From the Headmaster's Desk

Welcome New Assistant Headmaster for the Middle School ~ Kevin Murray

2010-12-09T15:50:00.001-05:00

Dear Parents -

East Wake Academy wishes to announce the selection of Kevin Murray as our new Assistant Headmaster for Middle School. Mr. Murray earned his Masters in School Administration from NC State University. In addition, Mr. Murray holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Elementary Education. He has eleven years of experience in teaching middle school. His leadership experience includes academic coaching, testing coordinator, team leader and technology coordinator. Mr. Murray brings with him a diverse background and many years of experience as an administrator.

For the past two years, Mr. Murray has served as the Instructional Resource Teacher and Testing Coordinator at Dillard Drive Middle School in Cary. In addition to becoming the new Assistant Headmaster of the Middle School at EWA, he will also serve as the administrator for Student Services and Athletics.

Please join me and my staff as we welcome Mr. Murray into the EWA family.

2010-10-22T10:42:00.002-04:00

From the Desk of Leigh Watkins . . .

It’s that time again. . . . . East Wake Academy’s Annual Cowboy Day is Friday, October 29th. Cowboy Day and our Annual Lasso-A-Cure Chili Cook off is a two day event that has become a treasured tradition at EWA.

Cowboy Day began six years ago as a celebration of the accomplishments of our Trail boss, Headmaster, Brandon Smith. In 2004, Mr. Smith received the Wachovia Principal of the Year award. Students and staff chose a special day to celebrate the leadership and new direction that East Wake Academy had acquired. In honor of Mr. Smith’s heritage and passion for horses, the “Cowboy Day Theme” evolved. The students found a common bond with Mr. Smith as they celebrated all things “American Cowboy”. As a nation, America recognizes the National Day of the American Cowboy on the last Saturday in July. As a school, we celebrate these American Heroes as well as show our appreciation to Mr. Smith for his excellent leadership and dedication to East Wake Academy, on the last Friday in October. East Wake Academy is comprised of students who come from families with strong work ethics and high values. Just like the early pioneers of our country; our staff, students and their families represent the true spirit of a cowboy. Honesty, integrity, courage, compassion, respect and patriotism are values that our Trail Boss hopes to instill in every EWA student.

As a school family, two years ago, we began demonstrating compassion by supporting those who have fought the difficult battle of cancer. It was decided that a Competitive Chili Cook Off would be held on Thursday evening before the greatly anticipated, fun filled Cowboy Day. When the annual chili cook off began two years ago, we did not know, as a school family, how quickly cancer would become a very real battle for us personally. Since the fall of 2008, two members of our staff have been diagnosed with cancer. As we carry on in the fight against this terrible disease, we choose as a school-family to honor the courage and recognize the strength that our friends have shown during their battles.
Proceeds from EWA’s Chili Cook Off, Cake Walk and Raffle will be contributed to both the Relay For Life Organization, the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the Oral Cancer Foundation in memory our beloved friend and teacher, Freida Baker.

As we strive to nurture and teach EWA students to have a strong code of conduct and ethics, we use the iconic American Cowboy as an illustration of solid character, sound family values and good common sense.

WE NEED YOU to Saddle UP!

Join us this year on October 28that EWA’s annual Chili Cook-off and Cake Walk. Sign up today to enter your pot of chili in this fun contest.
IT’S EASY! TEAMS ARE WELCOME!

FOR CHILI COOK OFF INFORMATION
Contact Sandy Wainwright
swainwright@eastwakeacademy.org

TO DONATE A CAKE OR DESSERT
Contact Cindy Levinson at
Clevinson@eastwakeacademy.org

For more information visit our website http://www.eastwakeacademy.org/
Together we can make a difference!

Settling In

2010-09-01T09:20:00.002-04:00

The first six weeks of school have flown by. Our children have settled in and are working hard. The power of EWA is found in the partnership between home and school. I encourage you to keep in touch with your classroom teachers. Talk to your children about their day. Make sure you know their friends and who they eat lunch with. Middle school parents you would be surprised at what you can learn about your child on Facebook.

Encourage your student to always be their best. The EWA uniform is recognized everywhere. Make sure they wear it with pride and distinction.

Post date and time

The Big Day is Almost Here

2010-07-22T16:41:00.001-04:00

Dear EWA Parents ~

The big day is almost here. As expected, our Open Houses were well attended. You have had the chance to meet your teachers and prepare for the first day of school.

As you enter the campus on Whitley Drive you may park in the new lot on your left. We also have visitor parking to the right between the Central building and the Senior Academy.

Our campus has been re-designed this summer. We have created three new parking areas. Parents attending the elementary parade should park in the staff spaces adjacent to the K-4 building. We will temporarily re-locate the staff parking area as we did during open house. In addition you may park in the new senior academy parking lot and walk to the elementary campus. We have visitor parking also at the middle school campus.

Be aware that the carpool traffic pattern on campus has changed. Please remain alert and focused at all times while on campus. EWA staff members will direct you to the proper carpool line or parking lot upon your arrival to campus. The safety of our students, staff and parents is our top priority.

Please review the carpool procedures document that was enclosed in your welcome back letter.

Our school of distinction is a very special place. I thank you for your continued faith in us and willingness to work together.

Together we will continue to share the dream and build a future for our children.

2010-05-17T16:19:00.001-04:00

Murphy’s Law . . . what can go wrong will

This morning there was no power in the K-4 building. The K-4 BUILDING HOUSES ALL OF OUR INTERNET AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS. At 7:45 AM the decision was made to send students home that had already arrived on campus. Shortly after that, electrical power to the K-4 building was restored and teachers and staff were in place to open classrooms for students. By 7:50AM all EWA facilities were ready to open and the school day could proceed as normal. Of course, this would have to happen on the day that we began our new morning carpool procedure. The delay in releasing student from cars due to the power failure increased the length of our carpool line.
Please be assured that if your student was sent home or tardy today due to the cancellation of school or a delay in carpool it WILL NOT BE COUNTED against them.
As always, thank your for your cooperation and understanding in this matter.

New Carpool Procedures

2010-05-11T16:05:00.002-04:00

The end of the school year is in sight. EOG and EOC testing is right around the corner. Before you know it, we will be back from summer break and starting a new school year. Our campus will have a new look and feel. In order to prepare for this, we will practice our new carpool procedure each morning beginning on Monday, May 17th and through out the remainder of the school year. The traffic pattern will be the same as the one used on the early dismissal day in April.

I promise the morning carpool will flow faster than the afternoon. We have learned a great deal from each of our drills. We will be ready for the new school year. Some of you will remember that we have had many variations of our carpool; each one better than the last. Do you remember sitting under the shelters each day calling out numbers with the bullhorn? Maybe you remember closing off the crosswalk so students could cross over safely and then opening the lane again for traffic to move?

Our hope is that the 2010~2011 car pool route will be the best and last version. Be patient and careful. We move 1500 cars a day with out incident. So stay off the cell phone while on campus. Keep your eyes forward. Follow the directives of staff. Remember you are responsible for the safety of some else’s child. Some mistakes you can’t take back. Let’s all be safe rather than sorry.

CARPOOL PARTY

2010-05-03T15:59:00.000-04:00

Thanks so much for your patience and assistance today for our new carpool practice drill. We will re-do drives and add new pavement during our summer break. K-5 carpool went extremely smooth. Middle school slowed us down a bit due to the lack of assigned carpool numbers, another one of those things we learned from our drill today.
There will be much to do this summer to enhance this process. Driveways will need to be repaved, turning radius adjustments and more directional information installed. However for that old charter school that does not know what they are doing, we did alright. Please note we contained carpool on our property today and created no problems on Gannon Ave. (hwy 97). These are the two primary goals of the Town of Zebulon and the NCDOT. Please, remember to use Shepherd School Road as much as possible. If we demonstrate we can keep Hwy 97 moving then perhaps NCDOT will withdraw their decision to require EWA to pay for the installation of a turning lane on Gannon Ave.
Again thanks to the staff for their support and diligence today to ensure the safety of our children. I extend another thank-you to all the patient grandparent and new people that were kind to us today. For those few impatient folks today, well I will add you to the list on Sunday.

Carpool Practice

2010-04-16T10:13:00.002-04:00

“Patience is something you admire in the driver behind you and scorn in the one ahead.” ~Mac McCleary

Good Morning EWA PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS!

Thank you for your cooperation during our new carpool procedure practice run. While permanent changes to carpool procedures will not take effect until July, we gained valuable information during our exercise this morning. Taking extra steps now to prepare and learn new traffic patterns will help carpool run smoothly in July when we begin the 2010-2011 school year.

Afternoon carpool procedures will be rehearsed on Friday, April 30th. Please remember that April 30th is an early release day.

Be aware that there will be slight changes in bell schedules next school year. Elementary School hours will be 8:15AM to 3PM
Middle and HS hours will be 8:15AM to 3:15PM

As always, I appreciate your feedback and enjoying hearing from you.

Spring is Here!

2010-04-09T09:40:00.002-04:00

Spring is finally here. I thought everything would be green. I did not expect yellow.

This has been our year for change and surprise. As our building project progresses we will prepare for carpool changes for next year. DOT has made carpool recommendations for us to implement for the 2010 -11 school year. EWA has agreed to these changes and will plan accordingly. So, to get ready we will have two “practice” days for our new carpool pattern.

April 16, 2010 - Morning carpool for K-8 will be centralized. The traffic flow will be re-routed to assess how we will operate next school year. Follow the orange cones and the direction from staff and you will be fine. It will be a little chaotic, but it will allow us to make the first days of the new school year operate more smoothly.

April 30, 2010 - Early release day. We will practice the new afternoon pattern on this day. Again, follow directions and we will get you in and out safely and efficiently if not quickly. Parents will find parking restrictive on these two days. When the new school year starts we will have additional paved parking to meet our daily needs. However parking on the 16th and 30th will be limited.

More positive changes are coming your way. We will keep you posted.

2009-11-18T11:17:00.003-05:00

Our steel garden has sprung up out of the ground. Yes, the steel frame of the new senior academy is going up. Over the next week you will see the outline of our latest project become a reality.

Take note however that many exciting projects are getting off the ground at EWA. Our middle school is in contention for a national award from the Schools to Watch program. The selection committee will be here on December 1 -2, 2009 for an on-site evaluation. I am very proud of the work that Ms. Gull and the middle academy staff have put forward to achieve this recognition.

Our K-4 students will be busy over the next few weeks as we celebrate and learn about the values of family and community. There will be many events, including Winterfest, food drives and Toys for Tots. This holiday season is a time to reinforce our beliefs in the power of community and the responsibility we have as citizens to care for one another.

If you have not sent in your Give Ten gift please do so over the next few weeks. We have also begun our POPS program. You can still sign up with Amanda Boykin or Leigh Watkins.

This semester and calendar year will be over before you know it. I wish to thank you for your patience with all of our changes this year. Over the next few months, however, I think you will see the rewards of all our efforts. Our test scores improved dramatically last school year. I believe the instructional guidance from Mr. Bryan, Mrs. Gull and Mr. Johnson will have a tremendous impact this spring in student performance. We have several community projects coming your way in 2010. I hope you will continue to be part of the growth and success of EWA.

2009-10-15T15:48:00.003-04:00

We have survived our first week living with an on site construction project and over 1000 students. We have made adjustments with carpool to accommodate your needs. The current system is one we will live with for several weeks. Let’s learn to make the most of it.

A couple of tips: middle school morning carpool traffic picks up after 8:00 am.
K-4 parents should try to arrive between 7:45 and 8:00 am. With the limitations of parking we have added about 40 more cars to the carpool traffic. If everyone arrives at 8:05 we will have congestion and TARDY students!

Again, I encourage parents to utilize Shepherd School Road to access and exit carpool. The more traffic we can pull off HWY 97 the better.

A word about afternoon carpool: K-4 FAMILIES, please remember the Zebulon Cemetery is not our property. The town is allowing us to use this property to keep Whitley Drive clear. However some of you are arriving at 2:00 pm and parking on this property for an hour. Very soon the town will put a stop to this. Please help us retain the good will we have established with the town of Zebulon. No one should arrive for carpool prior to 2:45.

Senior Academy parents please be mindful we have a very short carpool line for high school. You should not arrive until 3:00 to avoid delaying the carpool line.
We will continue to manage the safest and fastest carpool in the state. Your cooperation however is what makes us successful.

Stay tuned as more changes come your way.

2009-09-16T09:25:00.004-04:00

Welcome to the 21st Century. Your Headmaster has finally caught up with the times. I can't believe that I am blogging. It seems an old dog can be taught a new trick. The truth is I believe that we all must keep learning . Being with kids every day I find the world still has wonder.

This school year has been a wonder. With 1032 students, EWA has reached a pinnacle. Ten years ago they said it couldn't be done. You proved them wrong. However, what is more exciting is what lies ahead.

We have begun our Senior Academy building project. On Tuesday September 15, 2009 we held our ground breaking ceremony. Our students grades 8-12 joined our staff and board for this momentous occasion! We even secured an aerial photo of our students as they stood in the footprint of the new building with huge EWA letters in the center. Work on the project will begin September 28, 2009. It is scheduled for completion on June 10, 2010! When you return from track-out the work will have begun. Our carpool and parking will be dramatically different as we begin the staging and excavation phases of the project. Be patient and be alert. The project will go through several phases before completion. We will keep you posted as the project unfolds.