Harmonizing Duo Hello Sunday Brings Doll Drive to North Douglas Elementary |
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To the delight of North Douglas Elementary School students, Christmas came a few days early this year. NBC’s “The Voice” finalists Hello Sunday surprised kindergarten and first-grade girls with a music performance and 150 Barbie dolls.
Hello Sunday is composed of Myla Finks and Chelsea Glover. Myla is a junior in the Fine Arts magnet program at New Manchester High School. They mesmerized judges with their impeccable harmony in Season 17 of “The Voice.” They made it to the top eight finalists during their musical journey, becoming the youngest duo in the show’s history.
The girls were delighted to receive the dolls. North Douglas Elementary School Principal Pamela Wooley says the gifts made each girl feel loved and special. “Having Hello Sunday come and spread holiday cheer meant a lot to our students. When each girl received their doll, their faces filled with joy," Principal Wooley says. “It’s a wonderful way to show our students that someone cares about them.”
Principal Wooley helped make Hello Sunday’s visit to North Douglas Elementary School possible. Their visit and the donations are part of Saving our Daughters, a nonprofit that focuses on helping girls discuss issues, deter bullying, and protect their self-esteem.
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BAES Techninators take over |
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After meeting and working since August, the Bill Arp Techinators had the opportunity to show off their robotics skills at the West Georgia Regional Qualifier for the First Lego League Challenge Cargo Connect Season. The event took place in December. This season, teams have focused on engineering challenges related to the movement of cargo.
The team designed, built and programmed a robot that can autonomously move about the challenge table and complete missions. An additional part of the competition entails a research and engineering project, and the final section is "core values," which includes professional practices like inclusion, delegation of tasks and organization.
The Techinators took second place against 12 mostly middle school teams in the robot game and took home the trophy for core values. The team was just notified that they qualified to compete in the Super Regional round at Mill Creek Middle School in Woodstock on January 22.
The team is coached by Bill Arp Elementary teachers Matt Naumann and Brandy Ruhl and media specialist Cassia Milhollin.
For more information about First Lego League, please click here.
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HSES student publishes first book |
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Zuri English, a 4th grade student at Holly Springs Elementary School and budding author, recently published her first children’s book titled “The Missing Letter.”
Amazingly, Zuri wrote the original story as a kindergartner! In 2018, she won first place for kindergarten in the DCSS Young Georgia Authors competition and second place for kindergarten in the state competition.
When Zuri is not writing, she enjoys reading, drawing, gymnastics, and playing with friends.
The Missing Letter is available for purchase on Amazon or her Facebook page .
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Shop with a Cop brings holiday cheer |
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Police officers from departments throughout the area had an opportunity to give back to the community in a different way than they are accustomed to on December 15, as several participated in the Douglas County School System’s (DCSS) annual Shop with a Cop event.
“The event went really well. There are always challenges, but we were able to work through them to put on our biggest and best Shop with a Cop event yet,” said Taylor Neufeld, a DCSS School Resource Officer. “It was great to see so many local departments come out and support our students.”
Officers from the DCSS Police Department, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Douglasville Police Department and Austell Police Department joined other volunteers for the event to bring joy to 86 DCSS students by helping them shop for presents.
Thanks to donations from local businesses, organizations and individuals, students were able to choose $175 worth of items, such as clothes and toys, to have as presents this year.
“Of course none of this would be possible without our generous business owners and organizations that funded the event,” Neufeld said. “It does take a lot of work to put this together, but the joy this brings to our students makes all the work worth it!”
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SMS students take home new game for holidays |
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Students at Stewart Middle School (SMS) and some Douglas County School System (DCSS) elementary schools received a special treat in the form of a new board game for the holidays.
The game, called Wooly Whammoth, was donated by the Youth Development Council of America, an organization that focuses on social awareness with youth with a focus on mental health and social media awareness.
“We are very appreciative of the donation,” said SMS principal Donita Cullen said. “Our students will have an opportunity to spend quality time with their families while playing a fun and challenging board game.”
Richard Borger, a representative of YDCA, also extended his thanks to Thornton Road Hyundai for their donations, which helped cover shipping and other costs associated with getting the games to DCSS students.
With the board games going out just before students go home for the holiday break, Borger said he hopes students will have a new activity that will encourage them to minimize screen time and spend it with family.
“It’s one of those things to keep students off social media and technology for a little while and bring families together in a different way because parents aren’t playing games with kids online,” Borger said. “If we can get one or two kids to get their families involved in playing a board game with them, we think that’s great.”
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WBL: Earn money, get credits, gain experience |
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Work-Based Learning (WBL) provides valuable work experience for high school students. Those who qualify may work during school hours in a position related to their career pathway. Kaley Simmons and Madison McGee are among the students at Chapel Hill High School who are gaining valuable experience and earning high school credit and a salary.
Kaley Simmons
Kaley, a junior at CHHS, is gaining on-the-job experience at Chick-fil-A in Arbor Place Mall. Kaley says that her job has taught her many useful skills, including being able to adapt to a variety of situations, becoming more sociable, and adapting to a fast-paced work environment.
"I feel these skills will help me in the future because being able to adapt to change is important for future careers," said Kaley. "Learning social skills and knowing how to get things done efficiently are important for every career."
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Madison McGee
Madison says that she has developed multiple skills working at Sun City. "I am able to communicate with customers and learn how to properly convey the information valuable to them," she said.
In addition, she has learned to run the salon by herself, including opening and closing. "I am able to manage my time and handle multiple tasks at once while handling customers leaving and entering."
Madison also uses skills relevant to everyday household tasks, including doing laundry, cleaning, emptying trash, refilling and replacing products in the salon, and putting away products.
For more information about WBL, students should reach out to the WBL coordinator at their high school. For a current listing of local employment, internships and apprenticeship opportunities for high school students in Douglas County who are enrolled in Work Based Learning, please click the link below:
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Board of Education earns exemplary status |
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We are proud that the Douglas County School System Board of Education was named a 2021 Exemplary School Board by the Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA). Only 60 of the 181 school districts in Georgia achieved exemplary status, the highest designation awarded by GSBA.
The recognition program is designed to showcase best practices in school governance and leadership.
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Check out The Parent Post
For information on family engagement opportunities and tips on how to help your children succeed in school, take a look at The Parent Post, a parent newsletter that is published quarterly by the Douglas County School System.
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Basketball Preview:
Alexander High School
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Pictured left to right are Meghan Ritchie, Haley Helton, Head Coach Dallas Smith, Tatiana Tanksley and Katlin Gould.
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Pictured left to right are Kelby Quarles, Kyle Singer, Kendell Cooper and Head Coach Jason Slate.
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Cougars Looking to Build on Last Season’s Successes
After a slow start in 2020-2021, the Alexander High School (AHS) Cougars men’s basketball team is looking to make another run at a Region 5-6A title following last year’s second-place finish.
“We had a slow start last season, but then we won nine out of our last 10 regular-season games and got the No. 2 seed in the region tournament,” said Cougars head coach Jason Slate.
This season, the Cougars return many players from last season, and they are off to a 3-0 start in 2021-2022. Three senior guards, Kyle Singer, Kendell Cooper and Kelby Quarles are big reasons for the team’s hot start, and Slate says he’ll count on them to help the team reach its goals.
With a seasoned roster, the Cougars are first looking to win a county championship, and then will be aiming to win a region title before competing for a state championship in the playoffs.
“We return a lot of guys,” Slate said, “and we feel like we have an opportunity to have a good season.”
Lady Cougars Gaining Experience
The Lady Cougars also come off a state playoff appearance from last season, but this season they’ll have a much younger team than in past years as they seek to replicate this success.
“As far as expectations for this year, we’re going to be very young,” said Lady Cougars head coach Dallas Smith. “We only have three upperclassmen that are going to be playing, because unfortunately, we had one that got hurt.”
Despite being young, Smith won’t be setting her goals any lower for the team.
“Our biggest goal at Alexander is to make sure that we create great people,” Smith said. “We want to get them prepared for their next level of life, whatever that looks like.”
On the court, AHS will be a part of a competitive Region 5-6A, and Smith said she’ll be counting on senior Haley Helton and juniors Tatiana Tanksley and Katlin Gould to play key roles and lead the team. Sophomore Meghan Ritchie will also play a big role in the team’s success.
“We have a great group of girls, and they work super hard,” said Smith. “They truly love each other, and we’re really excited to compete this year, and we’re ready for a great season.”
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Delancy Alexander, Jr., exemplifies the “Chapel Hill Way'' in all aspects. Principal Catherine Westbrook says the eighth grader is charismatic and a natural born leader. He is a member of the Beta Club and is enrolled in several advanced content courses. Delancy has been a member of the basketball team for three consecutive years where he led them to a county championship last year. He is hoping to lead the team to another strong season and has already brought the crowd to its feet by dunking in a game. He received the Offensive MVP Football Award from the middle school conference for back-to-back years. Chapel Hill Middle School is ecstatic to recognize Delancy as their CHMS Student Spotlight. |
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December 17: Last Day of Semester; Grading Period Ends
December 20, 21: Holidays (Except 240)
December 22-31: Holidays for All
January 1: DC Education Foundation Scholarship Application Opens
January 3: Holiday for All
January 4: Student Holiday; Teacher Work Day
January 5: Students Return; Report Cards for All Levels
January 10: BOE Work Session
January 17: Holiday for All
January 18: BOE Board Meeting
February 7: BOE Work Session
February 9: Progress Reports for Elementary and Middle Schools
February 14-18: Holidays (Except 240)
February 21: BOE Meeting
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Please scan the QR code to see all the details about the Fairplay Middle Rudolph Fun Run! |
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