School notes

WAKE COUNTY

FREE PSAT: High school sophomores in Wake County schools will be able to take the PSAT exam for free next month.

Previously, Wake covered the cost only for high school juniors to take the PSAT. But this school year, the school district will cover the cost for sophomores and juniors to take the exam.

Starting next school year, Wake will cover the cost only for sophomores. Juniors are still being covered this year to ease the transition.

The PSAT is a college prep exam that provides practice for the SAT. The PSAT is part of the selection process for juniors to enter the National Merit Scholarship Program.

Wake school officials hope the new policy will help school staff sooner identify students capable of successfully taking Advanced Placement courses. As part of the PSAT, the College Board produces a report that identifies students who may be likely to score well on AP exams.

The 2008 PSAT test date is Oct. 15. Students who want to take it for free must sign up at school.

SAVE BOARD: Casey Story, a sophomore at Garner High School, has been selected to serve a second term on the National Students Against Violence Everywhere Youth Advisory Board.

Story will join nine other youth leaders to discuss school violence issues and develop action plans for SAVE chapters across the nation. One of her major responsibilities will be to help plan and organize activities for America's Safe Schools Week (Oct. 20-24), National SAVE Day (Oct. 22) and National Youth Violence Prevention Week (March 23-27) and prepare for SAVE's 20th anniversary.

Story has won numerous awards over the past several years, including being named National SAVE Middle School Student of the Year for 2006-07.

TIME UNSEALED: On Oct. 27, a time capsule given to the town of Garner by sixth-graders attending the 1983 gifted-and-talented student program at East Garner Middle School will be unsealed. If you were a part of this program and would like to share some of the history about this time capsule, please contact Judy Bass at jbass@ garnernc.gov or call 772-4688.

DURHAM COUNTY

SHEPARD INPUT: Durham school officials will hold a meeting next week at Shepard Middle School to answer questions and receive input about an addition and renovations that will begin in the spring.

The meeting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 30 in the school's auditorium, at 2401 Dakota St.

JOHNSTON COUNTY

LIVING LEGENDS: Johnston County schools honored three of its "living legends" at a meeting this month.

Each of the three former teachers had a career of more than 30 years in the district.

Carolyn Grantham Ennis started as an English teacher and eventually became the district's first African-American secondary curriculum supervisor. She is currently special assistant to the superintendent for special events.

Celia B. McRae was known as a tough math teacher at North Johnston High School, where she taught for 39 years.

Hazel Gunter Sorrell opened and ran the first private kindergarten in Johnston County, teaching children from a renovated hen house. A reading specialist, she taught in Benson schools for more than 30 years.

STAFF AWARDS: The district also named its employees of the year. Teacher of the Year went to Dave Hinrichs, a math teacher at Riverwood Middle School. Principal of the Year went to Jake Jacobs of Smithfield-Selma High School. Deborah Johnson, principal of Polenta Elementary School, was named Administrator of the Year. Other honorees include: Outstanding First Year Teacher, Dominic Harris, Smithfield-Selma High School; Student Services, Kirsten Ruehle, East Clayton Elementary School; Student Support, Joanne Goodman, Polenta Elementary School; Teacher Assistant, Carnetta R. McKey, West Smithfield Elementary School; Technology/Media Coordinator, Valerie Kinney, West View Elementary School; Volunteer, Jeff Jennings, Archer Lodge Middle and East Clayton Elementary schools.

ORANGE COUNTY

BOOK CHAT: Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools is sponsoring a Centennial Book Chat from 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 16 at Morris Grove Elementary School. Author Carole Boston Weatherford will serve as the keynote speaker.

All of the books selected for the event focus on issues of segregation and segregated schools.

Weatherford will also moderate a panel discussion with alumni from segregated schools that previously operated in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Breakout discussions will be held on the three books selected for the event: Weatherford's "Dear Mr. Rosenwald" for kindergarten through third grade; Mildred Taylor's "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" for grades four through seven; and Taylor's "The Land" for eighth grade and above.

To submit information online about school-related events and achievements, go to share.triangle.com and click on "schools" and then the "school news" link. For more information, call Amy Overton at 829-4520 or send news to The News & Observer, 215 S. McDowell St., Raleigh, NC 27601.