East Wilkes Middle School News
"Together we learn, lead, and succeed"
EWMS Says Goodbye to Mrs. Swaim
Mrs. Foster's Classes Create A Classroom Garden
Sixth Graders Visit Boone
EWMS Celebrates Merlefest!
Last Thursday, April 27th, Lydia Luce came to the middle school via Merlefest Outreach and performed for our students. Her beautiful voice and musical talent were enjoyed by all. Gohan W. asked her if it was hard to play the violin and she responded, "It's hard at first and there are a lot of techniques involved. If you don't want to play the violin and you have a horned instrument, you can still do rock music."
Then on Friday, the 8th grade class took a trip to Merlefest where they got to hear Lydia Luce again, onstage, with her band, as well as other performers such as Scythian, The Gravy Boys, and Darin & Brooke Aldridge. It was a beautiful day with lots of good music!
EWMS Students Perform at Merlefest 2017
East Wilkes Middle School students showed up and showed out at Merlefest over the weekend! It's amazing at the talent found at our school!
First up, Hallie Y., a 6th grader, submitted a 200-word essay to the Pete Wernick Bluegrass Camp and won a partial scholarship that allowed her to attend the week-long camp. Hallie said she, "enjoyed meeting new people, hanging with friends, and learning new things." She also wrote some of her own songs at camp. She has played the fiddle for about a year and a half, she plays the piano, and she just started learning the guitar at camp. This is her second year at Merlefest and she said she, "loved it! You become really close with everybody and guy a remembered me from last year!" Look for Hallie on the stage next year and at other bluegrass shows like the Galax Fiddler's Convention, Houstonfest, and Americana Day.
Chance M., also a 6th grader, was chosen out of many applicants to be a part of the Andy Mays Acoustic Kids Showcase. Chance started playing the guitar in June of 2016. He said his favorite part of Merlefest was, "playing Mays Pit in Thompson Hall with my grandpa, Rick Whitley, playing behind me." Chance got to see Sam Bush while he was there and said he would like to perform at Merlefest again. He has also played the guitar at Americana Day. We can't wait to see him at Merlefest next year!
Another 6th grader, Luke M., was also chosen to be a part of the Andy Mays Acoustic Kids Showcase. Luke has been playing the guitar for about four years or so and has played at the Galax Fiddlers Convention, Americana Day, Merlefest, and church events. His favorite part? "Playing guitar, and seeing my friends." He also had the opportunity to see James Taylor while at Merlefest. Luke said he hopes to get to play at Merlefest again next year. We are looking forward to seeing him there!
Austin B., a seventh grader, has been participating in Merlefest for the past three years. Austin plays the guitar and says his favorite part of Merlefest is, "playing and hearing the clapping afterward." His guitar teacher, Larry Skipper, runs the Acoustic Kids Showcase, which is how Austin got to be a part of the show. He has played at Galax Fiddlers Convention and Americana Day, as well, and hopes to be back at Merlefest next year.
6th grader, Presley B. took the stage several times throughout the weekend and wowed the audiences with his impressive guitar-picking skills! Presley said this was his 5th year at Merlefest. One of the things he likes to do is visit the Instrument Expo. He said, "It's pretty cool every year." When asked if this year, the 30th anniversary, was special in any way, he said, "I got to play with Brian Sutton on the Cabin Stage and Wayne Henderson on the Creekside Stage and that was cool!"
If you missed it, Presley also recently made an appearance on the NBC show, "Little Big Shots" with Steve Harvey. You can catch a video clip of The Salty Dogs' performance below. We are proud of Presley and look forward to seeing more of him on stage in the future!
Way to go Scorpion Musicians!
Whopper Ploppers Qualify for State Envirothon Competition!
Friends Volunteer At Car Wash Fundraiser For Local Family
8th Grade Visits Appalachian State University
East High Graduates Share College Experiences With The Middle School Students
Students at East Wilkes Middle shared their lunch time today with college students, Haley Hodges and Lauren Pardue. Both young ladies are East Wilkes graduates and both are sophomores in college.
Haley is a student at UNC-Chapel Hill majoring in Journalism with a concentration in graphic design and design editing. Lauren is a student at Gardner Webb University and majoring in nursing.
Haley and Lauren presented facts about their respective colleges and then shared what they were involved in, the struggles of their freshmen year, what they enjoy most about college life, and how to prepare for college while in high school and middle school. With the representation of two different size colleges, one public and one private, the young ladies emphasized to the students that although their campuses were very different, they were alike in many ways and they were both happy with their college choice.
Students asked lots of questions about both colleges and one of the most popular questions to Haley was, "Do you ever see any Carolina basketball players on campus?"
Scorpions Go To Washington!
East Wilkes Chorus Students Perform at North Carolina Music Educators Professional Development Conference
The East Wilkes Middle School 7th and 8th Grade Chorus had the honor of performing at the North Carolina Music Educators Professional Development Conference on November 7 at First Baptist Church of Winston Salem. East Wilkes Middle was one of two schools from the state who were invited to perform for this prestigious event, based upon high ratings they received from adjudication. Congratulations to these talented students!
EWMS Hosts Blood Drive
The American Red Cross was very appreciative and looks forward to future blood drives here at our school. Also, thanks to students who recruited donors and members of student council for hosting this event.
Scorpions truly make a difference!
East Wilkes Middle Golf Team Wins League
The East Wilkes Middle School golf team completed a perfect season with their victory at Oakwoods Golf Club on October 18th. The Scorpions along with the other 3 middle schools in the county completed just their second season as an official team, the other member of the league is Ashe County. The Scorpions were paced by Mason A. who finished the season earning medalist honors in all 5 matches.
Spelling Bee
EWMS Science Fair Winners
Overall Winners
**1st
EWMS
Will Eggstra Protein Produce Eggcellent Eggs
Robert M.
**2nd
EWMS
Which Road Surface has the Best Skid Resistance
Daniel D.
Grace L.
Technology and Engineering
**1st
EWMS
Which Road Surface has the Best Skid Resistance
Daniel D.
Grace L.
Physics
**2nd
EWMS
Where’s the Best Place to Store Popcorn
Sylvia P.
3rd
EWMS
RubberBands
Manny N.
Earth/Environmental
**1st
EWMS
Operation Clean H2O
Dylan W.
Camron S.
Chemistry
**1st
EWMS
Cake Bosses
Salem S.
Haley W.
Biological B
**1st
EWMS
Funky Flavor
Tristen B.
Madison C.
Riley S.
Biological A
**1st
EWMS
Will Eggstra Protein Produce Eggcellent Eggs
Robert M.
HM
EWMS
Sugary Sweet
Grady H.
Kole L.
EWMS Students Participate in NCMS Honors Chorus
East Wilkes Middle School had three students chosen to participate in the North Carolina Middle School Honors Chorus. These students were Austin B., Chandlar L., and Thomas R. They were chosen for this honor based upon high ratings from individual auditions. They performed in the honors chorus concert at the Stevens Center in Winston Salem on November 6 under the direction of Dr. Rollo Dilworth. Congratulations to these talented students!
EWMS Red Ribbon Week
East Wilkes Middle School celebrated living a drug-free life, Red Ribbon Week, from October 17th through Friday, October 21st. Students enjoyed learning about and exploring their Natural High, an extreme excitement that naturally occurs when someone participates in an enjoyable activity. Special events throughout the week included a luncheon with Fred Brason, founder and CEO of Project Lazarus; the creation of a fence banner; and a visit from Riley, the drug sniffing dog, and her handler, Sergeant Jason Delbert from the Wilkesboro Police Department. Students honored Officer “Kiki” Camerena, the officer for whom red ribbon week was created, and our local enforcement with thank you posters.
Pennies For Pasta
East Wilkes Middle School participated in a “Pennies For Pasta” campaign to raise money to help find a cure for leukemia. One of East Wilkes Middle School’s own, Manuel M., was diagnosed at the end of last school year with leukemia and is in Minnesota receiving treatments. Robin Shaw, from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, explained what leukemia is and how affects the body. She challenged each homebase to collect change in the boxes provided and offered the homebase with the most money a lunch courtesy of Olive Garden. East Wilkes Middle School exceeded their goal of $1,500.00 and raised a total of $2257.79!!! Way to go Scorpions!