Princeton Teacher Recognized in Who's Who Tammy Cooper, a kindergarten teacher at Princeton Union School, has been selected for inclusion in the ninth edition of Who's Who Among America's Teachers, 2005. Who's Who honors a select five percent of the nation's teachers as a testimony to the value of outstanding teachers. Cooper has been teaching for 20 years. For more information, please call Tammy Cooper, Teacher, at (919) 936-5011. Clayton Middle SADD club spreads anti-drug message to elementary students The Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) club at Clayton Middle School is spreading an anti-drug message to West Clayton Elementary School. On Feb. 2, club members passed out bookmarks with positive and anti-drug messages on them to fifth grade students. The event was held because bad and good habits start at a young age. If, however, the fifth graders can start god habits now, they'll still have those habits when they are older; and they will be drug-free, which is better for everyone. For more information, please contact A. Jespersen and K. Hammond at (919) 553-1093. Polenta Elementary School Science Fair concludes with 65 projects The Polenta Science Fair was held on Friday, Feb. 10th. Projects were displayed for the entire day in the media center. School leaders were thrilled to have approximately 65 projects on display. That number almost doubled last year's participation. An awards ceremony was held in the cafetorium at 7 p.m. Each participant was awarded a participation ribbon for excellence in science. The first, second, and third place winners will participate in the Regional Science Fair. Winners are as follows: First Place - Cole Simons "Insulation" Second Place - Alexander Kuppler "How a Steam Engine Works" Third Place - Mike Feola "Toilet Paper Dispenser" Honorable Mention went to the following students: Clayton Miller, Edward Lee, Rebecca Shedrick, Jessica Griggs, John Groom, Natalie Dershem, and Kaylah Alexander For more information, please call Assistant Principal Kerri Tart, at (919)989-6039. River Dell presenting Famous American Wax Museum fund raiser On Tuesday, Feb. 28th, the second graders at River Dell Elementary will be presenting a Famous American Wax Museum. Each child will be wearing a costume representing their famous American as well as delivering a speech about their accomplishments. The museum will also be a fund raiser for the SPCA. Parents and friends will put coins into the children's cups to activate them to say their speech. For more information, please contact Principal Kay Hewitt, at (919) 553-1977. Latin Fair to be held at Selma Elementary School Selma Elementary School will hold a Latin Fair, "Feria Educativa 2006", from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tues., Feb. 28, in the auditorium. The event is sponsored by Selma Elementary and the N.C. Society for Hispanic Professionals. The purpose of the evening is to provide information about what services are available in the community. On site will be the American Red Cross, Johnston Community College, Johnston County Sheriff's Department, the Selma Police Department and various local businesses. For more information, please contact Carola Figueroa or Emily Grice, at (919)965-3361. Corinth-Holders hosting third annual Black History Brain Bowl Corinth-Holders is planning its third annual Black History Brain Bowl. This event is an annual competition for third grade and fourth grade classes. The students have been given information on black history questions and they have taken a test to see who has qualified for the competition. Each class will choose two representatives for the competition. The game is set up like Jeopardy. The competition will take place at 1:30 on Feb. 23, 2006, in the cafeteria of Corinth-Holders. For more information, please contact Bryan Holley, at (919)365-7560. Honor School of Excellence Celebration slated at Cleveland Elementary School Cleveland Elementary School will host an Honor School of Excellence Celebration at 9 a.m. on Feb. 28, in the school cafeteria. A brief reception will follow. For more information, please contact Principal Brookie Honeycutt, at (919) 550-2700. Three Johnston County teachers nominated for 2006 Disney Teacher Award Angela Gurgainus, a teacher at West Clayton Elementary School, along with River Dell Elementary teachers Samantha Suvak and Tamie Wall, have all been nominated for the 2006 Disney Teacher Award. Since 1989, Disney Teacher Awards have been presented to teachers who construct learning environments where students and teachers alike explore, imagine and engage in a variety of stimulating ideas and experiences. Specifically, the program honors those teachers whose approaches exemplify creativity in teaching and who inspire a joy of learning in their students. The honorees will be announced in late spring and celebrated at a red-carpet Awards Gala in July. During the Gala, four honorees will be selected as Outstanding Teachers and one will be named the 2006 Disney Teacher of the Year. In addition, the honorees each receive $10,000, a $5,000 grant for their schools and a six-day professional development institute with their principals at the Walt Disney World Resort. At the institute, teachers share ideas to refine their innovative teaching approaches and learn how to engage other teachers to build an effective collaborative teaching culture at their schools. For more information, please contact West Clayton Elementary School Principal Bruce Bunn, at (919) 553-7113 or River Dell Elementary School Principal Kay Hewitt, at (919) 553-1977. West Clayton Elementary raises more for charity than any other school in past three years The student council at West Clayton Elementary School completed its school wide Pennies For Patients Campaign to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The school raised $4,205.75. "The parents and students at this school never cease to amaze me. They are always willing to step up to the plate and help out where there is a need," said Assistant Principal Lee Bryan. West Clayton so far is the charity's highest fundraising school in Eastern North Carolina. In fact, the school is the highest fundraising school the organization has had over the past three years. For more information, please contact Assistant Principal Lee Bryan, at (919)553-7113. Meadow hosts kindergarten transition program On February 16, Meadow School hosted a program to welcome the upcoming Kindergarten students and their parents. Sarah Thompson, Johnston County Schools Parent Involvement Specialist, presented a program that provided tips for transitioning their children into kindergarten. Approximately 130 people attended the event. A pizza dinner was served and parents were provided babysitting services courtesy of the Kindergarten teachers, assistants, and Beta Club members. Also at Meadow, all fourth grade students have been writing stories to publish. Mrs. MaLinda Turnage, 4th grade writing teacher, led the project last year. The writing and publishing process was such a success that Meadow implemented this project into their School Improvement Plan for all 3-5 teachers. Meadow also received a technology grant from Johnston County Schools to purchase a wireless, mobile laptop computer lab. Students typed their stories on the laptops within their own classroom for "an awesome experience," they claimed. Parent Involvement contact Darene Honeycutt has worked with Mrs. Turnage on this project. An Author's Celebration is planned for Tuesday, February 21 at 2 p.m. in the school cafeteria. Parents/guardians are invited to attend this special celebration. The books will be unveiled and students will be treated to an ice cream social. Photo: Mrs. MaLinda Turnage shows off one of the published books. For more information, please call Darene Honeycutt, Meadow School, at (919) 894-7064.
