TMS bridge builders headed to national contest

Congratulations to Mikhail Gaerlan, Abby Grace and John Tapscott of Tupelo Middle School. This trio, whose team is called the Golden Wave Bridge Builders, was selected to compete in the National Transportation and Civil Engineering Bridge Building Competition in Branson, Mo., in May.
“We know the Golden Wave Bridge Builders will do well at the national competition,” said team advisor Matt Dunn of the Mississippi Department of Transportation. In the TRAC program, sponsored nationally by the American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials, students design and construct a drawbridge and test its functionality.
TMS math teacher and bridge sponsor Connie Gusmus said seven student teams built projects for consideration in the national competition. You can read the story I wrote about this for the Daily Journal back in February here. The pictures for the story, posted here, are courtesy of Journal chief photographer Thomas Wells.

THS Future Educators Association

Last week I told you a little bit about going to the Inspirational Teachers Luncheon hosted by the Tupelo High School chapter of the Future Educators Association. Online editor Todd Vinyard posted my wobbly video of the magic tricks Dr. Randy McCoy performed, and now I’m posting some pics from the event. A few are mine, but most of the images were provided by Judy Beard, an FEA sponsor, and student Matt Asters. Thanks, y’all. Oh, be sure to read the story in this Sunday’s Daily Journal.

Church Street Arts Festival

From Principal Kay Collins: Tupelo’s Church Street Elementary School will be celebrating its first annual arts festival, “Art and Soul,” on April 18. Local musicians, authors, visual artists, potters, jewelry makers and other craftsmen will demonstate their talents and will have items for sale. Students will also have their own artwork on display. Weather permitting, the event will be held outdoors. There will be booths for children to experience various art mediums. Church Street Harmony will perform as well as the choral groups from several other elementary schools. The local band Dusty Vinyl will be playing. There will be plenty of food and fun for everyone as we celebrate the arts in our area. 

We invite everyone to join us for this special occasion!

McCoy Magic …

Did you know that Tupelo Public School District Superintendent Dr. Randy McCoy is a magician? Click the video link above to see for yourself. Dr. McCoy worked his magic yesterday during the Future Educators Association Inspirational Teachers Luncheon. I’ll have a story about the luncheon for the March 30 education page of the Daily Journal, and I’m hoping to interview Dr. McCoy about his hobby for an upcoming feature story.

Lee County Schools art show

Artwork from more than 500 Lee County Schools elementary students is part of the Impressions exhibit at the GumTree Museum of Art in downtown Tupelo. The show opened March 18 and this afternoon I covered the event for the Daily Journal (which sponsored the reception). Lead elementary art teacher Gena Yarbrough said the show has been around for 15 years, and she was appreciative of the Journal’s sponsorship. “They are strong arts education supporters,” she told me.

Milam students learn about Persia

From Kim Wyatt: On Friday, February 8, Mr. & Mrs. K. J. Jamasbi visited Mrs. Margaret Gibson and Mrs. Kim Nash’s 5th grade classes at Milam Elementary to share information about their home country, Persia, known today as Iran. Their visit was scheduled in recognition of February being cultural diversity month. Along with presenting a slide show, they shared information about the weather as well as many customs of their native country. Mrs. Jamasbi demonstrated the language and writing of the country. She also brought a typical school book to show the students how the students are taught to read from the back of the book forward. Many students found this “backward” reading very interesting. They also brought authentic clothing, and samples of food for the students to experience. Their daughter, Kimya Jamasbi, is in Mrs. Gibson’s homeroom.

Koalaty Kids at Rankin Elementary

Tammi Coggins, family school coordinator at Tupelo’s Rankin Elementary School, was kind enough to send these photos of some Koalaty Kids. Students at the K-3 school – where the mascot is a koala bear – promise to be everything from good listeners and friends to good learners who do quality work in all subjects. Koalaty Kids are then recognized in monthly celebrations.

Miss. Department of Education media advisory

From Caron Blanton, director of communications for the Mississippi Department of Education:

MEDIA ADVISORY

Release Date: March 14, 2008

Contact: Caron Blanton, APR, Director of Communications, 601-359-3706

Education Chairs to address Mississippi Board of Education, hold press conference

Sen. Videt Carmichael, Senate Education Chair, and Rep. Cecil Brown, House Education Chair, will address the Mississippi Board of Education at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, March 17 at their meeting, which will be held in the Fourth Floor Board Room at the Central High School Building, 359 North West Street in Jackson. They will discuss the passage of Senate Bill 2149 by the full Senate and the House Education Committee. Mississippi Board of Education Chair Claude Hartley, Sen. Carmichael and Rep. Brown will hold a press conference at 11:30 a.m. in the Board Room.

Senate Bill 2149 requires the removal of an elected or appointed superintendent in districts identified as underperforming for two or more consecutive full school years or that have 50 percent of schools identified as underperforming for two consecutive full school years and the district was under the administration of the same superintendent during those two consecutive full school years. If an elected superintendent is removed from office, the method of selection of that superintendent’s position will become an appointed position and be named by the school board.

The Mississippi Board of Education will meet on Monday, March 17, 2008 and Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at the Central High School Building, 359 North West Street, Jackson. The Monday meeting will begin at 10:00 a.m. and the Tuesday meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m.

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SEC Sunday@Fairpark Grill

Sports fans and food fans alike, read up:

This Sunday in Tupelo, Journal Publishing Company and Eat With Us will be hosting SEC SUNDAY @ the Fairpark Grill. You can join in on the excitement of the NCAA basketball tournament selection process and interact with Daily Journal sports writers Gregg Ellis and Parrish Alford live at the event on their blogs. If the Bulldogs or Rebels make the championship game we’ll start around noon. If not come on down and join the fun around 4 p.m. If you’re not a college sports fan, don’t worry! You can still come out and enjoy the Fairpark Grill’s great food and atmosphere. See ya Sunday.

Fundraiser for El Centro’s after-school program

From Carley Lovorn, director of El Centro:

El Centro will be participating in Belk Department Store’s Charity Sale. Our goal is to sell at least 500 tickets which would fund nearly a year of our after school program Campo Brillante!

About the Sale
Belk will be opening it’s doors on May 3rd for its annual Charity Sale. Tickets cost $5 and ALL ticket proceeds will go directly to El Centro if you buy the tickets from us. The ticket is vaild for any Belk store during the May 3rd sale. With the $5 ticket you get:
Entrance to the four hour sale on May 3
$5 off your purchase
Clothes discounts, including rarely discounted brands at 20-50%
20-30% off sportswear
15% off almost everything for your home
Cosmetics gift with purchase
Chance to win $1,000 shopping spree
This is a great deal for anyone who shops at department stores - and most of us do! When you purchase a $5 ticket from El Centro, you will also increase our chances of receiving a $1,000 donation from Belk.

About Campo Brillante
Campo Brillante was started when a few teachers realized that smart children were falling behind their peers simply because they did not have the English langauge skills to succeed. Campo Brillante works with English Language Learners, K-3rd grade, on their English language acquisition skills. Our objectives are to improve students English language skills, to improve their performance at school, and to provide an encouraging and fun environment for student growth. Check out our web site for more information and pictures of Campo Brillante: www.elcentrotupelo.org

What you can do to help
Buy a ticket! Just call (662-823-7450), email (carley@elcentrotupelo.org) or stop by our offices at the Link Centre (1800 W. Main, Ste. 116), let us know how many tickets you want, and we’ll do the rest! Our students will also be selling tickets around town and at Belk on March 22nd and April 12th.
Sell a few tickets at your office or school! This is a great deal for anyone who shops at department stores. We’ll bring you a flyer and the tickets and come pick up any money and unsold tickets when you’re done.
Pass this information along! Forward this email to friends, family and co-workers.
Please contact me with any questions and thank you for your support!!
Carley

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Carley Lovorn
Director, El Centro
1800 W. Main, Box 12
Tupelo, MS 38801
662-823-7450
www.elcentrotupelo.org