Gaston County’s
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Thursday, March 26, 2020
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Volume 86 • Issue 13
Good news for great people! • Belmont • Cramerton • Lowell • McAdenville • Mount Holly • Stanley
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Parks are a good place to be - any time By Alan Hodge alan@cfmedia.info
What with many places such as libraries, museums, and other public venues closed right now, what are folks to do with their leisure time? One answer is to head out to a public park and enjoy the beautiful early spring weather.
Our area is blessed with an abundance of city and county parks offering plenty of fresh air, playground equipment for the kids, hiking and biking trails, picnic tables where you can enjoy your takeout food, and more. Belmont has two showplace parks- Stowe Park downtown and Kevin Loftin See PARKS, Page 2
Lilly and Ben Kollstedt and their dog Candy were enjoying last Friday’s beautiful weather and Stowe Park in downtown Belmont. Photo by Alan Hodge
NC Governor Roy Cooper orders schools to remain closed until May 15th
Shaylynn Adams, Miss Stuart Cramer 2019 crowning Masie Lee, Miss Stuart Cramer 2020. Photo by Bill Bostick Tarheel Sports Photography
Masie Lee crowned Miss Stuart Cramer The annual Miss Stuart W. Cramer High School Pageant was held on Saturday, March 7th in the L. Reeves McGlohon Auditorium where eleven young women competed for
the title of Miss Stuart W. Cramer 2020 and a $2,500.00 college scholarship. “A Grand Affair with Twenties Flare” was the theme for See MASIE, Page 6
North Carolina public schools will stay closed through May 15 in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus. Governor Roy Cooper made the announcement at a press conference on Monday. The state’s 1.5 million students have been home since March 16, when Cooper ordered schools closed. Cooper also announced at the press conference that he’s asked state education leaders and state lawmakers to work on a plan to educate students for the rest of the school year. The closure means North Carolina students will be at home for two months. More focus is expected to be placed now on how schools can pro-
vide remote learning for students while they’re at home. Gaston County Schools has already put into place a program to help students while school buildings are closed. The learning plan is called Gaston At Home. What is Gaston At Home? Gaston At Home is a remote learning opportunity to allow students to continue learning beyond the walls of the classroom. All materials will extend learning opportunities previously taught by classroom teachers. These review materials will help to deepen your child’s understanding and prepare them for the end of year standardized assessments. While students are engaged in Gaston At Home, assignments will be provided
by the school and may be completed virtually or via paper and pencil. What are the best practices for Gaston At Home? Create a consistent schedule and learning space for the student. Allow students to work in increments of 20 - 40 minutes at a time. Where do I obtain my Gaston At Home assignments? Students will receive a hard copy packet from their school. In the event that a student has lost his or her packet, all materials are posted on the Gaston County Schools website at www.gaston.k12.nc.us. Do you have internet access? Spectrum is offering free broadband and Wi-Fi access and will be available for
60 days to households with K-12 and/or college students who do not already have a Spectrum broadband subscription at any service level up to 100 Mbps. To receive this service, call 1-844-4888395. Do you need additional reading and curriculum resources? Mackin Educational and Follett Destiny have partnered to offer free electronic resources for all students. Using a student’s email address, they may access Follett Destiny resources offered through their school. From each school’s web page, students can access these online resources, which include over one thousand ebooks for pleasure reading and for curriculum support.