SSS Band Members Earn All-District Seats Eleven students from Smithfield-Selma high School made the Southeastern District Honor Band. Four of those students qualified to audition for the All-State Band. They are as follows: 11-12 honor band*Jonathan Barbour (qualified to audition for All-State), Matthew Gore, Larryshia Lewis, Brittany Johnson, Glen Fizer, Robert Goodwin (qualified to audition for all-State). For the 9-10 Honor Band, the following qualified: Spencer Braswell (also qualified for All-State audition, Evan Garris, Cody Rigsbee, Jenny Hendrick, Paige Ridout (qualified to audition for All-State). The following earned spots on the All-County Band: Jonathan Barbour (first chair) Tuba, Brittany Johnson (first chair) clarinet, Spencer Braswell-- trumpet, Glen Fizer-- trombone, Isai Porras trombone, Jenny Hendrick clarinet, Robert Goodwin (first chair) trombone, Evan Garris clarinet, Paige Ridout--string bass, Larryshia Lewis--bass clarinet, Cody Rigsbee*bass clarinet, Jordan Baker*percussion. The band is now making plans to participate in a music festival in Atlanta, Georgia in April. They will compete in Jazz Band, concert band, and a parade, as well as visit a Coca-Cola factory, the Olympic Stadium, Underground Atlanta, Stone Mountain, and Six Flags. For more information, please call Marchelle Horner, Assistant Principal, (919) 934-5191. Wilson's Mills Teachers Using Creativity First grade teachers at Wilson's Mills Elementary School have created a coin drive to raise 140,000 coints*the number of victims lost during the tsunami. Students are bringing bags of coins to school to contribute to the effort. Local businesses will receive letters explaining the activity and asking for matching funds or coins. In the second grade classrooms, Ms. Bolejack has created a monthly "Lunch With a Friend Day" when students with no "checks" or behavior demerits can have lunch with a friend. Ms. Bolejack brings a tablecloth, cloth napkins, cups, plates, and a flower centerpiece and then serves as the students' waitress. She brings them their lunch, pours the milk, and cleans up after them. She also has "Bolejack's Manners Boot-Camp" to teach students how to behave during this activity. For more information, please call Kristen Woodall, Counselor, at (919) 934-2978. Best-Selling Author Visits South Johnston High Students Best-selling author Chad Foster spoke with students at South Johnston High School on January 26 about goal-setting, the necessity of hard work and dedication, and the need for planning a successful financial future. Students were given free, autographed copies of the two books he has authored. Foster is a former professional tennis player. He is now a successful businessman. His books are entitled, Teenagers*Preparing for the Real World and Financial Literacy for Teens. For more information, please call Dr. Bryan Martin, Principal, at (919) 894-3146. Benson Middle Students Write to Soldier to Learn About Iraq, Practice Writing Karla Denning's sixth grade Communications Skills class wrote letters to SSgt. Donald Wilson, father of classmate Autom Wilson and his fellow soldiers, who are overseas fighting in Iraq. The exercise was part of a unit on letter-writing. SSgt. Wilson surprised the class and his daughter who did not know he was home, on a visit. He presented the class with a certificate and flag that was flown over Iraq in the class' honor. Also at Benson Middle, a Book Fair will be held starting January 28 and open through February 4 from 7:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. each school day. On Monday, January 31, a special family event will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, please call Karla Denning or Kaye Massengill at (919) 894-3889. Selma Elementary Donates $2,000 Dollars to Red Cross Selma Elementary School students collected $2,169.19 and donated it to the American Red Cross to benefit the tsunami victims. The money was collected in two weeks during a campaign called "Cents for the Suffering." For more information, please call Jeannette Parrish at (919) 965-3361. Cooper Students' Published Book Is Finalist in National Event Ann White's fourth grade class has written and published a book entitled ABCs of the Tarheel State that has been named a finalist in the Nationwide Learning National Book Challenge. Winners of the Challenge will be announced in May and featured in product catalogs for the next school year. The book was published in hard-back. For more information, please call Michee Olson at (919) 553-0256. Annual Mathcounts Competition on February 2 The Johnston County Schools annual Mathcounts competition, which showcases students' computation and critical thinking skills in math, will be held at the West Campus Conference Center on Wednesday, February 2 starting at 9:30 a.m. The winning school's team will represent the district at the Regional competition on Saturday, February 12. For more information, please call Dr. Chris Godwin, Middle Grades Curriculum Coordinator, at (919) 934-4361, extension 372.
