Fifth Graders at Work
By Stephanie Dixon

Mrs. Gosek’s fifth graders at Selma Elementary were having fun in math. The lesson began with a question, why do I need math? Wow, the possibilities are endless and the class shared a few on paper. Drawing pictures of places, people, and things that require math on a daily basis. Birthdays, ages of relatives, how many pets, how many consonants in each name and the list goes on.

Next door, fifth graders in Mrs. Robinson’s class shared their reading goals for the new school year. Most students planned to make straight A’s, have great conduct and help others when needed. What a very positive group of students who had the excitement and determination to have a successful year. After reading the goals, it was time for group reading.

Ready for Football?
By Stephanie Dixon

East Garner Middle held the football tryouts and over 70 guys came out and one girl, Bernice Evans was on the field to gain a spot on the team. Coaches, Goffiney, Pulley, Cole, and Beck were there to help enforce the rules of the game. With only 30 or so spots, everyone worked hard to let their potential shine. The participants worked on calisthenics, footwork, skill level and conditioning.

Seventh and eighth graders worked up a sweat on the field. There were twins out on the field, Colton and Colby, both played last school year. Parents and siblings were on the sidelines to show support and to hand out cold water. Eight-year-old Bradon asked dad many questions about the game. After dad answered and he was satisfied, he gave his attention to his big brother on the field.

A "Lucky" Day

First graders in Mrs. Nelson’s class at Powhatan Elementary were excited about the classroom pet. The pet does not drink water or eat food; it is a pet rock, stress free pet.

Someone decorated a rock and it looks like a guinea pig. Little pet rock had no name so it was time to vote. The three final names were, Charlie, Lucky, and Skunky.

Each student received on paper hand to cast his or her vote. Mrs. Nelson explained the voting process and it was time to get started.

Each student walked up to the board and placed the paper hand in a slot above the name. Everyone was excited and finally the pet had a name. Lucky had the most votes and Olivia jumped for joy. It was her idea to name the pet Lucky so it was definitely her lucky day. The class looks forward to a great year with their new friend. Who would take him home for the weekend, who would have talks with Lucky or who would read to him at story time?

Busy Bees

Students at South Smithfield Elementary are working hard in class. Spelling, Reading, Writing, Math, Social Studies, Science, and the list goes on. Summer break is over and time to put on those thinking caps in class. Teachers are teaching, students are learning and parents are happily assisting with homework. A great start to the new school year and many great things to come. Supplies are in tow, scissors, paper, glue, pencils, markers, and folders to keep papers organized. Watch out for the busy bees at in Smithfield!

Clayton Cheer Squad Full of Team Spirit
By Chris Gosek

The 2009-10 Clayton Middle School Cheerleading team is assembled and ready to get their fans into the game, whether it is in the stands rooting on their football squad this fall or this winter during boys and girls basketball contests.

Coach Stacey Learn is very proud of the effort and dedication shown by her team this year, even though she thinks the squad might be sometimes overlooked. “They are a great group of girls,” Learn said. “They have really been working their tails off,” she continued, “sometimes people don’t realize that they are the only sports team we have that goes for two full seasons, which is about six months rather than just one or two.”

Members of this year’s squad include, Brittany Sadler, Hannah Smith, Keeley Smitherman, Taylor Stewart, Bayleigh Tilton, Kasey Williams, Cailynn Bossiere, Haley Cagle, McKenzie Grimes, Arlynn Hooper, Alex Lane, Tamia Mars, Melinda North, Haley Pearce, Kayla Pounds and Laura Raper.

The girls will next take the sidelines in support of the Clayton Middle School football team this Thursday as they travel to play at Archer Lodge Middle School, before retuning to their home field the following week on October 15 for a big match up with Cleveland Middle School.

Shiny Red Treat
By Stephanie Dixon

First graders at Cooper Elementary worked hard with the shiny red apples.

Mrs. Clarke and Mrs. Ward’s students were peeling, eating, and reading all about apples in class. Fall time is the perfect season for apples and what better way than to bring them to class. Each student had a plastic bag labeled to save the apples for later. A few of the students chopped the apples and then it was time to mix them with sugar. The class had different stations set up to prepare the apples for baking. There were two classroom helpers, Ms. Sherrie, friend of the teacher and Madelyn’s dad, Mr. Clarke.

Fun With Pumpkins

Math is exciting when you have pumpkin seeds to use as an array.

Fourth graders in Mrs. Glick’s class at Selma Elementary worked in groups and created math problems. Students created multiplication and division facts by gluing the pumpkin seeds on construction paper. Each group had three or four participants and they took turns with the equations. It was great to have pumpkin fun in class!

Wild About Writing
By Stephanie Dixon

Mrs. Smades second graders at Timber Drive Elementary are wild about writing. Students read the book, Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown and created pictures of Flat Stanley. The best part of the project was writing letters at home to different people, addressing the envelope and mailing them off afterwards.

There were letters addressed to family members in Virginia, Arizona, South Carolina, New Mexico and the list goes on. One student even wrote a letter to President Obama. Students were all smiles when I popped in for pictures. The class was a very well mannered, hard working group of second graders.

Celebrating Johnny Appleseed

Kindergarten classes at Westview Elementary celebrated Johnny Appleseed. Students studied apples in reading and math for an entire week. On the last day of the week, they dressed up like Johnny Appleseed and made a special treat in the classroom. The students brought in real apples and made applesauce to honor and thank their pioneer friend.

Pictured: Mrs. Newlon, Katelyn Jones, Sean Dolan, Ms. Joyner, Johnny Kieffer-Banflavy, Christian Hesse, Kenzie McCommons, Mrs. Powell, Ava Prevatte, Abbey McLean, Madison Lee, Jose Estrada-Gallegos, Paisley Pekks, Samya Connell, Jacob Wyrick, Tanner Dupre, Sarah Prosser, Madelyn McLain, Oscar Farias Alvarez, and Jaxon Martinez.

Clayton Middle Steamrolls to Undefeated Season
By Chris Gosek

The Clayton Middle School Football team opened its season with three consecutive shutout wins and behind their dominating defense and a potent offense continued on with their winning ways, finishing their 2009 schedule with a perfect 7-0 record.

The Clayton defensive effort for the season may be the most impressive piece to their perfect season. The team’s defensive unit only allowed 14 points the entire seven game season and forced 25 turnovers in that same time frame. Leading this hard hitting group were Evan Bradshaw, Brandon Harrell, Dylan Caldwell, Chanse Wallace and LJ Young. Gary Clark led the team with three interceptions, while Andrew Daughtrey and Anton Watson each nabbed one pickoff as well.

Not to be outdone, the Clayton offense racked up a big 192 points this season to aid in the perfect season bid. Running back Ced Rouse was fantastic all season long, finishing as the team’s leading rusher and reaching the end zone for 12 touchdowns on the year. Alan-Michael Hales and Jacob Turner led the team from their quarterback position throughout the year with an effective passing game and an overall intelligent approach to running the Clayton offense. The offensive line was awesome in front of the backs, plowing big holes that opened up the field for large gains for Clayton. Chris McLeod, Gabe Lewis, River Tart, Brian Boyette Colton Lippert, Wallace and Caldwell all proved to be very strong blockers. Jace Brown and Jared Crooks also made key blocks in addition to getting some touches out of the backfield from the fullback position, too.

With no weakness apparent for this Clayton team, the special teams were a big contributor to the team’s success all season also. Michael O’Neal was great out of both the kicker and punter spot. Clark had the special team’s moment of the year when he returned a punt all the way back for a TD earlier this year against Four Oaks.

Coaches Ricky Bucklin, Dale Mellott and Keith Jacobs knew they had a special group to deal with this year, but never expected to run the table and finish undefeated. “We knew we were going to be pretty good this year, but this year way beyond our wildest dreams,” said Bucklin. “This was the deepest team talent wise I have ever been associated with in any sport.”

Other players contributing to the magical 7-0 season for Clayton were: Taran Copley, Cedric Cameron, Nathan Davis, Tanner Durham, Trevor Gordon, Tommy Grace, Tyriece Greene, Christian Gurganus, Brandon Harrell, Ray Hudgins, Justin Hudson, Chase Jackson, Shamonte Jacobs, Joseph Justice, Addikus Lackey, Jhavonte Moon, Zac Musolino, Justin Norris, Anfrenee Parker, Chad Parrish, Colton Peeler, James Pruett, Luke Ryals, Diante Strothers, Chanse Wallace, Arquille Wilder and Holden Worrell.

We've Hatched!
First grade students at Dixon Road Elementary learned about the needs of animals using chick eggs. Incubators kept the eggs warm and students turned the eggs every three hours like a hen does. They were able to look inside the egg with a Candler. This was a unit these students will always remember!
 

Pumpkins on the Prowl

Fifth graders enjoyed a lesson in Mrs. Esau’s art class at River Dell Elementary making scary pumpkin faces. The lesson of the day was all about symmetry and the creative juices flowed freely. The first step was to choose a piece of construction paper, black, purple, or orange. Next, they had to fold the paper vertical or horizontal.

The fold depends on if they wanted a round, fat pumpkin, or a tall, skinny pumpkin. Finally, it was time to make the eyes, nose and mouth look scary. Once those steps were complete, the wild tissue paper was included as the finishing touch.

A few of the students gave the pumpkins a name, Lion King, Hillbilly Cyclops, Cheetahlicious, Unibrow, Count Pumpkinator, Mr and Mrs.Scary, Vampire Pumpkin, Zebra Pumpkin and the list goes on with more scary names.

Mrs.Esau recently placed 3^rd at the NC State Fair in pottery and 5^th for her nature craft. What a great inspiration to the students as she shared this wonderful news.

Spooky Centers
By Stephanie Dixon

Kindergarten classes at Timber Drive Elementary enjoyed spooky center time. Each class had different stations filled with scary treats. Students played spider bingo, made spider treats, spider hats, art center and more. Teachers and parent volunteers helped the students enjoy the afternoon fun. One of the most favorite centers included the spider treats, Oreo cookies with cake icing, pretzels, and candy. Ms. Sharpe, Ms. Cox and Ms. Wilson were all smiles as each group rotated to the next station. Spooky center time was a big hit for all and the beginning of an exciting weekend.

West View Poster Winners

Four West View Elementary students won prizes in the first annual disability awareness poster contest with Johnston County Schools.

Sophia Goodwin placed first in the k-2 category. Jaxon Martinez placed third in the k-2 category. Elizabeth Sansom placed first in the 3-5 category. Jennifer Gray placed second in the grades 3-5 category. The students won prizes as well as received certificates of recognition. In addition, their posters were on display at the Public Library of Johnston County and Smithfield until the end of October.

Honors In Art
Three students at Clayton Middle school participated in the 2010 Women’s Club of Clayton’s Student Art Festival. The first place winner, Lissette Flores, 8^th grader had a North Carolina Landscape Fabric collage, Joy Alford, 7^th grader had 1^st place for her value versus contrast design and Natasha Johnston, 8^th grader place 1^st with her graphic name design. All three students will move on to the regional competition.

Johnny Appleseed
By Stephanie Dixon

Mrs. Mitchiner’s kindergarten students at Creech Road Elementary sat on the carpet while listening to details about Johnny Appleseed. Next, they would work on the spatial concepts lesson. Each student had a worksheet with pictures of leafs filled with words. The focus of the day was all about the beginning and the ending letters in a word.

After listening to the teacher pronounce the word, it was time to get those pencils out and start circling. Students worked hard to sound out the words and focus on the directions. Mrs. Mitchiner had the class attention as she walked around the classroom and helped.

Mrs. Smith’s Class Celebrates Being Healthy

 Mrs. Hannah Smith’s K-5 Classroom at Powhatan Elementary celebrated being healthy!

Recently, students ate a variety of healthy food including grains, vegetables, fruits, and dairy as well as participated in various activities to experience what they have been learning this month. Eating nutritious and keeping fit leads to a fun and healthy lifestyle!

Lady Ravens Continue Incredible Unbeaten Run

Shaping Up in Art

Art class at West Smithfield with Mrs. Radulescu was all about the shapes. Fifth graders from Mrs. Beasley’s class enjoyed making patterns to make different objects. The purpose of the assignment was to use geometric shapes and make a live figure. Students used seven pieces of construction paper, cut into triangles, squares or other shapes. The project was also called, 7 Pieces of Cleverness, to see how they could use their imaginations.

A few of the masterpieces were trees, houses, sailboat, dancer, puppy dog, swan, bird, and other fancy projects. The Chinese tangram brought lots of excitement into the classroom.

Daniel said, “The project was creative and fun.” Aziza and Jordan said, “They enjoyed learning more about isosceles, parallelograms, angles and other geometry facts.” Araselys said, “She had fun using her imagination.” Mrs. Radulescu was very proud of the students and their hard work in class.

Fun in Math at Cooper
By Stephanie Dixon

Third grade students in Ms. Shires and Ms. Horta’s class at Cooper Elementary had a great time in math class. The lesson of the day included marshmallows and toothpicks.

Students made angles with the objects and had a great time. Students focused on three different angles, right, acute, and obtuse. A right angle is 90 degrees and forms a square corner. The acute angle is less than 90 degrees also called “a cute little angle.” The obtuse angle measures more than 90 degrees and is a big angle. The students used a deep voice when saying the word obtuse.

Everyone had a great time in math class with the visual aids. Raymond liked building the angles and Ashley enjoyed eating the angles or marshmallow treats.

By Chris Gosek

With the majority of the team having played together prior to this season and the hard work and togetherness they have already shown as a group, the Earthquake 12U team in Johnston United Soccer Association is ready and excited for the 2010 spring season.

The team will look to their two twelve year old players Elizabeth McBride and Taylor Stevens for some veteran leadership on the field. The solid core formed by the rest of the roster should prove to put a successful lineup on the field and includes, Meghan Barefoot, Skylar Carroll, Lauren Kallam, Madison Langley, Brydie McQuaid, Meaghan Powell, Margaret Raynor, Alexandra Rodier, Stephanie Ruiz, Taylor Stevens, Emma Swarts and Jenna Swarts.

The Earthquake is coached by Chris Earp, who speaking of his team said, “we have a great group of girls and we should have a great season this year

Pennies for Patients

During the weeks of January 25th - February 12th, the fifth Grade Student Council at Polenta Elementary held a Pennies for Patients Campaign.

Over $3,500 was collected for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, whose mission is to cure blood cancers and improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

Student Council members encouraged participation by sharing a fact on the school's morning news each day about blood cancers and placing posters around the school. Each classroom participated by collecting spare change students brought in from their homes to donate.

Polenta Elementary has their very own survivor who is deemed by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as an Honored Hero. It was very special to the students at the school to raise money to support one of their own students in the program.

Pictured: Jake Mason (Vice President), Kyle Cramer, Lauren Davis, Beverly Simmons (Advisor), Caiden Norman (President), Tyler McDowell, Zoie Deichmueller, Amy McGinnis (Advisor), Scott Berkowitz (Treasurer), Carleigh Sokol, Abbey Strader (Secretary), Mya Jones, and Thomas Blalock. Not Pictured: Mackenzie Ridgeway, Desirea Haynes, and Ally Knowles.

Wild About Reading
By Stephanie Dixon

Fifth graders in Mrs. Douglas’ class at Selma Elementary enjoyed reading centers.

After reading, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, it was time to divide into groups. One group had comprehension questions, one had idioms, computers, listening center and word study group.

Everyone enjoyed working with classmates and participating in class. Mrs. Humphries and Mrs. Morris helped groups of students too.

Literacy first is a wonderful reading program to enhance the skills needed.

Can You See Me Now?
By Stephanie Dixon

Second graders at Vance Elementary had a fantastic time in science class.

Mrs. Cook and Mrs. Lee’s students made disappearing ink. The students concocted a tube of ink by mixing two different liquids.

Another experiment included a tasty treat. Students made yummy science ice cream! What a “sweet” treat to have ice cream and disappearing ink all in one day.

Annual Movie Night

By Stephanie Dixon

The annual movie night in Knightdale, held at Forestville Elementary brought out hundreds of families. Free and open to the community is a great way to spend a Friday evening.

Local businesses supported the event, Knightdale Gymnastics, Tiger Martial Arts, Chambers of Commerce, and Census Bureau, Chiropractors, Dentists and more.

The kids enjoyed the bounce houses, performances, winning prizes and other exciting activities offered. Everyone left with a smile after eating good food, playing games, and watching a free movie.

Thanks to the Knightdale Park and Recreation, The Total Connection and IHOP of Knightdale.

Bulls Walk Off Homer Sinks Sea Dogs
By Chris Gosek

The Bulls and Sea Dogs of the 7-8 year old division of Garner Baseball, Inc.(GBI) locked horns in a classic back and forth battle earlier this week that saw the Bulls come out on top with a 17-15 win that ended with a two out, two strike three run home run in the game’s final at bat.

Alex Ellis was the hero for the Bulls, smashing the two strike offering into left center to tie the game and then bring in the winning runs as well. Ethan Horton and Robert Sternquist each had singled to start out the final inning, and were the tying and winning run as they hustled around the diamond on Ellis’ winning blast. Bailey Bingham, Konen Pate, Quincy Goldsmith and Ryan Davin also swung a mighty bat in helping the Bulls to the win.

Another major factor in the Bulls victory was the sparkling defense of Caroline Post up the middle of the infield and Peter Luca’s play at first and on the mound. William Weber was strong behind the plate and Micah Watson played solid defense in the outfield for the Bulls also.

The Sea Dogs also played a fantastic game, before narrowly being edged out in that final Bulls at bat. Dylan Williford and Hunter Morris were crushing the ball all game for the Sea Dogs. Nicholas Tyler, Will Lee, Noah Bullock and George Tyler each proved to be sluggers for their team, while the great speed on the bases of Kyle Kennedy and Eli Leeworthy also played large into the big 15 run output for the Sea Dogs.

In the field for the Sea Dogs, Davis Rowell made several beautiful plays, while Nate Thompson and Carson Schrock played gold glove like defense at first and second base. Mitchell Stanley also showed great range and speed on defense for the team.

Books Galore

North Garner Middle School held a book fair and the students browsed the selections.

A few of the different genres included, fiction, nonfiction, Newberry and classics.

Students gave a few comments about the book fair. Emily liked the mystery and realistic fiction books. Bryan enjoyed the book Bones and Destiny’s favorite was, The Youngest Templar. One of the favorites amongst the majority was, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Parent volunteer, Lynda Ingram helped check the students out after they decided on a book. Mrs. Ingram is the proud mother of twin girls in the seventh grade.

Rand Road Specials Day

Rand Road specials day is the most awaited for most students. Everyone enjoys the games, face painting, and fun in the sun. Specials day is known to some as field day and the students rotate and work as a team for most of the events. There was throwing, running, jumping, bouncing, relay races, sack races and more. Teachers, students and parent volunteers all had a great time. Big thanks to all of those who made the day a success.

Propaganda Posters

Students in Mr. Waller’s sixth grade class at Riverwood Middle School just finished learning about World War I. While learning about World War I students were introduced to propaganda posters. Students learned how countries used the posters to get people interested in the war effort. After viewing authentic posters from that era students in Mr. Waller’s classroom created their own propaganda posters. Students could make a poster for any country that participated in World War I.

The students were selected as having outstanding propaganda posters: Cristina Werthwine, Rachel Strickland, Morgan Monroe, Tayah Hichue, Ahnycea McCray, Samantha Breece, Lindsay Hodge, Kerri Ferrell, Odilia Espinoza, Caylee Norris, Taylor Sauls, Sam Foster, and Otto Garcia.

An extra inning loss was all that separated the Clayton Little League 12U All Star team from moving on to the state championships. Many positives came from the tournament in spite of the bittersweet finish as Clayton reeled off several impressive wins in their quest to be District 6 champs.

The first game saw Clayton fall by an 11-1 count, but Sterling Reid did blast a home run for the team’s lone run. Grant Austin, Zach Blinson, Trevor Sanders, and Christian Hughes each chipped in one hit during the opener as well.

Sanders took the mound in game two determined to keep the hopes alive and threw a complete game to earn the 10-7 win over North Durham. Chad Davis was the star at the plate, launching two homers and driving in six, Will Jones, Austin, Blinson and Sanders also added to the offensive attack.

A 4-2 pitchers duel in the next game saw Reid toss five innings and fan six, while also ripping two hits in the win over Roxboro. Hunter Sullivan had a big two-run double and Austin and Davis each went deep for solo home runs. Hughes tossed a scoreless final inning to hammer down the save in relief of Reid.

A 15-1 spanking of Garner was next, with Austin homering twice and Jones also circling the bases for a round tripper. Reggie Harper also crushed a two run HR, while Eric Poole had a good night at the plate. Avery Cauley made several big defensive plays to help Blinson earn another win on the hill.

In their final contest, Clayton led at one point 7-3 behind Reid’s strong pitching and the powerful bats of Austin, Blinson, and Sanders, but a late inning rally saw Fuquay tie things up and eventually win it in extra innings by a 9-8 final score.

Start Spreading the News
By Chris Gosek

There is no need for students at Rand Road elementary to check out the weather report or daily events prior to heading into school, as several of their peers have been covering these events each morning in the Rand Road News Station Channel 2 newscasts.

Fifth grade students, Karis Cummings and Autumn Williams are two co-news anchors, covering the day’s birthdays, announcements, and lunch menu on Channel 2. Lauren Sawyer, also a fifth grader, handles the weather, giving tips as to how warm or cold, it may be outside, and whether a storm is on its way.

Behind the scenes, fellow fifth graders, Adam Slaughter, who handles the camera work and Kaylee Bannon, who does the computer and teleprompter work make sure all goes smooth for the news team.

Ms. Pulliam, who oversees the group noted, “We carry on the newsroom to help the students be aware of current events and how the news or TV works.” She added, “I think it’s refreshing for the kids to hear other kids telling them this stuff…they hear us all day.”