To celebrate Read Across America Week, Mrs. Cameron Sheldon, Chapel Hill Elementary Media Specialist, issued a challenge to all students to compete against other classes in their grade level by reading books and taking Accelerated Reader (AR) tests. The class with the most points by the end of the week would win a chance to tape Coach Dennis to the wall. Our students read and completed tests on over 600 books for the WEEK as a school! The winning classes were allowed to tape Coach Dennis to a pillar in the media center. Expressions of pure joy were on the faces of all students and teachers and squeals could be heard down the hall. Students are already asking when the next challenge will take place. The response from the teachers and faculty about how motivated they have been to read and take AR tests has been overwhelming!

In addition to taping Coach Dennis to the wall, each day of the week a staff member dressed as a masked character and read an excerpt of their favorite book on our morning newscast. We called this the Masked Reader! Students used a clue to vote using a Google Form in the Red Carpet Readers (Media Center) Google Classroom on the staff member they believed was the Masked Reader. This was an absolute blast!

Mrs. Sheldon stated, "It is my goal to ensure that our students are excited about reading and build a life-long love of reading. Read Across America is a great time to get students excited about reading and having fun! I'm so pleased to see so many students truly excited for reading! The Masked Reader and the AR Challenge was a tremendous success!"

The cheetahs enjoyed a wonderful week of reading.

South Douglas 4th graders participated in the recording of 4 episodes of the Who Was Books podcast last month. The kids read books from the popular Who Was series. These books feature famous figures such as Clara Barton, Bruce Lee, The Wright Brothers and George Washington Carver. SDES students also had the opportunity to participate in a friendly trivia contest hosted by a crew of voiceover artists. Some of the voiceover artists are actors from the Emmy Award nominated Who Was Netflix show.

The winners of the contest were awarded a box of Who Was books for themselves and for the school. The program is scheduled to air on various podcast channels in May.

Contestants: Natalie Pryor, Tripp Starling, Ellie Patterson, Kinsley Everette, Branson Baxter, Parker Paden, Ava Jean Barrington, Ozi Okwumabua

Students at Holly Springs Elementary have the opportunity to participate in many week long afterschool camps that charge a small fee to help raise money for classroom needs. Last week students in 3rd Grade had the opportunity to join in on the fun at STEM Camp.

Each day students had a different themed activity including STEM centers focused on coding and engineering, learning about gravity, building a spaceship with an astronaut that would survive the landing, and they designed and constructed windmills. Students also learned about aeronautical design with the help of a HESS grant won by Mrs. Kerry Harbin, the Media Specialist. She received 12 cargo planes and jets with curriculum ideas thanks to the generosity of HESS.

Conner W. and Kingston M. are shown cutting out their HESS gliders. Connor said, “My favorite thing about STEM Camp is having fun and learning new things. I liked testing out our glider the best”.

Our 4th and 5th graders are signing up now for their STEM Camp which will be the last week of March.

The Lithia Springs High School CTAE department welcomed local entrepreneur & business owner Elena Hudson as a guest speaker on March 8, 2022. Ms. Hudson is a Douglas County Schools alumni from Alexander High School's class of 2015.

Mrs. Swango, LSHS Entrepreneurship teacher, and Mrs. Benford, LSHS Food Science teacher, invited Ms. Hudson to speak to their classes to kick off their collaborative Food Truck project.

The project involves the business students creating a business plan for a food truck business and then working with the food science students in creating the menu, supply list, and cost analysis.

Ms. Hudson spoke to the students about how she started her food truck- The Hud. She spoke about what it takes to start a food truck including all the permits, licensing, and loans that must be obtained to start the business.

Ms. Hudson also brought some food samples for the students to enjoy. The students learned valuable information to help them with the collaborative project.

The Douglas County School System’s nutrition department got a pleasant surprise on February 24 when Freddie Falcon, the Atlanta Falcons mascot and Falcons cheerleaders came to present them with a $10,000 Hometown Grant.

The grant comes courtesy of Fuel to Play 60 (FUTP 60), an in-school health and wellness program, the Atlanta Falcons, and The Dairy Alliance.

Each year, FUTP 60 chooses one school in the Metro-Atlanta area to receive the grant, and this year DCSS was selected to receive the award.

“We’re very excited for what DCSS food & nutrition will be doing with the $10,000,” said Will McWhirter, the Manager of Youth Wellness with The Dairy Alliance. “It’s a great opportunity there to give kids some hands-on experience to learn more about fruits, vegetable proteins, and whole grains.”

DCSS’ food and nutrition department plans to use the funds for nutrition education and expansion by creating a mobile kitchen to serve as an educational platform for students that also provides tasty treats.

“The school Nutrition program is super excited to expand its reach in Farm to School Programs,” said DCSS Director of School Nutrition Danielle Freeman. “We are striving to purchase a mobile kitchen that our Chef Timothy Patridge will complete food demos to various after school programs.”

By having this mobile kitchen, Freeman added that the goal is to take items grown in local gardens to teach students about the origins and preparation of their food before allowing them to enjoy it.

“School Nutrition wants to ensure we Fuel our Future with not only nutrition, but with knowledge, exposure, and hopefully career paths in the future,” Freeman said.

If your student is an independent learner who likes to use technology, and your family needs or desires a more flexible approach to education, the FLEX Academy might be right for you!

What is FLEX?

FLEX is short for Flexible Learning for Educational Excellence. Students in 1st through 12th grade are invited to apply for the FLEX program. All teachers are certified Douglas County School System teachers who are committed to the success of your child. FLEX is ideal for highly independent, self-motivated learners who enjoy working at a fast pace. 

We are implementing a new model at FLEX for the 2022-2023 school year. The new program at FLEX for the 2022-2023 school year will require that all students interested apply for the 2022-2023 school year. Please review the new criteria for the 2022-2023 school year and the options for each grade level.

To access the application and for more information about FLEX Academy, visit the website at flex.dcssga.org.