Tate High Chaparrals To Present Winter Guard Show Preview Thursday
January 28, 2015
The Tate High School Chaparrals will hold a winter guard friends and family “True Colors” show preview Thursday at 8 p.m. in the school’s new gym. Their winter guard season begins Saturday in Fairhope. Chaparrals members are Katie Dupre, Celina Dyess, Breanna Langley, Megan Leonard, Katy Luebke, Jo Jo O’Steen, Michaela Overbey, Madison Philley, Brenn Repine, Kelsey Strength, Virginia Vaughn and Savannah VonStein.
Pictured: The Tate High School Chaparrals ready for winter guard competition. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Write A Letter For An Absolutely Incredible Kid
January 28, 2015
Celebrating its 18th anniversary this year, Camp Fire’s Absolutely Incredible Kid Day will honor our nation’s youth by asking adults to write simple letters of encouragement and inspiration to the incredible kids in their lives and community. It is a simple, meaningful way to let youth know how much they are appreciated. Lives are changed by this simple act of love and kindness.
“We know about Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Women’s History Month. We celebrate adults on special days, but why not youth?” said La-Vonne Haven, executive director of Camp Fire Gulf Wind Inc. “We ask every adult to join us. Take five minutes and write a letter to a child, tell them they matter, that they always will. If a youth hears it enough and believes it, he or she will be more prepared to face the complicated issues confronting them every day.”
Absolutely Incredible Kid Day was developed by Camp Fire, a national youth organization and will be celebrated across America. Absolutely Incredible Kid Day is celebrated annually on the third Thursday in March. This year, Camp Fire Gulf Wind, will celebrate on Thursday, March 19, 2015.
“The students were so excited to receive the special letters and shared them with friends,” said Coach Julie Madison-Tompkins, teacher at Warrington Middle School. “It meant so much to see the smiles on the student’s faces.”
Anyone can participate—parents, siblings, grandparents, teachers, coaches, executives, etc… The goal is for every kid in America to receive a letter. Just imagine the impact of encouraging letters in lunch boxes, left on pillows, tucked into backpacks and placed on desks.
To participate, visit http://www.campfirekids.com/ to get the Absolutely Incredible Kid Day letterhead and wonderful ideas to write an encouraging letter to a child, or call (850) 476-1760 to have the letterhead mailed to you. Letters received by March 12, 2015, will be delivered to K-6th grade students in our local schools.
Flash Mob: Students Read Like Crazy At Molino Park (With Gallery, Video)
January 27, 2015
It’s Literacy Week at elementary schools across Escambia County, and students at Molino Park Elementary kicked off the week first thing Monday morning with a flash mob. Books in hand, students took part the song “Read Like Crazy” (a parody of the song “Call Me Maybe”). The students worked on the song and choreography for the past couple of weeks.
Photos by Lana Clayton, Kristi Price and others for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Scott Visits Pensacola To Push STEM Education Funding In New Budget
January 27, 2015
Gov. Rick Scott visited the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition in Pensacola Monday to highlight proposed STEM education funding in his 2015-2016 “Keep Florida Working” budget.
Scott has announced $1 million in in proposed funding to partner with high-tech companies in Florida to create a paid summer residency program for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) teachers to bring new industry trends in STEM fields back to Florida’s K-12 classrooms. In addition to the summer residency program, Governor Scott’s 2015-2016 “Keep Florida Working” Budget also proposes $30 million for a new workforce training initiative focused on STEM occupations and $5 million to incentivize $10,000 STEM degrees at state colleges.
“We want Florida to be the global leader for jobs, and we must have a skilled workforce to reach that goal. By investing in science, technology, engineering and math education, we are ensuring our students are prepared for the jobs of the 21st century. Our teachers are essential to preparing our students and helping them realize better educational outcomes, and that is why it is so important that we invest in educating our teachers so they can bring innovative ideas to the classroom. We know that the workers and leaders of tomorrow are in our classrooms today and we will continue to make important investments to help our students succeed in the classroom and beyond,” Scott said.
There are 16 Florida companies that have already confirmed their participation in the STEM Residency Program, including the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition and Gulf Power Company.
Pictured: Gov. Rick Scott discusses STEM education funding Monday morning at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition in Pensacola. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Students To Move Into New Ernest Ward Middle School Next Monday (With Photo Gallery)
January 26, 2015
Students are expected to move into the new Ernest Ward Middle School in Walnut Hill one week from today.
Many of the school’s teachers spend a portion of their weekend setting up their new classroom, which contain all new furniture and new technology that includes triple smart boards with “smart pens” that can be used by students from their desks.
All of the items such as computers and furniture, with the exception of library shelving, will be brand new. The school includes new to Ernest Ward technology such as a closed circuit television systems with a complete TV studio, closed circuit video monitoring, electronic security and access controls, and more.
The $20 million facility is not quite complete; there’s still minor work to be done throughout the building, and the school’s agricultural classroom and band room won’t be completed for several more weeks.
If all goes as planned, students will report to their homerooms in the old EWMS building on Monday, February 2. They will escorted grade by grade into the new facility where they will get the grand tour. There will be changes to student drop-off and pick-up areas as well on February 2. Those changes and complete move-in details will be published on NorthEscambia.com.
About a week later the move into the new building, demolition on the old Ernest Ward will begin. That demolition and new parking lots are due to be completed by the end of July.
OPEN HOUSE: An open house and tours for the public will be held on Monday, February 16 from noon until 4 p.m.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge
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Info Fair Planned For Parents Of Special Needs Children
January 26, 2015
An information fair for parents and guardians of children with special needs will be held Tuesday, January 27 from 5-7 p.m. at Escambia Westgate School.
The information fair will provide families the opportunity to obtain information from multiple agencies and organizations in one location, provide time for families to visit with agencies and organizations, and increase of services available in the Escambia County area and across the state. Representatives will be available to answer questions and provide information vital to coordinating care and services for children with disabilities.
For more details, contact Escambia Westgate at (850) 494-5700. Escambia Westgate is located at 10050 Ashton Brosnaham Road.
Cruce, Singleton Place In Speaking Events At FFA Districts
January 26, 2015
Two Northview High School students recently placed in FFA District One competitions. Mitchell Singleton placed second in the district in Prepared Public Speaking, while Tiffani Cruce placed first in the district for Extemporaneous Speaking and will advance to the finals during the State FFA Convention in June. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Stop Crape Murder: Don’t Cut Back Your Myrtles
January 25, 2015
by the Santa Rosa County Extension Service
Proper pruning is one of the most misunderstood of all gardening practices, yet it is one of the most important procedures in a landscape. A common victim of bad, improper pruning is the crape myrtle. Crape myrtles will occasionally need pruning to obtain the desired landscape effect, but many times these plants are butchered for no good reason.
According to Dan Gill, LSU Ag Center Horticulturist, an unfortunate trend in crape myrtle pruning is to lop off their tops, which results in a tree reduced to large branches ending in stubs. The lush growth that occurs at these cut sites appears vigorous but is actually structurally weak and more susceptible to fungus diseases such as powdery mildew. And when pruning is conducted improperly over several years, unsightly large, swollen knobs form at the point where pruning is done each year.
Flowers are not the only virtue of this tree. Many varieties have beautiful bark and growth habits that can be enjoyed all year if trees are not heavily pruned.
Crape murder
This unsightly, ugly pruning known as crape murder is not recommended. Once it’s done, it ruins the tree’s graceful natural shape for the rest of its life.
Often gardeners think they are supposed to prune their crape myrtles that way, and nothing could be farther from the truth. Many think that crape myrtles need to be cut way back to bloom well. This is not accurate. The flower clusters may be larger on lopped trees, but the added weight on the ends of long branches causes them to bend over awkwardly, especially after it rains. And since the tree is smaller, it actually produces fewer flower clusters.
Many people say they need to cut a crape myrtle back because of its size. If the height of the crape myrtle is not causing a problem with a nearby structure or power lines, there is little reason to reduce the tree’s height. To cut a crape myrtle back for the vague reason of “it just seems too large” ignores the fact that these plants are trees. They are supposed to be large.
To prune a crape myrtle properly, first decide if it needs to be pruned. As with any pruning project, you must have a specific, valid purpose in mind before you begin. In other words, if you can’t come up with a good reason to prune your tree – leave it alone. If you do see something that calls for pruning, study the tree carefully and determine what needs to be pruned to accomplish the specific purpose identified.
There are a few valid reasons for pruning a crape myrtle. One reason is to eliminate crossed and rubbing branches because rubbing branches can lead to open wounds.
Over time, branches that are too low on the trunk will need to be pruned to raise the canopy. We often need to remove weak, thin branches from the inner part of the tree to produce a cleaner-looking tree. Selected branches may need to be pruned back to a side branch or the trunk to create a shapelier tree. Of course, you need to prune to keep suckers removed from the base of the trunk.
Generally, avoid cutting back or shortening branches much larger than your finger, although cutting larger branches back to a side branch or to the trunk when needed is fine.
Visitors to our area often marvel over our crape myrtles. During summer, their colorful flowers, attractive bark and beautiful shape make them among our most valuable landscape plants. Please appreciate this – and stop the unfortunate trend of hacking them back.
Pictured top: Crape myrtle trees do not need pruning for new growth. Pictured below: These Crape myrtles were ruined with unnecessary topping. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com.
Weber Performs With All State High School Honors Band
January 25, 2015
David Weber of Northview High School was chosen to be in the All State High School Honors Band. He recently traveled to Tampa to the Florida Music Educators Association Professional Development Conference and All-State Concerts to perform with 123 other students from across the state. Pictured below: Weber performs with guest conductor Barry L. Houser from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com click to enlarge.
Ernest Ward Names January Students Of The Month
January 23, 2015
Ernest Ward Middle School has named January Students of the Month. They are: (L-R) Addison Albritton, seventh grade; Amber Gillman, sixth grade; and Dalton Hamilton, eighth grade. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.