EnergyUnited seeks Bright Ideas grant applications

EnergyUnited and North Carolina’s electric cooperatives have pledged nearly $600,000 to the state’s teachers in Bright Ideas education grant funding for the 2015-16 school year.

Grants of up to $2,000 will be awarded directly to local educators in EnergyUnited’s service territory for creative, hands-on classroom projects that would not otherwise be funded by traditional school budgets. The grant application opens April 1 and can be found online at www.ncbrightideas.com along with more information about the program.

EnergyUnited expects to award approximately $40,000 in Bright Ideas grants this year to teachers in EnergyUnited’s 19-county service area. The grants are available to K-12 teachers for innovative projects in any subject. Teachers can apply individually or as a team and must apply online.

Applications will be accepted April 1 through Sept. 18, but it could pay to apply early. Teachers who submit their applications by the early bird deadline of Aug. 14 will be entered to win a Visa gift card.

To apply, teachers must include a budget, explain the implementation, goals, creative elements and evaluation of the project and have approval from the school principal.

Applications will be judged in a competitive evaluation process, and judges will be on the lookout for projects that feature innovation and creativity. The application and grant-writing tips can be found atwww.ncbrightideas.com.

 

Local homeschool students recognized as Memory Masters

Three local members of the Classical Conversations homeschool co-op achieved memory master status on April 1.

They were the first Rowan County students to receive the nationally recognized achievement. Seth Flaherty and Selah and Brayden Smith received their certification from Kristie Wooten, the Rowan Country director of classical conversations.

The oral exam typically takes 2 hours and requires students to fully master and commit to memory the entire timeline of 160 events from creation to modern times; 24 history sentences about U.S. history; 24 science questions and answers covering human anatomy, chemistry and origins; multiplication tables through the 15s, plus squares and cubes, conversions and math laws; all 50 states and their capitals plus 70 physical features on the U.S. map; 24 definitions or lists from English grammar; Latin vocabulary lists and John 1:1–7 in Latin; and the 44 U.S. presidents.

 

Rowan County Home School Association spring vendor fair

Rowan County Home School Association will be hosting its first spring vendor fair at its April support meeting.

Similar to the August vendor fair, there will be representatives from the various service providers in the community who make homeschools in Rowan County possible.

All current and prospective homeschool families are invited to attend and meet with vendors as they begin to plan out your 2015-16 school year, as well as learn about summer activities available in the community.

The vendor fair will be held April 14 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Life Church, 710 Jake Alexander Blvd. in Salisbury.

For more information contact Sue Welday at suewelday@yahoo.com .

 

North Hills to host Gary Chapman

New York Times Best Selling author Gary Chapman will speak at North Hills Christian School’s annual Impact fundraiser April 16 at 6:30 p.m.

Chapman is the author of “The Five Love Languages” and “Growing up Social.”

Reservations for the event are $50 and can be purchased on Eventbrite by searching “Impact2015” or by contacting Connie Lewis at the school.

Lewis’ phone number is 704-636-3005 extension 110, and her email is clewis@northillschristian.com .

 

NC Science Festival launches April 12

Communities across the state will launch the fifth annual North Carolina Science Festival April 10. The two-week festival continues through April 26 and includes hundreds of science-themed events.

Festival events include expos (with behind-the-scenes lab tours) at many of the state’s public universities, science activities for preschoolers at public libraries, lectures by noted scientists, science competitions for students and the Statewide Star Party, which offers public skywatching sessions at more than 45 locations in North Carolina.

Many of the events are free and family friendly. Event hosts in each community – schools, libraries, parks, businesses, museums, colleges and other community sites – plan and provide their own local events as part of the festival.

A complete calendar of festival events is available online at www.ncsciencefestival.org/calendar/. The calendar includes options for filtering the entire list by date and by location.

In 2015, the North Carolina Science Festival will mark two major milestones — its fifth anniversary and its one-millionth participant. It is the first statewide science festival in the United States, and its Statewide Star Party is the first statewide star party in the United States.

 

Challenger Ball

Challenger Ball, a baseball league for children with special needs in Rowan County, starts soon.

Sign-ups are Friday from 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Salisbury Community Park on Hurley School Road.

Following sign-ups, there will be a parade of teams and dedication ceremony at 6 p.m. for those who would like to attend.

Picture Day is Saturday at 2:15 p.m. There will also be activities for the opening of the season including free CiCi’s Pizza, chips and drinks for players. Raffles, prizes and merchandise.

Picture forms will be given out Friday during sign-ups. Since uniforms won’t be available until the April 15, players should wear either red or blue. A specific color will be assigned Friday.

All games will be played on Tuesdays from 5:45 p.m to 7:30 p.m. in field one, which is on the right side of the sidewalk that leads up to the concession stand. Game dates are April 14, 21 and 28 and May 5, 12, 19 and 26.

The World Series Game will be determined and announced before the last game on May 26.

Cancellations will be posted on the Challenger Ball-Arc of Rowan Facebook page by 5 p.m. if necessary.

Contact Lori Ewart at The Arc of Rowan office with any questions. Her office phone number is 704-637-1521 and her cell phone number is 704-798-9739. She accepts texts and calls on her cell. She can also be emailed at lewart@thearcofrowan.org .

 

Groundbreaking ceremony

The Rowan-Salisbury School System will break ground on the Wallace Educational Forum April 18 at 3 p.m. in the 500 block of North Main Street in Salisbury. The event is open to the public, and a reception will follow at 604 N. Lee St. in Salisbury.