Apex Middle

Dec. 5: Spotlight on Students breakfast. Drama performance at 7 p.m.

Dec. 6: Eighth-grade computer skills assessment test. Beta club inductions at 7 p.m.

Dec. 7: Jazz Band will perform at Cary Towne Center. Chorus will perform in the school auditorium at 7 p.m. • Sixth-graders will travel to the Renaissance Festival.

• Proctors are needed to help with the eighth-grade computer tests Nov. 29 and Dec. 6 from 8 to 10:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

• Co-chairs are needed to help with the school’s book fair and eighth-grade end-of-year celebration.

• Mystified by MySpace? A representative of the N.C. attorney general’s office will present an Internet safety video and distribute free resource guides to parents at the PTA meeting Nov. 30 from 7 to 8 p.m. The meeting is open to the public.

Baucom Elementary

The following students were recognized for the character trait of courage: Zoe Reid, Varsha Krishnakumar, Jake Pio, Rachael Cassidy, Sofia Leander, Rebecca Booker, Sarah Jane Ansbrow, Osvaldo Benitez, Abigail Ward, Alexa Ateshian, Jason McMorris, Genevieve Roby, Alexa Rodriguez, Philip Sosdian, BJ Ashley, Elisha Wellum, Tatiana Yuen, Luke Colwell, Michael Garry, Annika Pendergraph, Tristan Olyphant, Cassandra Pickard, Alex McClure, Shaan Gaurav, Aidan Todd, Dylan Innes, Christopher Booker, Brooke Courneen, Casie Fox, Aidan Peiz-Sherman, Isaac Peiz-Sherman, Mindy Yan, Nick Wrenn, Vanesa Rivera, Ryan Brandt, Dakala Ramseur, Erin Valdini, Shelby Jackson, Jacob Clemmons, Spencer Colwell and Deshawn Mangum.

Carpenter Elementary

Dec. 5-6: Book fair and student art show at Barnes & Noble in Cary.

Dec. 18: Chorus concert at Cary Towne Center in the center of the mall near Santa, 6:30 p.m.

GRACE Christian

Grace Christian School kicked off its basketball season on Saturday, Nov. 18, with its inaugural Blue-White Game. The Blue-White game opened with the middle school girls showing off their talent and skills. Melanie Martin, eighth grader, made the first basket of the night. They were followed by the middle school boys where Josh DeVoss, eighth grader, scored a buzzer-beating three-point shot from mid-court. The high school girls and boys were each given their turn to display their skills. It was a hard fought contest ending with a close score. Athletic Director Ben Weimar states “The Blue-White game was an overall success. It was a great night for our teams to showcase their skills and a great night for our fans to enjoy our great facility.” Grace fans were given the chance to enjoy the school’s new scoreboard along with new bleachers. Grace also released its new athletics logo at the game. The night ended with a pizza party hosted by Pepsi. Blue-White games are a longstanding tradition in the sports arena so that teams may build excitement and a fan base.

Holly Ridge Middle

Nov. 30: Sprit Night, 5-8 p.m. at Chick-fil-A, 1460 N. Main St. in Fuquay-Varina. HRMS will benefit from a percentage of sales during the specified time. You must present a form from Holly Ridge to benefit. Forms are available in the HRMS front office and will also be available at Chick-fil-A on Spirit Night.

Holly Springs Elementary

Dec. 7: O’Holly Night. This is our school’s winter carnival, with funds raised going back to the teachers for use in their classrooms. Pizza dinner, 5-7 p.m.; Santa, 5-6:30 p.m.; games, 5-7 p.m.; basket viewing, 5-7 p.m.; chorus performance, 6:30-7 p.m.; basket raffle, 7:30 p.m. Tickets are 50 cents each or 12 for $5. Game badges are $2 each. Tickets and badges will be on sale in the lobby before school the week of O’Holly Night and during O’Holly Night.

Oak Grove Elementary

Congratulations to Oak Grove Elementary for winning the Harris Teeter Together in Education and Carolina Hurricanes Challenge! Oak Grove will receive: a school pep rally with the Hurricanes, Stormy (the mascot), the cheerleaders, the Stanley Cup, a $500 donation from the Carolina Hurricanes to the school library as a commitment to literacy and other gifts and prizes from Harris Teeter, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Dairy Association.

Olive Chapel Elementary

Olive Chapel will host a Book Fair on Dec. 4-8. This annual event gives students and their families a chance to buy quality books and the profits go to buy new books and equipment for the media center. The Book Fair will be open on Monday, Dec. 4, from 5 to 7 p.m. and on Wednesday, Dec. 6, from 5 to 8:30 p.m.

• A PTA general meeting and winter concert will be held at Olive Chapel on Wednesday, Dec. 6, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the multipurpose room. The third-, fourth- and fifth-grade choruses will be performing after a brief PTA business meeting.

• Wednesday, Dec. 6, is Walk to School Wednesday at Olive Chapel.

• The Olive Chapel PTA Board Meeting will be held Thursday, Dec. 7, at 1 p.m. in the media center. Everyone is invited to attend.

• The Parent/Child Book Club will meet on Thursday, Dec. 7, from 7 to 8:15 a.m. in the media center. All interested fourth- and fifth-grade students are invited to attend with their parents. The book discussed that evening will be “Number the Stars” by Louis Lowry. A dessert related to the book will be served.

• The Olive Chapel School Improvement Team will meet on Thursday, Dec. 14, at 7:45 a.m. in the media center. All parents are invited to attend.

Penny Road Elementary

The N.C. Bluebird Society assisted in establishing a bird trail at Penny Road Elementary School and Park. Bill Satterwhite donated two bluebird houses and a mounting system to the project. Fred Benson, NCBS President of Cary, donated a Gilbertson bluebird house and is refurbishing a number of the existing bluebird houses. Fred Benson and John and Ann Sykes, Chairmen of the Penny Road PTA Building and Grounds Committee, surveyed the school property for suitable locations for additional birdhouses. Penny Road Elementary is a unique school in that it has a park including a pond, covered picnic shelter and walking trail. The bird trail will include small songbird houses, bluebird houses, woodpecker houses and owl houses. When school is not in session, the public may tour the grounds to view the bird trail.

Salem Middle

Congratulations to the following Salem Middle School Band students for making the All-County Band! This is a Salem record with regard to the number of students to make All-County Band. Ayla Goktan, Danny Khalil, Amanda Barnhart, Cathy Yuan, Kelsey Emel, Christian Sutherland, Ashley Kim, Jim Liao, Jessica Bone, Elizabeth Colhoun, Dylan Hale, Mariela Versola, Nathan Sapp, Brianna Lewis, J.P. Fisher, Scott Reynolds, Danyelle Wesselkamper, Myles Travitz, Nick Ciulla, Taylor Atherton, Matthew Hildner, Nick Gregory, Alex Strickler, Spencer Skakle, Andrea Robles, Ben Cohn, Ryan Block, Rebecca Merritt, Durham Cox and Eric Dekker.

• Sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade bands and jazz band are preparing an exciting concert to be performed Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. in the gym.

• The following students have been recognized by one or more of their teachers because they represent the character education trait of courage: Abby French, Alex Ruba, Ben Nelson, Brianna Heilsnis, Courtney May, DeKyan Dennis, Destiny Davis, Kenny Logsdon, Lindsay Carter, Matt Hall, Matthew Krombach, Michael Marion, Ramya Pandigunta, Sara Candore, Grant Pendergraft, James Haughney, Kari Henderson, Sean Donohue, Sophie Weston, Tyler Sink and Josh Clute.

• Kyle Halladay, a SMS student, has been selected by the Carolina Hurricanes to represent his team, community and state in the World Championship of Pee Wee Hockey in Quebec City, Canada, Feb. 7-18. This is an honor that only 18 young men in North and South Carolina have achieved. Congratulations Kyle!

Turner Creek Elementary

Mrs. Vello and Mrs. Satter’s second-grade class was the grand prize winner for the Back-to-School Classroom Reading Contest sponsored by Sylvan Learning, Book Adventure and Domino’s Pizza. By using the Book Adventure Web site, students took quizzes on and earned points for books they read. Parents and teachers came together to help provide the children with qualifying books and the students did the rest. By reading hundreds of books, the class averaged 1,612 points to become the winners in their grade group. More than 900 classes from the United States and Canada entered the contest. The elated class will receive an in-school pizza party from Domino’s Pizza including drinks and free delivery.