Students with disabilities in the FOCAL program at Chapel Hill High School participated in a community-oriented cooking project funded by a grant from the Council for Exceptional Children of North Carolina, under the leadership of EC Transition Facilitator Emily Davis and EC teachers Erin Smith and Dara Heller.  

The students prepared frozen meals and desserts for the residents at the SECU Family House that provides housing for families with an adult family member in the hospital.  The students chose what to make, created the shopping lists, purchased the groceries, prepared the meals, and delivered them to the residents. They always included a homemade card.  Students are finishing out the grant by providing baked goods to those who receive Meals on Wheels.

Ms. Davis presented this project in the Poster Session of the 2010 Annual Conference of the NC Council for Exceptional Children in Wilmington, January 28-29.

Winners of the 2009 Sallie Markham Michie Essay Contest were recently announced by the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Magna Carta Dames.  Twenty of the contest's 36 winners were students in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.

The purpose of this annual essay contest is to challenge students in grades five through twelve to research and write about historical events and civic and governmental roles in the history and development of North Carolina and the United States.

The contest is funded by the Sallie Markham Michie Trust, which provides awards ranging from $25 to $4,000.  The contest is in its 13th year and is open to students in Orange and Chatham Counties. 

Winners include:  Matthieu Sieredzki, sophomore at Chapel Hill High; Sophie To, freshman at East Chapel Hill High; Katherine Whang, freshman at East Chapel Hill High; Emily Goldstein, eighth grader at Smith Middle School; Anna Claire Smith, seventh grader at Culbreth Middle School; Nadeem Ramadan, sixth grader at Phillips Middle School; Emily Fox, fifth grader at Carrboro Elementary; Caroline Smith, fifth grader at Frank Porter Graham; Clara To, fifth grader at Rashkis Elementary; Ellison Carmichael, fifth grader at Estes Hills Elementary; Kathik Kaundiny, fifth grader at Estes Hills Elementary; Clara Breeden, fifth grader at Estes Hills Elementary; August Moore, fifth grader at Estes Hills Elementary; Sienna Zueo, fifth grader at Estes Hills Elementary; Hunter Pearce, fifth grader at Estes Hills Elementary; Kees Benkendorfer, fifth grader at Estes Hills Elementary; Aleta Groh Donald, fifth grader at Estes Hills Elementary; Anne Whitsel, fifth grader at Estes Hills Elementary; and Annie Huang, fifth grader at Estes Hills Elementary.

A number of relief projects are underway at Chapel Hill High School in order to reach the school's goal of $5,000 in aid to Haiti.  Some of the projects are being conducted in collaboration with East Chapel Hill High School. 

CHHS has collected $2,000 in spare change since January 28.  The funds will be donated to two charities-Doctors Without Borders and Partners in Health.  Partners in Health is the organization whose story is told in Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains. 

The school's Haiti Committee, under the leadership of Meg Duffy, has been holding bake sales before and after school.  The Spanish Honor Society is selling bracelets from Peru.  Wristbands to benefit Haiti also are being sold for $2.

An Art for Haiti event has brought together advanced art students from CHHS and ECHHS to create works of art that are personal responses to the tragedy in Haiti.  These works will be exhibited at two Carrboro locations-The Open Eye Café and the Looking Glass Café.  The exhibit will be held from 2-6 pm on Saturday, February 13.  The works will then be sold (donations starting at $10), and the proceeds will benefit the Red Cross. Art teachers at the two schools are Jack Watson, Elaine Walton and Hollie Novak.

The student governments of Chapel Hill High School and East Chapel Hill High School are hosting a joint benefit at the Century Center on March 7.  The benefit will feature several local bands and performers.

Students at Frank Porter Graham Elementary are currently conducting a coin drive to benefit Haiti relief efforts.

Three students from Carrboro High School were named to All-State Choirs. Freshman Katie Edmiston was named to the Ninth and Tenth Grade Chorus.  Junior Bradli Crum was named to the Women's Chorus.  Junior Joel Wilhelm was named to the Eleventh and Twelfth Grade Chorus.  Kay Johnson is their director.

The All-State Choir Clininc and Concert were scheduled for January 29-30 at the Greensboro Coliseum.  The inclement weather last weekend canceled the performance.

Schools in the district continue to report results in their relief projects to benefit Haiti.

The boys' basketball team at Culbreth Middle raised $800 for the American Red Cross.

Last week's coin drive at Rashkis Elementary raised a total of $2,767.

Families at Mary Scroggs Elementary raised $716.14 to support Hope for Haiti Ministries, an organization founded by PTA President Paulette Bekolo.  The fundraiser at Scroggs will continue through the second week in February.  Hope for Haiti Ministries is a tax-exempt charitable organization that was established in 2004 and has been responsible for providing assistance to the needy ever since.  More information is available at www.hfhm.org .