OUR STORY - Shout Outs!

We were excited to welcome back our traditional students on Aug. 28 for the First Day of School! Pictures from Rock Ridge Elementary, Wells Elementary, Darden Middle and Fike High. At Rock Ridge, the Wilson Times visited for an article and families and students were greeted by staff, including WCS Teacher of the Year Heather Reneau. At Wells, athletes from Barton College welcomed students as they arrived at the school. At Darden, male leaders from WCS and the community lined the hallways to cheer for the students as they walked to their first class. At Fike, the annual Senior Parade was held prior to the start of the school day! We wish all of our students and staff an incredible 2023-2024 school year!

Shout Out! to the organizers, presenters and supporters of our Beginning of the Year Teaching and Learning Conference held Aug. 23 for WCS staff! It was an incredible day of professional development and fun with more than 800 of our staff attending (if you drove by Fike High that day, you saw proof of that)! More than 150 high-quality sessions led by 121 presenters were offered to assist staff in preparing for the school year. The sessions covered topics such as instructional best practices, leadership, community & family engagement, student support and STEM/PBL. We love how the majority of the sessions were led by our very own staff members - learning from each other is one of the many things that WCS does BEST! Huge thanks to our AMAZING Technology Department and Instructional Services Department for organizing the conference! We also want to Shout Out! the student leaders from robotics teams and Summer Bridge who were onsite to showcase what they've learned using various STEM & education technology ideas.

WCS is grateful for all of the donations to our Operation Backpack Drive! Because of the incredible generosity of the community, approximately 2,000 backpacks were sent to the schools to be distributed to students, which was the number that administrators indicated that they needed. There are also additional backpacks and supplies on hand to use throughout the year. There were close to 100 sponsors this year - either individuals, businesses or organizations. This is the 12th year of Operation Backpack, and it’s incredible to still have this level of support from the community after a dozen years. Pictured are staff from Fresenius Kabi delivering backpacks to Vick Elementary, staff from Bridgestone delivering backpacks to Barnes Elementary and staff from Wilson Medical Center with school supplies that were delivered to Central Office to divide among the schools. Great coverage of Operation Backpack in the Wilson Times - https://shorturl.at/ijvIL.

Many of our schools held Open House on Aug. 24, and it was great to see our students and families again as they came out to visit classrooms, meet teachers and pick up schedules and other important information. Shout Out! to our staff members for their hard work preparing for Open House and for going above and beyond to make students and families feel welcome. We are so excited about the 2023-2024 school year. Pictures from Open House at Hearne Elementary.

Shout Out! to Springfield Middle Principal Kelly Thomas for being recognized by the Wilson County Board of Education at the Aug. 21 meeting. She received a Good News Award in recognition of recently completing the Distinguished Leadership in Practice (DLP) Program. The program is developed and provided by the NC Principals & Assistant Principals' Association and sponsored by the NC Alliance for School Leadership Development. The DLP Program allows participating principals to critically examine the meaning and application of “distinguished” school leadership through a problem-based, real-world approach. Throughout the year-long experience, principals engage in a series of activities designed to build the capacity of their schools and their own capacity as leaders. We applaud Ms. Thomas for this achievement, and we thank her for the work that she does each day for students and staff. Ms. Thomas is pictured with Board Member Velma Barnes

Shout Out! to Jana Winders, Music Teacher at Lucama and Vick Elementary, for being recognized by the Wilson County Board of Education at the Aug. 21 meeting. She received a Good News Award in recognition of recently leading a group of local singers as they prepared for a huge performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City on July 8! She directed the group as they rehearsed for the concert and also performed with them as well. At Carnegie Hall, the singers from Wilson joined with other groups from Buies Creek, Raleigh and Fuquay-Varina to perform under Conductors Phillip Morrow and Jeremy Tucker (who is a graduate of WCS and a former teacher who now serves as the Director of Arts Education for Wake County Schools). In total, there were 101 singers and 50 instrumentalists. Selections included America the Beautiful, Homeland and Lift Every Voice. We are incredibly proud of Ms. Winders and celebrate her for this incredible opportunity! Pictures from Carnegie Hall of Ms. Winders and Mr. Tucker and also from the Board meeting of Ms. Winders with Board Member Velma Barnes.

Shout Out! to Congressman Don Davis for visiting Wells Elementary and Wilson Academy of Applied Technology (WAAT) on Aug. 29, which also happened to be his birthday. He is visiting schools in the region to wish students and staff a great year and to show his support of public education. At Wells, Congressman Davis spent time with third-graders in Ms. Thompson's class and kindergartners in Ms. Tingen's class. He was excited to meet Havannah, the daughter of a caseworker in his office. He also spoke to the students about his role as a Congressman. At WAAT, he greeted students in the gym and hallways. He also visited the history classes of Ms. Harrison and Ms. Anderson. In Ms. Anderson's class, the students happened to be learning about the election process, so he was able to chime in on the subject. Congressman Davis praised the students at both schools, remarked on how their enthusiasm for learning was contagious and shared how bright the future of Eastern NC is because of them. He also thanked the principals, staff and Board of Education Vice-Chair Henry Mercer for all that they do for students. We appreciate his visit and hope he had a Happy Birthday!

Shout Out! to the Whitley Family for their incredible support of our Spanish Immersion Program located at Frederick Douglass Elementary! Andrew and Melissa Whitley have three children. Currently, they have one child still in the program. Their other two children completed the program when they were in grades K-5. We love this social media post that Melissa shared about their recent trip to Spain and how the kids were able to utilize their language skills! - “The Whitleys hit Spain! This was a trip of a lifetime! So thankful to #WCSistheBEST for the Spanish Immersion program and the wonderful teachers past and present who taught our children. We couldn’t have done it without their language skills and Andrew’s ability to drive a stick shift. It was remarkable to hear them speaking and getting involved in this beautiful culture.”

“I would like to thank Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Dr. Ben Williams, the Facility Services Department led by Greg Woodard, the Transportation Department led by Danny Williams, Jr., and the Technology Department led by Heather Pennica. Everyone in these departments worked hard to ensure a smooth transition when we moved from the Frederick Douglass Elementary building to the Toisnot building. They coordinated and collaborated on all of the logistics and details to make sure our staff had everything they needed and that the building was in tip-top shape to become our temporary home. I cannot thank them enough for the urgency, hard work, dedication and flexibility to make this transition happen in just a few short months. Pictured are members of the Transportation Department, several Fike JROTC students and our WCS Athletic Director Brent Walston moving boxes out of the building today as we prepare for Open House on Thursday.” - From Frederick Douglass Elementary Principal Casey Wester

Per state law, students in kindergarten, 7th grade, 12th grade and those who are new to attending school in NC, must have certain immunizations to attend school unless they have an exemption. Wilson Academy of Virtual Education students must also provide proof of receiving the mandatory immunizations. The required immunizations do not include the COVID-19 vaccine. Our early college students' first day of school is Aug. 1, and our traditional schools start on Aug. 28. Please ensure your student has the necessary immunizations prior to those dates. Kindergartners also need a Health Assessment Form completed by a doctor. Health assessments dated one year before the first day of school will be accepted. The immunization record and health assessment can be dropped off at the school once the school year begins by either a parent or the student. If the school does not have your student's immunization record and/or health assessment within 30 calendar days of the first day of school, state law prohibits the student from being allowed to attend school after the 30th day. Once your student receives the immunizations and the school is provided proof, the student will be able to return to school.

Please call your student’s doctor to schedule an appointment if your student does not have updated immunizations. Families can also schedule an appointment at our WASH Medical Clinics located at Forest Hills Middle, Fike High, Beddingfield High and Hunt High by calling 252-360-0769. Families can also schedule an appointment with the Wilson County Health Department at 252-237-3141, the Wilson Community Health Center at 252-243-9800 or Harvest Family Health Center at 252-443-7744.

This newsletter is brought to you with joy from the WCS Public Relations Department.

Feel free to email Shout Outs! for consideration to amber.lynch@wilsonschoolsnc.net or aislinn.ramirezmontiel@wilsonschoolsnc.net.

Email: askwcs@wilsonschoolsnc.net
Website: www.wilsonschoolsnc.net
Location: Central Office 117 NE Tarboro St., Wilson NC 27894
Phone: 2523997700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WilsonCountySchools/
Twitter: @WilsonSchoolsNC