Ernest Ward Middle Holds Annual Valentine’s Dance
February 10, 2008
The annual Ernest Ward Middle School Valentine’s Dance was held Saturday night in the school gym. NorthEscambia.com was there, and we have a complete photo gallery.
FCAT Preparation Made Fun
February 9, 2008
The FCAT exams being next week in Escambia County, and North Escambia Schools have been busy preparing students for the annual tests.
This next week, students in grades four, eight and ten will take the writing portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Students in grades six, seven and nine will take the Escambia Writes! test, a district test similar to the FCAT.
Friday, students at Bryneville Elementary School learned more about writing from Kent and Gloria Fox and their puppet Sally. Mr. Fox was an MCA Recording artist and is a songwriter and videographer. Mrs. Fox is children’s author and illustrator, and is a nationally recognized puppeteer. They travel to elementary and middle schools motivating students to learn writing and other skills. They also recently appeared at Bratt Elementary School.
Pictured above, left to right: Sally, Gloria Fox and Kent Fox at Bryneville Elementary School Friday morning. Pictured below: Gloria Fox speaks about writing to Byrneville fourth graders.
Escambia County Schools Pull Beef Possibly From “Downer” Cows; Federal Investigation Underway
February 8, 2008
Escambia County schools have stopped serving beef that was processed by a California Company that allegedly processed “downed cows”.
A video tape made by the Humane Society of the United States allegedly shows workers at the Westland Meat Company in Chino, California, prodding downer cows — those unable to walk— with forklifts, high-pressure water hoses and electric prods to force them to walk to the slaughterhouse. It is illegal in the United States to process a downer cow into the food supply because it could be a sign of a serious illness.
The video by the humane society was taped in the fall but only recently released.
“Had we known at the time the alleged violations occurred, we would have initiated our investigation sooner, and taken appropriate actions at that time,” a news release from U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said. “I am deeply concerned about the allegations made regarding inhumane handling of non-ambulatory disabled cattle in a federally inspected slaughter establishment.”
“Words cannot accurately express how shocked and horrified I was at the depictions contained on the video that was taken by an individual who worked at our facility from October 3 thru November 14, 2007,” Westland Meat President Steve Mendell said in a written statement. That statement goes on to say that Westland has suspended its operations pending the outcome of the federal investigation.
The meat in question that was served or to be served in Escambia County schools was further processed into country fried steak and charbroiled patties for hamburgers by a company called Prairie Foods, according to Escambia School District Food Services Director Glenna Taylor. All beef from Westland Meat has been placed on “hold” and will not be served to students until that hold is released by the USDA.
It is important to note that the meat is on “hold” and a “hold” is not a “recall” where the meat has been determined to be a health risk and must be destroyed.
“‘Hold’ means that the product must be quarantined and clearly marked that it cannot be distributed or used until further notice. It is usually the first step taken by USDA whenever there’s a question about a commodity’s safety/fitness for human consumption, meeting specifications, etc. It allows USDA time to investigate and decide what needs to be done,” Gloria M. Van Treese, Chief of the Bureau of Food Distribution with Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said.
“There has been absolutely no contamination found in the products,” Taylor told NorthEscambia.com. “But we are certainly following the direction of the USDA and will not serve it.”
“We have absolute faith in our food services department,” Northview High School Principal Gayle Weaver said Thursday afternoon. “In no way would we ever endanger our students.”
Hamburgers were on the menu and served at schools across North Escambia Thursday. Taylor assured NorthEscambia.com that the meat served to students in those burgers was not from Westland Meat and was perfectly safe. Other hamburger meat dishes such as spaghetti served in our schools contain hamburger meat processed by other companies.
NorthEscambia.com will continue to monitor this story and keep you informed.
Byrneville Elementary Faces Fine Over Half A Student
February 7, 2008
Byrneville Elementary School was one of 31 school across Florida to be fined for failing to meet Florida’s class-size amendment.
The state recommend a $1,963 penalty against the Byrneville charter school for what the principal says amounts to half of a child too many.
Byrneville Principal Dee Wolfe-Sullivan says her school averaged 22.5 students per class in the fourth and fifth grade when numbers were collected by the state last fall. The state mandates a maximum average of 22 students per class in fourth and fifth grades. The rules also call for a maximum of 18 in kindergarten to third grade classes.
One student has since withdrawn from the fifth grade, leaving the school in compliance at the maximum average of 22 students per class in the fourth and fifth grades.
“Because of that, I’ve had to turn students away,” Wolfe-Sullivan told NorthEscambia.com. “And that is just terrible because we are suppose to be a school of choice. But there’s nothing I can do about this; I feel very helpless.”
“A teacher when you count base pay and benefits like insurance can cost you $40,000 a year,” she said. “I just don’t have that kind of funding for half a student.”
Since 2004, Byrneville has added one teacher per year to keep up with the school’s growth, Wolfe-Sullivan said. She stressed that the school meets or exceeds all other state requirements; the school just had one student too many in a class.
In December, Byrnevile Elementary submitted an appeal letter to the Florida Department of Education. That appeal has since been denied.
“Seeing the situation coming, we addressed the possibility of hiring yet another teacher, but found that adding another salary and fringe benefits for half a student was not financially feasible or fiscally sound for our school,” the letter says.
To read the complete letter, click here.
Pictured above: Byrneville Elementary Principal Dee Wolfe-Sullivan with her fourth and fifth grade students at lunch Wednesday. NorthEscambia.com photos. Click either photo to enlarge.
Blood Drive Held Tuesday At Northview High School
February 6, 2008
A blood drive was held Tuesday at Northview High School with students giving the gift of life. The Northwest Florida Blood Center reports that 45 faculty and students donated 34 units of blood.
Pictured above: Junior Ashley Snow donates blood for the third time in her life Tuesday morning. Pictured below: Senior Nick Prather donates blood for the first time. Pictured bottom of page: Senior Andrea Byars makes her second ever blood donation.
Another blood drive will held Sunday, February 17 in Molino at both Aldersgate Methodist Church and Highland Baptist Church. The bloodmobile will be at Aldersgate Methodist in the morning from eight until eleven, and it will move to Highland Baptist Church in the afternoon from noon until two.
To reserve a time to donate and “give the gift of life” at either location, contact Sandra Greenwell at 587-2489 or Betty Ashcraft at 587-5294 prior to the drive.
Donors must be in generally good health. Other requirements include:
- At least 17 years of age
- Must bring picture ID
- Weigh at least 110 lb
- Free of infection, fever or flu symptoms, for 3 days
- No cancer within the last 5 years
- No antibiotics within the last 48 hours
- No tattoos within the past 12 months
- No chest pain, heart disease, heart surgery (Requires written physician release with diagnosis)
- No history of viral hepatitis
- Cannot have lived in France for 5 years or more between 1980 and the present
- Cannot have lived or visited in the UK for a total of 3 months or more from 1980 to 1996
- Cannot have received a blood transfusion in the UK between 1980 and the present
- Military personnel (current and former), and their dependents, who spent time in military bases in northern Europe during 1980-1990, or southern Europe during 1980-1996, for 6 months or more
- All military personnel (active & reserve) that are returning from Iraq, are deferred for a period of 1 year after the last date on location in that country.
Carver/Century Gives Away Hundreds Of Dollars, Holds FCAT Cash Grab
January 31, 2008
“The more you learn, the more you earn,” has been Carver/Century School Principal Jeff Garthwaite’s repeated phrase to his students the past few weeks. And Thursday, he “showed them the money”.The school held a cash grab awarding cash to deserving students who made FCAT gains from the September 2007 FCAT Simulation to the December 2007 FCAT Simulation.
The students’ hard work literally paid off Thursday. From gold dollar coins, to $2 bills to envelopes containing $20, students earned for learning.
Patsy Green, a retired Carver/Century teacher, awarded cash to the students on behalf of the Alger-Sullivan Historical Society.
“I made a promise to you last year in my homeroom that if you made an improvement on the FCAT you will get money,” she told excited middle school students.
She awarded cash ranging for $5 to $20 per student for not only high FCAT scores, but for simply making “adequately yearly progress” on the FCAT simulation. That meant that even low-scoring students that showed some improvement would walk away with money.
Rev. Carter from the Pilgrim Lodge Baptist Church and a former guidance counselor at Carver Middle School told the students “That is what education is all about. You get some rewards today, but you get rewards the rest of your life.”
He urged student to turn off their televisions and spend that time reading.
“After you watch TV for an hour, close your eyes and see what you got out of that,” Carter said. “Then read a book, close your eyes and see what you learned.”
“Your life is in you hands,” the reverend said. “You can make it anything you want it to be.”
That sentiment was echoed by Jewel Cannada-Wynn, a Pensacola city council member and a former Carver student. She is also the dean at Escambia High School in Pensacola.
“I grew up in Century, and I am proud of my hometown,” Cannada-Wynn told the students (pictured left, click to enlarge). She told them it was possible for a Carver/Century student to work hard and become anything that they want to be in their adult life.
She told the student that they “have the power”, and encouraged them to associate only with other students that “have the power”.
Three students were randomly picked for the “cash grab”. They were allowed to grab all the coins they could hold in one hand from bowls containing either nickels, dimes or quarters.
Garthwaite promised the students that another cash grab would happen later in the year after the FCAT tests in the spring.
The money for the school’s cash grab was from the Foundation for Excellence in Education, a non-profit corporation committed to enhancing the quality of public education in Escambia County by encouraging innovation and excellence in the classroom.
Carver/Century was rated as an “F” school by the State of Florida last year. Wednesday’s cash grab activity is one of many steps the school has taken in an attempt to encourage students to prepare for the FCAT and improve the “F”.
Northview FFA Students Compete, Place In District Event Thursday
January 24, 2008
Students from Northview High School’s FFA participated in the District 1 FFA Career Development Event in Jay Thursday.
Northview’s FFA placed first in the Parliamentary Procedure Career Development Event. Pictured above, left to right, are Micah Byars, Aimee Clarke, Alyson Shoemaker, Jennifer Lowe and Andrea Byars from Northview receiving the award from District 1 President Austin Courson. The group will participate in the state contest in June.
Allison Vidak received the second place district award in theFFA Creed Speaking Career Development Event. She is pictured above receiving her award from District 1 President Austin Courson.
Alyson Shoemaker, Jennifer Lowe, Aimee Clarke and Candice Greenwell participated in the Agribusiness Management Career Development Event Thursday. This event is judged at the state level and results will be announced in a few weeks.
Micah Byars, Jacob Shiver and John Handrop participated in the Ag Mechanics Career Development Event. This even is also judged at the state level and results will be announced in a few weeks.
Carver Century Holds Vocabulary Word Parade
January 19, 2008
The students at Carver Century Elementary School paraded as some of their favorite vocabulary words Friday, all in continued preparation for the FCAT and school improvement.
The Pre-K to grade 8 school was a Florida grade “F” school last year, but the teachers and staff have set out under the leadership of Principal Jeff Garthwaite to change that this year.
Part of their plan is to make learning fun, and that’s exactly what they did Friday with their vocabulary word parade. Children and teachers alike dressed as, or otherwise represented some of their top vocabulary words.
“A pig is an animal that says ‘oink, oink’,” said one Pre-K student. “Corn is a vegetable that grows on a farm,” said another. “A rooster is a chicken that says ‘cock-a-doodle-dooooo’,” another said.
The vocabulary words continued with Mr. Reeves dressed as a “zookeeper, that takes care of wild and tame animals”. There were special appearances by “purple”, “yellow” and “red”.
One little fellow named William had the word money. “My name is William, give me the money!” he said to the delight of the other students.
Compound words were popular. Birthday, basketball, dragonfly, popcorn, cupcake, football, handbag, hairbrush, grasshopper and ladybug were among the favorite compound words.
One person, perhaps a teacher or staff member, was “incognito” and remained unidentified (pictured above).
Principal Garthwaite’s word? “Motivate”…the entire reason for Friday’s vocabulary parade at Carver Century.
Area Students of The Month Named
January 5, 2008
Area schools recently named their students of the month for November.:
- Bratt Elementary: Delaney Reynolds, first grade and Bradley Van Pelt, fourth grade
- Carver/Century K-8: Markayla Bradley and Desmone Knight, third grade.
- Molino Park Elementary: Mitchell Singleton and Quaneisha Walker, third grade
- Ernest Ward Middle School: Jonathan Foster, seventh grade; Thomas Jackson, eighth grade
School Board Votes To Fence Ernest Ward; Takes Other Local Actions
December 18, 2007
The Escambia County School Board voted to purchase fencing for Ernest Ward Middle School at the board’s monthly meeting Tuesday night.
The board also voted not to fire former Woodham teacher Benny Washington, and they voted to accept his resignation. He was arrested earlier this year in Century on drug charges. Click here to read more.
The board also voted to enter into part one of a lighting and electrical upgrade for the Northview High School stage. Problems with the stage lightning led to a Veterans Day program at the school being postponed last month.
The school board approved final payments related to the replacement of the media center at Bratt Elementary School. The school’s media center was destroyed during Hurricane Ivan.
In other actions involving schools in North Escambia, the school board:
- voted to hire Sharon Kostelecky as a teacher at Carver/Century effective 10/15/07.
- voted to transfer Bratt Elementary third grade teacher Barbara Luker to Northview High School effective 1/07/08.
- appointed Lisa Johnsen as a food service assistant at Northview High School.
Pictured: Ernest Ward Middle School (file photo).