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NEWS:
Check out some
of the great things happening
in our media centers this year:
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Announcing the 2009 Media Awards
Pitt County Schools Media and Technology Department is
proud to announce Sharon O'Neill
as Media Coordinator of the Year
and Seth
Brown
as Media Administrator of the Year.
Congratulations to these two fine educators.
Ms.
O'Neill has been the media coordinator at Eastern Elementary School
for six years. She holds a BA from Salem State College, a
Masters of Library Science from East Carolina University, as well as
licensure in Instructional Technology. Ms. O'Neill's work to
transform the media center into a vibrant learning environment,
promote interest in reading through special programs, and integrate
technology into the curriculum have made her a natural choice for
this award.
Mr.
Brown is currently the principal at Ayden Middle School, has
 served
as an assistant principal at Ayden Grifton High School, and has been
a teacher at both middle and high school levels. He earned his
BA at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Masters of
Educational Administration and Supervision at East Carolina
University. Mr. Brown is being recognized as an administrator
who supports library, media, and technology programming as vital
parts of the academic program.
Ms.
O'Neill and Mr. Brown will represent Pitt County Schools as nominees
for the 2010 North Carolina School Library Media Association's
annual awards.
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District Libraries Receiving Books
about American Culture
Pitt County Schools' media centers
will each be receiving a We the People "Picturing America"
Bookshelf, which includes 17 books that reflect our nation's
history, aspirations, and ideals. The donations are awarded
through the National Endowment for the Humanities. Special
thanks goes to our friends at East Carolina University's Teaching
Resource Center for helping our schools obtain this grant.
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 Ridgewood Elementary (coached
by Angie Egerton) has
won Pitt County Schools' first ever Elementary Battle of the Books
competition. G.R. Whitfield (coached by
Shannon Wynne and Teresa Stainbeck)
came in a close second, and Creekside
(coached by Meredith Hill and Whit Blanchard)
took third place. For more
about E-BOB,
click
here.
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 Congratulations to
C.M. Eppes Middle School (Linda Branch)
for winning the 2009 district level Battle of the Books competition.
The team went on to earn third place at the regional competition on March 26th.
For more about Battle of the Books,
click here. |
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At
Pactolus Elementary (Katie
Richardson) students are
learning that reading does not have to be sedentary. The media
center received a Pitt County Educational Foundation minigrant to
purchase audiobooks and mp3 players. The materials have been used to
implement a program called Book Walkers. Small groups of students
spend their recess time listening to books while they walk around
the school grounds. The students are loving this multitasking,
multilearning style activity. |
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Elmhurst Elementary (Lydia O'Rear)
has seen book checkouts increase by about 50% this year, thanks to
concerted efforts by media and school staff to promote reading and
increase access to the library. By allowing students multiple
opportunities to visit the library during the week and establishing
reading incentive programs such as AR Olympics, Superbowl Party, and
March Madness, the school is seeing excitement about reading surge! |
 Belvoir
Elementary (Connie Conner)
recently had a visit from children's book author/illustrator team
Hank and Jan Racer. The students participated in Reader's Theatre
and learned all about how a book is made, from the writing and
illustrating process to how the pages are printed, bound, and
published. |
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Stokes Elementary
(Trudy Garris) received a Bright Ideas grant in the
amount of $1417 and a Pitt County Educational Foundation
grant of $380. The funds are being used to
purchase materials for the "Read Across the World"
program, in which students receive a passport and
"travel" the world by reading informational, fiction,
and folktale books centered around various countries and
cultures. |
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Grifton School (Amy Mitchell)
is the lucky winner of a free author visit from Greg Zelnick for the second
year in a row, enjoying another
presentation full of inspiration, music, humor, and
educational entertainment. The school also
recently received word from a local charitable organization
that it will be funded for a renovation project, allowing
the media center to update and modernize its furnishings. |
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Hope Middle
School (Tracy Below)
kicked off the school
year with a "One Book, One School" campaign to focus on
a common purpose and celebrate the benefits of reading.
Every student and staff member read the book "Rules" by
Cynthia Lord and participated in related activities.
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Media Coordinator
Greg Mills (Wintergreen
Intermediate)
participated in the ECU ALA Student Chapter Christmas
book drive. The book drive benefited Greenville's
Family Violence Center and Building Hope Community Life
Center. Read more at the
ALA website. |
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Media Coordinator
Delane Fuquay (Farmville Middle) also conducted a
Christmas book drive, teaming up with the school's
Junior Honor Society to collect over 425 books for the
New Directions Center. |
 Sadie Saulter
Elemenatary
(Rebecca Hamill) is very thankful to Jarvis
United Methodist Church for donating $1000 to its media
program, while providing two faithful volunteers on a
regular basis and about 20 volunteers that
helped staff their book fair. The book fair was a
huge success with the theme "Give the Gift of Reading"
and combined with their Family Night Suzuki music
recital.
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Wellcome Middle School (Kelly Davis)
received a $5000.00 Lowe's Toolbox for Education grant
to create a Multicultural Parent Involvement Center. |
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 Northwest Elementary
(Sue Speed) is
using a Pitt County Educational Foundation grant to
set up the Tiger Town Post Office to encourage
interschool letter-writing. The media center will
serve as the hub for coordinating writing activities
throughout the school. Additionally, Northwest has
been chosen to be part of the Rockin' Reader program.
Sponsored by Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, the program
will establish a cozy reading area in the media center,
including a two couble rocking chairs, a "barrel" bookshelf,
and a collection of books.
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The collection at
Bethel Elementary
(Charles Millard)
is getting an update thanks to a state library grant of
$10,000.
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Ayden-Grifton High School (Karen Gardner)
is also able to give their collection an extra boost
after receiving a $5000 grant from a private organization.
Additional grants have also allowed
AGHS
to complete an ongoing renovation project. This year
they have outfitted two computer labs within the library
and soon they will be getting new, more functional
shelving. |
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The media centers at
Farmville Central
(Mary Monroe),
W. H. Robinson
Elementary (Charmayne
Artis), and
most recently,
Wahl Coates Elementary (Sharon
Phillips) have
undergone transformations this year after receiving grants
from local charitable organizations. New furniture,
shelving, paint, carpet, and new layouts have combined
to create modern and inviting learning environments,
while increasing their ability to meet the needs of
staff and students. In addition,
W. H. Robinson
celebrated their makeover with a pledge campaign. Staff,
families, and friends of the school donated enough money
to purchase 149 new books for the media center. |
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MORE NEWS |
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Updated 5-14-09 |
