CCSD Celebrates Teachers of the Year at Legacy Makers Banquet The Cherokee County School District (CCSD) celebrated outstanding educators with an elegant dinner, tributes and gifts at the 2017 Legacy Makers: CCSD Teachers of the Year Celebration, thanks to the support of community partners.Cherokee County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian V. Hightower congratulated CCSD 2017 Teacher of the Year Brian Carnes of Sequoyah High School as well as all school-level winners during the event. Our School Districts Teacher of the Year exemplifies what you can accomplish when you take a risk to follow your hearts calling, Dr. Hightower said of Mr. Carnes, who left behind a successful career in the poultry industry to pursue his dream of teaching high school chemistry. Were so glad he listened, as are the hundreds of students who learned from him in special education, science and Advanced Placement Chemistry classes over the last twelve years.In his speech, Mr. Carnes spoke about how his faith in his teaching abilities, which started as small as a mustard seed, coupled with his familys support, enabled him to move mountains and not only fulfill his dream, but also earn accolades. He congratulated all of the school-level Teachers of the Year for their accomplishments, noting how hearing about their successes during the evenings program made his award even more meaningful and humbling.Dr. Hightower presented gifts to all of the schools Teacher of the Year winners, including a $150 Visa gift card, a portrait by Lifetouch Portrait Studio and an engraved plaque and a tote bag filled with supplies and gifts.
Creekview HS Army JROTC Raider Challenge Team Places at Nationals The team competed at Raider Nationals, which is organized by Sports Network International and held annually at Lawhorne Scouting Base in Molena, GA. They placed sixth out of 81 teams. The teams, all regional or state champions, came to the athletic competition from 22 states. The Creekview HS team is coached by teacher and First Sgt. Greg Anderson. Front row L-R: Team Commander Jacob Densmore, Thomas Musgrave, Savannah Webb, Roxana Maranon, Jessica Hankin, Samantha Cassell, Dever Johnson; back row L-R: Coach First Sgt. Greg Anderson, Isaac Curtis, Cole Reese, Alex Godfrey, Jonathan Wood and Brandon Robinson.
CCSD Celebrates Teachers of the Year at Legacy Makers Banquet The Cherokee County School District (CCSD) celebrated outstanding educators with an elegant dinner, tributes and gifts at the 2017 Legacy Makers: CCSD Teachers of the Year Celebration, thanks to the support of community partners.Cherokee County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian V. Hightower congratulated CCSD 2017 Teacher of the Year Brian Carnes of Sequoyah High School as well as all school-level winners during the event. Our School Districts Teacher of the Year exemplifies what you can accomplish when you take a risk to follow your hearts calling, Dr. Hightower said of Mr. Carnes, who left behind a successful career in the poultry industry to pursue his dream of teaching high school chemistry. Were so glad he listened, as are the hundreds of students who learned from him in special education, science and Advanced Placement Chemistry classes over the last twelve years.In his speech, Mr. Carnes spoke about how his faith in his teaching abilities, which started as small as a mustard seed, coupled with his familys support, enabled him to move mountains and not only fulfill his dream, but also earn accolades. He congratulated all of the school-level Teachers of the Year for their accomplishments, noting how hearing about their successes during the evenings program made his award even more meaningful and humbling.Dr. Hightower presented gifts to all of the schools Teacher of the Year winners, including a $150 Visa gift card, a portrait by Lifetouch Portrait Studio and an engraved plaque and a tote bag filled with supplies and gifts.
Sequoyah High School DECA Club Qualifies for State Competition The marketing association students competed at the DECA Regional Career Development Conference at The Riverside EpiCenter in Austell in events directly aligned with Georgias Career Pathway for marketing.Students and their awards, which qualified them to compete at the state competition, are: first place, Saigim Garcia, Restaurant & Food Service Management; Sydney Neubert, Hotel & Lodging Management and Hanna Palmer, Apparel & Accessories; second place, Jessica Bobe, Principles of Finance; fourth place, Jacob Poole, Business Services Marketing; sixth place, Gavin Black, Quick Serve Restaurant Management; Maddie Bruce, Principles of Marketing and Tatum Ussery, Retail Merchandising. Teacher Kari Palmer is the Clubs advisor.
CCSD Earns High Approval Rating Marks in Regional Report More than 76% of residents polled rank Cherokee Countys public schools as excellent or good in a new regional report the second-highest school approval rating in metro Atlanta. The poll, which was recently published by the Atlanta Regional Commission, found 35.6% of respondents describe Cherokees schools as excellent, and 40.6% describe them as good, for a total that trails only Fayette County. The remainder was split between fair (10.8%), poor (4.3%) and dont know (8.7%). Residents were polled in thirteen metro counties and in the city of Atlanta. These results affirm what we already know to be true: our students, parents, employees, volunteers, partners and School Board are working together to continuously improve teaching and learning, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian V. Hightower said. We appreciate the support of our community and recognize the confidence placed in our School District. Were committed to further strengthening our schools and seeing our approval ratings rise to even higher levels.
Sequoyah HS Science Teacher Named CCSD 2017 Teacher of the Year Chicken farmer has been a nickname for the poultry industry leader-turned-science teacher at Sequoyah High School since he made the career change twelve years ago. Recently, Brian Carnes earned a new nickname: Cherokee County School Districts 2017 Teacher of the Year. I was very surprised and excited just to be named Sequoyah High Schools Teacher of the Year; its such an excellent school. I know all of the great teachers we have in Cherokee County, so this is just kind of overwhelming to me, said Carnes. The CCSD Teacher of the Year is selected by a panel of community leaders who evaluate applications from each schools Teacher of the Year. The school winners are selected by their peers. Mr. Carnes will serve as CCSDs nominee for Georgia Teacher of the Year; the winner will be named in the spring.
Hickory Flat Community Celebrates Ribbon Cutting of New Dean Rusk MS The 30-year-old former Dean Rusk MS building required replacement in order to meet the needs of the growing community. The new school accommodates the current 1,480 students with room for growth, with numerous classrooms, wide hallways, a spacious gymnasium, a cafetorium and additional technology, all designed to serve the new grades 6-8 configuration. The school is named for the late U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, who was born in Cherokee County and served from 1961-69 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.Constructed by Womack, Lewis & Smith, Inc. using a CCSD prototypical middle-school design, the 255,037-square-foot, two-story school is on 25.6 acres on East Cherokee Drive, adjacent to the campuses of Hickory Flat ES and Sequoyah HS. Its classrooms all feature touchscreen, flat-panel smart boards the first school in CCSD with this feature. Other technological innovations include the Global Learning Theatre video-conferencing classroom and Technology Lab classroom, with a 3-D printer, green-screen video room and Lego robotics table among its special features.In addition to CCSDs safety standards, such as an electronic front-door buzz-in security system, the new design requires all visitor traffic to flow into the front office for an additional security foyer level of check-in and verification before entering the main hallway. The former Dean Rusk MS is being renovated to provide additional capacity to Sequoyah HS beginning in January, much like how the former Chapman Intermediate School now is used as Etowah East by Etowah HS. The District and school are collaboratively developing a plan for which programs will be housed in this facility.
Liberty ES Students Raise Funds for CURE Childhood Cancer Liberty Elementary School students participate in character education and service-learning projects throughout the year. In support of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, students recently raised $500 for CURE Childhood Cancer. Students who donated $1 received a paper doll to decorate to promote the awareness of childhood cancer.
Sequoyah HS Speech and Debate Team Succeeds at Meet Sequoyahs Speech and Debate Team recently participated in the Wake Forest Speech and Debate Tournament, with two students making it to finals! Twenty-four Sequoyah students competed at Wake Forest University, in Winston-Salem, N.C., against teams from 85 other schools from 18 different states. Senior Mary Beth Dicks and junior Caleb Crayton made it to final rounds, with 30 other students from across the nation, after competing against some of the best in the contest.
Ralph Bunche Center Playground Dedicated to Late Student School and community recently gathered at the Ralph Bunche Center in Canton to dedicate the Playground for Smiles in memory of a young student who passed away last year. Christian Egner attended the preschool center for two years before he succumbed to complications from asthma. Christian enjoyed life to the fullest, Principal Donna Adams said during the ceremony. We were blessed to have Christian dance through these halls and leap on this playground. Christians parents, Keith and Trish Egner, participated in the dedication. The news of the dedication, Mr. Egner said, brought joy to my heart and to my family. His name will go on, and hell be remembered for years to come. The Soleil community in Laurel Canyon was instrumental in raising funds for the new playground equipment. The Egner family has established a foundation in Christians name, and a 5K Smile Run is scheduled for October 8 to benefit the Ralph Bunche Center. For more information, visit TheSmileRun.com/.