Congressman John Lewis shares civil rights movement experiences with Douglass High students

Douglass High exposes students to local and national leaders on a regular basis. Recently, students in Miriam Archibong’s American government class learned about Capitol Hill and the civil rights movement, courtesy of a visit from U.S. Rep. John Lewis.

Congressman Lewis, who represents the district where Douglass is located, has served in Congress for more than 20 years. He joined the civil rights movement as a teenager and told students that his involvement in movement and American politics was “a down payment – a major down payment on the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr.”

A few weeks earlier, Brian Leary, president of the Atlanta BeltLine, also visited Archibong’s class to explain how the project would affect transportation, green space and affordable housing, particularly in the community surrounding Douglass. Leary also discussed opportunities for students to play a direct role in improving and maintaining the BeltLine.

Through these living lessons, APS students get to carve their journey to shaping the success story for Atlanta and the country.

APS welcomes celebrity chefs to serve up food and healthy dieting ideas during National School Lunch Week

UPDATE: Herb Mesa discusses his upcoming appearance here, serves it up here, and wraps up the afternoon here.

Herb Mesa hasn’t had any trouble being in front of an audience before. But this time, it wasn’t to become the Next Food Network Star. This time, it was an opportunity for the Atlanta personal chef to promote healthy eating habits in Atlanta Public Schools. Mesa was one of 50 “celebrity chefs” to participate in the APS part of National School Lunch Week by visiting schools, serving up lunch to hungry students, and arming them with healthy eating information.

For Mesa it was a tripleheader of a week; while he served lunch on Friday at North Atlanta High School, he’d paid earlier visits to schools where he has his daughters are enrolled: Garden Hills Elementary and Sutton Middle. “I have children of mine own; I l remember what school lunches were like,” Mesa said before serving it up at North Atlanta. “I felt like it would be a cool opportunity to get involved … to maybe make a change with school lunches.”

No shrinking violet, Mesa eagerly served up sandwiches with his co-worker for the day, Tanji, and they both noted how students – especially in high school – are becoming better informed about nutrition and are making better decisions in their diet.

It’s all about of APS health and wellness efforts spearheaded by Dr. Marilyn Hughes, APS’ director of nutrition administration. (Read the transcipt of her interview with CNN here.) She noted that this is the first year APS’ participation in National School Lunch Week has been so comprehensive. “The most important reason for making the community and parents aware of the nutritional meals served at lunchtime is because we’re providing the main meal for students during the day,” she said. “The meals in lunchtime has the highest amount of calories they get, and we want to make sure at APS they received the highest nutritional value of the meal they’ll consume because we will provide locally grown fruits and vegetables on a daily basis as well as a nutritious meal to meet their needs for the day.”

Congressman John Lewis offers words of inspiration for Deerwood Academy

UPDATE: For a complete photo gallery, click here.

Students at Deerwood Academy were challenged and inspired during Congressman John Lewis’ visit. They were excited to hear about his experiences during the Civil Rights Movement and what it is like to be in congress today. Congressman Lewis talked to third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders in an assembly while kindergarten, first- and second-graders watched him on closed circuit television. But he made it a point to visit all kindergarten, first, and second grade classrooms. Congressman Lewis motivated students as he shared stories of his childhood days in segregated schools. He urged them to stay in school and reminded them that there was no limit to what they could achieve. He went on to say that success takes perseverance and hard work; but, it is worth it.

Students could even relate to the struggles of congress with the Healthcare Reform bill. One student said, “I don’t agree with Gov. Sonny Perdue about trying to have [Georgia Attorney General) Thurbert Baker impeached as result of him not filing a lawsuit against the Healthcare Reform Bill. What do you think we can do about it?” Another asked, “How can we ensure that the Healthcare Reform Bill passes so that everyone can have health insurance to take care of themselves?” Fourth-grader Isis Perkins summed it up best when she said, “I don’t have a question. I have a comment: I want to thank you for helping us get our education that we have today and making it possible. Thank you for helping bring about the voting rights act of 1965. I know my parents can vote and I will some day. Thank you also for making sure that everyone has a chance to have health insurance. I really appreciate it.”

NCAA student-athletes meet in Atlanta for leadership conference and community service at Mary Lin, Burgess-Peterson

This just in, from the NCAA …

Approximately 200 NCAA Division I student-athletes will meet in Atlanta for leadership development and to partner with local elementary school children, teachers and parents to complete a beautification project at [Mary Lin Elementary and Burgess-Peterson Academy].  The projects and meetings will take place October 23-25.

On Saturday, October 24, the college student-athletes will volunteer time to join with Atlanta community organizations, including Keep Atlanta Beautiful, on a beautification project at Mary Lin and Burgess-Peterson.  The goal of the project will be to create a more environmentally friendly surrounding and to promote leadership and positive lifestyles for the youth.  The beautification project will take place from 1-3:15 p.m.