Student Achievement Results

We worked extremely hard in 2011-12 and our data shows student academic success and good progress in our efforts to close the achievement gap. I will post a more detailed information on our academic gains in the near future. Until then, you can browse the following websites to access achievement data and our school's current and past outcome data:

ABCs
http://abcs.ncpublicschools.org/abcs/

AMOs
http://accrpt.ncpublicschools.org/app/2012/amo/

Graduation Rates
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/reporting/cohortgradrate

Disaggregated Achievement Results
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/reporting/leaperformancearchive/


We have also updated our own website with this year's school and student achievement results at
http://www.wcpss.net/test-scores/

School Spirit Prevails in Mrs. Yanez's 5th Grade Track 1 Class!

Ms. Goodson and I visited classrooms on Friday and listened as students and teachers gave count of how many students participated in School Spirit Fridays by wearing our school colors of blue and green or their official BRES t-shirts. The tallies were counted and Mrs. Yanez's class came out in full force with school colors to win the special cool treat with the Principals. Look at the sea of blue and green in the picture below!

Congratulations students in Mrs. Yanez's class! I can't wait until next Friday to see our students demonstrating school pride and to see whose class will show the most school spirit! Will it be your class? ~ Mrs. Graf

School Spirit Every Friday!

Just a reminder about our School Spirit Fridays. Every Friday you can show your school spirit by wearing your Banks Road Elementary t-shirt or wearing our school colors blue and green. The class with the most students and teacher participating will receive a special treat from Ms. Goodson and me...popsicles! I will also take the class picture to post on the blog and make an afternoon announcement to the school. I will be walking through each class on Friday morning looking for blue and green!

Bus Issue: Route 5

Parents: The Route 5 bus broke down during its afternoon run. The bus was able to drop several students off on time. Transportation sent out a bus to pick up the remaining students and finish the route.

The number for transportation is 919-662-2408. I have left a message on the main line school with this information and posted information on the school website as well. The front office staff and administration is presently calling all route 5 families to make them aware of this bus issue. I'm sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. Mrs. Graf

Just a reminder about upcoming events at BRES

Mark your calendars for the upcoming dates:

July 26th: General PTA Meeting and Free Movie. Doors open at 5:15 in the multipurpose room. PTA Meeting begins at 6:00 p.m. and the movie will shown immediately following the brief PTA meeting. There will be an opportunity to join the PTA and purchase spirit wear. Additionally, the PTA will serve free popcorn and drinks. Families are encouraged to bring a blanket or dinner for the show.

July 27th: Early Release at 1:15 p.m. Carpool and buses will begin dismissal promptly. Please send in a note with your child if you are changing transportation due to the early dismissal time.

July 30th: First day of school for Track 4 Students Grade 1-5

July 30th-August 3rd: Staggered Entry for Kindergarten Track 4. If you are uncertain of your child's staggered assigned staggered entry time and date please call the school at 919-890-7333.

I hope you will join us for our General PTA meeting! Mrs. Graf

Week 2 Update

Going for the Gold in 2012-2013! Have you noticed our large banner hanging at the entrance to the Media Center? It is a visual to mark our theme for the school year. As we embark on our educational journey to increase student achievement and decrease the achievement gap our work will reference the Olympics and the character attributes that the Olympians possess to succeed. I'll share with you more about our collective work as a staff as we move into the new school year.

This week will host our first General PTA Meeting on Thursday in the multipurpose room. Doors will open at 5:15 and the general meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. A movie will shown be immediately following the brief PTA meeting. The PTA will serve free popcorn as well. You are welcome to bring in dinner and a blanket for your family. I hope you can join us for some family fun!

Our growing student population has allowed for the addition of new teachers. I would like to "feature" each new staff member. A photo and a brief biography will be shared for each new staff member. It is exciting to be able to grow our staff and bring on these outstanding teachers to our BRES school family!

Mrs. McLaurin~ Kindergarten Track 3

My name is Sommer McLaurin and I am excited to join the Banks Road Elementary family! I have been a kindergarten teacher in Harnett County for the previous five years and look forward to working within my community. I live in Fuquay Varina with my husband and two dogs. I love to read, travel, and I am a big UNC fan! I look forward to working with you and your child this year!


We are off to a wonderful start here at BRES! We continue to blaze the trail of success and I am so glad you are a part of our learning community.

First Week of School Brings Smiles and Learning

We have had a wonderful first week of school here at Banks Road Elementary! Students and teachers began the school year with introductions, getting to know you activities and diving straight into the new common core curriculum.

Our newest Trailblazers made their appearance during staggered entry for tracks 1-3 in Kindergarten. Our Kindergarten Meet the Teacher was a great success today as parents and rising kindergarten students attended a floating meet the teacher session, found their seats and cubbies and spent some time exploring their new classrooms.

Look at our learning and teaching process in action...

Mrs. Rodgers and her class discusses building reading stamina. She is charting the minutes that the class can read successfully.

Ms. Garvey's class (above) is working on the correct sitting posture for writing time. Ms. Bone (below) is assessing students to capture valuable literacy data to support classroom instruction.

Many great activities were happening over the past week. More photos and information to come! Thank you for all that you do to support BRES and have a great weekend! Mrs. Graf