams, manager of community partnerships at 370-8355.

Newcomers Student Places in Shakespeare Recitation Competition

Mariya Nikolaeva Tabin, a student at The Newcomers School who arrived in the United States last May, placed in the Guilford County Shakespeare Recitation Competition sponsored by the English-Speaking Union. Tabin’s performance of a monologue from Act II, scene V of Romeo and Juliet and Sonnet 18 before a judges’ panel of Shakespeare scholars and drama professors earned her third place, just two spots away from an all-expense paid trip to New York City for the national competition. She was awarded $50.00 for being the school winner and $200.00 for her third place standing. Tabin left Russia at age 12, spent four years in Israel and speaks Russian, Hebrew and English. Her English teacher at The Newcomers School, Georgie Tasseron, was her coach for the event.  The following GCS students won the Shakespeare Recitation Competitions at their respective schools:

• Jamie Caputo, Weaver Academy for the Performing and Visual Arts, Teacher: Diane Rogers
• Kelly Coalson, Southern Guilford High, Teachers: Lynne Murray and Sherri Raeford
• Anna Kingsley, High Point Central High, Teacher: Christina Caltagirone
• Tahravan Kirkley-Costello, Middle College at Bennett College, Teacher: Davetta Bristow
• Mary Lavey, Western Guilford High, Teacher: Linda Veneris
• Steven Soler, Northeast Guilford High, Teacher: Jay Ewing
• Emilee Simmons, Northern Guilford High, Teacher: Carrie Thompson
• Laura Stanley, Page High, Teacher: Matthew Rickard
• Jonathan Storch, Grimsley High, Teacher: Matthew Ringrose
• Tanner Summers, Northwest Guilford High, Teachers: Myra Blackburn and Christine Chambers-Merriman
• Mariya Nikolaeva Tabin, The Newcomers School, Teacher: Georgie Tasseron

For more information, please contact Angie Kratzer, high school English Language arts curriculum specialist, at 370-3272 or kratzea@gcsnc.com.

Triangle Lake Montessori is hosting Community Peace Parade

Each year Triangle Lake Montessori hosts Family Fun Day, and this year’s festivities will begin with a Community Peace Parade on Saturday April 4.  Embracing world-wide diversity, Triangle Lake Montessori students learn and participate in peace mediation practices to resolve conflicts amongst themselves. The parade begins at 9 a.m. at the Carson Stout Boys and Girls club and ends at Triangle Lake Montessori with Family Fun Day activities. If you have questions, please contact Principal Cheri Keels at 819-2883.

Teaching and Learning about the Holocaust

On March 4, over 100 teachers from around the Triad and more than 50 from GCS gathered at Temple Emmanuel to learn about the Holocaust. Teachers heard the story of Gizella Abramson, a survivor of the Maidanek death camp in Poland. Holocaust scholar Dr. Karl Schleunes, chair of the History Department at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and author of The Twisted Road to Auschwitz and Legislating the Holocaust: The Nuremburg Laws, was one of the featured speakers for the day. Rabbi Fred Guttman, Rabbi of Temple Emmanuel, also presented information about the resistance movement. This workshop, facilitated by the NC Holocaust Council, provided teachers with a new perspective and information to teach their students. For more information, please contact Rebecca McKnight, curriculum specialist for Middle School Social Studies, at 312-5940 or mcknigr@gcsnc.com.

GCS Battle of the Books Middle School Competition

The Annual GCS Middle School Battle of the Books competition was held in the Elliot Center at UNCG on Monday, March 9.  Aycock Middle took first place, Kernodle Middle came in second and Northwest Middle placed third.  Sponsored by the North Carolina School Library Media Association (NCSLMA), Battle of the Books competes at the district level, the regional level, and on to the state level. Students read up to 27 designated books, spanning a variety of genres, and participate in a culminating quiz-bowl style competition.

The Battle of the Books program seeks to instill the love of reading and broaden reading selections and experiences for students. Linking the act of reading to friendly competition with other middle school Battle of the Books teams also adds a playful dimension to the process.  For more information, please contact Sheryl Lieb, media specialist at Mendenhall Middle, at 545-2000 or liebkas@gcsnc.com, or Jean Howard, program administrator for media services, at 370-235 or howardb@gcsnc.com.

Eastern High Teacher Thomas Hefner Shares Love of Physics with Sedalia Fourth-Graders

For the last eight years Thomas Hefner has held a physics demonstration for Sedalia Elementary fourth-graders. Mr. Hefner develops an interest in science for younger students by using some of the same demonstrations he performs for his high school physic classes.  This year’s demonstrations included two of his physics students, Kaitlin Kilfoyle and Cameron Overbey. This year’s demonstration was featured on WFMY News 2’s Good Morning Show and can be viewed at www.digtriad.com. Type “Hefner” in the search field. For more information, please contact Elizabeth Keele, high school science curriculum specialist, at 370-3274, ext. 4, or keelee@gcsnc.com.

GCSTV 2

World’s Largest Concert

Their talents will be known far and wide because Alamance Elementary’s chorus is part of the “World’s Largest Concert.”  Students videotaped and submitted a performance to the National Association for Music Education.  That performance was chosen to be included in a television program that will be broadcast on stations across America.  You can see it right here daily on GCSTV 2 at 11:16 a.m.  The Alamance Elementary students appear in the broadcast at approximately 11:36 a.m.

All County Chorus

The showcase of singing talent continues as GCSTV 2 brings you the latest All County performance.  The All County Chorus performed recently at Western Guilford High School and you can see that performance daily Friday through Monday at 6:13 a.m., 5:05 p.m. and 10:05 p.m. 

Tdap Alert

If you have a rising sixth grader you’ll want to pay particular attention to the latest GCSTV 2 NEWS ALERT.  There are important changes in school entry requirements for immunizations.  Find out what you need to know.  These NEWS ALERTS air at 10 a.m., 11:16 a.m., and 7 p.m.   Click here to see an ALERT:  GCSTV 2 NEWS ALERT-Tdap    

GCSTV 2 Newsbreaks

Find out the latest news within GCS by watching GCS Newsbreaks airing throughout the day.  Check our on-line programming guide for times.  Click here to see the latest Newsbreak.

Kindergarten Kickoff

There is a new rule for enrolling your child in kindergarten next year.  Find out what it is and more in this GCSTV 2 Newsbreak.  See it here.

MCHP Rocks

See the many talents of the students of the Middle College at GTCC High Point as they produce, shoot, edit and host their own television production that features a variety of locations and topics.  This program airs at 6 p.m. daily.

The Edition

From Weaver Academy comes our regularly featured program of news and events at Weaver and other GCS campuses produced entirely by broadcast production students.
This program airs daily at 9:30 a.m.

Weaver Academy’s Tribute to Quincy Jones

Students pay tribute to the iconic American conductor, composer and record producer in this musical production.  This program airs daily at 2:30 p.m.

Showcase Your Talent on GCSTV 2

GCSTV 2 is now accepting student, faculty, staff or parent produced programming.  We’re interested in your complete and compelling productions of school sports, concerts, recitals, plays, debates, academic competitions, school news and more.  These projects can be videos you produce at school or on your own time that educate and entertain.  See the GCSTV 2 page at Details for submissions for details.  Watch the video: Showcase Your Talents

GCSTV 2 & ABC-45

GCS continues its partnership with ABC-45 television to share current news and feature stories about our district.  Tune in to see the latest news and events happening within Guilford County Schools.   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 contact: Leonard Simpson, Broadcast Production Manager at 370-8167.