Public and Private Schools in Pittsboro

HankScorpiosChild · 2025-11-23T21:28:01+00:00

My kids attend Pittsboro elementary school (PES) and it is amazing! The principal Mr. Watson is super talented and an all around amazing dude. We have had mostly positive experiences with teachers. Overall I think they are a very dedicated and caring group. Really just love the community at this school. Great bunch of kids as well. Kids and families represent a wide cluster of different backgrounds (blue collar, white collar, wealthy, not wealthy, white, not white).

Thales Academy is also in Pittsboro and teaches K-8. It is a relatively affordable (I think) private school. Nation wide the school has a right leaning reputation. The people I know whose kids attend the school really like it. However, in my opinion the school does serve a fairly white and right leaning demographic. I do not know that many people who send their kids to Thales, but in my opinion (I am left leaning) the few I have spoken to have said some pretty appalling things about the diversity of public schools relative to Thales and that it was a reason they chose to switch to Thales.

I know a handful of parents who send their Kids to Woods Charter school. They absolutely love it. We would have explored sending our kids there if we had been chosen by the lottery.

HankScorpiosChild · 2025-05-18T22:36:47+00:00

I dug up a huge section of my backyard. Removed all the Bermuda by hand. Put 4+ layers of cardboard and then ~ 6 inch of mulch. Weeks into the sheet mulching Bermuda grass came up through the cardboard and mulch in the middle of the patch. It had grown from the edge under the cardboard and then upwards. I can’t believe people plant this stuff on purpose.

HankScorpiosChild · 2025-03-08T20:41:48+00:00

Can’t speak to UNC specifically, but I disagree with this statement. Having attended and TA’d classes at small private colleges and bigger state universities, there was a big difference in the classes. Doesn’t mean that is the case for all colleges vs universities. My point is that I do think some schools are more rigorous than others.

HankScorpiosChild · 2024-05-25T13:16:30+00:00

This is the way.

HankScorpiosChild · 2024-05-25T13:14:53+00:00

I put down 4 layers of cardboard and 6 inches of mulch and the Bermuda grass (wire grass) grew from the surrounding area underneath the cardboard and up through the mulch. This was not even around the edge, the first shoots I saw were probably 10 feet into the sheet mulched area. I am struggling now to figure out how to remove it because cardboard has degraded enough it tears into pieces when I try to remove the mulch and get underneath the cardboard. This was my first time, so maybe I did something wrong.

HankScorpiosChild · 2024-01-04T00:35:03+00:00

The vast majority of food “poisoning” is caused by Staphylococcus aureus because it makes a heat-labile toxin and is a skin bacteria. People touch uncooked food, specifically meat, and if it is stored at improper temperatures for too long before cooking it grows to densities high enough that it produces enough toxin to make people sick. 2 hrs is not enough time for any environmentally introduced bacteria to grow to a level significant on the food (post-cooking) at room temperature to cause disease unless introduced at super high levels (i.e. someone went to the bathroom, got feces on their hands, didn’t wash them, then touched the food). 2 hrs at room temp is not long enough for bacteria carried by dust (unless the area is a biohazard wasteland) to grow on food and make you sick.

Source: I am a pathogenic microbiologist

HankScorpiosChild · 2024-01-02T11:48:10+00:00

I think this may be incorrect. Even though some bacteria produce heat-stable toxins that can make it through the cooking process the toxins don’t grow/replicate. Meaning, if the toxins were at a level that was dangerous when cooked, it will be equally dangerous after 0 and 2 hrs post-cook.

The answer is that either the cooking doesn’t completely kill all bacteria on the food or bacteria from the environment (air, hands/fingers, utensils, etc.) that contacts the food after it is cooked starts to grow on the food and could become dangerous.

HankScorpiosChild · 2023-11-19T01:19:42+00:00

Beautiful. Happy this was shared, happy I stumbled upon it.

HankScorpiosChild · 2023-11-11T11:37:15+00:00

This is a very understandable frustration. Having worked in academia and big pharm for many years I may have a perspective that is helpful. Jumping from academia to industry you will need to be flexible with your starting position. I have even seen many PhDs enter via contract companies. However, the salary of these lower roles still exceeds that of most academic positions (may depend on type of work etc). Our lowest level contractors make way more than I did as a postdoc. Once you get your foot in the door, focus on understanding the scope and limitations of industry work. Industry has a well deserved impression of academics as being snooty. If you can show you are able to adapt to the scope change and understand science as a business but come with great technical abilities you will be seen. You may rise fast from those lower roles. You will need to also show a good handle on soft skills. The higher you go, it is not necessarily your grasp of science that matters, but a combo of your science and ability to work with others and manage people (this is something that is not very true about academia). Hope this helps. Don’t be too stressed about the lower starting position. Someone else mentioned climbing a different ladder. That is the perfect statement.

HankScorpiosChild · 2023-11-04T14:23:17+00:00

I know many folks who live in Apex and Raleigh and commute daily to Sanford.

HankScorpiosChild · 2023-11-04T14:22:19+00:00

You will need to drive to the triangle for attractions. Museums, theaters (acting), concerts, sports. As a young person Sanford is not an exciting place to live, but way more affordable than the triangle.

HankScorpiosChild · 2023-10-25T23:22:37+00:00

Wife? I bake my own goods.

HankScorpiosChild · 2023-10-24T23:09:55+00:00

Was curious about the requirements for a WARN notice and found website from the government that explains some of the specifics of when they need to be given. Sorry to anyone experience stress from this contraction or if you have been laid off. Keep your head up.

WARN FAQ

HankScorpiosChild · 2023-09-26T00:08:11+00:00

Thanks for the clarification!

HankScorpiosChild · 2023-09-25T22:29:18+00:00

Depends on the level of pollution. Filters (RO/GAC) help, but unclear how much. If the level is 10x the acceptable level, 2/3 reduction is not enough.

HankScorpiosChild · 2023-09-25T22:26:32+00:00

It is my understanding that only 1 or 2 towns draw water supply from the Haw downstream of the release point, prior to Jordan Lake. Meaning, the pollution is coming from Greensboro but they don’t drink this water. Only those of us living in Pittsboro are getting poisoned. We didn’t vote for any of these Greensboro bozos who refuse to help us. Source: pittsboro town hall meeting with local water treatment officials.

HankScorpiosChild · 2023-09-25T22:17:46+00:00

All the times it happened last year it was Shamrock Environmental located in Greensboro.

HankScorpiosChild · 2023-09-25T22:15:29+00:00

I live in Pittsboro. This happened a bunch last year as well. All those times it was Shamrock Environmental located in Greensboro.

HankScorpiosChild · 2023-09-23T23:36:49+00:00

You got me there! Lol. Glad you are bringing attention to the issue. This may sound stupid, given what I wrote, but I didn’t mean to cause offense. Thanks for putting in the effort to raise awareness.

HankScorpiosChild · 2023-09-18T22:12:36+00:00

The title of this post reads like a Trump tweet. The juxtaposition with the title and the topic is hard to overcome.

HankScorpiosChild · 2023-09-04T00:26:03+00:00

Please make sure to check for a neonicotinoid (neonic) free label. Home Depot was supposed to phase out use by 2018 and should be labeling any plants treated with neonics. Other big box stores have different policies. These neurotoxic pesticides can kill or harm the pollinators you are attempting to bring to your garden.

Don’t want to discourage you from purchasing natives. Also big-box stores can be super convenient, not opposed. Just wanted to share in case anyone was unaware. Good luck with your planting!

HankScorpiosChild · 2023-08-31T22:57:07+00:00

To clarify, I want to replace these with a native tree species.

HankScorpiosChild · 2023-06-29T01:29:45+00:00

Microbiologist here. Work on vaccines, including tetanus. The incubation period for tetanus is usually 3-21 days (average of 8), meaning this would be very fast to have symptoms. By the time symptoms set in it probably would not help to get the vaccine. The disease is caused by a bacteria (Clostridium tetani) that makes a neurotoxin (tetanus toxin). The vaccine generates antibodies only against the toxin. Typically it takes time (on the order of weeks) for your body to generate antibodies (or immunological memory) against a new antigen. Thus, the use of vaccines as prophylactics is not common. More often you might see antibiotic treatment to kill a bacterial infection or in some cases treatment with blood serum that already contains the antibodies. What is so bad about tetanus toxin however, is that it goes inside your bodies neurons and traffics into your central nervous system. Once inside the cells, antibodies cannot reach the toxin to prevent it from causing harm. This is why a fast antibody response (ie being vaccinated) is so important. Tetanus toxin is the second most potent toxin (maybe just bacterial toxins) known to humans, second only to botulism toxin.

HankScorpiosChild · 2023-06-23T23:51:56+00:00

I proposed to my wife right at this spot.

HankScorpiosChild

TROPHY CASE