STEM Education at Fulton Academy of Science & Technology Receives $20,000 Donation New technologies, like 3D printing and laser cutting, are growing nearly as fast as the applications for using them. Last year alone, more than 320,000 patents were granted for 3D printing technologies, making it the second-fastest-growing technology of 2017. Now, the Fulton Academy of Science & Technology (FAST) in Roswell will be able to bring more hands-on learning and prototyping into the curriculum for Fulton County students all thanks to a donation from Emerson. The donation extends the STEM support that Emerson provided in 2016 for the coding as a foreign language program.Emerson, a global leader in technology and engineering, donated $20,000 to fund the transformation of the schools makerspace with a variety of tools, cutting-edge equipment like 3D printers and laser cutters, and training for faculty and staff. The donation will enable students to bring innovation to life and the staff to further integrate hands-on learning into the daily innovation curriculum, which is unique to the FAST charter. The students are ready to learn and explore, said FAST Principal Chris Mahoney. We are working to prepare students to be creative thinkers and problem solvers, Mahoney added. Makerspaces can come in all shapes and sizes. It is really a place where projects, tools, mentors, and expertise can come together. The addition of a 3D printer and laser cutter will provide a boost to both innovation and creativity. This field is continuing to grow and presents incredible opportunities for our students. We are grateful to Emerson for the donation and look forward to seeing our students use this one-of-a-kind space.
Roswell Receives AmeriCorps Grant for After-School Programs Last year, the City and two of its nonprofit partners Ed Isakson/Alpharetta YMCA and STAR House Foundation received a $74,000 planning grant to begin the process of providing enhanced after-school programming at select Roswell elementary schools. This years grant, for up to $89,709, will be used by the City and these partners to continue the work by supporting after-school programming at four area schools with the goal of increasing elementary literacy and providing additional STEM and health and wellness education. The City of Roswell is contributing up to an additional $39,748 in monetary and in-kind funding to facilitate the project.The City of Roswell is recruiting twenty AmeriCorps members to implement the enhancements to after-school programming specifically by working with teachers to provide additional instruction and homework support to participating students. These AmeriCorps members will also engage participants parents through meetings and information sessions, and the community through service opportunities on nationally recognized days of service. Individuals interested in becoming AmeriCorps members to help in the local effort are invited to visit RoswellGov.com/AmeriCorps for more information and to apply. Additional questions regarding the City of Roswell grant or AmeriCorps opportunity may be addressed to Megan Boynton at 770-817-6715 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Roswell High School Marching Band Accepts Invitation to Participate in 2020 Londons New Years Day Parade The Roswell High School Marching Band recently accepted an invitation to perform in the 2020 Londons New Years Day Parade and Festival. The invitation was issued by Deputy Lord Mayor of the City of Westminster Councillor Robert Davis, with Parade Executive Director Robert Bone and other parade officials in attendance. After a tough and thorough selection process, I have with me the formal invitation, an honor bestowed on very few high schools in the United States, Davis said to Band Director Michael Moon and members of the marching band. Bone said that each year, the parade has 8,500 parade participants from twenty different countries and 650,000 spectators, while 600 million watch the event on television from around the world. Sixteen American high school and college bands will perform in the 34th annual parade in 2020. [The spectators] come primarily because of you, Bone said to members of the marching band. They just love American marching bands. [The British] dont have anything like it. Besides the parade, which takes place at noon on New Years Day, members of visiting marching bands give concerts throughout the week in venues across the city of Westminster. The Roswell High School Marching Band will be in London from December 27, 2019 to January 3, 2020. For more information about Londons New Years Day Parade and Festival, visit LNYDP.com.
Fulton County School System Has Most National Merit Semifinalists in Georgia The Fulton County School System announced that 128 students are semifinalists in the 64th Annual National Merit Scholarship Program, the highest number of any school system in Georgia. These scholastically talented high school seniors now continue in the national competition for more than 7,500 Merit Scholarship awards, a value of approximately $31 million. Announced by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, this is the first round of competition for students seeking the distinction of being named a National Merit Scholar and receiving the scholarship money associated with it. Finalists will be named in February, and the scholarship winners will be announced beginning in April. The students were identified through exceptionally high scores on the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which they took as juniors. As semifinalists, the students now must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist round. They must have a record of high academic performance, be endorsed and recommended by their school leadership, and earn SAT scores that confirm their earlier qualifying test performance. A detailed scholarship application, which includes the students self-descriptive essay and information about his or her participation and leadership in school and community activities, also must be submitted. Here are this years semifinalists from north Fulton high schools:Alpharetta High School Richard ChoRohit DasSidhesh S. DesaiAnushka DheerDheeraj EidnaniKaushal GokareSyed HaiderMatthew HolmquistJake HopkinsMarilyn KessingerManoj NiverthiSean RagerIda VaghefiAdam WangArthur YuJustin Zandstra Cambridge High SchoolAustin T. FarrChristopher M. FettesCaroline K. RedickNikita Savant Centennial High School Christine PangChattahoochee High SchoolAbhimanyu AurobindoJennifer BaiJames BischoffMarylyn ChenRidhi ChoragudiHannah DominguezMorgan GilesXuanming GuEmily GuoSung Mo HongVinnie K. KhannaAndrew KreitnerVanisha KudumuriAndy LuoMaanas PurushothapuNithyashree RajasekarAkash RudraTyler ShinRaj SrivastavaShyla TolaniNithilan VincentEllie WongHarrison ZhuJohns Creek High SchoolRajath BappanadTyler C. BierfreundAngie ChenVictoria ChenHyun ChoiJason GaoWilliam GoldsteinAlexander B. HayesVatan KapadiaHojung KimSarah C. McWhirterKatherine RoladerAndrew S. ShinSamuel SongNeha SubramaniyanYuma TanakaRhea VohraJulia WeiLily XieJacob YoungSarah Zhang Milton High SchoolPranav AthimuthuAnna BukowskiMaxwell GuoNiraj JinanErin JoyceSoham KarRithwik KoppakaKayleigh MonahanMira E. MutnickDavid Schertz Northview High School Safa AhmedKelsey AhnNathaniel AlemayehuAlina BaijuAmshumanth ChakragiriMallika ChimpiriSruti ChitluriOlivia L. ChoBrijal ChokshiConstantin ClaassenAlexandra DunnAnnie Z. FengShashank S. GaneshanSuraj S. GubbalaAniruddha GuptaLawrence L. HeMohammed F. JunejaSonia KaliaMichele KimPraneeth KolichalaRichard LeeYoungho LimNithya MahakalaPriun NagruAyush S. NeneEvan OuyangNidhi PaiMichelle L. PangTiffany L. PangPriya RajeevRicha SehgalAayush ShahMadhusudhan SrinivasanSylvia TangAmy TauLivia I. TibuleacVarun R. VangalaAnkita D. VayalapalliKevin WangSimon YanDevansh YerpudeGrace YuAlyssa ZhangSheri ZhangJonathan ZhengRoswell High School Sameer KhanLena KroneGrant RosenblumRachna Sahasrabudhe
Bus Tracking App Comes to Fulton County Schools Fulton County Schools now offers a free app that allows parents to track their students school bus. Here Comes The Bus uses GPS technology to locate and track a school bus. Similar to ride-sharing apps, buses will show up as an icon on a map, and parents can follow its progress, as it moves toward the bus stop. The system also counts down the minutes before the bus arrives. Our transportation fleet is committed to the safety and on-time delivery of students to their schools and homes, said Sam Ham, executive director of the districts Transportation Department. The Here Comes The Bus app eliminates the age-old question, Where is my bus? It lets us be more customer-focused, so our families know when the bus is on its way and can follow its progress online. To sign up, parents need their childs student ID number, which is available from the school and is the same number used to view their students academic information online (Home Access Center) and school meal programs (MyPaymentsPlus). Fulton County Schools code, 87428, also is needed. After completing a brief user profile, the app is ready to use. Multiple students in the same household can be put on the same account. Students also can download the app to their cell phones or other personal devices, using their Launchpad ID to log in to the program. Parents and students can download the program through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store or can visit HereComesTheBus.com to sign up. More information about the program, including FAQs and troubleshooting is posted to Tinyurl.com/HCTBapp on the Fulton County Schools website.
Crabapple Middle School Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award Winner Seventh grader Jackson Smith was the student winner of Crabapple Middle Schools (CMS) Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK, Jr.) Humanitarian Award. Jackson works tirelessly in the community with the Little Helpers organization and has volunteered as far away as Vietnam, spreading a message of compassion and service. The CMS staff winner was Glenn Mize. Glenn volunteers many untold hours in the schools community garden and also willingly passes on the love of gardening to the students. The community winner is Edward Klaas II. Edward is a committed school business partner, parent, and community volunteer who donates his time to local projects and international missions.
Creek View Receives Gift from the Gladiators Creek View Elementary students were excited to receive a special visit from Clyde Patterson of the Gwinnett Gladiators who handed them a check for $1,607.40. Late last year, the Creek View Elementary Chorus sang the Canadian National Anthem before the Gladiators took the ice against the Kansas City Mavericks, and several students participated in the High- Five tunnel. Proceeds from tickets sold by Creek View students and families went to support the schools music and physical education programs. These funds will be used for Creek Views Project-Based Learning initiatives and for new technology for the students.
Chattahoochee Senior Named a U.S. Presidential Scholars Program Candidate Chattahoochee High School senior Puneet Singh has been named one of more than 4,500 candidates in the 2018 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. Candidates were selected from nearly 3.6 million students expected to graduate from U.S. high schools in 2018. Inclusion in the U.S. Presidential Scholar Program, now in its 54th year, is one of the highest honors bestowed upon graduating high school seniors. Scholars are selected on the basis of superior academic and artistic achievements, leadership qualities, strong character, and involvement in community and school activities.For more information about the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, call 507-931-8435, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Spring Registration Date Set for Kindergarten & Pre-K Students The Fulton County School System announced its spring kindergarten registration dates: Wednesday, March 28, 8:00am-4:00pm, and Thursday, March 29, 8:00am-7:00pm. During these two days, parents of incoming kindergarten students, as well as other new elementary students entering school in August, can register their children for the 2018-2019 school year. Registration will occur at all Fulton County elementary schools. To register new students, parents should visit the school their child will attend in the fall. In addition, over 1,700 spaces in pre-kindergarten classes are available at 45 elementary schools throughout the county. Pre-kindergarten registration dates vary by school, and enrollment is handled by a lottery system. Parents also can visit the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learnings website, Decal.Ga.gov, to determine the availability of other privately funded pre-kindergarten program providers.
Over 40,000 Students Visit the Chattahoochee Nature Center Every Year The following excerpts are from an interview with Chris S. Nelson, Executive Director of the Chattahoochee Nature Center (CNC). What is the CNC? When and why was it launched?The CNC was founded in 1976, when approximately six acres of land were purchased around Kingfisher Pond. CNC was initially established through the efforts of John Ripley Forbes who directed the Natural Science for Youth Foundation. Roy Wood, who worked with the U.S. Dept. of Interior, located the facility and encouraged the land purchase. The purpose of CNC has been, and continues to be, increasing community awareness and understanding of the natural environment and the Chattahoochee River. As the interpretive center for the river, CNCs mission is to connect people with nature through education and fun.Why is your environmental education program is so popular?The environmental education programs are so popular because they align with the States K-12 Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) for Science, with authentic science learning experiences taking place with our onsite and outreach programs. Also, CNC programs are connected to STEM national initiatives by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and Benchmarks for Science Literacy from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).Can you tell us a vision for the future of CNC?Thanks to our exceptional location and mission, CNC is uniquely positioned to offer one-of-a-kind unplugged experiences in the great outdoors something that is increasingly difficult to find in our 21st century lives.We are beginning a capital campaign, which will allow us to expand and improve our facilities. This may include a new river boardwalk, improvements to Kingfisher Hall, and a new entranceway. These improvements will increase our ability to educate students and the public about the nature all around them while increasing CNCs visibility in the community as a leader in eco-education.