Salisbury Academy Students Qualify for Duke TIP

In the 2014-15 Duke University talent search, 20 students from Salisbury Academy earned recognition.

Since 1980, Duke TIP has challenged, and engaged over 2.5 million youth who scored at or above the 95th percentile on a grade-level standardized test.

“Students recognized through this program are afforded valuable academic opportunities; we are very proud of our participants and grateful to Duke TIP,” said Middle School Division Head Heather Coulter.

Seventh-grade students from Salisbury Academy who earned recognition are: Roshen Amin, Dominic Capito, Archie Dees, George Fisher, Caitlin Hattaway, Jessica Jensen, Mitch Jeter, Taron Lilly, Marshall Overcash, Nicholas Peltz, Hank Robins, Patrick Smith and Noah Stockton.

Through this seventh-grade talent search, thousands of students in the United States are identified based on standardized test scores and invited to take the ACT or SAT alongside college-bound 11th- and 12th-grade students. Last year, more than 75,000 academically talented seventh-graders accepted the invitation to participate in the talent search.

This year’s fourth- through sixth-grade qualifiers from Salisbury Academy are: Wyatt Goodnight, Harrison McCall, Leah Renten, Elsie Richter, Zeb Harry, Ann Hunter Robertson and Courtney Williams. Salisbury Academy has 12 additional current fourth- through sixth-grade students who qualified for the program in previous years.

 

DCCC Davie Campus to host Gildan job fair

The Davie campus of Davidson County Community College and the Northwest Piedmont Workforce Development Board will offer a job fair on Dec. 5 to fill available jobs for the new Gildan Yarns facility in Mocksville.

Gildan will accept applications from noon to 7 p.m. at the Davie Campus Administration Building for the 90 positions to be filled between now and January 2015.

Gildan is creating 350 total jobs in Davie County and seeks skilled workers for positions in industrial maintenance and industrial HVAC, as well as experienced textile workers.

Specific job titles include card room shift technicians, drawer/comber technicians, electronic technicians, HVAC technicians, roving technicians, spin overhauler technicians, winder technicians, lab technicians and textile operators.

Technicians should be mechanically inclined and possess good troubleshooting skills to identify, analyze and correct breakdowns. Previous maintenance experience is preferred. Candidates must be able to work 12-hour shifts, days or nights.

In addition to co-sponsoring the job fair, DCCC is developing customized training for Gildan in areas from leadership and supervisory skills to safety procedures and computer skills. The college will also work with Gildan to support specialized training specific to their equipment and operations.

Gildan Yarns is a leading supplier of quality branded basic family apparel, including T-shirts, fleece, sport shirts, underwear, socks, hosiery and shapewear. The Mocksville spinning facility will support the company’s domestic and international sales.

DCCC’s Davie campus is located at 1205 Salisbury Road in Mocksville.

 

Alcoa Foundation donates $20,000 to Stanly Community College

Alcoa Foundation has awarded Stanly Community College a $20,000 grant to support its new Advanced Manufacturing and Industrial Technology Center. The grant will fund the purchase of industrial equipment that will be used to provide technical training for students.

Stanly Community College launched a capital campaign last year to develop an Advanced Manufacturing and Industrial Technology Center to enhance its existing workforce development programs.

“Alcoa has been a long-time partner of Stanly Community College, especially in the area of workforce development. We are grateful for its continued support,” said Dr. Brenda Kays, president of Stanly Community College. “This grant will help support our new Advanced Manufacturing and Industrial Technology Center by providing much needed equipment to help our students learn new skills.”

The Advanced Manufacturing and Industrial Technology Center will introduce new training programs specifically designed to support local industries. Students can receive degree programs with industry-recognized certifications to provide a clear path to employment. Areas of focus include welding, machinists, and industrial maintenance technicians.

 

Kannapolis teacher earns national certification

Kannapolis City Schools teacher Sarah Chapman achieved certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Certification is the highest professional credential in the field of teaching. Chapman is an Exceptional Children’s teacher at Shady Brook Elementary School. Kannapolis City Schools now has 67 teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

National Board Certification is a voluntary process established by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Certification is achieved through a rigorous performance-based assessment that takes nearly a year to complete.

Chapman has been teaching for seven years, and she has spent all of those years in Kannapolis City Schools. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, and her National Board Certification is in the field of Exceptional Needs Specialist/Early Childhood through Young Adulthood.

The Kannapolis City Board of Education will honor Chapman at its December meeting and present her with a certificate of recognition.

 

Salisbury High in the running for national health competition

According to the Centers for Disease Control, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years, and the percentage of children aged 6 to 11 in the U.S. who are considered obese increased from 7 percent in 1980 to nearly 18 percent in 2012.

To combat this trend, NutriBullet launched a program in the fall of 2013 at University High School in Los Angeles, empowering students with a first hand knowledge and appreciation of health.

The results showed measurable clinical changes in the students’ health and overall healthy lifestyle transformations. In addition to decreased waist sizes and lower cholesterol levels, student participants reported feeling healthier in general, with results that included increased energy and mental focus, clearer skin and improved sleep.

Aiming to drive health awareness, and more importantly, action among school children across the country, NutriBullet is conducting a nationwide competition called #BeTheNextUni and offering five winning schools $10,000 worth of product, produce and informational tools to run their own 90-day program and make a stand for a healthy, sustainable lifestyle in their local communities.

Now, with the submission process officially closed, Salisbury High School hopes to be the next University High School. Along with a contest application, the school’s students and faculty submitted a video showcasing the importance of a healthy diet and why they believe their school should be the next Uni.  The video can be viewed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waSKVvlthE0&feature=youtu.be

Based on the high number of entrants, NutriBullet is encouraging community members in all regions to rally behind their local schools by tweeting their support using the hashtag #BeTheNextUni.  Contest winners are scheduled to be officially announced in January.

 

Hanford-Dole book club

Sgt. Brett Miller, a member of the N.C. National Guard and father of a first-grader, was the guest reader at Hanford-Dole Elementary School’s book club. November’s book was “I Wanna New Room.”

Miller shared his love for reading and the kind of books he read when he was their age with Hanford-Dole’s first-graders.

While reading the book, Miller asked the students critical-level thinking questions to give them an opportunity to process the reading material. Since Miller was dressed in his National Guard uniform, students also asked him about his military background and some of his experiences as a medic.

At the end, Miller showed students some of his “military coins” that represented some of the places he has been deployed and the military groups in which he has been associated.

Fran Simpson, Communities in Schools site coordinator, did a parent presentation on reading and writing to the parents as a follow-up on the book that was read.

Hanford-Dole’s Book Club is sponsored by grants from Target Stores, Schneider Electric, and Communities in Schools-Rowan.

 

Hanford-Dole literacy night

Literacy is the number one goal at Hanford-Dole, and with that in mind, the staff provided mini-workshops for parents the evening of Nov. 20.

The mini-workshops gave parents the opportunity to see how the school’s literacy program is working with their children. Parents were given lessons on the classroom “active boards” and shown the pacing guides that the teachers use to have students on the level needed by the end of the year.

After a 20-minute session, parents who had another child in another grade were able to rotate to another workshop. The school staff wanted to be able to demonstrate to parents how valuable parental assistance is at home and that it can make a difference to their child’s success.

The school’s media center, coordinated by Suzanne Crockett, was open for parents and students to check out books together, and Spencer Public Library had a display table of brand new books students would be able to check out soon.

The school’s PTA sponsored a movie and popcorn in the gym for students so parents were free to attend the workshops. All students in attendance received a new book, and parents could enter to win a Food Lion gift card.

Bus transportation was provided to and from the Grant Street Apartments to pick up parents and students who would not have been able to attend otherwise.

Parents enjoyed the positive atmosphere at the school and the concern teachers had for helping their children.

Communities In School site coordinators, Fran Simpson and Ann Shepherd, coordinated the schedule of the literacy workshops, the door prizes to parents and students and the publicity of the event to parents.

 

December planetarium schedule

Join the Margaret C. Woodson Planetarium located at Horizons Unlimited on Dec. 13 for a heartwarming program of favorite holiday music and laser light images that will enhance your family’s celebration of the season. Young and old will delight to the sounds of “Sleigh Ride,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Frosty the Snowman.” Cost is $2 per person and show times are at 3:30 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.