More Students “Exceed” on Writing Test

The fall 2009 administration of the Georgia High School Writing Test shows more students scoring in the “exceeds” category compared to a year ago.

The latest results show 4 percent less students meeting the standard while 3 percent more are exceeding the standard. The 2009 performance summary breakdown shows 78 percent meeting standards, 18 percent exceeding and 4 percent not meeting standards.

Fayette County's total pass rate is 96 percent. In comparison, the state’s pass rate is 91 percent.

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FDIC Orders Online Bank Auction of Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment from Southern Community Bank

/PRNewswire/ -- Penny Worley Auctioneers (www.worleyauctioneers.com) announces the online auction of furniture, fixtures and equipment from FDIC Receivership for Southern Community Bank in Fayetteville, Ga., according to Jerry Jenkins.

Items in this online bank auction include: computers, executive office furniture, IT equipment, copier/printers, office equipment, Oriental rugs, framed art, storage and shelving, work tables, phone systems, cubical systems, 50-inch flat panel televisions, kitchen appliances, as well as bank equipment like intercom speaker system with microphone, locking under counter teller cabinets, check scanners, jogger, electric paper cutter, coin counter, currency counters, a check making machine, encoders, validators, and security cameras.

"This is a great opportunity to purchase computer and IT equipment along with high-end office furniture," said Jenkins. "All of these items will sell to the highest bidders."

Jenkins said the items were ordered sold by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receivership for Southern Community Bank. In 2008, Penny Worley Auctioneers was named an official auctioneer for the FDIC.

The online auction is open to the public. Bidding starts closing December 13. Bidders must register prior to bidding. For more information, visit www.WorleyAuctioneers.com, or call Jerry Jenkins at (513) 313-9178.

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Fayette County Students Finish Strong in Foreign Language Competition

Foreign language students brought home 52 awards last month from the 37th annual Declamation Contest held at Clemson University.

A total of 71 students from all of Fayette County's five high schools competed in the following languages: French, German, Latin and Spanish. Contestants were required to recite two poems from memory using their chosen language. Judges rated each recitation on pronunciation, interpretation of text, smoothness of delivery and textural accuracy.

Fayette’s results were strong with 73 percent of the students earning first, second and third place prizes. All totaled, the students won 19 first place awards, 17 second and 16 third.

The following students placed first in their foreign language category:
(Fayette County High) Marina Lopes, Spanish 3; Samira Issa-Boube, French 2; Zahra Manji, French 3; (McIntosh High) Kathleen Newman, French 1; Molly Cook, French 4; Shelby Coffey, French 4; Nathan Pearson, Latin 2; Natalia Cuestas, Latin 3; Scott Lauderdale, Spanish 4; (Sandy Creek High) Courtney Henfield, German 3 native; Lyssa Beck, German 4 native; Broderick Sims, German 1 native; (Starr’s Mill High) Anika Noorali, French2; Michelle Perez, French 3; Katherine DelleDonne, French 4; Travis Richardson, German 4; Leslie A. Perez, Spanish 2; and (Whitewater High) Ayana Graham, Spanish 3; Cameron Green, Spanish 4.

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"The Sound of Angels" Performance by the Georgia Singers at PTC First Presbyterian Church December 6

The public is invited to a special holiday concert performed by the Georgia Singers at PTC First Presbyterian Church on December 6 at 6:30 pm. This concert features sacred and secular opening sections followed by delightful seasonal selections and the singing of congregational carols.

The Georgia Singers is a new force in choral music for women's voices in Fayette County and is directed by Dr. Franklin Green, who is nationally known for his work with young women's voices and accompanied by Mr. Rick Massengale, Director of Music at First United Methodist Church in Fayetteville.

Admission is free, however a ticket is required. For more information or to reserve a ticket, please call 770-487-7757 or email concerts@firstpresptc.com. A free-will offering will be taken. Childcare will be provided for ages 4 and younger.

First Presbyterian Church
206 Willow Bend Rd
Peachtree City

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Georgia Alternate Assessment Parent Workshop set for December 3

The Exceptional Children’s Services Department of the Fayette County Public School System will host a workshop on the Georgia Alternate Assessment on December 3 in the media center at Rivers Elementary beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Parents are encouraged to bring their child’s report to reference during the discussion. Topics will include the creation of the Georgia Alternate Assessment (GAA) and how its portfolio is assessed; eligibility for the GAA; adaptive curriculum in general; and elements of the Georgia Performance Standards assessed in the portfolio.

Parents will also see examples of activities aligned to grade level standards and will learn ways to talk to their child’s teacher regarding which standards their child is working on and how they can help their child at home.

Exceptional Children’s Services staff members Kim Stapleton, adaptive curriculum coordinator; Cathy Skinner-Robertson, adaptive curriculum consultant; and Linda Williams, REACH and transition consultant, will facilitate the discussion.

Light refreshments will be served and a door prize drawing will be held. The workshop is free and open to the public; however, reservations are required for those planning to attend.
December 2 is the deadline to reserve a seat by contacting Allison Stevenson, parent mentor, at stevenson.allison@mail.fcboe.org or call 770-460-3911, ext 239.

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Dec. 3rd Receipt Day at Fayetteville Dwarf House

The Fayetteville Dwarf House Save your receipt from your purchase on THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3rd, and receive that same order for FREE during the month of January! (one time only) This is good for ALL FOOD PURCHASES!!!! (Even chick-fil-a trays!) This does not apply to merchandise purchases and does not apply to any delivery orders.

If you're on Facebook, look them up and become a fan.

Learn to love your work and you'll never have to 'work' again.--Truett Cathy

Register for Prizes and Support Fayette Businesses!

The Fayette Chamber is encouraging holiday shoppers to buy local with their Find it in Fayette! Holiday Campaign. At www.FinditinFayette.org, visitors can find places to shop, local holiday events, hot deals, and register for great drawing prizes.

Supporting Fayette County businesses strengthens our local economy in multiple ways. Sales tax dollars provide funding for local resources and buying local helps bolster the Fayette job market and supports local business owners and their families. According to the 3/50 Project, for every $100 spent in locally owned independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures. Non-profit causes also benefit because successful, community-minded businesses are more likely to support local charities.

The www.FinditinFayette.org website is an ongoing effort by the Chamber to connect the community with local businesses and to help sustain the excellent quality of life we enjoy here in Fayette. For more information on how the Chamber helps local businesses, visit www.FayetteChamber.org or call 770.461.9983.

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Angel Tree Sponsors Needed in Fayette County

(L-R) CARE Coordinator Karen Spangler and her assistant, Dian Farrente, stand next to the Angel Tree Board representing nearly 300 needy students and their families.

Nearly 300 students and their families are in need of “angels” this holiday season.

The Fayette County Public School System’s annual CARE (Children at Risk in Education) Angel Tree project is underway and the needs of students and their families are reflective of the current economic situation in Fayette, the state and nation.

The CARE Angel Tree is different from most holiday donation projects in that students and families make non-traditional gift requests. This year the school system is seeing requests for more basic needs such as toilet paper, soap, shampoo and conditioner, dish and laundry detergent, and cleaning supplies. Angel requests span across all grade levels and areas of the county.

“We are getting numerous requests for very basic living necessities that many of us take for granted. Many of our angels are for students and their families who have never been in a financial hardship before,” says CARE Coordinator Karen Spangler. “We have parents who have lost jobs and are still without work or had to take a drastic pay cut. These are the working poor who are trying to make ends meet.”

In order for a student and/or family to make a gift request, at least one of the parents must be working or legitimately trying to find work. Counselors at each school identify those who are in need and make recommendations for placement in the angel project if the students and their families meet the required guidelines.

“When the community makes a donation to our project, we want them to know that we are being good stewards of their gifts. We want them to know that their donations are being given to those who truly need and will use them,” says Spangler.

Besides basic needs, other requests include gas cards for getting to and from medical appointments and jobs, portable heaters, pots and pans, automobile tires, beds and mattresses, and linens and blankets.

Also, there are more requests from the high school level than in the past. Many of these students are in need of clothing, shoes and basic toiletries. Since older students are sometimes harder to fit than younger ones, it is requested that sponsors donate a gift card so that school counselors can help the students shop for clothing that appeals to them and fits properly.

The community can select an angel off the Angel Tree board located at the former East Fayette Elementary School on Booker Avenue in Fayetteville. Angels will be available for sponsorship now through early December.

Persons who would rather make a donation instead of sponsoring a particular child or family can do so by dropping off basic need items, non-perishable foods or gift cards at the front office of the former East Fayette Elementary School or at the Fayette County Board of Education office at 210 Stonewall Avenue in Fayetteville. These donations will help stock the holiday shopping center the last week before the winter break, giving school counselors an opportunity to shop for last minute needs for families who have just moved into the area or lost a job, got evicted, etc.
“This has been a huge success the past two years. We always have families and students who suddenly find themselves in need just before the holidays. Donations to the holiday shopping center are greatly appreciated so that we can help students and their families have a brighter holiday season,” says Spangler.

All donations are due by December 11 so that school staff can distribute the gifts to families in time for the holidays. For questions about the CARE Angel Tree Project or directions, please contact Betty Albers, 770-460-1390.

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Peachtree City Elementary Students Share Season’s Bounty

Lily Gober places eggplants and corn into the cornucopias made by Peachtree City Elementary ASP students for Fest Day. The decorations were later donated to Southland Health and Rehabilitation.

The spirit of sharing Thanksgiving’s bounty is in the hearts of After School Program (ASP) students at Peachtree City Elementary.

The students designed paper cornucopias filled with vegetables made out of paper and paint to serve as centerpieces during the school’s annual Fest Day, an event held just before the Thanksgiving holiday break when parents and family members join their children for lunch.

After the fest was over, the ASP students extended the spirit of giving by donating their handiwork to their next door neighbors at Southland Health and Rehabilitation. The facility will use the artwork to decorate the residents’ dining hall between now and Thanksgiving Day.

"This activity provided our students with dual opportunities in creative expression and community service. ASP students enjoyed sharing their art with the school and with our neighbors at Southland. It was wonderful to see the students develop an awareness," says Jennifer Campbell, the school’s ASP site coordinator.

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Kiwanis and Civitan Clubs Help Fayette County School Clinics Purchase New Thermometers

Temporal artery scanner thermometers will soon be in every Fayette County school clinic thanks to donations from two local civic organizations.

The Kiwanis Club of Fayette County and the Fayette County Civitan Club have both made monetary donations to the school system’s School Health Services program after learning about the need for thermometers that take temperatures by scanning the forehead.

The school system found it would be more efficient and less costly to have the temporal artery scanners after dealing with flu outbreaks at the beginning of the school year. As individual students and staff members were diagnosed with the flu, school nurses took the temperatures of all students and staff in order to detect others that were running a fever, a symptom of the flu. Each time a temperature was taken, a new protective cover had to be placed on the thermometer. Not only was this costly, but it was also time consuming.

The temporal artery scanners can be cleaned with alcohol between students, eliminating a need for costly covers and making it more time efficient to take multiple temperatures. They also have a sliver ion antimicrobial head that destroys harmful bacteria, mold, mildew and fungi on contact.

“I want to thank these two organizations for helping us get the scanner thermometers into our school clinics. They are more accurate, efficient and less expensive than what we are using now. These thermometers are going to be a great asset to the clinics and I just want to thank these groups again for their donations,” says School Health Services Specialist Debbie King.

The temporal artery scanner is an infrared thermometer that measures temperature with a gentle stroke of the forehead, capturing the naturally emitted heat from the skin over the temporal artery. The scanner has proven to give more accurate readings than ear thermometers because it measures arterial temperature, the same temperature as the blood flowing from the heart which is the best determinate of body temperature.

The scanners cost about $78 each. School clinics are expected to receive the new thermometers in January.

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