Wheeler High School senior Darpan Patel was recently highlighted on ajc.com’s ‘Get Schooled’ blog. Patel is a student at Wheeler’s magnet program, the Center for Advanced Studies in Science, Mathematics, and Technology and is active in many extracurricular activities at the school.

Patel is one of only three regional finalists from Georgia in the 2009 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology. The competition recognizes remarkable talent early on, fostering individual growth for high school students who are willing to challenge themselves through science research. Through this competition, students have an opportunity to achieve national recognition for science research projects that they complete in high school.

Students at Clay Elementary were featured in the Oct. 10 edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Metro section. The text reads:

After turning a liquid Into a solid, Beatrix Ohienmhen, a biology student at Georgia State, with the help of Osvaldo Gonzalez,11, holds the new solid over the head of Tajawa Walker, 10, at Clay Elementary School on Friday.

Ohienmhen was teaching the students about the three states of matter – gas, liquid and solid. She was one of the students from Georgia State’s Bio-Bus program. The program consists of approximately 15 undergraduate and graduate students operating out of a 30-foot mobile instructional laboratory that travels to K-12 schools and presents activities designed to get kids excited about science. Over the past 10 years, Georgia State students have presented to over 130,000 students In Georgia.

Two students in Ms. Jordan Thompson’s classes at East Cobb Middle School have had their writing published nationally! Kurt Klinkmueller and Alina Walling each had book reviews selected for “Voices From the Middle,” a national publication from the National Council of Teachers of English that offers articles on research and best practices in middle level reading, writing, speaking, and listening in the visual and language arts.

Kurt Klinkmueller, currently an eighth grader at ECMS, wrote a book review for “Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception,” available online at the NCTE Web site. Kurt is the first student from the state of Georgia to be selected and published. Alina Walling wrote a book review for “The Hunger Games,” in Ms. Thompson’s class. Her review will be published in the March 2010 issue of “Voices from the Middle.”

Congratulations to both students!

The Lassiter High School DECA club held a three-week Breast Cancer Awareness fund-raising campaign during the month of October, capturing the attention and generosity of the whole school. The campaign raised more than $2,000 for breast cancer research!

The campaign began with with St. Joseph’s Hospital’s Mammogram bus offering mammograms for teachers. From Oct. 11-17, students passed out pink ribbon-themed treats to Lassiter staff members to raise awareness and show appreciation. DECA sold custom pink t-shirts, included facts about cancer during the morning announcements and offered discounted pink spiritwear in the school store. The campaign concluded with a “Pink Out” at the home football game against Milton on Oct. 16, where everyone from the band to the cheerleaders to the football team got into the spirit of support.

The Lassiter DECA sponsors are teachers Kari Palmer and Wanda Wexler.

Project 2400, a strategic partnership between the Cobb Chamber of Commerce and the Cobb County and Marietta City school districts, continues to help Cobb students improve their SAT test performance! Project 2400 was created in 2006 by the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, providing an intensive SAT preparation course for students during their junior year of high school.

In 2009, 751 Cobb students participated in Project 2400 at no cost to them or their families. Of the students who took both the initial diagnostic test and the SAT, 90 percent scored higher by 10-750 points. The average score increase from the first diagnostic test to the SAT was 166 points, with an average score for all participants of 1517.

The Board of Education and Cobb Schools Foundation welcomed and recognized some of the program’s most improved students during the Oct. 22 Board meeting, including:

Rebecca Sellmann, Allatoona
Susan Lee, Campbell
Casey Hofmann, Campbell
Caitlin Dunnington, Harrison
Bradley Clements, Harrison
Lauren Bovard, Hillgrove
Ian Ritter, Kell
Jhanna Garcia, Kell
Dianna Nord, Kennesaw Mountain
Rachelle Eljazzar, Lassiter
Alex Kinnebrew, McEachern
Sarahi Zaldumbide, North Cobb
Johanna Blakeslee, North cobb
Cory Spears, Osborne
Ashlee Allen, Osborne
Gloria Oduyoye, Pebblebrook
Kori Burrell, Pebblebrook
Jonathan Klein, Pope
Natalie Bronner, Pope
Chelseay Parks, South Cobb
Rebecca Orfe, Sprayberry
Jinsol Hwang, Sprayberry
Lawton Willingham, Walton
Jonathan Gopel, Wheeler
Nowa Ajayi,Wheeler

Allatoona High teacher Natasha Lewis received a $1,000 grant from David Connell of Southern Company.

Natasha Lewis, social studies teacher at Allatoona High School, received a $1,000 New Teacher Assistance Grant from Georgia Power during a luncheon ceremony Oct. 26. Each year since 2004, Georgia Power has awarded $1,000 grants for classroom supplies to some of the state’s best and brightest new teachers. The purpose of the program is to encourage promising new teachers by helping them purchase materials and supplies for use in their classroom beyond those provided by their school. The items purchased with the grant money are the property of the teacher, not of the school system. Ms. Lewis is a graduate of Kennesaw State University.

Nominations are received from the deans of each public college and university in Georgia that has a school of education. Candidates have to be in the top 25 percent of the graduating class academically, have shown high aptitude for teaching, and must have secured employment as a first-year teacher in a public school in Georgia.

Board of Education member Lynnda Crowder-Eagle and Allatoona principal Scott Bursmith were on hand for the grant presentation.

Grants are awarded to two graduates from each college, one female and one male. Each college is allowed to nominate up to ten candidates: five females and five males, but not less than three of each sex. A selection committee composed of statewide educators and Georgia Power staff reviews each candidate, working to ensure diversity among the recipients with respect to grade level and subject matter taught; attempts are also made to ensure each region of the state has grant recipients. Selection Committee members are not told the names of the candidates, helping to ensure impartiality in the process.

Mary Anne Addison, teacher at Ford Elementary, engaged her students in helping out a fellow teacher (and Ford mom!) from Clarkdale Elementary in Austell. Mrs. Addison taught with Noelle Huff in the 1990’s and has her daughter in class at Ford. The class collected $260.00 in gift cards from The School Box for Mrs. Huff, as well as a box full of educational games and books for the Clarkdale students!

Fifty-nine students from nine Cobb high schools were among the semifinalists for the 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program. The number of semifinalists named in each state is in proportion to its percentage of the national total of high school graduating seniors and is based on performance on the 2008 Preliminary SAT. The number of semifinalists named in each state is in proportion to its percentage of the national total of high school graduating seniors and is based on performance on the 2008 Preliminary SAT. Cobb’s representatives are:

Campbell High School
Nisha R. Bhat
Kirill P. Makarenko
Tanmayi S. Pai
Nuwan D. Perera

Harrison High School
Brian M. Chandler
Caitlin E. Dunnington

Kell High School
Timothy R. Kimbrough
Elena S. Salerno

Kennesaw Mountain High School
Christopher E. Ammerman
David E. Carroll
John B. Clay
Anna E. Willis

Lassiter High School
Kevin D. Ankerholz
Kathryn V. Crane
Emily K. Kehner
Michael C. Wilson

North Cobb High School
Jesse P. Riggs

Pope High School
Ally M. Hangartner
Pierce D. Owen
Andrew S. Payson

Sprayberry High School
Beryl G. Fulmer

Walton High School
Brian T. Blass
Zachary K. Chartash
Catherine H. Cheng
Andrew R. Dalton
Daniel P. Fitzgerald
Jason M. Gerson
Eric A. Graves
Ethan M. Guthman
Jamie Lee
Supum Lee
Dylan S. McClelland
Kayhan A. Nejad
Abhijeeth Ramesh
Courtney B. Sanford
Bailey S. Seitter
Akanksha Sharma
Rebecca L. Siegelman
Taylor L. Sorrel
Andrew S. Taylor
John E. Taylor
Lawton Ross Willingham

Wheeler High School
Brian M. Boda
Holly L. Brackin
Andrew R. Brock
Adam J. Cross
Jennifer Y. Dou
Andrew S. Gaynor
Abigail U. Halim
Aaron J. Kauffman
Christopher M. Leinweber
Noah M. Levine
Mengjie Liu
Jason R. McElrath
Darpan N. Patel
Jeffrey A. Seiden
Faaiqa A. Shaw
Pranay K. Udutha
Maychee M. Zah

Floyd Middle School’s students, staff, and community celebrated two years of academic success with a pep rally Oct. 16! Board of Education member Holli Cash and Area Assistant Superintendent Ed Thayer praised students for their past success and encouraged their continued effort. South Cobb High School Principal Ashley Hosey and the SCHS senior class and student council presidents spoke to the Floyd student body about continuing what they’ve started as they move closer to high school. The Osborne Cardinal drumline, directed by Michael Reid, gave an outstanding performance that brought students to their feet!

After the pep rally, students were provided with treats, courtesy of the PTSA and Publix. Floyd has good reason to celebrate the success and continued growth at the school, a result of the hard work and dedication of the entire community.

Principal David Chiprany and several Wheeler faculty members enjoyed the student achievement celebration cookout Oct. 2.

Wheeler High School celebrated outstanding student achievement at a faculty cookout October 2. SAT scores jumped 66 points from the year prior; Juniors met AYP and raised the bar with percentage of students passing at 96.7 percent in English, 89.9 percent in Math, 94 percent in Science, and 95 percent in Social Studies. AP Test statistics were also impressive with 304 more AP tests taken than the year prior, not to mention an increase of passing students by 5.7 percent.