Recent School News from Chocowinity Primary School, Part II | Eastern North Carolina Now

For Immediate Release:

   These latest announcements from the Chocowinity Primary School, via the Beaufort County School System, reminds us that schools are a focal point of activity.

CPS is 'home' to four generations

   CHOCOWINITY     At Chocowinity Primary School, it is often said that staff and students are like one, big, happy family. And for four generations of the same family, that really does ring true.

   Janice Boyd is the matriarch of her family, which had four generations involved with CPS during the 2011-2012 school year. For starters, Boyd has the distinction of working at CPS for nearly four decades. Then there is her daughter-in-law Barbara Boyd, a kindergarten teacher; the elder Boyd's granddaughter Blair Boyd Edwards is a teacher in the exceptional children's program. Rounding out the four generations is Edwards' daughter Mckenzie, a CPS kindergarten student this year.

   Janice Boyd came to CPS in 1974, eventually working under principals Larry Poore and Neal Titus. "I was secretary, bookkeeper, payroll clerk, nurse, mother ... I was whatever they wanted me to be," she recalled. In 1999 Boyd "retired" but sitting at home with her feet propped up wasn't for this active woman. In August of that same year she was back at CPS, this time as director of the after school day care program, a position she still holds nearly 13 years later.

   Why did Boyd decide to come back into a school setting after a quarter of a century at CPS? "The love of the kids," she answered without hesitation. "They're my children."
Four generations of the Boyd family have been present at Chocowinity Primary School during the 2011-2012 school year. Pictured are (from left) Barbara Boyd, Janice Boyd, Mckenzie Edwards and Blair Boyd Edwards.
   The love of children led Boyd's daughter-in-law into the field of education, as well. "I like working with kids and seeing them blossom, seeing them grow," said Barbara Boyd. "I like doing something that you feel like helps make them successful, and I like seeing the excitement in their eyes when they learn something new."

   Barbara Boyd has been teaching for 23 years, the first five years at Eastern Elementary School in Washington and the remaining years at CPS. She thinks "it's kind of neat" that four generations of her family have found a home away from home at Chocowinity Primary.

   "We are like a family here," she said. "When there are problems we all work together and try to help each other ... it's always been a great school." Barbara Boyd's daughter, Blair Boyd Edwards, grew up wanting to be a veterinarian, but then she was bitten by the "education bug".

   "I was a lifeguard at a daycare near East Carolina University," Edwards recalled. "We had a lot of kids, some of them with EC (exceptional children) type problems. That was my first exposure to EC kids."

   Her love of animals gave way for a love of children, especially those with special needs. Now the EC chair at Chocowinity Primary, Edwards has been teaching for eight years. She's been a member of the CPS faculty since 2006 and this year she has divided her time between Chocowinity and John Cotten Tayloe Elementary School in Washington.

   "I love seeing my students grow at their own pace," Edwards said. "I'm able to give them more individual attention ... having them in smaller groups gives me immediate feedback, so they're not lost in a big group."

Edwards said parents can and should play a vital role in their child's education, whether that child is in an EC program or enrolled in a traditional classroom. "Read with them," she advised. "Give them hands-on activities and support them in their school work."

   And the family tradition just may be
from her grandmother, and her mom's classroom isn't very far away. And after school, her great-grandmother is ready to greet her with a smile and a hug.

   At 6 years of age, she loves school and especially enjoys writing stories. And for the record, Mckenzie has already decided she wants to be a teacher, too.

   It must be in her blood.

Summery Catch

Chocowinity Primary School kindergarten students McKinley Cota (left) and Zynia Thigpen pose with a net filled with colorful tropical fish fashioned from plastic bottles. The fish added a festive, and tropical, touch to the CPS hallway during the final days of the 2011-2012 school year.

Terrific Twins

Gathering together near the end of the 2011-2012 school year are the 10 sets of twins enrolled as students at Chocowinity Primary School. They are (pictured from left) front: Kellie and Kinzey Alexander; second row: Jordan and Jaden Clark, Haleigh and Marissa Kuers and Lillie and Patrick Tyler; third row: Micah and Myia Guion, Brenden and Aaron Perkins and T'ona and Terence Gorham; and back row: Jacob and Ryan Griffin, Daeja and Daniesha Whitley and Jayshawn and Jayquahn Blackledge.

What a Ride

    Perhaps in appreciation for a great school year, Chocowinity Primary School prekindergarten student Shaun Bond gives his teacher Emily Houston around the playground in the classroom wagon. What a perfect start to summer vacation!

When I Grow Up ...

Drew Cox poses with a self-portrait as he prepared for his kindergarten graduation ceremony at Chocowinity Primary School. "I want to be a cop first, and when I retire I want to be a dentist," the young fellow said of his future plans. The 2011-2012 school year officially ended for students on June 8.
Gray Godley, a recent fourth grade graduate from Chocowinity Primary School, shows off his diploma during the ceremony. (BCS Photo)


    Call/email if you have questions.

    Sarah Hodges
    Public Information Officer
    Beaufort County Schools
      252.946.6593 office
      252.402.5834 cell
      shodges@beaufort.k12.nc.us e-mailoto)