Two eleventh grade students from Edgcombe County Public Schools have been chosen to attend North Carolina Governor’s School this summer. Robert Collins from Tarboro High School will attend East Campus for Instrumental Music with his trumpet) and Carmen Spruill from Edgecombe Early College High School will attend at the West Campus for Natural Science. Both students will attend the six week program from June 17 through July 28.
 
Students who are nominated to participate in the residential summer program must complete an application listing their recent grades in their area of nomination, class rank and recent total scholastic performance along with two essays and a list of community activities, awards and honors. Nominees must also have two recommendation forms completed with at least one filled out by a high school teacher.

While the program used to be funded completely by the General Assembly of North Carolina, State funding was eliminated in 2011. The 2012 session is being funded by donations received from private donors through the Governor’s School Foundation, along with tuition charges of $500 per attending student.

The program began in 1963 at Salem College before adding another program at Meredith College in 1978. It is open to rising seniors with exceptions made for rising juniors in select performance arts areas. The Governor’s School is partially funded by the General Assembly of North Carolina and administered by the Public Schools of North Carolina, the State Board of Education and the Department of Public Instruction through the Exceptional Children Division. 

Those selected to attend study three areas, Area One being the subject in which the students were nominated such as English, Math, Art and Science, Area Two being a study that creates connections between the Area One subjects and Area Three which ties the other two Areas into the student’s personal experience and social worlds. 

Students are nominated by teachers and school administrators based on class performance and test scores. In order to be considered for selection, students must score in the 92% in the subject in which they’re nominated. 

Fifth grade students at G.W. Carver Elementary School enjoyed a field trip to Washington, D.C. April 5, made possible through a Target Fied Trip Grant.

 

Forty five students, along with eight parents and six staff members, left at 5 a.m. to enjoy an educational trip learning about various memorials and historical sites in the nation’s capitol. The group visited the Lincoln Memorial, National Mall, U.S. Capital building and the Pentagon.

 

Students were most surprised at how large the Pentagon was and how there was a “city within a building” since the Pentagon has its own stores, day care, restaurants and a bank.

 

Some students also experienced their first security screening with this visit as all visitors to the Pentagon must go through security scans.

 

Following their trip, students gave presentations on something they learned while in Washington, whether it be about the government, the tragedy of September 11, or historical monuments. Judges for the presentations were Carol Cobb, the school social worker who prepared the Target grant and school counselors Danielle Dew and Tracy Bridges, along with AIG teacher Angela Strothers.

 

“We saw some excellent, research based and creative presentations from our fifth graders,” said Cobb.

 

Since lauching the Field Trip Grant program in 2007, Target has awarded more than $16 million in grants. As part of the program, each Target store awards three grants to schools ranging from kindergarten to twelfth grade, nationwide. Each grant is valued up to $700.

The multi-purpose room at G.W. Carver Elementary School was transformed into a rock concert for students Friday, May 18 as teachers and guests inspired the students to “Rock the EOGS”. 

Each year, teachers from the third through fifth grade decide on a theme for the End of Grade testing pep rally and entertain the children with music, a show and inspiration to gear them for the big tests. In the past, Carver has pirate and survivor-inspired rallies.  This year with the theme “Rock the EOGs”, teachers and students dressed in rock and rock inspired outfits and each class decorated banners to encourage their fellow classmates.

DJ Jazzy Dave, played by volunteer Dave Sharpe, led the pep rally with help from third grade teacher Lori Anderson. DJ Jazzy Dave tried on several different ball caps, each with a different meaning telling the students that they have to wear all kinds of “hats” as they’re taking their tests. 

The pep rally continued with a performance by And One, a band comprised of four Carver alumni, Aaron Reason, Stephen Sharpe and Jordan and Jameson Wooten. The band played several songs including “We Are the Champions” by Queen and other famous rock selections.

All Edgecombe County Public Schools students in third through eighth grade will begin taking the EOGs Tuesday, May 22.

Preschool students at G.W. Bulluck Elementary School enjoyed the annual Trike-A-Thon event Friday, April 27 and raised $3,227.04 for Relay for Life of Edgecombe County to be used for cancer research with the American Cancer Society.

 

Seventy pre-k students at Bulluck rounded the track on their tricycles and collected money from sponsors for the amount of laps pledged. Funds were also raised through the selling of snacks and drinks to student participants and onlookers.

The original idea for the trike-a-thon came from a student who had participated in a trike-a-thon in Nash County to benefit St. Judes’ Children’s Hospital.

This year, Bulluck student and staff have raised $6,851 towards Relay for Life, the highest amount for any of the fifteen schools contributing towards Edgecombe County Public Schools’ current fundraising total of $27,913. Funds are donated through the selling of purple awareness ribbons, snack sales and other fun events. 

Male students and South Edgecombe Middle School have the opportunity to be mentored by local community members through the Boys to Men program.

 

Charlie Cobb, Robert Williams and Thomas Williams have taken the time to meet with students each Thursday. Students have also enjoyed a pizza part at the school, a basketball tournament also at the school, a cookout at the Pinetops Community Cetner and an evening outing to Pizza Hutt in Rocky Mount.

 

Before beginning the program, students and their parents participated in a dinner meet and greet at the Pinetops Community Building so the

 

Students discuss setting goals for their futures, staying in school and how to respect themselves and others.

 

Through the mentoring program, South Edgecombe Middle School hopes to keep students classified as “at-risk” in school, and out of trouble.