Education briefs

Published 12:00 am Thursday, May 30, 2013

Vicky Slusser, Communities In Schools executive director, was the guest reader at Hanford-Dole Elementary School’s monthly first grade book club recently.
All first grade students were invited to attend the reading of David Shannon’s book, “Duck on a Bike.” Slusser asked questions about the story that included vocabulary, order and sequence, and critical thinking.
Hanford-Dole’s Book Club is sponsored by a Target grant and by Schneider Electric and coordinated by the Communities In Schools site coordinator, Fran Simpson.
After the student presentation, Fran Simpson gave an educational demonstration to all the parents in attendance on the importance of writing and “thinking skills” questions. Parents were invited to visit the school’s Media Center Book Fair that has been available to all students during the week.
The North Rowan High School concert band will perform their final concert of the school year this Sunday at 3 p.m. at North Rowan High School.
Highlights of the concert include five student conductors fulfilling a portion of their honors credit. Those students are Rafe Harrison, Savanna Starnes, Valerie Miller, Shelby Davis and Alex Gilland.
Additionally, the program will include a special piece dedicated to the students of Sandy Hook Elementary School and the people of Newtown, Conn., along with all victims of violence. As part of that dedication, concert patrons may make donations to the victims of the Sandy Hook tragedy.
Robert Jones, from the Rowan Public Library, recently spoke with the students of Granite Quarry Elementary School. He encouraged students to visit the public library, and attend their after school and summer programs.
Jones told a story about “Jack and the Haunted House,” which taught students about being persistent and developing perseverance. Another story he told was called “The Belly Button Monster.” He claimed with much animation that it was a “true story.”
Granite Quarry Elementary students enjoyed the visit from the Rowan Public Library and Jones and look forward to him coming back next year.