School news

Compiled by Gina Smith

Bailey Middle School

Membership contest: The Bailey Middle School Parent Teacher Student Association is participating in a national membership growth contest. Competing schools must demonstrate growth between March 2012 and March 2013. Three schools in North Carolina will win cash prizes, and two prizes of $6,000 each will be awarded to the schools showing the largest percentage of growth and largest number of members nationally. To help with the effort, all Bailey Middle parents, teachers and students can join the 2012-13 Parent Teacher Student Association by Jan. 18. To join, bring $6 in cash or check made out to “Bailey PTSA” in a sealed envelope to Bailey Middle School, 11900 Bailey Road, Cornelius. Envelopes should include name, student’s name and student’s homeroom teacher’s name. Membership cards will be delivered within two weeks. Members receive discounts with several businesses. Students that turn in new memberships by Jan. 18 will receive a treat.

Musical: Tickets for Bailey Middle School’s production of the musical melodrama “Tied to the Tracks” are on sale 8:45-9:15 a.m. in front of the school’s media center at 11900 Bailey Road, Cornelius. Tickets are $2 for students and children and $4 for adults. Performances will take place at 7 p.m. Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 in the auditorium at Hough High School, 12420 Bailey Road, Cornelius.

Parent University: The next Bailey Middle School Parent University session, “Why School Attendance Matters,” will be held at 6 p.m. Jan. 17 in the school’s media center, 11900 Bailey Road, Cornelius. The course provides details on the North Carolina school attendance law and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ expectations regarding school attendance. Activities will help parents and guardians understand the causes of truancy. The class is free and snacks will be provided.

Moms Meet Up: Michelle Icard, creator of www.michelleinthemiddle.com , will host ongoing Moms Meet Up support meetings for parents of middle school students. Fathers are welcome to attend. The meetings will allow parents to discuss concerns and share advice and support about dealing with their middle school-aged children. The first six sessions are scheduled for 10:30-11:30 a.m. Jan. 23, 7-8 p.m. Jan. 24, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Feb. 20, 7-8 p.m. Feb. 21, 10:30-11:30 a.m. March 13 and 7-8 p.m. March 14 at the Michelle in the Middle office at 120 Greenwich Road, Charlotte. Parents can attend one, any or all of the sessions. Cost is $10 per session. To participate, RSVP to michelle@michelleinthemiddle.com. Private sessions are available for both parents and tweens. For details visit www.michelleinthemiddle.com.

Barnette Elementary School

Grant competition: Barnette Middle School is competing to win one of four $15,000 grants through the Gift of Music Video Contest from Rack Room Shoes. To support Barnette, vote for “Barnette Sings Jingle Bells” at www.rackroomshoes.com or on Facebook by searching for the “Gift of Music.”

Cornelius Elementary School

Food collection: Cornelius Elementary School collected more than 750 pounds of food in November for the Loaves and Fishes food pantry at the Ada Jenkins Center in Davidson. The school also collected more than 200 toys for the Salvation Army Toy Drive in December. The collection efforts provided Christmas toys to about 70 children.

Report card meeting: A workshop on understanding the new K-2 Report Card for this school year will be held at 6 p.m. Jan. 17 in the Media Center at Cornelius Elementary School, 21126 Catawba Ave., Cornelius. The workshop will include a discussion of how to help children meet their target goals from the Common Core State Standards and Essential Standards. For details call 980-343-3905.

Principal’s Coffee: The next Principal’s Coffee will focus on fifth-grade students who will attend Bailey Middle School in 2013-14 for sixth grade and will be held at 9 a.m. Jan. 16 at Just Baked Cupcakes and Coffee House, 19901 S. Main St., Cornelius. Chad Thomas, principal of Bailey Middle School, will be the guest speaker and will discuss registration, classes, electives and parent concerns. Parents of J. V. Washam Elementary students are also invited to attend the event.

New website: The Cornelius Parent Teacher Organization recently launched a new website at www.corneliuspto.org. To sign up to receive an email when a new post is published, visit the site and enter your email address under the “Follow Blog Via Email” section on the right. The new site includes information about Parent Teacher Organization and school calendar events, news, links to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools pages, volunteer opportunities and more.

Hopewell High School

Harris Teeter payout: In December, Hopewell High School’s JROTC was among the top 10 highest earners in Harris Teeter’s Together in Education program’s first of three payouts of the 2012-13 school year. Harris Teeter Together in Education donated $259,809.16 to participating schools during the first payout, with Hopewell receiving almost $3,200. The Hopewell JROTC was the seventh-highest earner and the only school from the Lake Norman area in the top 10.

A total of 415 schools earned a check during this payout, averaging $626 per school. Schools or school programs register for a Together in Education code on harristeeter.com, and customers then link their Harris Teeter VIC card to up to five codes. Once the VIC card is linked, every time a customer buys Harris Teeter brands or fills a prescription at a Harris Teeter pharmacy, Harris Teeter donates money back to the schools to which the customer’s VIC card is linked. Harris Teeter Together in Education distributes money to TIE schools and programs three times per school year. The next payout will be in March.