School Zone
Points of Pride
Hundreds Visit Teacher Supply Depot for Free Supplies
Teacher Supply Depot officially opened for the 2009-10 school year on August 14 with a Back-to-School Giveaway.
Hundreds of teachers waited in line for hours for the opportunity to get free school supplies for the coming year.
The depot, located at the former Lackawanna School on Lenox Avenue, is a warehouse of reusable materials donated
by businesses and community members. These materials are distributed free to teachers to enhance instruction in their classroom and
promote student achievement.
The depot opened at 8:30 a.m., but many teachers arrived at 5 a.m. to be near the beginning of the line for the
first opportunity to see what was available.
All the donated supplies were organized in several rooms throughout the school, including a paper room, arts and
crafts room, and rooms that had shelves full of office supplies. Teachers were able to bring three tote bags to carry their free
supplies. Many took advantage of the opportunity and stuffed each bag to the top.
Chris Buckley, the on-site manager of the depot, and Larry McDonald, the director of consolidated services for
DCPS, coordinate the depot, supervising hundreds of hours from all the volunteers who contributed to the project.
Many volunteers were on hand for the opening of the depot to assist teachers as they moved from room to room.
Several volunteers also took care of the loading dock, an area where teachers could drop off their bags of supplies and drive their
cars around to have the materials loaded.
Once school starts, the depot will be open one day each month. DCPS appreciates the tremendous support from the
business community, volunteers and the many other individuals who are contributors to the Teacher Supply Depot.
Click
here to see a list of Depot Openings for the 2009-2010 school year.
Ribault High Students Fly High with OBAP
For the second consecutive year,
Ribault High School Marine Corps Junior ROTC cadets and Duval County high school students participated in the Organization of Black Airline Pilots (OBAP) Jacksonville Aviation Career Education (ACE) Academy held at Ribault High School, Cecil Field and the Jacksonville International Airport.
Providing an introduction to the aviation industry, students received an overview of the details of aviation before taking tours, using flight simulators, scaling a 30-foot tall wall and swinging down by a zip line located at the top of the tower. The camp was a week-long session, full of activities, with Monday and Wednesday's sessions being hosted by Ribault High. The final day of the camp allowed students to fly through the Delta Connection Academy with an instructor from Craig Airport to St. Augustine and back.
"I'm so glad I came to the aviation camp. I've learned a lot about the specifics of flying," said rising senior Jermaine Clark. "I'm going to the Marines after high school and this is great preparation."
Administrators at Ribault were grateful for this free camp offered to Duval County students.
"We appreciate the efforts of the Organization of Black Airline Pilots, and we hope to continue the program year after year," said Ribault Principal Dr. James Young.
In addition to preparing campers for a future in the aviation industry, the high school students were also taught life skills that benefit them whether they obtain a career in aviation or not.
Captain William "CJ" Charlton, Southeast Region Vice President of the OBAP sees it useful. "This camp is the practical application of the concepts the students are taught in everyday class. It allows them to interact with professionals in career fields they may not be exposed to on a one-on-one basis."
This interaction included sponsoring organizations interviewing students about their experiences during camp.
The OBAP ACE Academy is a nationally recognized program co-sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees.
Arlington Middle School Students Get a Head Start
More than 100 incoming sixth-grade students at
Arlington Middle School recently attended a special school orientation camp with their parents.
The purpose of the three-day camp, which was funded by a grant from the United Way, was to provide both students and their parents with an inside look into the middle school experience.
"Incoming sixth graders are often nervous about the transition to middle school, and our orientation camp is an opportunity for them, along with their parents, to better understand what their first year will be like at Arlington Middle," said Assistant Principal Tracy Carter. "We want to comfort these students and take away some of the angst about the first day of school."
Sixth-grade math teacher Tracey Montgomery applied for the grant, the United Way Achievers For Life Parent Engagement Project, last March after she learned that Arlington Middle School needed more involvement from parents and community members.
Citing the African proverb "It takes a village to raise a child," Montgomery felt receiving the grant for the orientation camp would be an opportunity to get more people involved at the school.
"At Arlington Middle School, it is our goal to make our students more successful,” she said. “To do this, we need the full support of our parents and community members."
Montgomery, along with 10 other teachers, led the three-day camp, which provided parents with a thorough overview of the school, as well as the opportunity to sign up with the PTSA (Parent Teacher Student Association), Achievers for Life and Team-Up organizations. Students spent time in language arts, social studies, math and science classes so they would know what to expect when school begins.
"For many students, the transition to middle school is especially difficult because they begin changing classes, and they spend a whole period in social studies and science classes, which they did not do in elementary school," said teacher Labrina Halsey.
For the math session, students took a scavenger hunt around the school, which not only strengthened their math skills, but also helped them learn their way around the campus.
In their science lab, students made slime. If they didn’t make the slime correctly, they got slimed.
"It is our hope during the orientation camp that our new students realize that middle school will be a fun learning experience, and that their parents will understand that their involvement is very important to their student's success," said Montgomery.
Staff members at Arlington Middle hope to expand the orientation program to 400 sixth graders next summer.
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