Parent Teacher Magazine Cabarrus County Schools May/June 2015 | Page 9

Future RCCC Student Every Friday in Mrs. Christina Davis’ fourth grade classroom, you will find students proudly displaying their hopes for college by wearing their favorite college shirts. Students are encouraged and inspired to attend college in order to pursue their dreams. Meet Mrs. Davis’ student, Harley, whom she describes as, “A precious, hard working student. She always gives 100 percent in class, she’s not afraid to ask questions, she gets along well with others, and she is quite often the peace maker in our class.” Not having a store-bought shirt for Fridays, Harley created her own design. Mrs. Davis sums it all up by saying, “It’s really such an illustration of the heart of our students. They have dreams and hopes and just need to be nourished along the way.” Harley is now sporting her favorite college in style thanks to the RowanCabarrus Foundation. She received numerous other items such as an RCCC carry bag, RCCC notebook/pen from the Student Government Association, sticky notes, hand sanitizer, lapel pins, etc. The items were presented to Harley by Gaye McConnell, vice president of Enrollment Management and The Student Experience, Marty Richards, director, RCCC Foundation, and Tina Haynes, vice president of Human Resources. CCS Celebrates School Social Workers March was National School Social Work Month, and CCS celebrated its school social workers and thanked them for making a difference in the lives of Cabarrus County Schools’ families by helping to build, support, and empower positive family and community relationships. School social work is a specialized area of practice rooted in recognizing the importance non-academic factors have in a student’s success in learning, adjustment and growth. Executive Director for Student Services Donna Smith said, “We are so pleased to have school social workers actively involved in each of our schools. Our school social workers function as change-agents and serve as a vital link between home, school and community.” She continued, “They are specially trained to focus on the non-academic factors beyond the classroom that influence learning, including family and community factors. They offer a range of services for students facing these challenges, including improving the climate for learning, crisis intervention, mental health services, counseling, and addressing student truancy, and they provide direct assistance for students with and without disabilities; their services help to remove barriers to positive outcomes for children and youth, and establish working relationships between schools, families, and communities.” We are fortunate to have school social workers employed in CCS. Our school social workers generally serve 3-4 schools each. They are our district’s first responders to a school experiencing the death of a student or staff member. School social workers represent CCS in a variety of community partnerships addressing the well-being of students. They are also instrumental in bringing attendance cases to Truancy Court. Beverly Hills Elementary Receives Grant Congratulations to Beverly Hills Elementary School for receiving a $1,000 grant from the Cabarrus Health Alliance Active Routes to School initiative. BHES Principal Dustin Shoe and Physical Education Instructor Amber DiGiore accepted the check along with BHES students from Cabarrus Health Alliance Wellness Coordinator Greg Stewart and Cabarrus Health Alliance Active Routes to School, Region 4 Program Manager George Berger. The grant was awarded to expand the school’s Jogging and Walking Stars (JAWS) walk-at-school program, which encourages BHES students to stay active when they are attending school and promotes healthful living by requiring each student in grades 1-5 to walk at least one-quarter mile before recess each day. Once students reach 25, 50, 75, and 100 miles, they receive a prize for reaching that goal. The grant is being used to provide incentives for the students. The N.C. Active Routes to School project is a three-year grant partnership between the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the North Carolina Division of Public Health designed to encourage students in elementary and middle schools to safely walk and bike to and at school. Cabarrus Health Alliance is one of ten grantees in the state. The grant’s regional coordinators assist schools, districts and communities statewide in efforts aimed at providing safe routes to school and programs encouraging physical activit