The Orange County School District has been awarded a 2008 Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Grant. The $283,082 grant from the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Office of the U. S Department of Education will fully fund the development of new safety procedures while improving the district's existing emergency management and response plans.

Orange County Schools was one of only two districts in North Carolina to receive a REMS Grant for the 2008-2009 school year. Frank Meadows, Orange County School's director of environmental health and safety and driver education, will serve as the project director.

The REMS grant program was established to provide the funding necessary for school districts to develop comprehensive plans for any emergency or crisis, including natural disasters, pandemic influenza, violent incidents, and terrorist acts.

The U.S. Department of Education awarded 92 grants throughout the United States ranging from $98,000 to $791,000.

Meadows, C.W. Stanford Middle School Principal Anne Purcell and Christine Carr, intern for student services, wrote and submitted the grant proposal.

Teachers present seminars in Belgium

East Chapel Hill High School French teacher Kathleen Rhodes and Smith Middle School teacher Robin McMahon presented seminars at the National French Teachers Conference in Liege, Belgium last month.

The theme of the conference was "La Belgique au coeur de l'Europe."

McMahon and her Belgian Exchange colleague, Jean-Claude Labeye, presented a session on creating successful exchange programs.

Rhodes traveled to Liege with nine high school French language students to show how music is an effective and fun way to teach French. She and her students were given a standing ovation by a packed room of French teachers.

The students stayed one week with host families organized by Labeye and took excursions to Brugges, Brussels, Maastricht and of course a tour of Liege. This summer's trip for high school students was an extension of Smith Middle School's Belgian Exchange Program, which has successfully completed seven exchanges.

Anyone interested in helping sustain this international exchange program at the middle or high school levels is encouraged to contact McMahon at rmcmahon@chccs.k12.nc.us.

Burlington, Orange and Vance counties who participated in professional development focused on mathematics, science and leadership.

Over the course of the next three years, these teachers will take part in a five-day institute each August, where they will study mathematics, science and educational pedagogy with educators from local universities and community partners.

Participating teachers will engage in note booking, inquiry-based learning and professional learning communities, as well as focusing on content in physical science and number and operations.

The institute was held at A.L. Stanback Middle School Aug. 4-8.