Newspapers / The Chowan Herald (Edenton, … / April 10, 2019, edition 1 / Page 6
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6A THE CHOWAN HERALD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10,2019 Schools Edenton’s African-American history inspires musical From Submitted Reports Nicole Byrd-Phelps, gen eral music teacher of D.F. Walker School, has churned out another Edenton-themed musical Scheduled to be performed April 16, the mu sical is called “Here We Go — What’s The Big Deal?” “The ‘Here We Go’ in the ti tle highlights D.E Walker stu dents embarking on a Friday afternoon excursion around downtown Edenton,” Byrd- Phelps said. “The ‘What’s The Big Deal?’ portion of the title highlights the importance of the people and places en countered on the excursion. In actuality, that question & the answer ‘That’s a big deal!’ appear throughout the dia logue of the musical.” As with last year’s musi cal, “We’re Riding On The Bus,” historically important figures and locations in local African-American history are prominently featured. Byrd-Phelps is featuring Asheton Smith’s fourth-grade class, a few fifth-graders, faculty/staff members from D.F. Walker School, White Oak School, Chowan Middle School, an Edenton-Chowan Schools Central Services employee and folks from the Edenton-Chowan area “The class that I selected is very musically inquisitive and gifted,” Byrd-Phelps said. “None of the students in Mrs. Smith’s class were in last year’s musical, so they are the right fit for this perfor mance.” Among the featured sites are St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, where Harriet Ja cobs’ children were baptized; St Anne’s Catholic Church, where people of color popu lated the original group of Catholics from which the church would be bom; Gale Street Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke during a visit to Edenton; and the 18th and 19th centuries African-American Cemetery where Jonathan Overton, Molly Homiblow and Thom as Barnswell are buried. Who are they? A Revolutionary War soldier who lived to be 100 years old, the grandmother of Harriet Jacobs and a builder. Other Edenton folks who are featured are John Coltrane and the Blairs (his mother’s side of the family), Gail John son Rountree, Emma Bonner and other civil rights activists who picketed in front of Tay lor Theater. Sounds like a var ied cast of people from Who’s Who In Chowan County Afri can-American History. Byrd-Phelps describes her SUBMITTED PHOTO Composer extraordinaire Nicole Byrd-Phelps, general music teacher of D.F. Walker School, has created another Edenton-themed musical. Scheduled to be performed on April 16, the musical is called “Here We Go - What’s The Big Deal?” and features fourth-grade class, a few fifth graders, faculty/staff members from D.F. Walker School, White Oak School, Chowan Middle School, an Edenton-Chowan Schools Central Services employee and folks from the Edenton- Chowan area. work as divinely inspired and reflective of what a former student of hers is doing. “I taught Rhiannon Gid dens when she was a student at Governor’s School East in 1994. She has risen to the top of the Americana music field, in part, because she is high lighting the untold stories of African Americans. She is African-American herself and a history buff with limit less musical talent,” she said. “I like to feel that I am doing something similar, something I am called to do, to enlighten the children of this county about the importance of Af rican-American history. I am hoping this will translate into a future tour offering through the Historic Edenton site, so that others will become aware of this part of Chowan County history.” Historic Edenton State Historic Sites began a new tour, “Edenton from Civil War to Civil Rights,” covering some of the town’s African- American history this year. While it was held through the month of February, it also is scheduled for June 15, Aug. 24 and Sept 15. Byrd-Phelps will have the musical video recorded and plans to upload it to YouTube, as she did with last year’s “We’re Riding On Tire Bus.” Concerning the musical se lections, some of the music sounds like the popular songs of the 1930s, while others sound like Motown tunes. The grand finale combines rap and that 1930s popular song style. We look forward to seeing and hearing Byrd-Phelps’ encore on YouTube after the April 16 premiere of “Here We Go — What’s The Big Deal?” Board honors Bulldogs SUBMITTED PHOTO Chowan Middle School students were recently recognized at a recent Edenton-Chowan School Board meeting. They placed third in a regional Envirothon Competition at Weyerhaeuser Cool Springs Environmental Center in New Bern and third in overall middle school competition. The students will advance to the North Carolina Envirothon State Competition on May 3 and 4. Environthon is a scientific investigation of five different areas of environmental science which include soil, aquatics, wildlife, forestry, and current events. Pictured (l-r) are Chowan Middie School Principal Alton Campbell, Science teacher and team adviser Christina Elmore, Rebecca Dardzinski, Savanna Reid, Summer Gregory (team members not pictured are AJ Morgan and Steven Toney), and Edenton-Chowan Schools Vice-chair Jean Bunch. SUBMITTED PHOTO Liz Woodbury (left) holds the leash of Bodhi, a therapy dog, while she talks to White Oak second- graders about what Bodhi does to bring cheer to hospital patients. ACEs honored for contest win 2nd-graders meet therapy dog SUBMITTED PHOTO The Edenton-Chowan Board of Education recognized students from John A. Holmes High School who competed and won in regional Skills USA Competition held in Goldsboro. Pictured (l-r) is Luis Patino-Sandoval who won first place in the Skill Project Showcase for Woodworking; Connor Wallen and Alex Jackson took first place in the Quiz Bowl Team competition; and Kevin Miller took first place in Web Design. Also pictured are Principal Steve Wood, Teacher Tim Livingston and Board of Education Vice-Chair Jean Bunch. From Submitted Reports Once a month, Bonita McCall and Debbie Bur roughs visits second-grad ers at White Oak Elemen tary School. Each woman teaches the students hu mane education principles. Tire classes are held during seven months of the school year and, while the focus is generally on dogs, the month of April is devoted to cats. The March visit was a special one as the students met Bodhi, a therapy dog, and heard his owner, Liz Woodbury, talk about what Bodhi does to bring cheer to hospital patients. The lessons’ main objec tive is to teach students to be responsible pet own ers to ensure the pets are happy, healthy and safe. In addition to reading a book during each class, McCall and Burroughs discuss top ics such as basic pet needs; being aware of feelings through observing the pet’s body language; and the meaning of humane. The students learn that when a family adopts a pet, there are many things to consider ... Do they have the time to devote to taking care of an animal? Do they have the space? Do they al ready have other pets? Do they have the resources to provide for the pet’s needs? Are they able to commit to providing a forever home for the pet? The students learn that too many puppies and kittens born each year end up in animal shelters because homes cannot be found. This leads to a dis cussion of the importance of spaying and neutering pets. The classes are present ed on behalf of AWARE (Animal Welfare of the Albemarle Region Every day!), a private, nonprofit, all-volunteer organization devoted to improving the lives of animals in Chow an, Gates and Perquimans counties. AWARE’s goals are to provide discount spay/neuter vouchers to area pet owners, increase the save rate at Tri-County Animal Shelter and Adop tion Center in Tyner, and promote humane principles and educate the public on responsible pet ownership. For information, visit awarenc.org. BOE honors Quiz BOWL TEAM Boatwright named student of month SUBMITTED PHOTO The Edenton-Chowan Board of Education recently recognized John A. Holmes High School students who won first place in regional HOSA Quiz Bowl Competition held in Greenville. The team went on to compete in the State HOSA Quiz Bowl Convention in Charlotte. Pictured (l-r) are Board of Education Vice-Chair Jean Bunch, Health Sciences Teacher Brittany Palmer, Brenna Goodwin, Kennedy Goodwin, Health Sciences Teacher Casey Spear, and Principal Steve Wood. From Submitted Reports Sharonda Boatwright, a fifth-grader at D.F. Walker Elementary was named March student of the month at the Boys & Girls Club. Boatwright is a hard worker. She always enters through the blue door with a smile upon her face. Her fa vorite hobby is playing bas ketball with her sisters and brothers. Reading is a pas sion for her, especially fic tion and non-fiction books. “I love coming to the Boys & Girls Club and get ting my homework done,” Boatwright said. She thoroughly enjoyed Executive Director Eliza beth Mitchell helping her with math during bench mark. Boatwright is an all- around club member. She loves to help around the club with the Torch Club Store, where she became a member this year. As far as hard work goes, Boatwright knows how to handle a rake. During the Torch Club Community Service project Seeds of Kindness, Yard Clean Up Day, she worked really hard raking, putting the trash in bags and mak ing sure the yard was clean. Unit Director Susan Brothers asked Boatwright how safe did she feel at the club. “I feel very safe because all the adults here take care of us during our time spent at the club,” she stated. Congratulations Boat wright on a job well done and continue to be great! SUBMITTED PHOTO Sharonda Boatwright was named the March Boys and Girls Club student of the month.
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
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April 10, 2019, edition 1
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