Norfolk Public Schools • on the journey to world class Norfolk Public Schools • on the journey to world class Norfolk Public Schools • on the journey to world class Norfolk Public Schools • on the journey to world class Norfolk Public Schools • on the journey to world class Norfolk Public Schools • on the journey to world class

SCHOOL BOARD OF THE CITY OF NORFOLK

School Board of the City of Norfolk • Recognition Ceremony • May 14, 2008
• Northside Middle School • 8720 Granby Street • Norfolk, Virginia

Recognition Ceremony

The recognition ceremony started at 5:30 p.m. in the auditorium of Rosemont Middle School, 1330 Branch Road in Norfolk, Virginia.  Present were:  Chair Bishop, Mr. Cook, Dr. McCluney, Dr. Tonelson, and Dr. Wright.  Vice Chair Rhodes and Mr. Driggers were absent.  Also present were Superintendent Jones, Chief Operations Officer Spencer, Karen Tanner, Delores Edwards, and Deputy Clerk Stocks.

The following recognitions were presented:  

  1. The mission of the Norfolk Education Foundation (NEF) is to supplement, support and enrich the student experience to prepare them for a successful future. The NEF’s vision is to foster a community of students, families, neighborhoods, institutions and businesses made stronger through the achievement of excellence in public education.

    The School Board honored the Board members of the Norfolk Education Foundation for their commitment to public education and the children of Norfolk and their volunteer service.    Board members are:  Edward Amorosso, Mal Branch, Jerry Bridges, Lisa Chandler, Carlos Clanton, George Crawley, Peter Decker, Jr., Anna Dodson, William Foster, III, Beth Fraim, Joan Jackson, Darlene Lamb, Angelica Light, Sharon McDonald, Ken Newman, Anita Poston, Cecelia Tucker, and Theresa Whibley.

  2. The Virginia Department of Aviation held the 2008 Virginia Aviation Art Contest and asked young people to depict "Aviation in Virginia." This year’s 2008 Virginia Aviation Art Contest had 203 total entries. Jade Albert, a junior Advertising Design I student at Norview High School, placed second in Category III for ages 14-17.  Jade received a copy of Microsoft Flight Simulator and a certificate recognizing her achievement.

  3. Azalea Festival Poster Contest Winners   

    Norfolk Public Schools’ elementary students created posters to express the theme of “friendship” between nations and to honor the Netherlands, the Most Honored Nation of the festival.  Their posters were featured on promotional posters for the International Azalea Festival and first place winners were awarded monetary prizes for their outstanding work.  These posters were also on display throughout the International Azalea Festival and viewed by representatives from NATO nations.  Ursa Navigation Solutions sponsored the Poster Contest and the prizes awarded to the students.   Students were:  Makayla Tatum  -Willard Model School, David Frost- Ghent School, Kayla Lopez- Tarrallton, Cameron DeMoss- Fairlawn, Rayfield Taylor- Campostella, Chelsea Bouldin- Suburban Park, Kelvin Braxton- Norview, Leslie Cook- Poplar Halls, Lauren Pedreira- Camp Allen, Desiree Christy- Granby, Henry Hill- Larchmont, Greg Knight- St. Helena, Brianna Logan- Little Creek, and Maya Outlaw-W.H. Taylor.

  4. Azalea Festival Student Diploma

    Another part of the International Azalea Festival is the Student Diplomat Scholarship Award.  This program began in 2007 for high school students to advance international studies focused on NATO, its member nations, and its role in the world wide community.  This scholarship is designed to recognize the achievement of individual juniors or seniors who have demonstrated excellence in their execution of their assigned responsibilities as a NATO Student Diplomat. The scholarship is paid directly to the college or university of the winning student's choice.  Scholarship winners included:  Kenneth Anthony, Blanch Fields, and Cherkeia Ryan from Booker T. Washington High School; Rachael Born, Thomas, and Charlie Williams, IV, from Granby High School; Alyssa Pettway and Aukayla Williams from Lake Taylor High School; Lucila Dunnington, Brittany Mitchell, and Josh Pivirotto from Maury High School, and Jacob Biggs, Kenneth McDonald, and Rachel Wallace from Norview High School.

  5. Kim Baylor, the Physical Education Department Chair at Granby High School, was named the Third Grand Prize Winner for the Teachers Light the Way Awards sponsored by Lands' End. The award is given to teachers who are nominated from across the country and who have made a difference in the life of a student, a school or a community.

  6. Booker T. Washington High School Girls Indoor Track & Field & Forensics

    Booker T. Washington High Schools Girls IndoorTrack and Field team won three consecutive Eastern district titles.  On the regional level, the team finished third.  Individually, DeShana Briggs placed first in the high jump and the1600m relay placed first with Raven Wilson, Sonseerhay Copeland, and Tylesia Miles.

    State recognitions included seventh place overall finish.  Individually, DeShana Briggs placed first in the high jump and sixth in the 500m.  Raven Wilson placed third in the 300m dash and eighth in the 55m dash.  In the 1600m relay, Raven Wilson, DeShana Briggs, Sonseerhay Copeland, and Tylesia Miles placed third.

    The team became All-Americans at the Nike Indoor Nationals by placing third in the 1600m relay and sixth in the 800m relay.  Raven Wilson, Tylesia Miles, Sonseerhay Copeland, and DeShana Briggs finished second.  Also, DeShana Briggs received a full athletic scholarship to Hampton University.

    In Forensics:Vincent Greer competed in the Humorous Dramatic Interpretation category.  He placed first in the District Championship, second in the Regional Championship, and third at the State Championship.  Vincent was the only student from the Eastern District to advance to the State Championship.

  7. The Courtroom Law Gifted Program is an after-school Arts and Sciences course administered by Gifted Education Services.  For the past three years, T. Wayne Williams, an attorney for the law firm of Kalbaugh, Pfund & Messersmith, recruited local lawyers from the Norfolk-Portsmouth Bar Association to train and coach Norfolk middle school students in the fine points of preparing and presenting a case for trial. Students from Blair, Meadowbrook, Northside, and Ruffner, met once a week with the attorneys, who organized them into mini “law firms” and assigned them to either prosecute or defend litigants in a criminal dispute.

    Mr. Williams also arranged courtrooms and judges for the trials in Norfolk Circuit Court. His hard work and dedication to the program has enabled Norfolk Public Schools to enhance and expand the program, with plans to add two more middle schools next year.  Attorneys who participated in the program were:  T. Wayne Williams, Joe Depadilla, Elaine Inman, Ryan Snow, Steven Owen, Wes Simon, Aminah Rogers, Emily Munn, Phillip Boone, Joe Carpenter, Raymond Hartz, Monique Hutton, Andy Fox, Linda Harris, Kim Ogletree, Kathleen Ortiz, Regis Rice, Woody Anderson, Peter Reeves, Anetra Robinson, and Ann Brogan.  

    Norfolk Public Schools Courtroom Law Program was recognized this year with a feature story in the Virginian-Pilot that was picked up by the Associated Press and printed in Jet Magazine.  Students who participated in the program were:  Megan Dister, Alexander Landman, David Oden, Mallory Schmidt, Angela Seretis, James Theurer, Khamani Williamson, Julia DuBeau, Courtney Greene, Beverly Kippenhan, Sasha Lasakow, Petra Minor, Katelyn Neese, Brandi Rhodes, Briana Robinson, Julianna Schaus, Ajee Church, Richard Foglia, Katherine-Anne Christy, Diamond Chavis, Devin Johnson-Gray, Terrell Furman, Tristan Lloyd, Nicole Lloyd Kandyce Mayes,  Lanel Cooper,  Jahtanya Scott, Dondre Walker, David Boyd, Robert Paul, Jon Paul, Emily Taylor, and Jazlyn Williams

  8. The World Class Outstanding Custodial Team Award is an award that is sponsored by NPS School Plant Facilities and GCA Services Group. It is given to the cleanest schools in the elementary, middle, and high school ranks.

    The following individuals were selected as winners:
    1) Patrick Lewis – Building Supervisor BTW (Winner for January, February, & March 2008)
    2) Linda Hall – Building Supervisor Lake Taylor High (Winner for Jan. 2008)
    3) Robert Foreman – Building Supervisor Easton Preschool (Winner for January 2008)
    4) Stanley Williams – Building Supervisor School Plant (Winner for Jan., Feb., & March 2008)
    5) Trina Washington – Rosemont Middle, Building Supervisor (Winner for Feb. & March 2008)
    6) Derwin Harris – Oakwood Elementary, Building Supervisor (Winner for Feb. & March 2008)

  9. NATO Student Diplomat Program Scholarship Winners

    Fifteen NPS students in the Model NATO competed for three, $1,000 scholarships exclusively awarded to our students.  All of the diplomats had the opportunity to compete for one of two $500 scholarships based solely on their performance and participation at the Model NATO.
    The following students were awarded scholarships:  Alyssa Pettway, Lake Taylor High ($1,000),
    Rachel Wallace, Norview High ($1,000), Thomas Paul, Granby High ($1,000), Rachel Born, Granby High ($500), and Kenneth MacDonald, Norview High ($500).

    In addition, a $1,000 Student Diplomat/Teacher Grant was awarded to teachers who sponsored students who won the $1,000 scholarships.  The teachers can use the grant money for professional development.  Regina Sweeny from Norview High School and Stuart Jones from  Granby High School were recipients of this grant.

     

  10. The following Norfolk Technical Center students were recognized at the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) regional conference:

    Certified Network Administration/ORACLE-JAVA Students-Michael Weber, Instructor:
    Joshua Smith, 1st Place Cyber Security-Norview High, Senior
    Riel Toribio, 1st Place Digital Video Editing-Norview High, Senior
    Damon Thomas, 1st Place Digital Video Editing-Granby High, Senior
    William Powell, 1st Place Digital Video Editing-Norview High, Senior          
    Christopher McGrath, 3rd Place Computer Problem Solving, Lake Taylor High, Senior
    Steven Cummings, 3rd Place Help Desk, Lake Taylor High, Senior
    Adric Pease, 1st Alternate Winner Marguerite Crumley and Frank Manning Peele Scholarship, Norview High, Senior

    Legal/Medical Systems Administration Students-Maureen Duke, Instructor:
    Kendria Seward,1st Place Electronic Career Portfolio, Maury High, Senior
    Edwin Wells-2nd Place Spreadsheet Applications, Granby High, Senior

    Computer Information Systems Students-Evelyn Williamson, Instructor:
    Adam Whitehair-1st Place Network Design-Lake Taylor High, Junior

    Certified Internet Webmaster/ORACLE-DATABASE Students-Mary Brown, Instructor:
    Jerry Stanley-1st Place Network Design-Booker T. Washington, Senior
    Brittnee Seymore-1st Place Management Information Systems, Granby High, Senior
    Christal Uwejeyan, 1st Place Management Information Systems, Lake Taylor High, Sophomore
    Zachary Crouse-2nd Place Networking Concepts, Lake Taylor High, Senior

    Kenneth Soule- 2nd Place Database Design and Application, Norview High, Junior 

  11. Camp Young is excited about its partnership with Norfolk’s Boys Scout Troop 188 under the command of troop leader Mr. Bacil Ashby and his wife. The Boy Scouts, along with several Rosemont Middle School students and Greg Worcester, Interim Assistant Principal of Rosemont Middle School, spent the day clearing debris along the Intracoastal Waterway, clearing and removing overgrown brush throughout camp, as well as, painting and repairing the camp activity shed. 

  12. Gifted student problem solvers

    The following students participated in the 17th Annual Future Problem Solving of Virginia State Bowl competition. The topic of the 2008 state bowl was “Debt in Developing Countries.”
    Xavier Edwards  - Ruffner Young Scholars, Joel Caffey - Ruffner Young Scholars, Katelynn Stanley - School for International Studies at Meadowbrook, Nia Willliams - Ruffner Young Scholars, and Alexandria Persaud - Ruffner Young Scholars.

  13. The Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) held the Virginia State Leadership Conference in Richmond with over 800 students competing in health-care events.  NTC students had the opportunity to compete in events ranging from career displays to knowledge tests.  Our students placed in the following categories:

    Practical Nursing I-Robin Ward, Instructor:
    Shavelle Bates, 3rd Place Practical Nursing Skills, Post Graduate Student
    Brittany Brazzell, 3rd Place Knowledge Test Pathophysiology, Post Graduate Student

    Pharmacy Technician-Crystal Stokes, Instructor:
    Sean Martin, 1st Place Extemporaneous Speaking Granby High, Junior
    Maxwell Davis, 2nd Place Interviewing Skills, Lake Taylor High, Junior
    Travis Sessoms, 3rd Place Extemporaneous Speaking, Granby High, Junior

    Medical Assistant –Wendy Jacobs, Instructor:
    Christian McNair-1st Place Administrative Medical Assisting- Norview High, Senior

    Other:
    Michelle Speller- Practical Nursing II student received a FULL scholarship to ADN nursing program in the state of Virginia!

    Chapter Award
    Chapter Award: Largest Chapter and Most Delegates in the State of Virginia!
    Regional Awards: Chapter Award: "Hands Against Hunger"
    Regional Awards: Chapter Award: "Creating a Better Community"

    Regional Awards: HOSA Chapter 20 received more than 90 individual member awards for their community service efforts such as 'Healthy Heart" and "HOSA Awareness" Awards.
     
  14. Margrette Kuhrt was selected by the The Norfolk Chapter of Links as a 2008 scholarship recipient.  Margrette is an honor graduate at Maury High School with a 4.36 GPA and third in her class of 339.  Margrette plans to attend Duke University in the fall and major in journalism.

  15. Lillie Lindsay, a special education teacher and the site coordinator of the Student Mentorship Program at Rosemont Middle School, recently won the National Reader’s Digest/Dove Self-Esteem Contest. Lillie wrote about Regina Davis, NPS Community Engagement Coordinator, regarding mentoring. Lillie won $5,000 and decided to donate it to Norfolk Public School’s Student Mentorship Program.  She is a great asset to our district and should be commended for this unselfish act of kindness. Lillie, please come forward.

  16. Lisa Temple and Francis Puchalsky, co-directors of the Virginia Department of Education’s Career Switcher Program at Old Dominion University, are supportive of the Norfolk Public Schools Student Mentorship Program and have included the Program in an advertisement campaign with the Career Switcher Program this year. A radio campaign has been running on local radio station, 107.7 since December 2007.  NPS has received hundreds of calls from persons interested in mentoring in our schools.

  17. Special recognition was extended to Susan Mayo, Vice President of Consumer Affairs and Public Relations for Farm Fresh, in support of several initiatives throughout the school year at St. Helena and Campostella elementary schools.  Farm Fresh has generously donated 17 computers to the Special Education Services Career Development Program and 15 computers to Madison Career Center.

  18. Rochelle McMorris created the Ghent Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ clubs at the school.  Students were specifically chosen for inclusion in these clubs based on their grades as well as their track record of not making good choices with regards to discipline and interaction with their peers.  Rochelle meets with these students monthly and has a guest speaker to address the students such as Juvenile Court Judge Jerrauld Jones, members of the Virginia Tech football team, and Police Chief Marquis among others.   Students have walked away from these experiences realizing that they still have so many chances in life — the choice is up to you.  For the last two years since it inception, the discipline rates among these students has declined significantly. 

  19. Meadowbrook Students: 

    The following Meadowbrook students participated in the annual W.E.B. Dubois Honors Conference Academic Quiz Bowl and Oratorical Contest.  Brandon Santiago, Lashay Lucas, Dreama Johnson, Mareka Belcher, and Kiana Murden competed against middle school students from as far as Wisconsin.  They won all preliminary rounds and placed second in the Championship Round. Victoria Stackfield placed second in the oratorical contest.

  20. NASA challenged students to write a research paper to explain their ideas for a future aircraft that could become the “DC-4” for cargo and passengers in the year 2058.  Students were not limited to a DC-3 design and were asked to think of a revolutionary effects, noise levels, runway length and condition, operating costs, passenger and cargo loads, and service operations.  Edric San Miguel spent three months preparing for this essay contest and submitted a superior 11-page essay.  He placed second in the United States—Individual Award Category.   Edric was also a semifinalist in the Ruckus Nation Invention Contest in March 2007.  This was an international contest for invention ideas. Edric, please come forward.

  21. Four students were selected to receive the annual Norfolk Interagency Council on Services to Youth (NICOSTY) scholarship. These four young women have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to volunteerism through peer tutoring, involvement in church ministries, or founding the Student Humanitarian Association in a high school.   They are Xiao Mei Wu and Brittney Sumner of Maury High School; Laura Ann Richards of Granby High School; and Alicia Platt of Norview High School.

  22. Jasmine Gallop and Chenell Elliott, seniors at Booker T. Washington High School and second year Cosmetology students at Norfolk Technical Center, are published hairstylists in this quarter’s issue of the Richmond/Virginia “Salon Digest”.  Jasmine was featured on page 18 for her “Band & Side Bob.” And, Chenell was featured on pages 19 and 24 for her “Cornrow Bun.”  Both students worked under the direction of Cosmetology Instructor Elizabeth Britt-Kelly for the past two years and will take their cosmetology licensure exam with the state board this month.

  23. The Ocean View Fifth Grade Science Club and Gifted/Talented students were recognized for winning first prize in the Virginia Children’s Museum’s exhibit contest. The students were mentored by Jennifer Boyer, Science Resource Teacher and Charles Hughes, Maritime Educator.  Students were challenged to create an exhibit that they would like to see when the Virginia Children’s Museum in Portsmouth completes its renovations.  The Maritime Rangers created an exhibit based on the environmental stewardship program at Ocean View Elementary School entitled, “A Clean Environment Starts with #1”.  Their interactive, learning exhibit leads visitors into determining how to be more environmentally conscious.    Rangers recognized were James Rice, Skylar Edye, Oscar Alcala, Charles Guest, and Damian Whitmore         

  24. SAT middle school students scoring 1000+ were recognized.   Students were Dakota Chacon, Paley Lewis, Vincent Morlino, Daniel Munden,   Emily Poertner, Amanda Tumminelli, Katherine Baskerville, Ryan Bell, Samantha Ford, Nicholas Giscombe, Rachel L. Goretsky, Nicholas Guyn, William Hailey, Preston Marquis, Sage McCoy, Julian Worley, Dylan Veyrat, Nicholas Price, Arrpm Dietrich, Aleksandra Lagowska, Torry Lamay, Gunnar Neel, Brandon Yasin, John Mullaney, Lilith Fosbrink, Robert Paul, Andrea Ward, Angela Ward, Michelle Warren, Jazlyn Williams, Brandon Allison, Kelly Dearborn, Jonah Dister, Thomas Etheridge, Alyssa Hottendorf, Andrew James, Anne Magpayo, Molly Martinson, Hannah Neukrug, Helen Rolfe, Christina Scalora, and Charles Trivette.

  25. The Norfolk Sheriff Department schedules non-violent offenders to perform community service under the direction of the court services. This semester, the Sheriff has targeted school grounds as a site for this activity.  Each weekend a crew is assigned to one or more of our schools to pick up trash and other debris from various school sites. On one recent weekend, two teams collected over 150 bags of trash from Northside Middle School, Norview elementary and high schools, Oakwood, Sewells Point, Ocean View, and Calcott elementary schools.  This level of support and attention to our school grounds is well beyond what the school system or the city could provide.

  26. Special recognition and gratitude was extended to Major O’Toole and the Norfolk Sheriff’s Department for partnering with the Norfolk Public Schools Student Mentorship Program.  Major O’Toole partnered with Norfolk Public Schools Student Mentorship Program to ensure the safety of our children this year by providing background checks for non-NPS employees that mentor our students.  These background checks are conducted at no cost to NPS.  The School Board acknowledged Major O’Toole for the swift turn around in providing results to background inquiries.  This information helped in pairing upstanding citizens with our students and prevented questionable individuals having contact and interaction with our students while in school.

  27. NTC SkillsUSA students brought home 13 first through third place medals in the SkillsUSA-Virginia State competitions last month. Of the 12 students that participated in the April event, three are eligible to attend the National SkillsUSA competition to be held in June in Kansas City Missouri.

    Public Safety-Morris Blueford and Scott Milstead Instructor:
    Devon Hobson, 2nd Place Firefighting- Maury High, Junior

    Advertising Design-Susan Maguire, Instructor:
    Jade Albert, 1st Place Multiple Chapter Scrapbook- Norview High
    Andrea Fergerson, 1st Place Multiple Chapter Scrapbook- Norview High
    Jonathan Skaggs, 1st Place Multiple Chapter Scrapbook- Norview HighThomas Mattos, 1st Place Promotional Flyer, Post Graduate, NTC
    DeShaun Williams, 2nd Place Poster, Granby High
    Alyssa Pettway, 1st Place Occupational Scrapbook-Lake Taylor High, 3rd Place Advertising Design Technical Exam           

    Robotics-Dr. George Skena, Instructor:

    Matthew Strauss, 1st Robotics & Automation Technology – Granby High Clifton Crowson, 1st Automated Manufacturing Technology – Granby High Brendan Kolb, 1st Robotics & Automation Technology –Maury High Matthew Ambler, 2nd Automated Manufacturing Technology – Maury High Zachery Lilliston-Courtright, 2nd Automated Manufacturing Technology – Maury High

  28. Maury High School’s Sarah White is a member of the swim team and is the Eastern Regional Champion in the 100 Fly and the regional runner-up in the 100 Back Stroke. Sarah, please come forward.

  29. Damon Armstrong received the 2007 Outstanding New Educator of the Year Award from the Virginia Association for Teachers of Family and Consumer Sciences. In his first year at NTC, he did an exemplary job teaching catering by expanding the Pro-Start certification process, building new ties with the culinary industry, and giving his students real world training.

  30. Beth Hazelette, Senior Coordinator of Music Education, was named the Virginia Association of Educational Office Professionals' Administrator of the Year for 2008 at their Spring Conference and Institute.  Beth was chosen from applicants submitted by local associations from all over the state of Virginia.  The Association of Educational Office Professionals of Norfolk submitted her named as the AEOPN's 2007 winner.

    The ceremony concluded at 6:30 p.m.

    Minutes approved by the School Board:   May 21, 2008