This school year, students at Vaughan Elementary School have been sending letters of support to soldiers overseas. On April 22, 2008, a group of Marines conducted a mission to say thank you, personally visiting the school via high-tech aircraft.

Two helicopters from Dobbins AFB in Marietta descended on the school, filled with US Marine Corps members who have been receiving letters from Vaughan students while serving overseas.

Vaughan students, staff and guest stood near the school play area to watch the Cobra helicopter and Huey helicopter land on the green space.

The group of Marines greeted the students and spent time answering questions about their war experiences, daily life as a soldier serving in other countries and the helicopters.

Students had the opportunity to see the helicopters up close and have the functions explained by the Marines who operate them.  Following the landing, the soldiers stayed to eat lunch with the Vaughan second graders before flying back to Dobbins Air Force Base. The visit from these servicemen helped these students understand the real impact their letters of support have for members of the armed forces.

Riverside Primary School welcomed parents and community members on Friday, April 18 for the school’s annual Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) Parade. The parade encourages first grade students to do well on the CRCT test. The CRCT is one fo the most important education assessments for schools in Georgia. It is used as a measure to determine Adequate Yearly Progress under the No Child Left Behind act.

Students were surprised and elated to see Spongebob Squarepants, who made a special guest appearance at the parade! With the help of Cobb County Police officers, a portion of South Gordon Road was blocked off to allow students to march in the street.  Other officers led the parade on their motorcycles.

First grade students marched around the building while shouting and chanting inspiring words and holding purple and gold balloons in their hands. The students concluded the march in the back parking lot where they were greeted by their kindergarten peers cheering them on with bright and colorful banners. When students reached the back of the lot, each student released their balloon from their hand signifying a release of the stress and anxiety that standardized tests may cause.  Then, one by one, each class stood on the risers and announced their class made chant!

Stephen Meyer, assistant Band Director and first year teacher at Harrison High School, has been named as one of three finalists for the National Band Association’s Young Conductor program. The 2008 applicant pool exhibited over 250 competent young conductors.

NBA implemented the Young Conductor Mentor Project in 2004 in an effort to identify, inspire and build on the skills and knowledge of the young conductors. Three young conductors between the ages of 18 and 29 are selected to study and interact (at no charge) with a three-member mentor team of notable music educators.

Meyer will work with a mentor conductor from Ithica College and a composer yet to be determined to bring a new piece of music to life. Stephen will also travel across the United States to conduct symposiums and workshops to such organizations as Bands of America (BOA).

Luisa Resendiz, administrator at Campbell Middle School, and Michael R. Carpenter, PhD, student assistance consultant in the Prevention Intervention Center, spent the week of April 7-11 volunteering their time and expertise in the area of violence prevention to administrators, faculty and parents of eight public and private schools in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Assisted by local concerned citizens Cecilia and Ines Avalos, Luisa and Mike presented several research-based programs and best practices. The week began with a radio interview in which Luisa delineated the purpose and goals of the Second Step Program and issued an invitation to all parents in the Cabo area for the Thursday night parents’ seminar.

These training sessions introduced the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program followed by Emotional Intelligence awareness. These concepts provided the foundation for the Committee for Children’s evidenced-based Second Step Program. By the end of the session teachers showed an enthusiastic desire to implement specific strategies in their classroom.

Over one hundred teachers and administrators as well as one hundred thirty parents took advantage of this unique opportunity. Funding for materials and expenses was made possible by the Green Scholarship Program (GSP). This program, established as a living memorial to Milton and Doris Green, parents of Patricia Green Pratt, is a division of the Charity Development of Los Cabos.

Congratulations to the Campbell High School Counselors for winning the Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) award for 2008!!!  The is a national award presented by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) for exemplary school counseling programs.  Campbell HS is the first school in Cobb and the ONLY high school in Georgia to win this prestigious award.

The Campbell High counselors, Jana Loftin, Julia Richardson, Jamie Ryder, Nate Schult, and Yolanda Turner, under the leadership of Julie Hartline and with the support of their administrative team, staff, and advisory council, are to be commended for their outstanding contribution to school counseling.  They will be recognized at the counselor celebration on May 9, the ASCA conference this summer in Atlanta, and the GSCA fall conference in November in Augusta.

Big Shanty Intermediate School held its second annual “Big Shanty Authors’ Evening” on April 1.   More than 400 students and family members came to see and hear Big Shanty students from 19 classes perform their works.  Presentations include:  Book Making Stations with Wanda Wordhead , Cowboys on the Chisholm Trail, Picnic Poetry, Family Traditions, Douglas’ Poetry Diner, It’s A Zoo in Here, and many others.

The theme for this year’s event was “Writing Road Trip,” and what a trip it was.  The presentations were both varied in content and use of technology.  For example, “It’s a Zoo in Here” presented by third grade students from Ms. Swanger and Ms. Peacock’s classes featured PowerPoint presentations about different animals.  During an overnight field trip at Zoo Atlanta their students photographed and learned about the animal they were most interested in.  Upon returning to school, they researched the animal in more detail.  Then wrote and typed their report and imported pictures into PowerPoint.  Ms. Kennedy’s students authored a book entitled, “Wanda Wordhead and the Three Book Worms.” They illustrated it using scrapbook making materials.  Finally, it was transformed into a podcast.

During their presentations, they taught participants how to make their own books using paper plates, paper bags, and other readily available materials.  Another exciting presentation, Cowboys on the Chisholm Trail was performed outside, of course.  There was a tent, camp fire, bales of hay to sit on, and vittles to taste while Jennifer Hellman’s fifth graders read their “cowboy diaries.”
Last year, fifth grade teacher, Betsey Kennedy, and media specialist, Barbara Powell-Schager, won the 2007 National Thomson-Gale TEAMS Award for their collaborative efforts creating Authors’ Night.  The goal of last year’s and this year’s event was to improve student writing by creating an environment at Big Shanty that promotes and celebrates student authorship.  Both Betsey and Barbara organized the event and encouraged and supported teachers to participate.

The Financial Services Division of the Cobb County School District has continued its tradition of transparent and accurate management of the public’s tax dollars, winning the Association of School Business Officials’  Meritorious Budget Award for the 2007-2008 annual budget.  This marks the fourth consecutive year in which the District has received this honor, which is designed to promote and recognize the best in budget presentation, according to a strict set of national standards.

The Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) club at Sprayberry High School, along with the help of the school’s video production class, won first place in the Cobb County Collaborative Underage Drinking PSA contest. The purpose of this contest was to utilize the artistic talents of Cobb County high school students to produce a public service announcement dealing with substance abuse prevention. The entries were 30 seconds long. The top three entries will be aired on Cobb edTV during the month of April. Judges were comprised of community stakeholders. The top three winners were announced at the Cobb Underage Drinking Town Hall Meeting on Monday, March 24. Each participating student won medals and certificates. The SADD group also won a $100 prize that will be added to the group’s scholarship fund.