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!