ALAMANCE-BURLINGTON SCHOOLS AROUND OUR … · alamance-burlington schools around our schools shout outs jan 27, 2017 The portraits the students created will be delivered to the children

ALAMANCE-BURLINGTON SCHOOLS AROUND OUR SCHOOLS SHOUT OUTS Jan 27, 2017

Shout Out from Eastern High Arielle Hogarth, Varsity Cheer Coach

Congratulations to Leeann Cobb, Andrea Talamantes, and Mariah Thompson! These Eastern Eagles were nominated to audition for the NC Cheerleading Coaches Association All-Region Team. All 3 were selected and were recognized at the Cheer Competition in Apex held recently. From here they can try out for the NC All-State Team! Wish them luck!

Shout Out from Turrentine Middle Patti Perrou, Instructional Technology Specialist Turrentine Middle School hosted a Career Fair on Thursday, January 19. Our 8th grade students enjoyed visiting 47 booths from a variety of Alamance County businesses. Mike Falk and Allen Wolff, 8th grade teachers, worked extremely hard to organize the event. Students took a career inventory to help guide them in types of careers they might be interested

in. They interviewed representatives from businesses and will use that information to create a product in their Social Studies classes. Thanks to Susan Turner from Williams High School for helping organize and working at this event!


Check out the Times-News story and video links about the event: http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/20170119/high-school-planning-starts-with-career-fair-at-turrentine http://www.thetimesnews.com/videos/99D5C394-8EA7-414C-B387-9073B04AC261/The-scene-at-Thursdays-career-fair-at-Turrentine-Middle-Eighth-graders-explore-local-jobs-and-education?start=2

http://www.thetimesnews.com/videos/130FE254-0061-4DB5-888F-29935B46248B/Burlington-Royals-Bingo-shows-shows-up-at-Turrentine-Middle-career-fair-and-steals-the-show

http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/20170119/high-school-planning-starts-with-career-fair-at-turrentine



http://www.thetimesnews.com/videos/99D5C394-8EA7-414C-B387-9073B04AC261/The-scene-at-Thursdays-career-fair-at-Turrentine-Middle-Eighth-graders-explore-local-jobs-and-education?start=2












Shout Out from E M Holt Elementary Shelli Altopp-Miller, School Social Worker Mrs. Dawn Bowers' class at E.M. Holt was treated to songs and games by Rebekah Douglas, creator of Dust Moth Wings. Rebekah donned a handmade medieval dress and fairy wings as she joyfully played ukulele and sang, encouraging students to sing along. She brought a powerful message that we can share our feelings through music, and students did just that as they clapped, smiled, and sang along!

Shout Out from Southern Middle Derek Breshears, Band Director

Congratulations to Landon Crockford for making the North

Carolina Central District All-Region Band! This prestigious

band is selected by audition only, from schools ranging from

Greensboro to Raleigh. Landon was selected as first chair

trumpet for the concert band. Way to go, Landon!


Shout Out to ABSS Actors Amanda Almovodar, School Social Worker at South Graham

Shout-out to ABSS student actors who will perform this weekend at Studio 1's new location at Holly Hill Mall. Please join the audience if you can and support this opportunity in the arts! Check out the story in Times-News about the performances for Winter Shorts: Terrifically Tall Tales

http://www.thetimesnews.com/entertainment/20170126/terrifically-tall-tales-to-be-told-this-weekend

Shout Out from Eastern High Arielle Hogarth, American History & Psychology

On January 12, Dr. Lyle Parker of Raleigh, NC came and spoke to my American History II students.

Dr. Parker was drafted for the Vietnam War and served as a flight surgeon in 1968 and 1969. He was awarded the Soldier's Award for his heroic service during the Tet Offensive. He pulled four crew members from a helicopter crash at Daug Tieng and provided first aid.

Dr. Parker spoke for about 50 minutes and then the students engaged in question and answer.

It was an honor to have Dr. Parker visit Eastern Alamance and we are

forever grateful for his service to our country!

http://www.thetimesnews.com/entertainment/20170126/terrifically-tall-tales-to-be-told-this-weekend


Shout Out from Southern High Marcus Thomas, Online Learning Facilitator and Webmaster

Three local Vietnam veterans shared their overseas experiences with students on Jan. 13th. A special thank you to Dan Falk (Army), Benny Kidd (Army), & Sue Lamm-Gurley (Air Force) for their time and their service!

The words of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried came to life for Ms. Caviness's English 3 students.

Shout Out from Eastern High Melanie Winstead Donna Edgell’s Advanced Art students recently created portraits for the Memory Project, a nonprofit organization that seeks to create mementos for children around the world who have experienced extreme difficulties. The ultimate goal of the Memory Project, according to their website, is for “the portraits to help the children feel valued and important, to know that many people care about their well-being, and to act as meaningful pieces of personal history in the future. For the art students, we want this to be an opportunity to creatively practice kindness and global awareness.”

Ahanayzha Mabry, Caroline Madden, and Savannah Ward created portraits using acrylic paint of children who are Syrian refugees currently living in a refugee camp in Turkey. The students were given a photograph, the first name, and the favorite color of a child to use for their painting.


The portraits the students created will be delivered to the children by Memory Project staff members and a video of the children receiving their portraits and their reactions will be sent to Mrs. Edgell.

According to Mrs. Edgell, creating these portraits gives the students a personal connection and link to a world outside of their immediate realm.

Shout Out from Career & Technical Education Robin Bowers, Director

Teacher Spotlight: New Fire Academy Chief Trains Next Generation of Firefighters

By Mark Meacham, UNCG Region Instructional Coach

Joel Davis is a first year Lateral Entry teacher CTE at Graham High School in the Alamance-Burlington School System. In the newly established Fire Academy, Mr. Davis teaches students who wish to pursue a career as a fire fighter. I recently sat down with Mr. Davis to discuss his first-year

experience. (Mr. Davis’ fire safety class was a recently featured on MyFox8.com and in the Burlington Times-News. Click on the links to view and read more about Mr. Davis and his students.)

http://myfox8.com/2017/01/04/new-fire-academy-at-graham-high-school/#ooid=oxODZyODE6ygvhUO7lbuL-AxIuJnTqFu

http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/20170104/up-ladder-fire-academy-wraps-up-first-semester


Mark: What did you do before you became a teacher?

Joel: I started out working at a volunteer fire department as a full-time paid fireman. After being there for a year and a half, I got hired on by the City of Burlington. Altogether, I’ve had 18 years of experience in the Fire Emergency Services field.

Mark: How do you use that experience in the classroom?

Joel: With state certification there are certain things that have to be taught. But I feel with my experience I can bring that real-life, real-world experience to what the students are learning in the classroom, not just to say, “look at these slides, look at these chapters in the book, this is how you do it step-by-step.” Instead of just saying, “This is how you do it,” that real-world experience gives me a chance to tell them why we do it that way.

Mark: One thing I thought of when I observed your fire safety class when they were outside practicing a skill is that it is very hands-on.

Joel: There’s a lot of hands-on activity, which makes it better than sitting in the classroom all period just looking at slide after slide and listening to me talk the entire time. The students can actually see what they’re learning in the classroom and can apply it to those skills and any kind of activity we do outside the classroom.

Mark: What would you say is one of your most rewarding experiences during your first semester of teaching?

Joel: It’s rewarding to be able to see a new program like this and see, I guess from a school aspect, how well it’s being accepted, how well the administration is behind it. That’s rewarding in itself, to see that you’ve got that backing from the administration. I came into it with support from just about every level of the school system. So that makes it a lot easier, so that I’m not trying to figure out how I am going to do a skills test without the equipment I need. To me that’s a big thing, in addition to teaching kids that want to participate, want this to be their career and see them succeed.

I have a pretty diverse classroom, but they’re all working together as a team. Because, in the fire service working together as a team is imperative. That’s how you stay safe, that’s how you get the job done. And, plus, [as a fire fighter] you’re around these people 24 hours a day, two or three days a week. So, you’ve got to be able to get along and work together. I’ve had differences in the classroom between some of the students, but out there when they’re doing their skills they still come together as a team. They work together; they cheer each other on. We had an incident out there the other day working with the ladders. One student kind of froze going up the ladder. He got about half way up and said, “I can’t do it,” and started to go back down. But everybody else on the ground started cheering him on and he finally made it up. That may seem insignificant to other people looking in, but from the aspect of the fire service, that says a whole a lot.

Mark: You mentioned that there are a lot of layers of support in the school system. How would you say the NC New Teacher Support Program fits in with that?

Joel: You all come into the classroom and say, “Do you need help? If you do, try these things.” To me, as a new teacher coming from the workforce directly into the classroom, with two weeks to prepare for classes, I’m sure I’m not utilizing all of the tools I’ve been presented, but I’ve got them there for me when I need them. I’m pretty good with the plans I have to cover through the state. Trying to mold them to fit the classroom, that’s where you guys come in. You help take what I have to teach and fit it into the high school setting, which helps out a whole lot. I like how you come in once a week and just say, “Anything you need?” Busy as all the teachers are there might be something we need and I’ll say, “I’ll email Mark or I’ll give him a call,” and it gets just kind of pushed off to the side and I forget to do it. And then when you stop in I say, “Oh, I do have a question for you.” That kind of helps.


Mark: So, I asked you about something that is rewarding. Is there something that has been challenging for you that sort of bubbles up to the top?

Joel: Coming directly from the workforce to a high school setting. I did teach some in the community college setting but this is completely different. Because you can’t deal with adults the same way you do with kids. In the community college setting, most of them are paying to take the class. They’re paying to learn this. In the school setting it’s kind of a delicate balancing act. I just know with the rigors of the job, if I see something that’s not going right, I have to correct it, but I’ve got to correct it in the appropriate way in dealing with the individual student. It’s really been difficult to learn that balancing act. So, finding a happy medium has been a little challenging. In the fire service, we know you’re hired to do a job and if you’re not performing or you’re not meeting the requirements . . .

When I was in an officer position it was my job to make sure they did whatever it took, however I had to do it. And, you know, that’s what they were getting paid to do. In this setting, I still have high expectations in the class, but it’s not quite the same as somebody that’s doing it for a career, or if somebody’s life is on the line. It changes things even more.

Mark: During my weekly visits, we’ve talked about how you want to set up your groups for next semester. Can you briefly describe your idea for that?

Joel: What I want to try to do is to delegate some more responsibility to those that are really getting the concept of what the career of a fire fighter is. And those that earn it need to have some roles of leadership within the classroom. So, I’ve decided to break it down into four different groups and we’re going to call each group a fire station. Each station will have their own

leader, their own officer, so if they have a problem I want to go to that officer of that group or that station and try to get that situation taken care of. And, likewise, if somebody in that group has a problem they will go to their officer and then they’ll come to me if they can’t resolve it amongst themselves.

That will also help when we do skills. I can make sure that officer is proficient with that skill. That way he can take his group and they can go practice that skill. That will give me a little more flexibility to work with those that aren’t quite as proficient, to get them up to speed a little faster. And then the ones that are more proficient should be able to teach those who aren’t. Sometimes you can learn better from a peer than you can from a teacher. As long as they’re doing it correctly and doing it safely and are learning and being proficient at it that’s a win-win situation for everybody.

Mark: I love your thought about having the leader teach so that it frees the teacher up to circulate more and focus on the students who need extra help. That’s a great idea.

Joel: Some of these modules have 19 skills. This past semester I struggled to get through all of those. Because trying to teach 19 skills to 19 students is almost

impossible. We managed, but this way we can break it up into a circuit. One group does one thing until they’re good at it, one gets their own skill until they’re proficient, then they rotate to another one. That way I can monitor what they’re doing. And make sure they’re doing it right.

One of the aspects we teach is called the “span of control,” which is the number of people a supervisor can effectively manage. Typically, they say that’s anywhere from three to seven. So, instead of being this big spread out organization, if I have four people that are qualified, I’ve got four people that I supervise or manage and then those manage three or four. So it narrows that span of control.

Mark: Yeah, and you’re teaching that concept to the students.

Joel: In our orientation to a fire and safety program we talk about the organization itself and we talk about span of control, we talk about chain of command, we talk about direct supervision and functional supervision, things like that. And those are concepts we use every day in the fire service. So, I figured it was a good way to instill that concept now, so that it won’t be foreign to them when they become fire fighters.

NC NTSP Connect newsletter

http://ncntsp.northcarolina.edu/newsletter/nc-ntsp-connect-newsletter


Shout Out from Elon Elementary Joy Rust, Chorus

The Elon Elementary Firebirds Chorus has been busy the month of February! They sang the national anthem at the Elon University Men's Basketball game on January 12. The Elon Step Team delighted the crowd with a show at half time. We were excited to be invited back to perform the following week when the Elon University Women played Hofstra on Friday, January 20!

Photo provided by

Elon University Athletics/Tim

Cowie On Wednesday morning, January 25, the Firebirds opened the Alamance Citizens for Education annual Education Summit with a global greeting and songs celebrating our country as well as a message celebrating our differences: "We're the colors of the rainbow; we're the stars up in the sky. No two of us are quite the same, and here's the reason why: We all have a purpose and a special place to serve, For it takes a world of differences to make a difference in the world."


Shout Out from North Graham Elementary Jordan Clifton, Drama Teacher

North Graham Elementary will be performing Disney’s The Lion King Kids for the public on March 1st and 2nd, beginning at 5:00 pm. You are invited to attend! Admission is $2.00 with children under age 5 admitted free. NGE students are admitted at no charge.

This musical designed for young performers, is based on the Broadway production directed by Julie Taymor and the 1994 Disney film. The North Graham Elementary and Graham Middle School cast contains approximately 55 students led by Mr. Jordan Clifton.

“We are thrilled to bring The Lion King to Alamance County, said Mr. Clifton! Thanks to a generous grant from Disney Theatrical Group, North Graham Elementary will present the local premier of The Lion King Kids. This has been an incredible rehearsal process! Each day, I am mesmerized by the hard-work and talents of our young performers. Over 50 students in grades K-6 have been preparing for months to present this timeless tale. In addition, this has been a school-wide project with students busy constructing props and costumes. We hope you will join us for this spectacular production, filled with singing, dancing, acting and complete with costumes, masks, lighting and more!”

The Lion King KIDS tells the story of the epic adventures of a curious cub named Simba as he struggles to accept the responsibilities of adulthood and his destiny as king. Along the way, the young lion encounters a colorful cast of characters including spunky lioness Nala, charismatic meerkat Timon, and lovable warthog, Pumbaa. To claim his rightful place on the throne and save his beloved Pridelands, Simba must find his inner strength and confront his wicked Uncle Scar. The Lion King KIDS features classic songs from the 1994 film such as “Hakuna Matata” and the Academy Award-winning “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” as well as additional songs penned for the Broadway production. Cindy Farmer from WGHP Fox 8 filmed a segment about the project that will air next week as a What’s Right With Our Schools feature. Stay tuned!


Shout Out from Graham High Tracey Patterson, Media

Red Devils Excel at Visual Arts! Graham High School is excited to announce multiple winners in the Burlington Women’s Art Club competition. Diana Ramos won BEST IN SHOW at this county level competition showing in Holly Hill Mall for her original pen/ink work! It will move on to the Regional Competition after this weekend.

Lizbeth Colunga won 1st place in Digitally enhanced Photography and will also move on to Regionals. She also won 3rd place in colored pencil and an honorable mention in Acrylic painting. Diana Ramos also won 1st in Pen/Ink and Honorable Mention in Graphite. Seham Alimusleh won 2nd place in Charcoal drawing and Lisset Romero Chevez won honorable mention in Charcoal. We are proud of our Red Devil art students! #thinkRED #GrahamGreat


Shout Out for ABSS Kindergarten

ABSS is a partner sponsor with several of our education peers for the annual Burlington Kindergarten Fair.

The event will be held on Tuesday, January 31, from 5 to 7 pm. at Front Street United Methodist Church in Burlington.

If you know a parent of a child who will be 5 years old by August 31, 2017, please tell them about the event.

Parents will be able to find out helpful information about getting their child ready for the kindergarten year, get answers to their questions about the ABSS Kindergarten experience and there will be fun activities for the soon-to-be students!

ABSS elementary principals and teachers will be there to represent the district and their schools and to greet parents and children.

We are proud to welcome the Class of 2030!


Shout Out from Eastern High Conor McDade & Aoife ONeill, EHS Debate Coaches

We are extremely proud of the Eastern High Debate Team's performance at Ethics Bowl! On Saturday, Jan. 21st, we participated in the North Carolina High School Ethics Bowl at UNC-Chapel Hill. The tournament is organized by Chapel Hill's Philosophy department (professors, undergrad volunteers, graduate students, etc) and their Parr Center for Ethics. 22 teams from North Carolina and surrounding states compete in four rounds, with the top four teams making a semifinal in the afternoon, and the winners continuing to the final. This is a regional event,

welcoming its largest crowd we have seen in the last four years we have participated. Our students represented EA so well! We had two teams compete (Green Team and Gold Team). Both teams finished with 3 wins and 1 loss. Our Green Team advanced to the semifinals! We lost in the semifinals round to Durham School of the Arts by a very tight margin!

The Green Team finished 4th out of 22 teams and the Gold Team finished right behind them. This is the best EA has ever performed! We won against schools we have never beaten before, like East Chapel Hill High and NC School of Math and Science. Great job, Eagles! The Green Team pictured at left, L to R: Savannah Ward, Carson Taylor, Kellie Thomas, Jaye Maritim, and Tabitha Zombar

The Gold Team pictured at right: L to R:Elias Fitzgerald, Rahteesha Burgess, Destiny Nicoll, and Karyn Schy


Shout Out from A O Elementary Christy Bentley, Media Specialist

We have put on display some life size sculptures of people out of packing tape made by art students in one of Laura Hein’s classes from Western Alamance HS. The theme for these sculptures is children's book characters. Each sculpture has a description of what it represents. Our students at AO have thoroughly enjoyed looking at these sculptures and I love having them on display in the library. The high school students did a great job!!! We love them!!


Shout Out from B E Jordan Elementary Eva Sodano, Academic Coach

National Word Nerd Day was Monday, January 9th! To celebrate our love of great vocabulary words, students and staff at B. Everett Jordan Elementary participated in a dress-up day to promote vocabulary development at ALL grade levels. Each grade level planned special vocabulary-rich activities for their students and ALL staff members and students were encouraged to dress up as different vocabulary words.

It was a great way to help our kids learn some new words in a very memorable way!


It was a great way to help our kids learn some new words in a very memorable way! We had F-U-N!


Shout Out from City of Burlington

Ray Street Academy Science Teacher Joshua Lopez and PE Teacher Zach Levesque attended the inaugural Belong in Burlington event for new residents to the community on Wednesday, January 25th.

Lori Bryan from the ABSS Public Information Office was there to represent our schools and to greet newcomers to Burlington. The event was held in the downtown municipal building in Burlington.

Shout Out to ABSS Signature Schools

Eastlawn Elementary and Woodlawn Middle were honored at the Monday, January 23rd Board of Education meeting for being named Signature Schools by the Piedmont Triad Education Consortium.

Staff members from both schools attending the meeting to celebrate their schoolwide accomplishments!

Both schools demonstrated significant improvement during the 2015-2016 school year with a concentrated focus on using data to drive instruction and on individual student outcomes. Congratulations Eastlawn and Woodlawn!


Shout Out for National Board Certified Teachers

ABSS honored Kristin Adams, Eastern High Math, and Joan Love, Haw River Elementary Fourth Grade, at the January 23rd Board of Education for earning National Board Certification.

Ms. Adams (pictured at L) earned her certification in Mathematics/Adolescence and Early Adulthood.

Ms. Love (pictured at R) earned her certification in Generalist/Middle Childhood.

Congratulations to these two educators for their commitment and dedication to their profession!

Shout Out from ABSS Public Information Office

ABSS earned a total of 5 Blue Ribbon awards from the North Carolina Public Relations Association (NCSPRA) for excellence in school communications and public relations in the categories of Publications, Special Events and Programs, and Digital Media Engagement. The Georgia School Public Relations Association judges entries in the annual competition. Awards were announced at the NCSPRA Blue Ribbon Awards event held on Friday, January 27th at the O. Henry Hotel in Greensboro.

Pictured L to R: Jenny Faulkner and Lori Bryan

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ALAMANCE-BURLINGTON SCHOOLS AROUND OUR … · alamance-burlington schools around our schools shout outs jan 27, 2017 The portraits the students created will be delivered to the children