Friday, June 29, 2012

Long-time Athletic Director Jim Spivey Retires

Jim Spivey

Jim Spivey, who has been the athletic director at Reynolds High School since 1986, is retiring.

Spivey, 67, joined the school system in 1967 as a teacher at Southwest, then a junior high school.

In the Friday June 29 issue of the Winston-Salem Journal, reporter Doug Mead writes about Spivey’s decision and plans. Journal photographer Andrew Dye took the photo.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Paisley Students Head to China

 
Fourteen students and parents from Paisley IB Magnet School spent nine days exploring China. Don Lail, who coordinates the International Baccalaureate program at Paisley, organized the trip through EF Education Tours.

The group left North Carolina on June 18th. After a 14-hour flight, they landed in Beijing, where they joined other students and parents from across the United States. In the days that followed, they did such things as visit The Great Wall of China, take a rickshaw tour of an ancient neighborhood and eat with a family living there, and visit Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Museum of the Terra-Cotta Army.

When they went to Shanghai, they took a train from the airport to downtown that reached a top speed of 268 mph. In Shanghai, they visited the Jade Buddha Temple, a silk factory and the Nanjing Road, renowned for its shopping. After lunch on June 25th, their last full day in China, they went to the World Financial Center Tower, where they ascended to the 100th floor observation deck for a panoramic view of downtown Shanghai.

For Lail, the Great Wall was one of the highlights of the trip. In his journal of the trip, he wrote: “The wall snakes across mountains and valleys for more than 3,000 miles. Descriptive words seemed to escape me while climbing along the wall. This has always been a life-long dream, and living up to my expectations it was just an incredible experience! The Great Wall of China is a true wonder of the world and an absolute must-see for anyone visiting this wonderful country.”

On Tuesday, June 26th, it was time to head back to North Carolina. “With memories that will last a lifetime,” Lail wrote, “we began our long journey home. China is an incredible country and this was a fantastic journey.”

For June 2013, Lail is organizing a trip to Ireland.



Thursday, June 21, 2012

East Forsyth Pole Vaulter Headed to Spain

Sydney White
Sydney White, who recently graduated from East Forsyth High School, is headed to Spain to compete in the pole vault in the IAAF World Junior Championships, scheduled for July 10-15 in Barcelona.

In the July 20 edition of the Winston-Salem Journal, reporter Mason Linker writes about White, who will be attending Wake Forest University. Photographer Bruce Chapman took the photo. You can find the full story at:  http://www2.journalnow.com/sports/2011/mar/17/wssport03-easts-white-apparently-born-to-vault-ar-869030/ 


Paisley Student Finds Voice with Poetry

Iceline King

In the Thursday, June 21 edition of the Winston-Salem Journal, special correspondent Kathy Norcross Waters writes about Iceline King, a rising ninth-grader at Paisley IB Magnet School who has discovered that she enjoys performing poems that she has written.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Student Art in "Forsyth Family" Magazine

By Kenaz McMillan
By Annie Tyner

Each month, Forsyth Family magazine publishes art by students in the school system. In the June 2012 issue, you will find art by:

Kris King, who was a junior at Reynolds High School
Annie Tyler, who was a senior at Reynolds High School
Yarida Dorantes, who was an eighth-grader at Clemmons Middle School
Kenaz McMillan, who was a first-grader at Bolton Elementary School.

Their art teachers were:
Phil Benenati, Reynolds
Katherine Howard, Clemmons Middle
Heidi Wicker, Bolton
By Kris King



By Yarida Dorantes


Camp READ-a-Lot at Griffith Elementary



 
On June 7, the people at Griffith Elementary turned the school into a camp devoted to reading.

As part of the seventh annual Camp READ-a-lot, readers from the school system and from the community came to read stories and to get students excited about reading for fun throughout the summer.

Visitors included Jon Sundell, the media coordinator at Hill Middle School; Wayne Foster, a program manager with the school system; and storyteller/singer Kendra Davis. Students also learned about the summer reading program offered by Forsyth County Public Library and enjoyed hot dogs and baked beans.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Reagan Students Work with Paper Artist


As part of an outreach program sponsored by the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, paper artist Johannes VanDerBeek spent three days working at Reagan High School with students in Jennifer Rice's art class. VanDerBeek showed students how to use compressed and sanded portions of magazines as building blocks for large pieces of art.

The piece of art they created is on display in the media center at Reagan.

The program was part of a SECCA educational outreach program called The Intersections Project. You can read more about the project at theintersectionsproject.org

You will also find an article about the project on page A7 of the June 14 issue of The Winston-Salem Chronicle. You can find the Chronicle online at http://wschronicle.com/

Thursday, June 14, 2012

$11 Million in Scholarships for Student Athletes

By the end of the 2011-12 school year, colleges and universities had offered students in the school system $11,194,416 in athletic scholarships.

There was lots of other good news in athletics, too. Three high school sports teams - the men's basketball team at Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy, the wrestling team at Parkland and the men's tennis team at Reynolds - won state championships.

And the 30 individual state championships included such sports as women's golf and the pole vault.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Four Principals Retiring

Principal Art Paschal talks to Assistant Principal David Small
In the Monday June 11 issue of the Winston-Salem Journal, reporter Travis Fain writes about retiring high school principals Kurt Telford at West Forsyth and Art Paschal at Reynolds. Two other principals, Kay Rogers at Kennedy High School and Carolyn Parker at Griffith Elementary, are also retiring.

For the full story and more pictures by Journal photographer Bruce Chapman, go to http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2012/jun/11/wsmain01-retirements-mean-new-principals-for-some--ar-2346976/

The Class of 2012

Reagan High School Graduates at Joel Coliseum

In the Sunday June 10 edition of the Winston-Salem Journal, reporter Travis Fain and other Journal reporters write about the high school graduations that took place over the weekend. Journal photographers Lauren Carroll and Andrew Dye took the pictures.

For the complete story and more pictures, go to http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2012/jun/10/wsmain01-the-class-of-2012-local-graduates-amaze-f-ar-2345934/

Friday, June 8, 2012

Carter High Students Graduate

Principal Donna Horton hugs a graduate
In the Friday June 8 edition of the Winston-Salem Journal, reporter Travis Fain writes about Carter High School's graduation ceremony.

Journal photographer Andrew Dye took the pictures. For the full story go to: http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2012/jun/08/wsmain02-at-carter-graduation-everyone-cheers-ar-2341412/

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Student's Letter Brings LA Animator to Morgan


James Baxter, Lily Calamusa
the June 7 edition of the Winston-Salem Journal, reporter Travis Fain writes about the fifth-grade graduation at Morgan Elementary School.

The speaker was James Baxter, an animator for DreamWorks who lives in Los Angeles. He came to speak after fifth-grader Lily Calamusa wrote him a letter telling him how much she admires his work.

For the full story go to: http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2012/jun/06/1/famous-animator-visits-morgan-army-dad-peeks-in-on-ar-2338129/

Mary Jane Everhardt, the technology facilitator at Morgan, provided the photo on the left.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Cooking Up Change

On May 21, the school system's Cooking Up Change team went to Washington to compete in the national competition against teams from Chicago, Denver, Jacksonville, Santa Ana and St. Louis.

cuc DC 
Maria Gorjon, Brianda Hernandez, and Jarion Southerland took their El Taco Loco with black beans and veggies with a home-style apple pie tortilla to the competition. 

Santa Ana won the national title, and Chicago was runner up. For the story on the local competition in March go to: http://wsfcs.k12.nc.us/Page/56345



Going Above and Beyond


Every year, as part of the Chartwells Be-A-Star program, the school system nominates employees that have gone above and beyond the call of duty.


Hourly Associate of the Year:

connieguthrie
Connie Guthrie, Parkland High School Cafeteria Manager
dan
Dan Levstek, Meadowlark Middle School Cafeteria Manager

Salaried Associate of the Year:
kelly
Kelly Wilkinson, Catering Chef




Finalists for Bus Driver of the Year Announced

The Top 5 Finalists for the 2012 Bus Driver of the Year have been announced. They are:

Paul Dunlap - Bus No. 209
Tina Lawson - Bus No. 371
Diane Hutchens - Bus No. 455
Deanie Alderson - Bus No. 517
Harry Corpening - Bus No. 2011

“When we read the nominations, it seems most drivers were nominated due to their positive attitude and dedication to students,” said Rhonda Fleming, the school system’s Director of Transportation. “We appreciate all schools who nominated bus drivers for this award.  This year's winner will be announced at the 1st Annual Transportation Awards Ceremony on Monday, June 11, 2012 at Walkertown Middle/High School.”

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

$5,000 for Library Books at Speas Elementary


Speas Elementary School is one of 238 schools across the country receiving grants from The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries.

The foundation awarded a $5,000 grant to Speas to expand, update and diversify it library book collection. Altogether, the foundation will award $1.13 million in grants for 2012.

Partnering this year with the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries was Target Corp. Through such programs as Take Charge of Education and Target School Library Makeovers, Target donates a significant portion of its giving towards educational causes with a focus on helping students achieve reading proficiency.

The Laura Bush Foundation has awarded more than $9.5 million to schools in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Marshall Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands. In addition to these yearly grants, the Foundation has also awarded more than $6.3 million to school libraries in the Gulf Coast region to rebuild their library book collections that were lost or destroyed by hurricanes or storms.

More information about the foundation is available at www.laurabushfoundation.org

Transportation Safety Team Heads to the Ballpark

Deanie Alderson, Rhonda Fleming, Antonia Jones

On June 1, the school system’s Transportation Safety Team headed to the BB&T Ballpark to participate in the “Highway Safety/Law Enforcement Appreciation Night” at the Winston-Salem Dash game.

Hall-Woodward Teacher Going to Ecuador

 
Peggy Cunningham, who teaches second-grade at Hall-Woodward Elementary School, is heading to Ecuador.

Cunningham is one of 46 North Carolina educators participating in one of the N. C. Museum of Natural Sciences’ Educators of Excellence Institutes this summer. Cunningham’s group will travel to Ecuador from June 18 to 26, during the seventh year of a special collaboration between the Museum and Heifer International.

Museum staff and Ecuadorian educators will help the teachers explore connections between environmental sustainability and poverty, experience and learn about Ecuadorian ecosystems and the people who live and work in them, see successes that have helped families move from poverty toward self-reliance, and learn how to share this experience with their own students and with other schools.

The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences’ Educators of Excellence Institutes are designed to help educators to teach students about North Carolina’s ecological connections to the rest of the world. All Institutes have an online component at www.naturalsciences.org that allows colleagues and students to follow along on the trip through pictures, journal entries and email questions and answers.

Institute alumni become part of the Educators of Excellence Network, which helps teachers exchange innovative ideas for teaching science and promoting conservation awareness. More than 400 outstanding North Carolina science educators have participated in Educators of Excellence programs since 1987.