Student Spotlight of the Week

Name: Cameron Jones

Grade: 11th Grade

School: Therrell School of Health Sciences and Research

Cameron Jones, a Junior at Therrell School of Health Sciences and Research,  is a scholar with infinite talents and skills.  Her excellent leadership and educational achievements are commendable.  According to her teachers, Cameron is a young lady of outstanding character– disciplined, hardworking, trustworthy, loyal, and responsible.

She sets high standards for herself and worthy long-term goals, and she works steadily and relentless to maintain or meet them.  This is evident in her proudest accomplishments as President of the Junior Class, President of HOSA, and her participation in the 2013 PAGE Program with the House of Representatives, among other notable accomplishments.

Cameron is ranked in the top 3% of her class and holds various leadership and community roles as a member of the National Beta Club, National Honor Society, Student Government Association, and the Varsity Cheerleadering Squad at Therrell High School.  Cameron recently received the “I Rock” award from her church, and she actively serves with Medshare, an organization that sends medical supplies and equipment internationally.

Cameron is highly respected by her peers and her teachers for her excellence in academics and community service.  She has managed to maintain a high GPA while actively participating in various community and school-based activities.  Cameron is often regarded as the next Oprah Winfrey because of her great communications and public speaking skills, but she also has an interest in biotechnology and veterinary medicine. She aspires to attend Cornell University.

Name: Donamere White

Grade: 3rd

School: Centennial Place Elementary

Donamere is a dynamic third grader who is skilled in both Taekwondo and Jiu Jitsu martial arts. He is a junior black belt, and won several trophies from competing in tournaments. Donamere has been practicing martial arts for 3.5 years, and currently trains 4 days a week. He believes martial art is a great skill to have in order to defend or protect yourself and others when necessary. He often practices with his father, who is currently teaching him another martial art called Hapkido. “I like the feeling when I earn a belt, and it’s really cool when people come and watch the tournaments,” Donamere says.

As a challenge student at Centennial Place, Donamere loves school and his favorite subject is mathematics. He has a passion for rapping, hip-hop and jazz dance, and even performed at The Wiz play at school. “My life is all about dancing,” Donamere says. “Everyday I have to dance, because it’s my life. If I can’t dance, it would be like taking my breath away from me.”

Donamere is part of a creative family, and hopes to create gadgets in the future. He wants to invent gadgets that dancers can use to enhance their dance moves and performances. “I want to create gadgets that can help others, and I also want to create a teleporting machine,” he says with a smile. Donamere’s energy, creativity, and humor highlight him as a unique and talented student.

​Name: Anquita Mitchell

Grade: 11th Grade

School: Carver Early College

A middle school counselor’s tenacious efforts opened the door for junior Anquita Mitchell to attend Carver Early College in the ninth grade. Anquita is a dean’s list scholar with excellent writing skills. Her superior writing skills lead to her to earning a perfect score on the State-Wide Junior Writing Test. Having played drums since age 4, Anquita is a sought-after drummer and has been a member of as many as four bands at one time. Among them are the marching, jazz and pep bands. She is the president of Upendo JaJa, which is a character development organization for girls promoting intellect, high self-esteem and sisterhood.

Anquita has played softball, tennis, soccer and golf. She favors golf, which she currently plays, because of its relaxing qualities. Because she loves to speak and is good at writing, she has set her sail to earn an undergraduate degree in Journalism from the University of Georgia. This would make her a third-generation UGA student. Anquita’s aspiration is to become a national news broadcaster. With her ambition and perseverance, NBC Nightly News or CNN is clearly within her reach.

written by Linda Green-Media Specialist-Carver Early College

Name:  Jasmine Thomas

Grade: 12th

School: Frederick Douglass High School

Twelfth-grader Jasmine Thomas has endured a lot of nail-biting moments lately.  First, there was the SAT.  Next, after filling out countless college and scholarship applications, the Douglass-Astro sat on pins and needles as she waited to learn who would invite her to spend the next four years of her life at their school, and who would pay for it.  But it was the Posse Foundation that really sent Jasmine’s anxiety level soaring.  And then, at around 10:00 pm on December 11 – just two hours before her December 12^th birthday – Jasmine received a phone call from a Posse official; she had been accepted into their program and she could officially refer to herself as a Posse Scholar.

The Posse Scholar program is a distinguished program that awards select high school seniors across the country four-year scholarships to illustrious colleges and universities.  The program also provides guidance and support to those students throughout their time at the school, and the Posse Foundation boasts that it has a 90% graduation rate.   So, learning that she was now a Posse scholar was more than just good news for Jasmine:  “It was the best birthday present I’ve ever had,” she said.

Posse Scholars are selected based on academic achievement and demonstrated leadership.  Jasmine’s ability to soar in both areas clearly made her application and essay stand out.

While at Douglass, Jasmine has been in the dual enrollment program, vice-president of the student body, a Coca-Cola Scholarship, Horatio Alger Scholarship and First Intercontinental Bank Scholarship recipient, and the founder of a city-wide organization of teenagers called “Teen Expressions.”

For Jasmine, Teen Expressions brings more fulfillment and pride than anything she has ever undertaken.  The group meets at libraries around Atlanta to host writing and financial workshops for teenagers, guest motivational speakers, and talent shows and open-mic  events.

“It’s really rewarding for me to know that I’ve changed someone’s life for the better,” Jasmine says. “I’ll have members come to me and say that they improved their writing score on the SAT, or they made an ‘A’ on a writing assignment.  And I can see so much growth in some of the younger members since they first began participating – it just makes me feel good. It makes me very proud.”  Through Teen Expressions, Jasmine says she is “paying it forward.”

The science and writing enthusiast will enroll Bard College in New York this fall, but is not quite sure of her major or which career path she will pursue.

“That’s what college is about — exposing you to different fields and helping you discover where you fit in, ” she says.  “Ideally, I’d love to do something that combines science and writing.”

As Jasmine prepares to leave the nest, and embark on her journeyas a successful college student, there is one thing she can for which she can be sure: her nail-biting days are just beginning.

Fulton County D.A. Encourages Therrell Students to T.H.I.N.K

On Tuesday, November 27, 2012 Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard spoke with students at Therrell High School as a part of the T.H.I.N.K (To Have Information and Knowledge) Initiative program, sponsored by the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys.

Fulton County D.A., Paul Howard, speaks about the justice system and encourages students at Therrell to T.H.I.N.K.

“As District Attorney, Mr. Howard feels very passionate about informing and equipping our youth with the knowledge of the law,” explains Sharifah Lee, a teacher at Therrell High School. “I also share his sentiment and passion as it relates to our students and community. All of us need to work together to ensure that our students understand, and can apply the law, to enhance their life.”

The T.H.I.N.K. Initiative is an in-school program designed to educate youth on common activities that lead to criminal consequences. Through presentations given by local judges, district attorneys, and solicitor generals, teens are educated on the pros and cons of decisions they may be faced with in life through the use of common scenarios. The goal of the initiative is to equip students with the appropriate information so they can make sound life decisions between doing right and wrong.

“We ultimately want to convey to our students that the justice system is on their side and not against them,” said Sharifah Lee. “The ultimate goal is simply to encourage them to think.”

Student Spotlight of the Week

Name: Jeremi Smith

Grade: 12th Grade

School: Therrell High School- STEMS

Jeremi Smith is a 12^th grader at Therrell High School STEMS. Jeremi’s teachers describe him as an exemplary student in his engineering classes. He is highly dedicated to his work and shows great leadership as a member of Therrell’s Technology Student Association chapter.

“Jeremi has been a member of the TSA chapter for the last two years, where he has  served as an officer,” Carline Mastin, a teacher at Therrell, explains. “He has also participated in several architectural competitions, where he represented the TSA chapter.”

Jeremi enjoys playing football and creating architectural 3D models in his free time.

“Architecture is my true future profession in life; I have a passion for creativity and designing houses and buildings,” Jeremi explains.

According to Jeremi, his passion for architecture started when he received a special gift for Christmas.

“When I was younger all I got for Christmas was a large box of Legos,” Jeremi said. “And everyday, instead of going outside to play, I was in my room building things from Legos.”

Jeremi says his next step is to enroll in the architecture program at Southern Polytechnic University next Fall.  When asked what inspires him to work hard in his field, he explains that his inspiration comes from his family, friends, his past, and knowing that the good decisions he makes now will lead to a bright future.

“My motivation is knowing that I have the gift of creativity and mathematics,” he explains. “My motivation is knowing that I will be the first person in my family to graduate from college, despite the obstacles I’ve faced in life.”

Name: Tony Wilborn

Grade: 11th Grade

School: Grady High School

Tony Wilborn is an honor student at Grady High School, and also a track star who participated in the 2012 AAU Junior Olympics.  The AAU Junior Olympic Games is the largest, national, multi-sporting event for the youth, with approximately 15,000 participants from around the country. Tony ran in the 4×4 Relay with his AAU star track team at Lakewood Stadium and came in 2^nd place to qualify.

Tony started running in 8^th grade, as an alternative to basketball. He continued to win many races and became serious about the sport.  His record time for the 400 meter run is 51.8 seconds, which is only 8.6 seconds behind the current men’s world record by American Michael Johnson of 41.2 seconds.  This summer, Tony’s AAU track team ran at 5-6 meets on a weekly basis and continued on towards the Junior Olympics in late July.  Tony’s training routine consisted of lifting weights at 8 a.m. every morning, water aerobics 5 times a week, and running track in the evenings. He continued running and training everyday even when he had a pulled hamstring. “It made it worse, but I pushed through it,” says Tony.

Unlike many high school students, Tony actually enjoys school. He is always willing to take unrelated classes, even though he may not have any interest in the subject initially. “I like being thrown into random classes such as engineering, sports writing, film making, and engineering, because I still enjoy those classes and it actually helped me settle on a career,” Tony says. As a result of his sports writing class, he has decided to pursue a career in sports writing or sports medicine. He is a high performing student with an attitude and determination to succeed in everything he does.

“Tony is the paradigmatic Renaissance man,” says Willie Vincent, academy leader at Grady High School. “He always accepts challenges with humility, optimizes the new experiences, and performs at an exemplary level. He is an awesome young man.”

Name: Sulayman Jallow

Grade: 5th Grade

School: Heritage Academy

Sulayman Jallow is a fifth grader who has his eyes cast far in the skies. On a deep space and interplanetary scale. That’s because Sulayman is very interested in the planets that are within our solar system. Venus, the second planet away from the Sun and Earth’s closest neighbor, is Sulayman’s favorite planet. “I really like math and science. With math and science, you can do a lot of projects. We studied about the planets and I really like all of them but my favorite is Venus.” Asked why he likes Venus in particular, Sulayman goes into NASA candidate slash planetary explorer mode. “If I were to go Venus, I could fly around in space and stuff because Venus is so small.” Back here on Earth, Sulayman also likes to write and loves art.  Sulayman’s aptitude for science has won him praise. “Sulayman is a high performing student here at Heritage. He has a broad understanding of concepts and good use of practical concepts” says Sulayman’s fourth grade teacher Mrs. Shani Jackson. Mrs. Jackson continued: “Sulayman is an A and B student who excels in math and science. I think Sulayman can do anything he sets his mind to doing. He really applies himself to his subjects and always completes his tasks.”

In his spare time, Sulayman likes to play games and football.  Playing professional football is also an aspiration for Sulayman. “I want to be a football player when I grow up and play for the New England Patriots”, Sulayman said “I want to go to college in Ohio.” Asked where he wanted to graduate, Sulayman said Canton. He did not know it at the time but when informed that Canton, Ohio is where the Football Hall of Fame is located, Sulayman nodded his head in positive approval. Sulayman’s older brother has been coaching him in football and Sulayman’s chosen position on the gridiron is that of safety. Sulayman has a keen sense of discovery and a seemingly explorer’s passion for boldness.

Name: Jovanay Carter

Grade: 10th Grade

School: Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy (CSK) High School

Some might say that students like Jovanay Carter are a rarity these days–smart and talented, athletic, yet graceful, with more discipline and focus than many adults. Jovanay is more than just a debutante, she is the essence of the CSK girl.

Ranked number one in her 10th grade class, Jovanay acknowledges that maintaining the distinction requires considerable effort.  She says she must study daily and routinely practice problems and review concepts that challenge her.

“For me, practicing the problems is really the key to high test scores,” she says.  “There are a lot of things I don’t understand, and I don’t always get every problem right.  But I always ask myself why I got it wrong.  And once I understand where I made the mistake, I practice as many similar problems as I can, until it’s like second nature.  Then I don’t get that kind of problem wrong again. “

It is that sort of persistence that has allowed Jovanay– a student in CSK’s Engineering, Science and Technology Academy– to excel in everything she does.  She is one of CSK’s top featured dancers, and as a cross-country runner, she wakes up extra early every morning to train with the rest of the school’s cross-country team.

The 10th grader’s grace and dexterity have helped her become one of CSK’s most featured dancers and an experienced cheeleader.  She is also a member of several other school organizations, including the the Junior Beta Club. And in an effort to get others to ‘go green’, Jovanay submitted a proposal to APS to begin a recycling program at CSK.

“Our motto at Coretta Scott King is ‘empowering every girl every day’,” says CSK principal Termerion McCrary.  ”Jovanay is a great representation of this.  She is well rounded, well spoken and a natural leader.  And even though she is involved in several after-school activities she has figured out how to balance all of this with her school work–she’s just  a true ‘Coretta Girl’.”

Jovanay is passionate about the arts and self-expression.  She enjoys reading and creative writing–especially poetry.  But more than anything, Jovanay loves to dance.  In fact, her passion for dancing is so intense, she is considering dancing professionally when she completes her education.

“But I have plenty of time to think about a career, and plenty of options, so I’m not very worried bout that right now,” she says.

Therrell-STEMS Students Shine at The GAEA Construction Competition

Elvon Gomes, a Senior at Therrell HS, brainstorms with his team.

Several students from Therrell High School- STEMS recently participated in a student conference and construction competition sponsored by the Greater Atlanta Economic Alliance.

The alliance is an outreach that increases the business capacity of small, female and minority-owned construction firms. Competitors from various high schools throughout Atlanta were split into teams that consisted of at least one student from each school.

Students work to construct a bridge, using only newspaper and scotch tape.

“We wanted to offer the students something different this year,” explained Pamela Calhoun, a member of the supplier diversity team at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. “This is the first year that we offered three different workshops and a competition to the students.”

Each team was given a construction task to complete in under one hour, while communicating and working effectively with teammates from other schools.  Teams constructed newspaper bridges, rubber band cars, and an hidden alarm with limited resources by following detailed instructions and collaborating with their peers.

“It was a good sense of creativity and competitiveness,” said Jeremi Smith, a participant in the competition and a Senior at Therrell High School. “Working on the team was fun, it was a good experience, and it helped me see how it would be to work on a team with co-workers in the future.”

Throughout the competition students were faced with several real-world challenges and obstacles.

Students cut wire as they prepare to create an hidden alarm system.

“One of the things that I really loved was watching each of the teams observe their materials, brainstorm, and look at the challenges ahead before they constructed their project,” Calhoun said.

Following the competition, the students attended a luncheon and awards ceremony, where they were recognized for their participation.

“This gave them an opportunity to be recognized for their interests,” Calhoun explained. “I know that they shine in their schools, but we wanted to make it public so everyone else can see the good work that comes out of Atlanta Public Schools.”

Domecoming 10/13/2012

Three APS high schools—Therrell, North Atlanta and Grady—will celebrate their homecoming on Saturday, October 13, 2012 during APS’ fourth annual Atlanta Domecoming Classic. Young and Price middle schools will face-off in the middle school football championship at 11:00 am.  The championship will be followed by the three high school games: Therrell vs. Carver at 2:00 pm, North Atlanta vs. Southwest DeKalb at 5:00 pm and Grady vs. Washington at 8:00 pm. 

Domecoming is a celebration of APS’ athletic program and schools and an opportunity for student athletes to play at a professional arena—the Georgia Dome. Homecoming festivities begin at half-time.  Jumbo screens and ribbon boards will enhance the Domecoming experience for fans, as they cheer for their schools while watching vivid displays of the action. 

Domecoming is a great environment for homecoming, students and high school football.  Principals celebrating homecoming are hoping to see their school’s entire student body and their families at the dome cheering for their teams.  In previous years, students, families, alumni, APS staff and residents from school communities have come out to show their support. 

APS athletics director Jeff Beggs says, “Domecoming is a great celebration for the district as a whole, as well as all of our schools.  It’s also a great opportunity for our athletes, since it gives them a chance to play on a big stage, on the same field as professional athletes in the Georgia Dome.  For most of them, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Tickets for Domecoming can be purchased in advance at the participating schools for $10 or at the Georgia Dome on the day of the game for $15.  Ticket prices are the same for children and adults, and ticket holders may attend multiple Domecoming games.

APS will transform small high schools into small learning communities

Students at schools such as Carver Early College will now attend Small Learning Community Academies. The SLC model is not only a win-win for the students, but for teachers and faculty, allowing for more collaborative opportunities.

When Atlanta Public Schools (APS) opens its doors for the 2012-13 school year, all of its high schools will be operating under one principal per campus.  In August, APS plans to restructure all of its small high schools by transforming them to Small Learning Communities (SLC), a model that includes small, themed academies led by academy leaders who report to one principal.

APS currently operates five high schools under the SLC model: Douglass, Grady, Jackson, Mays, and North Atlanta.  The following schools will be transformed into high schools with one principal and academy leaders for each discipline:  Carver (School of Arts; Early College, Health Sciences and Research, Technology); Therrell (STEMS, Health Science, Law & Govt.); Washington (Banking-Finance-Investment, Early College, Health Science Nutrition, Senior Academy); South Atlanta (Computer Animation & Design, Health and Medical Science, Law & Govt.).

While APS is eliminating small schools, the disciplines (Arts, STEMS, Technology, Early College, etc.) will remain in the restructured school, operating as academies.  Although students will continue in their selected disciplines, they will have access to broader course offerings and will be allowed to take courses in other academies on campus.  In addition, each school restructured as an SLC will operate on a single schedule which will allow for better school building management.

The SLC model is not only a win-win for the students, but for teachers and faculty because it allows for more collaborative opportunities among all teachers on campus, better coordination of class schedules and common planning times.  The restructuring also supports APS’ implementation of the K-12 school clusters and is anticipated to save the district $700,000.

APS would like to hear from you.  Please take a moment to fill out our survey and post comments about this transition.  Feedback forms are available online: http://www.atlantapublicschools.us/hsfeedback .

School Culture, Climate and Safety City-Wide Community Listening Sessions: January 19, 24, 25, 26

Please make plans to attend one of the meetings listed below.