Photos By Elizabeth Cantrell : Members of the Apache and Yakima tribes were at North Branch School in Afton on November 21 to tell the students about customs of their tribes during Native American Heritage Month. Pictured is an Apache in traditional clothing.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia
Students at North Branch School in Afton got a real treat last week when members of the Apache and Yakima Tribes stopped by their classrooms to tell students there about customs of their tribes. It was all part of Native American Heritage Month.

Students and teachers at North Branch School had an opportunity to look at animal skins and jewelry during a presentation by members of the Apache and Yakima tribes.

©2011 www.nelsoncountylife.com : Photos By Marcie Gates : Jesse Gates Hudson, a teacher at NBS, savors victory with her rubber chicken prize after winning The Great Tricycle Race of 2011 this past Friday.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia
Reading 700 books in one month is nothing to sneeze at! But thats exactly what the kids at North Branch School just did. Their reward? Teachers had to participate in The Great Tricycle Race of 2011! Katrien “Kat. A. Strophe” Vance, Michael “The Dominator” Donegan, Jessie “Gates-Smasher” Hudson, Jess “Four Leaf Cleaver” Tucker, Krista “Betty ClockHer” Crocker and Oscar “El Rey Triciclo” Cardenas all took place in the race.

They're off!

Michael Donegan falls over in an attempt to the finish line.

Oscar Cardenas looses control of his trike. Yikes!

Here’s a neat video NBS shot of the race. Click on the player to view.

Katrien Vance (left) and Krista Crocker making their way to the finish line!

Looks like Jesse had little doubt she would be the winner!

Not exactly Nascar, but not bad!

Congrats to the 92 students at NBS who read the 700+ books in just three weeks!

Way to go!

©2011 www.nelsoncountylife.com : All Photos By Hayley Osborne : Teachers, friends, and former students gather to plant a tree in memory of Earl Miller who once attended North Branch School.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia

You can’t go anywhere in Nelson County without someone telling you an Earl Miller story. And they are always good. Positive. Inspiring. We told you about Earl’s sad and tragic death here back in early October.

This past Sunday afternoon (10.30.11) friends, former teachers and students at North Branch School planted a tree in remembrance of Earl Miller.

Raven Holland Curtis, a long time friend of Earl Miller, takes a turn digging the hole for a memorial tree planted in his memory at North Branch School this past Sunday afternoon in Afton.

“He was my book buddy. A wonderfully nice person,” one former student of North Branch told us. We continue hearing the same sorts of stories all across the county.

Friends and former students place dirt around the tree remembering Earl Miller a previous student at North Branch School.

After the tree was planted, friends took turns speaking in remembrance, and singing a couple of songs in Earl Miller's memory.

The newly planted tree is now a permanent marker for future generations and students at North Branch School.

Photos By Marcie Gates : ©2011 www.nelsoncountylife.com : Jennifer Stuart (left) vocalist for the band The Design, dances it up on stage with soloist and musician, Sally Rose at the 2011 Bandfair held this past weekend at Cardinal Point Vineyard & Winery.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia
For nine years in a row Bandfair has been held at Cardinal Point Vineyard & Winery. We’ve sponsored and covered several of them in the past. It’s one of the larger fundraisers for North Branch School. The 2011 Bandfair9 was a total success with perfectly cooperating weather. NCL Contributing writer, Marcie Gates, a NBS alumni, put down the pen and picked up the camera this past Saturday to grab a few shots while there.

Members of The Design chill out waiting on their turn to take the stage at Bandfair 2011.

Youngsters play at Bandfair 2011 this past Saturday afternon at Cardinal Point Vineyard & Winery.

Kathryn & Michael Bertoni of Appalachia Star Farm here in Nelson, enjoy a cool CP white wine during Bandfair 2011.

Kate Rutherford has a lighthearted moment with one of her children at Bandfair9 2011.

Sally Rose took a break between songs to give Marcie Gates, a North Branch Alumni, a lift up!

The event held annually features a long list of musical talent that stretches for the entire day!

See you next year at Bandfair10 !

Photos Courtesy of NBS: JMU staff and students raise an anemometer tower this past Thursday at North Branch School in Afton.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia
James Madison University staff and students were back at North Branch School again this past week to put up an anemometer tower. We first told you about the beginning phases of a study back in November of 2010. That was the first step of a process that might eventually allow NBS to have their own wind turbine at the school.

“The anemometer tower will be set up temporarily as part of the national Wind for Schools program. JMU’s Center for Wind Energy administers the program for the state of Virginia. North Branch students will collect and graph wind speed data as part of the science curriculum for the 2011-2012 school year,” Bonnie Holliday of NBS tells Nelson County Life.

A JMU engineer adjusts the anemometer that is atop the tower at NBS.

NBS students hold up anemometers to catch the wind current while Remy Luersson, Director of the Virginia Center for Wind Energy at JMU explains the process.

North Branch School on the web: www.north-branch-school.org

Photos By Marcie Gates : ©2011 www.nelsoncountylife.com : Audrey Wood, a 7th grader at North Branch School, reads her letter that was one of only six picked in a national competition of 69,000.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia
Just 6 in the country were picked. Audrey Wood of Waynesboro, a student at North Branch School, was one of them. To boot, NBS will be getting a $10,000 Reading Promotion Grant from Target Stores. Audrey picked her school to receive the grant money.

The competition was part of Letters About Literature. The program is sponsored by the Library of Congress and Target Stores.

In selecting Audrey’s letter to J.M. Barrie, author or Peter Pan, judges wrote that her letter had “grace and insight. She began with magic, explained gracefully how the magic of Peter Pan was part of her childhood with her grandparents, and then carried the feeling of magic through to her present life. Her images were lovely,” said Susan Coleman, Director with The Virginia Center for the Book and the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. They administer the Virginia state program.

Click on the image above to read Audrey's winning letter.

Audrey (right) was all smiles after receiving her award from Catherine Gourley, National Director of Letters About Literature.

More information on Letters About Literature can be found at: lettersaboutliterature.org

Photo By Tommy Stafford : ©2010 www.nelsoncountylife.com Monica Pangle (left) Administrative Asst. with JMU's VA Center for Wind Energy and Remy Luerssen - Dir. of Education and Outreach for the center talk to North Branch students about wind energy.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia
Students at North Branch School got the chance in mid-November to learn all about wind energy. And they may get the chance to have their very own wind turbine to generate electricity in the near future. “We’re talking to the kids about the process we’re going to take in a couple of weeks where we are going to put a meteorological tower up here on the campus to measure the wind speeds. If the wind speeds are good and the school thinks it’s worth the money, to put up a wind turbine we will help them do that,” said Remy Luerssen, the Director of Education and Outreach for the VA Center for Wind Energy at James Madison University.

Students at North Branch were shown an actual wind turbine loaned by EcoTecture (VirginiaTurbine.com- owned by Steve Crandall of Roseland.

“Eventually if we have enough wind we’d like to work towards getting a wind turbine,” says Bonnie Holliday with North Branch School.

“In a couple of weeks where we are going to put a meteorological tower up here on the campus to measure the wind speeds,” Remy adds.

Remy shows a device that measures wind and how much energy it can generate.

“When a wind turbine goes up it will generate electricity for the school. It will help them with their electric bill a little bit, but more than that it’s going to be educational for the students to have cool technology like this on their campus to learn about alternative energy,” Remy continues.

The temporary meteorological tower will stay up for 6-12 months then a decision about and actual wind turbine will be made.

Photo By NBS : ©2010 www.nelsoncountylife.com : Middle School students at North Branch School represent explorers as they seek to determine “Who Really Discovered America.” Front row: Lawson Johnson, Audrey Wood, Dalton Tipler, Adrian Green, Katrien Vance. Back row: Ben Chambers, Dakota Crocker, Tess Kendrick, Addy Willett, Louise Ferrall, Stephen Tuso.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia
Special to NCL
By Bonnie Holliday

“Who really discovered America?” That was the question posed to the 5th and 6th grade classes at North Branch School on Wednesday, September 22, by the North Branch 7th and 8th graders. The middle school students, dressed in period costumes represented a variety of explorers, all claiming to be the person who really discovered America. While listening to the claims of Hoei Shin of China, Brendan the Bold of Ireland, a Norse trader named Bjarni Herjulfsson, Viking explorer Leif Ericson, Prince Madoc of Wales, Christopher Columbus who sailed on behalf of Spain, and Chief Howling Wind of the Cree Nation, the 5th and 6th graders took notes and asked questions.

Much of the discussion surrounded the definition of “discover,” as the students portraying explorers each defined the word in terms that strengthened their cases. It was up to the younger students to decide if Herjulfsson’s claim of having seen but not come ashore upon the new land trumped the claim of Leif Ericson who used Herjulfsson’s map to reach Newfoundland and the area that is now Cape Cod. Hoei Shin’s student attorney, who helped to make his case, claimed that the Native Americans had not discovered America when they migrated across the Bering Strait because they had not realized that what they were seeing was new nor did they tell anyone about it.

The majority of the 5th and 6th grade audience agreed with Chief Howling Wind, portrayed by Dalton Tipler, that the Native Americans discovered America.

When the cases were closed and the 5th and 6th graders’ many questions answered, the polling took place. While Hoei Shin and Leif Ericson garnered several votes and Bjarni Herjulfsson and Prince Madoc had a few supporters, the majority of students sided with Chief Howling Wind’s claim that the Native Americans really discovered America.

“This unit is one of my favorites,” said 7th and 8th grade Humanities teacher, Katrien Vance, who portrayed Bjarni Herjulfsson. “Each student has to research the topic in depth in order to make a strong case on behalf of the explorer. They also have to be able to field the tough questions asked by the 5th and 6th graders. It gives them a chance to use resources, assimilate and organize information, and think on their feet.”

North Branch School in Afton was founded in1983 and enrolls students in preschool-8th grade.

North Branch School on the web: http://northbranchschool.wordpress.com/

Photos By Yvette Stafford : ©2010 www.nelsoncountylife.com : Kids enjoy the annual cakewalk at the 2010 Band Fair-8 which benefits North Branch School. Click any image to enlarge.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia
A little rain didn’t squash this year’s Band Fair held at Cardinal Point Vineyard & Winery. It’s the 8th year running the event has been held to help raise money for North Branch School in Afton.

As always, face painting is a big hit!

Lots of different bands played throughout the daylong event.

In addition to live entertainment and great food, folks enjoyed great wines from Cardinal Point!

Here’s a little bit of video shot by North Branch of the popular cakewalk!

You can see lots more from the 2010 Band Fair 8 by heading on over the North Branch School’s website:
http://northbranchschool.wordpress.com/2010/05/23/a-rainy-band-fair-but-there-was-cake-and-singing/

Event Date: Thursday 25th of March 2010 07:00 PM

Location/Address: North Branch School/221 Mickens Road, Afton, VA

Contact Telephone Please call 540-456-8450 for more information

This post was submitted by North Branch School.

Photo By NBS : ©2010 www.nelsoncountylife.com : Mason Rothenberger (4th from left) and her classmates at North Branch School show some of the shoes they collected for school children in Afghanistan.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia
By Bonnie Holliday

“Where are my shoes?” This familiar cry is heard in homes throughout Central Virginia. For the past few weeks; however, students at North Branch School in Afton have been asking this question to make sure they remembered to bring gently used shoes and socks to school as part of a Shoe Drive for school children in Afghanistan. During a school-wide assembly, 5th grade student, Jay Rothenberger, asked his classmates, classmates of his sister Mason, age 6, and any other school family interested, to help his church collect shoes and socks for children in Kabul. St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Scottsville had learned of the need through parishioner, Cathy Russo.

While serving in Afghanistan, her son, Lt. Matt Russo, visited an elementary school in Kabul. Lt. Russo found a school with no heat, broken windows, and a playground consisting of two swing sets but no swings. The children were wearing sandals although the temperature was below freezing. In correspondence with his mother, Lt. Russo, said, “These children who have so little in a war torn country are so anxious to come to school and educate themselves as a way out of war and poverty. Anything we can do will be greatly appreciated.”

Lt. Matt Russo with school children in Afghanistan.

Jay, Mason, and their friends collected approximately 60 pairs of shoes and boots and over 30 pairs of socks to send with the collection from St. Anne’s to the children in Kabul. “I wanted to let people at my school know so we could get more socks and shoes for the kids in Afghanistan,” said Jay, age 11. “They have to walk to school in sandals when it is 20 degrees outside.”

Fifth and sixth grade North Branch teacher, Michael Donegan, used the stories and pictures of the students in Kabul to further his students’ study of Afghanistan and surrounding countries. His North Branch class was surprised to learn that only 1 out of every 5 girls attend school in Afghanistan and that Afghan teachers make approximately $38 a month.

North Branch School on the web: http://northbranchschool.wordpress.com/

Photo Courtesy NBS : ©2009 www.nelsoncountylife.com : Zachary Gardiner, Head Teacher Charlotte Zinsser Booth, Alyssa Santoro-Adajian, Science teachers Toni Ranieri and Maggie Buchanan, and Tess Kendrick hold the Virginia Naturally plaque and sign received by North Branch School.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia

North Branch School is one of only five schools in the Commonwealth to receive the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ Virginia Naturally School Recognition Award for all ten years the program has been in effect. Schools receiving this recognition have demonstrated exemplary efforts to promote good stewardship of Virginia’s natural resources. Virginia Naturally Schools must meet specific requirements, which increase with each successive year a school achieves this recognition. To celebrate this milestone, on November 20 North Branch School was awarded a sign acknowledging their achievement.

In their application for the 2008-2009 school year, North Branch School outlined the units of study about nature and the service efforts that all of the students, preschool – 8th grade, enjoy. Projects for the 2008-2009 year included, planting and harvesting the school’s gardens, feeding, identifying, and graphing sightings of birds, wildflower walks with the Wintergreen Nature Foundation, building mini-greenhouses, maintaining the school’s nature trail and outdoor classroom, geology lessons with a field trip to Grand Caverns, and stream monitoring as part of the Chesapeake Bay Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience. In May, North Branch’s middle school students spent several days on the Chesapeake Bay, learning about the Bay’s habitat and ecosystems through the programs of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Local groups, such as the Blue Ridge Sierra Club, RiverFest of Waynesboro, and the Wintergreen Nature Foundation helped to underwrite this hands-on field study.

Last school year was a time of education in green building for North Branch students and staff as they observed the construction of the school’s new annex. This building, opened in September 2009, is insulated with natural cotton fiber insulation and integrates radiant floor heating and south-facing passive solar elements. Sun tubes bring natural light into the north-facing rooms.

For more information about the Virginia Naturally Recognition Program, visit the Virginia Naturally website: www.VaNaturally.com For more information about the environmental stewardship efforts of North Branch School, please call 540-456-8450 or email the school at: info@north-branch-school.org

Event Date: Friday 4th of December 2009 08:30 AM

Location/Address: 221 Mickens Road, Afton

Contact Telephone Please call 540-456-8450 for more information

This post was submitted by North Branch School.

Photos By Yvette Stafford : ©2009 www.nelsoncountylife.com : The kids of North Branch School pose in front of their new annex Friday afternoon. It's the first major addition to the school since it's beginning in 1983.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia
After months of construction the ribbon was finally cut on new annex at North Branch School (NBS) this past Friday afternoon. The new building will house 5th through 8th grade students and a language computer lab. “There’s still space I don’t know how to use. So it’s an amazing, it feels great to go from I didn’t have a room last year to having this huge room now,” says Michael Donegan, 5th and 6th grade and art teacher at NBS since 1999.

Construction started on the annex about one year ago and was finished several weeks ago before the actual dedication.

Michael Donegan in his new classrom at North Branch School.

Jim Gates, (far right) cuts the ribbon on the annex building he constructed. Gates' past and present children attend NBS.

Lawson Johnson, a middle schooler at NBS, grabs his books from the new shelving in North Branch's new annex.

North Branch’s enrollment is about 90 students for the 2009-2010 school year.

On the web at: http://northbranchschool.wordpress.com/about/

Photo courtesy of NBS : ©2009 www.nelsoncountylife.com : Zachary Gardiner and Elena are two of 70 students at North Branch School who read The Very Hungry Caterpillar as part of the national program Read for the Record.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia

By Bonnie Holliday

Last week students at North Branch School teamed with people across the country in an attempt to break the world record for reading the same book–The Very Hungry Caterpillar–on the same day.  The annual event, called “Read for the Record,” is organized by Jumpstart, an organization whose programs help at-risk preschoolers get the “jumpstart” they need for academic success.  North Branch School has participated in “Read for the Record” each of the 3 years it has occurred, and each time the school helped break the existing record. This year, the Read for the Record goal was 688,000 readers.

Seventy students at North Branch not only read the beloved story by Eric Carle but also used it as a jumpstart for their own lessons. After the middle school students read one-on-one with the preschoolers, the school’s youngest students made caterpillar-shaped bread with pretzel antenna. Fifth and sixth grade students read to Early Primary class. The five-year-olds then created a paper mosaic replica of the cover art of the book. The students in Primary I took the caterpillar and his appetite with them to math class, where they counted and graphed all the fruits, foods, and leaves that the caterpillar consumed. In the Primary II class emerging and independent reader took turns reading the story to each other. This group was especially excited to read about the caterpillar that turns into a butterfly since they have been caring for and studying monarch caterpillars this fall. To date, 13 monarch butterflies released by the class are now enjoying the gardens at the school. The Junior classes at North Branch read the Spanish version, La Oruga Muy Hambrienta, during Spanish class. According to Head Teacher, Charlotte Zinsser Booth, this activity reinforced known sight words and introduced new words in Spanish to these language students.

North Branch School preschool teacher, Jennifer Stuart, prepares to serve caterpillar bread as part of the school's Read for the Record activities on October 8.

“This entire project is a good example of how our teachers integrate lessons and create opportunities for their students to experience a subject on many levels,” said Zinsser Booth. “In this instance, not only are the children joining with thousands of other students across the country as they attempt to break the record, but they are using the book as a springboard for art, science, math and language activities.”

The Early Primary class at North Branch School created a mosaic of the cover art for The Very Hungry Caterpillar as part of the school's Read for the Record activities last week.

For the students the story was key. Early Primary teacher, Regina Stewart, gathered her class of enthusiastic 5-year-olds in a circle and asked her students what they liked best about reading the book. Several hands shot in the air immediately. “When he turned into a butterfly,” said both Sophie Bridge and Mason Rothenberger. Randall Gardiner liked when the caterpillar got fat. “I liked when we took turns reading with each other,” declared Luke Vance. A lively discussion then ensued as the students debated the funniest food that the caterpillar ate. Factions for salami, chocolate cake were well represented, but in the end the lollipop was declared the funniest food eaten by The Very Hungry Caterpillar.