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PTA Committee News – Opportunities Abound

The PTA is always seeking a parent (or two) willing to chair a committee, become a committee member, or simply volunteer for to help with a number of on-going activities which help make your child’s educational experience all that it can be.

Please contact Christy Esterling christyesterling@nc.rr.com for more information about volunteer opportunities.

School Spirit -

Mark your calendars now for Tuesday, June 3rd. Come enjoy an end-of-the-school-year ice cream treat with the family at Cold Stone Creamery from 6:30PM- 8:30PM at one of two locations, Patterson Place on 15/501 & Mt. Moriah Road by Kroger or the Renaissance Center at SouthPoint next to Chili's. Be sure to look for some of the Creekside teachers and staff who will be helping to mix and serve the ice cream! Tell the cashier you are with Creekside Elementary and up to 20% of the proceeds will come back to the PTA to support our students, staff and school. Special thanks to our families for your support this school year!

Spring Carnival – Shay Charles

The 5th Annual Creekside Spring Carnival will be in April this year! Join us the Carnival Committee as they plan for a great event. We’ll have a Bouncy House, Giant Slide, Obstacle Course and the Carolina Hurricanes Slap Shot Booth where you can win a Hurricane’s T-shirt. Try your luck at old-fashioned carnival games like Ring Toss, Ping Pong Toss, Pop Drop and Plinko, or play the Cake Walk or Bingo. There also will be a craft booth, face tattoos, popcorn, cotton candy and snow cones. In all, there will be over 30 different activities with tons of prizes plus a Silent Auction. The Spring Fundraising Raffle will be held the day of the carnival with many prizes to give away. Contact Shay Charles to sign up to help on the Carnival Committee.

Science Fair – Melanie Duhon

Thank you to everyone who volunteered to help make Science Week in March a success! The festival could not have happened without the help of both parent and teacher volunteers. Also, thank you to each student who did a project and shared his or her knowledge! Plans are being made for this year.

Summer Workbook Sale – Nicolle Mercer & Pam Kearsley

If you would like to keep your child thinking and learning through the summer, this may be just what you are looking for!! The PTA is partnering with A Sea of Learning (an educational supplies store located across from Southpoint Mall) to offer the Summer Bridge Activities workbook series to Creekside families. The workbooks are grade-specific and contain curriculum-based activities for your child. The workbooks will cost $13.95 and for each book sold, $2 will be given to the PTA to support 2008-09 school year activities. Please look in your child’s May 9th Friday folder for a memo about this fundraiser and the order form. All workbook orders must be turned in to your child’s classroom by Thursday, May 22nd. We expect to be able to distribute the workbooks the first week of June. If you have any questions, please contact Pam Kearsley or Nicolle Mercer.

Creekside Legal Eagle

Update from DPS Board Meeting

Creekside PTA was represented by Lori Farley at the November School Board meeting where it was asked how DPS planned on evaluating which construction projects would be deemed priority and on what criteria. It was an opportunity to let the Board know how drastic our overcrowding is and how much the PTA, staff and community are concerned. The School Board responded by saying 1) Creekside is on the radar; 2) they are well aware of our issues, and 3) that someone would contact us. Leonard Smith, Construction Manager for DPS, contacted the PTA. We were informed that the two main criteria to get our expansion to the top of the list are safety issues and education quality suffering and deteriorating. The time table for prioritizing construction issues will start to be discussed in January by Mr. Smith and Hugh Osteen, Asst. Superintendent.

The 2007 Bond Referendum Passed!

The 2007 Bond Referendum has passed, which means Creekside Elementary is going to get its much-needed new wing. However, the timetable for any construction has not been set by Durham Public Schools. Since we are in desperate need of the additional facilities, we are asking that as many parents as possible attend public school board meetings (wearing Creekside apparel if possible). The more the Board of Education sees Creekside parents and knows we are committed to supporting the needs of our children, the better chance we have of being one of the first projects scheduled. For more information or to coordinate carpool and/or attendance at these meetings, please contact Lori Farley at Lfarley1@nc.rr.com. The dates for upcoming Board of Education meetings can be found on the calendar page.

Site-Based Committee, Parent Reps

There are four parent representatives on the Site-Based Decision committee. Jodie Lee and Adria Boyd, were elected last year for a two-year term. In September, the following two parents were elected to serve a two-year term through Spring 2009:

Rachael Murphey-Brown: Rachael is very excited to be serving Creekside in this capacity. She has a Kindergartener and a daughter at home. She is a strong advocate for quality public education for all children, and has her parent’s example and her children’s inspiration to thank for her enthusiasm. In her free time, she likes to jog, or read a good work of fiction!

Jeff Tracy: Jeff has five children with two at Creekside in 1st & 3rd grades, two younger ones and Sarah who graduated from Creekside last spring. He believes it is critical that we look for ways to allow children to learn at their own pace to enable them to make the greatest use of their talents. Jeff operates his own software consulting company, which allows him the flexibility to volunteer at school.

Three alternates were also elected: Lacky Barnes, Warren Robinson and Cecilia Watkins.

DPS Construction Website

Durham Public Schools is growing at a steady clip, roughly 1.5 to 2 percent annually. As a result, many of our schools are overcrowded, and mobile classrooms dot our campuses throughout the county. If you have driven around Durham lately, you might be surprised to see the number of new subdivisions under construction. It is for these reasons and more that Durham Public Schools aggressively approaches fulfilling space needs that will support our instructional programs and ultimately increase student achievement.

To keep our parents and community supporters abreast of our current construction projects, and to inform you of our upcoming needs, we have developed this new Construction Website. On this site, you will be able to track projects that have been recently completed or are under way, along with their locations, costs, completion dates and other pertinent information.

On November 6, Durham voters will be asked to consider $194.2 million in support of building new schools and expanding and renovating many others. You can read about these needs on the new site as well. Please keep these needs – and our students! – in mind when casting your vote.

New Creekside Principal Named!

Letisha N. Judd, assistant principal of a Chapel Hill elementary school, has been named Principal of Creekside Elementary School. Judd has served as assistant principal at Ephesus Road Elementary School in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools for the past year. She was assistant principal at McDougle Elementary School in the same school system for three years prior. Before that she was an administrative intern at Y.E. Smith Elementary School in Durham.

Judd also served as a classroom teacher at Oak Grove Elementary School for three years and Bethesda Elementary School for one year. She taught at Healthy Start Academy in Durham for two years. She also has served as a summer school principal in Chapel Hill. She is a native of Durham and a graduate of Southern High School.

“It is an honor to be named principal of Creekside Elementary School. It is a beautiful school with a strong sense of community,” said Judd. “I am looking forward to collaborating with our staff and parents to make sure that Creekside is an optimal learning environment for all students.”

Judd holds a master’s degree in school administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She holds two bachelor’s degrees from North Carolina Central University – one in elementary education and one in public administration.

“Letisha Judd has the elementary administrative experience along with the energy and motivation that will guarantee the continuation of the many great things happening at Creekside Elementary School,” said Superintendent Carl Harris. “Her leadership will serve the students, teachers and parents of Creekside well.”

Support Our Carnival Raffle Sponsors

The Spring Carnival Raffle was a huge success, thanks in great part to wonderful sponsors! Please support the raffle prize sponsors: Adventure Landing, Arnold Palmer Enterprises, Best Buy, Cape Fear River Tours, Caribou Coffee, The Carolina Inn, Carolina Hurricanes, Carolina Mudcats, Chimney Rock Park, Chiropractic Wellness Center, Coldwater Creek, Cheryle Takacs – Creative Memories Consultant, Dollywood, Edible Arrangements, Governor’s Club Golf Course, Green Tango, Leo’s Seafood, Le Paris Spa, Lynn’s Traditions, Mary Kay, McAllister’s Deli (Chapel Hill), Meadowmont Club, Millennium Sports Club, Morehead Planetarium, Museum of Life & Science, NC Aquarium Society, NC Theatre, Paramount Carowinds, PartyLite Consultant – Nicolle Mercer, Play It Again Sports, Pump It Up, Red Robin Restaurant, Santa’s Land Theme Park, Simply Spoiled Children’s Boutique, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, Starbucks, Success Martial Arts, Tan Your Hide, The Lost Colony, The Quest Center (Martial Arts), Tweetsie Railroad, UNC Men’s Basketball, Vasques Lawn Care, Wal-Mart and Walt Disney World.

Thank you also to Laura Gilliom for donating to the raffle prizes.

Congrats to the Odyssey of the Mind teams!

Creekside had three teams compete in the regional Odyssey of the Mind competition on March 3rd at Wakefield High School in Raleigh. All three teams did quite well, with one team making its way to the State competition! The State competition was held on March 31st.

Congratulations to the PTA Grant Winners!

Each spring the PTA offers grants to the Creekside staff. This year there was $8,000 set aside to spend directly on needed projects for the school. 11 grant requests were fully or partially funded for a total of $6,202. The following projects were funded:

Mrs. Dennison (K) – writing center
Mrs. Foerster (K) – writing center
K Team – playground equipment
3rd Grade Team – fraction tile sets
4th Grade Team – authentic history books on North Carolina
5th Grade Team – books on Canada and Owl Pellet study kits
Mrs. Schrader (Media) – Shelf Elf and Our Librarian books
Mrs. Merritt (Music) – Xylophone and Glockenspiel stands
Mrs. Bell (Spanish) – Spanish/English dictionaries
ESL Team – books designed for the ESL population

The PTA Board will review additional grant requests on March 5 and hope to approve the use of the remaining grant money for use this year! You can see why participation in the Fall Fundraiser, helping at Duke Concessions and selling Spring Raffle tickets is so vitally needed. The staff appreciates your efforts and our children are the ones who benefit most!

Parental Involvement Policy

The Parental Involvement Policy has been revised for the 2006-2007 school year. Parents and school personnel collaborated to identify meaningful ways to involve our parents in student academic learning and other school activities. A copy of the Parental Involvement Policy will be sent to Creekside Families in the Friday Folder on February 3, 2007.

Bryan Properties Donates Land for New Middle School, Park

On Halloween, Superintendent Carl Harris joined representatives from the city, county, Triangle Land Conservancy and Bryan Properties to celebrate the completion of a series of land donations that will provide 32 acres for a new middle school and 114 acres for a new recreation park, as well as conserve 240 more nearby acres.

The new middle school, known now as New Middle School “B” is included in the Long-Range Facilities Plan developed by DPS. Funds for this school have not been identified; however, most DPS middle schools are close to capacity.

Superintendent Harris said, “Durham Public Schools extends its heartfelt gratitude to D.R. Bryan and Bryan Properties for such a generous donation, one which will serve as a beautiful setting for the state-of-the-art middle school that will serve 850 students from the northern part of Durham County.”

The new school and park will be located off Snow Hill Road, just south of the Little River Reservoir.

Reading Scores Reveal Significant Gains

from the DPS website

Composite reading scores for elementary and middle schools reveal significant gains over the last nine years, with 14 schools reaching their highest composite scores ever and five reaching their second highest, according to results released by the Office of Research, Development and Accountability.

Perhaps the most striking note from this report comes from C.C. Spaulding Elementary School, where third- through fifth-graders have made dramatic gains. For the 2005-06 school year, 85.6 percent of these students are reading at or above grade level. This represents a significant jump of 18.9 percentage points in one year, and 40.5 percentage points over the last nine years.

Due to the new mathematics test for grades 3 through 8 administered by the state of North Carolina, results for math will be released in the fall.

The 14 schools reporting highest composite scores ever are Bethesda, Creekside, Eastway, Forest View, Harris, Lakewood, Little River, Mangum, Merrick-Moore, Pearsontown and Spaulding Elementary Schools, and Chewning, Lowe’s Grove and Rogers-Herr Middle Schools.

Additional highlights of the report:

Nearly two-thirds (23) of the 37 elementary and middle schools showed improvement over last year.
Five elementary schools are above the 90-percent proficiency mark: Easley, Little River, Mangum, Morehead and Pearsontown.
Twelve elementary schools -- Creekside, Eno Valley, Forest View, Harris, Hillandale, Holt, Hope Valley, Lakewood, Merrick-Moore, Parkwood, Southwest, Spaulding, and five middle schools – Brogden, Carrington, Durham School of the Arts, Rogers-Herr and Shepard – all exceeded the 80-percent proficiency mark.
Morehead Montessori Elementary School had the most dramatic nine-year improvement (51.8 percentage points), for a total composite reading score of 94 percent proficiency, compared to 42.2 percent nine years ago.
Three elementary schools have improved their proficiency rates by at least 40 percentage points over the last nine years – Eastway, Pearson and Spaulding.
Fayetteville Street, Harris and Lakewood Elementary Schools, and Rogers-Herr Middle School, all have improved their proficiency rates by at least 30 percentage points over the last nine years.
Each and every elementary school that reported a proficiency rate of less than 50 percent in reading in 1996-97 has improved that proficiency rate by at least 25 percentage points. These schools are Eastway, Fayetteville Street, Harris, Lakewood, Morehead, Pearson, Spaulding and Watts.

"These results are a wonderful testament to the steady focus that Durham Public Schools, its teachers, principals, Central Services professionals and supporters have had around ensuring that we deliver the highest level of instruction to our students,” said Superintendent Ann T. Denlinger. “Our middle school reform initiatives are in place and already showing signs of effectiveness. I congratulate and celebrate these findings with our school system and community, and look forward to hearing about the future successes that stem from the great work that we have done."