Monticello Live

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The All-School Reunion is Saturday, May 5, 2012. Nominations are currently being sought for 2012 inductees into the Drew Central Hall of Fame and recipients of the school’s Distinguished Service Award.

The Hall of Fame was established in 2003 to recognize and honor former graduates of Drew Central High School.

The Distinguished Service Award, also established in 2003, is presented annually to non-Drew Central graduates who have performed a valuable service to the school in some fashion.

The criteria for nomination and selection to the Hall of Fame are as follows:
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6 senior high students from DC are eligible for All State! This is a huge accomplishment, and a great improvement compared to last year’s results (only 3 were eligible for tryouts). The 6 students are:
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Silvino Tinajero (6th grade), Scott Porter (8th grade), Loida Garcia ( 7th grade), and Rowyn Fradsham (5th grade) were the top Accelerated Reader Point winners for the 2nd nine weeks at Drew Central Middle School. The middle schools students read books and take Accelerated Reading test for points. This program helps students improve their comprehension and encourages them to read for pleasure. Each student was given a medal The middle school librarian sponsors several contest during the year to promote reading. The students are working toward the goal of being the top reader for the year.

Eva Arrington, Drew Central fourth grade teacher, was selected to be a member of the Arkansas Department of Education Leadership Team and to serve on the board for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

The framework for K-12 Science Education was developed by the National Academy of Sciences. It was a critical first step because it was grounded in the most current research on science and science learning and identifies the science all K-12 students should know. Arkansas was selected to be one of six lead states to review draft versions of the standards and provide feedback to the NGSS writing committee.

The standards are being developed to keep the US competitive in science and engineering by providing a more coherent vision for science education. The standards will be built on the notion of learning as a developmental progression based on cognitive research. Also, the standards will be focused on a limited number of core ideas in science and engineering both within and across the disciplines. In addition, integrating science knowledge with science practices, The vision for science education will apply crosscutting concepts (connecting all sciences together) to deepen students understanding of the core ideas. A public draft will be available for review in the Spring 2012. The Next Generation Science Standards will be released for adoption Fall 2012.

Drew Central Public Schools received notification from the Arkansas Department of Education on December 14, 2011 that Drew Central High School is no longer considered a State Directed School but Restructuring according to the state Adequate Yearly Performance Report .

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Top row left to right - Andrew Mckeown, Shaylon Hood 2nd row left to right- Kashawn Powell, Brooke Rekow, Morgan Densmore, Quanesha Davis, Baylee McManus, Sponsor Laura Fawcett , Bottom row left to right- Deseraye Simpson, Danielle Miles

Drew Central School District participated in the Arkansas Drive Smart Challenge during the month of October which was organized through The Injury Prevention Center at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. The student led program was designed to increase seat belt use and decrease driver cell phone use among high school students. Each school was required to select at least four challenge activities. A $100 mini grant was given to buy supplies for the activities.

Drew Central did the following activities:

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The Drew Central Junior cheer Team received second place in the Arkansas Cheer Coaches Association cheer classic in Mayflower on December 12th. Top Row: Coach Melanie Brotherton, Aalexus Jones, Sammi Sander, and April Vincent. Middle Row: Caroline Adair, Claudia Morrison, M.K. Otwell, Ashley Berryman, and Lacey Rae Bottom Row: Fabiana Franklin, Brooke Rekow Captain, Chandolyn Watson Co-Captain, and Kaitlyn Harris

Drew Central Cheerleaders and Coaches hosted their first ever cheer competition on November 12th. A total of 13 teams came from across the state to compete: Five Junior High level teams and eight Sr. High level teams. At the competition the Drew Central Sr. High Cheerleaders won first place in the 3a division.

Congratulations to all the teams that won.

The Drew Central Senior High Cheerleaders. They are coached by Julie Callison

Thursday November 17th, 2011 was The Great American Smoke-Out Day, and the students of the Drew Central S.O.D.A. Club (Students Opposed to Drugs and Alcohol) held a ceremony where Mayor Allen Maxwell signed a proclamation for the day.
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2 classes were the winners of the Box Top contest at Drew Central.

Mrs. Meeks’ third grade class, and Mrs. Adcock’s 6th grade class are shown here.

Happy 30th Birthday, Mrs. Kristine Hoskins!!!

From all the DC PreSchool Staff!!

Drew Central Cheerleaders recently hosted a cheer competition on November 12th. Both Junior and Senior teams in the 3A division took home First place awards.

The girls performed in stunts, tumbling, Jump off and cheer competition which includes dance. An overall high score award went to Benton Junior High and Lakeside Senior high from Hot Springs. Schools competed by division and by small and large squads.

Drew Central’s Kindergarten classes dressed up as Indians and Pilgrims to celebrate a Thanksgiving Feast.

This was a conclusion to their unit of study on the first Thanksgiving.

Pictured left to right: Braxton Shelton, Alivia Pharr, Kyla Smith, and Tyrone Franklin.

Dr. Max Terrell, professor in the School of Education at UAM, spoke to the fourth grade students at Drew Central Elementary recently about the Civil War. Pictured are Dr. Terrell and Intern, Sara Watson modeling a “Great Coat,” which was part of Civil War attire that he presented.

All region jr and sr high are:
Front: Caiya Robinson, Alex Moffitt, LaJada Coakley, Bianca Rochelle, Bryson Frasure, Brittany Bawsom.
Back: Jessica Wishard, Lindee Eubanks, Coleman Herman, Caleb Eubanks, Katie Taylor, Michael Carpenter, Charley Bodiford, Aaron Jones.
Not pictured: Cody Williams and Lesly Jean-Francios

The choirs are under the direction of Mrs. Leslyn Jacks.

Individual honors awareded are:

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Four Drew Central High School students scored a spot on the All-State Tennis team.

Senior Jerica Binns and sophomore Coleman Herman were selected for the All State Tennis after gaining 3rd place in the state tournament.

At state, the team of Binns and Herman went on to the court ready to play earning the first win against Jessieville. They jumped out in front of Piggott for their second win at state but Episcopal Collegiate would prove to be too strong for the duo as they fell in the final match.

Sophomores Eamon Borse and Tommy Wilmoth were selected for the All State Tennis by placing 2nd at state.

Borse and Wilmoth won over Valley Springs and Smackover before being defeated by Episcopal Collegiate.

The DCHS doubles team played a strong regular season and did well in the division tournaments that lead to the state playoffs.

“They represented their community well and I’m really proud of them” said Coach Cooper.

Last week was National Teen Driver Safety Week. Every 12 minutes someone is killed in a car crash. Drew Central held a demonstration where a student was given a sign to wear that stated that the student had been killed in a car crash while either texting, driving while intoxicated, not wearing a seat belt, etc. This adds up to 117 fatal crashes every day.

A student dressed as the Grim Reaper to enter a classroom, pick a student who would then wear the sign. Safety facts were announced throughout the day.

Teens in Southeast Arkansas die from car crashes at a rate nearly three times that of other teens in the United States. While some crashes cannot be avoided and are not survivable, teens can do two things to greatly reduce their risk of serious injury or death in a car crash—wear a seat belt and avoid using a cell phone for talking or texting while driving. For more information you can go to Injury Prevention Center website at http://www.archildrens.org/injuryprevention /default.asp

Recently during Fire Prevention week, Firemen Michael Barnett and Bobby Sawyer visited the Drew Central 4th graders at the elementary school.

The Firemen spoke with the children about ways to prevent fires, and then the students were allowed to explore the fire and rescue trucks.

Coleman Herman, Hannah Haskew, and Kara Gober

First-place winner, for the second year in a row, for DCHS Homecoming 2011 parade float is FBLA. Studetns could only use small wagons or shopping carts to decorate for the parade. Candy was thrown to the students from the district. The FBLA members that worked on the float are Francisco Dukes, Kara Gober, Hannah Haskew, Coleman Herman, and DeZaraye Simpson.

“I’m so proud of my students for their work on the shopping cart float. We had less than 24 hours to come up with a theme and put it together” said Newlyn Birch, FBLA sponsor.

The Southeast Arkansas Junior All Region auditions were recently held at Monticello High School and the following students were selected to be a part of the 2011 Junior All Region Choir Clinic on November 19th:

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Mary Hobbs reading the online book to her 4th grade class

Drew Central 4th grade students participated in Read a book. Give a book. On October 6th, students went online to read Llama, Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney as part of a challenge to set a world record for Jumpstarts Read for the Record Campaign. The fourth grade teachers had heard about the challenge while attending SEARK Reading Council’s meeting.

The teachers brought the idea back to the students to see if the students wanted to participate as part of their community service. For each book read online during October, one book will be donated to preschool classrooms across America. To date 465,178 books have been read online worldwide.

Drew Central Kindergarten celebrated “Applebration” as they ended their apple unit. The children sang apple songs and played apple games such as apple in the spoon, apple in the knee, and bouncy apple. There was apple tasting to discover which apple was their favorite.

The highlight of the celebration was when Johnny Appleseed, from Union Bank, came for a visit. The Star Student’s from each classroom got to take their picture with Johnny. Left to right Rodney Daniels from Mrs. Oldner’s class, Dakota Stults from Ms. Cossey’s class, Kierstyn Camden from Mrs. Tadel’s class, and Paige King from Mrs. Caldwell’s class.

Drew Central is proud to announce the 2011 Homecoming Royalty.

From the left, Maid Misshally Simpson, Honor Maid Kristina Stewart, Maid Adruna Simpson, Queen Jerica Binns, Maid Iesha Smith, Honor Maid Morgan Densmore and Maid Danielle Miles. Drew Central will host Homecoming on October 14.

Teens found scouring their closets for clothing made in America to be anything but a simple challenge as a class discussions about education in America compared to China led to conversations about how the U.S. companies use workers in foreign countries to make U.S. products.

After the students viewed the recent dorm room décor dilemma at Southern Methodist University in Texas aired on the ABC News Made in America series, the students began to wonder why companies send their work to other countries when there are so many unemployed in America. (more…)

Sarah Pennington and grandmother Barbara Dyson

Drew Central Elementary fourth grade students invited grandparents to be guest speakers and dine with them in the cafeteria.

This was in honor of Grandparents’ Day on September 11th.

Drew Central’s fourth grade remembered the events of September 11th this past Friday with a flag ceremony around the school’s flagpole. They viewed several videos on History.com to understand the magnitude of this day in American history.

After their discussion, each student challenged themselves with an “I will…” service to their school and community and wrote it on a note card that was then attached to a bulletin board with the Twin Towers drawn on it. Some of the students dedicated themselves to be better citizens by helping others, cleaning up the school playground, and one day serving their country in the armed forces.

The Court Appointed Special Advocates serve the abused and neglected children in our area. CASA advocates for the 10th judicial district which contains the following counties: Ashley, Drew, Chicot, Bradley and Desha. There are 219 children in need of services. Right now, Drew Central EAST is currently working on a clothing drive to raise money for CASA. The clothing is donated to homeless shelters and orphanages. Due to a reduction in government funding, CASA is in dire need of monetary donations to keep the program active. All funds collected are used to train advocates and keep the program operational and serve more children.

To make donations, please contact Jeni Smith at 1-870-831-9536 or 1-870-367-9449.

Mrs. Mary Hobbs, a fourth grade teacher at Drew Central Elementary, is shown with her students and Read (a homophone for the color red) their new classroom pet.

Read was rescued by Mrs. Hobbs from a snake’s mouth when she was only four days old and still has the shredded ear to prove it.

Through Read, the. Students are learning responsibility, the history and care of domesticated rabbits, and empathy for animals.

Arkansas Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program Funds Local Coalition to Continue Tobacco Control Efforts in Arkansas

The Arkansas Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program (TPCP) has given the Drew Central School District $47,053.00 to continue efforts to decrease and eliminate tobacco use in the Monticello area. Local coalitions play an integral part in preventing youth from starting and helping tobacco users quit.

“Coalitions and other grantees are an important part of TPCP’s tobacco control strategy,” said Carolyn Dresler, MD, TPCP’s Medical Director. “They act as our hands and feet in local Arkansas communities, interacting with real citizens and providing feedback on how we can improve our efforts statewide.”

The DCSD has experienced growth and success since its collaboration with TPCP. Funding was first received during the 2009-2010 school year in the amount of $74,000. The district has sponsored a health fair, tobacco cessations programs and activities, and sponsored various activities for students and parents focused on the dangers of tobacco use.

DCSD partners with their local communities to implement a variety of activities that teach Arkansas youth about the dangers of tobacco. They distribute information to tobacco users about services available to help them quit, and they act as tobacco control advocates, raising awareness about the burden tobacco use places on the user, their families and all Arkansans.

MonticelloLive on Vimeo.
Video by Zach Brown.

Friday night, Drew Central hosted “Meet the Pirates” night at Mike Pennington stadium.

This year’s Sr. high band, cheerleaders, and football teams were introduced and performed. 

The football team ran several plays showcasing what each unit has been working on all summer.

Drew Central Sxhool administrators are updating blogs this yeat, and encourage parents and students to check in throughout the new school year.

Here are their blog’s web addresses.

Mr. Fawcett- wfawcettsuperintendent.blogspot.com  Superintendent

Ms. Greer – kgsdcblog.blogspot.com Dir. of Instruction/Curriculum Coordinator

Mr. Noble – snobledchs.blogspot.com HS Principal

Mrs. Vincent – mvincentdchs.blogspot.com Asst HS Principal

Mrs. Graham – jgrahamdcms.blogspot.com MS Principal

Mrs. Jackson – trudygjackson.blogspot.com ES Principal

Frank Ferguson – frank-ferguson1.blogspot.com Instructional Technology Coordinator