Raising Responsible Children

Raising a child means more than helping him or her grow up healthy and happy. It's important that they also become self-sufficient and responsible. This Report to Parents from the National Association of Elementary School Principals gives tips.

Reminder: December 19 is a Full Day of School

Now is as good a time as any to look at the school calendar and realize that the last day before the Christmas holidays is not an early dismissal. Even though the calendar we have posted on this site has no indication of early dismissal and we have already done an earlier post specifically addressing this point, there will no doubt be those who are still confused and ask why nobody let them know.

THS Band Featured on ABC 33/40

The Talladega High School Band was selected as ABC 33/40’s “Blitz Band of the Week” on the October 24th show. To view the entire show, click here. The spot on the THS Band occurs between 1/2 and 2/3 of the way through.

Music is Alive & Well!

On October 10, 2008, seven talented students from Graham Elementary School, and their music teacher, Mrs. Barrow, hitched a ride to Samford University with the music teachers and students from Talladega County Schools.




They were all going to the Alabama Music Educators' Association's 2008 Elementary Music Festival. This is the third year that Samford University has graciously allowed AMEA to hold this event on their campus.





Students and teachers were at rehearsals for hours on Friday but the time spent practicing was well worth it!





The students filled the stage that evening in the lovely Wright Auditorium. The sound of the singing was beautiful and well prepared. The playing of Orff instruments and movements of smaller groups of students filled the stage and auditorium with creativity, excitement, and beautiful sound. All of this was produced by fourth and fifth grade students from all over the state of Alabama. Do they want to work hard and go back again? You bet!

Performances at the Ritz

The Ritz is sponsoring two professional productions exclusively targeting first through 4th graders.

Rapunzel is being presented on Tuesday, October 28th at 11:00 for 3rd and 4th graders.

The City Mouse and the Country Mouse is being presented Monday, November 17th at 11:00 for 1st and 2nd graders.

Both performances are being offered free of charge to our students. Thanks to George Culver and the Historic Ritz Theatre for bringing these opportunities to our students.

National School Bus Safety Week

For many students, the bus driver is the first school employee they see in the morning and the last one they see in the afternoon. We can probably all think of those little kindnesses that our bus driver showed us when were small that made the day go better. Those days are not gone, and continue to happen every day.

Aside from being a friendly face, our drivers are entrusted with the incredibly important task of transporting scores of students safely, and do so despite weather conditions which are sometimes not ideal, other motorists whose driving skills are less than optimum, or a student who fails to realize how his or her conduct on the bus jeopardizes the safety of everyone on board.

Every year on the third full week in October, the nation spotlights this important piece of the educational puzzle. The theme of this year's National School Bus Safety Week. The theme for this year is, "Stop on Red, Kids Ahead" and emphasizes the idea that bus safety includes educating the public at large on its responsibility to respect school bus as it runs its route.

The artwork displayed here is one of the national poster contest winners. To view the other winning pieces of artwork, click here.

New ZEJH Builders Club Blog!

The Zora Ellis Jr. High Builders Club now has a blog that is ran and updated by the students.  They will be conducting several activities that involve donations throughout the year, and are always thankful when the community can get involved. Stop by and check out this site to stay updated on the club, and find out the many things they are involved in so you can help too.  

www.zejhbuilders.blogspot.com

"Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something."Author Unknown

Happy Homecoming and GO TIGERS!

Raymond L. Young got a visit from some very "fired up" THS students. In preparation to take on Shelby County for Homecoming, THS cheerleaders and selected football players made the rounds to the elementary schools leading the student body in cheers and encouraging them to stay in school, do their best, and stay away from drugs and alcohol.

We are proud of our R. L. Young alumni who were among the THS students. Taylor Gurley, a former R. L. Young student and son of Rebecca Beard our computer lab assistant, was the spokesperson for the group.

Thanks THS for PUMPING US UP AND good luck tonight!

A Good Website To Know

A site that all families need to know is http://www.familywatchdog.us/ This website will allow you to put in your address and get a list of any child predators in your area. It provides a map and a list of the offenders in close proximity to your home. You can click on the individual names and it will provide a picture and detailed information.

Just working with you to keep our students safe!

Public Comments Being Accepted for Course of Study

Part of the process of adopting any Course of Study in Alabama is making a draft available to the public and providing an opportunity for input. Revisions are made from that input before the document is presented to the Alabama State Board of Education for adoption.

This year, the Course of Study is being adopted for Mathematics, Physical Education, and Health Education. The easiest way to examine these drafts is to download them from the Alabama State Department of Education website. To download these documents, click the links as follows:

Mathematics

Physical Education

Health Education

If you have comments, the easiest way to communicate those is to e-mail Dr. Sara Mason at the Alabama State Department of Education. Her address is smason@alsde.edu. The deadline to submit public comments is November 3.

Having serves on a Course of Study committee, public comments are taken very seriously. Every single comment is read to the committee. The committee makes a decision to accept, reject, or partially accept the recommendation made in that comment. In addition, the committee provides a rationale for the decision, and that reasoning is documented in writing and becomes part of the official record of that Course of Study committee.

National School Lunch Week

"Throughout National School Lunch Week, we recognize the school officials and parents who encourage young people to develop good eating habits. We also thank the dedicated food service professionals who serve our children healthy foods each day at school."

This thought is an excerpt from a proclamation issued by President George W. Bush. To read the entire proclamation, click here.

Feeding hundreds of children every day is no easy task. Despite power outages, field trips that play havoc with the schedule, and shoestring budgets, we can count on the professionals in Talladega's Child Nutrition Program to come through every day, and do so with a smile!

Putting School Work First

Homework is an essential to reinforcing lessons taught in school. This Report to Parents from the National Association of Elementary School Principals gives tips on making homework meaningful and helping your child be successful in this area.

Missoula Children's Theatre Coming to Talladega

Open auditions will be held on Monday, December 1 for the Missoula Children's Theatre production of "Robin Hood." Auditions will be held at the Ritz beginning at 5:00 P.M. Any student in grades K-9 may audition.

Numerous roles will be cast, all with local students. No advanced preparation is required. After a week of focused rehearsals, there will be two public performances of "Robin Hood" at the Ritz. These performances will be December 6, one in the afternoon and one in the evening.

The productions include professional lighting, sets, costumes, and music. Most importantly, it is a great opportunity for local students to perform in a theater production and have a wonderful educational experience.

Our partnership with the Historic Ritz Theatre is just one example of how Talladega City Schools is moving forward!

Daily Home Article on Teacher In-Service

Thanks to The Daily Home for this morning's front-page article. Brandon Fincher stayed for practically the entire program before writing the article. Bob Crisp was on hand to take photographs. You can read the article by clicking here.

This in-service was made possible through grants from the Talladega City Schools Foundation, the Alabama State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

An Inside View into Central Office Staff

People may wonder exactly what Central Office Staff does during the day. Perhaps you envision pushing a pencil, typing up reports, making/returning phone calls, or holding meetings.

You may be surprised to discover that the Central Office Staff can be found in schools connecting directly with the students. See what I mean by viewing this short slideshow of Salter's recent visitor, Johnny Appleseed...as played by Dr. Frank Buck, Curriculum Supervisor and Special Education Coordinator.


The Superintendent is a frequent visitor to the schools as well. This photo was taken during Read Across America Week when she visited a school to share her favorite Dr. Seuss book, "Horton Hatches an Egg." It is quite unique that the book includes her name in the title, but it was the message of the story, NEVER GIVE UP, that she wanted to share with the students.

This summer, Dr. Horton visited the JUMPSTART program at Salter. 18 lucky students got an "jumpstart" before kindergarten to prepare for being in elementary school. You can see the program was quite a hit!

Joni Baker, Child Nutrition Program Director, makes weekly rounds to all schools and assists the lunchroom managers with a variety of things. The picture below shows a new serving line she arranged to have put in R. L. Young's lunchroom.

John Locklin, District Technology Coordinator, works in all schools to keep the technology up and running. He is also instrumental in securing new technology through grants. John helps with the day to day operations and with advancements in the use of technology.

Douglas Campbell, Assistant Superintendent, makes things happen for the schools through the use of Federal funds. Large purchases, such as rolling computer labs which can be found in each school, were purchased by him. He inquires about the individual needs of each school through discussions with the building principals.

Helen Keller said it best with the quote, "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." Together with parent involvement, community involvement, professional development, dedicated teachers/staff, and active, involved administrators, our district is MOVING FORWARD!

Thanks, George!

It was with mixed emotion that I read the article in this morning's Daily Home. A similar article appeared in the Birmingham News.

Congratulations to George Culver on being named Executive Director of the Birmingham Children's Theatre. This is a huge honor for anyone, and George is certainly very deserving of it.

George Culver has been a true friend of this school system. I have lost count of the number of times he has brought performers to the Ritz and then found some way to include our schools, and do at no cost to us. Some years ago I received a grant application for the highly-competitive Arts Pilot Project. It was through the guidance and wisdom of George Culver and Tommy Moorehead that we were able to write one of only six grants in the state to be funded. Ironically, the arts in-service with Mary Foshee to be held tomorrow, a program which will involve all of our elementary teachers, can be traced back to George.

Our challenge is to make sure that what George Culver began a decade ago does not wither, but instead continues to grow and continues to serve as one of those points of light for our school system and for our city.

Writing is a Life Skill

The three R's--reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic--have not always gotten equal attention at school, but that has changed in recent years. Children need to know how to express themselves through the written word. This Report to Parents from the National Association of Elementary School Principals provides suggestions for how.