School-level geography bees were held across the country in January, including at Bailey Middle and Woodlawn.  Find out about the local “geo bee” winners below.

In other news, did you know a new state law has updated the curriculum for how sex ed is taught to 7th-9th graders?  That was part of the discussion at Tuesday’s workshop on talking to teens about sex.  We have a report below, plus a school events calendar listing Friday’s big hoops game at Davidson Day, Saturday’s defending champion IB team at the state Future Cities competition, and next week’s barefoot coaching of a boys game at Cannon.

GEO BEE WINNERS

Q. After the United States and France, which island country generates the most power from nuclear energy?

Both Schuyler Beltrami of Bailey Middle and Taylor Scott of Woodlawn School were able to correctly answer “Japan” on their way to becoming the 2010 Geo Bee champs at their respective schools.

Taylor Scott

“I just shook my head,” said Taylor’s mother, Janet, who watched her daughter answer her way through the finals of the Woodlawn bee.  “I asked her how she knew that and she said she was thinking of China, but knew it wasn’t an island.”  And that reasoning led Taylor to the correct answer of Japan.

The school-level bees, which took place across the country earlier this month, are part of the 22nd annual National Geographic Bee.  Students answered oral questions about United States geography, cities, states, continents and more as part of the bee, which is designed to produce a single winner from each participating school.  That winner then takes a written test and may qualify for the state-level bee, to be held April 9.  The national championships will be held in Washington, D.C., moderated by “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek.

Schuyler Beltrami

Schuyler, an 8th grader, said he has watched broadcasts of Mr. Trebek hosting national bees and realized he sometimes knew the answers to the questions.

The son of John and Dawn Beltrami of Cornelius, Schuyler said his interest in geography started with an electronic globe gift he received as a child.  He also loves to read books about European history and has traveled with his parents to Europe.

The Bailey Geo Bee was offered to participants in the school’s Friday morning Geo Bee Club, led by 6th grade social studies teacher Adam Volk.  The runner up for Bailey was 6th grader Evyatar Hashmonay of Huntersville.

Taylor, who lives in the River Run neighborhood of Davidson and is the daughter of Mike and Janet Scott, won at the class level in order to advance to the school finals.  The top three finalists in the Woodlawn bee were all Davidson residents.  After Taylor were: seventh grader John Wacker in 2nd place, and 8th grader Bradford Weir in 3rd place.  The bee is coordinated by middle school history teacher Beth Schaffner.

WORKSHOP DRAWS A CROWD

“Think now about what values you want to encourage in your child … and talk about it now.”

That was part of the message Natasha Marcus promoted at Tuesday’s workshop “Speaking of Sex: How to talk with your middle and high school students.”

Natasha Marcus held up a drawing of the kind of face a parent should NOT make when a child asks a question about sex.

Marcus, a parent of daughters at both Bailey Middle and Davidson Elementary, addressed an audience of about 50 at the workshop, sponsored by the Bailey Parent-Teacher Association.  Marcus said the workshop was funded through a grant from the state PTA, which is seeking to prepare parents for recent legislative changes in North Carolina’s sex education curriculum.

In June, the state General Assembly passed the Healthy Youth Act, which allows school districts to move from an “abstinence only” based curriculum, to one that gives more comprehensive instruction to 7th-9th graders.  The act specifically allows discussion of how to prevent pregnancies and how to reduce the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease.

Ms. Marcus did not focus on those hot topics, but rather encouraged parents to keep open communication lines with their children and remember that “families matter, a lot.”  She said surveys of teens show that they want to hear more from their parents about such things as what is a healthy sexual relationship and what would happen if you got pregnant too young.

“Most middle schoolers are confused about the mechanics of sex, and even what counts as sex,” she said.

She also shared statistics for teen pregnancy in Mecklenburg County.  In 2008, 35 girls between the ages of 10 and 14 became pregnant.  That number jumped to 1,844 for girls ages 15-19 in the same year.

DAVIDSON DAY HOOPS HIGHLIGHTS

Davidson Day’s boys and girls basketball teams will be hosting basketball powerhouse United Faith for games Friday.  Click here to see our preview, “DDS hosts defending state champ,”  and find out which players on the court have signed for what Div. I colleges.

SCHOOL APPLICATION SEASON

School registration is now underway for local charters, private schools and the public Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district.  Click here to see our previous coverage of what you need to know to register your child.

SCHOOL CALENDAR

• FRIDAY, JAN. 22 – Davidson Day basketball hosts the top-ranked United Faith of Charlotte.  Girls varsity play at 6 p.m., followed by the boys at 7:30 p.m.
• SATURDAY, JAN. 23 – The Davidson IB Middle Future Cities team will be in Raleigh seeking to defend their state champ title.  (See our coverage of last year’s team, “Future Cities competition.”) Good Luck, Dragons!
• MONDAY, JAN. 25 – No classes for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools due to a teacher work day.
• THURSDAY, JAN. 28 – Davidson IB Middle will host an open house for prospective students, starting at 10 a.m.   Families will be able to hear a presentation about the IB program and tour the school.
  

  Elizabeth Rubens of Davidson is coordinating Cannon's "barefoot basketball" event

• FRIDAY, JAN. 29 – Basketball coaches nationwide, including those in the Cannon vs. Providence Day game, will be coaching in their bare feet as part of a nationwide effort by nonprofit Samaritan’s Feet to send 100,000 pairs of shoes to Haiti.  Coordinating Cannon’s “Barefoot for Barefeet”event is Elizabeth Rubens, a junior from Davidson.
• SUNDAY, JAN. 31 – Application forms are due at Community School of Davidson for the registration lottery for 2010.
• MONDAY, FEB. 8 - Deadline for the CMS magnet programs application lottery. Click here to get to the CMS Magnet Programs website.
• THURSDAY, Feb. 18 – Open house, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.,  for families of prospective students at McKinney Academy.  Parents can also call 704-895-9664 to schedule a tour.

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Send calendar items and press releases about local school news to us at: lauriedennis@bellsouth.net