Purpose of meeting: To inform parents of topics important to all 9th-11th grade students.

Topics covered:
• End – of – Course testing
• ACT online registration
• Class Dues
• CIV Courses
• Scholarships
• Prom
• Common Core State Standards

LMC

Students – This is a reminder that the LMC is open each morning at 7:15 and at lunch. You are welcome to come and read books and magazines. Also, the research center is available. New books will be arriving on Thursday so come and “check out” these books.

Wii Fitness

If you would like to dance your way in shape … Sign-up to use the Wii in Mr. Wilmoth’s room during lunch. The sign-up sheet is on Mr. Wilmoth’s door.

CANDY GRAMS

The Drew Central High School Cheerleaders will be selling Valentine Kisses for 25 cents and Pirate Valentine Candy Grams for $2. Deadline to order is Feb. 13th. They will be delivered on Valentine’s day.

JINGLE JEANS – Wednesday’s

Teachers, don’t forget to wear your jeans on Wednesday’s ! Purchase your Jingle Jeans tag for $2 in the office. Thanks for supporting the HS Cheerleaders!

ATTENTION STUDENTS

Mrs. Birch’s lab is open every afternoon for students that need to complete any computer generated assignments: word processing, spreadsheets, slide shows, research, etc. Also, her lab is open to those students that need a place to hang until remediation class begins.

DC BASKETBALL – Today

Our Pirate Basketball teams (JB/SG/SB) will travel to Harmony Grove on Tuesday to play the Hornets. Games will start at 5:00. Please come out and support our Pirates !

FCA MEETING – Wednesday, Feb. 8th

FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) will meet next Wednesday February 8 in the board room at lunch. Bring your lunch to the meeting.

LETTERMAN JACKETS – Wed., Feb. 8th

Dan from Neff will be here the beginning of 7th period on Wed., Feb. 8th to take letterman jacket orders from 2 year letterman in football, cheer and basketball.

FACULTY MEETING – Wed., Feb. 8th

This month’s faculty will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 8th in the LMC after school. Please make plans to attend.

ATTENTION FCCLA MEMBERS – Friday, Feb. 10th

Friday is the last day to order shirts. See Mrs. Vance today if you plan to order one.

CLASS DUES – Thursday, Feb. 16th

Juniors, prom dues are only $40 if you pay by Feb.16th. After this date you will have to pay $60!!!! For complete information see bulletin on the Jr/Sr bulletin board outside Mrs. Parrish’s room. If you plan on attending PROM, dues MUST be paid) You may make partial payments to Mrs. Parrish until the balance is paid in full.

DC TALENT SHOW – Thursday, Feb. 23rd

The DC Choir will be hosting a talent show on Thursday, Feb. 23rd in the Earl Willis Auditorium at 6:00 p.m. There will be a $2 admission fee. Small groups and soloists will be performing. Auditions are open to ALL students 7th -12th grades. Auditions will take place after school on Monday, Jan. 30th. Your audition cannot be longer than 90 seconds. Please see Mrs. Jacks for details and to sign-up.

RELAY FOR LIFE – Tag a Friend

EAST is raising money for Relay for Life. Please participate in the “You’ve Been Tagged” fundraiser. You may tag people with a treat for just 50 cents. See Mr. Wilmoth for details.

TEENS FOR JEANS DRIVE

Drew Central has entered the Aeropostale sponsored “Teen for Jeans Drive.” All you have to do is donate a pair of gently jeans, children’s or Adult jeans to Mr. Wilmoth’s room. If DC wins, $5000 will be donated to the school, one pair of jeans will be given to each student (this means you) and a party hosted by Aeropostale. The deadline to turn in all jeans by Friday, Feb. 10th.

POP TABS FOR ST. JUDES

EAST is collecting pop-tabs for St. Judes Children’s Hospital. The tabs are cashed in for money that will go to children for medical treatment. You can put your tabs in a plastic sandwich bag and drop them off to Mr. Wilmoth or to Sarah McManus in EAST.

Attention Students: If any of you are interested in taking an ACT prep class please sign the list in the counselor’s office. The class will be offered after school and a few Saturdays. This is a great opportunity to bring up those scores.

SENIORS -

Copies of the Drew County EHC Scholarship are in the counselors’ office Deadline to my office is March 30th. Copies of the EAST Scholarship can be picked up in EAST or the counselor’s office. Deadline to my office is also March 30. You must be attending UAM to receive either of these scholarships.

The Society of American Military Engineers Scholarship for construction related Engineering. Deadline March 25th.

American School Health Scholarship $1,000 Deadline April 2nd. Must be entering a medical field.

Copies of the Union Bank Scholarship are in the counselor’s office.

Masonic Lodge Book Scholarship $250 Deadline April 1st.

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:
1. The nominee shall be a graduate of DCHS or be eligible for a diploma under present Arkansas state law, or a person who left Drew Central prior to graduation and has not received a diploma from another high school.
2. The nominees should be persons who are readily known for outstanding accomplishments in the wider community.
3. The nominees should be persons of high character and integrity.
4. The nominees should be persons who would be considered excellent role models for children.

For more information or to nominate someone for either award, contact Drew Central superintendent Wayne Fawcett at 367-5369. The deadline for nominations is February 10, 2012.

These students have worked extremely hard since August to work towards this goal. The auditions will take place in Arkadelphia next Friday, February 3rd. If selected, the students will have the opportunity to attend the All State Clinic in Hot Springs February 16th-18th.

Eva Arrington, Drew Central fourth grade teacher

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.

After two appeals, the school district administration team was able to show where 95% of the Grade 11 students took the Grade 11 Literacy Exam in the Spring of 2011 thus removing the School Improvement Year 7 status and replacing it with School Improvement, Meeting Standards.

This is a wonderful academic accomplishment for the Drew Central Pirates as the district continues to move toward meeting AYP goals throughout the district. Mr. Wayne Fawcett, Superintendent, acknowledged the hard work of administrators and high school counselor, Cathy Edmonds, and her assistant , Betty Jo Paul in writing and gathering the documentation for the appeal. He also noted the perseverance, dedication, and the hard work of the teachers and the students who are required to take the state mandated tests. Mr. John Hoy, formerly the Assistant Superintendent of Monticello Public Schools, and now the Arkansas Department of Education Assistant Commissioner of the Division of Academic Accountability, and Louis Ferren of the same division, assisted the school district in reviewing the appeal.

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:

Public address message- Students put facts about seat belt use in Southeast Arkansas on Monticellolive and gave the number to The Injury Prevention Center for people who wanted more information.

Get the word out- Students read facts about seat belt use each morning to the High School and put up posters around the campus.

Toe tag demonstration- Every 12 minutes someone dies in a car crash in the US. The students dressed up as the Grim Reaper and went into classrooms every 12 minutes and gave a sign to a student or teacher that stated they were killed in a car crash from not wearing a seat belt or from texting.

All School Assembly via Channel 1- A mandatory DVD “Room to Live” was shown along with another DVD which was made by Morgan Densmore and Danielle Miles about not wearing seat belts, texting and driving under the influence of alcohol.

Buckle Up Stencil- A buckle up stencil was painted on the parking lot of the school so people leaving campus will be reminded to buckle up.

The students also had to do a pre and post observation of drivers on Drew Central campus to see if seat belts were in use along with cell phones being used while driving.

A celebration luncheon and awards were given out on December 8th to all schools involved. Drew Central won $100 cash along with the Most Unique/Creative Overall award.

Congratulations to all the teams that won.

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