Alamance-Burlington School System

Big news for the Western Alamance High School Jazz Orchestra! 🏆 At the North Carolina Regional Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival this weekend, WAJO was named the Outstanding High School Jazz Band and tied for Best Overall Big Band. 🎷🥁 Some individual awards included: Outstanding Soloists: ⭐ Bob Jefferson - Alto Sax ⭐ Bailee Setzer - Vocals ⭐ Harry Jefferson - Drums ⭐ Katherine Chatman - Clarinet Outstanding Sections: 👏Saxophone Section 👏 Trombone Section Congratulations to the entire group on bringing home these honors from the festival at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Saturday! 🎨🎶

Big congratulations to our 3 award winners from Saturday's Region 5 Science Fair! 🎉 We had 2 students receive Honorable Mentions and 1 student earn the coveted Exemplary Award. 🌟 Gunner Martin from E.M. Holt Elementary won the Elementary Exemplary Award for his project. He will be advancing to represent our region at the State Science Fair on March 23. Way to go, Gunner! 🌟 Maggie Tyree from E.M. Holt Elementary received an Honorable Mention in the Elementary division for her outstanding project. Excellent job, Maggie! 🌟 Gabriel C. Calderon from Cummings High School earned an Honorable Mention in the Senior Chemistry category. Great work, Gabriel! We are so proud of all our young scientists. Thank you to everyone who participated and congratulations again to our winners! 🚀

Did you thank a bus driver this week? Now's your chance! We want to send a huge thank you to all of the amazing school bus drivers in the Alamance-Burlington School System who safely transport our students to and from school each day. We encourage everyone to take a moment and show appreciation for these wonderful drivers who are such a vital part of our school communities. A simple "thank you" goes a long way, as does a smile or friendly wave when you see a bus drive by. 💛 🚌 #LovetheBusWeek #BusDriverAppreciationWeek

Today was a special day in ABSS as we celebrated the 💯 day of school. To mark the occasion, Hillcrest Elementary School hosted their "100 Days, 100 Dads" event, inviting dads, grandpas, uncles, and other father figures from the #ABSSCommunity to have lunch with our students. And show up they did - with over 400 guests signed up, the cafeteria was "buzzing" 🐝 during all the grade-level lunch times! There was an outpouring of support to make this day memorable for our kids. The timing couldn't have been better either, coming right after Valentine's Day and Hillcrest's Valentine's Dance last night. 💕 Special thanks to our student leaders who welcomed all the guests and directed traffic through the packed hallways. It was heartwarming to see so many community members take time out of their day to eat with our students. The smiles and hugs were plentiful. Thank you for showing up for our kids! 🙌

Thanks to Tanger Outlets, Mebane for awarding more TangerKids grants to our schools today! 🙌 👏 Congratulations to Karen Nofsinger of E.M. Yoder Elementary for receiving a $390.66 TangerKids grant from Tanger Outlets Mebane for Flexible Seating. She wants to provide wobble chairs as flexible seating options for pre-K students to help increase focus and sensory input. 👏 Congratulations to Carley White of Marvin B. Smith Elementary for receiving a $400 TangerKids grant for Ceramics Exploration, collected by Principal Brian Williams and VP Leslie Ray. She aims to purchase clay, glazes and bring in guest ceramic artists to expose all students to ceramics and empower them to create their own pieces. 👏 Congratulations to Meghan Ealy of Marvin B. Smith Elementary for receiving an $800 TangerKids grant for Sensory Needs equipment. She seeks funding for equipment to address sensory needs of students including wobble stools, adaptive seating and proprioceptive input tools. 👏 And congratulations to Elizabeth Estes of R. Homer Andrews Elementary for receiving a $920 TangerKids grant for Lego Brick Math kits. She is requesting funding to purchase LEGO Brick Math kits to teach math concepts in an engaging, hands-on way to elementary students.

The fifth graders at Eastlawn Elementary are working on a special quilting project with the residents of Twin Lakes Community Quilt & Sew Forth Club! 🧵 They are sharing their sewing skills and knowledge of quiltmaking with students, teaching them how to thread a needle, sew by hand, operate a sewing machine, and piece fabrics together. The project ties into their recent reading of "The Patchwork Quilt" by Valerie Flournoy, a story of a grandmother passing down her treasured family quilt full of memories to her granddaughter. Eastlawn Elementary Media Specialist Dana Hopper has been integrating literacy and writing into this hands-on textile craft experience! Students are learning the warmth that a handmade quilt can provide, both physically and in the memories stitched into every patch. The quilting fun even extended to 4th-grade classes at Eastlawn, who created quilt heart wall hangings to gift to Twin Lakes residents in honor of Valentine's Day this week. It's been so rewarding to see young and old bonding over quilt squares and life stories. The quilts will no doubt become cherished keepsakes!

Who's ready for the big game? 🏈 The 2nd-graders at Alexander Wilson Elementary certainly got in the "zone" with their Super Bowl of Learning! They reviewed previously learned standards and skills with classroom activities all tied to a football theme. Students rotated through different subject area stations to demonstrate mastery. Sounds like a touchdown to us!

Music to our ears! 🎶 The Western Alamance Middle School Beginning Band visited Elon Elementary and Altamahaw Ossipee
Elementary to put on a special performance and tell students about the benefits of music! Making music uniquely develops focus, memory, coordination, and problem-solving skills. It's a brain booster! 🧠 Although just beginning, these students are going to be making big (sound) waves!

Starting the day with a smile! 😁 The Williams High School Dream Team came to Highland Elementary to spread some morning cheer! They greeted students with high-fives as they arrived, then stayed to join in with PE classes. #StudentCenteredFutureFocused

There will be a joint meeting tomorrow, February 8th, at 2:30 PM with the Alamance County Commissioners and State Delegation. This will be live-streamed on our YouTube channel and available to watch later. https://youtube.com/live/03tOYQlWII0?feature=share

For almost a decade, ABSS students have been empowered to develop real-world job skills through Project Search internships at Cone Health Alamance Regional Medical Center. Students gain valuable skills like time management, communication, collaboration, and money management as they stock supplies, clean staff areas, and assist in offices across the hospital. These high school seniors learn to work professionally and build confidence in themselves through positive interactions with hospital staff who motivate them to keep improving. Guided by fantastic Project Search-Alamance-Burlington Schools/Cone Health instructors like Amanda Prince, students set their sights on future careers, whether at Alamance Regional or other local businesses, as they learn skills that will set them up for success after graduation. We are grateful to our partners at Cone Health for providing the platform and opportunities for Alamance-Burlington students to gain skills through rewarding work for the past decade. The program has seen great success, with several past interns even hired by Cone Health hospitals, and we look forward to even more students building bright futures through Project Search.

What a slam dunk of a day at Elon University! 🏀 Today, our elementary students packed the Scharr Center to cheer on Elon Women's Basketball for Education Day. One thing was for sure - there was a lot of energy and excitement in the stands! 💯 There were singalongs, mascot high-fives, and plenty of support for the players as they dribbled up and down the court. Superintendent Dr. Dain Butler was presented with a signed basketball by Athletics Director Jennifer Strawley before the game began. At half-time, students were surprised by the antics of the ZOOperstars! Thanks to Elon University for inviting us out for this action-packed day of fun! We love that you're a part of our #ABSSCommunity.

We are thrilled to announce that Smith Elementary 🐝 has been recognized as a National Capturing Kids' Hearts School! Out of approximately 400 applicants in last year's CKH challenge, Smith was selected as one of just 4 winners. They received a special visit from Sparky the Dog and their CKH trainer Lynn, along with other CKH trainers, to celebrate this exciting honor. Implementing positive, relationship-building strategies through Capturing Kids' Hearts has made a tremendous difference at Smith Elementary. Congratulations! 🎉

High School registration opens on February 5th! Come "Test Drive Your Future" at our curriculum fairs to explore the wide variety of academic, technical, and enrichment programs we offer. Now is the time to get excited about shaping your future! With so many directions you could go after high school, take this opportunity to learn what's available now. View important registration dates and download our registration manual on our website: https://www.abss.k12.nc.us/o/abss/page/high-school

This February, we honor the enduring contributions of Black culture and history, both in our schools and within our #ABSSCommunity.

With wide-eyed anticipation, fourth-grade students at Elon Elementary watched as Press Coffee+Crepes spread out the filling, added toppings, and revealed a brand new item, soon to be on their store menu - the Peach Cobbler crepe! 🍑 This was part of a global lesson about the French holiday La Chandeleur, or Candlemas, a day dedicated to eating these tasty treats. 🇫🇷 Thanks to Press for this great demonstration of crepe creation and insight into running a business! #ABSSCommunity #StudentCenteredFutureFocused

💫Taking strides towards their future! Every student at Broadview Middle is meeting with staff to set academic, personal, and future goals. It all starts with good decisions today! #StudentCenteredFutureFocused

That's a wrap! We hope everyone enjoyed our Family University sessions and connecting with the #ABSSCommunity tonight. Thanks to all families for coming out and to our staff for leading the sessions and being available to talk or answer questions!

We'd like to thank the Elon Women's Basketball team for visiting E.M. Holt Elementary School. We look forward to cheering you on this Friday at the Education Day game! 🏀

👏 Congratulations to Ashley Reynolds-Bowers from Walter M. Williams High School for receiving a TangerKIDS grant from Tanger Outlets, Mebane for her project Bones for Bulldogs! 🐶 Her class makes homemade pumpkin dog biscuits called Bulldog Bones to help students bond with their school-age peers and community. The students love to make, package, and sell the treats. To increase production and efficiency, the class needed an industrial mixer, which the TangerKIDS grant will provide. This meaningful project develops practical skills and connections between students and staff.