September 16 ,  2015
First Lady Sandra Deal poses with Carrollton City Schools administrators and partners during her visit to Carrollton Elementary School. From left are Dr. Brian Moser, UWG professor and Power Up for 30 trainer; Amanda Carden, Melanie Brooks and Montrell McClendon, CES assistant principals; Karen Wild, CES principal; Mrs. Deal; Dr. Kent Edwards, Carrollton City Schools superintendent; Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, Georgia Department of Public Health commissioner; Katie Williams, Carrollton Board of Education member; and Dr. Linette Dodson, Carrollton City Schools School Nutrition director.


Walk & Roll
Wednesdays
are back
Join students from Carrollton Elementary, Carrollton Middle and Carrollton Junior High schools every Wednesday through Oct. 28 to participate in a group walk or bike ride from one of two designated Carrollton GreenBelt trailheads.

Designated departure times are as follows:

Carrollton GreenBelt trailhead at McIntosh Plaza, located in the southwest corner of the Target parking lot on Highway 27:
CJHS - 7:30 a.m.
CES and CMS - 7:40 a.m.
or
Carrollton GreenBelt trailhead on Hays Mill Road, just north of the Hays Mill Overlook subdivision:
CJHS - 7:15 a.m.
CES and CMS - 7:30 a.m.

All students or student groups must be accompanied by an adult.

Last spring, Carrollton City Schools partnered with Tanner Health System's Get Healthy Live Well campaign and a local Safe Routes to School initiative to promote Walk & Roll Wednesday, an effort to draw attention to the value of walking and biking to school as alternatives to riding in cars.

Families encouraged
to join the CES PTVO

The Parent-Teacher Volunteer Organization at Carrollton Elementary School plays a vital role as the fund-raising arm of the school. The organization depends on volunteers to make it a success. One hundred percent of all funds raised by PTVO is given back to CES.

Some of PTVO's fund-raising initiatives include: Innisbrook, Jingle Bell Jog, Yearbook, Butter Braids Pastry and Spirit Nights.

Another source of income is paid PTVO memberships. Many membership levels of support are available to allow all families the opportunity to join. They are:
$5 Trojan Bronze
$10 Trojan Silver
$25 Trojan Gold
$50 Trojan Platinum
$100 Trojan Diamond

The money earned by PTVO is used in many different areas. PTVO currently funds a copy room position so teachers are able to stay in classrooms and not be burdened with the time it takes to make copies. Some of the larger projects funded by PTVO in the past year included a new sound system in the gym, upgrades to the intercom system in the front of the school, replacement of a playground slide, and grant support for the city's Greenbelt project that affects the school.

To learn more about PTVO and membership, click here.


First Lady Deal visits CES
to observe 'Power Up'

First Lady Sandra Deal, wife of Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, toured Carrollton schools Sept. 14 to learn more about how schools, in partnership with the community, are creating a recipe featuring healthy foods and physical exercise to nourish academic success.

Traveling with Mrs. Deal was Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health, who shared with Mrs. Deal and the leadership at Carrollton Elementary School that research shows a school's decision to implement 30 minutes of physical activity daily, coupled with a healthy school nutrition program, will likely boost academic performance. 

"I was so impressed with what I saw today," said the First Lady. "Seeing the elementary students doing exercises while they were learning to spell words and the middle school students learning about the planets while they were playing physical games were all very interesting."

Both CES and Carrollton Middle School are participating in Power Up for 30, a specific program designed to bring physical activity back into elementary schools.   Learn more about Mrs. Deal's visit.

Click the image above to see the interns' first video production for CES.
Two CHS seniors join
CES as media interns
Two Carrollton High School media interns have been assigned to CES to capture and record news at the school and share it with the world.

Seniors Veronica Lee, left, and Leigh Anne Turner started their assignment a couple of weeks ago and have already produced a video that has been shared internally at the school and on Facebook. Both students are thrilled to be part of the CES family.

Leigh Anne, who began her academic career at CES many years ago, is excited to be back "home." When the duo had their first meeting with Karen Wild, principal, and Kristie Poor, media specialist and intern supervisor, Leigh Anne couldn't believe how much smaller the media center seemed to her compared to her memory as a CES student. 

"I remember it being so big," she said, looking around the space. "It looks different now." 

Leigh Anne, who wants to be a broadcast journalist someday, appreciates the practical experience she's gaining through the program.

"The opportunities Carrollton has given me have greatly enhanced my high school experience," she said. "As an intern, I get to work with both the staff and students. I always looking forward to filming the students. They make everything more exciting and all the hard work worth it."

Veronica, who plans to attend the University of West Georgia to become an elementary school teacher, says the internship has been a great way to learn about the elementary setting. 

"It's been a great experience working with the kids and getting to see what each class is learning," she said.

Ms. Poor, who supervises the students and helps them with assignments, has found the program rewarding as well.

" We are so excited to have Leigh Anne and Veronica with us at CES," she said. "I have been so impressed with their maturity, initiative and diligence with creating the video projects. I believe collaborations such as this between CES and our high school students are a great opportunity to maintain personal connections vertically within our system, which can be difficult to do once students leave the elementary school, while at the same time increasing the students' experience and knowledge of media production."

Jonathan Maples, Leigh Anne and Veronica's mass media teacher at CHS, came up with the idea to collaborate with another school in the system to give his students a wider experience.

"It made it easy logistically since all of our schools are on one campus," he said. "It was just a matter of setting it up and running with it. I'm very proud of their efforts."