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Parent EdLink Email Newsletter: October 2009
October 2009
When the temperature begins to turn cool and the leaves begin to change color, where do our thoughts turn? To next year, of course! Now is the time to begin looking at options for the school or schools your children will attend, and if he or she is in middle school it’s not too early to start thinking about career choices.
We have several events coming up to help you make these important decisions. We also have a new middle school coming online. Please take a moment to read about these and more, and enjoy the Fall!
Carl Harris, Superintendent
In this newsletter:
- Elementary Magnet Fair
- Middle and High School Fair
- Montessori Middle for Sixth-Graders in 2010
- Cisco Networking Academy at Holton Career and Resource Center
- Career Expo Coming Soon
- Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Support
- Nominate for Staff Appreciation Awards
- Shodor Workshops Offered
Elementary Magnet Fair
We are shaking things up this year in order to offer parents a broader perspective on the offerings we have for the 2010-11 school year. This year DPS will have two “fairs” – one for elementary magnet and year-round schools, and the other for all middle and high schools including magnet and year-round programs. These will occur on the weekend of November 14-15 at Hillside High School, 3727 Fayetteville St.
At the Elementary Magnet Fair at Hillside on Saturday, Nov. 14 from 9 am to noon, parents can learn about elementary magnet schools and year-round schools. Please note that this is only elementary magnet schools and year-round schools.
Magnet and year-round applications for the 2010-11 school year will be online on Monday, January 4, 2010. Application deadline is Friday, January 29, 2010. More info is online at www.dpsnc.net
Look for more information that will be posted on our Website and on DPS Channel 4 in mid-October.
Middle and High School Fair
At the Middle and High School Fair, parents will have the opportunity to visit displays of all DPS middle and high schools, including middle and high school magnets and middle school year-round schools. This event will be held at Hillside on Sunday, November 15, from 1 until 4 pm. All the traditional middle and high schools will be there, along with the small high schools.
Magnet and year-round applications for the 2010-11 school year will be online on Monday, January 4, 2010. Application deadline is Friday, January 29, 2010. More info is online at www.dpsnc.net
Look for more information that will be posted on our Website and on DPS Channel 4 in mid-October.
Cisco Networking Academy at Holton Career and Resource Center
The New Holton Career and Resource Center is offering Cisco Networking Academy classes starting in January 2010. Students who gain hands-on experience through Networking Academy courses can earn Cisco career certifications and help fill an estimated eight million networking jobs around the world. Call Holton Principal Gloria Woods-Weeks to learn how to register for the classes at 560-2219.
Montessori Middle for Sixth-Graders in 2010
The first Montessori middle school in Durham Public Schools – and only the second public Montessori middle school program in the state – will open to sixth-graders in fall 2010. Watts Montessori Elementary School will house sixth-graders in the Montessori program for the 2010-11 school year. The new Montessori middle school that eventually will serve grades 6 through 8 will open at its newly renovated location in the Lakewood YMCA on Chapel Hill Road the following year.
Application deadline for this program, as with all magnet programs, is January 29, 2010. For more information contact Chris Bennett at 560-2597.
Career Expo coming soon
Where can DPS middle school students and their parents learn more about careers and get free pizza and prizes? It’s all at the Career Expo on Thursday, November 5, from 5 to 7:30 pm at Northgate Mall.
More than 200 career professionals will be on hand. Plus, there will be free pizza, door prizes ($100 each for two students and a $50 gas card for two parents/guardians), a career scavenger hunt, an attendance contest between middle schools, and FREE parking.
This career exploration event is hosted by Durham Public Schools Career and Technical Education, Futures for Kids and the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce.
For more information, contact your middle school’s Career Development Counselor or Kathy Hoffmeier, Vice President of Workforce Development, Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, 682-2133 x228
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Support
DPS believes in the Power of Parents – and Grandparents! That is why we are partnering with the Durham County Cooperative Extension to offer support for grandparents who are raising or helping to raise their grandchildren.
The Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Support and Education Group will meet the second Thursday of the month through December. Those dates are October 8, November 12 and December 11.
All meetings will be held from 6 until 7:30 pm at the DPS Staff Development Center, 2107 Hillandale Road. Refreshments will be provided. To attend, call Peggy Kernodle, 560-0523 or email pkernodle@co.durham.nc.us.
Nominate Staff for Appreciation Awards
October 27 is the deadline for nominating staff members for the DPS Staff Appreciation Awards. Five staff members—two at the elementary level, one in middle schools, one in high schools and one Central Services representative—will be surprised by a visit from the Superintendent with the awards. The nomination link is on the DPS Staff homepage, and it just takes a couple of minutes to complete…so please take the time to nominate someone special!
Another way of recognizing those who go out of their way to provide excellent customer service is to submit an All-Star Service comment about a co-worker. Look for the All-Star Service logo on the DPS Website. Clicking on that graphic takes you to a page where you can complete a simple form to recognize someone who provides excellent customer service. All who receive positive comment cards receive a certificate from Superintendent Harris and are invited to a recognition breakfast.
Shodor Workshops for Math, Technology Skills
Shodor is offering workshops to increase math and computer skills for middle and high school students this fall. They are:
- The 21st Century Workforce Skills Apprenticeship Program is available to all interested 9th- through 12th-grade students. Meets the first three Saturdays October through April; and,
- SUCCEED – Saturday Explorations at Shodor and North Carolina Central University, for 6th- through 8th-graders. Meets on Saturdays from Oct. 10 through Nov. 14 and Feb. 20 through March 27. Workshop titles include Defining 21st Century Workforce Skills, System Modeling, Agent Modeling, System Administration, Web Design, and Database Design.
Further information on these workshops is available at http://www.shodor.org/calandar.
