School Zone
Points of Pride
"Just Read It" December Stars of the Month
Named
The Mike Peterson Foundation
and Duval County Public Schools announced the December
Star of the Month for the Mike Peterson Foundation’s
"Just Read It" Program. The stars were invited to a meet
and greet at the Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. The
event included an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of
the stadium and a special visit with Jacksonville Jaguar
Linebacker Mike Peterson.
Students were selected based
on their outstanding achievements in reading. These
students worked very hard following directions in the
classroom, as well as continuing to improve their
reading skills.
Congratulations to the
following students for being selected as the December
Star of the Month for the Mike Peterson Foundation “Just
Read It” Program:
Elementary School
Category:
Tyrell Murray - 3rd grade - S. A. Hull Elementary
Chase Smith - 3rd grade - Cedar Hills Elementary
AJ Laganella - 4th grade - Atlantic Beach Elementary
Stephen Hlawnchhing - 4th grade - Beauclerc Elementary
Kameron Raker - 5th grade - Alimacani Elementary
Ellen Wheaton - 5th grade - Don Brewer Elementary
Middle School Category:
Alberony Mesidor - 6th grade - duPont Middle
Rulx Douge - 6th grade - Kirby Smith Middle
Jokilla Lewis - 7th grade - J.E.B Stuart Middle
Courtney Prince - 7th grade - Mayport Middle
Kenneth Martin - 8th grade - Kirby Smith Middle
Chartoria Price - 8th grade - J.E.B Stuart Middle
FAMU Half-time Show Dedicated to Dr. Alvin G. White
On Saturday, November 21,
during a football game between the Hampton University
Pirates and the Florida A & M University (FAMU)
Rattlers, the FAMU Marching Band dedicated their
half-time show to Dr. Alvin G. White and president-elect
Barack Obama.
Dr. Alvin G. White, Duval
County Public Schools Chief of Staff and Partnerships,
is also the brother of Dr. Julian White, FAMU’s Director
of Bands. “To have been mentioned in the same breath as
the president-elect of the United States is shocking and indeed
an honor,” said Dr. Alvin White.
When the game announcer
switched the microphone from the press box to the field,
Dr. Julian White was on the band director’s ladder at
mid-field and made the following comment. “This is
dedicated to my big brother who I lean on for advice and
counsel; without you I would not be here.” He then
directed the band to the tune of
Who Can I Turn To.
Congratulations to Dr. Alvin
G. White.
"Celebrities" Read at Wesconnett Elementary
Wesconnett
Elementary School
welcomed an Olympic Gold medalist, a local author and
several other ‘luminaries’ for its Celebrity Reading Day
on November 18.
The entire student body
gathered in the cafeteria to meet their readers and to
hear words of wisdom from the guest speakers.
Principal Mike Akers
discussed his fondness for reading, due in large part to
the fact that his mother read to him as a child. He also
thanked the celebrity readers for taking the time to
read to his students.
Nancy Hogshead-Makar, an
Olympic Gold Medal swimmer and professor at the Florida
Coastal School of Law, was the keynote speaker for the
event. She encouraged all of the students to work hard
to achieve their dreams.
“It is easier to give up on
your dreams than to work to fulfill them,” Hogshead-Makar
said. “You must fight to make your dreams become a
reality.”
Thelma Young, the author of
“All You Could See Was the Water: Hurricane Katrina
through the Eyes of Children,” a book that captures the
personal experiences of 11 children who survived
Hurricane Katrina, visited several classrooms reading
chapters to students.
Rodilyn Bacho-Logsdon, Duval
County Public Schools’ (DCPS) Supervisor of ELA/Reading,
spent time in a first-grade classroom reading “Horrible
Holly’s Pet Raptor” by Michael Ratnett. Bacho-Logsdon
reminded students how important reading is for writing.
“Good readers are good
writers,” she said. “Read to write, write to read.”
Celebrity Reading Day is part
of Literacy Week at Wesconnett Elementary, and was
organized by Media Specialist Julia Cramer. Cramer
believes that her students will benefit greatly from
having an adult read to them.
“Literacy is my passion and I
am the highest advocate of it,” said Cramer. “Research
has shown that if you read to children, they will become
life-long readers.”
Other guest readers included:
Dr. Amy Lingren, DCPS’ Chief Officer, K-8 Education for
Cluster I; Andrea Akers, principal of Fishweir
Elementary; Katy Kearson, standards coach at S.A. Hull
Elementary; Barbara Spurlin, former principal of Oak
Hill Elementary and author of I Wish I Had a Pony; Jud
Strickland, principal of S.A. Hull Elementary; Beverly
Walker, principal of Chaffee Trail Elementary; and
Kristina Broome, technical manager in the DCPS'
Communications Department.
| 
