Gaston County Schools Good News
n Cherryville High School and
South Point High School won
awards at the N.C. High School
Athletic Association’s invitational
cheerleading championship.
Cherryville earned first place in the
Division II Small Junior Varsity and
Small Varsity categories. South
Point took second place in the
Division II Medium Varsity category.
n Bessemer City Primary students Brody Bane, Mason
Wilder, Ethan Gray, Isabella McIntosh, Kim’lyah Barnette,
Espn Carpenter, Blake Sears, Lilianna Johnson, Maddox
Monaco, Samuel Ghantt, Christian Linares, and Madison
Taylor were recognized as academic all-stars during
halftime of a UNC-Charlotte football game.
n Bessemer City Primary students collected $409.57
during the United Way campaign. Kerri Troutman’s first
grade class had the highest fundraising total of $97.58.
n Bessemer City Middle School received plants and trees
from three Lowe’s Home Improvement stores to beautify
the school’s courtyard area.
n Students at Bessemer City Middle School enjoyed a
program by guest speaker Thomas Melton of the North
Gaston Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department. He shared
about why he is a volunteer firefighter and showed the
students how to perform CPR. In addition, Kellie Melton of
the Dallas Rescue Squad gave students a tour of one of the
department’s newer vehicles and demonstrated how to use
the EMT equipment.
n Chapel Grove Elementary, Sherwood Elementary, and
East Gaston High School received school supplies from
members of the Alpha Eta Chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa.
n East Gaston High School students Levi Summey and
Hannah Murrow were selected for the prestigious North
Carolina High School Honors Chorus.
n East Gaston High School’s Fellowship of Christian
Athletes club raised more than $700 to help a family at
Christmas.
n East Gaston High School, Cramerton Middle, and Rankin
Elementary students won best lantern awards during the
first-ever Mount Holly Lantern Parade. In addition, East
Gaston High School participated in the Keep Gastonia
Beautiful recycled art show and received two honorable
mention awards.
n
Arianna Stephenson, a member of the East Gaston
8 • January/February 2019 • Parent Teacher Magazine
High School marching band, received the Grand Champion
award at the Fred T. Foard High School band competition.
n Cherryville High School received a donation of cherry
trees from Upchurch Garden Center and alumnus Bob
Barker.
n W.C. Friday Middle School collected 4,559 canned goods
for the Dallas food pantry.
n The following students won awards in the Keep
Gastonia Beautiful recycled art contest: Dana Catalan,
Bessemer City Primary; Maxine Bradshaw, Haylie
Perkins, and Lydia Tench, Rankin Elementary; Olivia
Locklear, Pinewood Elementary; Mattie Queen, Robinson
Elementary; Ellana Simmons and Breanna Mexico, Belmont
Middle; Numarious Good, Krista Davis, and Kamarion Bolin,
Chavis Middle; Jose Perez Nicolas and Gavin Waxler, Grier
Middle; Andrew Lowry, Hailie Brianna Neal, and Katie
David, Forestview; Aaron Valentin, South Point; Rebecca
Watts and Maddie Allran, East Gaston; and Ambar Ugalde,
Kayla Mason, Megan Addington, Caroline Clemmer, and
Karson Dean, North Gaston.
n Carr Elementary collected 365 jars of peanut butter and
jelly for the Guardian Ad Litem program. Melissa Hawkins’
class helped to organize the school-wide collection.
n WBTV meteorologist Lyndsay Tapases visited students
at Chapel Grove Elementary, New Hope Elementary, and
Sadler Elementary. She shared information about the
weather and how weather data is collected and analyzed
by meteorologists.
n Gardner Park Elementary raised $3,286 for the United
Way of Gaston County. The school exceeded its goal by
more than $800 from the previous year.
n Gaston Early College High School senior Kimberly Queen
presented undergraduate research at the prestigious
Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative
(CCURI) in Glendale, Arizona.
n Highland School of Technology teacher Jamee Webb
attended a seminar at the N.C. Center for the Advancement
in Teaching. The professional development program was
titled “Moving from Consumers to Creators: Empowering
the Digital Generation.”
n Highland School of Technology media specialist Laura
Long was elected president of the North Carolina School
Library Media Association during the organization’s annual
conference in Winston-Salem.
n Students in Holbrook Middle School’s Special Adaptive
Curriculum program had the opportunity to visit Daniel