EHS Student Wins Regional Poetry Out Loud! Competition Etowah High School junior, Brandon Snow, moved on to the state competition for the National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Out Loud! program. Brandon earned his spot after a successful performance at the North Georgia Regional Poetry Out Loud! Competition, which was recently hosted by Woodstock High School. The State contest for the national poetry recitation competition was held on March 20 at the Atlanta History Center.
CCSD to Hold Registration for the 2016-17 School Year for Kindergarten and First Grade Kindergarten and first grade students who are entering school for the first time may register from 3:30-6:00 pm on Thursday, April 28 and 9:00 am-12:00 pm on Friday, April 29 at all CCSD elementary schools. For more information about registration requirements, please read the flier posted on the CCSD website: Portal.Cherokee.k12.ga.us/Lists/News%20%20Announcements/Attachments/420/CCSD%202016-17%20Kindergarten%20Registration.pdf For more information on CCSD kindergarten programs, please see the publication, Ready to Learn! at Cherokee.k12.ga.us/parentinfo/Documents/2016-17%20%20KINDERGARTEN%20at%20CCSD.pdf
Two CCSD Principals Named Finalists for 2017-18 U.S. Department of Educations Principal Ambassador Fellowship Program Teasley MS Principal, Dr. Susan Zinkil, and Etowah HS Principal, Keith Ball, have advanced to the interview level in this highly competitive program. The program is designed to improve students education by involving current principals in the development and implementation of education policy, according to the U.S. DOE. Principal Ambassador Fellows are selected to work for the U.S. DOE full-time at its headquarters, as Washington Fellows, and part-time on an hourly basis from their home communities, as Campus Fellows; Principals Ball and Zinkil both are finalists for the Campus Fellows opportunity. Applications are reviewed by a panel of U.S. DOE staff members with experience and expertise in instruction as well as current and previous Principal Ambassador Fellows, and finalists then are selected for the interview level.
River Ridge HSs Allie Robbins Named in Top 20 Youth Leaders in Georgia. Allie was recently honored by the 21st Century Leaders (21CL) nonprofit youth leadership program at its Eighth Annual Georgia Youth Leadership Awards at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. The annual awards recognize 20 outstanding high school students throughout Georgia who have made a significant impact on their schools, communities and beyond, according to 21CL. Allie is being recognized for her work to develop the first countywide Challenger Basketball program for special needs students. Allie was also recognized by the Cherokee County School Board and Superintendent of Schools. Each honoree will be presented with a $250 mini-grant; one student at the event also will be presented with the top award of the Turner Voices Innovative Leadership Award, which includes a $1,000 grant from sponsor, Turner Broadcasting.
CCSD National Signing Day Event Honors 57 Student Athletes Fifty-seven Cherokee County School District student-athletes were recognized at the CCSD National Signing Day ceremony for signing scholarship commitment letters to compete at the college level. The following students were recognized from Etowah HS, River Ridge HS and Woodstock HS: School/Student/Sport/College EHS/Sawyer Gipson-Long/Baseball/Mercer UniversityEHS/Brian Peet/Baseball/University of West GeorgiaEHS/Madelynn Reeves/Cross Country/Georgia Southwestern UniversityEHS/Alex Smith/Football/Georgia Southern UniversityEHS/Bronson Rechsteiner/Football/Kennesaw State UniversityEHS/Brandon Reibly/Football/Reinhardt UniversityEHS/Rachel Kraus/Lacrosse/Georgetown CollegeEHS/Beth Haynes/Lacrosse/Georgetown CollegeEHS/Alec Drosos/Lacrosse/Jacksonville UniversityEHS/Jaclyn Regnery/Lacrosse/Kennesaw State UniversityEHS/Sean Smart/Lacrosse/Mercer UniversityEHS/Daniel Zimny/Lacrosse/Young Harris CollegeEHS/Sarah Garrett/Softball/Gordon State CollegeEHS/Ana Albertson/Tennis/Austin PeayEHS/Nikki Gilner/Tennis/eorgia Southern UniversityEHS/Galen Lee/Tennis/Harvard UniversityRRHS/Zachary Cable/Baseball/Chattahoochee Valley, Phoenix City, AlabamaRRHS/Luke Berryhill/Baseball/Georgia Southern University RRHS/Dylan Schoknecht/Baseball/Hesston CollegeRRHS/Cody Simmons/Baseball/Maryville CollegeRRHS/Olivia Stasevich/Beach Volleyball/Georgia State UniversityRRHS/Caroline Mlaska/Golf/Maryville CollegeRRHS/Lexi Fairchild/Lacrosse/Emmanuel CollegeRRHS/Brooke DeSantis/Soccer/University of MichiganRRHS/Jessica Anthony/Soccer/University of West GeorgiaRRHS/Beth McCulley/Softball/Kennesaw State UniversityRRHS/Ben Van Hout/Tennis/Northern Arizona UniversityWHS/Trevor Daniell Hillhouse/Baseball/Auburn UniversityWHS/Kennedy Montgomery/Basketball/Columbus State UniversityWHS/Jillian Chiesa/Lacrosse/North Greenville UniversityWHS/Celine McDuffie/Lacrosse/Savannah College of Art and DesignWHS/Jenna Carr/Lacrosse/University of Alabama - HuntsvilleWHS/Jordan Gaines/Lacrosse/University of Alabama - HuntsvilleWHS/Danielle Rubin/Softball/Kennesaw State UniversityWHS/Lauren Case/Swimming/University of Texas
Dr. Susan Zinkil is GAs MS Principal of the Year Dr. Zinkil was appointed the Principal of Teasley MS in 2010. Under her leadership, Teasley MS has been recognized as a Distinguished Breakout Middle School by the Georgia Association of Secondary School Principals in 2013, a finalist for the Georgia Family Friendly Partnership Award in 2014 and a Title I Reward School in 2012 and 2015 by the Georgia Department of Education. Additionally, the Technology Association of Georgia named Teasley MS as a finalist in its State STEM Awards in 2015.
CCSD Adaptive PE Teacher Wins State Triumph of the Human Spirit Award Cherokee County School District Adaptive Physical Education teacher, Amy Aenchbacher, has won a state award for her outstanding service to special needs students. She is one of 20 winners statewide of the 2015 BlazeSports Triumph of the Human Spirit Award, previously named the Georgia Disability Sports Award, which honors significant impacts made in Georgia through adaptive sport and recreation. These awards pay tribute to individuals, groups and organizations that demonstrate qualities beyond athletic achievement, such as leadership and a positive attitude, and to those who inspire, motivate and truly epitomize the Triumph of the Human Spirit. A lifelong advocate and educator of quality physical education programs for children with disabilities in Georgia, Ms. Aenchbacher has served as Co-Coordinator of the Cherokee County Special Olympics for more than a decade.
CCSD Students Continued to Exceed State, Nation on AP Exams Cherokee County School District high school students not only continue to exceed State and National averages on rigorous Advance Placement (AP) exams, but the school system has also garnered national recognition for its AP achievement for the third consecutive year. CCSD has earned the third-highest AP exam passage rate in Georgia in 2015, as well as being named to the College Boards AP Honor Roll. Only six school districts in Georgia were named to the AP Honor Roll for 2015, and this was CCSDs third consecutive year to earn the distinction. The School District, with a passage rate of 73% among the 4,125 tests administered in the spring of 2015, ranks third out of Georgias 180 school systems and exceeds the State average of 55% and the National average of 58%. The AP Program allows high school students who score a 3, 4 or 5 on an AP exam to earn college credit in high school and, subsequently, to exempt those courses in college. Studies show that students who participate in AP courses are more likely to earn higher scores on the SAT and ACT and to complete their college education. Passage of AP exams places students at an academic and financial advantage, studies show, as they can both begin classes in their major sooner and avoid tuition costs for exempted courses.
Woodstock MS Wins CCSD Middle School Academic Bowl Woodstock Middle Schools team won the Cherokee County School District 2015 Middle School Academic Bowl. The team, led by Captain Michael Brown, includes Dayne Bergman, Abby Borland, Laney Brussard, Caitlan Callahan, Tess Cope, Abi Halls, Bryce Hunter, Daniel Jackson, Camilo Rincon and Matt Rudolph. The coaches are teachers, Charmaine Spink and Rosa Frederick. The competition between the seven middle schools was hosted by Teasley Middle School. For the first time in CCSD history, there was a three-way tie for first place, which was finally decided by a three-question tie-breaker. Woodstock Middle Schools team will represent CCSD at the PAGE Regional Academic Bowl on January 9, 2016.
Woodstock MS Uses Desk Cycles to Boost Academic Focus Middle schoolers everywhere tend to be a fidgety group, so when eighth-grade Language Arts teacher, Rosa Frederick, read an article about small, constant movement improving brain function and focus, she knew she wanted to try it out in her classroom. After doing additional research, Ms. Frederick and Ms. Cope, the schools media specialist, wrote a grant to DonorsChoose.org for 12 Desk Cycles for Ms. Fredericks classroom. The grant was funded in only two months. We began piloting with only three of the Desk Cycles, and I would ask the kids, Who wants to be a hamster today? The hands would fly up! Ms. Frederick said. One quiet student pedaling on the bike participated more in class; another student who had previously had difficulty completing assignments, finished a challenging rough draft within one class period. Attendance is up, too. Ms. Fredericks homeroom has the highest attendance of any homeroom at Woodstock Middle School. And knowing they have the opportunity to boost their brains through biking? She said thats an incentive worth pedaling toward.