Bartow County School System

BOARD RECOGNITIONS: Highest District Graduation Rate - Woodland High School

BOARD RECOGNITIONS: Highest District SAT Score - Woodland High School

BOARD RECOGNITIONS: Highest District ACT Score - Adairsville High School

BOARD RECOGNITIONS: BCSS Employee of the Month, Ms. Kim McClure, our bus driver! "Kim has always shown great care for her children and works well with school administration. In this time where there is a shortage of drivers, Kim is always willing to take another driver's students to the high school for second load when they are running behind. This is a big help to the school, Transportation Department, and other drivers." - AMS AP Eric Elrod

A MESSAGE FROM YOUR SUPERINTENDENT: Dear BCSS Staff: I am excited to share that on Wednesday, November 17, full-time Bartow County School System employees will be receiving a one-time payment of $1,000.00 or a one-time payment of $500.00 for full-time employees hired after October 1. This payment is subject to all mandatory taxes/TRS contributions. As in previous years, this one-time payment is part of our compensation package approved by our school board members in June. We are moving this payment from December to November to provide you more time to use it for the holidays. With many delays in shipping, this may assist you. I am very thankful for this financial support from our school board as each board member was committed to supporting our staff with this payment. I am also excited that we will again support our substitutes with additional financial compensation similar to last year. Since our substitute one-time payment is based on the number of days worked, we will provide this compensation on Friday, December 10th to maximize the amount we can pay each substitute. We are all grateful for our substitutes as their work is critical to our system functioning at a high level. I am truly blessed to work with each of you and our community is blessed by the work you do for our students. I wish each of you an amazing weekend and a wonderful week before our Thanksgiving break. With much appreciation, Phillip

NATIONAL RECOGNITION: Three London dignitaries flew all the way across the pond to formally invite the Woodland High School Marching Band to perform in the London New Year's Day Parade and Festival in 2023! They only ask about 15 bands from the United States to perform, and Woodland High’s band was the only one selected from Georgia! In the parade, they will be performing to a street audience of over half a million people, with up to 600 million all around the world watching from the comfort of their homes. Wow! What an amazing day filled with pomp and circumstance!

I SPY: Woodland High School Teacher and Band Director Mr. Michael Kobito speaking with CBS 46 News! Watch at 5:55 today on CBS to find out why the band program is once again making STATE and NATIONAL NEWS! #BetterInBartow

BCSS SALUTES: These Hamilton Crossing Knights salute to our veterans in a touching service filled with patriotic music, poems, and speeches. There wasn't an open seat or dry eye!

BCSS SALUTES: Adairsville Tigers young and old salute our veterans in a special ceremony held inside Adairsville Elementary School! The school community and beyond enjoyed a Presentation of Colors by Boy Scouts Troop 12, songs by the Adairsville Elementary Chorus and Nothing but Treble, and speeches by Mayor Kenneth Carson and Jether Cochran from the American Legion Post 245! We love and appreciate our veterans!

BCSS SALUTES: In an open letter to our Veterans... "Thank you, Veterans, for fighting those wars for the people of the future. Thank you all for the sacrifices along the way to defeat the enemy. And I would like to thank my grandpa for fighting alonside the Navy and helping them. I miss all of you that have died for us for everyone. I will always feel bad for those who have lost their friends because of war. Because deep down inside everyone has gloom and guilt that won't go away. I will love all that have helped me get a life without war on my hands. I will miss every single one of you that had to go through that pain of losing a family member or a friend because of the war. And, again, sorry grandpa that you couldn't live to the age you wanted to be, but I will make it there for you. And I will always, always have a sad feeling in my heart from seeing our heroes fade away into heaven. And so, for the last time, I just want to say thank for all you have done, Veterans." - Peyton Hilburn, WMS 7th-grade writing contest winner

BCSS SALUTES: In an open letter to our Veterans... "There are no words big enough. There are no hugs strong enough. There is no smile wide enough. All I can offer is a thank you. You are my hero. You are in my thoughts. You are in my prayers. On Veteran's Day, we all honor those who answered the call. Who fought for our freedom. For the ones who lost their lives for our freedom, All I can say is thank you for your service." - Chase Black, WMS 6th-grade writing contest winner

FARM TO TABLE: White Elementary School Cafeteria Manager Mrs. Babetta Disclafani teaches our fifth-grade Garden Club members about how to prep and serve the sugar snap peas that they grew from seed and harvested from their very own garden! Club members cleaned, snapped, and served their produce to the students and staff at WES during lunch! You can find many new lovers of peas in this part of town! 💗 Thank you to our UGA Extension office and local master gardeners, Mary Willis and Warren Davenport, for your support!

COLLEGE TOURS CONTINUE: Thirty-one sophomores from Woodland High School’s Medical Sciences Magnet Program visit Augusta University today! While on campus, students received an admissions briefing and tours of the main campus and medical campus!

BCSS SALUTE: Woodland Middle School honors more than 65 local veterans and their families in its annual Veterans Day ceremony! The event is truly unlike any other as hundreds of students and staff members rise to their feet and erupt in cheers for the brave men and women who selflessly fought for our country. Highlights include: Military vehicles courtesy of the Military Order of Purple Heart, Chapter 525 WMS 7th and 8th grade Honor Band and Chorus Presentation of Colors - Etowah Valley Young Marines Carl Boyd American Legion Post 42 - Commander Dale Cockrill and essay contest winners The Military Children - I serve too POW/MIA Table Ceremony Presentation of Retired Stars

MOST PRESTIGIOUS SYSTEM AWARD: Superintendent Page and system leaders present Woodland High School and its biology collaboration team, which consists of Dana Hunt, Santiago Nava, Amber Phillips, Rachel Gwaltney, and Jacob Selman, with the most prestigious award given by the District, the A-Team Award! Dana Hunt, Santiago Nava, Amber Phillips, Rachel Gwaltney, and Jacob Selman exemplify the three big ideas of our Professional Learning Communities culture as they continually demonstrate a focus on learning, collaboration, and results. Through observations and conversations with each team member, it is evident this team uses the PLC process to work together with collective responsibility for student learning. They ensure a guaranteed and viable curriculum for all biology students, use common formative assessments to monitor student learning, use common assessment data to improve teaching and learning practices, and support the RTI process by providing systematic interventions and extensions for all students. It is also evident that Principal Dave Stephenson and the Woodland High School Guiding Coalition have played a significant role in the development of this A-Team. Its Guiding Coalition was mentioned many times as a source of strength for the PLC process and as the means for the professional development which resulted in the efficacy of this collaborative team. Congratulations on this extraordinary achievement! Dana Hunt, Santiago Nava, Amber Phillips, Rachel Gwaltney, and Jacob Selman will now present at Monday's school board meeting, New Teacher Institute, and serve as role models for future A-Teams throughout our school system. This is our sixth collaboration team to earn an A-Team Award and first high school group.

GHP DISTRICT NOMINEES: Twenty-five Bartow County students are named 2021 Georgia Governor’s Honors District Nominees! Congratulations! **Cass High School** Jacque Denoux Sydney Orr Lillian Taylor Evelyn Hernandez Rodela Loren Montoya Luke Fritz Joseph Loh Alexandra Pacheco **Woodland High School** Titus Bagley Jenna Bassler Ariel Betancourt Grace Card Dionisia Deputy William Doerfler David Drennan Christian Koontz Hiromy Ortiz **Adairsville High School** Nicholas Schmied Tatransky David Tarver Callie Viktora Kyoshi Harmon Samantha Lusian Madison Burdette Darby Adams Danielle Lusian

KID TESTED, BCSS APPROVED: We're happy to announce that four additional wheelchair swings have been ordered and are expected to be delivered to Adairsville Elementary, Hamilton Crossing Elementary, Emerson Elementary, and Red Top Middle in February!

BARTOW BACKS ITS BRAVES: Okay, okay, one more Braves picture because this is way too sweet, and we want you to start your week off right! Check out these adorable Adairsville Elementary School students, Remi and Madi, decked out in the red, white, and blue! #bartowbacksitsbraves

WOW...JUST WOW: After competing in the Super Bowl of Sound at Central Carroll High School in Carrollton, Georgia, the Cass High School Marching Band was named Class AAA Champions, Gold Division Champions, and Overall Grand Champions - with the highest overall score of the day! This is the first ever Grand Championship for the Cass Marching Band in a Georgia Music Educators Association sanctioned event! After taking a year off from competitive marching band due to the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 100 Cass High School students returned to the field this year to perform their production “INVASION.” The Cass Marching Band competed in this contest with 20 other bands from all across the metro Atlanta area, the state of Georgia, and the Southeast. The Band came away with the highest score in visual performance, the highest score in percussion, the highest score in color guard, and the highest score in general effect. Join us in congratulating this amazing band program under the leadership of Mr. Sam Iddings!

BARTOW BACKS ITS BRAVES: Best dressed students and staff in Bartow as we celebrate the historic World Series win! #bartowbacksitsbraves