Ray Nash, agricultural educator at Biggersville High School in Corinth, Mississippi, has been elected as the 2008-2009 president-elect of the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE).
Nash, who has taught for 13 years, credits his own high school agriculture teacher for lighting a spark within him for agricultural education. “I am passionate about improving and securing agricultural education so it can continue to provide opportunities for my students,” said Nash.
An active member of both the Mississippi Association of Vocational Agriculture Teachers and NAAE since he began teaching, Nash has held leadership positions at nearly every level. Most recently he served as NAAE region five vice president
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On Monday, December 8, 2008 the ACTC National Technical Honor Society chapter held its tenth annual induction ceremony at the Mississippi State University Extension Center. Special guests present for this ceremony were parents and friends of the new members. Also, in attendance were Mary Kathryn Coleman, 4th District Board member, Carroll Morton, Jr., 3rd District elect Board member; and Randy Wilbanks, 5th District elect Board member.
Students are selected for membership on the basis of a 90 or better GPA since the ninth grade. Also, membership requires a referral from the student’s Career Center teacher.
Students are selected for membership on the basis of a 90 or better GPA since the ninth grade. Also, membership requires a referral from the student’s Career Center teacher.
Congratulations to the Kossuth High School Cheerleaders! The 2008-2009 KHS squad brought home the Division 3A State Cheerleading Championship for the third year in a row.
The 2007-2008 Kossuth High School yearbook staff won first place in the American Scholastic Press Association competition. The yearbook showed excellence in the fields of writing, photography, and page design. Members of the 07-08 staff were: back: Rebecca Jones; Mrs. Brandie Lowrey and Mrs. Deborah Jackson, advisers; Trey Rice; middle: Heather Jones; Kim Wilbanks; front: Kayla Reddell, editor.
On Tuesday, October 28th, a mock election was held at Alcorn Central Elementary school. This was one week to the day when adults across the nation will be casting their vote for “real” in this very important election. The mock election was part of the “Promote the Vote” 2008 Mississippi initiative that teaches students about casting ballots in elections.
Organized by the Secretary of State’s office, the program included voter education, a statewide mock election, student competitions and voter registration. Since its inception in 1996, nearly one million Mississippi students have participated in Promote the Vote. Promote the Vote is a great opportunity for young people to get involved in government by increasing awareness and awareness of the democratic process. This year’s participation in Promote the Vote was overwhelming! From a total 74,441 students in 2007, to this year’s total of 206,756 students in over 500 school in Mississippi alone! Mock Elections all across the state were held October 28th-29th. The statewide election results will be announced October 30th.
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The Career Center, to our knowledge, is the first Career/Technical Center in the state of Mississippi to introduce students to My Reading Web.
My Reading Web is a web based Lexile improvement program which begins a student on his/her reading level and allows him/her to progress to a higher reading level through reading articles and classics.
Each student will be given a specified number of words to read each six weeks grading period. Based upon the number of words read, students will receive a test grade. Our goal at the Center is to move students as close to the 130 or higher Lexile level. This is important since the ACT is written on a 1300 Lexile level. The program will also help students to become more job ready.
The National Guard got involved with the dropout prevention plan at the Alcorn Career and Technology Center by challenging our students not to quit. This was implemented through a hands on activity called the “Rock Climbing Wall”.
Members of the Guard spent the day and assisted students in meeting the challenge of climbing all the way to the top. They were encouraged not to give up until they met their challenge.
Scaling a wall is similar to setting other important goals in life. Students sometimes need a little encouragement in order to keep going and not give up.
This activity only took a few minutes out of the students’ busy class time. Yet, it helped students to build self esteem and realize the importance of sticking to the task assigned.
Even some of the faculty made it to the top!
Congratulations to Mrs. Judy Hogland, fifth grade science teacher at Alcorn Central Middle School for being named the 2008 Corinth Rotary Elementary Teacher of the Year and to Mrs. Rebecca Lewis, 9th, 10th, and Honors English teacher at Alcorn Central High School for being named 2008 Rotary Secondary Teacher of the Year.
Bobi Jo Quick, Hillary Burgess, and Samantha Hutcheson represented Alcorn Central and the Central Clovers 4-H in June at the Mississippi 4-H Club Congress held at Mississippi State University. The Child Development Team competed in the Child Development Track contest and received a 2nd place award for their efforts. The student competition is open to all 4-H members in the State of Mississippi who have placed 1st or 2nd in their county contests. These girls had previously competed in competitions in January and February at the Alcorn County 4-H facility in Corinth.
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Alcorn Central High School students spent the week of September 12 celebrating their Homecoming. During the week, students participated in various activities that gave the students an opportunity to show their school spirit.
In the midst of the excitement, the students took a few minutes of their day on September 11, to stop and remember the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Many of the students were very young when the actual attack on the United States occurred; however, the memories of that day still remain very fresh in their minds. Students were asked to participate in a moment of silence after the American Flag was presented. The somber moment was a brief opportunity for the youth to remember that freedom and peace are privileges that we enjoy due to the sacrifice of others.
After participating in six team building and leadership skills activities, the Alcorn Career and Technology Center students gained experience and developed skills required to accomplish a task and have a successful team.
In an effort to make the training comparable to industry standards, the goals of the activities were to:
* Improve team relationships
* Build effective communication skills
* Empower teams to work to their strengths
* Understand what makes a team successful
* Motivate individuals and teams to perform at their highest potential
* Prevent absentees
* Get acquainted with every instructor at the career center
* Let the students realize every instructor is interested in their
education and workplace skills
education and workplace skills
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Alcorn Central Family and Consumer Sciences classes and the Alcorn Central Special Education Department participated in a self defense training hosted by SAFE Inc.
The self defense classes were a portion of the training sessions that SAFE, Inc. has designed to improve youth self awareness and coping skills. After several breakout sessions, the youth were given a hands on demonstration in methods to use in the event that they are attacked. The training was provided at no cost to the students.
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"Welcome Back to the reason you became an Educator".
Recently approximately 150 teachers and staff member from all 3 Alcorn Central schools attended a day long training session on how to implement the “FISH Philosophy.” The group was asked to imagine a workplace where everyone chooses to bring energy, passion, and a positive attitude with them each day- an environment in which people are truly connected to their work, their colleagues, and their students.
The FISH Philosophy originated when a leading training video producer observed how enthusiastic and happy the employees at Seattle's Pike Place Fish Market were in their work. When you visited the market, you could see how orders were filled (by flinging fish to each other). At the market, employees incited laughter from the customers and compliments about their throwing/catching abilities, or commiseration if they missed.
The "Fish Philosophy" was drawn by observing these workers. It shows how each worker can make a routine errand fun for themselves and their customers. The Philosophy revolved around four key practices:
Play, Make Their Day, Be There (for students and coworkers) and, Choose Your Attitude.
Click on the story link to read complete story and to view pictures from the event.
The FISH Philosophy originated when a leading training video producer observed how enthusiastic and happy the employees at Seattle's Pike Place Fish Market were in their work. When you visited the market, you could see how orders were filled (by flinging fish to each other). At the market, employees incited laughter from the customers and compliments about their throwing/catching abilities, or commiseration if they missed.
The "Fish Philosophy" was drawn by observing these workers. It shows how each worker can make a routine errand fun for themselves and their customers. The Philosophy revolved around four key practices:
Play, Make Their Day, Be There (for students and coworkers) and, Choose Your Attitude.
Click on the story link to read complete story and to view pictures from the event.
The Alcorn School District recently hosted the second Teaching American History Symposium at the Alcorn Education Center. Training in areas of technology, content, and instruction was provided by experts from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Mississippi State University, the University of Mississippi, Freed-Hardeman University, and Distance Education Consultants of San Diego, California.
Fourteen American History teachers from the Alcorn School District, three from the Corinth City School District, and thirteen from other districts in Northeast Mississippi attended the Symposium. Funding for the training was provided by the 2001 Teaching American History Federal Grant created to encourage the teaching of American History in the Social Studies curriculum throughout the United States.
Fourteen American History teachers from the Alcorn School District, three from the Corinth City School District, and thirteen from other districts in Northeast Mississippi attended the Symposium. Funding for the training was provided by the 2001 Teaching American History Federal Grant created to encourage the teaching of American History in the Social Studies curriculum throughout the United States.
To view pictures click on the story link.
Alcorn Central Elementary School hosted a Summer Fun Camp on Mondays and Tuesdays during the month of June. Approximately 25 children participated.
The theme for the camp was “Discovering the Decades.” Each camp day, the students took a trip in time back to the eras of the fifties, through the nineties as they discussed memorable events from each period.
Enjoyable activities included dancing and exercises to the music of the decades such as “Footloose,” “Saturday Night Fever,” and “Walk the Dinosaur’. The children and adults enjoyed eating snacks like Ritz Crackers Pizzas, Purple Cow Floats, popcorn, astronaut pudding, and of course they couldn’t blast off to space without taking along plenty of Tang!
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The Alcorn School District Intellectually Gifted Chess Tournament was held on May 19. Students entering the tournament had competed and had placed in the top three places in tournaments held at Kossuth Elementary, Kossuth Middle School Alcorn Central Middle School
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The 2008 Awards Day was recently held at the Alcorn Career and Technology Center. Matt Hamilton was named Student of the Year. Hamilton is completing the Building Trades program this year. He is a junior at Kossuth High School. After graduation he plans to attend Northeast Mississippi Community College and major in Construction Engineering Technology.
The student of the year award is a cash award of $200.00. This award is sponsored by Mississippi Polymers.
Click on the story link to find out other Awards Day Winners. The student of the year award is a cash award of $200.00. This award is sponsored by Mississippi Polymers.
Several Alcorn School District students recently had the opportunity to participate in a Nurse Mentorship Academy sponsored by Northeast Mississippi Community College and Magnolia Regional Health Center. For ten weeks, participating students dedicated 2 evenings each week to learning about careers in nursing. Participants spent one evening in the NEMCC nursing lab learning a variety of nursing skills and exploring specialty areas within the profession. The students also spent one evening each week with a nurse mentor at MRHC working in a variety of clinical nursing settings including surgery, intensive care and cardiology, among others. These students will spend 2 weeks in the summer at NEMCC preparing to take the certification exam to become a certified nursing assistant.
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