Roland-Grise Middle School is celebrating a decade of helping the homeless.
This is the 10th year students have participated in Operation Love, a service project to gather items for the New Hanover County’s homeless population.
Students enrolled in the school’s Striving To Achieve Excellence (STAE) elective class have been busy this month collecting toiletries, outerwear and children’s items for Operation Love.
So far, Operation Love has collected more than 1,000 donated items, which the STAE students will sort into hygiene kits and children’s entertainment kits on Tuesday, Feb. 10. They will then deliver the kits to a homeless shelter on North Second Street on Friday, Feb. 13.
Hoggard student named Presidential Scholars candidate
Luke Guo, a graduating senior at Hoggard High School, is one of more than 3,000 candidates in the 2015 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. Candidates were selected from nearly 3.4 million students expected to graduate from U.S. high schools this year.
Scholars are selected on the basis of academics and artistic achievements, leadership qualities, strong character and involvement in community and school activities. They are also evaluated on performance on either the College Board SAT or the ACT assessment. Further consideration is given to students’ essays, self-assessments, descriptions of activities, school recommendations and transcripts.
The U.S. Department of Education will announce the winners in May. Scholars will be invited to Washington, D.C., for several days in June to receive the Presidential Scholars Medallion and to participate in events and activities with their elected representatives, educators, and other leading individuals in public life.
District celebrates bus driver week
Monday marks the start of a weeklong celebration to honor the county’s school bus drivers. School Bus Driver Appreciation Week is a way to honor those who transport students to and from school–safely, on schedule and ready to learn.
“Transportation is a major component of the entire school operation and we appreciate our drivers and department members every day of the school year,” Superintendent Dr. Tim Markley said. “Transportation leadership works tirelessly collecting and analyzing transportation data to improve overall operational performance, ensuring that pupils are transported in the safest, most reliable and economical manner.”
The New Hanover County school district’s transportation department has 174 regular school buses and 37 activity buses. These buses travel approximately 13,000 miles each day, transporting close to 12,000 students.
“Drivers have to maneuver through traffic regardless of road conditions and weather, while maintaining the conduct of the children on the bus in order to deliver their young passengers safely to class and extracurricular activities,” according to a release from the district. “They work from before sunrise until after sunset, making every reasonable effort to maintain their schedules. The transportation department strives to set forth a working environment whereby drivers, through teamwork, build relationships in our school system and in our community.”
For creative ways to show appreciation to your student’s school bus driver, visit the NHCS Pinterest page.
