TEACHER
21126 Catawba Avenue
Cornelius, NC 28031
980-343-3905
http://schools.cms.k12.nc.us/corneliusES/
Pages/Default.aspx
TAKEAWAYS
By Bea Q
uirk
PRINCIPAL’S
TOP 10
“Our vision/mission
is ‘creating life-long
learners; to instill a love
of learning in them.”
’”
Principal Jessica Holbrook shares
the top 10 things to know about her
school – from robotics to hula hoops
to gardening.
1
We have a strong sense of
community. The school – now with
585 students in K-5 – has been around
since the 1930s, and we take pride in
how it has evolved.
2
We have the hardest working
teachers in CMS. We work to build
their capacity to be teacher-leaders.
3
4
We have a great Cyber Kids
Robotics Team.
We have a strong character
development program. Each
month we have a theme and hold two
assemblies – one for grades K-2 and one
for grades 3-5 – to present awards and
celebrate what everyone has done. One
month there was a hula hoop contest for
the teachers!
5
Jessica H
olbrook
26 – My School Rocks! | October 2013
December 2013
Each class does community service
projects – like making blankets for
the Levine Children’s Hospital, cultivating
a garden and donating the food to
Loaves and Fishes and collecting money
to build wells in undeveloped countries.
7
I’m proud of all our clubs. We have a
Unicycle Club! There’s also chorus,
drama, chess, book, writing, Odyssey of
the Mind and Girls on the Run.
8
We have a lot of long-standing
traditions people look forward to –
the father-daughter dance, book fairs
and a science fair. We have a rock in
front of the school where parents and
students write messages like “happy
birthday.”
9
People don’t realize how diverse our
population is. Some 40 percent of
the students are Hispanic, Black, Indian
or multi-racial.
10
I have never worked with such
an active and supportive PTO.
Last year they gave us $100,000 to
supplement our budget. They are here
to truly support every child. I meet with
their representatives weekly; I love it.
STORY
MSR: What have you learned from
coaching the team?
TARY
EMEN
S EL 6
NELIU
COR
We have transformed our computer
technology lab into the Innovation
Lab, where students are given a problem
and use the computer and other
resources to solve it. It helps them work
collaboratively and become critical
thinkers.
“Robo-Watch Dog Smart Watch.” It was
a device a person with Alzheimer’s or
dementia could wear. A caregiver would
program it to alert the wearer that it
was time to take their medicine or go to
an appointment.
Ashley Ha
nks
Hanks: I’m the kind of teacher who
likes to be in charge. So this has made
me go out of my comfort zone to let the
kids control where they are going. It
has made me grow professionally – it
has made me think about my teaching
style and change. This year’s theme
is nature’s fury. Because of the
students’ research, I have become an
expert on hurricanes!
th Grade
r
MSR: What clubs are you in?
Ayush: I’m in Chess Club, the Drama
Club and I am on the CyberKids
Robotics Team. My favorite is the
Robotics Team – we make a project
presentation and also build a robot
(using Lego bricks). I like the robot
part best because we get to build and
program it. I joined the Drama Club
because I am a drama queen at home,
and my parents said I should join. I
played Peter Pan last year. It was a lot
of fun once I memorized my lines. My
grandfather taught me to play chess.
Chess and Drama clubs were both on
the same day, but Ms. Hanks figured
out a way for me to do both.
“These kids are great –
they already know more
about programming than
I could imagine.”
Ashley Hanks has taught at
Cornelius Elementary for five of
her six years as a teacher. She
taught third grade there until last
year, when she became the talent
development teacher. Part of her
duties is coaching the school’s
CyberKids Robotics Team, which
last year took first place in the
CMS Competition and second in the
Western Regional contest.
MSR: What are some of your favorite
lessons?
Ayush: The teachers make learning
fun. We studied explorers and then got
into groups and made a poster about
one. Then we put all of them up on the
wall for a gallery walk. It was better than
just reading a book and taking notes.
I also like the character education
programs.
MSR: What was the team’s winning
project last year?
Hanks: The theme was designing
solutions for problems faced by seniors.
They came up with what they called the
Ayush, F
if
Photos by Lu
nahZon
www.myschoolrocks.com | My School Rocks!
27