MAES’ Evans Wins AITC Rockstar Teacher

May 20, 2022

Over the past year, Crystal Evans, a teacher at Mason Creek Elementary School, has kept her eyes open for ways to incorporate agriculture education into her class’ lessons. For her efforts, Evans was presented the Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) Rockstar Teacher Award by Farm Bureau on Thursday.

“I love bringing agriculture to the classroom,” said Evans. “Incorporating agriculture really opens up a lot of our students' minds to things they don’t get to see outside of the classroom a lot of the time. I’ve noticed with me doing this in the classroom, some ouf our students have made gardens at home.”

Along with winning the award, Evans received a $100 from Douglas County Farm Bureau, and she will also receive an all-expenses paid trip to Saratoga, New York, to attend the 2022 National AITC Conference.

The AITC contest was created by Natalie Murray, a teacher at Mirror Lake Elementary School who helps Douglas County Farm Bureau with educational outreach.

Murray wanted a way to get educators excited about “teaching through the lens of agriculture,” so she piloted the program at MLES last year.

This year, the contest morphed into a competition between two schools to see which teachers could incorporate the most agricultural topics inot their lessons, and MAES’ Evans came out on top.

“I’m very excited to be able to give this award,” said Murray. “For me to teach through the lens of agriculture in my classroom and be a resource for others and be a liaison between Farm Bureau and the teachers. Farm Bureau provides so many resources, and it’s so awesome to see other teachers using them and doing this.”

In some of her lessons, Evans used MAES’ chicken farm as a major way to bring new concepts to students through agriculture in the classroom.

“We have our chicken farm outside, and we talk about how we get eggs from our chickens and we sell them, and the kids were really excited about selling them,” Evans said. “And we just hatched a bunch of eggs in the spring, so it was really neat that they got to see the other side of things, because in the winter time, we were selling them.”

NMHS AVI Awards

Students in New Manchester High School’s Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Program were honored Thursday night during the school’s annual AVI Awards Celebration.

During the ceremony, students in the program received their stoles and chords for graduation along with a couple more gifts from local sponsors and the school’s AVID site team to help them continue practicing the skills they learned in the AVID Program.

“I would like to acknowledge all of our AVID students and our AVID site team members for participating in and contributing to our AVID fundraisers,” said Tahira Chandler, NMHS’ AVID Coordinator. “Because of your fundraising efforts, every AVID senior will go home with an Amazon Fire Tablet and an Amazon Echo Dot.”

During the program, students also gave speeches where many expressed their gratitude to Chandler, other NMHS teachers and the AVID Program for helping keep them on the right track toward graduation and college during their high school years.

“I cannot say how glad I am that AVID has supported me through my high school years,” said Autumn Drummond. “It has been more than just notebook checks and high level questions, AVID was and is about challenging myself to be better and planning the future I want and not following in anyone else’s footsteps.”

Like Drummond, DeSean Glanton also thanked the program and its site team members for their help throughout his four years at NMHS to help him take the next step toward achieving his goals.

“I give thanks to Mrs. Rogers and Mrs. Chandler for not only saving my life, but pushing me to be better not only for AVID and for my family, but for myself,” said Glanton. “I have zero regrets, and I thank God, my parents, my coaches and AVID. Thank you for turning a broken, misguided little boy into an educated and motivated young man.”

This year, NMHS saw 34 seniors graduate from the program in good standing. Six of those students received full-ride scholarships, 11 received HOPE Scholarships, three were Zell Miller Scholars, two students enlisted in the United States Navy, and three more had been accepted to over 20 colleges around the country.

“Our goal in NMHS AVID is to make sure our graduates are Enrolled, Enlisted or Employed (the 3 E's) when they exit the AVID program. This year we have 34 NMHS AVID seniors,” said Chandler. “These students are completely and utterly amazing! All have met one of the 3 E's and we could not be more proud.”

SMS Students Shine During Spring Arts Exhibit

Stewart Middle School Eagles soar academically and rise to success in every area.

This week the campus hosted a Spring Arts Exhibition to showcase the school’s

talented young artists. Art teacher Kacie Blair says the halls of Stewart Middle School are overflowing with creative, multi-talented artists. The Arts Exhibition allowed the students to highlight and exhibit their talents for the community to see. “The talent show was one of the highlights of the evening. Our students did an amazing job,” Blair explains. She says the audience enjoyed the trumpet player, the dancers, and the singers.

An art gallery also enthralled Stewart Middle School supporters. Blair says the art gallery consisted of 2D and 3D artwork created by 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade artists. She crafted every lesson using an Arts Integration approach to learning, with each piece connecting to Math, ELA, Social Studies, or Science. Blair also displayed artwork from students who participated in Youth Art Month and the CAC Winter Wonderland Exhibit.

The first-year art teacher is excited to share her passion for the arts with Stewart Middle School students. “I’m amazed at how Stewart students use their creativity to express themselves,” Blair says. “Teaching art at Stewart has been the experience of a lifetime- one I wouldn’t replace for the world.”

BAES students learn robotics with AHS

The Alexander High School robotics team visited Bill Arp Elementary for their STEAM day, last week. The high school students demonstrated "Big Cat” (an FRC #8083) to elementary students. The elementary students also got a chance to see and maneuver smaller robots during a hands-on activity.

The team explained the importance of learning to code the robot, so that it could shoot a ball and perform other tasks. Elementary students were thrilled to see the robot perform.

For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) is an international youth organization that operates the FIRST Robotics Competition. The collaborative efforts of coding and building, that our AHS high school robotics team is used to, are important when solving complex problems. AHS has competed in these competitions and can program robots to demonstrate techniques, such as climbing and maneuvering, that are essential skills at the FIRST Robotics Competitions. The students at Bill Arp Elementary have the opportunity to learn, grow and collaborate with this robotics team.

The Parent Post Full Newsletter

The Parent Post Full Newsletter SPANISH

Serenity Ballard truly shines in this week’s Student Spotlight! Principal Dr. Sherritta Abell says Serenity is an exemplary student and role model for her peers at Annette Winn Elementary School. Serenity takes school seriously and knows the importance of a good education. In class she strives for excellence everyday. She not only excels in the classroom, but also outside of the classroom. As an active participant of the AWES WNN News, Bucket Brigade, and the Math Competition Team, she represents what it means to always do what is right, even when no one is looking. When asked why she believes that she is a leader, she states, “I am a leader because I help people when they need it.”

Serenity continues to be a school leader by following all school procedures and expectations throughout the building. She is excelling in all of her academic courses, and keeps her focus on the next grade level and her future. She is compassionate when it comes to helping others succeed. She stays positive in the face of adversity. She has a calm spirit, and is a friend to everyone. Serenity states that when she grows up, she wants to be a businesswoman. Congratulations, Serenity!

Sutton Cadman shines in this week’s Student Spotlight. Sutton is a graduating senior at Alexander High School. Principal Dr. Chris Small says Sutton is hardworking, determined, a servant leader, and a compassionate friend. Sutton also excels in extracurricular activities. He is very active in He is a member of the wrestling, Beta Club, Alexander Fishing Club, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He founded and is President of Alexander High’s Chapter of Habitat of Humanity. Under his leadership, the group raised $98,000 to build a Habitat home for an area veteran. Sutton plans to attend college at Auburn University this fall. Congratulations, Sutton!