The Cobb County Center for Excellence in the Performing Arts at Pebblebrook High School was featured this week on Fox 5 Atlanta. Watch the video below:

Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5

The Cobb community is invited to experience performances by students in the CCCEPA during these upcoming events:

Fall Dance Concert
Friday, Dec. 6 @ 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 7 @ 7:30 p.m.
Reece PA Theatre, Pebblebrook High

Vocal Holiday Concert
Friday, Dec. 13 @ 7:30 p.m.
Reece PA Theatre, Pebblebrook High

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Friday, Dec. 20 @ 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 21 @ 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 22 @ 3:00 p.m.
Jennie T. Anderson Theatre, Cobb Civic Center

See the CCCEPA web page for event details and how to purchase tickets.

Shallowford Falls Elementary School presented its 15th annual Veteran’s Day concert Thursday, Nov. 7 at the new Lassiter High School Concert Hall. Mrs. Donna Swan, music teacher at Shallowford Falls, has prepared her fifth graders each year for their concert to honor local veterans. This marked Mrs. Swan’s final Veteran’s Day concert, as she plans to retire at the end of the school year.

More than 125 student voices sang patriotic songs, while guest performers on piano, trumpet, and clarinet entertained parents, students, community members and veterans in this salute to our armed forces and public servants. Additionally, a bagpipe rendition of “Amazing Grace” was performed during the performance.

As each song representing one of our armed forces was sung, veterans in the audience from those armed forces came forward and were award a patriotic pin in the ‘Presentation of Pins’ ceremony. Dozens of men and women from World War II to the current day came forward and shared the stage with the fifth graders. It was an evening that will not soon be forgotten.

Submitted by Janice Kelley, Shallowford Falls Elementary School

Military veterans in the Acworth and Kennesaw communities were honored at North Cobb High School during a special Veterans Day breakfast the morning of Nov. 11. Retired Major General William “Terry” Nesbitt – United States Army served as guest speaker and veterans enjoyed patriotic performances by the North Cobb Chorus and Orchestra. The school also honored its “Fallen Warriors,” the North Cobb graduates who lost their lives while serving in the U.S. armed forces.

Students at North Cobb also had the opportunity to learn from an exhibition about The Tuskegee Airmen, on display in the NCHS media center courtesy of the Kennesaw State University Museum of History & Holocaust Education. The exhibition highlights the “Segregated Skies of World War II” and the history and heroism of the first African-American pilots who flew in combat during World War II. Museum director Richard Harker was on hand to answer questions and share information.

The Palmer Middle School Chorus, under the direction of Marla Baldwin, will make a special Veterans Day performance of the song “Thank You, Soldiers” tonight at 7 p.m. at Wildwood Baptist Church in Kennesaw. Students created a special slideshow featuring family members, friends and community members who have served in the United States armed forces that will play during the performance. Listen to and watch their Veterans Day tribute below!

Lovinggood Middle School eighth grade student and artist Joanna Frazier was recently named winner of the t-shirt contest for the 29th annual Kids II Strong Legs Run, sponsored by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Joanna was joined by family members and her art teacher, Timothy J. Tuohy at Turner Field, where she fired the starting gun to begin the road race! She also had her own tent to autograph runners’ shirts with her winning design. The event organizers also introduced Joanna to the participants from the main stage.

Students in the Palmer Middle School chorus spent their Saturday learning from and performing at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw Oct. 19. Palmer choral director Marla Baldwin worked with fellow Palmer faculty members and Dena Bush, Director of Operations at the Southern Museum to create a curriculum-based scavenger hunt inside the museum. Students were challenged to locate exhibits and answer questions based generated by Palmer teachers. They also participated in an art lesson on perspective using the railroad tracks adjacent to the museum. The nearby Trackside Grill donated a $50 gift card for the winner of the scavenger hunt.

The events concluded with a performance by the Palmer chorus for the north Cobb community members and parents in attendance.

Jony Gookins of Kennesaw Mountain High School (center) created the logo selected by the Library Media team.

The Cobb County School District’s Visual Arts and Library Media departments recently collaborated to provide graphic arts students with a real world design challenge. With the launch of the Cobb Digital Library (CDL) this year, the Library Media Education department was in need of a graphic icon to represent the CDL on school and district web pages, school PC desktops and on promotional materials.

Library Media supervisor Janell McClure solicited help from Judy Condon, supervisor for K-12 Visual Arts, who suggested the District engage students in our high school graphic design classes and offer them an opportunity to create their own visual solutions for the Cobb Digital Library. A district-wide contest was launched in August and students from six schools (Dickerson Middle, Hightower Trail Middle, Wheeler, Lassiter, McEachern, and Kennesaw Mountain high schools) submitted 42 total concepts for the logo design.

The CCSD Media leadership team reviewed the identity concepts and selected a logo by Jony Gookins of Kennesaw Mountain High School. Jony received a $25 gift certificate to dickblick.com to purchase art and design supplies. His winning logo is active on the Cobb Digital Library launch page.

Submitted by Janell McClure, Supervisor, Library Media Education

UPDATE: the Sept. 24 performance was postponed due to inclement weather and has been rescheduled for Monday, Oct. 14.

Young musicians from across Cobb County will put their collective talents on display at the annual Cobb-Marietta Marching Band Exhibition on the evenings of Tuesday, Oct. 1 and Monday, Oct. 14. Featuring performances from each high school in the Cobb County School District and Marietta High School, the exhibition takes place at McEachern High School’s Walter Cantrell Stadium in Powder Springs and begins at 7 p.m. each night.

The Oct. 1 exhibition includes a special guest performance by the University of Georgia Redcoat Marching Band.

Beginning in 1972, the Cobb-Marietta Marching Band Exhibition has become a local tradition, allowing band students and the community to see and hear performances from across the area. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students. Children 4 and under are admitted free if accompanied by parents.

If you have questions, please contact Natalie Feller, or Chris Ferrell at (770) 426-3404.

Cobb County elementary and middle school students will have more ways to explore their summer reading enrichment through a new collaboration with the Cobb County Public Library (CCPL). For the first time, the Cobb County School District and the library system have developed complementary summer reading programs that include shared suggested reading lists, common themes for both academic levels and cross-curricular activities. Both corresponding programs promote the importance of literacy to student achievement and reinforce the value of resources in our public libraries to Cobb County citizens.

Suggested reading lists for 2013 were developed to represent both school and public library collections, including current, popular books and literary classics, with Lexile levels/reading ranges provided for each title. Students still have the option of choosing any age- and level-appropriate book they prefer to read. Students in Kindergarten through fifth grades will “Dig Into Reading” and middle school students will dive “Beneath the Surface,” into books aimed for the pre-teen reader. The primary and intermediate lists for elementary schools and the middle school reading list have corresponding activities for students to choose from, designed to help reinforce study and research skills, critical thinking and application of knowledge.

Students may participate in the summer reading programs for free at any of the 16 branches of the Cobb County Public Library. Library cards are free to all Cobb County residents, property owners and business owners, and to students, with permission from a parent or guardian.

Local schools are also providing fun incentives for students to participate, with specific “reading rewards” criteria for the elementary and middle school programs. Students may also record the titles of all books read on the CCPL Summer Reading Log and return to any branch to be eligible for additional prizes.

Cobb County School District Library Media Education supervisor Janell McClure said, “Research consistently indicates that summer reading programs help boost student achievement and bridge the ‘summer gap’ of retention and learning focus. We’re excited to partner with our local libraries to create a unified reading experience Cobb students can enjoy.”

The Library Media Education department has set up special websites for the elementary and middle school summer reading programs that include promotional videos, suggested reading lists and activity sheets.

Elementary School Summer Reading Site | Middle School Summer Reading Site

Elementary School Summer Reading Video

Middle School Summer Reading Video

The Cobb community is invited to attend the ‘Inspired by the heART’ art show May 9-11, featuring the creative work of Cobb County students with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities. The show will be hosted by the Cobb County Central Library at 266 Roswell St. in Marietta.

An opening reception will be held on the first night, May 9 at 6:30 p.m., with complimentary desserts and a student slideshow.