A team of eighth graders from the International Baccalaureate program at J.M. Alexander Middle School in Huntersville captured top honors in the North Carolina "Future City" competition last week at N.C. State University, earning a spot in national competition while carrying on a well-established tradition of excellence established at the now-closed Davidson IB Middle School.
The seven-member team from J.M. Alexander outperformed other squads from schools throughout the state — as well as entries submitted by seventh and sixth grade teams from their own school — to claim the state title and win the chance to pursue national honors later this month in competition to be held at one example of futuristic living near the nation's capital.
The state championship extended north Mecklenburg's streak of state titles in the competition to five as J.M. Alexander's team picked up right where Davidson IB left off. And at the national level, there is also a tradition of success. Teams from Davidson IB won the national title in 2010 and finished third last year.
After closing Davidson IB following the 2010-11 school year, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools transferred the pre-international baccalaureate program to Alexander Middle in southern Huntersville.
The competition, sponsored by engineering-related professionals and organized by the National Engineers Week Foundation, encourages creative problem solving and idea sharing among middle school students. This year's theme focused on "fuel your future" and student teams were assigned the task of designing, illustrating and explaining multiple concepts of environmentally friendly energy sources for use in futuristic city settings.
The winning team from J.M. Alexander conjured up the city of Mahali Kuwa in South Africa, where sunlight, wind, water and humans all combine to meet the city's energy needs. The seven students on the winning team — four veterans from previous Future City competition and three newcomers to the program — began work on their project in September.
Mary Kendrick, who assumed faculty advisor duties for the group when Jay Hager left for a new job in November, said students and parents worked hard to make the team's entry a success.
"This is a very, very student-driven process," Kendrick said. "They come up with the ideas, figure out the details and do the work. Their parents also make an enormous contribution. The parents and students deserve all the credit. They make this program work."
Kendrick described participation in the Future City project as "100 percent extracurricular," explaining that students met before and after school and spent many hours on weekends ironing out issues and tweaking aspects of their presentation.
At the competition, team members Allison Law, Raniah Jeanlys and Eric Thorsheim were selected as presenters — those responsible for explaining the details of the team's project and answering questions from judges — but Kendrick emphasized that each member of the team — which also includes Caleb Readling, Austin Holmes, Peter Park and Ian Ruppenthal — played an integral role in preparing the presentation. Brian Readling, Caleb's father, served as the engineer mentor for the group.
As state champs, the winning team earned a trophy, and the team and school were awarded $1,000 in prize money. Expenses for the presenters, faculty advisor and mentor to attend the national competition were also incluced and Kendrick said the prize money, along with contributions from the school and community, will allow the rest of the team to attend.
The national competition will be held Feb. 17-23 in Crystal City, Va., an urban neighborhood south of downtown Washington, D.C., where high-rise apartments, restaurants, stores and many government offices are connected through a network of underground corridors.
In addition to winning overall honors at the state event, the eighth grade team from J.M. Alexander also won for best essay and the "people's choice" award for best model. The school's sixth grade team claimed the award for the most sustainable building, which Kendrick said speaks well for the future of the program.
"Many of the students involved in the program this year took part in previous years," she said. "And some of the older students from previous winning teams provided some insight and help for this year's teams. It's a tradition that began at Davidson IB and is continuing.
"The sixth and seventh graders witnessed it first-hand this year," she said, "so they know what to expect and what it takes to be successful."
For more information about the Future City competition, or to contribute to the J.M. Alexander program, contact Kendrick at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Volunteer for Family Week at Bailey MS
Bailey Middle School is still looking for volunteers to help coordinate and oversee the variety of activities planned as part of the school's grant-winning "Take Your Family to School" week.
From Feb. 12 to 17, parents and other family members are invited to visit and experience what the middle school students are doing this year at Bailey Middle, on Bailey Road in Cornelius. The week of events is being funded in part by a $1,000 grant from the National Parent-Teacher Association and the AXA Foundation. Bailey representatives applied for the grant last fall and the award was presented on the basis of the school's commitment to improve family and community engagement in school activities.
Bailey was one of two schools in North Carolina, and one of only 45 nationwide, selected to receive the PTA/AXA grant to help with "Take Your Family to School Week," a National PTA initiative that celebrates the PTA's legacy of building family-school partnerships and focuses on expanding and enhancing family engagement in schools across the country.
During the week, parents are invited to eat lunch with their child, contribute to Habitat for Humanity's Middle School build project, help put together snack bags for homeless students or participate in seminars, a book study and a legislative review session.
Tips from Parent University on preparing children for college will be presented, as will information about ways to pay for college in a session provided by AXA Equitable.
The week of events will conclude with a Friday evening dinner theater performance of The Jungalbook, showcasing the talents of students in Bailey's fine arts departments.
Activities for the week include:
• Monday: Walk a Day in My Shoes — an open access pass to the school life of students.
• Tuesday: The Triple A celebration to honor students for academic success, attendance and exceptional behavior.
• Wednesday: The Bronco Ambassadors will provide school tours and there will be a mini-job fair to promote a March enrichment program that will include mini-courses to be taught by local civic and business leaders. There will also be a "lunch and learn" book study led by Mike Cerkovnik that will concentrate on on the brain and higher thinking.
• Thursday: The BMS family will perform a community service project for A Child's Place, a local organization that supports homeless students who attend CMS schools.
• Friday: At the Family Forum, Bill Anderson, executive director of Mecklenburg Citizens for Public Education, will speak. The BMS jazz band will perform during the lunch hours and the dinner theater will wrap up the week's activities.
A team of Bailey PTSA volunteers, including Katy Bailey, Gwen Jordan, Debra Cassidy, Guppy Berger, Laurie Smith, Barb King and Kin Zanzot have been working to coordinate activities and secure volunteers needed for the program. To volunteer or obtain additional information, contact Bailey at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Bianca Riddick at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Davidson Elementary 'Girls Night Out' set
The annual Davidson Elementary School Girls Night Out is Friday, Feb. 3, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the gymnasium at the school. Davidson Elementary girls accompanied by their adult special guys are invited to share in a night of dancing and memory making.
Admission is $10 per couple, with an additional $5 charge for any additional child or special guy, not to exceed $20 per family. Professional 5-by-7 photographs in a frame folder can be purchased for $5 at the event and refreshments will be provided.
In addition to the activities at the school, Campania Cafe and Trattoria and Restaurant X are offering "Girls Night Out" attendees a 10 percent discount off dinner the evening of the dance. Reservations are recommended. Campania Cafe reservations can be made at 704-987-5111 or www.campaniacafe.com. Restaurant X reservations can be made by calling 704-892-9369.
All this week, special activities and events have been held at St. Mark Catholic School in Huntersville to celebrate "Catholic Schools Week." Traditionally, the week has been focused on fun, faith and academics, but in addition this year the week has provided a time for reflection on the community service projects adopted by the students.
At St. Mark, at 14750 Stumptown Road, each grade has or will focus on at least one major service project for the year and all students are also constantly donating food, money, time and other items to help those in need.
Service projects at St. Mark include a joint effort by kindergarten students and eighth graders to collect, organize and sell more than 25 boxes of books. The books were sold during the school's Christmas Bazaar, and nearly $350 was raised. Leftover books were donated to the Torrence Creek Elementary technology fundraiser.
Other grade projects at St. Mark have included the adoption of an Angel Tree family by first graders and a Christmas Card program sponsored by the second grade classes.
In addition, St. Mark third graders sponsored a coat drive, fourth graders worked on a big effort to collect and distribute food and clothing to area charities, fifth graders collected new and used eyeglasses to donate to specialized charities and raised money to send to needy people in the African nation of Cameroon, and sixth graders collected personal care items to distribute to Room at the Inn, a shelter for single, homeless pregnant women.
St. Mark seventh graders are involved in the Shad's Landing History Project, where they visit residents of Shad's Landing, a senior community center in Charlotte, and interview residents about their lives while providing friendship and companionship. Eighth graders will participate in a 30-hour famine to raise awareness of hunger issues and raise money to fight hunger and poverty.
School-wide community service projects include the Kids Walk to Cure Diabetes to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Seminarian Collection to create and mail care packages from the Diocese of Charlotte to seminarians studying throughout the United States.
Students also have a weekly opportunity to directly donate to charity on "dress down" Fridays. For a $1 fee, with funds distributed to different organizations each month, students can wear regular clothes on Friday instead of the school uniform.
For additional information about St. Mark, visit www.stmarkcathlolicschool.net or call 704-766-5000.
