David Broyles | The News
Mount Airy Middle School girls tennis coach Mary Alice Hayes was recognized for her team’s consecutive 10-year winning streak at the Mount Airy Board of Education meeting on Tuesday.
David Broyles | The News
John Springethorpe of SouthData is congratulated by Mount Airy School Superintendent Dr. Gregory Little for his support of the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology program’s Lego League robotics program in local schools.
Honors and recognitions took center stage at the Mount Airy Board of Education meeting on Tuesday night at Mount Airy Middle School. Middle school Coach Mary Alice Hayes was honored for a consecutive 10-year winning streak in girls tennis.
“This did not happen by accident,” said Mount Airy School Superintendent Dr. Gregory Little. “This came about through your commitment and dedication to young people.” Little also welcomed Eric Riggs as the new principal at Mount Airy Middle School.
Polly Long, director of the eLink program, was honored for receiving a $32,000 grant from the Armfield Foundation. Little said her program has been able to maintain computer upgrades in the computer lab at the Jones Family Resource Center with the grant monies and continue the English as a Second Language pre-school at the Jones Center as well.
The Mount Airy Middle School Robotics team, mentors and coaches also were recognized by the board for participating in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) program. The system will field two teams in its first Lego League competition as one of the FIRST program’s activities to inspire interest in science, math and technology.
Little recognized John Springthorpe from SouthData and his team as well as other businesses including Advanced Electronics for making the Lego League possible for Mount Airy as well as Surry County middle schools this year.
Little said Mount Airy has a total of 20 middle school students with three coaches who have been meeting after school to work on this year’s challenge, Senior Solution. Mount Airy’s two teams will have a pre-tournament challenge at the middle school Nov. 7 at 3 p.m. and a community tournament has been set for Dec. 8 at Meadowview Middle school.
Community-based strategic planning initiative facilitators Dawn Wooten and Melody Clodfelter led a work session of board members in examining proposed vision and mission statements as well as proposed core values and beliefs that were drafted by a steering committee of 25 members.
Wooten and Clodfelter will continue to refine the proposals with the steering committee and also begin work in the schools on their individual improvement plans in a effort to keep the vision and mission statements aligned with the school improvement process.
Clodfelter explained that the final vision statement will be the district’s expression of a common future direction for growth and accomplishment. The work of the steering committee and the board intends to capture an image that can be seen in the mind’s eye and will be the foundation for subsequent strategic planning decisions and approaches for the district.
The goal of the final mission statement will be a clear, concise expression of the district’s purpose and function. Clodfelter indicated it will be a how-to statement to focus the district’s attention and energies on a common purpose. The core values and beliefs will represent a formal expression of the school district’s fundamental values, ethical code and overriding convictions.
Reach David Broyles at dbroyles@heartlandpublications.com or 719-1952.
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