Week of January 27, 2017

Every day, the schools of DeKalb County School District are bursting with activities that supports college and career readiness. Twice a month, we’ll share that news in TRUST in the Schoolhouse. Below are some examples of that work.

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Austin Elementary School
The Austin Elementary School Student Council collected coats, scarves, hats and socks for the less fortunate. The items were provided to students at two Region I schools: Cary Reynolds and Hightower elementary schools.

Edward L. Bouie Theme School
The Bouie Phoenix Robotics Team won the project award for group B at the Fernbank-Links Regional Robotics competition on Dec. 10, 2016. The project was called “Let’s Talk About Pollinators!” The team advanced to the DeKalb Metro Atlanta Super-Regional robotics competition for the first time. The students competed and won the Core Values Award for group B.

Murphey Candler Elementary School
Murphey Candler Elementary School partnered with Staff Development of Educators Corporation to provide literacy training for its teachers across different content areas through the Murphey Candler University for Teachers.

DeKalb Elementary School of the Arts
The DeKalb Elementary School of the Arts Choir will be singing the National Anthem at the Georgia State University Basketball game on Monday, Feb. 6.

DeKalb High School of the Arts
The DeKalb High School of the Arts will launch an in-school film career development program (re:imagine/COMMUNITY), will be launching in February 2017. The program equips high school students with technical skills to produce an original video for a corporate and nonprofit client about an important social issues facing Atlanta such as youth homelessness, environmental and mental health, food access and more. DSA will be one of the first DeKalb County Schools to participate in re:imagine/COMMUNITY.

Dunwoody Elementary School
Stacey Mendel, grade 3 math/science teacher, recently wrote a guest blog for the education website and social media accounts of Georgia Public Broadcasting (Facebook and Twitter@GPBeducation.) The blog describes the STEM work accomplished at the school. Teachers were invited to participate in the blog after their presentation at the STEM Conference in Athens, Ga. Kevin Hughes, a computer lab teacher, was highlighted.

Indian Creek Elementary School
Indian Creek Elementary School’s robotics team, the Phizz Wizards, competed in the Fernbank LIinks Regional Tournament on Dec. 10, 2016, at Tucker High School. The event hosted 24 DCSD elementary and middle school teams. The eight-student Phizz Wizards won the award for Robot Performance and the Champions Award. The students created a project called, “Fuzzy Friends for Refugees (3FR),” that considered how pets from kennels are used therapeutically in different ways.

Marbut Theme School
On Jan. 14, Marbut hosted an annual parent conference titled “Engaging Parents for Student Success.” Parents from the following feeder schools Panola Way, Redan, Stoneview and Woodridge Elementary schools were invited to participate. The conference offered sessions in STEM activities, math, language arts, Georgia Milestones testing tips for parents and parent center resources.

Oakcliff Elementary School
DeKalb County School District Transportation Director Harold Lewis was a STEM guest speaker. Lewis discussed various aspects of transportation while relating weight, cost and everyday operation of buses to STEM activities. His conversation underscored Principal Paschall’s book of the month, “Let Freedom Sing.” The book highlights buses and provides a history lesson about how African-Americans were required to sit in the back of buses before the Civil Rights Movement. Lewis emphasized the role of bus drivers, opera on of buses and the need for students to continue their education.

Peachtree Middle School
Peachtree MS has been selected to attend the Honeywell Educators Academy (HESA) at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., in June. HESA is a professional development program designed for teachers to learn innovative techniques to educate and inspire students about STEM education and careers. Brian Gardner, a teacher, will represent the school.

 Cary Reynolds Elementary School
Cary Reynolds Elementary (CRES) has been recognized as a Imagine Nation on Top 10 Percent School based on its implementation of Imagine Learning. CRES outperformed thousands of other schools who use Imagine Learning software to support students’ language and literacy instruction.

Snapfinger Elementary School
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation recently awarded Delta Life Development Center (LDC), Inc., a $3,300 grant to support youth literacy. The Dollar General grant will support Delta LDC’s “Read to Succeed” literacy program, now in its third year. This year’s Delta LDC Read to Succeed literacy program is being held at Snapfinger Elementary with the assistance of reading specialist Brenda Head and Principal Sylvia Reddick Pilson.

Stone Mountain High School
Congratulations to Stone Mountain High School’s CCRPI score increase from 58.7 percent to 69.4 percent, which is a 10.7 percent increase from the 2015-2016 school year.

Stoneview Elementary School
Principal Ledra Jemison met Robby Astrove, an arborist and environmental education activist at the Lithonia Farmers Market. Astrove has been on a mission to turn urban and suburban green spaces into places where fruit trees can be planted. For over a decade, he has been working to have fruit-bearing trees easily accessible to the people who need it most. On the last day of school in 2016, Astrove collaborated with Stoneview teachers Ruth Small and Patrice Jones to bring a tree planting project to the students at Stoneview. Several fourth-grade classes worked in the school’s garden. They were digging holes, gathering mulch, and planting and watering peach, fig and plum trees.