PRINCIPALS' MESSAGES 2008

FEBRUARY 21, 2008 - Principals' Biweekly Message

Unless you live near Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune or Pope Air Force Base, you may not think much about having the children of military personnel in your schools. But, because of the widespread nature of the National Guard and Military Reserves across North Carolina, chances are good that you do have children of military personnel attending your school. You may know of students whose parents are deployed overseas in Iraq or Afghanistan. To make sure that you and your staff are prepared to support these children and to understand the special stress that they may be experiencing, three special Institutes are being held in March on this topic. You should have received a letter via email last week on this topic along with information about registration. The 2008 Supporting Children and Families of the National Guard and Reserve Institutes are being held in March in Rocky Mount, High Point and Boone. Please check the Web for more information at www.ncpublicschools.org/militarysupport. I encourage you to send a representative to these Institutes, especially if you have National Guard or Reserve families in your school community.

Regards,
June Atkinson

In this Biweekly Principals' Message:

1. North Carolina Youth Risk Behavior Survey Results Released
2. February is Black History Month
3. February NCLB Newsletter Online
4. Email Group Focuses on High School Redesign
5. New NC Flag Alert
6. Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month
7. Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching
8. Teachers Can Earn Their Stripes as Online Teachers
9. Crossing Cultures: An Introduction to Cross-Cultural Understanding
10. World View Offers Two New Seminars
11. Getting in on Podcasting
12. Hispanic College Fund

North Carolina Youth Risk Behavior Survey Results Released

North Carolina high school students have improved their health habits in some areas, but still need to focus on others, such as maintaining a healthy weight, according to the recently released 2007 North Carolina Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data report. Since 1993, fewer students have tried alcohol for the first time before age 13, used tobacco, marijuana and other types of drugs, or carried a weapon or were threatened with one. However, the prevalence of some health risk behaviors measured by the YRBS remains high. Since 2005, an increased percentage of high school students appear to be at-risk for becoming overweight, use cocaine and other injected illegal drugs and say they have avoided school due to safety concerns. The 2007 YRBS data report is available on the Department of Public Instruction's Web site at www.nchealthyschools.org/data/yrbs. For more information, please contact NCDPI HIV/AIDS Policies and Programs Consultant Sarah Langer at 919.807.3867/slanger@dpi.state.nc.us, or Carol Schriber, NC DHHS Public Affairs Office, 919.733.9190/carol.schriber@ncmail.net.

February is Black History Month

Black History Month was established in 1976 to study the history and contributions of African Americans to our nation. Schools are encouraged to take this opportunity to highlight this aspect of our national history, especially during February, and recognize those individuals who have made an impact in our communities, state and nation.

February NCLB Newsletter Online

The latest edition of North Carolina's No Child Left Behind newsletter is now available online at www.ncpublicschools.org/nclb/news. The February 2008 edition features news about new NCDPI support efforts beginning across the state and how two pilot districts are working to improve student achievement in their districts. Other features include Blue Ribbon Commission findings, how the AYP growth model helps some schools in North Carolina, and a look at the two new NC schools to receive national Title I recognition.

Email Group Focuses on High School Redesign

Educators interested in reading more about North Carolina high school redesign efforts as well as success stories from across the nation may want to subscribe to the INNOVATOR. The INNOVATOR is a bi-monthly report on NC 21st Century High Schools produced by the NC 21st Century High Schools Initiative and the NC New Schools Project. It is designed to regularly inform practitioners, policymakers, and friends of public education about high school redesign in North Carolina. To subscribe, send an email to innovator@newschoolsproject.org. To view past issues, please go online to http://www.newschoolsproject.org/resource.html.

New NC Flag Alert

The North Carolina Department of Administration has created a NC Flag Alert listserv to provide notification to agencies, businesses and citizens when the Governor orders the United States and North Carolina flags at state facilities to be flown at half-staff. To subscribe to this listserv, please go to http://lists.ncmail.net/mailman/listinfo/flag.alerts.

Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month

CTE Month kicked off Feb. 1 with the Annual National Job Shadow Day (www.jobshadow.org) and will conclude with National Entrepreneurship Week (http://www.entre-ed.org), which will be celebrated Feb. 23-March 1. CTE students will celebrate the month by participating in various activities such as hosting curriculum fairs, inviting guest speakers and developing brochures about CTE programs for overall awareness and marketing of CTE. Some examples of activities include: Sen. Jean Preston pledged to see that Perkins continues to be funded as she addressed CTE students at Croatan High School's National Technology Honor Society induction ceremony (Carteret County Schools). All middle schools and high schools in Granville County will be hosting parent nights to provide information on CTE course offerings and career clusters, and the Foods II class at West Johnston High School (Johnston County Schools) invited members of the Board of Education to share lunch. For additional information, please go online to www.acteonline.org/ctemonth.

Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching

Just a quick reminder that nominations for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching need to be SUBMITTED BY MARCH 1. If you know a K-6 grades level mathematics or science teacher who deserves recognition at both the state and national level for their excellence in teaching, please complete the online nomination form available at www.paemst.org. If you have any questions, please contact Carmella Fair, mathematics coordinator, 919.807.3840/cfair@dpi.state.nc.us, or Lisa Mackey, science coordinator, 919.807.3843/lmackey@dpi.state.nc.us.

Teachers Can Earn Their Stripes as Online Teachers

LEARN NC's Carolina Online Teacher Program (COLT) prepares teachers for the unique challenges of the online classroom. Two COLT courses slated for March - "Assessment and Evaluation in Your Online Course" and "Facilitating Online Collaboration" still have space available. Interested teachers shouldn't miss this opportunity to take their teaching career online. Please have them visit www.learnnc.org/courses for full course descriptions or to register.

Crossing Cultures: An Introduction to Cross-Cultural Understanding

Gain the tools to interact appropriately and effectively with persons from different cultural backgrounds. This online course from LEARN NC is ideal for teachers whose students hail from a variety of cultural backgrounds, as well as those in multicultural work environments. The course begins March 4, but space is limited. For more information or to register, please visit www.learnnc.org/courses.

World View Offers Two New Seminars

World View's "Latin America and North Carolina Seminar" will be held March 25-26 at The Friday Center, Chapel Hill. Co-sponsored by The Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University, this seminar offers insights into Latin America and support for K-12 and community college educators facing the challenges and opportunities of the state's growing Latino student population.

World View's "Understanding Contemporary Africa Seminar" will be held March 26-27 at The Friday Center, Chapel Hill. Co-sponsored by the African Studies Center at UNC-Chapel Hill, this seminar offers lectures, small group sessions, and classroom application sessions on the history, culture, and contemporary challenges of African nations.

Both programs are appropriate for all educators and offer 1.5 Continuing Education Units. Please call 919.962.9264 for more information, or register online at http://www.unc.edu/world/regform.shtml. The registration fee for each is $150 per person, or $500 for a team of four.

Getting in on Podcasting

Podcasting is the hottest tech tool in education these days but what does it take to do it? Can non-geeks join the fun? Find out on Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m., when you have an opportunity to meet with Bill Lovin, known as "North Carolina Schools' Videographer.." Lovin has filmed documentaries in classrooms and schools for over 20 years and is the founder of EstuaryLIVE, a live, interactive Web cast field trip to coasts around the country. He also is the builder of the Bookhenge on NC State's Wolflands Island in Second Life and we'll use the conferencing capabilities there to meet. Search for "NC State Wolflands" to find the island and head to the Bookhenge. You can't miss it. For non-Second Life citizens, listen to the Internet Radio stream at http://64.34.173.110:8050 and chat with us at www.chatmaker.net/chatap/rooms/livepodcast This session is a special event planned for the "Learning and Teaching with Web 2.0 Tools" course offered by the New Literacies Collaborative (Friday Institute at NCSU, NCDPI, and NC's Center for 21st Century Skills), but there's plenty of technology here so everyone can join us. Contact Cris Crissman at ccrissma@dpi.state.nc.us for more info.

Hispanic College Fund

The Hispanic College Fund has officially opened its scholarship applications process for the 2008-09 academic year. Application details, as well as answers to the most frequently asked questions, are available online at http://scholarships.hispanicfund.org/applications. The deadline to apply is March 15. Only online applications are accepted. For more information, please contact the Hispanic College Fund's Scholarship Program Manager, Auri Duarte at aduarte@hispanicfund.org or 800.644.4223.

 

If you'd like to review past Principals' Biweekly Messages sent to the listserv group, just go online to http://www.ncpublicschools.org/principalsarchive/.