Submitted by Tiffany Whitehead

This week is Banned Books Week and libraries across the country are celebrating the freedom to read by reading books that have been challenged or banned in libraries across the country. You can read more about Banned Books Week here on the American Library Association website.
 
This summer I learned about an amazing resource called StorySnoops. A group of mothers have compiled an incredible database of book reviews and reading resources for tweens and teens. Through blogging and Twitter, I have gotten to know these incredible ladies and I was honored when they asked to interview me in the spirit of Banned Books Week. I was beside myself when I learned that I would be part of a series that interviewed Judy Blume, Meg Cabot, and a few other blogging librarians. My interview was the first to appear, and it went up this Saturday. You can visit their blog and read my interview by clicking here. Their site is www.storysnoops.com. If you visit their blog you will see a new interview added each day this week, including one with Judy Blume!
 
I hope you take a few moments this week to remember a book that influenced your life as a child, then imagine what it would have been like if that book were banned and never found its way into your hands. We are so blessed to live in a country where we have the freedom to read what we want regardless of the opinions of others!

By Dave Freneaux

In a unanimous vote of the Central Community School Board, drug testing via urinalysis has been reinstated.  Two weeks ago, amidst controversy over the use of hair sampling as a testing method, the Board temporarily suspended all drug testing.  Having researched the issue, legal counsel advised that drug testing via hair sampling is not prohibited under state law.  The Board acted further by requiring that the written drug testing policy be reviewed and carefully updated to specifically authorize hair sampling before that method is used again in Central's public schools.  It is expected that the Board will have the revised policy to consider at its next regular meeting in two weeks.

From the Central High School website

Junior Tyler Wales 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. Senior Robert Kelly and junior Caleb Covington 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.

Seven students qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP Exams with grades of 3 or higher. The AP Scholars from the Class of 2010 are Samuel Ayers, Bradley Chambers, Kelsey Frazier, Amy Holmes, and J. I. Jester. Two AP Scholars are from the Class of 2011: Jonathan Hooper and Josh Walker.

Only about 18 percent of the nearly 1.7 million students worldwide who took AP Exams performed at a sufficiently high level to also earn an AP Scholar Award. Congratulations to all!

Candidates running for School Board were invited to speak at the September 21 Central Community Alliance meeting.  As a service to our city, the CCA has made the vidoes of these candidate statements available to the public on their website, www.CentralCommunityAlliance.org.  Take advantage of this resource to gain some more information about the candidates before this Saturday's vote.  Check the CCA website regularly for upcoming forum guests and topics, as they host a different public forum each month.

Submitted by Nathan Corley

Results are in for ACT exams taken during the 2009-2010 school year, and Central High School has reason to celebrate.  Central’s students have seen tremendous gains over last year, and the school average is above the state average across the board.

The ACT, or American College Test, is a widely accepted college entrance exam given several times every year.  It is used by colleges around the country to make admissions decisions.  ACT performance is generally believed to be a predictor of success at the university level.  The test is broken into four general subject areas: English, reading, math, and science reasoning.  A score ranging from 1 to 36 is given in each of the four and then an average is taken to get a composite score.

Central High saw significant gains last year in ACT performance.

Compared with the rest of the state, Central is performing quite well.

If any community members would like to view the report in its entirety, it is available at Central High School.

From the Central Community Schools website 

TENTATIVE AGENDA

SCHOOL BOARD MEETING

September 27, 2010

6:00 PM

Kristenwood Catering and Reception

14025 Greenwell Springs Road

Central, LA

1. Call to Order

2. Prayer

3. Pledge

4. Roll Call

5. Recognitions and Awards (Mr. Faulk)

6. To consider approval of the minutes of the September 13, 2010 Regular School Board Meeting.

7. To consider approval of the Superintendent’s recommendation for administrative, instructional, and support staff positions. (Mr. Faulk)

8. To consider approval of an Out-of-State Field Trip. (Mr. Faulk)

9. To receive a report from the Student Services Committee concerning the Committee Meeting held on September 20, 2010 and take appropriate action relative to the drug testing policy. (Mrs. Foil)

10. To receive a report from the Finance Committee concerning the Committee Meeting held on September 20, 2010 and take appropriate action relative to advertising by the school system. (Mr. Guilbeau)

11. To consider approval of additional staffing positions. (Mr. Faulk)

12. To consider approval of specifications and granting the staff permission to advertise for bids for the new Intercom System for Bellingrath Hills and Tanglewood Elementary Schools. (Mr. Faulk)

13. To consider approval of a Professional Services Agreement with MIS Technology Group. (Mr. Faulk)

14. To consider approval to renew the Annual Contract with Air-Nu for changing filters in all the Central Community Schools. (Mr. Faulk)

15. To consider approval of a resolution to prohibit school board members compensation until certain requirements for teachers salaries are achieved. (Mr. Starns)

16. To consider approval of an Addendum to the Pupil Progression Plan. (Mr. Faulk)

17. Construction Coordinator’s Report

18. Superintendent’s Report

19. Legal Adviser’s Report

20. Announcements

21. Adjourn

Pursuant to the requirements of La. R.S. 42:7, matters not included on the agenda posted at least 24 hours prior to the meeting will not be considered unless the school board members present vote unanimously to add the item to the agenda.

Submitted by Cindy Blanchard

I’m very excited to tell you about a program our school is participating in that can bring free books to all our classrooms. It’s called the SunnyD Book Spree, and the program will donate 20 books to every classroom that sends in 20 SunnyD UPC labels. The program will also award hundreds of books to the ten schools that collect the most labels. I hope you’ll support this worthy program by getting involved any way you can, whether it’s by telling friends, or saving labels for us. We want every classroom in our school to get their 20 books. And we’d love to win hundreds of books for our school library.  For more information, go to Sunnyd.com/bookspree. You can even track our school’s progress and see how many labels we’ve saved.  So thanks in advance for helping all our kids shine in school
Sincerely,
Cindy Blanchard

Submitted by Janee Allen

Central High yearbooks for the 2010-2011 school year are on sale now! Yearbooks may be purchased online any time at http://www.yearbookforever.com/ for $50. You may also order yearbooks at the school between October 11-29 in the front office. These yearbooks should be delivered in May, prior to the closing of school, with an additional yearbook supplement that will include graduation, Prom, and other late spring events that will be printed over the summer.
Senior ads are also on sale at this time, and can ONLY be purchased through Mrs. Allen at the school. Information and order forms will be posted on the CHS website in the coming days, or you can contact Mrs. Allen at jallen@centralcss.org with any questions or concerns.
Those who ordered yearbooks for the 2009-2010 school year should receive these in early October. We are waiting for them to ship from the printer at this time.
Also, we have OLD yearbooks (dating back to the early 80’s) available for $20. If you are interested in an old yearbook, please contact Mrs. Allen to see if we have the year you need!

Special thanks to EMCO Technologies, Mr. Mike Norenberg and Mr. Vaughan Bourgeois, for the short term use of walkie talkies.  At the present time Tanglewood Elementary is without an  intercom system.  We approached EMCO Technologies with the thought of borrowing these items.  These gentlemen did not hesitate to come to our need. Again, thanks to EMCO Technologies, 8900 South Choctaw Drive. Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70815.

By Dave Freneaux

The Student Services committee of the Central Community School Board met Monday night to deliberate and make recommendations to the full Board concerning drug testing in Central public schools.  The Committee has asked the Board to reinstate drug testing, but, at least temporarily, to cease using hair sampling as the testing method and rely solely on urinalysis.  The committee will recommend to the Board that the school system's policy on drug testing be considered and revised to allow for testing via hair sampling and to designate an appropriate school system postion to serve as the liason between the drug testing company, school system, parents and students.  The Committee also asks the board to have legal counsel request an opinion from the Attorney General as to whether all students involved in voluntary extra-curricular activities can legally be tested using hair sampling.
 
The reason for the request from the Attorney General is that the Central Community School System is on the "leading edge" of the effort to address the drug problem existing in all schools.  Very few public school systems in Louisiana, and even across the country, appear to have as comprehensive and aggressive an effort to identify and provide intervention for students who are using illegal drugs.  The Committee is asking that the school system proceed with a solid legal basis for the program.
 
The issue of using hair sampling became a problem when it was identified at last week's School Board meeting that some of the paperwork used to authorize the testing was flawed and that the use of hair sampling as a testing method was never approved by the School Board.  There seems to be little, if any, disagreement that drug testing is needed in the schools and that it will have a positive influence in the life of the Central community.  The challenge being addressed by the School System is simply to have a well defined policy and to administer it consistently.