MCPSS High School Students Win National Merit Scholarships
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Thursday, May 29, 2008 MCPSS High School Students Win National Merit Scholarships Posted by Comm. Dept. in Schools | Comments (6) Two Murphy High School graduates and two Davidson High School graduates have won college sponsored National Merit Scholarships. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study. Olga M. Alexeeva received the National Merit Emory University Scholarship, Nicholas A. Marcantonio received the National Merit Auburn University Scholarship, Sarah McMinn received the National Merit Emory University scholarship and Tyler Weeks received the National Merit University of Alabama scholarship. The process begins during a student's junior year in high school when he/she enters the 2008 National Merit Scholarship competition by taking the 2006 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying test. This was used as the initial screening of entrants. More than 1.4 million juniors in 21,000 high schools took the test. The highest scorers in each state were named Semifinalists. 15,000 advanced to the Finalist standing. To compete for National Merit Scholarships, Alabama's winners had to qualify as Semifinalists and fulfill all the requirements for the Finalist level: • Outstanding academic record • Endorsement and recommendation by a school official • Earned SAT scores that confirmed the qualifying test performance • Essay describing activities, interests, and goals 2,800 students were chosen to receive National Merit Scholarships financed by 194 colleges and universities in 43 states and the District of Columbia. Forty five were chosen in Alabama. Thursday, May 29, 2008 Two MCPSS 5th Graders Rewarded National Prestigious SIG Scholarships Posted by Comm. Dept. in Schools | Comments (5) Congratulations to McDavid Jones Elementary student, Stoney Fairley and Dauphin Island Elementary student, Amani Christenson for receiving summer scholarships to the Renaissance Learning's Summer Institute of the Gifted (SIG)! The two students were the ONLY recipients for the state of Alabama! The Summer Institute for the Gifted provides academically gifted students with an exciting and challenging educational experience. The program combines remarkable academic courses with cultural, social, and recreational opportunity. The learning opportunites include traditional subjects as well as creative fun projects. SIG is located on some of the most prominent college campuses in the U.S. such as Princeton, Vassar and Emory University. Stoney and Amani will receive full tuition pay, course materials, lab fees and all room and board costs for a total of $4,000! The two students were nominated with excellent praise and recommendations by their teachers, Ms. Allison Hester and Ms. Teresa Barnickel. In addition to be eligible students must demonstrate overall academic achievement and have scored at or above the 95th percentile on a national standardized assessment. Wednesday, May 28, 2008 MCPSS Teachers Receive RBC Bank Tribute to Teachers Award Congratulations to Terrie Purvis, teacher at Council Traditional School and Kimberley Wakefield, teacher at Semmes Middle School! The teachers were honored as local educators who display an unwavering commitment to excellence in the classroom and leadership in the community. Each school year, between December and March, RBC Bank holds its annual Tribute to Teachers awards giving teachers the extra credit they deserve. The bank believes it has an obligation to support one of the most important community outreach-the education of our young people. RBC Bank encourages students, parents and colleagues to submit nominations for a teacher they would like to honor for their outstanding leadership. From those nominees, the bank selects 35 educators whose actions and contributions display the very best in educational excellence and community involvement, then rewards them for all they do! Each winner receives a $500 "Classroom Cash" award to purchase new learning materials for their classes. To read the wonderful comments and nominations of MCPSS teachers, Terrie Purvis and Kimberley Wakefield visit RBC Bank. The next Tribute to Teachers nomination period begins in December, 2008. For more information on the program visit http://www.rbcbankusa.com/ Wednesday, May 28, 2008 MCPSS Educators DARE TO DREAM in Preparing Our Future Work Force The Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) is on the cutting edge of training future leaders, CEO's and workers for our area's growing industries - Northrop Grumman and ThyssenKrupp. It is the goal of AMSTI to train teachers to be masters in hands-on math and science instruction so they will be able to train, prepare and inspire our Mobile County Public School System students to enter higher levels of education and the growing work force of our region. AMSTI provides two weeks of intensive grade and subject specific professional development to MCPSS teachers in AMSTI schools for two consecutive summers. AMSTI schools and classrooms consistently score higher than non-AMSTI schools and classrooms on district CRTs and other state tests. This year's AMSTI theme is Dare to Dream. Like Northrop Grumman, ThyssenKrupp, Hudson Alpha and other Alabama businesses, AMSTI dreams of Alabama being a world player in the areas of industry, biology, math, engineering, and science. By training educators to be master teachers in the areas of math and science, AMSTI is shaping future dreamers. There are 10 new AMSTI schools in MCPSS: Westlawn Elementary, Whitley Elementary, Collins-Rhodes Elementary, Dunbar Creative Performing Arts, Grant Elementary School, Hillsdale Middle, Jeremiah A. Denton Middle, Semmes Elementary, W.D. Robbins Elementary, and William Henry Brazier Elementary. The University of South Alabama is the support site for Mobile County Public School System. The opening ceremony will be held June 2nd from 8:00 - 9:30 a.m. at Baker High School. Alabama Department of Education AMSTI coordinator, Steve Ricks, will speak to teachers, trainers and administrators. This summer's sessions will be held at Baker High School, Loxley Elementary and Jackson Intermediate from June 2nd - 6th and June 9th - 13th. For more information about AMSTI visit the state's website at www.amsti.org or contact Lynn Garner at 251-421-2837. Wednesday, May 21, 2008 C.F. Vigor Named One of the Best High Schools in America Congratulations to Principal William Smith, faculty, staff and students at Vigor High School! U.S. News & World Report, one of the nation's leading sources of news analysis and service journalism, recently released its updated list of America's Best High Schools. The list named MCPSS very own C F Vigor High School along with 30 other Alabama high schools that met key criteria and fall into three categories of distinction: gold, silver, and bronze. The methodology for Best High Schools was developed by School Evaluation Services in collaboration with Andrew Rotherham, co-founder of Education Sector and writer of Eduwonk.com. According to the methodology, a best high school is one that succeeds at the following: 1. Attains performance levels that exceed statistical expectations given the school's relative level of student poverty, as measured by state accountability test scores for all the school's students in the core subjects of reading and math; 2. Achieves proficiency rates on state tests for their least advantaged student groups (e.g., black, Hispanic, and economically disadvantaged students) that exceed state averages; and 3. Prepares its students for college, as measured by student participation in and performance on Advanced Placement (AP) tests, which are administered by the College Board. The following are highlights of the Alabama schools included in the updated high school rankings: For a complete list of America's Best High Schools, visit http://www.usnews.com/sections/education/high-schools To learn more about a specific school or to compare schools side-by-side, visit http://www.schoolmatters.com/ Wednesday, May 21, 2008 LeFlore Dedicates New William Jessie Athletic Facility LeFlore Preparatory recently held a dedication of its new athletic facility. The new building, adjacent to the school and located near the sports practice field is named, the William Jessie LeFlore Athletic Facility. Longtime football coach, and school administrator, Mr. William Jessie touched many lives of students, parents and the community during his dedicated work at LeFlore. His successful coaching did not end on the playing field, he assisted many students in attending college by providing scholarships. Mr. Jessie's family was on hand to give words in his honor along with many sports and academic leaders throughout the community. LeFlore Preparatory provided a special ceremony of music, color guard presentation and an open house tour of the building. School Board Commissioner Rev. Fleet Belle added that an additional amount of $79,000 will be given to supply equipment and extra features. Wednesday, May 21, 2008 McDavid-Jones Teachers Sumo Wrestle for Charity Posted by Comm. Dept. in Schools | Comments (2) Raising money for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life is nothing new to McDavid-Jones students. For the last three years McDavid-Jones elementary has led MCPSS in the most money raised by a school. This year is no different, however this year the school held a very unique fundraiser-a Teacher Sumo Wrestling Match! Four brave teachers stepped up to the challenge! The school cafeteria served as a mock wrestling ring, complete with a referee and announcers! THe students surrounded the sumo;teacher wrestlers with posters. THe event was the finale of activities performed all week, including a memorial walk set up in the school hallway to honor those battling cancer. McDavid-Jones elementary raised more than $9,400 for charity! Wednesday, May 21, 2008 Food That is IN When School Is OUT Posted by Comm. Dept. in Parent and Student Information | Comments (1) Mobile County Schools Offering Free Summer Meals for Children As part of its summer feeding program, the Mobile County Public School System will be offering free lunches at 14 schools throughout the county for anyone who is 18 years or younger.