May Meeting
Speci al St udent , Staf f & Communi t y Recogni t i on
BATTLE OF THE BOOKS
Craven County Schools is excited to announce this years district winners for the elementary and
middle school Battle of the Books Competition. Students have been reading and practicing since the
beginning of the school year and this years event allowed them to showcase their knowledge. Each
elementary (grades 4-5) and middle school (grades 6-8) had approximately 12 students per team repre-
senting their school. This year all 5 middle schools and 15 elementary schools participated.
The middle schools kicked off the competition on Friday, March 21st at HJ MacDonald Middle
School. All 5 middle schools were represented and their hard work showed. Congratulations to HJM for
securing 1st place. HJM went on to compete in the Regional Competition and placed 2nd, they missed
1st place by just a few points. The HJM team was lead by Ms. Robyn Register. Tonight we spotlight
the following students on The HJM Team: Kayla Bertling, Melanie Campbell, Chesley Goodman, Ran-
dall Hudson, MaKenzie Jones (team manager), Grayson Mills, Noor Nasser, Jenna Palmer, Kayleigh
Register, Abby Simpson, & Kimberly Tran (team manager).
The elementary schools competition was held on Wednesday, March 26
th
at Temple Baptist
Church. All 15 elementary schools were represented and this year 1st place went to AHB.
This team was led by Ms. Melissa Mills. Tonight we spotlight the AHB Team: Callan Whitley, Madi-
son Boeck, Jenna Carroll, Julia Carroll, Cody Wood, Zakiya Banks-Jones, Becca Knight ,Cora Tal-
bert, Ella McCants, Sophia Wagner, & Kate Williamson.
At this event, teams were treated to dessert after lunch catered by our own High Schools Culinary
Arts students. The students were able to vote on the "best" dessert. Congratulations to all of the High
School Culinary CTE students at the 2
nd
Annual Dessert off for their hard work and creativity in making
their desserts for our elementary school students. Based on the votes New Bern High School received 1
st
place for their creation-Bears in the Black Forrest.
Students from CES lead the Board and attendees in the pledge of allegiance, shared their
interpretation of the character word and the Core Value through a play.
Ms. Langhans shared the experience participating HJM students had while travelling abroad over
Spring Break to France. She received Board approval to extend the trip to all 5 middle schools for next
year. The trip for 2014-2015 will be to Ireland, Wales, and England.
The Board reviewed policies in the 2000B PLS series.
May 15, 2014 May 15, 2014 May 15, 2014
Board
Craven County Schools, united with families and communities, will rigorously challenge all students to graduate from high
school and be globally competitive for post-secondary education, work, and life in the 21st century.
highlights
MAY BOARD MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
Special Student, Staff & Community Recognition
Duke Tips State Recognition
Each year, Duke University searches for perspective high achieving students to participate in a series of enrichment programs
offered at Duke and other facilities around North Carolina. The program is entitled Duke T.I.P. (Talent Identification Program). Stu-
dents that are selected to tryout for Duke TIP take the SAT or ACT achievement tests in their 7th grade year. These standardized tests
are most often taken by juniors in high school as a benchmark for college admission.
Students eligible to test for Duke TIP must have an IG score at or above 125, or score at the 95th percentile or higher on grade
level standardized achievement tests, aptitude tests, mental-ability tests or approved state criterion-referenced tests.. This is quite an
achievement!
Craven County Schools is honored to recognize the following students for their high level of academic achievement in receiving
State and Grand recognition.
H.J. MacDonald Middle School Tucker Creek Middle School
Kayla Bertling Haley Ammon
William Brame III Ethel Rhiannon Colantoni
Michael East Landon Colvell
Chesley Goodman Kiera Conway
Benjamin Reno Thomas Litchfield, Grand Recognition
Johnniece Taylor Jason Tran, Grand Recognition
Steven Thompson Spencer Turkal
Grover C. Fields Middle School West Craven Middle School
Margaret Talton Katherine Gaskins
Connor Wrought
National Junior Beta Competition
West Craven Middle School
Lillian Creel, 3
rd
place, Quiz Bowl
Courtland Hodges, 3
rd
place, Quiz Bowl
Lucas Seijo, 3
rd
place, Quiz Bowl
Austin Ingram, 3
rd
place, Quiz Bowl
Faydra Lackey, 2
nd
place, Quilting
North Carolina Department of Transportation State Balsa Bridge Building Contest
On April 11
th
, ten West Craven Middle School students competed at the NCDOT State Balsa Bridge Building Competi-
tion held in Raleigh at the NCDOT Transportation Building. These students had to design and build a bridge that could hold around
20kg, write an essay on the history and impact of bridges and make a presentation in front of judges. The West Craven Middle
School students won first place in the Region One and therefore won the right to compete in the State finals. At the State finals, West
Craven Middle School placed fourth in the middle school division and won $200 dollars. Also West Craven Middle School took first
place in the middle presentation division and won an additional $100 dollars. Congratulations to the following students: Lillian
Creel, Payton Fulcher, Bennett Houston, Isaac Kirkman, Gabriel Purick, Wyatt Ray, Gustavo Rios-Angel, Randy Toler,Dawsyn
Smith, & Catlyn Sutton.
MAY BOARD MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
Special Student, Staff & Community Recognition
Eastern Regional Math Contest Finals
Bena Yang, H.J. MacDonald, Regional Winner, State Participant
2014 SkillsUSA State Competition
The following students represented West Craven High School in the 2014 SkillsUSA State Competition in Greensboro. We had a
1
st
place winner, a 3
rd
place winner, and several that placed in the top 5 in the State. There were over 2000 students competing from
across the State in over 100 SkillsUSA competitions so lets congratulate these students on their accomplishments: Kaleel Bryant, 1
st
place, Technical Computer Applications; Tiffany Campbell, 2
nd
place at Regionals, Pledge; Jazmine Cannon, 5
th
place, Creed A; Brian
Dawson, 1
st
place Regionals, 3
rd
place at State, Extemporaneous Poster; Isaiah Dawson, T-Shirt Design; Adam Gibbons, 3
rd
place Re-
gionals, Carpentry I; Brandon Hardy, 5
th
place, Creed B; Cedric Hardy, 5
th
place, Spelling; Raionna Jones, 1
st
place at Regionals, Job
Interview; Bobby Koonce, Photography; & Faith Langston, 1
st
place at Regionals, Prepared Speech.
Destination Imagination State Winners
On March 29 seven Craven County Schools teams competed in North Carolinas Destination Imagination Tournament in Flat
Rock, NC. The four A. H. Bangert Elementary and three Creekside Elementary teams performed well and deserve recognition for their
teamwork and creative thinking. First place teams secured a place at the Global Finals in May. In January, students chose a team chal-
lenge. The categories were technical, scientific, structural, fine arts, and improvisational. Since then, teams have been working togeth-
er to research, create, practice, and test their plans for their team challenge. A. H. Bangerts The Specs placed first in the structural
challenge, Tension Builds. The challenge required the team to build a structure that would be tested against increasing weight and
side impacts under load. The structure could be made only of wood, glue, and monofilament fishing line. It could not weigh more than
120 grams. It had to stand between 7.5-9 inches tall, be free-standing on top of a pyramid structure tester. The team also had to create a
story in which tension was a threat to stability and had to be overcome. During the skit, a prop designed to enhance the story had to be
assembled as a part of the story. A. H. Bangerts Seven Future Legends placed first in the improvisational challenge, Pandemonium.
The challenge required the team to create a 5-minute skit incorporating a character from the past, a character from the present, stage
make-up, and a pandemonium. The character from the past was selected from one of 6 characters from 3200 BC to 1980 AD that the
students had chosen to research. The stage make-up was selected from 6 styles the students had been given to practice: monster, doll,
clown, kabuki, animal, and fantasy. The character from the present was given to the team at the tournament without any advance
knowledge. Similarly, the pandemonium was a completely random statement given at the tournament that the characters had to address
in the skit, such as someones eating the sun or its raining frogs. The team had 5 minutes to find out their characters, make-up,
and pandemonium, plan the skit, and put on stage make-up before putting on the performance.
The team managers of The Specs were Kristy Williamson and Jennifer Seif. The team manager of The 7 Future Legends was Shirin
Scotten. Caroline Godwin coordinated the seven teams from Creekside and A.H. Bangert
The Specs The 7 Future Legends
Alyssa Hager Ethan Batdorff
Quinn Seif Ella McCants
Jackson Sharp Janie McCants
Austin Van Dyke Andie Prince
Kate Williamson Tyler Prince
Morgan Scotten-White
Cody Wood
MAY BOARD MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
Special Student, Staff & Community Recognition
North Carolina All State Middle and High Band
Allison Snook, Grover C. Fields Middle School, Trumpet
Matthew Fleeman, H.J. MacDonald Middle School
Sydney Harper, H.J. MacDonald Middle School
Taveon Taylor, H.J. MacDonald Middle School
Jared Woods, Havelock High School, Clarinet
Brie Jones, New Bern High School, Clarinet
Nick Scott, New Bern High School, Percussion
Hunter Langhans, West Craven High School, 1
st
Chair Snare Drum
North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association All State Team & Player of the Year
Jamie Cherry, West Craven High School
Eastern Regional Basketball All Tournament Team
Kyron Bowman, Havelock High School
Jamie Cherry, West Craven High School
North Carolina High School Athletic Association Individual State Wrestling Championship
Havelock High School
Ryan Davis, 2014 3
rd
place, 2013 Runner Up
John Ellis, 2014 4th place, 2013 Qualifier
Ramone Lawson, 2014 State Qualifier
Javar Godette, 2014 Regional Runner up, 2014 State Qualifier
USA Wrestling North Carolina State Championship
Havelock Middle School
Jayshaun Boone, State Runner-up at 152 pounds
Matthew Moody, State Champion at 160 pounds
