Parents: please email blowingrockpto@gmail.com or contact a current board member directly if you would like to nominate someone (including yourself) for the upcoming PTO board or if you have an issue with anyone on the slate. Comments and nominations from parents need to be made by the June 10 PTO meeting, otherwise the following slate will be approved at that meeting. Parents are welcome to attend this meeting at 1 pm.

President: Kelly Todd; Vice President: Kevin Tincher; Treasurer: Heidi Wierback;  Secretary: Collette McNell;  Grade Parent Coordinator: Cheryl Cutlip;  Sponsorship Coordinator: Sherry Jaquays;  Fundraising Coordinator: Cheryl Gocke;  PR Coordinator: Open; Member at Large: Tim Knight.

"We can do MOORE for Oklahoma"! Support MOORE, Oklahoma students by wearing a hat for $1.00 on Friday, 5-24th. Donations for Hat Day will be sent to the Superintendent of Moore Public Schools. Thank you for all of your support!

The whole school came out for a wonderful group photo to honor Operation Mama Gaye with the McDonald sisters -- Wendy Estes and Kimberly Hartley.

Thank you and good luck to our ASU student teachers Jordan Davis, Stephen Thompson, Katie Moose and (inset) Josh Madison. They will be missed!

School Proctors needed for MSL and EOG Testing:

May 28^th, May 29^th, June 4^th and June 5^th!

Contact the school office at 295-3204!

Visit http://wataugasd.whs.schoolfusion.us/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=161480 for information on Basketball, Volleyball, Soccer and Baseball Camps. The deadline registration for some of these camps is June 1. Update: Parent Gae Kapral reports that there will also be a girls Lacrosse camp July 29 - Aug 1 at WHS. Brochures will be dropped off at the office later this week!

The Mountaineer Summer Reading Program is a collaborative effort between Appalachian Athletics and the Reich College of Education. Students in kindergarten through seventh grades, in Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Watauga, and Wilkes counties, and in Elkin City, will be afforded the opportunity to read grade level books during the summer of 2013 and to submit their reading logs to the media center coordinator during the first week of school in the fall. Top readers in grades one through three, grades four through six, and grades seven through eight will earn a trip to an ASU football game, a tailgate party, and recognition on the fifty yard line during halftime of Education Day. Click for the Tally Sheet and Instruction Sheet.

Dear Parent: Our school library mission is to help every student develop a love of reading, to become a skilled user of ideas and information, and to explore the world through print and electronic media. So, I am pleased to introduce a new at-home product that helps achieve this mission. As many of you know, new educational standards mandate that children at the earliest grade levels spend more time reading and understanding non-fiction content. The Secret Files of Professor L. Lotto Funn helps introduce students to science, history and cultural topics in engaging ways. I feel confident recommending this new product because it is made by World Book, one of the most trusted names in educational publishing. For a limited time, World Book is offering The Secret Files of Professor L. Lotto Funn directly to homes. It is not yet available in stores. During this period, a portion of the purchase price of every copy will be credited to this school to buy other educational products. Attached to this letter is a flyer that further explains the product. When making a purchase, please make sure to select our school for a donation during the checkout process. Please note that there is absolutely NO pressure to purchase this product. However, if you’re looking for an inventive method to extend your child’s learning beyond the school day, I recommend that you consider The Secret Files of Professor L. Lotto Funn. Website: http://www.professorfunn.com/. Update: the period in which copies will provide credit to the school has been extended through November 2013. Also: the age range for this book is upper-2nd through 7th grade.

BRAHM will be offering Summer Camp 2013. For registration forms, please stop by the school office. Click here for more information on their camps for kids (Shape Note Singing, Appalachian Dance, "Grand" Club, Mountain Life, Brilliant at BRAHM, Illustrate Your World and Appalachian Art Adventures) and adults.

On Friday, April 26, Blowing Rock 7th Grader Parris B. was surprised during Mr. Flippen’s Science class when Mr. Sukow arrived with a basketball toss first to Mr. Flippen and then to Parris. BREMCO representatives, Parris’s mother Sharon Bolick, and sister Paige then entered the room and Parris learned she was being awarded with an all-expense paid scholarship to attend the Wolfpack Basketball Academy August 1-4 at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation and North Carolina's Touchstone Energy cooperatives are offering all-expense paid scholarships for middle-school students from across the state to attend basketball camps this summer at two of North Carolina's largest college campuses. "Blue Ridge Electric is thrilled to continue our tradition of awarding these scholarships to outstanding students," said Grey Scheer, director of community relations at Blue Ridge Electric. "This program provides kids with an unforgettable opportunity to work with collegiate coaches, experience life on a college campus, and develop fundamental skills that will help them excel both on and off the court." Photo l-r: Grey Scheer, Directory of Community Relations at Blue Ridge Electric, Susan Jones, Blue Ridge Electric Watauga District Manager, Parris B., Sharon Bolick, Paige B. and Blowing Rock School Principal Patrick Sukow.

4th Grade Teacher Martha Trimble and student Isabella K. are "feeling like a sir" (witty & sophisticated) at Chick Fil-A Spirit Night on April 22, 2013.

Update from Carol Critcher in the Media Center: yearbooks for the following years are -- 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 yearbook-- for $10.00 each. This year's yearbook should arrive in late May.

On April 18th, author Julia Taylor Ebel visited with some of our Blowing Rock School students.  Mrs. Ebel is a native to North Carolina and her stories, biographies and poetry are centered around the rich heritage found our mountains. Because April is National Poetry Month, she shared the sounds and rhythms of poetry and led students toward writing individual poems. Visit her web page at http://www.juliaebel.com/ to learn more about how she weaves stories and bridges our roots and memories of times past. Click for more pictures.

Congratulations to Lily S. who came in 6th place out of 100 in the individual portion of the Watauga County Math Competition! You rock, girl! Lily is a 5th grader and the competition was between teams and individuals for 4th, 5th and 6th grades for all of Watauga County. The competition was held at ASU.

The Carowinds Trip for 7th and 8th grade Band, Strings and Chorus will be May 18th. The Band and Strings Concert will be May 23rd at 7:30 pm (to last approx. 1 1/2 hours).

The PTO has parents willing to fill some but not all the 2013-2014 board slots. PLEASE let the PTO or current PTO President Melissa Tausche know if you are interested in joining the board or have an item for the Spring Fling Silent Auction by emailing blowingrockpto@gmail.com and/or kwhighnote@aol.com. Thank you!

Junior Beta Club recently began a spring cleanup of the Gwen Tyrie Memorial Garden that is located in the center of the school. This garden is dedicated to Gwen Tyrie, a Blowing Rock 3^rd grade teacher who passed away in January 2002 after 23 years as a 3^rd grade teacher. She was a wonderful, loving teacher who many people still remember with much fondness and gratitude. One highlight each year for her students was the day in which they arrived at school to find Miss Viola Swamp, “the meanest substitute teacher in the whole world”. Ms. Tyrie portrayed Miss Swamp so well, students were unaware that it was their own teacher for quite a while. The Junior Beta Club promotes the ideals of academic achievement, character, leadership and service and is led by Blowing Rock AIG Teacher Harriet Stepuch. Click for more photos.

Older announcements, some of which include photos or a photo album, can be found on the "Archived 2012-2013 Announcements & Photos" page. The link for this page is on the bottom of the side navigation menu.