Good News from the Etowah Zone

Check out the latest good news from schools in the Etowah Innovation Zone (Etowah High, E.T. Booth Middle, Chapman Intermediate and Bascomb, Boston, Clark Creek STEM and Oak Grove Fine Arts Elementary Schools)…

Etowah High School
Etowah High School has been named to two lists of top U.S. high schools: “America’s Best High Schools 2013” published by Newsweek and The Daily Beast and “America's Most Challenging High Schools” list published by the Washington Post.
Schools are ranked by Newsweek based on factors including: graduation rate; percent of graduates accepted to college; Advanced Placement (AP) tests per student; average SAT and/or ACT score; average AP exam score; and AP courses offered per student.
The Washington Post list ranks schools based on factors including the percentage of graduating seniors who take Advanced Placement (AP) tests.  Only 9 percent of the approximately 22,000 U.S. public high schools earned placement on the 2013 list.
Etowah HS is led by Principal Keith Ball.
“This news is further evidence of the outstanding efforts being made by our students, parents and teachers to excel academically despite the economic challenges facing our schools and community,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank R. Petruzielo said.  “Our school year is shorter, our classes are more crowded, our teachers are under increased pressure and one in three students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch.  Being named a top U.S. high school and earning the highest SAT scores in the State would be an accomplishment at any time, but especially in challenging times like these.”     

The Etowah High School Academic Team is the official 5-AAAAAA State Champion, the first-ever such title for the team in the school’s history.
The Georgia Academic Team Association’s Varsity State Tournament was held at Ola High School in McDonough on Saturday, March 23, 2013, with the most competitive Academic Teams from across the state vying for the title. 
Etowah HS, with a 9-0 record for the day, defeated every top-ranking school in Georgia including Chattahoochee, Norcross, Walton, Druid Hills and many others. 
With the State championship under their belts, Etowah High’s team goes on to compete at the National level in May.
Team members who competed in the championship tournament are: Sydney Carlson, Lindsey Dolhan, Duncan Morgan, Dylan Morgan, Lucas Read and Craig Wineman.
The Etowah HS Academic Team coach is Honors English teacher, Christina Hammonds.

Six Etowah High students have been selected as finalists for the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program.
The prestigious residential summer program is open to select gifted and talented high school juniors and seniors from across the state.  Nearly 3,000 students from across the state were interviewed and auditioned over three weekends in January and February, and from those nominees 690 finalists were chosen to participate in the 2013 program.  Since the Georgia Department of Education program is fully funded by the Georgia General Assembly, there is no charge for students to attend.
Students will arrive on the campus of Valdosta State University on Sunday, June 23, 2013.  For four weeks, students will spend the morning in their major area of nomination, exploring topics not usually found in the regular high school classroom. 
The Etowah High students and their areas of study are: Drucilla Alfieri, Theatre Design; Andrea Evely, Visual Arts; Halle Hammond, Communicative Arts; David Morrison, Mathematics; Heather Pendlington, Visual Arts; and Jonathan Van Linden, Communicative Arts.

Etowah High School teacher Tabatha Box has been named to the 2013 LearnZillion Dream Team. 
More than 3,000 teachers, instructional coaches and administrators from across the country applied, and only 200 were selected.  They were chosen based on their understanding of the Common Core State Standards and their ability to implement high-quality lessons based on the standards.
As a member of the Dream Team, Ms. Box will receive an all-expenses paid trip to San Francisco in May for TeachFest, through the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  The three-day professional development conference offers teachers the opportunity to work with Common Core experts and content specialists to better understand the new standards and the best ways to teach them; LearnZillion provides teachers with the technology and support to create screencasts for teaching.

E.T. Booth Middle School
E.T. Booth Middle School recently recognized four students for perfect attendance.  Davis Allen, Camden Cozart, Olivia Klinger and Kara Stanley enjoyed a limo ride donated by Ashley Limousine and lunch at Family Tradition with Assistant Principal David Childress. 
The school offers attendance incentives throughout the school year, recognizing both individual and collective efforts.  Winning classrooms have received donut and juice breakfasts, pizza parties, coupons to popular local restaurants, Visa gift cards and bicycles.
“Rewarding students for good behavior has a positive impact on the school climate,” Childress said, noting it also contributes to better grades, higher standardized test scores and social benefits.  “Children feel good when they are recognized for trying hard and being responsible.  A little bit of good, old-fashioned competition between classrooms doesn’t hurt either.  If you set the bar high, the children will rise to the occasion.”

Chapman Intermediate School
Chapman Intermediate School recognized its current and past leaders during a ‘Legacy Celebration” held on Thursday, April 25, 2013 at the school, which is closing at the end of the school year.
The Celebration, which was open to the community, was attended by current and former staff, students and PTA leaders; Cherokee County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank R. Petruzielo and members of his staff and School Board Chair Janet Read.
Chapman’s fifth- and sixth-grade model, which opened for the 2000-01 School Year, was a community based solution to critical overcrowding at the elementary school level in the very popular Etowah Zone.
“This kind of solution is why we encourage parents to be involved in our annual boundary redrawing process… we want you to have a say in how your schools handle growth,” Dr. Petruzielo said.  “The intermediate school solution has exceeded all expectations – students and teachers have excelled, and parents have been very pleased to keep their children in the Etowah Zone.”
Chapman Intermediate students consistently outscore their peers statewide on the Georgia CRCT and nationwide on the ITBS, Dr. Petruzielo said, and this foundation of excellence has contributed to the incredible successes Cherokee County School District students are seeing at the high school level… including the highest average SAT scores in the State and Etowah High’s 2013 State academic team championship.
“Chapman Intermediate also has a sterling reputation for character education and community service… an event like this one, for example, which invites parents and families of current and former students; current and former teachers, administrators, PTA leaders and School Board members; and business supporters and volunteers, shows how much the school cares about its role in the community,” Dr. Petruzielo added.
During the ceremony, the guests heard remarks from Dr. Petruzielo and Ms. Read, as well as from Principal Susan McCarthy; Chapman Intermediate’s first principal, Don Jenkins, who provided a video message; and Etowah High Principal Keith Ball.
Following the remarks, Chapman Intermediate staff unveiled a sculpture and presented it to Mr. Ball for display on the school’s grounds, which will become part of the Etowah High campus.  The specific future use of the facility will be determined by the Etowah High community, Dr. Petruzielo said.  
When Chapman Intermediate closes at the end of the school year, its current fifth- and sixth-graders will advance to E.T. Booth Middle, which with the opening of its new campus, will become a Grade 6-8 middle school in line with the State model.
Ms. McCarthy will join the School District’s Office of Educational Programs as Director for School Improvement; Assistant Principal Carolyn Daugherty will move to Johnston Elementary and Dan Fuller will serve at Mill Creek Middle.
The Celebration also featured refreshments provided by sponsors: Bar-B-Cutie, Chick-fil-A, Cupcakelicious, Papa P’s, Publix, Tuscany Italian Restaurant and Walmart.

Chapman Intermediate School honored Patricia Rewitzer on Wednesday, April 27, 2013 with a retirement reception.  Ms. Rewitzer has taught for 37 years, including eight years in the Cherokee County School District, as well as teaching in Ohio and Florida.  “Patty has served this District with enthusiasm and dedication, she will be missed, but we wish her well,” Principal Susan McCarthy said. 

Bacomb Elementary School
Two Bascomb Elementary School students are Georgia PTA Reflections Contest Winners.
The Reflections program offers students in preschool through Grade 12 the opportunity to create and submit artwork in one or more of six areas: Dance Choreography, Film/Video Production, Literature, Musical Composition, Photography and Visual Arts.  The 2012-13 competition theme is: “The Magic of the Moment.” 
Olivia Lambert, who won second place, and Jonathan Razzano, a Special Artist who won third place, were recognized at the State awards ceremony recently held at the Woodruff Arts Center.

Bascomb Elementary School recently welcomed State Sen. Brandon Beach for a visit. 
Sen. Beach read to second-grade students and special needs students during his visit.  He also spoke with the second-graders about their career choices, answered questions about how laws are made under the Gold Dome and watched the students prepare for an upcoming play about Georgia.  During his visit with special needs students, he spoke with the staff about legislation supporting what they do and also offered encouragement and appreciation to them for the difficult challenges they face each day in the classroom.

Boston Elementary School
Boston Elementary School continues to shine through the county-wide academic competitions. In addition to a State-competition-bound Boston Science Olympiad team, the school’s Academic Team placed second in the recent Etowah Zone elementary school competition. Students answered questions on topics from current events, math, history, language arts, and science.  Team members are Ryan Hostetter, Ava Fasano-Herman, Analise Black, Emily Richards, Victoria Laflamme, Olivia Laflamme, Joey Hilburg, Nathan Forrester, Jazon Coleman and Izabel Ragsdale.  Coaches are Jennifer Haygood and Brenda Porch. 

Boston Elementary School’s Science Olympiad team placed third overall in the Cherokee County Elementary Science Olympiad.  The elementary-level tournament is made up of 40 teams ranging from third to sixth grades.  The Boston ES team includes third- and fourth-grade students: Chelsea Baker, Matthew Blaise, Austin Cash, Jazon Coleman, Lilly Daniels, Ava Fasano-Herman, Madalyn Franz, Brandon Georges, Kevin Hollaran, Olivia LaFlamme, Victoria LaFlamme, Marshall Langston, Brenna Lloyd, Klivert Many-Nzada, Carter-Reid Metcalf, Nathan Robbins, Abigail Stringfellow, Kali Terza and Ryan Thompson.  Coaches are Kathy Cash, and Lynn Robertson. 

Robyn Dailey of Boston Elementary School has been named the 2012-13 recipient of the Golden Apple Award for her school by the Gamma Eta Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International.  She was selected for the honor, which recognizes exemplary educators, by her colleagues at the school.  She and other honorees will be recognized at the Golden Apple Awards Reception and Ceremony on May 14 at Knox Elementary School in Canton. 

Boston Elementary School raised $2,822 for the American Heart Association through this year’s Jump Rope For Heart fundraiser.  This year was Boston Elementary’ s 11th year participating in the annual event, through which students learn about healthy lifestyles, collect pledges and participate in a jump rope contest.  The top fundraiser was first-grader Kaitlyn Swift, whose donations totaled $225. 
“We are very proud of their hard work and dedication to such a worthy community service project,” Principal Joey Moss said.

Three Boston Elementary School students won prizes through the school cafeteria’s CRCT Breakfast Competition.  Each day that a student ate a healthy breakfast at school during CRCT week, his/her name was put in a drawing.  At the end of testing, three students’ names were drawn for prizes.  Luke Stradley won the football; Asia Rosa won the Build-A-Bear; and Nathan Biser won the soccer ball.

Clark Creek Elementary School STEM Academy
Clark Creek Elementary School STEM Academy placed second at the Cherokee County Elementary Science Olympiad.
More than 700 elementary students from 38 teams participated in the events, which require knowledge of science facts, concepts, processes, skills and applications.  The 18 events and activities selected were chosen for their strong relationship to existing elementary science curriculum. 
More than 100 awards were presented to individual students. 
Winning Clark Creek Elementary School STEM Academy team members are: Jacob Kennedy, Madison Mendenhall, Kiley Miller, Tyler Catton, Anna Haughey, Sebastian Vizuete, Nate Sasapan, Zachary Kantenwein, Will Garvey, Melissa Alvarenga, Taylor Boysen, Tommy Rhoads, Brandon Cline, Justin Monzon, Noah Bloomer, Shea Deem and Remington Adams.

Four students from Clark Creek Elementary School STEM Academy excelled at the Georgia Educational Technology Fair.
Elizabeth Akins and Madison Forsythe both placed second, and Madison Forsythe placed third.
They qualified for the State competition by placing at the regional Piedmont Technology Competition.
Students in Grades 3-12 enter their work in categories such as 3D Design, Multimedia Applications, Digital Video Production, Animated Graphic Designs, and Robotics to compete against other students in their grade for first-, second- and third-place awards. 

Clark Creek Elementary School STEM Academy fifth-graders recently traveled to University of Tennessee – Chattanooga Challenger Center to attend its two-hour Micronaut Program.  As part of the program, students rotated through five different stations:  Micronaut Tech, Telescope Tech, Moon Phases, Micro Rockets and Troubled Ladder.  The program scenario is that it is the year 2061, and the MicroComet crew is traveling between Earth and Mars on a mission to locate Comet Halley.  After locating the comet, the explorers launch a probe into the comet to discover the secrets of the ancient cosmic material. 

Clark Creek Elementary School STEM Academy’s PTA recently held a pasta dinner and basket raffle fundraiser for the school.  Country music star Tricia Yearwood, who was one of Principal Dr. Jennifer Scrivner’s classmates at Young Harris College, donated baskets to the raffle that were filled with an autographed cookbook, CDs, a sweatshirt and other gifts.  Proceeds from the Yearwood baskets will support Clark Creek Elementary’s music program and have been earmarked for the purchase of Orff instruments. 

Oak Grove Elementary School Fine Arts Academy
Oak Grove Elementary School Fine Arts Academy third- and fourth-graders participated in Jump Rope for Heart to raise awareness and funds for the American Heart Association.  Through the event, students learn how exercise such as jumping rope can help strengthen their heart.  All donations raised through the event are used by the Association to educate, treat and prevent heart disease in the community.  The school has raised more than $80,000 in the past 20 years for the cause. 

Oak Grove Elementary School Fine Arts Academy’s Teacher of the Year has received another honor: she’s been named to Reinhardt University’s 10 Under 10 list.  Jillian Nichols, a second-grade teacher, was honored at Reinhardt’s Talon Awards Gala recently held at Northside United Methodist Church in Buckhead.  The list honors 10 alumni who have been successful in business, the military, nonprofits, government and/or the arts during the past 10 years.  Ms. Nichols earned her bachelor's degree in early childhood education from Reinhardt in 2004 and her master's degree in early education from Piedmont College.  She joined the Cherokee County School District as a teacher in 2005.