Bartow County School System

BOARD RECOGNITIONS: NEW MODEL PLC SCHOOLS – CASS HIGH SCHOOL & WOODLAND HIGH SCHOOL

BOARD RECOGNITIONS: EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATION AWARDS • Elementary School Outstanding BCSS Employee – Candice Forsyth, KES • Middle School Outstanding BCSS Employee – Katie McKenzie, CMS • High School Outstanding BCSS Employee – Melissa Winters, AHS • Director’s Choice – Phoebe Stieber, Piedmont Medical Center

BOARD RECOGNITIONS: EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATION AWARDS • Sportsmanship/Athletics – Brodie Gardner, WMS • Elementary School Academic Excellence – Ladarious Sheppard, CLES • Middle School Academic Excellence – Josephine (Josie) Lee, WMS • High School Academic Excellence – Melian Turner, AHS • Technological Brilliance – Scarlett Lalla, CCES • Fine Arts Gifted & Talented – Isaac Romero, KES • Elementary School Citizenship – Bobby Williams, HCES • Middle School Citizenship – Carlos Cuellar-Sarmiento, CMS • High School Citizenship – Maci Tucker, WHS

BOARD RECOGNITIONS: YOUNG GEORGIA AUTHORS WRITING COMPETITION – FIRST PLACE • K Antuan Mitchell, ALES • 1 Barrett Overby, PLES • 2 Alaina Morse, MRES • 3 Collins Brown, PLES (Regional Winner) • 4 Mackenzie Gravley, EES • 5 Angel Lopez, EES • 6 Brielle Ross, WMS • 7 Julieanna Elder Stone, AMS • 8 Dylan Teems, AMS • 9 Kathryn Herndon, AHS • 10 Kaitlyn Elizabeth Ferguson, AHS • 11 Jaden McCrory, BCCCA (Region Honorable Mention) • 12 Eddie DeBartolo, BCCCA

BOARD RECOGNITIONS: EXEMPLARY ESOL TEACHER – JENNIFER MARTIN, WHITE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL EXEMPLARY ESOL STUDENT – CHS SENIOR JOE MARTINEZ-JUAREZ

BOARD RECOGNITIONS: JEREMY WOMACK, ADAIRSVILLE ELEMENTARY PARENT VOLUNTEER “In September of this school year, we realized we have more car riders than some schools have children. To not interfere with the importance of collaboration and office hours, we knew we needed extra help in the mornings getting our students out of their cars. I put a message out, asking for volunteers and was pleasantly surprised to have enough parents offer their time to last us through a whole week (without them having to help every day). As it usually happens, the parents started to have conflicts with helping. BUT one very dedicated dad started in September and continues to come EVERY DAY to help get our kiddos out of their cars. Jeremy is now part of our school family. Children have their parents go to his lane just so he can get them out of the car. He takes precious time to walk some friends into the building and pass them off to another grown up. This type of dedication is above and beyond the call of duty of any parent. Jeremy is outside every morning – no matter what the weather is like. He is the volunteer of volunteers at Adairsville Elementary School.” – AES Principal Melissa Zarefoss

NATIONAL RECOGNITION: Cass High School becomes the 15th Bartow County school to be named a Model Professional Learning Community for its sustained success in raising student achievement! “Being recognized as a Model PLC School validates an overarching commitment from our teachers and staff to maintain a focus on learning,” said CHS Principal Steve Revard. “Therefore, my initial reaction was excitement and appreciation for everyone that played a role in this achievement.” The school’s successful implementation of PLC’s was a major contributing factor in the improved achievement of its students. PLC’s are schools and districts in which educators recognize the key to improved learning for students is on-going, job-embedded learning for the adults who serve those students. The three big ideas of a PLC call upon educators to: 1. Focus on learning. 2. Build a collaborative culture. 3. Create a results orientation. “We began this process in 2018 when we attended the ‘Culture Keepers’ conference in Atlanta,” said Principal Revard. “From there, we established the Colonel Coalition, comprised of teachers and staff, to lay the foundation for what would become a shift toward learning, collaboration, and results. This has evolved into breaking down barriers that prevented best practices and implementing processes that develop a guaranteed and viable curriculum, common assessments, and strategic Tier II interventions. From there, our student growth and many record-breaking academic achievements speak for itself.” Schools are recognized based on strict criteria, including demonstration of a commitment to PLC concepts, implementation of these concepts for at least three years, and clear evidence of improved student learning over that period. Once measurable results can be seen, the school must explain its practices, structures, and culture, and then submit its application for consideration by the PLC Review Committee. “Each school year brings a unique set of goals and objectives,” added Principal Revard. “As our students and community evolve, so will our teachers. Our guiding coalition will continue to work toward our mission and vision, which includes ‘collaboratively engaging all students in relevant learning experiences’ and ‘graduating all students career and college ready.’ CHS, Woodland High School, Adairsville High School, Allatoona Elementary School, Kingston Elementary School, Mission Road Elementary School, Adairsville Elementary School, Euharlee Elementary School, Clear Creek Elementary School, Pine Log Elementary School, Emerson Elementary School, Cass Middle School, Adairsville Middle School, Cloverleaf Elementary School, and White Elementary School now join the Bartow County School System as they celebrate Model PLC School and Model PLC District status.

AND THEN THERE WERE TWO: After a yearlong application and interview process, Callie Viktora, a junior at Adairsville High School, and Michelle Lin, a junior at Cass High School, have been accepted into the prestigious Georgia Governor's Honors Program! Starting June 18 and lasting four weeks, Callie will be studying biology, and Michelle will be examining the Chinese language at Georgia Southern University! We are extremely proud of these outstanding students. They will surely leave the program with a deeper understanding of the world and better prepared to help lead the next generation of global thinkers! Congratulations!

LIONS LOVE LEARNING: Stopped by Clear Creek Elementary School today and found so many students and teachers utilizing the items they purchased through Ms. Dot's Bartow Education Foundation Teacher Grants! In these pictures, you can find students printmaking, planting, and so much more! We added a few non-grant related pictures, too, because we just couldn't pass up the opportunity to showcase all our amazing students!

A SPECIAL DAY: No shortage of high fives today as the Special Olympics returned to Bartow County after a two-year COVID hiatus! We all needed it, too! We needed to see our student athletes' smiles, skills, courage, and pure joy as they competed in events such as long jump and shot put! So many lessons learned outside of the classroom today. Special thanks to Cass High School for hosting the successful event, Mrs. Tina O' Shields and our Exceptional Education Department, Cartersville Service League, and hundreds of volunteer buddies and families!

MAGNET TOUR: We're already exposing our youngest students to unique opportunities within our elite Magnet programs! This week, Gifted students were able to tour Adairsville High School's Center for Advanced Studies in Science, Technology, and Math! They visited the STEM, Environmental, Robotics, Physics, and Engineering labs to investigate a mock crime scene, forensic evidence, strawberry DNA, and blood splatter. They also watched elephant toothpaste being made and rode a virtual roller coaster! Many expressed interest in applying for the program in a few short years!

LEARNING AT THE LEAF: Cloverleaf Elementary School students sure are busy learning through engaging, hands-on activities! We spotted second graders today in their pollinator friendly garden, using materials purchased with a Georgia Department of Education STEM Innovation grant. Several other items, like vegetable plants and fertilizer, were generously donated from our local extension office and community! First graders could be heard in their Sound Garden and seen in their Weather Station! Special thanks to Bartow Education Foundation grants and Bartow Fence for making their ideas come to life! Fifth graders love their CLES Chicken Club, where they are learning how their food is produced. Can't forget about the Water Tower Garden purchased through another state STEM grant! The cooking club loves to use the plants in their latest recipes!

OPEN HOUSE: Please see below for the 2023-24 Open House dates by level. * Elementary & Middle * Thursday, July 27th, 2023 10:30-11:30 AM, 1:30-2:30 PM, and 5:00-6:00 PM * High School * Thursday, July 27th, 2023 Grades 10-12 3:30-4:30 PM Freshman 6:00-7:00 PM * BCCCA * Friday, July 28th, 2023 4:30-6:00 PM

CENTRAL OFFICE CELEBRATIONS: When you work in a school system and community like this, you have a lot to celebrate! And, if you know Superintendent Page, then you know he likes to celebrate the RIGHT WORK. In the Bartow County School System, the right work supports learning, collaboration, and results. That's what we value. This month, we celebrate and honor Melissa Martin, our Administrative Assistant in our Exceptional Education Department! Melissa is loyal, hard-working, always "on top of it," and takes care of her team like they are family! We're proud to have her! She makes us all better! Congratulations, Melissa!

SCHOOL CRASHERS: Guess who crashed Cass Middle School and Kingston Elementary School today?? The Georgia United Foundation and Georgia United Credit Union! That means Cass Middle's teacher workroom will be getting a makeover soon and Kingston will be receiving a sensory walk in at least one of their hallways. That will include a floor path, wall-mounted activities, and sensory boards! Mohawk is also donating carpet for the AU classroom! Seven grants were awarded, and Bartow County received two! Read more here: https://gucufoundation.org/programs/school-crashers

GRANTING WISHES: Allatoona Elementary School Teacher Becky Dufault wins a $500 Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) Educator Grant! With these funds, Dufault will help save the Monarch Butterflies. Her grant was titled “Superheroes Save Species.” Since learning the Monarch Butterfly was put on the endangered species list, Dufault wants her students and community to help save this endangered species through pollinator gardens and outreach. Busy B Plant Supply of Acworth matched Dufault’s grant by 20 percent!

BEHIND THE SCENES: Euharlee Elementary School is in the NEWS...WCAT News Network! Here's why! Three amazing educators, Amanda Segars, Jane Oliver, and Dr. Ann Bagley, recently began a morning broadcasting club and received some help from seasoned professionals in the Audio Video Department at the Bartow County College and Career Academy! Mr. Mike Beavers brought his students to visit, and they helped rearrange Euharlee's recording room and worked with Euharlee students on lighting skills and vocabulary! "This new partnership has helped our students in so many ways," said Segars. "They loved learning from the older students and still enjoy using the new vocabulary they learned during the visit. Hearing about the program at BCCCA has piqued their interest in future academic and career pathways. We are so appreciative of Dr. Doss’ and Mr. Beavers’ offers to provide continuing help as we move forward with our broadcast program!"

FREE SPRING BREAK EVENT: Not going out of town next week? Check this out at the Booth! On Thursday, April 6, metal artist Eric Strauss will be onsite with his metal forge! Kids can create their own steel leaf at the forge! Best of all, this is completely FREE from 4-7:30 pm! Participants do need to sign up for a spot, though. They can sign up here: https://79494.blackbaudhosting.com/.../Family-Day---Eric... . There will be other activities inside (wire sculpture activity) going on at the same time that does not require registration- just drop in! The forge will be going all day starting at 10 am (museum admission for adults from 10am-4 pm; kids 12 and under free) if families would like to come earlier. On April 5 & April 7, the Booth will also have Open Art Studio from 10 am- 4pm for all family members. It is FREE for all children under 12 years old. Adults pay museum admission.

WOW: Please join us in congratulating nine of our students for their amazing work in 4-H Project Achievement! "4-H students choose a project area of interest, research a topic, then write and present an oral presentation to others," said Allison Perkins with the local Extension office. "Beginning in the 7th grade competition process, youth are expected to produce lengthier presentations and submit a portfolio for written work. The Project Achievement process is about hands on learning, self-confidence, and sharing knowledge." ADAIRSVILLE MIDDLE Logan Dean, Performing Arts General, 1st place CASS MIDDLE Kaylee Dishmon, General Recreation, 2nd place Brandon Crawford, History, 2nd WOODLAND MIDDLE Kate Lyle, Swine project, 1st place Milly Lyle, Poultry Science, 1st place Wesland Wood, History, 3rd place WOODLAND HIGH Brendon Dunn, Target Sports, 3rd Hylan Westberry Davis, History, 2nd (will advance to the state contest this summer) WHITE ELEMENTARY Gabriel DeRenzo, Cat Care, 1st place

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: The "Triple E Success Night" is almost here! Seniors and recent grads - let's get you hired!