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| News from Jefferson County Public Schools | March 2016 |
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Students earn regional art and literary honors
Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) District students earned three of the five American Visions honors presented in the Louisville Metro Art Region of the Scholastic Art Awards.
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| | Twisted Zen by Hannah Whitworth |
Hundreds of students at public and private schools throughout the region submitted their work to the competition. An American Visions designation is the equivalent of a Best of Show award; it recognizes the region's most outstanding student art. The JCPS American Visions honorees are Atherton High senior Hannah Whitworth and duPont Manual High seniors Audrey Takada and Colton Colglazier.
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| | Cloaked by Colton Colglazier |
Many Manual students earned top honors in the Southeast Writing Region-At-Large of the Scholastic Writing Awards. "It was another good year for Manual," said English teacher Alesia Williams. "We received our first ever Gold Key award for Writing Portfolio." Overall, students earned 17 Gold Keys, 26 Silver Keys, and 21 Honorable Mentions in such categories as dramatic script, humor,
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| Connection by
Audrey Takada |
personal essay, poetry, and short story. The following Gold Key winners were automatically entered in the national competition: Isabel Angeles, Vaanbila Annadurai, Julee Cho, Chloe Cooper, Haley Doerr, Olivia Goldstein, Stacy Henley, Catherine Ho, Xinlan Emily Hu, Vincent Lu, Sarah Olive, Matthew Raj, Manasa Sunkara, and Katie Walker. Mackenzie Berry earned several Gold Keys, including the one for Writing Portfolio. Click here to view a sample of her work.
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Make your voice heard
The district is conducting its annual survey
JCPS will conduct the 2015-16 Comprehensive School Survey (CSS) through Fri., Mar. 25. If you have more than one child attending a district school (or schools), please complete a survey for each.
Your participation is confidential. No individual can or will be identified, and survey results will be reported as group data only.
The survey is a valuable tool that helps JCPS administrators develop effective educational strategies. Your responses will help shape district policy. JCPS and the Data Management Department thank you for taking a few minutes to complete the survey and make a difference in your child's education.
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Get an updated school calendar
Because of snow days this winter, JCPS students will go to school on the makeup days Mon., Mar. 14, Thurs., Mar. 31, Fri., Apr. 1., and Thurs., May 26 (which is now the new last day of school for students).
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Student featured on NPR music program
Cole Gregory, a Youth Performing Arts School (YPAS) student, was selected to perform on From the Top, an NPR classical music program. Cole, a percussionist, was chosen through a national audition process. His performance at the Kentucky Center was recorded and then broadcast on NPR stations.
Click here for audio of Cole's amazing marimba performance of "Over the Rainbow."
Click here for the complete broadcast, which also included JCPS band and orchestra students performing in the Louisville Youth Orchestra.
 Cole is a 2016 winner of From the Top's Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award. Manual Redeye, the student-run news site at duPont Manual High, has published a profile of Cole.
Several From the Top musicians participated in outreach clinics at YPAS, Fairdale High, Lincoln Elementary, and Western Middle. An article about a workshop with Western students (shown in the photo at right) is available in Monday Memo, the JCPS employee newsletter. A video of Western students performing also is available.
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 Getting to, and through, college
Did you know that lifetime earnings nearly double with a college degree? That's why Louisville has set a goal to increase college degrees in our community by 55,000 Degrees by 2020. We're well on our way, but we need your support.
High schoolers sometimes need help keeping their college goals in mind. Whether your child is a freshman or senior, pledge your support to help him or her get to, and through, college. Then check out Destination Degree to see how to keep your child on track.
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Elementary student named a top state volunteer
Grace Davis, a fifth grader at Greathouse/Shryock Traditional Elementary, has been named one of Kentucky's top two youth volunteers in the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. Grace raised more than $140,000 over the past four years to care for babies born prematurely.
The idea for her efforts came to her when she saw a piggy bank in someone's home. She thought maybe she could raise money by encouraging other kids to fill their own banks for a good cause. Then she took her idea, called "Piggies for Preemies," to officials at Kosair Children's Hospital. A local bank agreed to donate 604 piggy banks, one for every student in Grace's school. The students were encouraged to think of creative ways to raise money, including yard sales and lemonade stands.
Grace created fliers to advertise the program throughout the community, and the bank offered Piggies to anyone who wanted them at its Louisville branches. Local media and the hospital's website spread the word, so it wasn't long before students at other JCPS schools and beyond began filling their banks. The program continues to grow. Grace's banking partner has announced it will distribute Piggies at branches across the state.
As one of the two state honorees in the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards (the other is a Lexington high school student), Grace will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense-paid trip in May to Washington, D.C., where she'll join honorees from other states for four days of national recognition events.
The Spirit of Community Awards also recognized four other students as Distinguished Finalists on the state level. One of them was Olivia Allen, a fifth-grader at Coleridge-Taylor Montessori Elementary. Olivia conducted three volunteer projects in 2015, including a toy drive that collected 100 toys for children at Kosair Charities. She received an engraved bronze medallion.
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Watch the March episode of Our Kids
It's an award-winning, 30-minute, monthly television program that highlights JCPS students and schools.
Fern Creek High student Noah Stumph (shown in the photo) is the host this month. Students at Fern Creek, Ballard, and Pleasure Ridge Park (PRP) High regularly serve as Our Kids correspondents. All three schools offer courses in the Communication, Media, and the Arts Professional Career Theme.
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JCPS offers Adult ESL Program
Know someone who wants to learn or improve his or her English language skills? The JCPS Adult Education English as a Second Language (ESL) Program works with internationals to improve their everyday communication and overall language skill level. Call 485-3400 or click here for more information.
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www.jcpsky.net
Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer Offering Equal Educational Opportunities
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