The Suffolk School Board will hold its regular monthly meeting, beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9 in City Council Chambers, located on the second floor of the Municipal Building at 441 Market St. The meeting will air live on the Municipal Channel (Charter Cable 8) and be rebroadcast at 8 a.m., noon and 7 p.m. on WSPS-Cable Channel 6 from Monday, Oct. 13 through Sunday, Oct. 19.

School choirs

Suffolk Public Schools will again have a major presence at this year’s Peanut Fest – which will be held Thursday, Oct. 9 through Sunday, Oct. 12. Come out and support the students who will be sharing their talents! Student musicians will perform on the Family Stage on Friday, Oct. 10. The schedule includes the King’s Fork Middle School band and chorus at 10:30 a.m., the Forest Glen Middle School band and chorus at 11 a.m., the John Yeates Middle School band and chorus at 11:30 a.m., the John F. Kennedy Middle School band at noon, Oakland Elementary School at 12:30 p.m. and Robertson Elementary School at 1 p.m. Nansemond River High School’s marching band will liven up the festival at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10, and Lakeland High School’s band will hit the site at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 11. Student artists will have their original creations on display throughout the four-day festival in the school division’s entrance tent.

JFK Book Fair

The John F. Kennedy Middle School will be hosting a book fair from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily from Friday, Oct. 10 through Wednesday, Oct. 15.

In addition, the book fair will be open to parents before the Tuesday, Oct. 14 PTA meeting from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Call the school at 925-5560 for more information.

Opera at Southwestern

Southwestern Elementary School will be hosting the Virginia Opera at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10 and an interactive production of &uot;Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.&uot; Ten selected students from grades 3-5 have been chosen to participate in the musical fairy tale. Call music teacher LuAnne LaPoint or principal Lorita Mayo at 925-5595 for more information.

LHS PTSA

The Lakeland High School PTSA will host its rescheduled Back-to-School Open House on Monday, Oct. 13, beginning at 7 p.m. Call the school at 925-5530 for details.

Even Start

An induction ceremony for the Even Start program’s Class of 2003-2004 will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14 at the Pruden Center for Industry and Technology. This family literacy program offers parents of preschoolers the opportunity to earn their high school diploma through free GED preparation classes. Free on-site childcare, transportation, and meals are provided. Called PREPP for Partnering for Reading, Educational and Parental Preparedness, the program also seeks to improve parenting skills through parent-child interaction activities. Call Even Start director Darlene Dockery at 925-5651 for more information.

‘Greek Celebritas’

Third-graders at Oakland Elementary School will have a &uot;Greek Celebritas&uot; from 9:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14. They will learn about the myths, arts, music and Olympics of Ancient Greece in a fun, active way. This event is sponsored by the school’s resource teachers (art, music and physical education) to support the third-grade Virginia Standards of Learning. Call guidance counselor Gail Harrison at 925-5505 for more information.

PTA meetings

— The Forest Glen Middle School PTA will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14. Call the school at 925-5550 for details.

— The John F. Kennedy Middle School PTA will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14. Call the school at 925-5560 for details.

Parents of Title 1 students at John F. Kennedy Middle School are invited to an orientation meeting prior to the PTA meeting, beginning at 6 p.m. Call the school at 925-5560 for details.

— The John Yeates Middle School PTA will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14. The PTA is sponsoring a chili dinner for $2 a plate in the cafeteria, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Call the school at 538-5400 for details.

— The King’s Fork Middle School PTA will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14. Call the school at 925-5750 for details.

— The Nansemond River High School PTSA will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21. Call the school at 538-5420 for details.

Early Start

Parents of Early Start students are encouraged to attend this month’s free parent workshops. All sessions are free and open to the public:

— &uot;Research and Student Nutrition&uot; will be presented by the Virginia Extension Service’s Leslie Staley from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16 at Mount Zion Elementary School.

— &uot;Childhood Obesity&uot; will be presented by Staley on Wednesday, Oct. 29 from 10:30 a.m. to noon at Booker T. Washington Elementary School.

Call Patricia Spriggs, parent relations facilitator for Suffolk Public Schools, at the Title 1 Parent Resource Center at 925-5686 for more information.

Benefit Golf Tournament

Electronic Systems Inc. announces the Sixth Annual Suffolk Education Foundation Benefit Golf Tournament for Thursday, Oct. 16 at the Suffolk Golf Course. Proceeds will help the Foundation continue its funding of college scholarships, teacher mini-grants, recognition of outstanding teachers and support personnel, and more. The golf tournament format is Florida Best Ball, post-flighted, with a shotgun start slated for 1 p.m. Player registration begins at 11 a.m. The driving range opens at 11 a.m. The 18-hole tournament will be followed by awards and a catered picnic. Awards will be presented to the top teams in each of three flights, plus closest to the pin, longest drive, and hole-in-one. Registration for a four-person team is $240 and includes carts, greens fees, picnic and gift bags. Individuals can also register for $60 a player. Call Tim Copeland, executive director of the Suffolk Education Foundation, at 539-1265 for more information. Electronic Systems Inc. is the title sponsor, with other major sponsorships provided by Physical Therapy Works, and the architectural/school construction trio of Rodriguez Ripley Maddux Motley Architects, Stroud, Pence & Associates Ltd., and Hickman-Ambrose Inc. Additional support to date has been pledged by BB&T Bank, Design Management, Accuflex teacher insurance, Verizon, and McDonough Bolyard Peck construction management.

Make-up days

Make-up days for the six school days missed during and after Hurricane Isabel will be as follows:

— Saturday, Oct. 18… Early Dismissal Schedule

— Saturday, Nov. 1… Early Dismissal Schedule

— Tuesday, Nov. 4… Full Day

— Thursday, Nov. 13… Full Day

Two of the missed days will not have to be made up because extra instructional hours are built into the school schedule and &uot;banked.&uot;

Parent-Teacher conferences originally set for Thursday, Nov. 13 will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15.

The first grading period will now end Wednesday, Nov. 5.

Special Education

The free mini-course &uot;Understanding Special Education&uot; will be offered by the Suffolk Public Schools’s Special Education Parent-Teacher Resource Center from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20 at the center, located at 121 Forest Glen Drive. This course is for anyone who wants to know more about how special education works. It will review the special education cycle, the Individualized Education Program (IEP), related services, how to work with educators, legislation information, how to identify your child’s strengths and weaknesses, mediation and due process, and much more. Come join us for this crash course. Call the center at 925-5579 to register. Hand-outs and refreshments will be available.

Governor’s School

Local students interested in The Governor’s School for the Arts should come out to an information night from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23 at King’s Fork Middle School. The Governor’s School for the Arts serves students in grades 9-12, offering classes in dance, theater, visual arts, instrumental music, vocal music and performing arts.

Those selected to participate in the Governor’s School attend their regular high school for academic classes, and are then transported to afternoon sessions at the school in Norfolk. At this session, meet administrators, instructors and students from the school.

Special student presentations have been designed to show you what they do at the school. There will be plenty of time for student and parent questions. Applications for the 2004-05 may be submitted at the meeting or mailed. Visit the school’s website at www.gsarts.net. For more information, call Dr. Lynn Cross, assistant superintendent for Suffolk Public Schools, at 925-5634, see the gifted resource teacher at your school, or call GSA at 451-4711.

Red Ribbon Week

National Red Ribbon Week will be celebrated in Suffolk Public Schools the week of Oct. 23 – 31. Schools throughout the city will each mark the occasion with special events.

Students from the drug-free club at Lakeland High School will be making special presentations to the Suffolk School Board on Thursday, Oct. 9 and to the Suffolk City Council on Wednesday, Oct. 15.

At the council meeting, LHS teacher and club sponsor Stephanie Odom will receive the proclamation from the mayor declaring Oct. 23-31 as Red Ribbon Week. Red Ribbon Week is dedicated to a drug enforcement officer who was killed by drug dealers in Mexico in 1985. In response to his death, angered parents across the country began wearing red ribbons to symbolize their commitment to being healthy and drug-free. Call the school division’s prevention specialists Nancy King and Lovey Lyons at 925-5736 for more information on year-round drug-free programs in Suffolk Public Schools.

Grandparents’ Week

Suffolk Public Schools will observe Grandparents’ Week from Monday, Oct. 27 to Friday, Oct. 31. (This celebration had to be rescheduled due to the interruption of Hurricane Isabel.) To encourage positive family involvement, each student may invite one grandparent to have lunch with him/her in the school cafeteria. One lunch per student will be paid by the school division, but other grandparents may attend &uot;dutch treat.&uot; A typical a la carte adult meal is approximately $2.50.

A child who does not have a grandparent in Suffolk may invite an aunt, uncle or other adult in the family. Middle and high school student menus already offer the variety needed for adult visitors, but special adult selections are being offered at the elementary schools. They include: Monday, Oct. 27: Fresh Spinach Salad w/ Creamy Bacon dressing or Philly Steak Sub w/ onions & peppers; Tuesday, Oct. 28: Fresh Garden Tossed Chef Salad w/ Grilled Chicken or Lasagna; Wednesday, Oct. 29: Homemade Chicken Salad on Wheat Sub Roll or Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes & Gravy; Thursday, Oct. 30: Fresh Garden Tossed Chef Salad w/ Deli Turkey Breast or BBQ Pork; Friday, Oct. 31: Fresh Greek Garden Salad w/ Feta Cheese or Beef Soft Taco. Call your child’s school for more information.

Video discussion

The Special Education Parent-Teacher Resource Center of Suffolk Public Schools will offer this month’s Video Views program from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27 at the center, located at 121 Forest Glen Drive. The featured video is &uot;Misunderstood Minds,&uot; which looks into the lives of five children and their families as they deal with the puzzling mysteries presented by their unique learning differences.

Call 925-5597 to register for the video conference.

SAT test location changed

Students registered to take the SAT on Saturday, Nov. 1 should note that the testing location has changed from Lakeland High School to Hobbs Campus of Paul D. Camp Community College, located at 271 Kenyon Road. That Saturday is now a make-up day for Suffolk Public Schools.

Barbara Sherrill

Southwestern Elementary School recently welcomed back second-grade teacher Barbara Sherrill, who has been serving in the Army Reserves since June. To show the school’s pride in Ms. Sherrill’s dedication to the country, students and staff wore red, white and blue on Thursday, Oct. 2. Call the school at 925-5595 for more information.

News from Driver Elementary

— The Driver Elementary School cafeteria is sporting a new look with the foods painted on the back of the serving line wall by art teacher Judy Walsh.

— Students in Ken Carmody’s fifth-grade class will be planting fruit trees, which have been donated by Bennett’s Creek Wholesale Nursery. This ongoing science experiment will enable students to experience all areas of tree planting and fruit production. The orchard itself will be dedicated in the memory of the late husband Gracie Eure, a teacher assistant at Driver.

— The Book Keepers, a fourth-grade library club, has started a new business under the ownership (direction) of library media specialist Deborah Vaughan. The &uot;employees&uot; are responsible for operating a library clean-up service to assure that all books are shelved, cleaned and handled properly.

— Ken Carmody’s fifth-grade class is supporting the U.S. military. Student Taquana Pierce has a father serving with the Army stationed in a particularly violent area called Tirkrit. By collecting items and writing cards and letters, students are beginning to understand the contribution to freedom our troops are making.