Saturday, Feb. 04, 2012

School Notes

Bugg student wins play competition

Bugg Magnet Elementary fifth-grader Geneva Scanlon won the N.C. Theatre Arts Educators Write It Elementary School playwriting competition. Students submit plays that they have written in their drama classes in this statewide competition. Scanlon’s play will be published and UNC-Greensboro acting students will perform the play in February.

Franklin Academy musicians honored

Franklin Academy High School’s Kyle Ellington (senior-trumpet), Katie Koloustroubis (junior-flute) and Austin Radosta (junior-bassoon) were selected to participate in the Central Region All-District Band Clinic held at Sanderson High School Jan. 27-28. More than 1,300 students auditioned at Cary High School on Jan. 7 for one of the 260 spots in the All- District Bands.

Schools get $10k from The Pantry

The Wake County Public School System will receive $10,000 from The Pantry, the leading independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern United States, and BP’s Fueling Communities program.

The Pantry operates its Wake County stores under the Kangaroo Express banner. The donation will provide $1,000 to 10 schools.

The schools receiving the donations are Apex High, Green Hope High, Jeffreys Grove Elementary, Leesville Road High, Millbrook Magnet Elementary, Millbrook Magnet High, Morrisville Elementary, Panther Creek High and Swift Creek Elementary.

Artwork on display in Wake Forest

The artwork of students from Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle School has been traveling around Wake Forest thanks to the women’s club.

Student works by Jaliese Chism, Maya Grimmett, Schuyler Lauder, Arcelia Vargas Velazquez, Makenzie Weeks, Seth Blackwood, Steven Cook, Faith Dias, Amelia Fisk, Omar Perez-Beltran, Justin Rice, Marley Shattuck, Daniel Skube and Stacy Sumner were displayed at the Purple Door and B&W Hardware.

The artwork of the second-place winner and the third-place winner will be displayed in Fidelity Bank. Paola Sias’ Butterfly earned Second Place. Sky Parks’ Dog earned Third Place.

First-place winner Brian Rodman’s “Zebra” will go the Women’s Club-NC District VI Arts Festival on Saturday, Feb. 11. Rodman’s work will be displayed in Fidelity Bank until going to the district competition.

Early college students win contest

Students at the Wake Early College of Health Sciences took first place in the N.C. Society of Hispanic Professionals’ “Stay in School” video contest. The contest entries are online at www.thencshp.org.

The students will be honored in a March 30 awards ceremony at N.C. State University’s McKimmon Center during the 2012 Hispanic Educational Summit for middle and high school Hispanic students.

The 20 entries were scored by judges from Univision40, Nationwide Insurance, The NC State Department of Public Instruction, a student from Wake Technical Community College, and the NCSHP President, Director of Programs and a board member based on overall quality, message conveyed, creativity, entertainment appeal and the relevance to the central theme of staying in school. The entries were posted on YouTube and have been watched by thousands of viewers.

Employee Excellence Awards Presented

The Board of Education honored Barwell Elementary music teacher Amanda Bailey and Mary Morton, director in the WCPSS Internal Audit Department, with Employee Excellence Awards at its Jan. 24 meeting.

Superintendent Tony Tata presented both employees with awards, and Stephen Gainey, the assistant superintendent for human resources, described the employees’ contributions.

Gainey said Bailey shows great determination to not just do her job, but excel at her profession. In her short time at Barwell Elementary, she was able to bring a group from the N.C. Symphony to the school, form a chorus that was selected to participate in Pieces of Gold and secure funding for uniforms so each student had a new uniform free of charge.

For the past 18 months, Morton has led the WCPSS Internal Audit Department in providing the district with high quality, thorough and unbiased audit services, Gainey said.

Leesville Road High starts scholarship

Leesville Road High School has created a scholarship to honor Richard Murphy, the school’s first principal. The fully endowed scholarship will be awarded to two Leesville Road High seniors for the first time this year. Each recipient will receive a $2,500 scholarship.

The Murphy scholarship will be awarded to a senior who embodies the high expectations and commitment to visionary leadership, service and lifelong learning that Murphy epitomized and inspired others to achieve.

Stephen Gainey, the assistant superintendent for human resources, served as an assistant principal under Murphy and later as Leesville’s principal. Gainey said Murphy’s influence “will forever be present.”