Students at the Fitzhugh Lee Center of HAVEN Academy have a new way to learn social and job-related life skills – a brand new greenhouse, funded by a special federal grant. The Georgia Learn and Serve “Growing Green” grant is focused on improving students’ voices in the process of learning and enhancement of civic responsibility.

The greenhouse will be an outdoor interactive classroom for students at the Fitzhugh-Lee Center. Activities will include growing plants, fruits and vegetables in the greenhouse, packaging food, and preparing foods from the produce. The produce grown will be used in a variety of ways, including food preparation at school and donations to a local food bank. Students will have an active voice in what they would like to grow and have an opportunity to be a part of a student advisory group.

The Fitzhugh-Lee Center has enlisted its Partners in Education, The Optimist Club and Smyrna Assembly of God, to assist with the project. The volunteer program at CSX transportation of Lithia Springs has also pitched in to help construct the greenhouse.

Before the end of the 2008-09 school year, Fitzhugh-Lee will host an open house for the community and parents to show how the “Growing Green” grant benefits students. For more information about this project, please contact Debbie Adelman, building administrator at Fitzhugh Lee School.

The Board of Education and Superintendent Fred Sanderson were recently invited by Major General Terry Nesbitt of the Georgia Army National Guard to visit the STARBASE program at Dobbins Air Reserve Base and the Youth Challenge Academy in Augusta, two unique educational programs for Georgia students. However, this was no ordinary road trip; the group had a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter waiting at Dobbins to transport them eastbound!

MG Nesbitt began the day by showing off the Georgia National Guard’s STARBASE program at Dobbins. STARBASE exposes students and their teachers to real world applications of math, science, aviation and technology, while addressing positive life skills, character building, drug abuse prevention and teamwork. After learning about the principles of flight in a classroom environment, students move into the Lockheed Martin Technology Center where they can apply the principles they’ve learned on flight simulators. The Board and Superintendent spent time observing STARBASE and interacting with students in a classroom setting.

Soon after, the group boarded the helicopter and took flight towards Fort Gordon in Augusta.  They arrived at the Youth Challenge Academy, a program that provides “at-risk” youth with academic and life skills training aimed at improving employment potential and creating productive citizens. Students take part in one of two, five-and-a-half month residential sessions, followed by a year-long post-residential phase. Upon completion of the program, students earn the Youth Challenge Academy Diploma and the General Equivalency Diploma (GED). The academy graduates approximately 270 students annually.

The Board and Superintendent enjoyed lunch with the academy cadets and embarked on a tour of the facilities at Fort Gordon. Following the tour, the group re-boarded the helicopter and returned to Marietta.

Dr. Patti Agatston, prevention specialist for the District’s Prevention/Intervention Center, has been invited to serve as keynote speaker for the Colorado Safe Schools Regional Training Conference. Sponsored by the Colorado School Safety Resource Center and the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, the event brings together Colorado teachers, law enforcement officers, parents, mental health professionals and community organizations to work together on a variety of school safety issues.

Dr. Agatston, co-author of a book on cyber-bullying, will discuss the evolving methods of bullying in cyberspace and what parents, schools and communities can do to combat it.

Wheeler High School’s robotics team The CircuitRunners performed flawlessly on Saturday, March 14 at the US FIRST FRC Peachtree Regional Championship, reaching the semifinals of the competition.

The combination of Robot Performance and overall team effort throughout the competition as well as the community earned the team the 2nd Highest Overall Award for the championship, The Engineering Inspiration Award.  This award recognizes that inspiring others to respect science and technology requires passion, knowledge and commitment.  FIRST celebrates these qualities by presenting the Engineering Inspiration Award.  This award celebrates a team’s outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering and engineers, both within their school, as well as their community.

The judges were highly complimentary of Wheeler’s program.

“This team demonstrates all of the qualities of an organization that truly values technology and understands the need to drive young adults into technical and engineering programs after high school.  Through community outreach and mentoring programs they run a circuit that keeps talent coming into their team and helps them continue education in engineering after graduation.  This year they continued their streak by painting the sky green.”

This award and the robot’s performance earned the CircuitRunners a trip to the INTERNATIONAL US FIRST FRC CHAMPIONSHIPS, to be held in the Georgia Dome April 16 -18.

The District’s Food & Nutrition Services department has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Southeast Regional Office for its Summer Nutrition Program. The USDA honored Cobb for ‘Ensuring Program Integrity,’ one of only eight awards given for the entire USDA Southeast Region. 2008 was the first year in which Cobb County School District participated in the Summer Nutrition Program, making the honor even more distinguished.

A student group at Campbell Middle School is immersing themselves in a cultural tradition that spans from England to China and beyond. The popular girls-only group the Lady Spartans held their first High Tea event on March 11, dressing in formal attire to share desserts and exotic teas.

Under the tutelage of advisers Luella Jacobs, Marsha Powells, Meta Rome, Brenda Sellers, Glenda Spring and Rose Wilkins, the Lady Spartans participate in many extracurricular activities, ranging from a pampering Spa Day to the Evening Etiquette dining experience to a Poetry Stomp event. The group is also active in community service activities; during the holiday season, the Lady Spartans served residents at the Del Mar Gardens nursing home.

The Lady Spartans provide an excellent outlet for Campbell Middle School’s female students, promoting social, mental and physical development.

Submitted by Stephanie Rosekrans

The Northeast Cobb Monitor Web site recently featured the Wheeler High School AP Government class trip to a town hall meeting led by Cobb Commissioner Tim Lee. Click here to read the story.

Last month, the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority and Cobb County Water System announced the winners of the 2009 Allatoona Ally Coloring Book Contest. The coloring book will be composed of the top 12 student drawings from the contest, and will be distributed through partnering doctors’ offices, restaurants and retailers as well as at waterSmart events throughout Cobb County to serve as a free, and fun, educational resource on water conservation.  The winning students are:

Margari Cerna Bautista, 4th grade, LaBelle Elementary
Sydney Higginbotham, 5th grade, Shallowford Falls Elementary
Kelsey Durick, 4th grade, Baker Elementary
Jeffrey Vicente, 5th grade, LaBelle Elementary
Jenny Brown, 5th grade, Baker Elementary
Christopher Ashby, 4th grade, Mt. Bethel Elementary
Ethan Lewis, 5th grade, Frey  Elementary
Alannah Hale, 5th grade, Murdock  Elementary
Meara Simmons, 5th grade, Frey Elementary
Christian Ruiz, 4th grade, Russell Elementary
Heather Luedke, 5th  grade, Frey Elementary
Katherine Zierten, 5th grade, Shallowford Falls Elementary

waterSmart launched the fourth annual Coloring Book Contest this past October, asking all Cobb County fourth and fifth-graders to create drawings showing Ally, the fish mascot for Lake Allatoona, conserving water in and around the home. More than 230 entries were submitted from 12 different elementary schools, and the top 12 illustrations selected by the judging panel will be featured in the coloring book.
Margari Cerna Bautista’s drawing of Ally holding a SAVE THE LAKE USE LESS WATER sign received the highest score from the judges and will be featured on the front cover of the coloring book.

The Osborne High School JROTC Leadership Academic Team recently won first place in the 2009 Army JROTC Leadership Academic Bowl. The cadets competed against teams from Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Osborne’s team won an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC where they will attend a leadership symposium with 51 other JROTC teams from across the globe.

Congratulations to cadets Amy Castro, Jordan Robertson, Jacob Furman, Tiare Castillo, Rosa Arriaga and Sabino Rico for their performance at the Academic Bowl!

Sprayberry High School senior Kristine Polley was recently named Georgia Class AAAA Swimmer of the Year! Kristine swims at the intrascholastic level for the Yellow Jackets, as well as the Stingrays competitive swimming program.

A 5-star rated swimmer committed to Florida State University, Miss Polley has been swimming competitively since age six. While attending Simpson Middle School in 2004, she was featured in Sports Illustrated’s ‘Faces in the Crowd’ segment for winning a gold medal while swimming against high school girls at the Georgia Senior State Championships.

Swimming World magazine has a feature story about Kristine Polley on its Web site. Congratulations for being named AAAA Swimmer of the Year!