Student Spotlight of the Week

Name: Alexia Matthews 

Grade: 3rd Grade

School: Dunbar Elementary 

Model student, creative thinker, best all around student, and structured for perfection are some of the descriptions a teacher uses to describe Alexia Matthews. “I wish I had a classroom full of her,” the teacher says. Alexia is a bright, talkative, outgoing student who is in love with Dunbar Elementary School. She is a challenge student who is very tech savvy and loves math. “This is the best school ever,” Alexia says. “The staff treats me so well and cooperates with me. So if a teacher tell me to do something, I do it because I love this school.”

Alexia, who is a third grader, is in the process of starting a new after school program called Bullying Program (BP). She has a strong passion against bullying, and desires everyone to understand what bullying feels like. She is preparing a speech for the kick-off and plans to take the club members into every classroom to identify themselves initially. Her goal is to provide an opportunity for students who are being bullied to counsel with fellow students and teachers. “I want to speak with them myself because I know what it feels like,” Alexia says. “And the bully needs to explain to me why they are bullying that person. I am a tomboy and I can face them. I don’t want to start an argument but we need to learn to get along!” Alexia’s zeal, talents and positive attitude are only a few of the great qualities that highlight her as an exceptional student.

Student: Troytoria Wade

Grade: 8th Grade

School: Price Middle School

Eighth grader Troytoria Wade is a wonderful addition to the Mighty Price Wildcat family.  Troytoria is new to Price Middle School this year but has already made her mark in the school.  She is very busy participating in a variety of activities.  She is a member of the Robotics Team, the IBM EX.I.T.E. Technology Academy, the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl and is active in French. She says that she joined a lot of activities because she is new to Price and wants to meet new people.

She is an A-B Honor Roll student along with participating in extra-curricular activities.  One Price teacher states that, “She has a zest for learning.”  All of her teachers agree she is curious, wants to learn more and is very self-motivated.  Troytoria acknowledged her teachers’ compliments with a broad smile.

Troytoria loves math and science because “Math is challenging- there is always an answer, but in science you sometimes can’t find it.” When she graduates from Price,  Troytoria wants to attend The Carver School of Science and eventually wants to be a veterinarian by attending school at Florida State because the beach is nearby.  She currently has one cat but has had dogs as pets in the past.  Troytoria would love to work with horses, wants to try horseback riding and would like to work at the zoo as a job in high school. She also enjoys drama and acting.

Student: Tyrannus Brown 

Grade: 5th Grade

School: Cascade Elementary

Tyrannus Brown is the type of student who always goes the extra mile. His teachers describe him as one of the greatest kids you could ever have.

Tyrannus enjoys math and social studies, and it’s common to find him in the library doing additional research on subjects he has learned in the classroom. He loves to dig deep and go above and beyond the curriculum as he ignites his passion for learning.

“I want to learn so much so I can help other people learn new things,” Tyrannus explained. “I want to feel good about myself, and I like making my mom happy.”

In addition to always wanting to learn more, Tyrannus is also a member of the 4H club, and he was an exceptional contestant in the quiz bowl. Tyrannus also served as a mentor to the kindergarten students at Cascade Elementary during his fourth grade year. In this role he assisted teachers and worked with small groups of younger kids to help them complete their projects.This driven student also placed 2^nd in the ONE fair at Cascade Elementary, where he discovered his love for science.

“I’ve always liked math, but I also like science and technology now,” he explains. “I think I want to be a medical scientist when I grow up.

Student: Myricle Gholston                                

Grade: 3rd Grade

School: Grove Park Intermediate

Myricle Gholston’s mother has instructed her to “go read a book” so many times—usually when Myricle complains about boredom or watches too much t.v.—that reading has become the A-student’s favorite subject.

“I love, love, love to read, and my favorite book is Ramona Quimby, Age 8,” says Myricle.

Myricle especially enjoys reading in Grove Park’s newly remodeled patio reading area.

“I like it because of the cool breeze, and comfortable furniture. It’s shady and perfect, and it pushes me to read, she says.”

Not only does reading allow Myricle to venture off to exciting new worlds, but it often provides the answer to the question Myricle asks more than any other: “why?”

Myricle’s teacher, Donesha Bolden, says, “Myricle is very inquisitive, and a simple explanation is never enough for her.

“If you answer one question for Myricle, she starts asking questions about your answer.  She pushes it to the limit until she’s satisfied with the answer,” Bolden says laughing.  “She keeps me on my toes.”

And once the ‘whys’ are cleared up for Myricle, she helps her classmates understand by translating the adult explanation into kid-speak so that everyone gets it.

“She always steps in at just the right time,” Bolden says.    “But she’s not overbearing; she’s just right.  She’s good for the students and she’s good for me.”

Teachers describe Myricle as unique, outgoing, helpful, dependable, trust-worthy, smart and enthusiastic. And she is easily identifiable because of her infectious smile; Myricle smiles about everything.

Bolden says she has never known Myricle to have a bad day.

“She finds a way to make the situation work for her, no matter what,” says Bolden.  “Myricle is always happy.”

When she disagrees with someone, Myricle ends it by saying, “I just don’t like to argue,” and of course she says it with a smile.

She fills her bedroom with things that make her happy: books, toys and posters of what she refers to as “powerful girl singers,” like Adele and Patti Labelle.  The cheerleader and gymnast also keeps reminders of her achievements like trophies, ribbons, certificates and report cards.

“Lord, don’t I have enough of those,” she says with a giggle.

Myricle plans to be an attorney someday.

The four-foot tall snaggletooth wonderkid says, “I really want to help those people who didn’t do anything wrong.”

 

Cool Kid of the Week

Tarrell Jones, also known as TJ, has a special talent of making you smile. He has a bright and bubbly personality that continues to stay with you throughout the day. He is a proud first grader at Toomer Elementary School this year, where he transitioned from special education to the general classroom. He attends class daily with the help of a special educator, but strives to do most activities on his own. “He is the sunshine of our classroom when he comes in the morning. He always has a bright smile, and he always wants to participate in everything we do, academically and physically,” says his teacher, Ms. Ringer. When asked what he enjoys most about school, he responds with “everything in first grade, not kindergarten… because it’s awesome.”

Tarrell is loved and acknowledged in the school for his humor, energy, and the joy he brings to those around him. He is a very confident and does not let his physical limitations hold him back from regular activities.  He enjoys being active in the playground, as he interacts with friends and often rides the slide with his teacher. In fact, Tarrell’s favorite class is PE, where he participates in various sports.  “I love playing basketball, and tennis, and dodgeball, and baseball… and only a little bit of football,” TJ says.  In addition to sports, TJ loves spending time on the computer, especially typing, youtube, and games.

One special memory that Ms. Ringer has of TJ is when the class was learning about different cultures around the world. Ms. Ringer shared videos of different dance cultures, and asked students to demonstrate them in front of the class. TJ volunteered and performed his version of a Hawaiian dance, and simply blew everyone away.  The whole class was entertained as TJ danced his heart out and even teachers down the hallway came in to watch him. “It was a sight to see,” Ms. Ringer says, “and I think that made his day, because he kept on dancing all day throughout the hall.”

TJ has a great presence in the classroom, and is very intelligent. He works very hard in his studies, as he pushes himself to excel. Ms. Ringer sees a bright future for TJ as she says, “Physically, Tarrell may be challenged. However, academically, what a bright and shining star he is and will be in his academic career.” TJ is a special student that you must meet in person. He is a joy to be around and has a great energy that spreads to everyone around him.

APS Cool Kid: James Bond

Chances are, when you hear the name James Bond, your thoughts instantly turn to spies, cool cars, hi-tech gadgets and a certain tall and dashing, tuxedo-clad secret agent.  But how often does that name leave you with thoughts of Atlanta Public Schools?

If you’ve called any APS phone number recently, you’ve probably made that connection.  James Bond is the Cool Kid with the big voice customers now hear when they call district phone numbers.  When callers are placed on hold, the fourth grader’s news updates keep them informed about what’s happening in the district.

James is excited to deliver the news for APS.  “I like informing all the parents about the changes happening in the APS schools,” James says.  But more importantly, he realizes that his news bites serve a purpose.  “This is important, because it helps people so that they’ll be ready when it’s time to go back to school.”

When he’s not keeping parents informed, the straight-A student spends his time doing kid stuff.  This summer James participated in a future space explorer program as part of Xanadu, the APS enrichment camp for gifted students.  James learned a lot about rockets at Xanadu.  But for him, the best part of the camp was combining those lessons with his creativity to build water and gunpowder rockets.

James is also a Lego enthusiast who can build just about anything with the miniature bricks.  And his fascination with robots has prompted him to experiment and teach himself about the world of robotics.

This interest in design, construction and experimentation suggests that James’ future lies somewhere in science and technology.  In fact, he says science is his favorite subject, and his professional goals include creating the first non-air propelled Hubber-craft.

James attends West Manor Elementary school, and has been an APS student since first grade.

Budding scientist and inventor James Bond is the APS Cool Kid for this week.

 

APS Cool Kid: Lucy Leonard

Lucy Leonard, a recent graduate of Grady High School, will spend her summer as a YMCA camp counselor, teaching zip lining and leadership skills to teens.

Since the age of 7, Lucy Leonard has spent part of each summer vacation in the same way.

Located only four hours outside of Atlanta, yet still worlds away, the Henry Grady High School recent graduate is a veteran at YMCA’s Camp Thunderbird, located in North Carolina.  Learning lifelong lessons and developing valuable friendships year after year as a camper, this year Lucy has chosen a summer of service, spending the next few weeks as a camp counselor.  Lucy hopes to further develop her leadership and management skills while teaching other youth skills that they can carry back to the classroom in the fall.

So how does she describe being responsible for a cabin of twelve 14 year old girls? “I find them both fun and challenging,” says Lucy.

This year, her counselor responsibilities have taken her to the challenge course, where she teaches young campers how to climb, rappel, and zipline.

Come August, Lucy will head to Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Having earned a merit-based scholarship to Tulane, she is currently pondering studying anthropology, international relations or journalism.  Lucy is very interested in travel, writing, and photography and developed her sharp newsroom skills while serving as the associate managing editor of The Southerner, Grady High School’s award winning newspaper.

Always seeking a new challenge, Lucy hopes to further her journalistic experience at the Tulane Hullabaloo, the university’s student newspaper.  Lucy has applied for the Hullabaloo’s Summer Journalism Experience, which would give her an advance taste of news writing in the Big Easy.