Celebrating twenty-three years of supporting area schools, the annual Adopt-A-School Breakfast Seminar scheduled for Thursday, July 31^st will officially kickoff the 2008-09 Adopt-A-School Year.  The seminar, held at University Church of Christ, will begin with breakfast at 7:30AM. Traditionally scheduled the week before teachers officially report to area schools, the Adopt-A-School Breakfast Seminar provides a unique opportunity for school personnel in both the Tuscaloosa County System and the Tuscaloosa City System to meet together and network with community businesses and leaders.   Attending the seminar will be representatives from all 54 public schools in the Tuscaloosa City and County Systems, as well as, business leaders representing the business and professional organizations who have chosen to adopt area schools. 

  

Mr. Pat Williams, Senior Vice-President of the NBA's Orlando Magic will be the keynote speaker.  Visit www.patwilliamsmotivate.com for additional information.  

 

Two partnerships that have just completed their twentieth year together will be recognized at the breakfast for their twenty years of participation in the program.  Arts Council of Tuscaloosa & Westwood Elementary School and DCH Regional Medical Center & Hillcrest High School have been partners since 1988. Also, Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa (formerly Tuscaloosa Steel and Corus Tuscaloosa) has served as an adopter since 1988, first with Maxwell Elementary School and now with Holt High School. Additionally, Mercedes & Vance Elementary School have been partners since 1998 and the partnership will be recognized at the breakfast. 

 

For additional information contact Adopt-A-School Director, Loo Whitifield, 391-0563 or loo@tuscaloosachamber.com   Registrations forms are available at http://www.tuscaloosachamber.com/PDF/AAS/aasbreakfastregistration.pdf

Seven new schools will welcome students next fall and adopters are needed for several of these schools.  Three new schools are scheduled to open in the Tuscaloosa County School System and adopters are needed for two of the schools: Lake View Elementary School and Duncanville Middle School.  Students from Brookwood and Vance Elementary Schools living in the Lake View and Tannehill areas will attend the new Lake View Elementary School.  Duncanville Middle School will open to relieve some of the over crowding in Hillcrest Middle School.

 

Four new schools are scheduled to open in the Tuscaloosa City School System and adopters are needed for two of the schools.  The new South Elementary School and the new South Middle School will be housed temporarily in the current Tuscaloosa Middle School building until their new facility near the intersection of Cypress Creek Road and New Judge Factory Road is completed. 

 

We need you! Four of the seven new schools scheduled to open in August of 2008 need adopters. Why not consider taking an active role as an Adopt-A-School partner? The program is flexible. Each partnership develops its own goals and activities based on the resources of the adopter and the needs of the schools. The possibilities are unlimited!

 

Call Loo Whitfield today at 391-0563 or email loo@tuscaloosachamber.com for more information. There's no obligation, nothing to lose, and it could be the beginning of a very rewarding experience for you and your business as well as providing much-needed assistance for a public school in Tuscaloosa!

Arcadia Elementary students constantly talk about being a Kudos Kid.  Every two weeks, JVC America, Adopt-A-School partner for Arcadia, presents an award to students who best exemplify a specific character trait. The character traits are identified by the Character Education curriculum and one particular character trait is highlighted each two weeks.  Kudos Kids awards are given to students who exemplify the particular trait.

 

Brookwood Elementary students and faculty would like to say a great big thank you to their Adopt-A-School partners, Black Warrior Methane and James Bailey's TaeKwonDo Plus! The Adopt-A-School partners support the students, faculty and staff throughout the school year.  Two activities that the students particularly enjoy are the "terrific kids" program, supported by Black Warrior Methane and the birthday celebration hosted by James Bailey TaeKwonDo Plus. 

 

Each month, Black Warrior Methane acknowledges two "Terrific Kids" from each classroom by rewarding them with a leather ribbon and certificate. The children receive these items through the mail and really look forward to having their personal mail delivered to their home.  Also, each month members of the James Bailey's TaeKwonDo staff visit the school and teach character education and self-defense classes to all the students celebrating a birthday that month. The students really look forward to participating in the self-defense classes and the celebration during their birthday month.  Thank you again Black Warrior Methane and James Bailey's TaeKwonDo for your investment in the children of Brookwood Elementary School!

On May 2nd, the 7th grade student body from Brookwood Middle School enjoyed the educational experiences of the McWane Center in Birmingham.  Some of the exhibits the students enjoyed participating in were the mind ball exhibit, lying on a bed of nails and riding a bike across a high-wire two-stories above ground.  The students also explored the world of water aquarium where they were able to view an octopus, eel and other sea creatures.  The IMAX theatre, with its five-story-tall dome screen, was a big hit with the students as they learned about dinosaurs from the movie Dinosaurs Alive! The field trip was sponsored, in part, by Brookwood Middle School's Adopt-A-School partner in education, Mercedes Benz U. S. International, Inc.

 

The Tuscaloosa Music Club welcomed Buhl Elementary second graders and their teachers for a musical program at the Tuscaloosa Public Library.  The delightful program was presented by Dr. Raphael Crystal, head of the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Alabama, and thirteen of his students.  The program consisted of a medley of songs featuring each University student and was the premiere performance by the group named "Celebration". 

 

As part of their joint efforts to support the American Cancer Society, Randall-Reilly Publishing and Bryce Hospital, Adopt-A-Schools partners for Central High School, participated in their annual fundraiser basketball game at Central High School on Friday, April 18^th.  Central students filled the gym to watch the game and proceeds from the ticket sales were donated to the American Cancer Society.  During the annual event female representatives from Randall-Reilly formed a team and played against the Central High School girl's basketball team. The ladies from Randall-Reilly were Julie Gresham, Connie Lewis, Heather Sanford, Tamika Rancher, Jessica Tubbs and Mosell Johnson.  The ladies' game was very close, but the Central High School girls' basketball team pulled ahead to win. 

 

The faculty and students of Stillman College know how to motivate Central Primary School students to do well on their standardized tests.   The way to get students excited is to have an Academic Pep Rally!  On April 23^rd, one day before DIBELS tests were administered to Central Primary School students, Stillman College faculty and students participated in an academic pep rally.  In a motivational speech, Dr. Joseph Dantzler, a Stillman College faculty member, encouraged students to do their best on their tests and to aim high in their academic careers.  Stillman College Cheerleaders and members of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Step Teams from Stillman College performed for Central Primary students.  Students were told that if they do well in school today, in the future they might become members of a step team at Stillman . 

Motivating Central Primary School's students to aim high has been a consistent theme for Stillman College this year.  Earlier in the semester, selected students from Central Primary School's 2^nd grade classrooms traveled to Stillman College to participate in a terrific job shadowing experience.  In a wonderfully organized event, Central Primary students received hands-on experience in a variety of venues including the library, the music education department, the student recruitment fair, and the administrative offices.  Students experienced what it's like to participate in staff meetings and to organize big campus events.  Best of all, students ate lunch in the Stillman College cafeteria right along side the college students.

 

Englewood Elementary is honored to have Shelton State Community College as one of their Adopt-a-School partners.  Shelton State contacted the school in April and proposed a special program in which faculty and staff members would work with "struggling readers".  On Tuesdays and Thursdays during the month of May, Shelton State employees have taken time from their busy schedules to visit Englewood and read with the students. 

 

The reading program offers an opportunity for the students to receive additional help with their reading problems and the Englewood teachers welcome the extra help.  The Englewood faculty appreciates this "hands on" approach that Shelton State has initiated and looks forward to possibly developing this reading venture into a monthly project for the 2008-09 school year.  Thank you Adopt-a-School Partners for all that you do for the students, faculty and staff at Englewood Elementary School.

Northside High School's 17^th annual Academic and Scholarship Banquet, sponsored by the Rotary Club, Northside High School's Adopt-A-School partner, was held on Monday, May 5^th.  Over two hundred people attended the event at the Northport Civic Center.  Thirty-five seniors received scholarship awards and sixty-nine students received certificates for maintaining a ninety or above average in all of their academic classes.

 

Additionally, four students received an award for having the highest grade point average in their grade level.  The Rotary Club has served as the Adopt-A-School partner for Northside High School since 1990, and the Academic and Scholarship Banquet has become a traditional part of the partnership.  Chris Hester, Adopt-A-School Chairman for Rotary Club, attended the banquet and helped with the presentations.  A special thanks is extended to the Rotary Club of Tuscaloosa for the 18 years of partnership with Northside High School.

Photo caption: Chris Hester (center), the Adopt-A-School chairman for the Rotary Club is shown here with Assistant Principal, Bobby Beasley and Principal David Patrick.

Vance Elementary students survived the SAT and ARMT testing with the help of their Adopt-A-School Partners, Southland International Trucks, Mercedes Benz International, and Vulcan Materials.  The adopters provided embroidered visors for all students who had perfect attendance during testing.  A total of 266 students reached the pinnacle of "perfect attendance" and received the visors. The students continue to proudly wear their visors that read "I Survived Testing".

On Friday, May 9^th, Verner Elementary celebrated their annual Spring Fling.  Students enjoyed participating in face painting, rock wall climbing, outdoor games and on inflatable bouncers.  A disc jockey played music throughout the event.  Each student received a t-shirt listing the various sponsors and a personalized goodie bag for their winnings. 

 

The Bank of Tuscaloosa, Adopt-A-School partner for Verner Elementary, had several team members at the event to help out.  They also had a special table promoting their "Workplace Banking" product designed for the faculty and staff.  Funds generated from the Spring Fling event are designated for Verner's new "Field of Dreams" play ground facility. 

Every year in May teachers at Westwood Elementary strive to keep their students focused and motivated to practice their math facts.  Often, at the end of the school year, children need another boost of encouragement to try their best and to become fluent mathematicians.  Hudson-Poole Fine Jewelers, Adopt-A-School partner for Westwood, developed the Gemstone Math Program to reward students who met certain math criteria during the designated four week period. 

 

Westwood teachers in each grade level developed the criteria and determined how to test the students.  After the four week period of timed testing, the top achieving students, "gold level", are invited to a party and given a certificate, cake, and punch.  "Silver level" students are given a certificate and a prize.  This year, Hudson-Poole added a new "platinum" level for students who go above and beyond the expectations.  Westwood is very privileged to have Hudson-Poole Fine Jewelers and Krista Poole on board with Westwood Elementary to promote optimal learning. 

 

 

 

Please do check out our online calendar at www.tuscaloosachamber.com to see what's going on in the area and remember to utilize the interactive feature to add your own listing.

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