Fifty-eight students from Gaston County Schools and two private school students will attend the James Forrester Commissioners’ School of Excellence June 15-27 at Belmont Abbey College.

The free two-week summer residential learning experience is open to rising 10th-graders in Gaston County. The most promising high school students attend seminars, take field trips, work with community leaders, hear guest speakers and participate in performances and hands-on experiences. Lessons involve problem-solving, teamwork, critical thinking, communication and community service.

Selection is based on academics, extracurricular activities, leadership potential, self-motivation and written expression.

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After a fire in a supply closet destroyed the West Carteret High School band’s nearly-new uniforms, the Morehead City community really stepped up.  Band students held a barbecue and chicken dinner fundraiser and their hope of selling 2,000 plates at $10 each was far exceeded; “We pre-sold 3,200, and decided to have another 300 ready for people who wanted to order today. It’s overwhelming. Of all the places I’ve lived, I’ve never seen a community spring into action like this one does to meet needs, and it doesn’t matter what the need is,” said assistant band director Andy Wright.  The band hopes to raise the remainder of the money in time to have the uniforms for Christmas parades. Read the article here.

West Edgecombe Middle School won the first STEMley Cup on April 16 at Edgecombe Community College.

Edgecombe County middle schools participated in the college’s weeklong STEM-related activities for fun learning and to accrue STEMley points for their schools.

The STEMley Cup was awarded to the winner of the college’s first STEM Quiz Bowl, one of numerous activities hosted by Edgecome Community College to observe N.C. Advanced Manufacturing and STEM Careers Awareness Week.

Eighty-six middle school students participated in STEM Day activities. West Edgecombe teams won first and second place in the STEM Quiz Bowl.

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Participants in Viz Transylvania celebrated and learned about local governance in Transylvania County at a program, designed with youth in mind on March 12.

The class of juniors from the county’s local high schools began their day in City Council Chambers with an historical look at city/county government by Joe Moore, city manager.

They then participated in group rotations, learning about the services provided by the different governmental agencies fromArtie Wilson, county manager; everything you need to know about elections from Karen Brinson, director, Transylvania County Board of Elections; and an overview of partnerships in education, presented by Scott Elliott, assistant superintendent, and Glenda McCarson, dean, Blue Ridge Community College Transylvania Campus.

When Viz Transyl-vania was being created, input was gathered from students who might potentially participate in the program. The planners continued to hear the “What do you do?” question as pertains to the people who hold positions in local government. So, the final part of the morning program was just that. Mac Morrow talked about the roles of the mayor and Brevard City Council and Page Lemel did the same for the Transylvania County Board of Commissioners.

Learning about the county meant participating in a budgeting exercise. Three Viz members served as commissioners. The remainder of the class was divided into three groups of community members whose job was to advocate before the Board of Commissioners for either Arts/Culture & Recreation, Education or Mental Health/ Substance Abuse. This was a public hearing on the budget and they presented their positions and requested budget changes to support their “cause.”

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Sarah Phipps receives recognition for Mandarin Speaking Award At the May 26, 2014 meeting of the Polk County Board of Education Sarah Phipps received public recognition for winning the “Best Talent Award” in the Intermediate Level of the 2014 NC Chinese Speech Contest sponsored by North Carolina State University’s Confucius Institute. 

Sarah has taken Mandarin through Polk County School’s Confucius Classroom program which affords Polk County Middle School and High School guest Chinese teachers from China to teach Mandarin.  Sarah has taken Mandarin since her eighth grade year and was selected by her Mandarin teacher, Lou Qiaoying.  Ms. Phipps thanked the Board of Education and Superintendent Miller for their commitment to offering Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language.

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An elementary school in Onslow County has been selected by NASA to participate in a teleconference with astronauts on the International Space Station.

Students from Dixon Elementary will participate in the teleconference on Monday, April 21 at 2:05 p.m. The students will have about ten minutes to ask the astronauts questions. 

The teleconference is made possible by members of the local Amateur Radio Club, which has donated their time and equipment to help facilitate the event.

According to Suzie Ulbrich with Onslow County Schools, this is the first teleconference of its kind in North Carolina since 2006.

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The young and the young-at-heart enjoyed a unique sporting event last Saturday night at Forbush High School as the Yadkin All-stars took on the world famous Harlem Wizards basketball team. 

The game was the kick-off fundraising event for the Yadkin County United Fund.

“It was fun. We had a good time,” said Yadkin County Schools Superintendent Dr. Todd Martin, who played for the All-stars. Martin praised the Wizards and said it was a great event for the community.

“Make no mistake those guys are really talented. They’re all former college players and most of us are not, but they’re also good guys to be around and we had a lot of fun playing against them and it was for a good cause. We’re trying to raise money for the Yadkin County United Fund, so it was a winning proposition all the way around. We had a good time with some great people. I think the crowd was entertained and enjoyed it and we did some good for the citizens of Yadkin County.”

The Yadkin All-stars team was comprised of various members of the community including a number of teachers and coaches and representatives from local law enforcement, including both Sheriff Ricky Oliver and Yadkinville Police Chief Tim Parks. School board member Sam Crews and Chairman of the Yadkin County Board of Commissioners Kevin Austin also took to the court.

The All-stars gave it their best shot though they knew their chances of besting the Wizards were pretty slim. The team ran some warm-up drills before the starting buzzer sounded. Sheriff Oliver drained a number of shots from the three-point line during the warm up.

Despite their most valiant efforts though, the high flying Wizards quickly topped the All-stars with some fancy slam dunks and super-fast passes. Children and adults alike cheered loudly for both teams and roared with laughter as the Wizards pulled out all sorts of sneaky stunts to distract the All-stars, like pulling members from the audience to dance at center court in the middle of the game.

After a particularly flagrant foul from one of the All-stars, he was subsequently chased in and out of the gymnasium by one of the Wizards brandishing a pink plastic bat. At one point it appeared a wrestling match, followed by a football game, broke out at center court when one of the Wizards tackled an All-stars player prompting a pile up of members of both teams. It was all smiles though when the players disentangled themselves to continue the game.

Wizards players took to the stands to visit with fans during the game and signed autographs following the event. The kids had a chance to get in on the action as well. Several children were selected to play a game at center court during half-time. Just as the final buzzer sounded ending the game, all the children in attendance were invited to join the Wizards on the court for an impromptu dance party.

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New Hanover County Schools rolled out a new summer learning program Monday called the Think Lab. It focuses on teaching rising kindergartners and rising sixth graders how to think critically.

During the summer, students lose about two months of knowledge and skills that they have learned in school. More than half of the achievement gap between lower-income students and higher-income students is due to a lack of summer learning opportunities, according to the National Summer Learning Association.  

The county is putting an extra focus on Title I schools, which serve a student population below or near the poverty line.

The Think Lab is a free five week program offered to rising kindergarten students registered to attend any of New Hanover County’s Title I elementary schools and rising sixth grade students who will attend D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy or Williston Middle School.

D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy Principal Eric Irizarry said the program gives students an extra academic boost.

“We want all students to learn to be 21^st century learners. So just getting them to be at Virgo for five weeks during the summer and getting those skills and working with some of our veteran teachers is a real advantage for our students,” Irizarry said.

School officials said the program offers students 20 additional days of learning outside the traditional school year. Students participate in activities that build their vocabulary, critical thinking and leadership skills.

D.C. Virgo Instructional Coach Sabrina Hill-Black said the Think Lab is a great chance to get students ready for the new school year.

“A summer camp where there is learning happening, they’re mentally engaged, actively engaged. They are getting a fresh start,” Hill-Black said.

Rosa Mack is a parent of a student in the Think Lab and she said she is thrilled that her son is getting the opportunity to understand that life is a learning experience.

“It’s a joy to know that he’s not on the street and he’s still learning. He’s an A, B Student and I want him to stay on top so being here is helping him keep the skills that he needs to have,” Mack explained. “It’s really keeping him abreast to let him know that life is always a learning experience.”

School officials said 670 students are participating across the county to get a jump start to their school year.

The program is all day, four days a week for five weeks, starting July 14, ending on August 14, 2014.

Interested parents can get more information and register their student at the Title I school they will be attending in the fall. Principals have the registration forms and parent transportation request forms. Transportation, breakfast and lunch will be provided as part of this program.

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A Union County Public Schools administrator has been selected as the High School Principal of the Year by the N.C. Principals and Assistant Principals Association.

Brad Breedlove, principal at Monroe High, credited the work of staff and students, adding that he is lucky to lead the school and honored by the award. “This recognition is a reflection on them and the hard work they have put in all school year,” he said in a media release.

The state group has also nominated Breedlove as the National High School Principal of the Year.

Volunteers at 95 Guilford County schools spent Tuesday morning shadowing leaders to glimpse a typical school day. The annual event, sponsored by the Guilford Education Alliance, is meant to increase community engagement with public schools. The experience helps to counter negative perceptions of public schools, said Winston McGregor, the interim executive director of the Guilford Education Alliance. Visiting a school also gives a sense of what’s accomplished “despite some really significant odds,” she said.

At Johnson Street Global Studies, Jane Caplanides cried as she listened to students sing “The Greatest Love of All.” As she listened, Caplanides thought, “more grown-ups need to witness this.”

“It was so beautiful, so sweet.”

At Grimsley, Raj Garud shadowed Principal Greg Newlin as he met with students. The two talked in the halls about what they observed: The first year math teacher had good control of her classroom. The adults in one classroom were giving extra help to students with disabilities.

Garud noticed how much Newlin interacted with students.

“This is a people business,” Newlin said.

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