We didn’t get around to tie-dyeing t-shirts. That was the one thing I wish we could have fit in before the kids went back to school. We still have many balmy weekends left, but they will undoubtedly be filled with soccer and friends and all sorts of school year pleasures. Tie-dyeing will have to fill in any blanks left in the schedule.
As my children started back on August 25, I felt sad to see them go but also more satisfied about this summer than I had been in the past. We had fit in many of t…
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Added by Anne Woodman on August 30, 2009 at 10:15am —
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Last night, I attended a community meeting for The Cary News about road improvements along Highway 64 in Cary and Apex. Residents in the area turned out in large numbers to hear the NCDOT study group speak and to voice their concerns.
Some were parents of Apex High School students, although I would imagine many parents live far enough away from the Laura Duncan intersection that they may not have heard much about the proposed changes. The NCDOT sent letters to residents who lived in homes that w…
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Added by Anne Woodman on July 17, 2009 at 4:08pm —
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I am very fortunate—as part of my job as writer, I get to meet and interview people from all walks of life: restaurant owners, teachers, artists, mechanics and software engineers. What strikes me over and over again is that some people take a round-about route to get there, but when they find their calling, something clicks.
For most of us, we were not “discovered” and settled instantly into perfect jobs. No book publisher or magazine editor plucked my writing from obscurity at age 15 and said,…
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Added by Anne Woodman on June 30, 2009 at 3:37pm —
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I have an unhealthy attachment to water to this day because of the long hours my friends and I spent at the pool when we were kids. Our neighborhood pool was a short walk through some backyards--we often arrived before it opened and stayed much of the day.
Time flew by, and I never remember being bored while we were there. We played sharks and minnows, made up quirky races, pretended we were dolphins and choreographed synchronized swimming routines. Hearing Huey Lewis and the News and “The Power…
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Added by Anne Woodman on June 29, 2009 at 4:41pm —
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You may have thought that last year was an “election year,” but for local public school children, decisions made in the ballot box this year may have a profound impact on the next few years.
The redistricting plan of 2008-09, resulting community groups formed to respond and former Board member Rosa Gill’s recent move to the State House (http://www.newsobserver.com/news/education/story/1565981.html) may change the landscape of various long-standing Board policies.
“Neighborhood schools” is a phra…
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Added by Anne Woodman on June 23, 2009 at 1:49pm —
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I have to admit that when I put on sunscreen for my runs on brutally cold days in January, the scent tricks me into thinking I’m doing something really exciting. That’s because I love summer. Chlorine, sunscreen, fresh-cut grass, ice cream, grilled burgers and juicy, fat tomatoes. There’s nothing better.
It also means my kids will be home from school. For their last full summer. I have mixed feelings about this: a new, year-round school next year means all those great things friends have mention…
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Added by Anne Woodman on May 22, 2009 at 9:41am —
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Almost every day, I read something new about guidelines for North Carolina’s schools http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1505426.html or how Wake County schools are handling budget shortfalls http://www.newsobserver.com/news/education/story/1505290.html and http://www.newsobserver.com/news/education/story/1503743.html.
I wonder about the new elementary being built, Alston Ridge, that my children are slated to attend in 2010-11. And I wonder how much all the number-crunching and budget-wise de…
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Added by Anne Woodman on April 29, 2009 at 3:34pm —
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This post has more to do about educating yourselves as parents than about schools, but I thought I’d get on my soapbox again in case you hadn’t heard about a dangerous game some children and teens “play” that can be fatal.
If you have been a member of Triangle Tracks for a while, you might have read an earlier post that I wrote about a parent seminar at Green Hope High School. An SBI agent shared plenty of scary but true images and information about teens and the dangers available on the Interne…
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Added by Anne Woodman on April 15, 2009 at 3:09pm —
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Changes are afoot in Wake County. Or at least, there will be a lot of talk about changes. If you are interested in hearing what local leaders have to say about Wake County Public Schools or want to offer input, two upcoming May forums give you that opportunity.
The first, held by the Town of Cary, is entitled “Climate for Student Success” and will take place on May 11. The limited seating at the venue will limit involvement from the general public. But because the forum will not have a set agend…
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Added by Anne Woodman on April 7, 2009 at 9:33am —
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Since this is strictly opinion, remember that I am speaking from a very specific perspective… a stay-at-home, part-time freelance writer who was lucky enough to be able to make those choices in order to be home with her kids when they are home.
If you have been keeping up with the story about changing the school schedule, I’d love your feedback. Beth Shugg posted the news release on the main page, or you can check out this link from the News & Observer http://www.newsobserver.com/news/educat…
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Added by Anne Woodman on April 2, 2009 at 10:14am —
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My first job out of college for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools opened my eyes to the challenges school board members face. If you are a people-pleaser, don’t bother campaigning for a position on a school board. Board members must have an opinion, listen to input, research the issues, change their opinions if necessary, vote in unpopular ways, take the heat, deal with problems that were created many years before their terms began and be able to explain their decisions to various media outl…
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Added by Anne Woodman on March 19, 2009 at 10:01am —
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Time and time again in my time as a feature writer and education follower at The Cary News, I have been amazed at parents in our community. In my own kids’ school, I see parents using their lunch breaks to help out in Technology class, organize events and schedule cultural opportunities like opera, a capella groups and plays.
But especially important during these lean economic times, I have seen parents using their own specific skills to come up with creative learning experiences for kids. Not j…
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Added by Anne Woodman on March 6, 2009 at 4:30pm —
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One of the stories I’ve been following in the education arena is the road improvement controversy over near Panther Creek High School in western Wake County. Since students were reassigned to Panther Creek this year due to previous renovations at Cary High School, Panther Creek became overcrowded. “Mobile units,” or long trailers with classrooms inside, were the solution, but Town of Cary regulations specified road improvements along 55 must be made first because of the larger number of students…
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Added by Anne Woodman on February 19, 2009 at 10:36am —
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When your children are young, the possibility that they will drop out of high school may not be top of mind. But when I was researching a profile recently, I came across the latest figures: the North Carolina high school dropout rate fell from 5.24 percent in 2006-07 to 4.97 percent last year. This sounds like an improvement. And it is. But it still leaves 22,434 former students with no high school diploma.
One thing my brother-in-law (who has a Ph.D.) said to me has stuck—“A college degree toda…
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Added by Anne Woodman on February 16, 2009 at 10:52am —
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I was once a teenager. Really. But to many of us with younger children, the sped-up, always-connected, texting-someone-while-standing-face-to-face-edness of today’s teenagers is scary and tends to make, well, me feel old-fashioned. Also slow and technologically un-savvy.
A recent program I attended at Green Hope High School did nothing to improve my feelings of inadequacy. You can read more about the highly informative and disturbing meeting in this week’s The Cary News (www.carynews.com--"Cyber…
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Added by Anne Woodman on February 4, 2009 at 12:07pm —
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In my strictly un-scientific observation, it seems more and more of my friends and neighbors have erred on the side of caution when it comes to sending their children to kindergarten. That is, many of the kids I know born just before the old October 16 cut-off date were being “held back” until the next school year by parents who were concerned they just weren’t ready.
Because of a bill signed by Governor Easley, the new kindergarten cut-off date for the 2009-10 school year is August 31. And with…
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Added by Anne Woodman on February 3, 2009 at 12:53pm —
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Medicine or software development? Triangle kids won’t all end up researching pharmaceuticals or designing the latest payroll software. When I was interviewing some local auto shop owners and career tech educators for an article about the reinstatement of the Apex High School auto tech program (in 2008-09), one sentiment stayed with me: even if many computer jobs eventually go overseas, someone local has to fix your sink, dishwasher or car.
The faltering economy and recent lay-offs in our area br…
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Added by Anne Woodman on January 16, 2009 at 12:07pm —
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