The Wall That Heals: Vietnam Veterans Memorial Display Coming to Arnold Mill ES The 250-foot replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, along with a mobile education center, will be displayed outside the school building at 710 Arnold Mill Road in Woodstock. The Wall is scheduled to arrive on campus, with a Patriot Guard and Warrior Watch escort on Wednesday, Nov. 16, and an official welcome ceremony will be presented by the school at 10:00 am on Thursday, Nov. 17. The display will then be open to the public to view, at no charge, through 2:00 pm on Sunday, Nov. 20.
Five CCSD Students Selected for Model Atlanta Regional Commission Program Five Cherokee County School District (CCSD) high school students have been selected for a prestigious program to share their ideas on improving metro Atlanta! The five CCSD students are participants in the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) program, the Model Atlanta Regional Commission (MARC), which is a six-month youth leadership program focused on regional issues and challenges.They are: Woodstock HS juniors Chabelli Canales, Malcolm Green and Sasha Stogniy; and River Ridge HS sophomores Grace Pfohl and Darla Willis.Through the program, students learn about regional issues and challenges then suggest ideas to the ARC Board as to how to address them. For more information, visit AtlantaRegional.com/marc.
Woodstock ES Teacher Named Georgia Art Educator of the Year Woodstock ES teacher Pam Morgan has won the statewide title in recognition of her efforts at the school, community and state level. A longtime member of the Georgia Art Education Association, which presents the overall award to one Georgia teacher each year, she has served on its board as Capitol Art Exhibit Co-Chair, Youth Art Month Co-Chair and District No. 2 President. Ms. Morgan previously has been honored with the Associations 2010 Elementary Art Educator of the Year award and went on to win the Southeastern 2010 Elementary Art Educator of the Year title as well. Ms. Morgan is a strong supporter of student exhibits including the Capitol Art Exhibit and Hartsfield Jackson International Airport Youth Art Exhibit and Cherokee Arts Council Youth Art Month Exhibit. Her students have also created artwork in coordination with the City of Woodstock and Preservation Woodstock. Additionally, The Art of Giving project that she developed shows students how their art can touch the lives of others.
River Ridge HS JROTC Students Earn Honors at The Citadel River Ridge HS JROTC cadets performed at outstanding levels at the Air Force JROTC Cadet Leadership Course at The Citadel in Charleston. The Cadet Leadership Course is one of the most important annual training events for an Air Force JROTC cadet. It incorporates a wide range of subjects designed to develop and evaluate leadership ability. The challenges are rigorous and demanding, both mentally and physically, and test intelligence, common sense, ingenuity and stamina. Cadets must meet established standards in physical fitness, weapons training, communication, combat patrols and demonstrate their proficiency in many other military skills. The following River Ridge HS cadets received these superlative commendations: Outstanding Flight Commander: Nicholas ManningBest Flight - ECHO Flight: Luke Andraschko Honor Graduates: Tyler Haygood and Paxton Nayman Superior Achievers in Academics: Tyler Haygood, Brandon Hewgley and Paxton Nayman Superior Drill Performers: Brandon Davis, Mathieu Sepulveda and Kelsey WessingerDorm and Personal Inspection Superior Performer: Paxton Nayman
Seven CCSD High School Seniors Named National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalists Seven Cherokee County School District high school seniors were named 2017 National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists! They are: Creekview HSs Jack Pace, River Ridge HSs Anabelle Paulino, Sequoyah HSs Katie Bates and Alex Morrison and Woodstock HSs Alex Andon, A.J. Cox and Evan Vines. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has named 16,000 semi-finalists, who were selected based on outstanding 2015 PSAT scores. Less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors are named semi-finalists. To be considered as a finalist, the students next will submit a detailed application, noting their academic achievements, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment and honors. An endorsement and recommendation from a high school official and an essay are also required, and students must earn SAT scores that confirm their PSAT performance. The anticipated 15,000 finalists will compete for 7,500 scholarships worth about $33 million, which will be awarded in the spring.
The Woodstock HS Varsity Singers Receive Top State Honor The choral group, directed by teacher Ryan McKendrick, has earned the Exemplary Performance Award presented by the Georgia Music Educators Association. Building an excellent music program is a process requiring extra time, much talent and tremendous dedication to the music education profession, said Ed Davis, chairman for the Exemplary Performance Award Selection Committee. Mr. McKendrick is to be commended for this outstanding achievement. His school and students are the direct benefactors of his hard work and love for teaching. Woodstock HS choral students have also been invited to perform at the Associations In-Service event, as have choral groups from Teasley MS, Woodstock MS and Sequoyah HS. Its considered a significant feat for so many groups from one school district to be selected.
CCSD Names 2016-17 Student Advisor, Student Delegates to School Board The Cherokee County School Board has included a student advisor position on its board since 1999, and for the past six years, a student delegate from each high school has also been selected. These students serve for one year to give input and feedback to the School Board; the advisor role is rotated among the countys high schools. This years student advisor is Joseph Henderson of ACE Academy. The Student Delegates are: Cherokee High Schools Julia Kochansky, Creekview High Schools Parker Quarles, Etowah High Schools Meghan Hines, River Ridge High Schools Jordan Mason, Sequoyah High Schools Isabelle Riddle and Woodstock High Schools Kayla Brader. Students selected to serve as student advisor or student delegates share common traits. They excel in the classroom, often ranking in the top ten percent of their class and earning titles like valedictorian; they are involved in their school, often participating in numerous clubs, sports and organizations, and they seek out opportunities to serve and lead.
River Ridge HS Student Places at State Level for Microsoft Certification A River Ridge High School Class of 2016 graduate placed third in Georgia for her performance on Microsofts Word 2013 Certification Exam. The school recently received the results for its 2015-16 testing, which showed Kaila Bankers success on the test. She earned a perfect score in record time. All Georgia students can take a Microsoft Office Specialist Exam, free of charge, and earn certification in a specific Microsoft program. Kaila was a student of teacher Jennifer Norton in her computer science class.
Etowah HS Students, Teacher Participate in Summer Earth Studies Program Four Etowah High School students and one of their science teachers recently participated in a Summer Earth Studies trip where they learned in the classrooms of Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. The 21-day experiential learning environment taught students how to read the earth like a textbook, according to Etowah HS teacher Denise Danielson, who coordinated this opportunity for students with support from CCSDs Office of Educational Programs. Students learned how to read topographical maps, use compasses and read field guides to propose hypotheses and collaboratively solve daily field problems as they related to geology, meteorology, ecology and astronomy. The rigorous academic program in which students earned an Honors Earth Science credit also featured hiking, caving, fossil digging, star gazing and white water rafting.
Woodstock HS Students Place Second in Nation in Engineering Competition The five-member, ninth- and tenth-grade team of Woodstock High School students earned second place in the 2016 TEAMS (Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science) Best in Nation competition at the National Technology Student Association conference that was recently held in Nashville. The team also placed second in the problem-solving competition and placed as a finalist in both the written essay and prepared presentations. Teacher Karen Zayance is the teams coach. The National competition was open to student teams that had placed in the top three at the state level, and approximately 1,000 students participated at Nationals. Students work together in the competitions to solve real-world problems written by industry leaders and college professors. This years competition theme was Engineering the Tools of Innovation, and students competed in four areas: research and prepare an essay developing applications for optogenetics; complete multiple-choice questions on engineering, science and math topics; for the problem-solving competition, make an optical device to take light from one source to another, which was based on the Hubble Telescope systems failure; and for the prepared presentation portion, address interplanetary travel and the innovations needed in order for it to be achieved.