Dear Parents, Guardians and Staff Members,
I am so proud of our students and staff for the smooth start to the school year. Our teachers are thrilled to have their students back in person, and the hallways are alive with excitement.
We have always said that we would make adjustments to our COVID protocols based on the number of positive cases and the guidance of our healthcare professionals, and we made an adjustment just prior to the first day of school. I know the decision to mandate masks was popular with some parents and unpopular with others. Please know that I respect all opinions and I respect your right to be heard.
Our hope is that the spread of COVID will decrease and the vaccination rate will increase so that we can return to an optional mask policy. I encourage everyone who is eligible to take the vaccine and help us mitigate the spread of COVID in our community. As always, I appreciate your cooperation as we work to make the best decisions for the district as a whole.
I'm looking forward to an amazing school year. I am confident that our students will learn and thrive as we remain flexible and resilient during these challenging times.
Best regards,
Trent North, Superintendent
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Summer school catches students up, accelerates learning |
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The Douglas County School System hosted over 3,500 elementary, middle and high school students for summer school in June. Every school was open for face-to-face instruction with teachers working to catch students up and accelerate their learning.
“After an unusual year when many of our students learned online, we were committed to extending learning opportunities to as many students as possible over the summer,” said Kathleen French, director of K-8 curriculum and instruction. “Our goal was to close any deficits so that students would be ready for the new school year in August.”
At Winston Elementary, instructional lead teacher and site coordinator Meghan Rathel said, “Everyone worked extremely hard to provide their students with exactly what they needed during summer school, with a special emphasis on reading and math.”
Winston Principal Chelsie Goodman expressed pride in all that her students accomplished, from small groups with English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students to social and emotional activities with the school counselor Sharleta Smith.
At Yeager Middle School, students engaged in STEM activities that focused on renewable resources, among other topics. Factory Shoals Middle School students had the opportunity to employ science, technology, engineering, art and math skills through the creation of various projects.
Students at all high schools worked through the online platform Edgenuity to earn class credits and keep them on track to graduate on time.
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School garden fruitful venture at MCES
School shares bounty with community
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When Christina Rich arrived at Mt. Carmel Elementary School (MCES) to begin the 2018-19 school year, she had no idea that starting a school garden would be as fruitful as it has been.
“I proposed the idea at the end of the 2018-19 school year, and then I reproposed it last year, but of course with the start of school being the way it was we couldn’t get it going until spring 2021,” Rich said. “I’m grateful for the help and donations from a lot of places like Farm Bureau, Lowes and Home Depot, because we started things from scratch.”
Along with getting help from the community, Rich also received assistance from some smaller helpers, as her kindergarten class were the ones who initially helped her set up the garden and get it going.
“Most of the work except for cutting wood for the raised beds and things like that were done by the kids,” Rich said. “They did all the soil and planted the seeds into the earth, and it was really awesome.”
After planting a crop of cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes and strawberries just before spring break, the group worked the garden faithfully and eventually yielded a bountiful harvest in May.
Since Rich’s kindergarten class has gotten the garden off the ground, many other classes and students at MCES have pitched in to help keep it going.
In fact, over the summer, Rich said that students and parents from the school volunteered to water and weed the garden, which often led to the school posting online that it had crops to give away.
“That was exciting to see because it allowed the kids and families to get out and do something together,” Rich said. “I’m glad Mr. Holland supported it, because it’s been way more fruitful than I could have ever hoped.”
With the whole school being involved in the garden, Rich added that it provides several educational opportunities for the students at MCES as well.
“It provides a good hands-on learning experience with understanding weather patterns or parts of the plant, which are kindergarten standards, or how to take care of the planet and showing them that farming can be a career,” said Rich. “We try to include the whole school in the garden, so some teachers have lessons that incorporate portions of it.”
Along with teaching lessons, Rich says one of the most enjoyable parts of the garden is getting to watch her students taste their vegetables and fruit that their hard work produces.
“It’s really amazing because kids get to see something they plant grow and they have the chance to taste test it. We taste-tested radishes, and many of them ordinarily wouldn’t have the opportunity to do that at home,” Rich said. “It really is a fun and engaging learning experience for all involved, including myself, because I didn’t know a lot about gardening when we first started.”
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Superintendent Trent North recently participated in a student-produced podcast called “InDepth Douglas.” This episode highlights the school district’s efforts to navigate through COVID-19. Superintendent North outlines the school system's pursuit towards excellence and many of the challenges encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is produced by Douglas County High School student Samuel Noonan with assistance from Chapel Hill High School Junior Lucy Noonan.
Samuel is a junior in the DCHS International Baccalaureate program. To produce the podcast, Samuel used skills learned in Mr. Torre Goodson’s Music Technology class. In his free time, Samuel enjoys listening to podcasts about politics, culture, and sports.
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Superintendent North outlines COVID protocol decisions in student-produced podcast |
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Leadership opportunity for students in grades 10-12 |
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Students in grades 10-12 are invited to apply for State School Superintendent Richard Woods' Student Advisory Council. Students who are selected will meet with the superintendent and other students from around the state to provide input on important decisions affecting schools throughout Georgia. Douglas County has been well represented on the Student Advisory Council in past years.
For more information on this opportunity and a link to the application, please click here. |
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Thank you to Beulah Baptist and MembersFirst |
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Partners in Education members Beulah Baptist and MembersFirst treated all 160 principals, assistant principals, and central office leaders to breakfast and lunch during the summer business meeting on July 20.
The summer business meeting is an all-day event and a time for district personnel to share procedures and expectations for the upcoming year. The meeting was held at the new central office, 11490 Veterans Memorial Hwy. DCSS appreciates the continued support of MembersFirst Credit Union and the hospitality of its new neighbor across the street on Veterans Memorial, Beulah Baptist!
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Beulah Baptist served lunch to all 160 meeting participants in their beautiful church building across the street from the new DCSS central office. |
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Kim Fletcher with MembersFirst coordinated breakfast and giveaways for the meeting. |
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Are you ready for some football?
Spotlight on: Alexander High School
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Cougars looking to go from 'good' to 'great'
Coming off an impressive 8-3 finish in 2020, Alexander High School and first-year head coach Olten Downs have their sights set on building on this success and reaching a new level as the 2021 season gets underway.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to be the head coach of Alexander High School,” Downs said. “We have some remarkable young men. They’ve come to work hard this summer, and we’re just trying to build on a winning tradition and take the program to another level.”
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Downs takes over for former Alexander Head Coach Matt Combs, who stepped down in January after 10 successful years.
Prior to taking over as the Cougars head coach, Downs spent the past two seasons as head coach at Westover High School in Albany, where he led the team to the state playoffs in 2020.
In his inaugural year leading the Cougars, Downs will be leaning on a group of stellar seniors led by defensive back Shawn Parker, quarterback Donovan Hoskins, defensive tackle Nehemiah Dukes and fullback and tight end Justin Williams.
“We’ve gotten great sponsorship from our parents who are very involved,” said Downs, “and the guys have been very responsive and we’re trying to get them to take it from good to great. We want to take that mindset to another level.”
The Cougars open the 2021 season at home on Aug. 20 against Chapel Hill High School in Douglasville.
Pictured left to right are Shawn Parker, Donovan Hoskins, Coach Olten Downs, Nehemiah Dukes and Justin Williams.
For a complete football schedule for all five Douglas County high schools, please click here.
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August 16: BOE Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
August 17: BOE Tax Millage Rate Hearing, 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
August 24: BOE Tax Millage Rate Hearing, 6:00 p.m.
September 6: Holiday for All
September 7: BOE Work Session, 6:00 p.m.
September 8: Progress Reports for Elementary and Middle Schools
September 20: BOE Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
October 4: BOE Work Session, 6:00 p.m.
October 5: FTE Count
October 6: Grading Period Ends
October 11, 12: Holiday (Except 240 Day Employees)
October 14: Progress Reports for High Schools; Report Cards for Elementary and Middle Schools
October 18: BOE Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
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Check out opportunities that are available in our area by clicking the Community Bulletin Board below! |
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