Middle Schoolers Travel Abroad!

September 16, 2022

Middle Schoolers Travel Abroad

Douglas County School System (DCSS) is excited to announce that 14 middle schoolers will travel to Portugal and Spain, during winter break in February. The students earned this opportunity by submitting an essay about the value of student travel.

Any DCSS middle school student, with no major discipline referrals, a good attendance record and at least a C average in all classes were eligible to apply for this opportunity. All middle school teachers shared a video message that explained the details and timeline to apply with students during class. Also, each middle school student received an email explaining this adventure. 142 middle school students submitted essays, met the September deadline to apply and had their essays judged by a group of retired educators. The winners were announced by surprise visits from the superintendent to their school on Wednesday, September 14.

Superintendent Trent North seeks to provide students with global perspective and experiences. It is a part of the vision of the school district to ensure that students are “productive citizens in a global society.” “Because of economic tourism and travel our students now compete both nationally and globally. We wanted to provide this travel and learning opportunity to students at no cost. The travel program is sponsored by an organization that allows these young people to explore Europe,” said North.

For eight days during the February winter break, the students will travel to Portugal and Spain. The travel plans are being organized through EF Education First. Internationally trained school chaperones will accompany the group as they explore, gain more openness to other cultures and people, and learn interconnectedness between countries. This experience connects middle grades students to their learning in social studies, as they learn about culture and history; science and math, as they learn through ecological surroundings, weather and museums; and social skills, as they learn to explore and cope outside of their community.

Congratulations to: Olivia Almondovar, Karmari Bush, Edward Aguilar-Carbajal, Bianca Ebigbo-Gonzalea, Kyndel Greenwood, Xiyoa Gu, Tony Iyibas, Reese Martin, Alexis May, Abraham Oomanyi, Amir Parrish, Obed Lucas-Velaquez, Jayden Williams and Saeedah Willingham. In preparation for their journey students and chaperones will begin meeting in October to get to know each other and prepare to share this exciting time together. We wish them all safe travels and hope that they create memories that will last a lifetime.

DCSS Buses Debut Disinfectant Technology

New technology effective against harmful viruses in buses

Bus riders will soon breathe much easier thanks to new technology coming to Douglas County school buses. Disinfection technology will continuously clean the air on all buses, making everyone's ride cleaner and safer.

The CASPR (Continuous Air & Surface Pathogen Reduction) disinfection system reduces harmful bacteria, viruses, and other germs in the air and on surfaces. BioShark and CASPR explain it works by converting natural air flow into safe and low levels of dry gaseous hydrogen peroxide. As a result, the natural disinfectant works without chemicals to replace chemical spraying and cleaning. The process reduces up to 99.96% of harmful viruses in the air and on surfaces.

Superintendent Trent North says this investment is another way to provide students and staff with the safest environment possible. "This technology eliminates chemical spraying," Superintendent North says. "At the same time, it provides students and staff with a layer of protection against bacteria and viruses that exist today. It also provides additional protection from COVID-19, the flu, and viruses that may exist in the future," he adds.

BioShark's Shannon Grube agrees that CASPR technology benefits everyone. Grube says by killing pathogens and viruses in the air and on surfaces, everyone on board has an additional layer of security. "We are thrilled Douglas County leadership and board members chose to protect students and drivers before they walk into the school building," Grube says.

Transportation Director E.W. Tolbert is ecstatic about the new technology. Tolbert says the units run continuously while the buses operate, leaving no residue or corrosive effects on the bus fleet. "With this technology, we always know our air and surfaces have been disinfected. The air our students and staff breathe should always be the healthiest it can be. Now that we are doing that, we can offer our families and employees tremendous peace of mind."

ASES Celebrates Grandparents

Grandparents can be valuable resources in the lives of children. They help children learn by playing, talking and reading together while giving them focused attention. They can also teach more directly by telling stories and sharing family and cultural traditions. In the United States, grandparent’s day is usually celebrated on the Sunday after Labor Day, and there are often dedicated Grandparents Day events in schools.

Arbor Station Elementary (ASES) recently celebrated Grandparent's Day and it was a packed house! Mr. Joseph Morency, who has grandchildren at the school, was the guest speaker. Mr. Morency gave ten tips for grandparents that included spending quality time, encouraging and loving their grandchildren unconditionally. Grandparents and children have a special connection that is proven to make children more emotionally resilient. Celebrating grandparents is an opportunity for our learning community to treasure connections and let them know how much we appreciate them.

FSES Student Publishes Book

For any student, writing and publishing a book is always a big deal. And for Lyric Johnson, a young author at Factory Shoals Elementary School, this accomplishment has been made even more special by having her book featured in her school’s media center for other students to read and enjoy.

The book, titled “I’m Beautiful, I’m Smart, and I Can Do All Things”, is a story that gives affirmations to the reader as they follow the main character in the book. This book, Johnson says, is written for little girls, but she added that she’s working on another edition for little boys that she hopes to complete soon.

For the young author, the idea to write these books came from her father, who routinely gave her an affirmation similar to the title when she was growing up.

“I decided to write it because my dad told my sister and I when we were three or four that we are beautiful, smart, and we can do all things. That’s where the title came from. People don’t really get told that a lot, so that’s what made me want to write it.”

At FSES, teachers, administrators and the school’s librarian are excited to be able to feature a work from one of their own in the media center for other students to check out and receive a positive message.

On September 9, Johnson signed a copy of the book to go in the school’s library, and FSES media specialist Danielle Jiles said that she plans to create a display featuring Johnson’s book in the media center for all students to see.

Johnson’s book can also be purchased on her website, www.lyricj.net, and on Amazon.

Get in the Game at BSES

BSES students are in the full swing of fall learning and with a sports theme to support learning the standards. The Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) has a focus on researched-based continuous school improvement, teaching and learning, and professional learning. Teaching and learning research shows that standards-based learning is key to a student’s success in the classroom.

At BSES the Bright Star Comets are committed to “tackling” those standards in all subject areas. "Standards based bulletin boards display the hard work of our students and teachers. We are excited to have monthly themes that get everyone excited about learning. We are including sports themed vocabulary on the announcements everyday as well." shared principal, Heather Fields.

Congratulations to Gabrielle Coner, who shines in this week's Student Spotlight! Gabrielle achieved SUPERNOVA status on the PBIS Rewards system due to her extraordinary efforts during the first term. With straight As, zero referrals, and zero absences. Gabrielle was one of only five students at Turner to receive this recognition. When asked why this is special to her, Gabrielle stated, "I am proud and feel accomplished to be the student of the month. I strive for good grades and always put in my best effort. I like that I am guaranteed to learn something new every day in school. I love that TMS is different," she says. "Learning allows me to meet new and learn from people daily, including students and staff." Congratulations, Gabrielle!