Yancey County Board of Education Meeting Announcements

The Yancey County Board of Education will hold a special meeting on Thursday, August 28, 2008, at 3 p.m. to award the Mountain Heritage High School roofing project bid and to discuss personnel. The meeting will be held at the Board of Education office, 100 School Circle , Burnsville .

North Carolina Educators Learn from Mexico

Sharryl Hagerman was the 2008 recipient of the James G.K. McClure Fund Teacher Award to participate with the Latino Initiative Program in Mexico and represent Yancey County Schools.

Thirty-three educators from all over North Carolina just returned from a Latino Initiative program in Mexico to better understand the education system, history, and culture, as well as the current socio-economic conditions as they may relate to students of Latino/Hispanic heritage in NC schools.  The Latino Initiative for Educators is a study program to Mexico designed for vertical teams of public school teachers, counselors, board members, and administrators from school systems with high or increasing numbers of Latino/Hispanic students.   The ten day program in Mexico City and Guanajuato was sponsored by the Center for International Understanding and took place June 16-25.  The exploration in Mexico included school visits, lectures and discussions with Mexican educators, museum visits, guided tours of archaeological, historical sites and a weekend home stay visit with a Mexican family.

"We provide educators with a unique first-hand experience which ultimately benefits students in their classrooms," said Latino Initiative Assistant Manager Lindsey Molusky. "We look forward to working with participants as they create and implement new programs, policies and/or lesson plans which improve Latino/Hispanic achievement levels."
 
The educators who participated in the program will use what they learned to better teach their students about Mexico, improve Latino/Hispanic student achievement, and find ways to utilize the presence of Latino/Hispanic students for the benefit of all students.

Congratulations to East Yancey Middle School's Character Education Students of the Month

Each year East Yancey Middle School with the help of Mountain Air Country Club recognizes students that have exemplified good character. Throughout the year students are nominated by their peers for demonstrating the characteristic of the month. A committee of the school counselor and designated teachers selects a monthly winner and the student is acknowledged through the school news and on a bulletin board. In addition, each student receives an award. This program culminates with a fantastic lunch at Mountain Air Country Club to once again thank these students for positively contributing to the climate of the school. East Yancey greatly appreciates the example these students have set for others and are very thankful for Mountain Air's generosity year after year. This year's students of the month were: Julie Burleson - Tolerance, Trevor Robinson - Integrity, Zack Brown - Diligence, Yaris Cortes -Compassion, Nick Thomas - Commitment, Autumn Byrd - Responsibility, Sam McMahan and Mason Peterson - Respect, and Brenda Guerrero - Trustworthiness.

 

Special Thanks to all Participants of the Yancey County Middle School's
Orientation Night

On Thursday, May 22, 2008, parents, guardians and upcoming 6th grade students of Cane River and East Yancey Middle Schools attended a special orientation program at both middle schools. The program gave students an opportunity to meet other incoming sixth graders, middle school faculty and to tour the school. Meanwhile, parents were provided with important information regarding internet safety by Special Agent, Alan Flora and circulated through the media centers obtaining information relating to their student's middle school career. Students and parents joined together to enjoy entertainment and positive messages provided by Matt Fore, and inspirational and amusing magician. The evening aimed at easing the transition from fifth to sixth grade for students and their parents or guardians. Yancey County Schools would like to thank all the students and their families for attending this special orientation program. Each middle school will be offering a summer orientation program for students as well. Incoming sixth graders will be notified of these dates as they approach.

2008 East Yancey Middle School Career Fair is a Success!

 On Thursday, May 29th 8th grade students at East Yancey Middle School participated in the annual end-of-year career fair. Guests from several business establishments in the area donated their time to visit the school. Additionally, representatives from Mars Hill College and the ROTC program at Mountain Heritage High School met with students. Eighth graders enjoyed the opportunity to hear about possible career opportunities as they prepare to transition to the high school. East Yancey Middle School would like to send a special thanks to all the participants that were able to attend this year.

Bald Creek Elementary Fourth Graders Visit Raleigh

Ms. Teena McCurry's and Mr. Jason Robinson's fourth grade students traveled to Raleigh on April 24th.  While in our state's capital, they toured the Legislative Building to learn about how a bill becomes a law in North Carolina, and about the history of the building itself.  The students visited the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences where they explored the various exhibits from all three regions of our great state.  The classes also visited the North Carolina Museum of History where they stepped back into the past and reflected upon how much our state has changed and continues to change.  The Marbles Children Museum was the final stop of the day for the fourth graders where they experienced a 3D IMAX movie about the Grand Canyon and the need for conservation of water, our most precious natural resource.

On day two of the trip the students were excited to visit the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro, NC. They were privileged to view animals from Africa and North America in their natural habitats.  Students were able to build upon their background knowledge and acquire new information about animals and their environments.

This trip was a culmination of the integration of studies in inquiry-based science, social studies, and writing.  Both teachers spent time introducing students to these concepts prior to the trip.  Upon returning, students reflected on their learning experiences through writing activities and class discussions.

Ms. McCurry, Mr. Robinson, and the fourth grade students would like to express their deepest appreciation to all those who helped make this trip a reality.  It was a wonderful opportunity for everyone involved.  Thank you to Dr. Little, the Yancey Co. Board of Education, and our principal, Mrs. Sherry Robinson. Your support and dedication helped bring education to life beyond the classroom walls.  We would also like to recognize the fourth grade parents who played an integral role in fund-raising.  A very special thank you goes to the contributors of the Mountain Air Residents' Community Fund for their generous donation.  Additionally, our "2008 Bald Creek 4th Grade Rockin' Raleigh Trip" t-shirt sponsors are: Banks Grading & Trucking, Bill Restall, Bald Creek Tractor & Equipment, etationcreations, Riverside Grocery, Yancey County Youth League Association, Heritage Lumber Company, Inc., Buchanan & Young, Inc. Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep, Players Sporting Goods, Andy's Inc., Flowers By Vance, Craintree Harvesting & Mtn. Bike Roads, Friends of Brittany Thomason, Jason Robinson of Riddle Real Estate, WNC Ear, Nose & Throat, Riverside Roller Rink, A Touch of Cass, David Gillespie's Plumbing, Alpine Design, The Community Foundation of WNC, Inc., Davis Farms, The Preserve at Wolf Laurel, Garden Deli Restaurant, Lighthouse Christian Books & Gifts, Styles Automotive Supply, H & R Block of Burnsville, Miss Louanna and Doug Delf, McDonald’s of Burnsville, Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, Dr. Iva Nell Buckner, and Adpro Promotional Products.

Once again, a sincere thank you to everyone who contributed their time, money and efforts.  You all helped to make this educational trip a lasting memory for our students!

Bald Creek Students 2

Yancey County Board of Education
Special Meeting Announcement

The Yancey County Board of Education will hold a special meeting on Thursday, June 26, 2008, at 5 p.m. to do budget work, to discuss personnel, to discuss land purchase and to discuss the Alternative School.  The meeting will be held at the Board of Education office, 100 School Circle, Burnsville.

Legal Notice

Yancey County Schools will be accepting sealed bids at the Yancey County Schools Child Nutrition Office, 100 School Circle, Burnsville, NC 28714, between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday for the following projects:

Bread

Until June 11, 2008

1:00 PM

Milk

Until June 11, 2008

1:30 PM

Ice Cream

Until June 11, 2008

1:45 PM

Delivered Pizza

Until June 16, 2008

1:30 PM

Supplemental Sale Beverages

Until June 16, 2008

2:00 PM

Bottled Water

Until June 16, 2008

2:15 PM

Immediately after the closing hour for receiving bids, they will be publicly opened and read aloud at the Child Nutrition Office.

 

Yancey County Board of Education
Special Meeting Announcement

The Yancey County Board of Education will hold a special meeting on Monday, May 19, 2008, at 5 p.m. to do policy work and discuss personnel. The meeting will be held at the Board of Education office, 100 School Circle, Burnsville.

Yancey County Board of Education Meeting Announcement

The Yancey County Board of Education will hold their next regular meeting on Monday, June 2, 2008 at 6:00 pm. The meeting will be held at the Board of Education office, 100 School Circle, Burnsville.

Yancey County Schools Wins Weather Station Through RENCI Competition

Three counties in North Carolina , including Yancey County , will soon have detailed information about the weather patterns in their region and new classroom curricula that uses real-time weather station information as a result of the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) Weather Web competition. The winners are Yancey County , Hyde County and Alexander County . Each county will acquire a research and operational grade weather station through the Weather Web project, which is aimed at enhancing weather-related K-12 education and improving the quantity and quality of weather data in underserved areas of the state.

"The new weather stations provided through the Weather Web project will provide Yancey County Schools comprehensive data from areas of the state where we have not been able to obtain data," said Ryan Boyles, state climatologist and director of the State Climate Office at North Carolina State University. "The data will provide citizens, disaster response researchers, state climatologist, emergency responders, agricultural managers and others with data that can improve severe weather management, weather forecasts, emergency planning, and natural resource management."

In collaboration with the State Climate Office (SCO) and MCNC's North Carolina Research Education Network (NCREN), RENCI sent out a challenge to schools in the 36 North Carolina counties that lack research grade weather stations, challenging them to develop lesson plans in meteorology and atmospheric sciences that would use the real-time data collected by a weather station. The call for proposals was issued in February and by the March 17 deadline, RENCI had received proposals from individual schools, a partnership of schools and teachers from the targeted counties.

The winning proposals came from a collaboration of several schools in Yancey County in the Appalachian Mountains near the Tennessee border; Alexander Central High School in Taylorsville in the west central part of the state; and Ocracoke School on Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks.

"Teachers from Yancey County, Hyde County and Alexander submitted a variety of original curricula aimed at students in fourth through 12 th grade," said Jennifer Shelton, RENCI Weather Web project manager. "The proposals included lesson plans for math, physical science, earth and environmental science, horticulture, social studies and language arts. The hands-on curricula introduce live weather data to NC students."

Each proposal also included student essays on the local benefits of weather stations. The recipient of the "most outstanding student essay" was awarded to Allison Turner, a ninth grader at Camden High School in Camden County . Turner will receive a gift certificate to Amazon.com, and her school will receive the Tropical Weather Tracking Kit from Carolina Biological Supply Company.

A team of representatives from RENCI, the SCO and MCNC reviewed the proposals and essays. Originally, the contest planned to award two weather stations, paid for by RENCI. As part of its partnership in the project, MCNC agreed to pay the cost of a third weather station.

The SCO will install the weather stations in late summer at sites determined most suitable in the winning counties. Events in each of the winning counties are tentatively planned for fall to celebrate the occasion. For more information about the Weather Web competition go to http://www.renci.org/focusareas/eduoutreach/weatherweb.php . The winning curricula will be posted on this website in June. All data from the awarded stations, and from existing stations in the state, are available on the SCO website at http://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/cronos .

The Renaissance Computing Institute brings together teams of talented researchers, engineers, technologists and leaders in government, business, the arts and humanities to attack major research questions and community issues in ways that accelerate discovery and drive innovation. RENCI has nationally significant expertise and capabilities in high performance computing, visualization, collaborative tools, networking, device prototyping, and data systems as well as engagement sites across the state. Founded in 2004 as a major collaborative venture of Duke University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the state of North Carolina, RENCI is a statewide virtual organization. For more, see www.renci.org .

Since 1985, MCNC has collaborated with the University of North Carolina's 16 campuses to develop and operate the N.C. Research and Education Network (NCREN) - one of the nation's first statewide education and research networks. Today, the NCREN community is expanding in partnership with state government and the N.C. Department of Public Instruction to provide advanced communications and network support for a seamless K-20 education experience for all public education institutions in North Carolina , adding all K-12 schools and community colleges as NCREN customers. For more information, please visit www.mcnc.org.