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BCS News & Notes
A newsletter for parents, students, staff and community |
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P.O. Box 10007
Birmingham, Alabama 35202
(205) 231-4610
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Successes are spread across district
There are success stories spread across the Birmingham City Schools. Brilliant students and excellent teachers exist on every campus in the district, and recent events go to prove the point.
Take the annual high school mathematics tournament that was held this week. When you read the list of winners in the story below, notice that the winners come from schools across the district.
High school academic teams also battled it out in the annual academic bowl this week. The winning team was Carver High School, with Woodlawn High School coming in second.
Middle and elementary school competitions, which also involve students from all over the city, are yet to come.
Another shining example is the We the People team from Wenonah High School, which is spending hour upon hour this spring preparing for the national competition. Thanks to community donations, the team will be headed to Washington, D.C., later this month.
Don't forget the science students who won statewide awards or the career-technical education students also frequently win or place at the state level.
Let's celebrate our successes -- not only the students but their teachers, school communities and parents.
Sincerely,
Craig Witherspoon Superintendent
Birmingham City Schools |
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High school students compete in math tournament
All seven high schools have winners
All seven high schools in the Birmingham City School System sent teams to the annual mathematics tournament held April 16 -- and all seven had winners. Students competed in  | |
Superintendent Craig Witherspoon congratulates a math tournament winner.
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subject level categories: algebra I, geometry, algebra II, comprehensive and calculus. Individual winners and team winners were named in each category. Winners included: - Algebra I -- Trey Hawkins, Woodlawn, first place individual; Kendall Goode, Ramsay, second place individual; Marquel Harris, Jackson-Olin, third place indiviual; Ramsay, first place team; Huffman, second place team; Jackson-Olin, third place team
- Geometry -- Yewon Hwang, Carver, first place individual; Brittany D. Gibson, Jackson-Olin, second place individual; Michael Wallace, Wenonah, third place individual; Wenonah, first place team; Carver, second place team; Jackson-Olin, third place team
- Algebra II -- Sidni Smith, Ramsay, first place individual; Taylor Walker, Ramsay, second place individual; Jerrica Ellison, Jackson-Olin, third place individual; Ramsay, first place team; Woodlawn, second place team; Huffman, third place team
- Comprehensive -- Morgan Hood, Ramsay, first place individual; Jaleel King, Ramsay, second place individual; Jasmine Edmond, Wenonah, third place individual; Wenonah, first place team; Ramsay, second place team; Parker, third place team
- Calculus -- Undrea Rice, Wenonah, first place individual; Mark Ballard, Ramsay, second place individual; Sierra Barham, Ramsay, third place individual; Ramsay, first place team; Wenonah, second place team; Parker, third place team.
For a full list of winners, click here. |
Mitchell Middle teachers awarded grant
Grant will allow teachers to study in Europe
 | | Phylecia Ragland, LaVerne McDonald and Stephen Howard |
Three eighth-grade teachers from Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School have been awarded a grant of almost $10,000 from Funds for Teachers. LaVerne McDonald, world history, Phylecia Ragland, language arts, and Stephen Howard, science, are the first educators in the state of Alabama to be awarded a grant from Funds for Teachers.
The teachers will spend two weeks in England, Scotland, and Ireland this summer.They will research an icon of western literature, the vampire. They will investigate the literature and the famous vampire writers Lord Byron, John Polidori and Bram Stoker.
The teachers selected vampire literature after surveys of students revealed their interest in the icon. Dozens of books, movies, series and even comics are evidence of the great inspiration of the vampire to popular culture. The plans for the trip are to collect information, images and resources to enhance reading classes and enrich individual subject areas. This will allow the educators to tailor their reading curriculum to the interests of students, inspiring the love of reading.
Vampires will be the theme for next school year's eighth grade team. In history, students will learn the vampire legends from many ancient cultures. In language arts, students will work on grammar and mechanics through writing about vampire legends. In science, students will study ecosystems, physics applied to vampires, biological possibility of vampirism, cells and blood pathogens.The impact will transform classrooms into exciting and inspiring places that will enrich students and inspire them to learn.
Funds for Teachers is an organization that allows educators to design their own professional development opportunities to best meet the needs of their students. When Team TSV (Teachers Seeking the Vampire) is abroad in July, people back in Birmingham will be able to follow their adventures at www.fundsforteachers.org.
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ASU surprises Carver senior with a scholarship
Khadejah Moore wins $30,000 award
Khadejah Moore wants to pursue a college degree in communications. As a foster child, the Carver High School senior did not know how she was going to pay for college. That all changed this week when Alabama State University President William Harris presented presented her with a $30,000 scholarship.
The Birmingham News ran the story about the scholarship presentation on the front page April 18. LaTanya Dunham, Carver's bookkeeper and a 1986 graduate of ASU, encouraged Khadejah to apply at ASU instead of joining the military. Now the determined young woman will be able to go after her dream without worrying about the cost. |
Results of parent survey available
Thousands of parents filled out survey
Thousands of parents of students in the Birmingham City Schools recently filled out a survey for the district. The results have been tabulated and are available.
Click here to see the results. |
Carver holds job fair for seniors
Event designed to help students find jobs Eleanor Cox, a business education/marketing teacher at Carver High School, and Principal Darrell Hudson are keenly aware that not all graduates will immediately enroll in higher education. So the  | |
Carver seniors meet business representatives |
school holds a job fair every spring to help seniors find meaningful employment. Cox, who has hosted the event since 2004, said the recent job fair was the best ever. With more than 18 companies represented and students dressed to impress with resumes and references in hand, the day proved to be very successful. Some students were offered jobs on the spot; others were offered internships in areas of interest for future careers, as well as some businesses offering scholarship money to students who would work for them after graduation. When asked why she thought this job fair was so successful, she stated that Carver has been more focused this year on preparing students for life after high school. She thought business Mondays -- when students dress in business-appropriate clothing -- had a great impact. Seniors also attended an employability training session recently. |
High school academic bowl held
Carver comes in first
The annual high school academic bowl competition was held April 18, with teams from high schools across the Birmingham City Schools participating.
Carver High School won first place, with Woodlawn high school coming in second. Ramsay High School took third place, and Wenonah High School placed fourth. |
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Ramsay JROTC team honored
Academic team is named Charter team of the week
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The Ramsay High School JROTC Academic Team was chosen as the Charter Media-First Educators Credit Union team of the week. The video was shown on Charter and several networks. The video is available on Youtube.
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Parents should register children for kindergarten
Registration is being taken through April 27
The Birmingham City School System is holding kindergarten registration through April 27. Click here to read more.
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Correction
James Deese of Huffman High School was one of the top recruits for the Fox6 Kids and Jobs program. Due to incorrect information being provided to BCS News & Notes, his name was misspelled in tghe April 13 edition.
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Coming events
Birmingham Reads, a fun family event, is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 21, at Colonial Brookwood Village. Click here for a flyer about the event.
The Birmingham Board of Education will have a regularly scheduled meeting at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 24, in the auditorium of the Administration Building, 2015 Park Place.
Central Office employees who walk on their lunch hours -- or would like to start -- will be happy to know that Blue Cross and Blue Shield is sponsoring National Walk @ Lunch Day Wednesday, April 25, at Linn Park. Participants can walk any time from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Information on health and wellness will be available. |
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