Student Advocate A PAID SUPPLEMENT MARCH 2016 VOL. 18, NO. 2 STAUNTON CITY SCHOOLS NEWSPAPER Division-Wide News 2 • R.E. Lee High School 3 • Bessie Weller School 4 • A.R. Ware School 5 • Regional & State Operated Programs 6 Dixon Educational Center 8 • T.C. McSwain School 9 • Shelburne Middle School 10 • Sponsors 11, 12 FIND UP-TO-THE MINUTE INFORMATION ABOUT STAUNTON CITY SCHOOLS AT www.staunton.k12.va.us inside… THE “Join with me in expecting great things from our students by helping them to set and achieve their goals.” — DR. LINDA REVIEA, SUPERINTENDENT Emily Johnson, Grade 10, Ms. Wilson Soaring To Your Fullest Potential By Setting Goals
Transcript
Student AdvocateA PAID SUPPLEMENT MARCH 2016 VOL. 18, NO. 2
STAUNTON CITY SCHOOLS NEWSPAPER
Division-Wide News 2 • R.E. Lee High School 3 • Bessie Weller School 4 • A.R. Ware School 5 • Regional & State Operated Programs 6
Dixon Educational Center 8 • T.C. McSwain School 9 • Shelburne Middle School 10 • Sponsors 11, 12
FIND UP-TO-THE MINUTE INFORMATION ABOUT STAUNTON CITY SCHOOLS AT www.staunton.k12.va.us
inside…
THE
“Join with me in expecting great things from our students by helping them
to set and achieve their goals.”— DR. LINDA REVIEA, SUPERINTENDENT
Emily Johnson, Grade 10, Ms. Wilson
Soaring To Your Fullest Potential By Setting Goals
2 The Student Advocate | March 2016
Staunton City Schools 116 W. Beverley Street, Staunton, VA 24401
School LiaisonsKatie Avoli-Miller, R.E. Lee High School
Anna Inge, Shelburne Middle School
Amy Bradley, T.C. McSwain Elementary
Anne Freeman, Bessie Weller Elementary
Mistie Aistrop-Vanhook, A.R. Ware Elementary
Leanne Conner, Dixon Educational Center
Mary Ann Plogger, Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center
Amy Pultz, Valley Career and Technical Center
Anne Jeffrey, Shenandoah Valley Governor’s School
Whitney Vaughn, Commonwealth Center for Children
Dr. Linda Reviea, Central Office
Requests for additional copies, advertising information, and editorial submissions should be sent to the following address. The Student Advocate has made every effort to provide accurate information. It is not responsible for changes made in scheduling after the paper has gone to press. Comments can be sent to the attention of the editors of the following address:
The Student AdvocateStaunton City Schools
116 W. Beverley Street, Staunton, VA 24401 540-332-3920
2015–2016 STAUNTON CITY SCHOOL BOARD
Mr. Ron Ramsey, ChairMr. Robert BoyleMrs. Amy DarbyMr. Joel Grogan
Ms. Laura KleinerMr. William Lobb, Vice Chair
2015–2016 STAUNTON CITY SCHOOLS ADMINISTRATION
Dr. Linda Reviea, Division SuperintendentMrs. Stephanie Haskins, Director of
Assessment and School ImprovementMr. Tom Lundquist, Director of Technology Services
Mr. Earl McCray, Director of OperationsMr. Jon Venn, Director of Human Resources
Mrs. Dori Walk, Executive Director of InstructionDr. Jelisa Wolfe, Executive Director of Student Services
STAUNTON CITY SCHOOLS IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
As required by Federal laws and regulations, the Staunton City School Board does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, disability, age, or national origin in employment or in the administration of any of its educational programs or activities.
Recently, my son became a homeowner. He set this goal for himself a few years ago which set in motion a series of decisions to make this a reality. He had to set up a budget to determine his expenses and create a plan to put money in his savings account. He had to decide where he wanted to live and what
factors would make a house appealing enough to be “his” house. Associated with these decisions were ripple factors like knowing when to say no to going out with his friends if it meant spending money that should be going into his savings account and determining how much house he could reasonably afford. As you might imagine we had many conversations during the years leading up to the big day when he put his “John Hancock” on the contract and mortgage documents. Our family encouraged him over the weeks and years. Nonetheless, there were things he didn’t anticipate; however, the bumps in the road did not deter him from his goal – because it was his goal not mine. Educational researcher Dr. John Hattie has written extensively about the importance of student goal setting. In our school division we expect students to take ownership of their work and commit to achieving. After setting a goal it is reasonable to develop a plan or series of tasks. Students understand that decisions must be made to successfully accomplish their goals
– focusing on homework when TV, social media and other distractions tempt, going to bed early to be rested for the school day, making good decisions about friends who will support them, and keeping their families up-to-date on their progress. I take great pride in each of our students as I see them set goals and realize the incredible pleasure of success – just like the pride I felt in my son when he achieved his goal. As I anticipate my son will set other goals, his father and I will counsel him with the best information we have and guide him to seek out others who might provide even more help than we can offer. Our students will set many goals in their lives and I would hope our community would step up to provide them counseling and support. Join with me in expecting great things from our students by helping them to set and achieve their goals.
Dr. Linda Reviea, Division Superintendent
Superintendent’s Message
Disney’s The Lion King Jr was performed at Shelburne Middle School, December 4-5 2015 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, December 6, 2015 at 2:30 pm in the Hern Gymnasium. This 60 minute musical is made specifi-cally for middle school student actors and is based on the Broadway production and the 1994 Disney film. The Shelburne Drama Department cast and crew fea-tured over 30 children in grades 6 through 8. The show was directed by Ms. Melissa Maynard of R.E Lee theater department; music direction was by Mrs. Lillian Harner of R.E. Lee and Shelburne Middle School choral departments, and Mrs. Dawn Davis. The show centers around the story of a young cub Simba (Jaylyn Kier, 6th grade) as he runs away from the Pridelands, think-ing he has caused Mufasa, his father's death (Caleb Pellitier, 8th grade). While in exile, Simba meets Pumbaa (Henry Jones, 8th grade), the wart hog, and his side kick, Timon the meerkat, (Matt Riddell, 8th grade). Meanwhile nasty Scar (Marni Jacobs, 6th grade), brother to Mufasa, has taken over the Pridelands. Young Nala (Caitie Spielman 6th grade) has mourned the loss of her friend Simba and has grown into a strong, fierce lioness, (Ameiya Robinson). While out looking for food to feed the starving pride, grown Nala stumbles across adult Simba (Mason Wyatt, 7th grade) in the jungle. Nala encourages Simba to return to the Pridelands and claim his rightful place as King. Simba must find the strength to
The Lion King Jr. RULESMs. Dawn D. Davis, Library Clerk
dethrone his Uncle Scar and save his fam-ily. The cast is rounded out by Scar’s three henchman-style Hyenas: Ed (Grayson Park, 6th grade), Shenzi (Addie Cooper 7th grade), and Banzai (Jon Rochford, 6th grade). Mufasa’s mate Sarabi (Grace Daughtery, 8th grade) Sarafina (Reese Goodson, 8th grade), mother of Nala. Zazu (Alice Cormier, 8th grade) provided lots of frustrated fun as Simba’s babysitter and aide to Mufasa. The show could not be complete without the wise counsel of the mandrill, Rafikki (Julia Stahl, 7th grade). Audiences sang along with well-known
songs from the film’s version such as “Hakuna Matata” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” Additional songs taken from the Broadway production of The Lion King left you feeling breath-lessly haunted. Shelburne Middle School has
a strong commitment to the arts. The set was designed by Mrs. Melissa Cooper and her hardworking crew of student design-ers. Coach Mike Guertler lent his carpentry support in building the set. The cast was supported by a group of students working as stage crew and led by Virginia Browning (6th grade) as Stage Manager. Eighth grade art students under the tutledge of Mrs. Susan Gutshall created beautiful animal masks. Current Robert E Lee high school students, Oeshi Mellon, choreographer, and Abigail Kincheloe , acting coach, were involved in the production. Makeup and hair design was headed up by Robert E Lee High alumni, Kelly Davis and Elise Hummel.
More from Shelburne
The talented cast of The Lion King Jr.
March 2016 | The Student Advocate 3
Dr. Mark Rowicki, Principal1200 N. Coalter Street, Staunton, VA 24401 540-332-3926 • Fax 540-332-3994 R.E. Lee High School
Wednesdays are good days at Lee High School. Every student and faculty member look forward to Coffee Shop day. The special education students run the coffee shop where they serve lemonade, coffee, and sweet treats. Prices range anywhere from 50 cents to a dollar for these tasty items. On Tuesdays the students running the coffee shop bake all of the goodies such as coffee cake, brownies, cookies, and a vari-ety of other treats depending on the week. When asked about the shop,
Spring MusicalNatalie Fitzgerald, Grade 12
Every year Robert E. Lee High School’s drama program performs a spring musical. This year’s will be The Little Mermaid. Auditions took place January 4th, and the cast list was posted three days later. Listed below are the students who were selected to be the main cast:
Ariel: Oshie MellonUnderstudy: Kyla Herndon
Pilot: Will LackeyUnderstudy: Austin Rehfield
Prince Eric: Sam LaClairUnderstudy: Dominic Walker
King Triton: Logan DavenportUnderstudy: Jake Morris
Ursula: Abbey KincheloeUnderstudy: Victoria Nay
Chef Louis: Tenor NayUnderstudy: Jake Morris
Flotsam and Jetsam: Nora Oechslin and Callie Bandy
Director: Melissa MaynardMusic Director: Lillie HarnerChoreographer: Barbara Maclam
Everyone at Lee High School is ecstatic for this show and hopes everyone will come out to see it. Opening night is March 18th. Hope to see you there!
LEE LEADERS Community Oriented Collin Lendermon, Grade 12 and Moses Farley, Grade 12
The students, who run the coffee shop, are preparing to handle a big crowd! (L to R: Sam Bennett, Mike Jones, Maura Botkin, Kevin Lewis, and Reba Branch)
The Coalter Street Coffee Shop: A Sweet DealWhitney Darby, Grade 11 and Bev Hollberg, Grade 11
the students say that the hardest part is “handling the money and dealing with the amount of people that come through at once.” Not only does the coffee shop provide something for the students to look forward to, it also gives them the chance to interact with the rest of the students at Lee. A sense of community is shared throughout the school when attending the cof-fee shop and for the kids behind the counter, they “always want to make their customers happy!”
Left and Right. Junior Jay Dixon adds color to his molecule mural. Junior Chyna Nolley works on her mural in the Science hallway.
Since its development three years ago, Lee Leaders has become a defin-ing club both in and out of Robert E. Lee High School. Anna Lightner, an active Lee Leader, voiced her opinion on it: “Lee Leaders is a good way for students to get involved in community and to learn more about the people living here. Our projects help to make Lee High and Staunton a better place to live.” Lee Leaders is generally comprised of outgoing Robert E. Lee students who under-take projects that benefit both the
school and the community. A recent project involved the paint-ing of murals on the school walls to brighten up the white hallways. In the past, the club has proposed ideas that have led to the aerial student body photos and a canned food drive during Homecoming Week. Assistant Principal Ms. Lori Swortzel, the club sponsor, said there were a couple of projects in the works, one of which includes sending Lee Leaders to Shelburne to talk about being a student at Lee.
Mrs. Washington’s third grade class and Ms. Campbell’s kinder-garten class were very excited to start reading with their buddies this week! Mrs. Washington’s third graders have been working on being respectful, compassionate, and giv-ing. They decided one way to do this would be to share their friendship and love of reading with a class of kindergartners. Kayden Darcus, a
More from Bessie Weller
New Year, New Reading BuddiesMs. Lauren Washington, Grade 3 Teacher
Right. Serinatee Johnson-Clark, a third grader, said that she “was really happy” after her new reading buddy hugged her.
kindergartner, said that she likes reading buddies because she “gets to read with a friend.” Mrs. Washington and Ms. Campbell are both very proud of their classes and are so excited that their stu-dents are getting this opportunity.
4 The Student Advocate | March 2016
Ms. Dori Walk, Executive Director of Instruction/Principal600 Greenville Avenue, Staunton, VA 24401
540-332-3940 • Fax 540-332-3959Bessie Weller Elementary SchoolYou Don’t Have to go to Germany to Learn German DancesMrs. Monger, Grade 2 Teacher/Leader of Dance Club
Mrs. Monger along with Mary Baldwin College dance professor Irene Sarnelle, worked with 21 kindergarten and first and second graders to learn several German dances in the after school Blast program every Wednesday for nine weeks. Along with Monger and Sarnelle there were several Mary Baldwin students that volunteered their time to come and dance with the students. The Mary Baldwin students came each week wearing German outfits and assisted in the teaching. The students not only learned German dances, they learned about the culture and country as well. Students learned a German song that went along with one of the dances. Students were provided costumes to wear for an after school program, and an evening program that was held at Mary Baldwin College on December 2nd. Most of the families were able to attend the event held at Mary Baldwin. Students performed six dances and invited family and friends to join in the dancing. Students learned
A group of K-2 students participate in an after school activity and with help from MBC students learn and perform German dances.
Fourth grade students wear their masks they created in Mr. Campfield’s art class.
The 4th graders have been work-ing on a school mask project in art class. The origin of the mask goes something like this: When rubber masks weren’t around yet, tribes would make them out of wood and leather. They would wear them to look scary so when attacking at night they would look scary. The 4th graders’ art teacher Mr. Campfield showed them some pictures of the masks and told them to base their masks on these. So before long they got started and they had to be symmetrical.
Here are the steps to making it:1. Draw the line of symmetry
down the middle.
2. Plan out your mask and design 3. Plan your lips if you want to do
happy, sad ,or angry.4. Start painting your masks5. Outline the shapes in black6. Staple the top together then
separately-staple the bottom together
7. Make hole punches in the sides.8. Then you tie strings in the hole.9. Have someone tie your mask in
the back 10. Put on your mask!!!!!!!
The 4th graders have finished the masks; they are finished off with yarn on the sides and on the front. Thank you for reading. See you next time!!
Fourth Grade Mask ProjectLaurie Steiner and Ja’neyah Randolph, Grade 4, Mr. Campbell
Fifth grade students in Mrs. Huffer’s class create snow friends.
There was a happy snowman and his name was Ben. Ben saw a sign that said, “Winterland.” When Ben saw the sign he was happy. He went down to Winterland but Ben was sad. There was a wall.
Ben went all around to find a door to Winterland but there was no door. Ben found seven snowmen. Ben talked to one of the snowmen. The snowman said, “Hi.” Ben was happy because he found new friends.
dance vocabulary, patterns, and rights and lefts. Many families commented on how well the chil-dren danced together. Students had different partners for each dance and worked very well together. This was a very memorable experience for the Mary Baldwin students, the Bessie Weller students and their families.
Our Future EngineersMs. Karen Marx, Grade 2 Teacher/Science Club Leader
Top. Second grade engineers Luke, Andrew, Everett, and, Jaeden focus on their project.Bottom, left to right. Hezekiah Lewis and Ryden Harris enjoy club time. Mich’Aela White builds the tallest tower.
This year teachers were SO excited that students could par-ticipate in after school programs at Bessie Weller! From September 30th through December 2nd, kindergarten through second grade students earned snacks and enrichment at Science Club. The future engineers of Staunton City included: Ryden Harris, Andrew Gilmartin, Destiny McVey, Everett Johnson, Jaeden Wilson, Aiden Mercurio, Luke Gilmartin, Chloe Christian, Addyson Bunch, Hezekiah Lewis, Emily Crawford, Lillian Deaton, and Mich’Aela White. Second grade teacher Mrs. Marx led the thirteen students on some great explorations. The first week, students created “Goofy Putty” with Borax, Elmer’s Glue, and water. Each child was able to design his or her own experiment, and take the material home to dis-cover more of its characteristics.
They also discovered how corn starch and water have similar physi-cal and chemical traits as the putty. Computer magnets were the rage when they were able to attract paper clips from all over the room. Second graders took the lead when we had building time with K-Nex blocks, cup stacks, pattern blocks, and connect-ing cubes. Mich’Aela White built the tallest tower with straws. In the concluding weeks, Destiny led the acid and base testing with Red Cabbage juice to identify the mys-tery liquids! They were especially interested in making caramel apples after the boys and girls learned that melting about 20 pieces of the des-sert with water in the microwave for a few minutes changed the state of the solid caramel to liquid gold!!! The kids had an extraordinary interest in rockets (future NASA astronauts), and the “Moon Mutt” rocket took a flight in the field behind the school!
The Happy SnowmanLex Strother, Grade 5, Mrs. Huffer
March 2016 | The Student Advocate 5
Dr. Sharon Barker, Principal330 Grubert Avenue, Staunton, VA 24401540-332-3938 • Fax 540-332-3957 A.R. Ware Elementary School
Second grade students, Anne Moody and Daisy Simmons, are making tremendous strides in learning how to tell complete stories! During speech, they have learned hand motions to help them remember the character, setting, problem, feeling, actions, solution, and ending parts of the story. They were excited to use these movements as they cre-ated and told their own stories about Rudolph. Daisy told the following story: “Rudolph was in
The Past Comes Alive in JamestownMs. Jenny Dunlap, Grade 4 Teacher
the North Pole walking home. He got his feet stuck in the snow. He was sad. An elf came to help. He sprinkled his magic and Rudolph could fly. He was happy.” Anne had her own story to tell: “Rudolph was walking home and got lost in the snow. He was worried. He called for help. Santa came and found him. He was happy.” Students are now going to learn how to make their stories “sparkle” by adding details. What a fun way to move and tell stories at the same time!
Creating Stories with MovementMs. Heather Hyde, Speech Language Pathologist
Anne Moody and Daisy Simmons use hand motions to aid in remembering elements of a story.
Ware fourth graders traveled to Jamestown, VA to enhance their knowledge of Virginia Standards of Learning about the first permanent English settlement. Jamestown is a very large part of our Virginia Studies curriculum. On this trip, the students learned about many of the colonists and how they had to survive during harsh winters, unbearable living conditions, and the hostile natives. History came alive through the archeological discoveries that are happening at historic Jamestown.
Miss Dianne from the Staunton City Library visited in January. Kindergarteners enjoyed seasonal books and puppets.
Students learned a fun song, “Hats, Mittens, Scarves, and Boots.”
Fourth Grader Takes Top Honors Fourth grader Gabriella Hansen’s fascination with artist Sol LeWitt’s Wall Drawing 686 is understandable. Mr. LeWitt didn’t even draw it! Before his death he left specific instructions for anyone who wishes to create their own WD 686. It starts with a five-foot diameter circle in which five artists have each drawn five thousand straight lines, five inches long, with a ruler and a #5 pencil over a period of five days. From a distance it looks like a giant gray dot on the wall, hence the title of Gabriella’s poem “Dot.” Gabriella was one of forty-five
elementary students from Staunton to participate in Writer’s Eye, a writing competition organized by The Fralin Museum of Art at the
University of Virginia. Writers of all ages create original poetry and prose inspired by works of art. Gabriella Hansen’s poem won First Place in Poetry Grades 3-5. This is the first time a student from A. R. Ware has placed in the competition. Gabriella
is invited to read her poem at a spring reception where all winners will be honored, and her poem will be published in an anthology of all 2015 winning entries.
Gabby Hansen
DotSun rising high,
color on a butterfly,
On paper, an explosion of lead from the ideas in your head.
Polka dot on a little girl’s dress, the dark eye of an eagle
that leaves me breathless.
A planet, high up in the sky to see,
This little dot, all a mystery.
Gabby Hansen, Grade 4
Students prepare for their investigation of Jamestown.
Kierstyn Flavin and Carson Waddell from Mrs. Gradyís first grade class are busy counting food for the drive.
First Grade Supply and Food DriveMs. Karen Grady, Grade 1 Teacher Mrs. Pyles helps students load food for the
Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.
In December, the first grade classes organized a food and sup-ply drive. They collected supply items for the Valley Mission and food for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. The whole school helped with this project. We were able to
collect 616 pounds of food. This will help to provide 513 meals for our local community. This collection drive was a reinforce-ment of SOL 1.10 on being a good citizen in our community. Way to go, Ware!
6 The Student Advocate | March 2016
Right. Moses Farley solders the drone produced
in the seminar.
At Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center, students have been reading Rueben Nathaniel Brock’s memoir, A Young Man’s Wisdom. In his book, he gives insightful nuggets of wisdom he has learned over the years, stemming from his father’s suicide and, consequently, the
SVJC
Students Look Forward to Author’s VisitMs. Chanelle Lincoln, English teacher
challenge of growing up without a father. Mr. Brock succeeded in the face of adversity, and his struggles are easily relatable for many of our students. He was forced to navigate his place in this world without guid-ance from an adult male, and his story has been inspirational to many
of the students at SVJC. As a result, later this month, Mr. Brock will guest speak at SVJC. He will discuss his life and his troubles, as well as what he has learned, encouraging students to move past their mistakes and over-come their hardships, to be better than they were yesterday. We eagerly
Valley Career and Technical Center - Ms. Darla Miller, PrincipalGovernor’s School - Ms. Lee Ann Whitesell, DirectorRegional & State Operated Programs
R.E. Lee students, Jayleen Campbell, Katelyn Combs and Berena Garrido are enjoying non-traditional courses at VCTC. Senior Campbell is in her sec-ond year of Auto Body Technician and plans on using her skills when she moves to Miami after gradu-ation. She loves painting because she is able to express her artistic ability. She enrolled in Auto Body Technician because some of her friends had shadowed at VCTC so she signed up and loves it. Combs, also a senior, took Auto Body Technician because family members do repair work. She plans to use her newly attained skills as a hobby after graduation. Her favorite part of the class is painting as well.
Left to right. Jayleen Campbell, Katelyn Combs, and Berena Garrido
VCTC
Lee Ladies Enrolled in Male Dominated CoursesMs. Amy Pultz, Asst. Principal VCTC
Both girls like sharing informa-tion about the Auto Body program with others and showing off their completed work. At first, they were scared to be the only girls, but now the class feels like one big happy family. Junior Garrido has completed her first semester in Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVACR) and wants to find full time employment in that area after high school. She also wants to share her new skills by helping/volunteering in church communities. She says sometimes the work becomes difficult when trying to lift supplies, but works it out and is able to keep up with her male counterparts.
await the opportunity to introduce students to an author with whom they identify, and expect it to be an invigorating and moti-vating experience for everyone here at SVJC.
Do you like to laugh? Do you like to stretch your brain and try to figure out the culprit of a secret murder? The Shenandoah Valley Governor’s School for Theatre presented The Mystery of Edwin Drood, an unfinished mystery by Charles Dickens to entertain you, while also putting the ending of our mystery into your hands. Just like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, the audience had the opportunity to make the final decision on several different points in the plot, includ-ing who the murderer was. The cast was made up of students
from Robert E. Lee, Waynesboro, Buffalo Gap, Riverheads, Fort, Stuarts Draft, and Wilson. After speaking with many of the stu-dents, there seemed to be a final
agreement that this show has been “one of the most challenging and simulta-neously one of the most fun” shows they have ever done. This show could not have happened without the direction of Cassy Maxton-Whitacre, the musical direction of Christine Nielsen, and the choreography of Lindsey Walters. The cast and crew of The Mystery of Edwin
Drood thank all who came out and supported the students of our community as together we solved, resolved, and concluded the mys-tery of Edwin Drood.
Every winter after exams, SVGS students participate in Winter Seminar. Students have the opportu-nity to participate in sessions taught by faculty and can explore areas of interest not included in the regular curriculum. This year, students, who were lucky enough to grab a spot in the quad copter seminar with Mr. Irons, had the opportunity to build
SVGS
Audience Participates in The Mystery of Edwin DroodAbbey Kinchelloe, Grade 12, LHS
SVGS presents The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
SVGS
Quad Copter SeminarMoses Farley, Lee High, Grade 12
and fly a fully operational drone. Students were assigned to different components of the quad copters build, ranging from assembling the frame to programming the drone’s behavior. The seminar was ener-getic and productive; every student was constantly either building or test flying drones and meeting design and engineering challenges.
March 2016 | The Student Advocate 7
CCCA
Spreading ThankfulnessMs. H. Julian, SPED teacher
Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center - Ms. Theresa Davis, PrincipalCommonwealth Center - Ms. Jennifer Matheny-Eckstrom, Education Director We Teach the Best
Veterans’ Day was celebrated at CCCA by honoring future and past service men and women. Whitney Vaughn, the secondary math teacher at CCCA, engaged the students in a presentation about her experiences at the Naval Academy and her service as a Marine. Vaughn shared pictures and stories about her role in the Marine Corps and the experience and knowledge she gained from two deployments. The students also heard from some of the young women in the Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership (VWIL) at Mary Baldwin College. The young women are in their first and second years at Mary Baldwin and all of them are planning
CCCA
CCCA Gets a Climbing WallMr. John Bauman, Health/P.E.Teacher
Someone asked George Mallory why he wanted to climb Mount Everest and he replied, “Because it’s there.” Well now our climbing wall is there on the back wall of the stage just waiting for the next student or staff to climb on board and feel the love of climbing. Our students here at the Commonwealth Center can look out their windows and see the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains in the east and the amazing Alleghenies in the west. However because this facility is locked and secure, there are limited outside opportunities for them to be active using their bodies to move, exercise and challenge themselves
CCCA
Celebrating VeteransMs. Jennifer Whorrall, Literacy Coach
physically. This is why our new climbing wall is so important. Students now have a safe indoor challenge to develop fitness, strength, flexibility, coordination, problem solving, patience, perse-verance and courage. Our new wall is therapeutic in many ways as students can physically practice just putting one foot or hand grip in front of the other and accomplishing a goal. Thankful is the word to use when talking about our new climbing wall. It is a great addition to our educational program. We don’t have to ask why our students like to climb; they like to climb because it’s there.
A student navigates the new climbing wall.
Top. Ms. Whitney Vaughn, math teacher and former Marine, with members of Mary Baldwin’s VWIL program share their experiences in the military. Bottom left. The obstacle course that students attempted in gym class is challenging. Bottom right. Students write thank you notes to the veterans at CCCA.
on joining a branch of the military upon graduation. In addition to hearing from Vaughn and the VWIL women, the students recognized staff mem-bers that served in the military. Security officers, nurses, and staff members had collectively served in the Army, Air Force, National Guard, and Navy. It was great to recognize their service. Mr. John Bauman, the PE teacher, set up an obstacle course for students to test out during gym class. He discussed the physi-cal fitness required to be in the military. The students then were able to attempt to run through the course he set up.
Maestro Michael Turner motivates students with his insightful words and encouragement.
On October 30, 2015 Michel Turner, known as Maestro, visited the Commonwealth Center with his positive and uplifting messages. Maestro is a young man from Richmond who struggled through school due to his severe ADD as a child and faced many life chal-lenges as an adult. He shared his experiences with the students to help show that they too can set goals and accomplish them with their hard work. Maestro leads a campaign called Average Must Die as a way to help change the mind-set of students across the country, pushing them to dream, set goals, and push for these goals to become reality. The students were wowed with Maestro’s positive energy and hung on to his powerful words. The students also had the opportunity
to work with Maestro in small groups where he was able to share more words of encouragement and hear from the students. It was a great experience for the students and the staff and teach-ers benefited from his motivation too. If you want to learn more about his campaign, visit: www.maestromotivates.com
A tradition began November 2000 when CCCA’s educational staff decided to foster a spirit of thankful-ness. Hospitalization during holidays is difficult so the teachers decided students needed a special treat, a real Thanksgiving meal. A sumptu-ous feast, including all the “fixings,” is planned, prepared, and served by the teachers. The focus of their attention is not only on providing an almost home-cooked meal, but also a special dining experience for the students and direct-care staff. The training room is transformed into a first-class dining room complete with linen tablecloths, center pieces, low lighting and live dinner music. This year, a tree was created in the hallway outside the dining room. Each dinner guest was encouraged to record a thankful note on paper leaves and place it on the tree. The tree became a living piece of art. Over the years, the guest list has
grown to include most staff work-ing at the center when the meal is served and has also extended to include school board members. We were very pleased to welcome Mr. Boyle to this year’s celebration.
Teachers Sandy Powell, Shelley Garrison and Andrea Smith serve the feast.
8 The Student Advocate | March 2016
Dr. Jelisa Wolfe, Executive Director of Student Services; Mr. Robert Craft, Program Director for Genesis1751 Shutterlee Mill Road, Staunton, VA 24401Dixon Educational Center
Pizza for all! Many thanks to the Staunton Moose for visiting the Staunton Preschool Program. As the children ate delicious pizza, volunteers interacted with the children in a shared activity. This interaction is paving a foundation for the children to work together with community members and to be good citizens.
Young children benefit from the use of music in daily activities. Music helps to support engagement and boost memory skills. Many thanks to the A.R. Ware Elementary Choral Program as they visited Staunton Preschool on December 17, 2015. The preschool children were presented with a program of music that included various instruments. As Staunton preschool teachers and staff sup-port the Virginia Foundation Blocks for Early Learning, music is rein-forced through goals. The Virginia
Dixon
Dixon Welcomes the Staunton Moose
Who doesn’t love pizza?
Dixon
Dixon
Ware Performs for Preschool
Clockwise, top left. Jarred Jackson displays his artwork. After completing a Science Fiction unit in their 11th grade English class, Logan Harris and Logan Snyder work on building robots.
Foundation Blocks for Early Learning recognizes that when children listen to and respond to music, it helps children discover similarities and differences among movement, music and sounds. Music also stimulates sensory enjoyment, cognitive engage-ment and emotional expression. Music is important every day at preschool!
Below. Ware students present a choral program.
Brianna Bosserman, Grade 11, Ms. Wilson
Deja Nickleberry, Grade 10, Ms. Ciszek Kerrie Hern, Grade 11, Ms. Wilson
Emily Johnson, Grade 10, Ms. Wilson
Preston Fauver, Grade 12, Ms. Wilson
Deja Nickleberry, Grade 10, Ms. Ciszek
Autumn Richardson, Grade 11, Ms. Ciszek
More from R.E. Lee High School
March 2016 | The Student Advocate 9
Ms. Kimberly Crocker, Principal1101 N. Coalter Street, Staunton, VA 24401540-332-3936 • Fax 540-332-3955 T.C. McSwain Elementary School
Kindergarten students have been getting ready for the 100th Day of Kindergarten. They have been practicing their counting skills by counting the number of days we have been in school and have begun a countdown to the 100th day. Students are also working on counting by 5’s and 10’s to 100. Once students are able to count to 100 by 1’s, 5’s and 10’s,
During the week of December 7-13, each student at McSwain had the opportunity to participate in the Hour of Code event. Along with 198,872,621 students worldwide, students spent up to an hour writ-ing code, building foundational 21st Century skills. Thanks to parent vol-unteers and community support, our students became part of the largest learning event in history.
they get to join the Kindergarten 100 Club and their accomplish-ments are recognized in the kindergarten hallway. All this hard work was celebrated with lots of fun activities in each kin-dergarten room on the 100th day.
Left. Watch us order our numbers by 10 to 100! Right. What number is this? Is it in the right place on the 100’s Chart?
Hour of CodeMrs. Herr, Technology Teacher
Second Grade Water StationsMs. Lockridge, Mrs. Newman, Ms. Shuey, Mrs. Smith-Grade 2 Teachers
Second graders recently engaged in activities focusing on water. The topics covered were evaporation, condensation, precipitation, measuring liquid volume, and the water cycle. Students traveled from room to room to participate in various activities and experiments. Mrs. Lockridge conducted an experi-ment to show how heat changes liquid water to a gas to demon-strate evaporation. Mrs. Newman conducted an experiment using a hot plate to evaporate water to show condensation on a glass. Students accurately measured liquid volume with Mrs. Smith and acted out the water cycle with props and water in Ms. Shuey’s room. Second graders enjoyed this fun and exciting way to explore the wonderful world of water!
Ms. Burdick watches as students enjoy the hands-on experiment with water.
Right. Coding brings out big smiles!
Emily Johnson, Grade 10, Ms. Wilson
A BIG HELPSarah Burns and Noah Robledo Grade 3, Mrs. Liskey
Our third grade class is starting to compost. We mostly get our compost from our breakfast and snack. We compost fruit peelings and some vegetables. There are five composters. We have a little metal one in each classroom. The big one is outside in the courtyard. We dump the little ones into it. We use bio-degradable bags (that means they will rot) to keep the little composters clean. The fruits and vegetables will rot into humus. We will use the humus for our new garden we will plant. We couldn’t have done this without the help of Mary Baldwin College because they gave us a grant.
Thank you!
More from Bessie Weller
Left. Noah Robledo and Sarah Burns compost leftover fruits and vegetables.
10 The Student Advocate | March 2016
Ms. Jennifer Morris, Principal300 Grubert Avenue, Staunton, VA 24401
540-332-3930 • Fax 540-332-3933Shelburne Middle School
Shelburne students have dis-covered new ways to learn – after school. Funded by a recent Virginia Education Association grant, Wednesday Workshops is an after-school program created to engage students in hands-on, problem-based learning in real-world activities. Each workshop lasts six to eight weeks, and requires students to think and learn in non-traditional ways. “This pro-gram was created to encourage kids, and teachers, to think beyond the requirements of the SOLs,“ said grant originator Donna Morris, Shelburne’s librarian. Each workshop is based upon projects or events that can be enjoyed by the students as adults. The grant was co-authored by Michelle Freed, PE teacher Danielle Christian, and history teacher Melissa Cooper. This fall, math teacher Michelle Freed recruited her father to help her club design and build a Punkin Chunkin’ machine. The students researched designs and experi-mented with smaller versions before building the eight-foot device that tossed pumpkins, gourds and eggs as far as possible. The group selected a design plan that was posted on the web. They soon discovered that there were flaws in the plans, and they had to improvise, or make changes on the spot. On November 4th, the group held an exhibition of the machine’s power. The idea for this workshop comes from the World Championship Punkin Chunkin Association, which raises money for youth scholarships, and hosts an annual event each year to challenges innovation in science and engineering.
Librarian Donna Morris recruited a team of students to design and build a holiday light display for the Celebration of Holiday Lights in Gypsy Hill Park. After much brainstorming and research, the idea to create a giant Lite-Brite was selected. At first, the students were unsure they could accomplish something so ambitious. Sixth-grader Kaylee Clark said, “but we’re just middle school students!” But after a visit to Lowe’s, where the kids selected the material they would need, their confidence grew. The group of seven students spent hours after school and over the Thanksgiving break, working together to build the 12X8-foot display. They used over 3100 Christmas lights to cre-ate pixel-style people around a giant candy cane. The display was set up in the park on December 3rd, and remained lit throughout the Celebration of Holiday Lights. Also in the fall, history teacher Melissa Cooper led a group of school-spirited students to design and build a parade float for the Staunton Christmas Parade. They had the “grand idea” to create a Winter Wonderland. Working with limited supplies, the group learned to allocate materials for specific elements, but discovered that sometime ideas had to be rede-signed to accommodate shortages or mistakes. For instance, some elements were accidentally painted white instead of being covered in Modge-Podge. Instead of giving up, the group re-imagined what they
had, and turned an error into a solution. “These students learned that turning an idea into reality is not a straight line,” said Cooper. Unfortunately, the float did not make it into the parade, which took place on the coldest, wettest night of November. Most of the elements were made with paper, and would have been destroyed by the rain before it even left the school. Wednesday Workshops will continue
Wednesday WorkshopsMs. Donna Morris, Media Specialist
in the spring with some students returning to try a different workshop, and new students joining. Donna Morris will host a group called “Domino Designs,” challenging small groups to design elaborate domino chains, and then setting them and knocking them down. “We will video-tape each knock-down and let the rest of the school decide which design is the coolest,” said Morris.
Who? Students at Shelburne earn URock bucks. What? Students can purchase items at the school store using the URock bucks they have earned. When? The store is open every morning during morning choice, before Success and on Wednesdays during Success. We remain open on Wednesdays to give students who arrive late or attend sports/club activities during morning choice, an opportunity to redeem their URock bucks. Where? The school store is located in the front lobby when you enter Shelburne’s front doors. How? When teachers observe students demonstrating good citizenship, kindness, making positive decisions, they reward them with URock bucks. And most importantly… Why? Shelburne promotes great character, kindness, problem solv-ers, thinkers, etc. Our staff wants
to make sure that students, in their middle school years, are recognized for developing into productive, caring and interested citizens of the future. We want our students to continue demonstrating these important life skills in their employment and communities. The school store employs students who are interested in donating their time to help. The students fill out applications, get teacher references and participate in a mock interview process. They are hired pending their references, grades and good behavior standing. The school store manager,
URockSchool StoreMs. Leni Jackson, SPED Teacher
at this time, is Charlie Forbes. He arrives 5 minutes before students enter the building each morning. He sets up the items for sale, col-lects Urock bucks for sales, pays other employees AND trains store employees! The store has functioned on minimal funds. We typically raise money through fundraisers. Currently, we are collaborating with Shelburne’s FCCLA to raise monies for both groups. We have joined together to provide con-cessions for Shelburne’s home basketball games.
Melissa Cooper is excited to begin CANstruction, a combina-tion community-service and artistic club. Students will collect cans of food for the food bank and turn those collections into magnificent sculptures. This club is modeled after the non-profit charity, CANstruction, which hosts competitions and exhibits throughout the United States. This will be the first year Shelburne has tried this. Finally, PE coach Danielle Christian will provide instruction and run a competition in archery. Staunton City Schools is a part of the National Archery in the Schools Program, and Coach Christian will support an after-school program as well. Workshop members will learn the skills needed to shoot bows safely and accurately into targets. The workshop will cul-minate in a target competition, with prizes awarded to individual archers.
Students create a giant Lite-Brite for the Celebration of Holiday Lights.
Manager Charlie Forbes, Destany Moore, and Mason Hagan celebrate the success of URock store.
It takes more than one to “chunk” a pumpkin.
March 2016 | The Student Advocate 11
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12 The Student Advocate | March 2016
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