Winter break begins on December 22 and runs through January 1. ANNOUNCEMENTS_________________________________________________ Clayton club gives to child whose Christmas wish was for family not for self (PHOTO-MOD)The Men of Distinction of Clayton High School were inspired this year to donate a dinette set to a family whose 6-year-old wished to have her house remodeled for Christmas. Instead of toys, the child, who lives in Clayton, told her teacher all she wanted for Christmas was for her house to be fixed up because people pick on her. Shown is the Men of Distinction club posing with the table set that will be donated to the family. The motto of the club is WE Stand TALL. TALL stands for To Achieve Learn Love. For more information, please call Marlon Lee at 919.553.4064. Juvenile diabetes sends pies flying at Four Oaks Elementary School (PHOTO-Specht)Students and faculty members from Four Oaks Elementary School have raised over $2100 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Mr. David Pearce, assistant principal challenged the students by offering to be pied in the face by each student in the winning class and by each faculty member who donated $50 or more dollars. Mrs. Melissa Medlin's third grade class and Ms. Jennifer Harrower's fifth grade class tied for first place. Six faculty members including fellow assistant principal, Mrs. Kristina Specht rose to the challenge. For more information, please call Mr. David Pearce at 919.963.2165. Wilson’s Mills Mustang Mentors pledge to serve others all year long (New) (PHOTOS—Mustang Mentors & Winter Wear) Wilson’s Mills Elementary School has a Character Club called the “Mustang Mentors”. It is a service learning club comprised of fourth and fifth graders who have signed a Membership agreement pledging to follow school rules and show good character. The Mentors choose projects throughout the year that benefit individuals, the school, and the community. The club conducts organizational meetings each month. The Mentors show throughout the year how much they care for others and how they can make a difference! The club sponsors are Ms. Strayer, the School Counselor and Mrs. Treni, a Remediation/Enhancement Teacher. So far this year, the Mentors have participated in three projects. The first involves the yearlong sponsorship of a rider at Reins From Above Therapeutic Riding Center. The students are collecting money to cover the cost of his riding lessons. The second is the Salvation Army food drive during which the Mentors packed donated food items into Christmas boxes for those in need. The third project, the “Winter Wear Tree,” gave students an opportunity to hang new hats, scarves and mittens/gloves on a Christmas tree. All items will be donated to needy families during the holiday season. For more information, please call Dee Edmundson, Principal, at 919.934.2978. Caption: The two students are Angelene Duty (holding the box) and Adriana Brito. Both are fourth graders. East Clayton Elementary School students learn sharing by giving to others (New) The third grade at East Clayton Elementary School raised more than $1500 for Christmas gifts for needy children through their economics unit in Social Studies. They donated the gifts to Johnston County Department of Social Services. Silent Partners at East Clayton also made bright Christmases for dozens of families. Laura Kell, Parent Coordinator, Julie Hopkins, Guidance Counselor; and Anisa Tetterton, Support Staff, worked diligently to match families and provide the confidential "go-between" service. Recipients left with both smiles and tears at the generosity of the East Clayton community. For more information, please call Peggy Smith, Principal, at 919.550.5311. Meadow Elementary students jump over heart disease (New) (PHOTO-Jump Rope)On October 31- November 3, in physical education classes, K-5 students at Meadow Elementary jumped all over heart disease and stroke by participating in Jump Rope For Heart. The students raised more than $3,100 for the American Heart Association. Donations raised for Jump Rope For Heart fund research, fight heart disease and stroke, and support the American Heart Association’s public and professional education programs. Heart disease is the No.1 killer in America and stroke is No.3. “This year’s event was a huge success,” said Cindy Biggerstaff and Phil Moore, Jump Rope For Heart coordinators. “We are proud of all our jumpers and glad they had fun for a great cause.” Our goal was set at $3000 prior to the event. We were all very pleased with the outcome. The top homeroom was Mrs. Kristy Miller’s first grade class. They raised $734. They will receive a pizza party sponsored by Miss Biggerstaff and Mr. Moore. The top three students were: 1st place- Amber Lee from Mrs. Gurganious’s second grade homeroom. She received a bicycle. 2nd place- Garrett Strickland from Mrs. Miller’s first grade homeroom. He received a boom box. 3rd place- Kaitlyn Thomas from Mrs. Miller’s first grade homeroom. She received a Wal-Mart gift card. All three students raised over $200 each. The prizes were sponsored by the P.E. Dept., which received a Wal- Mart grant to help support their P.E. program. Many thanks go out to those who contributed and helped out in any way to make the event a success. A special thank you to Wanda Johnson for taking care of all the tallying and ordering the thank you prizes for those who collected funds. Jump Rope For Heart is a program that promotes physical fitness and heart health through the fun activity of jumping rope. It is co- sponsored by the American Heart Association and the American Alliance for Health , Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. For more information, please call Cindy Biggerstaff or Phil Moore at 919.894.7064. Meadow Elementary 5th graders take care of the homeless (New) (PHOTO-Homeless)Meadow Elementary’s Mrs. Peggy Darden, 5th grade language arts teacher, is teaching the novel The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson to her students. Mrs. Darden always teaches across the curriculum and this novel integrates reading, writing, social studies, and character education. The story is about a homeless man named Armand who meets the Calcet children. The children's father died and the mother could not pay the rent, therefore the family was evicted from their home. The Calcet family occupied Armand's "space" under the bridge. The children asked to adopt Armand as their grandfather and their mother reluctantly agreed. The story goes on to tell about the struggles and challenges of living on the streets. Mrs. Darden's class is collecting money for women and children in similar situations. The Beacon Rescue Mission is an organization that provides temporary shelter for women and children. Gene Love started the mission many years ago and said that many women are abused and need assistance. Mr. Love's organization helps families get back on their feet and even assists women in getting jobs. For more information, please call Peggy Darden, at 919.894.7064. Photo: The students have also enjoyed other activities that correlate with the reading of the novel. Christian Pollard decorates a Christmas cake as Sharnece Atkinson watches. The students enjoyed eating the cakes after making them. Micro-Pine Level Elementary School receives two Education Foundation grants (New) Micro-Pine Level Elementary School received two Johnston County Education Foundation grants. One grant, awarded to Renee Oliver, is titled, Wellness Writing Clinic: "Preparing Healthy Writers”. The week before the writing test, fourth grade students will attend a writing clinic that has "doctors" to prescribe the right medicine for their papers. They will then go back to class and work on their paper and will be able to return to the clinic for a follow up visit. Doctors will be teachers, administration, central office personnel, and community leaders. These volunteers will be trained as to what to look for in the papers. The grant money will purchase lab coats and prescription writing pads to use that day. The class will purchase books using different author's writing traits, and a recording station for student's to use to record their stories so they will be able to hear the voice of their stories. The books and recorder will be purchased to use prior to the wellness clinic for writing instruction. The school received a second grant from the school called Character Education through Literacy. Teacher Sara Foster was able to purchase 24 books (including some audio books) and teacher guides. The books illustrate a character trait. From the teacher's guides, Ms. Foster will create center activities for homeroom teachers to easily incorporate into their literacy centers. For more information, please call Sara Foster or Renee Oliver at 919.965.3323. Health Fair Career Day targets youth interested in keeping community healthy (New) (PHOTOS-Health Fair 1,2) Clayton High School's HOSA recently held Health Fair Career Day to help promote the careers in the health care profession. “My Health Team Relations class has been studying about the various health careers, so the fair was set up primarily for them. My HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) club was also invited as they are a group of students who all have a common interest in becoming a health career professional,” said Carol Clark, HOSA Advisor. For more information, please call Carol Clark at 919.553.4064. Shown in pictures are: Dr. Aaron R. Prinkey, Chiropractic Physician, of the Carolina Chiropractic Clinic, discussing to Clayton High School students about the various parts of the spine. PICTURE #2- Members of HOSA- who help present the career fair to the students at Clayton High School. left to right HOSA member: Mone Wright, HOSA Advisor, Carol Clark, and member Evan White UPCOMING EVENTS________________________________________________ Commencement scheduled for Middle College High School students (New) Commencement exercises for the Johnston County Middle College High School Class of 2006 will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 21, 2006, at the Johnston County Agricultural Center. For more information, please call Dr. Amelia McLeod, Principal, at 919.989.6208. West Clayton Elementary School’s Student Council to participate in a Book Drive The WCES Student Council is conducting a book drive from Thursday, December 14 to Friday, February 16. The students plan to collect books from each classroom over the next several weeks and then distribute these books to shelters, hospitals, children’s homes, and various places where children are in need of books. The book drive will end the same week as the school’s Book Fair where the Student Council will have a basket on display for additionally purchased books. The students of the Student Council decided on this project because they believe that ALL students should have access to books and that reading increases academic success. For more information, please call Dorlisa Johnson, Assistant Principal, at 919.553.7113
