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Recent Headlines:
Four of Class of '04 Named AP Scholars
RMA Students Shine in 2004 Young Authors Project
Dawson Wins Local Teacher of the Year
RMA Names New Athletic Director
Odyssey of the Mind Team Brings Home the State Title
First Grader Submits Winning Logo
RMA Seventh Graders Recognized for High Scores on SAT
RMA Takes First Place in ECU Regional Math Competition
RMA Odyssey of the Mind Wins Regional Competition.........Again
Miller and Strickland Advance to National Merit Scholarship Finals
Both RMA Morehead Nominees Advance to Semifinals
First Annual RMA Invention Convention
Four Seniors Nominated for Scholarships to UNC and NC State
First Graders Raise Funds for UNICEF
RMA Has Only Two National Merit Semifinalists in Nash and Edgecombe Counties
RMA Girls Tennis Takes CPIC Crown
Four of Class of '04 Named AP Scholars
Four
students in the Rocky Mount Academy Class of 2004 have earned the designation
of AP Scholar by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional
achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program® (AP®)
Exams.
The
College Board’s Advanced Placement Program offers students the opportunity
to take challenging college-level courses while still in high school, and to
receive college credit, advanced placement, or both for successful performance
on the AP Exams. About 17 percent of the more than one million high
school students in almost 15,000 secondary schools worldwide who took AP Exams
performed at a sufficiently high level to merit the recognition of AP Scholar.
Students
took AP Exams in May 2004 after completing challenging college-level courses
at their high schools. The College Board recognizes several levels of
achievement based on student’s performance on AP exams.
At
RMA, Max Miller and Scott Strickland qualified for the AP Scholar with
Distinction Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams
taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams. Miller
went on to attend
2004
RMA graduate Alex Gould qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by
earning an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and
grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams. Gould is a freshman at
Josh
Wordsworth qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP
Examinations, with grades of 3 or higher. He entered
“We
are very happy for these four young men that they have been recognized by
College Board for their outstanding performance on the AP exams,” RMA
Headmaster Thomas R. Stevens said. “Although
the Class of 2004 was an unusually small class compared to the rest of our
high school, it was packed with students who were talented in the classroom,
in sports, and the arts,” Stevens continued.
“The
success of these AP Scholars reflects on their hard work as well as the
school’s mission to prepare its students for the challenges, opportunities,
and responsibilities to be encountered in life and college,” Stevens said.
Two-thirds of the Class of 2004 took AP courses while at the school,
and 80% of this year’s RMA high school students are taking Honors or AP
level courses. RMA is offering nine AP
courses in the 2004-05 school year.
TOP
RMA Students Shine in 2004 Young Authors Project
Rocky
Mount Academy had eight winners in the local Young Authors Project this year.
Sponsored by the local chapter of the International Reading
Association, the Young Authors Project received entries from 19 schools in the
area. Of the eight local first
grade winners, five of them were from Rocky Mount Academy.
In addition, two RMA students in the second and third grades were
picked as state winners and were recognized at a statewide Young Authors
Celebration. The RMA winners are
First Graders Vineet Baliga, Sophie Cheatham, Katy Jaber, Michael Knott, and
Chelsea Walden; Second Graders
Cameron Graham and Anne Claire Williams (state winner), and Third Grader
Rebecca Gardner (state winner).
This
year’s theme was “Places to Travel.”
The writers could compose a story based on places that they had
traveled or wanted to travel, either in real life or in books.
Winners had their pieces published in the Young Authors annual
publication.
Dawson Wins Local Teacher of the Year
Donna Dawson
We are proud to announce that Donna Dawson, Chair of the English Department and Upper School English teacher, was selected as the 2004 Teacher of the Year by Wal-Mart. She was nominated for this honor by RMA senior Alex Gould. This is the ninth year that Wal-Mart has recognized outstanding educators on National Teachers Day, May 4.
In her forty years of teaching (32 at RMA), Ms. Dawson has helped hundreds of students to learn to write effectively and has exposed them to some of the greatest literature of all time. In his essay about Ms. Dawson, Gould said, "My thirst for reading and for knowledge was answered each day as I learned something new and exciting in that class, and I am forever grateful to Mrs. Dawson for facilitating such an incredible experience."
He went on to say, "I consider her the most well-read, most knowledgeable person I have ever encountered. Her unparalleled devotion to teaching is clearly evident in her 32 consecutive years as an English teacher at Rocky Mount Academy, and her concern for every student is evident......."
Ms. Dawson received a $1,000 check from Wal-Mart to benefit RMA. She has decided that she would like for the funds to go towards a project that she is helping the students to develop -- a school message board, or kiosk, for the courtyard. A kiosk, as is used on many college campuses, has been designed by architect Errol Warren and will be used by students, teachers, and staff as another means and central location for school information that needs to reach the students.
Congratulations on your award and on the influence that you have had on so many students passing through our doors.
Odyssey of the Mind Team Brings Home the State Title
A Rocky Mount Academy Odyssey of the Mind team, for the fourth time in five years, has claimed the State Champion title. Over Spring Break, on the campus of Appalachian State University in Boone, the team of five middle school girls ran away with the championship by coming in first at the NC Odyssey of the Mind Association Finals.
Team members Clare Mayo, Morgan Minges, Kelsey Strickland, Emily Urquhart, and Ashley Warren “thought outside the box,” as the saying goes, to solve the “Fantastic Art” problem. This problem required the team to replicate two classic works of art and to create two original pieces of artwork. During the performance, the four artworks were required to “come to life” and interact. The team staged a skit to explain their problem solution which included rhyming dialogue, music with original lyrics, and an underlying theme that the most important art is “the art of making friends.”
Now,
the team has earned the right to compete in the Odyssey of the Mind 2004 World
Finals in College Park, MD, at the end of May.
At World Finals, they will face steep competition since they will be up
against top-ranked teams from almost every US state and from about 20 other
countries.
“This is a special year for us, as a team. It’s a real honor to represent Rocky Mount Academy and the state of North Carolina. Of course, we would love to go all the way and win the World title. After hearing the reaction to our skit at State, we feel good about our thought process on this problem. Of course, the coaches are not allowed to help the team prepare for the competition. The beauty of OM is that the whole thing is student created and performed. The girls are going to keep fine tuning the skit, keep practicing spontaneous problem solving, and hope for the best,” Urquhart said.
First Grader Submits Winning Logo
The
logo submitted by first grader Jeffrey Smitherman to the 2004 NC Council of
Teachers of Mathematics Math Logo Contest was selected as a region finalist
this year. His logo for the "Math Is for Winners" contest
depicted a race car taking the checkered flag. His logo was one of 12
selected as a region finalist from a field of approximately 2,000
entries. It has now been entered into the state contest.
RMA Seventh Graders Recognized for High Scores on SAT
Five RMA students in the 7th grade this year have been recognized for having some of the highest SAT scores among North Carolina 7th graders. They, along with seven other classmates, received the opportunity to take the SAT through Duke University's Talent Identification Program (TIP). Lyndsey Burke, Sarah Koonce, Craig Park, Travis Pearsall, and Allen Rowe all scored at least a 510 on the verbal and/or math sections of this college entrance exam.
RMA Takes First Place in ECU Regional Math Competition
Rocky Mount Academy placed first among private schools in one-third of the state in the East Carolina Regional Math competition. Several individual members of the team were in the top 10 overall, including public and private school students. RMA has placed first or second for the past three years.
RMA Odyssey of the Mind Wins Regional Competition.........Again
Rocky Mount Academy teams, especially in the OM world, are a force to be reckoned with. Once again, our Odyssey of the Mind team has won the Coastal Region competition and are on their way to States. They competed against public and private Middle School teams. Members of this year's team are Clare Mayo, Morgan Minges, Kelsey Strickland, Emily Urquhart, and Ashley Warren. They are coached by Pam Mayo and Anne Boone Urquhart.
Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Kids apply their creativity to solve problems. This team has competed for several years together, and we congratulate them for continuing their winning tradition. It is not as easy as it may appear to do.
Alex Gould, RMA senior, has been awarded the (full merit) George Washington Scholarship from Washington and Lee. He has also been granted the Temple-Inland Foundation Scholarship.
It’s back to the gridiron for
Rocky Mount Academy after a 35-year hiatus.
Thomas R. Stevens, Headmaster, has announced that RMA will field Junior
Varsity and Varsity football teams next fall for the 2004-05 school year.
“We are very excited about bringing football back to Rocky Mount
Academy. Between our large
increase in enrollment over the past five years and our students’ and
parents’ interest in having a team, we have been able to add football to our
athletics lineup,” Stevens explained.
Over 90% of the eligible RMA 7th-12th
graders play at least one sport a year. With
a 41% increase in the student population since 1998, RMA needed to add other
sports to meet the demand of students interested in playing.
The school will add softball this school year and football next fall.
Since 2000, RMA has added volleyball, cross country, and additional
basketball squads to accommodate the demand.
At the time that football is introduced, RMA will have a total of 26
interscholastic sports teams.
Rocky Mount Academy will join
the 13-school Colonial Carolina Conference for football only.
RMA will be in the Northern Division, and their 10-game Varsity
schedule will include match-ups with all Northern Division teams and, on a
rotating basis, three Southern Division teams each year.
They will be eligible to participate in an eight-team playoff for the
state championship. The JV team
will play a six game season.
The CCC plays eight-man football with five linemen and three backs. Junior Varsity teams consist of 7th-9th graders, and Varsity teams are made up of 9th-12th graders. “Eight man football is every bit as physical as 11-man,” Interim Athletic Director Mac Allen commented. “A person watching 8-man basically can’t tell the difference,” he added.
Allen said that it would take around 20 student athletes on each team “to do what we need to do. We have our hands full, as anyone would that is just beginning a program, but the fact that we have at least five players who have competed for up to four years in 8-man football gives us a nucleus that we would not normally have starting out. I am sure that, in addition to them, we’ve got untapped abilities, size, and willingness to play in other student athletes currently at the school and yet to come.”
Allen continued by predicting, “If our JV program has good numbers, I would think it would only take a few years to be in contention for a championship.”
First Annual RMA Invention Convention
A new hands-on science activity was instituted at RMA this fall -- the Invention Convention. Since late September, Lower and Middle Schoolers have been researching some of the world's greatest inventors and their quest for a solution to some of life's most nagging challenges -- whether on a personal or global level. Students decided to analyze the work of inventors from Thomas Edison and Ben Franklin to Ron Popeil, father of the Veggie-Matic. In November, it was time for the students to become the inventors. Their products, along with their applications for an "RMA patent," were put on display the week before Thanksgiving. Each display included information on the inventor's reason for creating the product (the problem s/he was trying to solve) and the struggles that s/he experienced while trying to invent the product. Real life experience of an inventor, to be sure! RMA Patents were given to the top inventors in the 5th-8th grades. Next time you need an E-Z Wash Dog Washing Device, a Gather the Lather Body Sponge, or a Struggle-Free Egg Cracker, call RMA!
Four Seniors Nominated for Scholarships to UNC and NC State
Miller
Gould
Strickland
Herrin
Max Miller and Alex Gould have been nominated by Rocky Mount Academy to compete for the Morehead Scholarship at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Scott Strickland and Jake Herrin have been nominated to compete for the Park Scholarship at NC State University.
We wish all four of them much luck! RMA had the only Morehead Scholar in the two county area last year.
First Graders Raise Funds for UNICEF
As part of their year-long study of world cultures, RMA first graders learned about the impoverishment of children in 158 countries and territories around the world and the good works of UNICEF. On Halloween night, they got involved by trick-or-treating for UNICEF. With the familiar orange UNICEF boxes in hand, the 22 students raised over $180 to go towards medicine and immunization, nutrition, clean water and sanitation, education and emergency relief for these children.
Cross
Country
At
the NCISAA state meet in Charlotte, our boys team placed 4th, its highest
finish ever. Boys team captain
Alex Gould ran 9th overall and won 1st Team All-State
honors. Girls team captain
Virginia Smith placed 29th and
was one of the top 3 1A girls in the state.
Cross
country is in its third year at RMA.
Boys
Soccer
Our
JV team, with their 7-3-2 season record, is telling us to watch
out. They foretell a
bright future for RMA soccer. The
Varsity team made it to the 2nd round playoffs in state play.
Scott Strickland and Will Kornegay were named All State, Max Miller was
named All Conference, and Shawn Thompson received Honorable Mention for All
Region, All State, and All Conference.
Girls
Varsity Tennis
Our
Girls Tennis team has done it a fourth time -- won the State 1A Championship
-- against what was probably their toughest opposition.
It was definitely a fight to the end as RMA out-dueled Greenfield 27
points to 26 points. Coach Bunn
Woodard reported that it became very interesting with a new school from
Statesville bringing in two NATIONALLY ranked juniors at flights #1 and #2.
Nevertheless, the Eagles persevered and won.
Volleyball
The Junior Varsity volleyball team ended its season with a 9-7 record. This was the first winning season for an RMA volleyball team (now in its fourth year at RMA). JV were CPIC runners up for the regular season. Coach Stegall says that these 7th and 8th graders “will be a force to be reckoned with” in the future. Though the Varsity team did not have a statistically winning season, they came might close in several games that came down to the wire. Brittany Tharrington received All Conference and Emily Bynum and Katherine Anderson both received Honorable Mention for the conference. Way to go Eagles! Let’s keep volleyball going at RMA.
RMA Girls Tennis Takes CPIC Crown
The RMA Varsity Girls Tennis team claimed the Coastal Plains Independent Conference tournament championship on Friday, October 17. This is RMA's fourth straight CPIC Championship.
RMA's Catherine Woodard, a sophomore, was selected CPIC Player of the Year, and RMA's eighth grader Annie Whitmore was recognized as the MVP of the tournament. Congratulations on the great win, Eagles!
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