Sacred Heart finishes musical performance

After months of hard work and many practices, Sacred Heart’s Spring Musical “Dear Edwina, Jr.” was a great success. Directed by Brandon Engelskirchen, the musical was a heart-warming story about the joys of growing up from the creators of Junie B. Jones.

Written in a “show-within-show” format, “Dear Edwina, Jr.” follows the adventures of a plucky advice-giver extraordinaire, Edwina Spoonapple, as she directs the neighborhood kids in a series of buoyant production numbers for the latest edition of her weekly “Advice-A-Palooza.” Edwina and her friends share wisdom on everything from trying new foods to making new friends through clever, catchy and poignant songs.

Mr. Engelskirchen, a Catawba CollegetTheater graduate, was assisted by Daniel Brown and Maddy Auchter.  Sacred Heart’s music teachers, Laura Kobet and Flora Lester, directed songs and solos. Lead performances were played by eighth grader Alyssa Lopez (as Edwina Spoonapple) and sixth grader Jalon Walker (as Scott Kunkle). All students in grades third through eighth were encouraged to audition.

“Our spring musical is becoming quite a tradition at Sacred Heart,” Principal Frank Cardelle said, “and our students really get involved. Two years ago, they performed the musical ‘Annie’ and last year they did ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ It is amazing how entertaining and how well done these performances have been. Our directors have their hands full with such a young cast, but wow, they really instill a love of theater performance in our students.”

South Rowan JROTC visits Fort Fisher

Select members of the South Rowan High School Junior ROTC spent Memorial Day weekend exploring the Fort Fisher area of North Carolina. The purpose of the trip was to introduce cadets to the regional history and natural resources of that part of the state. Students toured the Fort Fisher State Historic Site and learned of its importance to the Confederacy as the “Gibraltar of the South,” in protecting the port of Wilmington during the Civil War.

Students also spent several hours taking in the many attractions including the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Students were billeted at the U.S. Air Force Recreation Center at Fort Fisher.

Battalion Commander Katie Pressley, a graduating Senior, said that the trip “was a wonderful way to bring the battalion together one last time for the year as a family.”

 

Yadkin Path Summer Programs 2016

Yadkin Path Montessori School will host two nature immersion camps this summer. Each camp for 2 to 5-year-olds will run Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon for two weeks.

Nature Immersion Camp I: June 20 – July 1. Study will center on the elements of earth and air. Campers will plant seeds, study native plant species, work with clay and create a sand painting. They will learn about the important role of the wind by studying windsocks and windmills, flying kites and making paper planes. Campers will also bird watch and create a bird, butterfly and honeybee garden.

Nature Immersion Camp II: July 11 – July 22. Study will center on the elements of fire and water. Children will learn about fire safety, the components needed to build and maintain a wood fire, how to measure temperature and how the sun can cook and dry. They will learn about the importance of water through exploration of wet environments including observing creatures that live in wet environments, creating a wetland in a pan and making a bird bath.

The two-week sessions will be $350.00 for Monday through Friday; $270 for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Each Immersion Camp will include gardening, nature walks and wildlife observation, outdoor exercise, creative arts, music and singing and a daily, healthy, home-cooked meal shared with friends.

Contact Yadkin Path Montessori at 704-642-2211 or yadkinpath@gmail.com.

NCCAT

Several area educators recently attended programs held at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, a recognized national leader in professional development programming for our state’s teachers.

Participating educators from Rowan-Salisbury Schools included Christa C. Graff of Millbridge Elementary School, Kathleen B. Linker of North Rowan Elementary School and April A. Williamson of Southeast Middle School.

Increasing teacher effectiveness is fundamental to improving public education. NCCAT provides teachers with new knowledge, skills, teaching methods, best practices and information to take back to their classrooms. NCCAT conducts a wide variety of high-quality professional development for pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers.