Sample the culinary creations of the area’s finest chefs at “A Taste of Brunswick County.” As the highlight of the 7^th Annual Benefit Gala for Children, eighteen local restaurants and caterers have donated their tastiest dishes to benefit Communities In Schools of Brunswick County, Inc. (CIS). This year’s Honorary Chair and presenting sponsor is David Gooden, U.S. Cellular Platinum Certified Authorized Agent. Dance the night away to the music of The 360 Degrees! Bid on a wide array of items in the live and silent auctions! The Gala is Thursday, October 16 from 6-10 pm at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center in Sunset Beach.

7/16/2008 

Communities in Schools of Brunswick County (CIS), local chapter of the nationwide dropout prevention program, is preparing to begin the school year with a new board chairman and five new board of director members.
Jim MacCallum was nominated to be the new chairman. MacCallum and his wife moved to Brunswick County about seven years ago in hopes of retiring. Instead, he opened a new law firm and they both became involved in various community organizations.
MacCallum joined CIS board of directors about two years ago and previously served as the vice-chair.
Before moving to North Carolina, MacCallum served on a local school board and the state school board in West Virginia. A frequent speaker in the public schools, MacCallum has given about 200 presentations on topics such as careers, job skills and student success.
“Education has been my ‘other’ career,” MacCallum said. “It’s just a passion of mine. I really enjoy what I do.”
MacCallum will serve as the board chairman for two years but said he has no plans to make changes to the operations of the organization.
“I will be trying to continue what we’ve done well in the past,” he said.
One of his main jobs will be to further educate the community about CIS. The organization, which has been active in Brunswick County since 1995, helps students stay in school by acting as a liaison to help connect the community, parents and schools.
More than 700 students were helped by CIS last year in after school programs that offer assistance and tutoring. Family Resource Centers in Leland and Waccamaw provide parent and adult education, GED and ESL services and a Hispanic outreach program.
The 21st Century Community Learning Center has served 75 at risk students who showed a 71 percent improvement in reading scores last year.
Teen and Peer Court programs provide alternative offenses for students as a diversion from the juvenile court system.
“As chairman, I will tell the story of CIS, and I will tell it often,” MacCallum said. “It’s such a great and compelling story and I’m eager to tell it.”
Cynthia Tart, executive director of CIS, said the past leadership has been “awesome,” and the organization would not excel without it.
“The chairs clearly understand the commitment when they come on board and are voted into office, and they understand the importance of their leadership and the effect it’s going to have on the programs,” she said.
“They connect the dots from their position as a chair to the actual delivery of the program to the people we are trying to serve. I look forward to working with Jim and getting to know him and his family.”
The board of directors consists of 31 members so all areas of the community are represented, Tart said. New board members include Anna Blizzard, Allan Cheatham, Julie Morris, Juan Ramos and Art Wilband.
To become a volunteer or for more information about Communities in Schools and its services, call the main office at 457-3494.

7/23/08 - Brunswick Beacon

To the editor: The anti-gang legislation passed by the General Assembly this week is a good step in the right direction for putting an end to the gang violence in our state.
The legislation truly gets to the heart of the matter because it focuses on the source of gang activity—older adults who deliberately target our youth to join gangs by making the life of a gang member more alluring than reality.
By focusing on reducing recruitment and increasing community support toward prevention, the legislation puts the focus where it should be—creating alternatives for those most vulnerable to gang activity.
Communities in Schools of North Carolina (CISNC) has been working for several years to reduce gang activity in local communities.
By hiring a staff member to focus on gang prevention and addressing gang issues through targeted outreach through local affiliates, CIS is well aware of the issues that face some young people today.
Our youth are looking for a place to belong; a place to feel needed and accepted by someone who cares.
Consequently, when they don’t find this in the traditional places—home, a house of worship, school or organized sports—many of our young, vulnerable children and youth turn to gangs, which provide false promise of acceptance and belonging.
Those of us who are older and wiser know gangs do not provide that safe haven, but when one is young and impressionable, the influence of a street-smart older gang member is hypnotizing.
By focusing attention on the older group of gang members and providing harsher penalties, the new legislation should help put these predators behind bars.
At the same time, however, we must also provide additional youth-development experiences in our communities.
Well-run and properly managed programs that provide engaging and healthy opportunities for all of our children and youth must receive the funding necessary to keep up with the demand.
By combining the “weed” concept—removing those who prey on our children by enticing them into gang activity—and the “feed” concept–fertile and safe places for our children to grow, we can re-cultivate all of our neighborhoods into nurturing places to be kids and to raise kids.

7/30/08
Going to the beach, bowling and a trip to the movies may not sound educational, but they are for students in the Communities in Schools (CIS) Funsational Summer Program.



Evelyn and John Marlow run the summer program at Jessie Mae Monroe Elementary School and have between 10 and 25 students each week.
While the goal is to help each child reach his or her full educational potential, the Marlows make sure the students have fun every step of the way.
During the week, students keep busy with scheduled activities such as silent and group reading, writing activities, art, physical education and drama. Students have free time to play.
“Their favorite is the Leapfrog,” Evelyn Marlow said. “They learn so much from that.”
Marlow said one student started off the summer not being able to read. His reading ability is now at grade level, Evelyn Marlow said.
“Their progress is so good,” she added.
Playing organized games outside is also something students look forward to daily, but before going outside, students must recite all the playground rules.
“Play nicely.”
“Don’t hurt others’ feelings.”
“No going up the slide the wrong way.”
“Don’t wrestle.”
“No sitting on the monkey bars criss cross applesauce.”
“You might fall and break your head,” 7-year-old Tommy Detorres added.
Outside the school, students go on “study trips,” where they learn from different hands-on activities. At the beach, they learned about ocean life. At the aquarium, they learned about sea animals.
Putt-putt helps students with hand-eye coordination and teaches them how to be good sports.
“The students call it fun, and I make it that way,” Evelyn Marlow said. “I make it a learning experience, but in a fun way.”
Evelyn Marlow is a retired kindergarten teacher, having taught more than 30 years. Her husband John is a retired captain with the sheriff’s office. The two began teaching the summer program and the CIS after-school program at Jessie Mae five years ago.
“To teach a student is to reach a student,” Marlow said. “It makes me sad if they’re sad. This is a fun place they should want to come to.”
The students have fun, and each have a favorite part of the day. Tommy likes silent reading, and his favorite book is The Pagemaster.
“It’s awesome!” he said.
Fifth-grader Joey Carpinello has attended the CIS summer program since first grade and enjoys spending the day with his friends while making new ones.
Walker Soucek, 7, likes when they play games outside, especially kickball and 4-square.
Taylor Barbee, 7, enjoyed when they took a study trip to Caswell Beach.
“I swam underwater and we played tag where we had to try to swim and tag the other person,” she said.
All the students said they enjoy CIS and would come back next year if given the choice.
“We just have a good time in CIS,” Evelyn Marlow said. “I’m so proud of them.”

Kathryn Jacewicz is a staff writer at the Beacon. Reach her at 754-6890 or at kjacewicz@brunswickbeacon.com

Brunswick County Students Placed 2nd 
in Mock Trial Competion Held During the 
North Carolina Teen Court Summit

New Bern, April 25, 2008 - Brunswick County Mock Trial Competition Team placed 2nd in the State during the recent North Carolina Teen Court Summit. Team Coaches were Fred Ammann and John Kelso, adult volunteers and team members included Perry Smith and Josh Theroux, Prosecutors; Ashley Williams and Tabitha Causby, Defense Attorneys; Dakota Evans, Bailiff; and Keith Hughes, Clerk of Court. Attorney alternates attending the Summit were Amber Albright and Taylor Theroux. They competed with students throughout North Carolina with Craven County placing 1^st and Person County placing 3rd. Ashley Williams was recognized with an award for “Outstanding Trial Advocacy”. Jocelyn Frink was awarded 1^st place in the Court Reporter category and Hailey Tippett won 2^nd place in the Courtroom Sketch Artist category. 

 

 

 

There's nothing like a couple of live snakes to get the attention of a group of elementary school kids.

Reactions from the third- and fourth-graders at Belville Elementary ranged from overt curiosity to cautious uncertainty to utter avoidance. But the aim of the after-school outreach program held at the school's gymnasium Nov. 14 was on the mark; the youngsters were learning something about the natural world around them.

Theresa Mowrey, an environmental educator and naturalist at Halyburton Park in Wilmington, brings the world of cold-blooded creatures to schools in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties. Her demonstration at Belville featured a pair of corn snakes (one an albino), an Eastern box turtle, a yellow-belly slider turtle and a squirrel frog.

She said the outreach program was started when Halyburton opened in 2004. The park has a nature trail and nature room, and Mowrey said students come to the park to see some of the same animals she takes to her presentations in their natural habitat.

"It was great," third-grader Mireya Ibarra said. "I was so excited. I never touched a corn snake before. And I thought the turtles were the best."

Mowrey teaches the children the difference between reptiles (rough skin) and amphibians (smooth skin), how to tell a male from a female snake (the male is larger and has a tail that gradually tapers to a tip), and explains some of the animals' natural defenses.

"A lot of these kids have never seen reptiles up close like this," she said. "This gives them a chance to see and feel what they look like."

Charmaine Cox is the site coordinator at Belville Elementary for Communities in School/21st Century, an outreach education program that offers alternative learning experiences to students who need to raise their end-of-grade testing scores. The nature presentation was part of that initiative.

"We find students who need extra testing help," Cox said. "This program gives them a hands-on situation not normally available in classroom settings."

She said she's received positive feedback from parents of children who have participated in the program.

"When parents tell me their kids are doing better, it gives me the incentive to keep doing this," Cox said.

Fourth-grader Tierra Graham was one of many children who braved a close encounter with a new species, and she was eager to share some of what she learned from the presentation.
"They (the snakes) were smelling with their tongues, they have red eyes and shed their skin," she said. "And they feel funny."

Allan Cheatham, Owner of Shallotte Cleaners and Chris McIntyre, Adopt A School and Volunteer Director for Communities In Schools, show off just a few of the 200 coats that were collected during the "The Coats for Kids" coat drive.  Allan collected coats at his Shallotte and Southport locations from October to January. The coats were cleaned and given to the Adopt A School /Volunteer Program to be disturbed within the Brunswick County School System.  For information about becoming an adopting partner or volunteering your time, call Chris McIntyre at 754-9536.

Communities In Schools of Brunswick County received funding from BEMC for the Brick Builders I material while the Smart Connections Grant award by ATMC provided the staffing.

The program, called the "Brick Builders II" supports the expansion of the 21^st Century Community Learning Centers After School enrichment activities at Belville and Lincoln Elementary Schools by using a the Brick Lab concept with a cross-curriculum that promotes team building, listening, visual skills, small and large motor skills, literacy and math.

The program kicked off at Belville Elementary on January 10^th and at Lincoln Elementary on January 11^th.  A total of 15 students began expanding literacy skills by reading and following instructions on constructing various models. The weekly Brick Builders activity will encourage students to use teamwork in solving challenging designs while building using various sizes and colors of bricks which resemble the model viewed on a paper diagram. The After School Brick Builders curriculum will cover construction, engineering, communication, math and physics with intentional learning.

"The Brick Builders II is an enrichment activity that students really enjoy.  It's all hands on and at 4:45 when students are tired of a classroom setting, this gives them one more thing to look forward to," said Kathy Smith, project director for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers. We'd love to get this in all the After School programs and have county-wide competitions. This activity may lead students to think about future job skills. At some point we may invite a local architect or builder to visit the program and talk to the kids about the type of things they do and what skills they need to complete a job.  Since teamwork is critical in building, students are asked to think and work as a team.

The Brick Builders II activity is also for the families of the elementary students. As the activity moves forward, the instructors will involve the families and give students an opportunity to teach what they have learned. The intention is that parents will attend the After School session and be trained by their child in the construction of building the Brick Builders models. Parents and children will then compete in building the challenging models for prizes donated by area merchants. Food and entertainment will be provided as part of the family events and the Brick Models will be on display for the community to view.  For more information on this activity, please contact Kathy Smith at 754-9548.

Cape Fear Area United Way has awarded Communities In Schools of Brunswick County a grant for their Parenting Education Program.  The CIS Parenting Education Program is designed to increase family communication, cooperation, closeness and respect.  Parents and children will learn to handle feelings, communicate their needs, understand each other better, and take charge of their own behavior.  Practical and effective techniques will be taught for handling challenging behavior and conflicts.

The Parenting Education classes take place in group settings which  provide a supportive and confidential atmosphere.  Parents and children are taught by trained facilitators.   The classes are free of charge.

The Waccamaw Family Resource Center is currently offering The Strengthening Families Program.   This is a 12 week program geared for families with children 6-11 years of age.      

The Leland Family Literacy Center, is currently offering The Nurturing Program.  This is a 12 week program geared for families with children 0-5 years of age. 

For more information or to pre-register for parenting classes, please call Linda Perry, Communities In Schools of Brunswick County, Parenting Education Coordinator at 910-371-5411.

Communities In Schools of Brunswick County, Inc. now has the ability to accept donations of appreciated stocks.  What happens if you make a gift of stocks to CIS? A potential tax break for you and the heartfelt thanks from the children and families in Brunswick County who benefit from CIS programs.

The funds generated by these generous gifts will support children and families through academic scholarships, the After School Program, Teen Court, Family Resource Centers and the Adopt-A-School and Volunteer Program.  In 2005-2006, CIS served over 5,000 children and families.

Donating appreciated stock allows you to contribute a sizable gift, even if the amount you initially invested was relatively small.  For example, perhaps you purchased $500 of stock three years ago and that stock is now worth $2000.  By donating it to CIS, you are able to donate $1500 more than you originally invested, and you avoid the capital gain tax that may be incurred in selling the stock. 

Even though you paid only $500 for the stock, if itemizing, you may receive a charitable income tax deduction of $2000 in the year you donate the stock.

Please consider a holiday gift to CIS and a potential tax break for yourself.  The process of executing such a gift is simple.  For additional information call the CIS office at 457-2914.  As always, please consult with your tax advisor first.

Communities In Schools of Brunswick County is pleased to announce a grant award by the Landfall Foundation to enhance the 21^st Century Community Learning Center after school programs at Lincoln and Belville Elementary Schools.   The intensified service called the "Mentoring Project" is expected to begin in January by matching students showing the greatest academic need with mentors.         

The "Mentoring Project" will match adult volunteers with students, based on shared interest.  This will be accomplished by developing a profile of the mentors? interests, skills, and strengths during the application process and matching it with a similar student profile of interests, needs and strengths. 

The project is aimed to help students academically, socially, and culturally through the help of community involvement.   The $2,850 grant award will be used for the recruitment of volunteers, training materials, and other associated expenses.  For further information, please contact Kathy Smith, 21^st Century Community Learning Centers Director, at 755-5277

Communities In Schools of Brunswick County is pleased to announce a Smart Connections Grant award by ATMC to enhance the 21^st Century Community Learning Center after school programs at Belville Elementary School. The program called the "Brick Builders II" will support the expansion of after school enrichment activities using a the Brick Lab concept with a cross-curriculum that promotes team building, listening, visual skills, small and large motor skills, literacy and math. The program is expected to begin in January.

The $1,620 grant funding will enable CIS to contract the resources needed to implement the Brick Builders program activity. For further information, please contact Kathy Smith, 21^st Century Community Learning Centers Director, at 755-5277

Ed Kay Recipient of Power of One award

Communities In Schools of Brunswick County, Inc.
PO Box 10087
Southport, NC 28461
Tel (910) 457-3494 Fax (910) 457-2293
e-mail: info@cisbrunswick.org