Public Hearing

The Suffolk School Board will hold a public hearing on the Superintendent’s Proposed Budget for 2003-04, starting promptly at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13 in City Council Chambers, located on the second floor of the Municipal Building at 441 Market St.

Speakers do not have to sign up in advance, but must be present when the public hearing opens at 5 p.m.

Copies of the Superintendent’s budget proposal are available now at each school, the School Board Office, and Morgan Memorial Library and its branches.

Call Cynthia Chavis, clerk of the board, at 925-5500 for more information.

Board meeting

The Suffolk School Board will hold its regular monthly meeting, beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13 in City Council Chambers, located on the second floor of the Municipal Building at 441 Market St.

The meeting will be broadcast live on the city’s Municipal Channel (Charter Cable 8) and will be rebroadcast at 8 a.m., 12 noon and 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18 through Sunday, Feb. 23.

Open House

The Pruden Center for Industry and Technology will host an Open House from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13.

The center is located at 4169 Pruden Boulevard.

If you are the parent or guardian of a high school student in Suffolk Public Schools or Isle of Wight County Public Schools, please visit the center to learn about the variety of programs offered and to view student projects.

Call the center at 925-5651 for more information or visit www.prudencenter.net

Special Education video

The Special Education Parent-Teacher Resource Center has rescheduled its Video View Night, originally scheduled for Jan. 23, to now be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13 at the center, located at 121 Forest Glen Drive.

This month’s videos will be &uot;Understanding the Defiant Child&uot; and &uot;Managing the Defiant Child.&uot;

Each video comes with a manual for viewers to keep.

Call the center at 925-5579 to reserve your spot, or for more information.

Early Start workshop

Parents of Early Start students are encouraged to attend the monthly workshop for February on &uot;Keeping Children Safe in an Unsafe World&uot; at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13 at Florence Bowser Elementary School, and again Thursday, Feb. 20 at Mount Zion Elementary School.

Maintaining a safe environment for you and your child in today’s society means being alert and vigilant, and communicating with your child about possible dangerous situations.

This workshop will be presented by Lt. Todd Rittenhouse of the Suffolk Police Department, and is free and open to the public. Call the Title 1 Parent Resource Center at 925-5686 for more information.

Schools Closing

Suffolk Public Schools will be closed in recognition of the Presidents’ Day Holiday on Monday, Feb. 17.

Contest winners

Congratulations to the following students in Suffolk Public Schools who have been recognized in the Tidewater District PTA Cultural Arts Reflections Contest.

The four Suffolk Public Schools’ students who earned first-place awards at the district level will now advance to state competition.

Tidewater District winners from Suffolk include: Visual Arts – Primary Level (K-2), Second Place, Michala Furse of Northern Shores Elementary Schools; Intermediate Level (Grades 3-5) First Place, Amanda Sowerby of Robertson Elementary School; Middle/Junior High Level (Grades 6-8) First Place, Stephanie Besco of John Yeates Middle School; and Senior High Level (Grades 9-12) Second Place, Brittany Waller of Nansemond River High School.

Photography – Primary Level (K-2) First Place, Zachery Braun of Nansemond Parkway Elementary School;

Middle/Junior High Level (Grades 6-8) Second Place, Allyssa Purdy of John Yeates Middle School; and Senior High Level (Grades 9-12) Second Place, Elizabeth Saunders of Lakeland High School.

Literature – Primary Level (K-2) Third Place, Tenesha Hicks of Elephant Forks Elementary School; Intermediate Level (Grades 3-5) Honorable Mention, Laura Holshouser of Mount Zion Elementary School; Middle/Junior High Level (Grades 6-8) Third Place, David Stone of John F. Kennedy Middle School; and Senior High Level (Grades 9-12) Second Place, Phillip Saunders of Lakeland High School.

Music – Primary Level (K-2) First Place, Taylor Johnson of Northern Shores Elementary School;

and Intermediate Level (Grades 3-5) Third Place, Ann Gover of Northern Shores Elementary School.

There will be a reception at Greenbrier Middle School on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m.

All that placed at the district lever will receive an invitation and the public is invited.

For more information, call Bethanne Bradshaw at 925-5500.

Career Education Week

National Career and Technical Education Week will be celebrated in Suffolk Public Schools from Monday, Feb. 10 through Friday, Feb. 14.

General activities for this event at middle and high schools include bulletin boards, banners, posters, PA announcements, showcases of student work, recruiting students to enroll in Career & Technical Education classes and clubs for next year, name tags with students’ career choices, &uot;Dress for Success&uot; days and &uot;Dress as Your Career&uot; days, career exploration in classrooms, co-curricular student organization celebrations, installation of student organization officers, and guest speakers in classrooms.

Specific activities include:

Tuesday, Feb. 11:

Career Day for sixth-graders at Forest Glen Middle School and King’s Fork Middle School … Wednesday, Feb. 12:

Career Day at John Yeates Middle School; Career Day for seventh-graders at King’s Fork Middle School … Thursday, Feb. 13:

Career Day for seventh- and eighth-graders at Forest Glen Middle School; Career Day for eighth-graders at King’s Fork Middle School … Friday, Feb. 14:

Staff / Student Swap Day at Forest Glen Middle School where students become staff members.

Call each school for additional details.

Forest Glen Middle School

Forest Glen Middle School will celebrate the national observance of

Black History Month with several activities designed to inform, remind, enlighten and entertain.

The theme for this year is &uot;Remembering the Past… Shaping the Future.&uot;

Classroom doors and bulletin boards will be decorated to reflect the theme.

On Friday, Feb. 14, students will be creating Make a Dream Quilts.

Each social studies teacher

will have one class make a quilt by having each student decorate a square using the words &uot;I Have A Dream…&uot; and some form of art work.

Each square should depict how they feel that America could be a better place.

The squares will be tied together with yarn and the resulting quilts will be hung in various locations throughout the building.

Quilts will be judged, and prizes will be awarded.

On Friday, Feb. 21,

the Black History Bee competition will be held.

Each FGMS club is asked to select three students to complete the activities booklet &uot;Milestones in African American History.&uot;

These students will then compete in a Black History Bee where they will be asked questions based on the facts taught in the activities booklet.

The bee will take place in the auditorium.

An appearance of a singing group, led by Dominique Epps, one of FGMS former students.

On Friday, Feb. 28, a Fashion Extravaganza will be held.

All students, faculty and staff are asked to wear some form of Afro-centric attire to school on this day.

Selected individuals will be modeling their outfits during each of the three lunch shifts.

For details, contact teacher Maryland Roberts at 925-5550.

Elephant’s Fork Elementary

Elephant’s Fork Elementary School will celebrate Black History Month with several activities.

On Tuesday, Feb. 11, third-, fourth- and fifth-graders will see a performance by the Nansemond River High School Steppers called &uot;A Diverse Heritage.&uot;

Second-graders will take a field trip to see a play about Harriet Tubman.

Students in kindergarten and first-grade will decorate their classroom doors to show off their knowledge about famous African-Americans.

Door will be completed by February 14, with judging on February 26.

The winning class at each grade level will receive an ice cream party.

Students in grades 2-5 will participate in a daily PA announcement &uot;Who Am I?&uot; contest throughout the month.

The top winners in each grade level will be treated to a popcorn party.

During library time, students will create an African-American quilt.

Every Friday, the staff will be dressing up to represent their own heritage, such as Irish, German, African, etc.

Call Johanna Hall at 925-5555 for more information.

Driver Elementary

Driver Elementary School will also celebrate as students participate in a daily PA announcement Black History Month quiz.

They will have 19 days of questions with a student winner from each grade level earning a prize each day.

All students received a timeline booklet about African-American history to prepare them for the contest, and they will also receive another book on black history, or an African folktale.

Students will write a black history essay, with a grand prize winner selected from each grade level.

Winners will be recognized at the March PTA meeting.

The month’s culminating event will be a guest speaker to discuss African-American history, spending a half-hour with each grade level (Details will follow).

Call assistant principal Katrina Bowers or second-grade teacher Terry Smith at 538-5405 for more information.

John Yeates Middle

John Yeates Middle School students are also celebrating Black History Month with a variety of activities.

The SCA is sponsoring a daily trivia contest about successful African-Americans.

The class with the most correct answers will win a prize.

Teachers will participate in a door decorating contest, sharing with students the contributions of famous African-Americans in their subject area.

Famous black achievers will also be linked to the school division’s year-round &uot;character trait for successful living&uot; program.

Art students will learn about famous artists, and display African art.

Music students will present &uot;Lift Every Voice and Sing&uot; during an assembly program.

Call assistant principal Mary Hayes at 538-5400 for more information.

Exceptional Children

Virginia Exceptional Children’s Week

has been recognized by Gov. Mark Warner for Feb. 10 – 14.

The certificate of recognition reads:

The education of Virginia’s children is of the utmost importance to our Commonwealth, and it is crucial that every child be provided with the opportunity to receive a quality education.

The Council for Exceptional Children is dedicated to ensuring that all exceptional children are given the opportunity to learn and succeed academically as they prepare for future challenges.

Exceptional children include those with superior intellectual abilities, rare creative talents, or those who are physically, mentally, or emotionally challenged.

The Council for Exceptional Children is committed to promoting the needs of exceptional children through various public awareness campaigns, encouraging community involvement in their educational development and providing necessary resources for teachers to ensure that these children reach their full potential.

Dedicated professional educators have developed instructional and educational materials and programs designed to help exceptional children to develop the necessary skills to adapt in today’s world.

In Suffolk Public Schools, this week’s celebration is coupled with February as Disability Awareness Month.

Florence Bowser PTA

The Florence Bowser Elementary School PTA will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18.

Preschoolers and first-graders at Florence Bowser

will present the program.