Lexington Middle School | May 8 | 10:40 – 11:25 a.m. in the Media Center

Lexington Middle School | May 9 | 11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. in the Media Center

Lexington Middle School | May 10 | 12:20 – 1:05 p.m. in the Media Center

Extended Day School/Teen Parent Program | May 21 | 10:15 – 11:05 a.m. in the Conference Room

Welcome Elementary | May 29 | 12 noon in the AIG Room

Silver Valley Elementary | June 6 | TBA

Andy Morris has been meeting with his lunch buddy, Dylan, for two years. In that time the two have grown close and learned from one another.

So when he was asked to join Communities In Schools of Lexington/Davidson County as a “lunch buddy” two years ago, he jumped at the chance.

“Sometimes all a child wants is for someone to listen and just be there for them,” said Morris, a real estate broker who also serves as a commissioner for the Town of Denton.

“I think most adults are terrified of talking to children,” he added, suggesting that this probably keeps many potential mentors from taking the leap. “What do I do? What do I say? What will they expect? What if I don’t know the answer?”

But Morris’ relationship with his lunch buddy, Dylan, is evidence that mentoring isn’t as scary as some would imagine.

“Most often Dylan likes to go to the media center. And if it’s a nice day outside he likes to go to the playground,” said Morris. “Mostly, he likes to look at books and we spend time talking about the books or magazines he selects.”

Morris said that since he began working with Dylan, he’s seen a positive change in the Denton Elementary School third grader.

“I think behavior is the biggest improvement. He has always been a good student who gets the lessons and understands the work,” he said. “I see his level of maturity improving. I enjoy seeing children grow, asking better questions.”

Darrin Loflin, site coordinator for the Communities In Schools program at Denton Elementary, said he can see the effect Morris has had on Dylan.

“Mr. Morris has really influenced him to make good decisions. Whenever Dylan starts to make a decision that might not be a right decision, I’ll ask him, ‘What do you think Mr. Morris would say?’ and he says, ‘Oh I might need to think about that.’”

Loflin said Morris has also shown Dylan the value education can have long after receiving a diploma.

“Mr. Morris has allowed Dylan to see there’s more out there than just working minimum wage type jobs.”

While he may have taught Dylan a lot in the two years they have been together, Morris said Dylan has taught him even more about life.

“Dylan teaches me patience and to appreciate the small things that I daily take as a given in life. Sometimes Dylan likes to tell me about school or activities at home, and some days he is very quiet and gives very little of himself. Those are the days when he teaches me patience and persistence.”

The Hot Flash Players donated a portion of the proceeds from their performance of "On Golden Pond" to support the Backpack Program.

But another part of their mission is donating a portion of the proceeds from each show to a local charity or nonprofit agency. Communities In Schools of Lexington/Davidson County was lucky enough to receive a donation for the Backpack Program from the company’s performance of “On Golden Pond” last fall.

“With every show that we do we designate a charity. We had just heard about the Backpack Program and to be honest, it just breaks my heart to think that little kids don’t have enough to eat,” said Brenda Sanders, one of the founding members of the Hot Flash Players. “It was a unanimous decision to donate to the Backpack Program from that performance.”

The Hot Flash Players will stage “Red Velvet Cake War” later this month. For details on the show and to purchase tickets, call 236-8007.

Sandra Smith has been meeting with her lunch buddy, Emily, for just over a year.

Sandra Smith knows it doesn’t take much to make a child feel special; just a few encouraging words and a shared book or two usually does the trick. She also knows that simply feeling special can be the first step to a lifetime of success.

“She is doing things she thought she couldn’t do,” Smith said of her lunch buddy, Emily, a Kindergartner at South Lexington Primary School. “She is consciously trying to make good choices and interact positively with her classmates. She is working hard with her schoolwork.”

For just over a year, Smith has been meeting with Emily weekly to play games, read books, and talk.

“We talk a lot about making good choices and respecting others. Lately we have been spending time writing and illustrating stories with her class. They recently had a writing celebration and I was pleased to be invited along with parents and grandparents.

“The children stood up in front of everyone and read the story they had written. At first Emily was afraid and did not want to participate, but she found the courage to do it and she did a great job. I was so proud of her.”

Smith got involved with Communities In Schools of Lexington/Davidson County after her two granddaughters, whom she had cared for during the day while their parents worked, started school. She chose to work with a student Emily’s age based on her experience as an elementary school teacher.

“I now had time and I decided to become involved,” she said. “This is such a pleasure. Mentoring is a chance to make a difference in a child’s life just by being a friend. Whenever I go to visit, I am rewarded by Emily’s smile and hugs when I leave. I love to watch (children her age) reach milestones in their development and see their satisfaction in their accomplishments. I enjoy their spontaneity and their enthusiasm.”

The most rewarding thing about being a mentor, Smith said, is seeing Emily progress academically, socially, and at home. She encourages others to experience the same joy and satisfaction.

“There are so many students who need a special friend. It is so rewarding to feel that you are there for that student, to talk to them, to encourage them, to give them one-on-one attention, and to let them know that you really care about them.”

Communities In Schools program director, Jamie Davis will host Open Mentor Training Sessions on March 14 at 12 noon and 4 p.m. The sessions are free and open to the public and will take place at the CIS main office (6 E. 4th St., Lexington, NC).

Each new CIS mentor is required to take part in a one-hour training session conducted by one of our staff members. The session covers basic information about the CIS program, expectations for mentors, and tips and tricks on how best to interact with your new lunch buddy.

If you or someone you know would like to become a CIS mentor but can’t make the session on March 14, please call 242-1520 or email CIS@triad.rr.com. Sessions may be scheduled on-location and on an as-needed basis.

Higher attendance paired with exciting auction items made Snow Ball for Children 2012 our most successful fundraiser yet!

Now that we’ve had a chance to crunch the numbers, we’re jumping for joy in the Communities In Schools of Lexington/Davidson County main office! We’re ecstatic to be able to report that Snow Ball for Children 2012 was our most successful fundraiser to date, bringing in nearly $50,000 and attracting a record 240 people to the Lexington Municipal Club on Feb. 25.

Not only did our supporters bring their dancing shoes and hungry stomachs, they brought their generosity and love for the children served by Communities In Schools with basic necessities and companionship on a daily basis.

Snow Ball for Children is the largest source of annual income for Communities In Schools of Lexington/Davidson County. With the proceeds from this event, we sustain 36 programs in 24 schools in the Lexington and Davidson County school systems. We facilitate relationships between nearly 400 mentor/student pairs and we provide thousands of additional students each year with the supplies they need to achieve in school, and therefore in life.

Read more about the programs Snow Ball for Children supports.

Please visit Facebook.com/CISofLexDav to see more photos from Snow Ball for Children.

Spotlight on Mentoring – December

Sylvia and Lynn Upchurch with T.J. (left) and Chandler (right). The Upchurch's have been working with their fifth-grade mentees since last March.

Lynn and Sylvia Upchurch are getting used to losing at checkers.

“If I don’t keep my eyes on him, he beats me,” said Lynn Upchurch, considering his next move carefully before reaching out to slide a black game piece into an adjacent square.

“They teach us how to play,” laughed Sylvia Upchurch without looking away from the checker board in front of her.

Their opponents, Chandler and T.J., are both fifth graders at Hasty Elementary School in Thomasville. The four have been bonding over weekly, post-lunch games since March.

“Our church (Shady Grove United Methodist, where Lynn is the senior pastor) had brought backpacks of school supplies to Hasty and we learned that they were in need of adults to be lunch buddies,” said Sylvia Upchurch, who works as a nurse at Forsyth Medical Center. “What began as an opportunity to help a child has become a huge blessing in our lives.”

The Upchurch’s say visiting Chandler and T.J. at Hasty is the highlight of their week.

“We can’t wait to get to school each week to spend time with the boys. Last year they were in separate classes but this year they are in the same room so all four of us eat together,” said Lynn Upchurch. “We read, play games and work puzzles, but their favorite thing is checkers.”

Asked how it made him feel to be able to beat an adult at a game like checkers, Chandler grinned and said it felt “very good.”

Chandler (front left) and T.J. (back right) are fierce competitors when it comes to checkers, the Upchurch's say.

“Spending this kind of time together gives us the opportunity to find out what is going on in their lives, to support them with tough issues and to celebrate the great times in their lives,” said Sylvia Upchurch. “Recently we were able to attend their D.A.R.E. graduation and we were so proud of both of them.”

According to Sylvia Upchurch, she and her husband are two of seven total members of Shady Grove who serve as mentors with Communities In Schools.

“Being a CIS mentor is definitely a way you can impact the life of a child, but the blessings you receive in return are beyond measure,” she said.

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CIS is part of the nation’s largest stay-in-school network, helping young people stay in school, successfully learn, and prepare for life by connecting needed community resources with schools. Founded in 1997, CIS of Lexington/Davidson County currently serves 23 schools in both the Lexington City and Davidson County School systems.  If you would like to become a Lunch Buddy and mentor a student in need, please download a Mentor Application today.

Students from Lexington Sr. High School visited Appalachian State University on Nov. 30.

On Nov. 30, students from Lexington Senior High School traveled west to battle freezing temperatures for an Appalachian State University campus tour.

Martika Byers, site coordinator for LSHS, Arthur Johnson, graduation coach at LSHS, and Chevon Burton, director of the Project Potential program at LSHS, accompanied 34 sophomores, juniors and seniors on the trip. All the students were handpicked based on their GPA and interest in attending college after graduating from high school.

Byers said many of the students were impressed by the ASU campus and plan to apply.

“The biggest selling point for the students was the cost of attendance and the fact that you don’t have the buy books. You rent them for only $104 per semester,” she said.

View more photos from their trip at Facebook.com/CISofLexDav.

Paula (left) and Ali (center) enjoy spending time with their mentor, Rebecca Hoppensteadt. The retired homemaker and active community volunteer spends time each week with the girls discussing books, school and life.

When Paula, a freshman at South Davidson High School, walked into the school’s designated Communities In Schools meeting room one recent Thursday morning, she looked positively defeated.

“I froze up on my science test,” she told Rebecca Hoppensteadt, her mentor of nearly four years, who had immediately gotten to her feet to greet Paula and find out what was wrong.

While Paula explained how she had studied for hours the night before but to no avail when she discovered the questions on the test weren’t phrased in a way that made sense to her, Hoppensteadt listened carefully and offered kind words of encouragement.

“I have always had a heart for volunteering, especially with young people. I hope that I am able to help them be more successful in school and to make good decisions in life. If nothing else, I hope to just let them know they are special and that someone cares about them,” Hoppensteadt later said.

She and her husband, Alan, have dedicated a combined 15 years to serving children in need as mentors with Communities In Schools of Lexington/Davidson County. In that time, they’ve touched the lives of more than a few children, including the two boys and two girls they are each currently working with at SDHS.

“Many of these children do not have role models that have been somewhat successful. They often come from homes that do not place a high value on education,” said Alan Hoppensteadt, who added that he enjoys starting out with middle school students so that he has the opportunity to stay with them all the way through high school. “It’s all about the kids. For the most part the kids who want to get involved in CIS are looking for help so it’s a good opportunity to have a positive impact on a young person. I think your influence grows over the years as they hopefully see that what you tell them really works.”

Billy, a junior at SDHS, who started working with Hoppensteadt as an eighth grader, said he enjoys having someone to talk to who can help out with homework.

Alex, a sophomore who’s been with Hoppensteadt since the seventh grade,

Alan Hoppensteadt (center) helps his mentees, Billy and Alex with their schoolwork and tries to set good life examples by telling them stories about himself.

said his favorite part about having a mentor is hearing about all the things Hoppensteadt has done and seen in his life.

“I think all schools should have a CIS program because some kids don’t have a good support system and need a little extra push,” said Ali, a junior who has been with Rebecca Hoppensteadt for four years. “She keeps on to me about my grades and she helps me with my stress level too.”

A member of the allied health program at SDHS, Ali plans to enter a neonatal care program after graduating next year, but she hasn’t yet decided whether she’ll attend Western Carolina University or Liberty University.

“This is a great way to help a young person,” said Rebecca Hoppensteadt. “It does not have to take a lot of time but it does mean a lot to the kids to know that someone cares about them and wants them to do well.”

Membership in the society is limited to those students who achieve a GPA or 3.5 or higher in all their computer and technology classes and provides good networking opportunities for students like Michael, who aspires to a career as a computer engineer.

But in order to confirm his membership, Michael needed to pay dues of $25.

Though the amount might not seem like much, Michael’s family experienced some recent setbacks that made it impossible for them to spend money on anything not deemed a necessity.

“My dad just got fired and we’ve been going through a hard time,” said Micheal, who is also a member of the wrestling team.

His mentor, Kevin Firquin (also the Site Coordinator for South Davidson Middle/High School), suggested he contact the CIS office to ask for help.

“This will help me. It will teach me more things and get me used to working with people out in the community,” said Micheal explaining his desire to be a part of the National Technical Honor Society. He’s thankful for the help CIS was able to give him.

Though we spend much of our energy working to match students in need with caring adults from the community, CIS helps thousands of students just like Michael, who need a little extra help to reach their full potential. In addition to supplementing funds to pay for membership dues in clubs and honor societies, we purchase things like school-appropriate clothing, school supplies, sports equipment, and more.