Posts filed under ‘Middle Schools’
CSK Middle School Students Visit With President Obama at White House
Visiting the White House is a momentous occasion for any student, but for Coretta Scott King 7th grader Percie Thompson, having the President of the United States toss you the championship soccer ball – well that’s historical! (Watch beginning at the 5:30 mark of the video above).
On Tuesday, March 26, 2013, America SCORES Atlanta youth from CSK Middle School flew to Washington, D.C. to be present when President Obama welcomed the Major League Soccer champion LA Galaxy to the White House.
These students joined children from Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, and Washington, D.C. in a Let’s Move soccer clinic led by LA Galaxy soccer players on the South Lawn and had a front row seat during the President Obama’s press conference and question and answer session in the White House. The students chosen for this trip to the White House are all enrolled at Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy and participate in America SCORES Atlanta’s after-school program at that site.
ond thrilled to be invited to the White House,” said America SCORES Atlanta Executive Director Laura McCrodden, “Kids in our program understand the importance of exercise and healthy lifestyles, but never dreamed they would one day play soccer on the South Lawn. What an amazing experience!”
The team member shared and documented their historic journey on the CSK Middle School Experience Facebook page and Twitter feed throughout the day.
Press Conference: Martin Luther King Natatorium
The City of Atlanta and APS Officials held a press conference on February 22nd to announce the opening of Martin Luther King’s natatorium at King Middle School.
The Martin Luther King natatorium recently closed due to public safety issues, which led to a partnership between the City of Atlanta and Atlanta Public Schools. King Middle School’s indoor swimming pool is now open to the community for afterschool programs and swimming lessons. APS students will have access to the fitness equipment and an opportunity to receive swimming lessons during school hours. This incredible partnership allows this facility to serve all constituents and foster youth development and recreation in the community.
Atlanta Urban Teacher Residency Program
The Atlanta Urban Teacher Residency focuses on innovative mathematics and science teaching and learning in middle and high schools. The Urban Teacher Residency (UTR) model is similar to the medical residency program model. AUTR is a member of a network of UTR programs across the country. Our program is designed to recruit teachers of high need positions and give them a strong year of “on the job” training and support followed by intense post-residency support.
Residency: The resident works alongside an experienced mentor teacher for one full year, and as a result, residents later enter their own classrooms as a full – time teacher with the experience and competencies that come from an intense, sustained classroom apprenticeship experience. In addition to the year-long apprenticeship, the Atlanta Urban Teacher Residency Program will offer a Master’s level curriculum leading to a Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) from Georgia State University. As a cohort, residents will simultaneously complete coursework and the apprenticeship to earn a clear renewable Georgia teaching certificate in secondary mathematics. Upon completion of the residency year, residents will be fully prepared to successfully teach in Atlanta’s urban classrooms.
Induction: During the first three years as a full-time teacher, graduate residents will receive intense support through the APS Induction Program. The induction program supports novice teachers through intense mentoring, coaching and professional learning opportunities. Graduate residents will receive individualized support and continue to participate in learning activities as a cohort. During the induction period, graduate residents will also be expected to complete the requirements for a Reading Endorsement and Special Education certification.
Commitment: Our program involves a five-year commitment that consists of an initial residency year of teacher preparation, followed by a four – year post – graduation commitment to teach in Atlanta Public Schools.
State-of-the-schools meetings to be held in each APS Cluster
At the start of the 2012-13 school year, Superintendent Erroll Davis delivered a state-of-the-district address to speak candidly about our challenges and new work to build a culture of excellence system wide. Now, our K-12 regional executive directors and school principals will hold their own forums to provide an update on the state of the schools in each cluster. APS leaders will discuss the academic offerings in our schools and answer questions from parents, students, employees and partners. Listed below is the schedule of cluster meetings:
South Region
· Carver Cluster: February 19 – Price MS – 6 p.m.
· South Atlanta Cluster: January 31 – Long MS – 6 p.m.
North Region
· North Atlanta Cluster: January 23 – Jackson ES PRIMARY CAMPUS of Warren Jackson Elementary, located at 4191 Northside Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30342. NOON
· Douglass Cluster: February 21 – Coretta Scott King YWLA – 6 p.m.
East Region
· Maynard Jackson Cluster: January 24 – Maynard Jackson HS – 6:30 p.m.
· Grady Cluster: February 7 – Grady HS – 6:30 p.m.
West Region
· Mays Cluster: February 6 – Mays HS – 6:30 p.m.
· Therrell Cluster: February 13 – Therrell HS – 6:30 p.m.
· Washington Cluster: February 28 – Washington HS – 6:30 p.m.
Price Middle School Students Dive Into Reading at the Georgia Aquarium
Dineros Curate, 8th grader at Price Middle School gives a High five to a scuba diver at the Georgia Aquarium.
On Thursday, December 13, 2012, Price Middle School students traveled to the Georgia Aquarium as a culminating activity for the Dive Into Reading Contest sponsored by the Price Middle School Media Center. Nineteen students participated in this activity. Additional students were scheduled to attend but were unable due to their involvement in various school activities.
The students and chaperones had a behind the scene tour and viewed the 3-D movie before visiting the various exhibits. The behind the scene tour, movie and admission was sponsored through the SEA (Sponsored Education Admissions) program at the Georgia Aquarium. For some students and chaperones it was their first visit to the Georgia Aquarium and for others it was their first behind the scenes tour. Due to the Winter Holidays, we were able to speak with Mrs. Scuba Claus and watch some Scuba Elves in the large tanks as they interacted with the animals. Aquarium volunteers were impressed with the science knowledge of the Price students and their behavior.
written by Tammy Rosado, Media Specialist, Price Middle School
Parks Middle School receives top honors for giving
Walter Leonard Parks Middle School embraced the holiday spirit of “giving back to the community that has supported them”. Parks Middle School’s Graduation Coach, Mr. MacArthur Randolph, facilitated and motivated the students during the Holiday Can Food Drive to benefit the Atlanta Food Bank. Over 1, 500 cans were collected during this annual drive. Based on the number of cans collected, Atlanta Food Bank stated that it will provide at least 1, 213 meals to needy families. Every year many schools within the Atlanta Public Schools district participate in this event. This year, Parks Middle School received top honors for collecting the most can goods by a school for the Atlanta Food Bank. Mrs. Natascha Hampton’s 7th grade homeroom was recognized with a holiday meal for collecting over 500 cans. Mrs. Patrice Mapson’s 8th grade homeroom was also recognized for collecting over 280 cans.
Great job, Parks Middle School!
written by Yashica Green, Media Specialist, Parks Middle School
Inman Middle Students Named Winners in Reading Competition!
Congratulations to Inman for winning in the Georgia Tech Women’s Basketball Jacket 2 Jacket Reading Program! They won the middle school division for the total number of pages read in the Jacket 2 Jacket Contest for all participants at Georgia Tech. Inman also had the following overall winners for all middle schools:
· Sahana Parker – individual winner for highest reader for all 6th graders
· Genevieve Saunders – individual winner for highest reader for all 8th graders
· Mrs. Baker’s blue class – winner for total pages read among all 6th grade classes
· Mrs. Delaney’s red class - winner for total pages read among all 8th grade classes
Inman Middle and the winners will be receiving their awards during halftime during the Georgia Tech Women’s Basketball game on Dec. 16, 2012.
The annual Georgia Tech Women’s Basketball Jacket 2 Jacket Reading Program encourages elementary and middle school aged children in Georgia to read regularly and promotes reading at all levels. The students have one month to read as many pages as they can during the course of the competition.
To learn more, please visit http://www.ramblinwreck.com/sports/w-baskbl/Jacket2Jacket.html.
2012 Atlanta Falcons 1st Down for Fitness MVP winner Ernesto Chavez at Price Middle School
Congratulations to Ernesto Chavez of Price Middle School for being selected as a 2012 Atlanta Falcons First Down for Fitness MVP. Ernesto and ten other students out of over 52,000 in the program were selected from around the state of Georgia and Mexico based upon his conscious effort and commitment to eating healthy, staying active and demonstrating sportsmanship at Price Middle School.
Ernesto will be recognized on the field during the Falcons vs. Arizona Cardinals pre-game on November 18th at 1 pm at the Georgia Dome. He plans to go to the game with his brothers.
Ernesto is an 8th grader who participates in football, soccer, and the IBM IGN.I.T.E. Technology Academy. When he started playing football, he knew that he would need to eat well to stay in shape. He runs with his brothers for exercise. Ernesto wants to one day play professional soccer in Barcelona, Spain.
Ms. Janice Johnson, art instructor and Atlanta Falcons fan, nominated Ernesto for this award. Congratulations Ernesto and cheer the Falcons on to victory!
written by Tammy Rosado, Media Specialist at Price Middle School
Kennedy Rattlers Learn About the Dangers of Bullying
Students support anti-bullying at the Kennedy assembly.
Students and staff at Kennedy Middle School recently took time to discuss the issues of bullying and take the necessary steps to prevent bullying in their school.
As a part of the anti-bullying lesson, Kennedy Middle School participated in an assembly with the mother of Jaheem Herrara. Jaheem was an 11-year-old student, in Dekalb Public Schools, who took his own life in 2009 after several incidents of being bullied at school.
During the assembly, Jaheem’s mother, Mrs. Bermundez, spoke about the bullying incidents that led to her son’s death. As she described the emotional story tears fell from her face.
“Although my son was a victim and I miss him dearly, my assignment in life is now to share his story,” she explained. “I hope to motivate others to join in my fight against bullying to save someone from becoming another victim like my son.”
Mrs. Bermundez stressed to the students how harmful bullying can be and how much she misses her son. She concluded the assembly with a short PowerPoint presentation that displayed pictures of Jaheem and identified definitions of bullying, triggers, signs, and preventive measures.
Following the presentation students were allowed to ask questions. Many students had questions about how they could become advocates for students are being bullied. Following the question and answer session, Mrs. Bermudez handed out four shirts to students that displayed a picture of her son and the slogan, “Stop the Bullying. It Hurts”. The students immediately put on the shirt to show their support against bullying.
After the presentation, students and staff greeted Mrs. Bermudez and embraced her with hugs and condolences for her loss.
IBM IGN.I.T.E. and EX.I.T.E. Technology Academies at Price
The IBM Corporation and Luther Judson Price Middle School have been school partners since 2007.
The IGN.I.T.E Technology Academy is for the boys and it stands for Igniting Interest in Technology and Engineering. Boys are selected from the seventh and eighth grades to participate. Under the direction of Genelle Betterson and Arnold Dones, the boys work in teams, create vision boards, build structures to solve problems, debug computers and build and program robots.
The boys come up with their own names for their teams and function as engineers to complete tasks assigned to them. Various IBM employees visit them and offer their assistance and expertise to the IGN.I.T.Ers. The boys traveled to the Highlands IBM building and performed engineering tasks alongside engineers in various departments. At the end of the academy, the boys highlighted what they learned in a showcase to their parents and families.
In addition to providing an opportunity to have fun, the boys are exposed to many of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) standards. With the introduction of Common Core Standards, every grade level must integrate college and career readiness.
The EX.I.T.E Technology Academy is for our young ladies. EX.I.T.E stands for Exploring Interest in Technology and Engineering. Under the direction of Lisa Haygood, 1985 Price High School Alumni, the EX.I.T.Ers complete some of the same activities as the IGN.I.T.E Academy boys such as the vision boards and team work to solve problems that an engineer would need to solve. The girls travel to the Clark Atlanta University Center where they tour the college library, visit classrooms, eat at the school cafeteria and meet the Spelbots (the Spelman Robotics Team). The college trip is a great deal of fun for the girls and an eye opener as they discover and learn what college life is like and that they can attend and thrive in college when they work hard and focus.
IBM provides many educational experiences for the students at Price beyond the EX.I.T.E and IGN.I.T.E Academies. They have provided opportunities for students to e-mentor with members of the IBM family, participate in the Introduce a Girl to Engineering in February, Engineering Week activities, and IBM Career Day. The IBM family is always available to support the Mighty Price Wildcats!
written by Mrs. Tammy Rosado, Media Specialist at Price Middle School
