dr. martin luther king junior day
Mid-January brings with it a national holiday. Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Day is Monday, January 19th and in recognition of the day Pender County Schools will be closed. We hope families are able to take time to reflect on the day and what it represents for our country and our communities. In this week’s newsletter, you’ll see several mentions of the All-County Band performance and the District Science Fair, along with other school news. Congratulations to all who participated!! We’re also sharing an update from Topsail High School, where a new varsity football coach has been named, and we have more information on recent grants coming into our schools. Thanks for taking a few minutes to read through and stay connected.
JENNIFER HANSEN - SERVING WITH HEART, EXPERIENCE, AND COMMUNITY CONNECTION
As part of School Board Appreciation Month, Pender County Schools is pleased to recognize Jennifer Hansen, who serves as Vice-Chair of the Pender County Board of Education. Ms. Hansen was elected Vice-Chair during the December 9, 2025 Board of Education meeting. You can read more about Ms. Hansen HERE
PENDER COUNTY SCHOOLS JOB FAIR MARCH 31, 2026
Pender County Schools will host a Career Fair on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, and we invite job seekers and community members to attend and learn more about employment opportunities throughout our district. The Career Fair will be held at Heide Trask High School Gym from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
This event is a great opportunity to meet district representatives, ask questions, and explore career pathways that support students, schools, and the overall success of Pender County Schools. Read more OR APPLY HERE
NC SPOT FESTIVAL PRESENTS FUNDING CHECKS TO PENDER COUNTY SCHOOLS
The North Carolina Spot Festival, held annually in Hampstead, North Carolina, continues to make a meaningful impact beyond the festival weekend by giving back to local schools. During the January 13, 2025 Pender County Board of Education meeting, members of the NC Spot Festival Board presented funding checks to school representatives in support of students, programs, and extracurricular activities across the district. Read more HERE
C.F. Pope Elementary 5th Graders Shine at Science Fair
C.F. Pope Elementary School is proud to celebrate the outstanding achievements of three fifth-grade students—Callie, Isiah, and Genevieve—who earned top honors at this year’s school-based Science Fair. Their hard work, curiosity, and dedication to scientific inquiry set them apart among their peers and resulted in all three students being selected to advance to the district-level Science Fair. Read more HERE
Rocky Point Rams Raise Their Voices and Spill the Tea
In 4th grade Wit & Wisdom, our Rams are continuing to strengthen their writing skills by learning how to craft well-organized explanatory essays and clear, supported opinion statements. Throughout this unit, students are reading George vs. George and Colonial Voices. Colonial Voices is a historical fiction text that brings history to life by sharing firsthand perspectives from different colonists living in Colonial Boston, helping students better understand daily life and viewpoints during this time period. Read more HERE
MUSIC TO OUR EARS🎶
Congratulations to the 16 students who received placements in the 2026 NCBA Eastern District Ensembles this weekend! The students named above will participate in the All-District Honor Band Clinic at ECU from February 5-7, 2026!
2026 GRADUATION SCHEDULE
Pender County Public Schools is proud to honor our graduating seniors. Find all the details you need for commencement ceremonies, including dates, times, and locations for each high school.
A LITTLE HELP...
♻️🔬🥕 C. F. Pope Elementary's STEM class is jumping into an agriculture unit and could use some help. Students will be working with hands-on projects, and we’re collecting a few everyday items to make it happen. We’re looking for clean 2-liter soda bottles (empty, with labels still on), clean plastic milk jugs, clean egg cartons, plastic wrap, Ziploc bags (any size), and potting soil. Donations can be sent in with your student or dropped off at the office. Thanks for helping our students get their hands dirty, in a good way 🥕🌱
STUDENTS ARE LEADING THE WAY
📚 Cape Fear Middle School will host Student-Led Conferences on Tuesday, February 3, from 4:00–6:00 p.m. at the school. During these conferences, students will guide the conversation with their families and teachers. They’ll walk through their work, talk about what they’ve been learning, and share goals they’re working toward this semester. This time is set aside for students to speak for themselves and show their progress. We hope to see families there 💙
🍎SCHOOL LUNCH MENUS🍕
You can find school lunch menus for each grade level by following THIS LINK
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
TOPSAIL HIGH SCHOOL NAMES T.J. ALBERT HEAD VARSITY FOOTBALL COACH
Topsail High School has named Terry “T.J.” Albert as the school’s new head varsity football coach. Albert brings more than a decade of head coaching experience and a lifelong connection to football. He played high school football before continuing his career at Georgia Southern University and Iona College. After a career-ending injury, he began coaching at the request of his former high school coach and has remained in the profession since that time. Albert previously served as head coach at Community School of Davidson, where he compiled an overall record of 92–67. Under his leadership, the Spartans reached the NCHSAA state playoffs in all but one season and made multiple deep postseason runs, including an appearance in the Western Regional Finals. Over the past five seasons, the program posted a 32–2 conference record, earned four Coach of the Year honors, recorded a 6–5 playoff mark, and advanced to the third round of the state playoffs three consecutive times. In addition to team results, Albert has supported student-athletes in continuing their football careers beyond high school. More than 20 of his former players have gone on to play at the collegiate level, including several in Power 4 conferences. Albert and his wife, Julie, have four children, Ashley, Brandon, Zack, and Kyle, and two black Labrador retrievers, Newton and Aly. T.J. Albert will assume his duties as head varsity football coach at Topsail High School immediately.
🏆 GRIZZLY PRIDE ALERT! 🏆
Mr. Elmore would like to recognize Kallen Felix for his win at the 4th Annual Camel City Classic arm wrestling tournament this past weekend. This was his first competition and he and his family traveled all the way to Winston-Salem to compete. Through persistent training with Mr. Elmore's arm wrestling club and coming to practice with the Port City Pullers, he came in ready to compete and won his class. Congratulations to Kallen, you represented Cape Fear Middle School as a true Grizzly! 💪🐻
🐝🔥 IT’S GAME TIME HORNETS! 🔥🐝
From Pender High - 🎉What a GREAT event last night! Congratulations to Merari Antonio Mendez on baritone saxophone, Aubree Collins on trumpet, Damarion Hill on tenor saxophone, Camryn Prescott on trumpet, Ty'jon Smith on percussion, Kamya Stringfield on trumpet, and Amorie Tatum on bass clarinet. Our students did an outstanding job performing modern music under the expert direction of Dr. Patrick Young, Director of Bands at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Way to go Patriots!🎆
From Heide Trask High - We’re excited to share that SparkLab has received both the Bright Ideas Grant and the MakerBot Gives Back Grant! These grants will allow our Spark Scholars to design, prototype, and iterate using a MakerBot 3D printer while tackling real-world challenges. From bringing student ideas to life to repairing board games for local elementary schools and after-school programs, our students are learning that STEM skills can create meaningful impact beyond the classroom. This support helps our Spark Scholars grow as creators, problem solvers, and community contributor, one layer at a time.
From Cape Fear Middle - 🎶 What an AMAZING Night! 🎶 Last night's Pender County All-County Band Clinic Concert was absolutely incredible! Our Cape Fear Middle School Grizzlies showed up and showed OUT alongside talented musicians from across Pender County! 🐻💙 From the dedicated rehearsals to the final performance at Topsail High School's Kenneth I. Lanier Auditorium, these young musicians demonstrated exceptional skill, teamwork, and passion for music. A huge THANK YOU to: ✨ All the student musicians who dedicated their time and talent ✨ The amazing band directors and clinicians who guided them ✨ The families and community members who came out to support ✨ Pender County Schools for making this opportunity possible We are SO PROUD of our Grizzlies and all the students who participated! These are the moments that make music education so special. 🎺🎷🥁
From North Topsail Elementary - Congratulations Science Fair Participants!
AND...Big shout-out to the classes with the highest attendance in Q2! 🎉📚 Your dedication shows — we have surpassed our attendance goal of 95% for BOTH quarter one AND quarter two! Keep up the great work because attendance matters!
From Penderlea School - Exciting news for Penderlea! 🎉 The Assistance League of Greater Wilmington has awarded grants to 10 of our amazing teachers — totaling $6,458 to support classroom programs and student learning. We're so grateful for this generous investment in our students and teachers.
AND...This past week, the Master Gardeners visited our 3rd graders again. They taught the students about seeds!! 🫘They learned about the parts of a seed, how they grow and what they need to grow. They also got their own seeds to start at school and grow at home! To top it off, they got jelly beans for their snack! 🌱🌸
From Malpass Corner Elementary - 🦅 Eagle Families, 🦅 We had another exciting week at MCE! On Thursday, our students competed in the County Science Fair, and we are incredibly proud of the five amazing ladies who represented our school: Hope Shambly, Aurora Lopez Bautista, Lily Hollingsworth, Lyla Randall, and Indya Davis. These students truly spread their wings and showed what it means to be SOARing Eagles through their hard work and determination. A huge congratulations to Indya Davis and Lyla Randall, who will advance to the next level and compete at UNCE in the regional competition—we are so proud of you! 🧪✨ Thank you to Mrs. Gourley for coaching our girls, encouraging excellence, and being a wonderful leader throughout this process. Way to go, Eagles! 💙💛
AND...Students at MCE are learning how to properly and respectfully handle the U.S. flag and the state flag. A huge thank you to our partnership with Pender High School JROTC and Mr. Themes for visiting MCE and bringing along some outstanding JROTC students. Our Eagles loved learning the correct procedures and the importance behind honoring our flags. We are grateful for this meaningful experience and the leadership shared with our Eagles! 🦅
From Rocky Point Elementary - Our 21st Century Program had Nutritionist Mrs. Rivenbark come out this week and talk about Nutrition and Food Safety. One of our students helped her prepare a healthy snack. -the kids really enjoyed the session! She will visit us again on the 26th for another tasty treat! #OnePender
From Topsail Annandale Elementary - 🎉 Congratulations to Our Science Stars! 🔬✨ We are so proud to celebrate Cam Baker, Anderson Cortis, Aspen Southerland, Emma Reynolds, Piper O’Neil, Charlie Baker, Addilyn Roos, and Summer Krzyzanowski for advancing to the County Science Fair! Your hard work, curiosity, and dedication truly shine. Way to represent our school—we’re cheering you on! 👏🧪
From Burgaw Middle - There’s no better way to kick off the weekend than with the incredible sounds of the BMS Band! Check them out as they bring the energy to our school events. These talented musicians work hard all week to hit every note. 🎶✨
From Topsail Middle - Standing ovation for our 27 TMS musicians! Help us celebrate their incredible performance in the Pender County Middle School All County Band! They had a clinic Wednesday afternoon, an all-day session Thursday, and delivered an amazing performance last night. A huge thank you to Mr. Norem — your guidance makes a real difference in these young musicians’ lives.
From West Pender Middle - Proud of our math team's strong vertical teaming and focused data crunching! 📊🤝 Their collaboration across grade levels and careful use of data are driving real growth for students.
AND...Quality written lesson plans in action — students engaged and learning every step of the way. ✍️📚🔥
From Surf City Middle - 🎉 CONGRATULATIONS to 8th Grader Harry Roy! 🎉 This weekend, Eastern NC Scholastic Art Award recipients were announced, and one Surf City Middle School student earned an award this year. A first in SCM history! Students may submit individual artworks to be scored and can receive Gold Key, Silver Key, or Honorable Mention awards. Gold Key and Silver Key winners will have their artwork displayed at ECU in February, and Gold Key winners are automatically entered into the National Scholastic competition. Eight grader Harry Roy earned a Gold Key in the 2026 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for his drawing “Trout ’n About.” He submitted this artwork as an extra project, taking the initiative to enter a piece he had previously completed. Talk about dedication and confidence! Harry’s achievement is especially impressive because he was judged against students as old as 12th grade and still earned the highest honor.
From Pender Early College - Congrats to Sal for being the top reader in Pender County Schools Million Minutes Challenge for December!
AND...Congrats to Jose for getting his forklift certification from CFCC!
From Pender Innovative Learning Academy - The Otters were shining bright at the PCS Science Fair tonight!! We are incredibly proud of all their hard work! Congratulations to Madi for earning the right to represent PILA and Pender County at the Regional Science Fair in February!
AND...The Otters sure do love a good book!!! They are at the top of the list in minutes read AGAIN this month!! Dakota was our biggest reader AGAIN this month!!
From Cape Fear Elementary - Big news! ALL THREE of our Science Fair groups are headed to REGIONALS! So proud of the hard work, creativity, and dedication these students showed. Way to go!
AND...Students in the 21st CCLC after-school program created paper plate mazes using creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork. They designed paths, tested their mazes, and made improvements to help a marble reach the finish. This hands-on activity helped students practice critical thinking, planning, and perseverance while having fun.
From Topsail High - Eastern NC Scholastic Art Award recipients were announced this weekend and six THS students have earned 10 awards this year! Students are able to submit individual works for scoring and can earn Gold Key, Silver Key or Honorable Mention awards. In addition, seniors are eligible to submit a portfolio of 6 artworks to be scored as a whole. Gold Key and Silver Key winners will have their work on display at ECU in February; Gold Key winners automatically are entered into the National competition for scoring. If you see these students please congratulate them on this accomplishment!! Portfolio Silver Key Award: "Moments of Stillness in Chaos" Achilleas Fertitta-Boutis Gold Key Award: "The Seat Beside" Esme Burnau Silver Key Awards: "Through My Eyes" Nai'a Bever "Power Play" Aila Brannon "The Inherited Lens" Esme Burnau "Bang" Kelsey Dixon "The Light of Sound" Achilleas Fertitta-Boutis "A Window of Priesthood" Achilleas Fertitta-Boutis Honorable Mention: "Homeward Tracks" Cosette Burnau "Feeding Frenzy" Achilleas Fertitta-Boutis
From Surf City Elementary - District science fair was a success! 🎉 All 8 SCE students did an amazing job representing our school — special congrats to Gwen, Reinette, and Elani for winning and advancing to the NC Regional Science Fair at UNCW in a few weeks! 🌟 So proud of every student’s effort — hard work pays off. 🙌💙
AND...Tiny hands, huge achievements! ✨ Ms. Silman's kindergarten crew rocked Freckle on their Chromebooks today — practicing counting, shapes, and number sense while earning badges and big smiles. The result: increased engagement, immediate feedback, and visible boosts in confidence—especially when students earn badges for persistence. 🎉🖥️
Credits:
Created with images by Sizah - "The 2026 new year business goals concept, Business plan and target, Planning and challenge business strategy, Growing business in 2026" • lovelyday12 - "Farmer's hand planting seed in soil" • Uuganbayar - "What else word written under torn paper concept." • manit - "Hand of young business using smartphone, Social media concept."