This just in...from MPS | Events

This Just In…

For the week of February 11-15, 2013

Congratulations go to the following teachers at Morningview Elementary for achieving Master Classroom status with Renaissance Learning. They are: Alisha Harris, LaTraviate Brown, Oronde Mitchell, Sharon Spivey, Keilya Tolbert, Jermaine Coleman, and Crismo Todd. Master Classroom status means 90% of students average at or above 90% on all Accelerated Reader quizzes. Kiki Mitchell, Amy Rodriguez, Kathy Mayes and Laurie Covan obtained Model Classroom. Also, media specialist Cindy Mitchell achieved Model Library.

Kudos go to the following Wilson Elementary Accelerated Reader achievers: Julia Kicks, Janet Geesey’s class; Ethan Fain, Kortney Greer’s class; Maria Estrada, Madison Gearreald, Joshua Grimes, Mahri Ransom and Anthoni Piccini, Whitney Dyer’s class; Dana Jung, Stacie Rencher’s class; Cameron Fain, Melissa Deaton’s class; Seojin Lee, Myla Davis, Alexis Andrews, and Shakaya Darrington, Jackie Jones’ class; Donterrius Maddox, and Jordan Ray, Heidi Casteel’s class; Michael Biggs, Om Patel, and Nicolas Recalde, Anethia Arnell’s class;

Congratulations go to Forest Avenue Elementary students who received awards for their Farm-City Poster Contest entries. Winning at the school level are: Paul Choi, first grade; Kaylyn Zhong, second grade; Esther Shon, third grade; Chris Yang and Jenny Baek, fourth grade; and Kiersten Cobb, fifth grade. These students also placed at the county level: Chris Yang, first at county; Esther Shon, and Jenny Baek, second at county; and Kaylyn Zhong and Kiersten Cobb, third at county.

Brewbaker Intermediate would like to thank Alabama State University students for reading to third grade classes during ASU Founder’s Day Week. Students received an “It’s a Great Time to be a Hornet” bookmark.

Kudos go to third grade students at Chisholm Elementary in Michele Jackson’s class for achieving Model Classroom status with Renaissance Learning.

Congratulations go to students and faculty at Lee High who joined together to tackle hunger in the community during the fifth annual Souper Bowl of Caring. Over $760 was raised and 600 canned food items were collected. The donations will go to the Montgomery Area Food Bank.

Kudos go to Wilson Elementary fourth grade students Olivia Henry and Alice Seo who were featured in the Montgomery Advertiser for their writing during the Rosa Park’s 100th Birthday Wishes Project launched by the Troy University Rosa Parks Museum.

Floyd Middle Magnet would like to thank Alex Sokol and Alabama Forever for donating laser printers and ink cartridges to every teacher.

Three MPS magnet high school librarians, Barbara Bowling, BTW, Susanne Ester, LAMP, and Carol Walters, Brewbaker Technology, have teamed up to apply for a $60,000 grant for digital resources from Follett Library Resources to be shared among the three schools. One component of the grant requires individuals to view and vote for their video which is related to school library support of 21st century learners. Voting begins today. You can support this endeavor by viewing the video and voting for the video submission at http://www.follettchallenge.com/video.cfm?id=316 . Thirty percent of the total score is based on how well the schools spread the word about their video and earn votes. You may vote once per day from now until March 15.

The MPS Career and Technical Education Department is currently accepting applications for the district’s seven high school career academies through March 8, 2013 and Montgomery Technical Education Center (MTEC) through March 29. The career academies combine hands-on training with core academic courses, internships, dual enrollment and professional experiences. MTEC provides training for students interested in HVAC, carpentry, electrical and welding. Applications and information booklets are available on the district website at www.preparing studentsforlife.com under the For Students button on the homepage, or from any middle school in the guidance counselor’s office. The academies include Health Science, Teaching, Advanced Manufacturing, Hospitality & Tourism, Law & Public Safety, Business & Finance and Information Technology.

The Volunteer and Information Center and the Junior League of Montgomery are currently accepting nominations for 2013 River Region Volunteer of the Year Awards. The celebration will be April 25 at Trinity Presbyterian Church. All nominees will be recognized at the event and receive a certificate and commemorative gift. Winners in each of the six categories will also have a $200 contribution made in their name to the non-profit or faith-based organization of their choice. The deadline for nominations is March 11. You can download a nomination form at www.handsonriverregion.org. For more information, contact project coordinator Leslie Martorana at (334) 264-3335.

Monday, February 11

Throughout the month, Bellingrath Middle’s media center will present “Authors Tour” highlighting famous African-American writers, authors, book illustrators and poets.   They will also be featured during morning announcements each Monday and Friday during February. In addition, students will be challenged to select Accelerated Reading books that are written or illustrated by a famous African American. Students who successfully complete their AR test will have an opportunity to participate in the Accelerated Reader celebration.

Dannelly Elementary students in Amberly Crawford, Ronnie Doughty, Tressa Jallath, Staci Maynard and Glenda Modozie’s second grade classes will make Valentine’s Day cards for the residents of Wesley Gardens Nursing Home.

Third grade students at Garrett Elementary will go on a field trip to the MPS Arboretum today and tomorrow.

During the week, students at Dozier Elementary in Stacy Griffin’s class will work in centers to review decimals, decimal comparison, powers of 10, task cards, grid match up, match up, word problems, order of operations, computation, and volume.

Bear Exploration Center will hold its monthly Discovery Clubs meeting after school.

Students at Carr Middle will participate in the community service project “Pennies for Malawi” to provide desks for children in the country. This event is coordinated by Esohe Egiebor. Also, Monday –Thursday mornings in February, students will be given a Black History fact. Each Friday, students will be asked a question from one of the facts they learned from the week. Homeroom teachers will submit the names of students who answer the question correctly. A Black History Fact Competition winner will be drawn for each grade level. Winners will receive a free Nancy’s Italian Ice treat.

During February, fourth grade students at Wilson Elementary in Heather Adams’ class will complete a biography genre study on famous Americans. Students will work in pairs to read a biography and will create a PowerPoint of facts about that person’s life. At the end of the month, students will present their PowerPoint project to the class. Also, grade level meetings will be held at 3:30 p.m.

Pintlala Elementary will hold a program with the Montgomery Humane Society for students in grades Pre-K – 3 at 1 p.m. The school will present items collected during Random Acts of Kindness Week.

Tuesday, February 12

Dannelly Elementary will present their annual Black History program entitled “Hitsville USA: A Tribute to Motown” at 6 p.m. Students will pay tribute and portray the musical artists of the most successful African-American record company that served as a catalyst for the integration of popular music during the 1960s.

Davis Elementary will hold its monthly Student and Teacher of the Month recognitions at 1:30 p.m. This program is sponsored by Troy University Montgomery.

Pintlala Elementary students in grades Pre-K – 2 will celebrate Mardi Gras with their neighbors at the Pintlala Public Library by participating in a parade and Mardi Gras themed party at 11:30 a.m.

Wednesday, February 13

Kindergarten students at Bear Exploration Center in Paula Jackson, Susan Brown, Shay Grant, and Margaret Barton’s classes will go on a field trip to the W.A. Gayle Planetarium from 9-11 a.m. Third grade students in Cheryl Stallworth, Sarah Francis, Shelia Sealy and Keshia Graves’ classes will visit the American Village in Montevallo from 7:15 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Lee High’s Jobs For Alabama’s Graduates (JAG) Career Association members will participate in the Alabama Association for Career and Technical Education (AACTE) Advocacy and Leadership Summit held in Montgomery. JAG students will meet with Lt. Governor Kay Ivey, State School Superintendent Dr. Tommy Bice, State Career Tech Director Dr. Phillip Cleveland and Senator Cam Ward to learn about the importance of advocacy efforts and see firsthand how the legislative process works in Alabama to provide funding for CTE programs. During this all-day seminar, held at the Alabama Association of Realtors Building, JAG members will learn how to advocate for Career and Technical Education in Alabama.

Fifth grade students at MacMillan International at McKee will go on a field trip to the Capitol through a virtual field trip.

Highland Avenue Elementary will hold Valentine’s Day parties from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.

Floyd Middle’s Spanish I class will go on a virtual field trip and experience Spanish culture by watching a variety of traditional and modern Spanish dance and song performances. They will see dances from Argentina, Columbia, Valenzuela, Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. They will also see a Flamenco dance.

Thursday, February 14

The Physical Education Department at Morningview Elementary will continue to implement “Heart Healthy Activities” for the month of February. Students will participate in the school’s annual Jump Rope for Heart event. Students will work in collaborative teams and jump rope to a variety of music genres. They will also collect donations for the American Heart Association.

Carver Elementary students in Diane Edwards and Shavante Austin’s classes will be visited by Alabama State University running back Isaiah Crowell. He will share stories with the students and assist the teachers with daily tasks.

Each Thursday this month, students at Carr Middle will experience an “education challenge” in order to relate to children in other parts of the world that are denied access to education. As a culminating activity at the end of February, teams or grade levels will decide on a community service project to promote education. Erica Dunwoody is coordinating this event. Also, students will participate in “Mix It Up Day.” During fourth period, students will sit next to someone different during lunch. Students will be provided with three questions to ask their lunch partners and allowed to reflect on and discuss what they learned when they return to their classes. Kimberly Dennig and Deondra Wells-Mays are coordinators of this event.

Wilson Elementary’s Positive Behavior Support team will give students with three “Gotcha” tickets, a special treat for Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day celebrations will be held from 1:45 – 2:30 p.m.

Pintlala Elementary will celebrate Valentine’s Day with class parties from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.

MacMillan International at McKee will celebrate Valentine’s Day with class parties at 2 p.m.

Highland Avenue Elementary will hold a Valentine’s Dance from 6-8 p.m. The king and queen will be crowned.

Friday, February 15

All Montgomery Public Schools will dismiss two hours early for teacher training.

Brewbaker Technology Magnet High School will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. for its gymnasium.

Garrett Elementary will be visited by William Bowman, a visually impaired man, who will share his personal story of bullying at 9 and 10 a.m.

Blount Elementary’s media center will host its second quarter Accelerated Reader “Top Five” party. The honorees are: First grade, Faith Schneider, Zachary Turner, Caden Chittenden, Wonjun Lee and Madeline Pufall; second grade, Asher Stamps, Zachary Van Pelt, Colton Casey, Pia Jung and Josh Donaldson; third grade, Ashlyn Goode, Kinsley Castro, Lakerra Sims, Piper Doyle and Afton Stahl; fourth grade, Ivy Hadley, Malia Lohr, Seojin Kam, Yoorim Kim and Foster Ware; and fifth grade, Rachel Kwak, Bryce Hampton, Donghun Kang, Averi Smith and Chadwick Norris.

Flowers Elementary will hold a Sock Hop and ice cream social. Students who earned 10 “GOTCHA” tickets for being responsible, respectful and resourceful will attend. Students can dress in 50s attire.

Wilson Elementary’s Student Government Association will hold its final day of collecting donations for Hurricane Sandy victims. The grade level that raises the most money will receive a party from the PTA.

Pintlala Elementary will kick-off a Great American Opportunities fundraiser.

MacMillan International at McKee will celebrate positive behavior. Students who have earned 15 or more Positive Behavior Support tickets will attend a party.

Saturday, February 16

Brewbaker Middle’s choir will sing the National Anthem at Auburn Montgomery’s Homecoming Basketball Game at 2 p.m. Michelle McKenzie is the choral director at Brewbaker Middle.

Brewbaker Technology Magnet High will host Alabama’s first ever VEX Robotics Competition. More than 100 leading middle and high school VEX Robotics students and mentors from around the state of Alabama will unite on the campus. The action-packed tournament will feature more than 18 teams who will compete with and against other schools in a series of back-to-back robot challenges. Participants will compete for the championship title by strategically executing the game Sack Attack, driving robots they designed, built and programmed from the ground up using the VEX Robotics Design System. VEX Robotics is the world’s fastest growing competitive robotics program for middle schools, high school and colleges around the world with more than 5,000 teams from 30 countries. The competition serves as a vehicle for students to develop critical life skills such as teamwork, leadership and project management, honed through building robots and competing with like-minded students. The VEX System was designed to be an affordable, accessible and scalable platform used to teach science, technology, engineering and math education worldwide.

The Montgomery Area YMCA will hold the Alabama Fire AAU Travel Basketball tryouts for boys in grades 4-8. Tryouts will be held at the Goodtimes Center Gym, located at 2325 Mill Ridge Drive, behind the Goodtimes building. There will be a fifth grade team (which fourth graders can try out for) a sixth, seventh, and eighth grade teams. Fourth – fifth graders will tryout from 1-3 p.m.; sixth graders from 3-5 p.m.; and seventh – eighth graders from 5-7 p.m. The cost for tryouts is $10 per person. For more information, contact James Garvin, Bell Road YMCA director at 271-4343 or Reagan Williams at 221-8981.

This Just In…is a weekly publication of the MPS Communication Office. Events are submitted to the Communication Office by schools and are subject to change.