Math Teacher Earns “Master” Status

Only an elite few hold the designation of “Master Teacher.” Dr. Carol Taylor, an eighth grade math teacher at Rising Starr Middle, is now a member of this distinguished group.

She joins 85 other teachers throughout the state who have earned their Master Teacher Certification based on demonstrated excellence in student achievement and student growth for 2011.

Fayette currently has nine Master Teachers spread among two elementary and three middle schools.

Georgia’s Master Teacher Certification Program was established in 2005 and is coordinated by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (PSC). Based on classroom performance on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT), documentation of student growth, and exemplary professional practices, superior teachers are designated as “Master Teachers” for a period of seven years.

Master Teachers are eligible to automatically renew their teaching certificates as long as they continue to qualify for Master Teacher status.

Dr. Taylor was also Fayette County’s 2009 Teacher of the Year.

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Students Use Math to Ready for Spring Planting

A bright sunny day and some math was all it took to get the garden behind Rising Starr Middle ready for spring planting.

Exceptional students in Holly Monahan’s class have been maintaining the garden for several years, growing both vegetables and flowers. This year they got some help with soil preparation from Natalie Fields’ math students. The students calculated the area of each planter box to determine the proper amount of fertilizer neeed before planting.

School Superintendent Jeff Bearden happened to be visiting the school and got a quick lesson from the students on the calculations and the garden. Pictured (left to right) School Superintendent Dr. Jeff Bearden, Hayden Long (behind planter), Kevin Khadkhodaian and Wright Hood.




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Fayette Continues Rein at Regional Math Tourney

Middle school math teams placed first in every division, and students swept the overall individual winners category in the Griffin RESA (Regional Educational Service Agency) 2011 Middle School Math Contest.

First place winners were Bennett’s Mill (Division I), Fayette Middle (Division II), and J.C. Booth (Division III).

Additionally, Rising Starr took second place in Division III.

Overall individual winners were Nathan Hung (first place), J.C. Booth; Seth Triplett (second place), J.C. Booth; and Nicholas Powell (third place), Bennett’s Mill.

Over 24 middle schools participated in this year’s contest, setting a new record. The regional competition included schools from Butts, Fayette, Henry, Lamar, Newton, Pike, Spalding, and Upson counties.

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Thank-You Letters Generate Unique Gift of Appreciation

A simple letter-writing lesson generated an unexpected surprise for a Rising Starr Middle teacher and her class.

Elizabeth McCullough, who teaches eighth grade history, had her students write “thank-you” letters to soldiers, firemen and policeman in remembrance of the events of 9-11. The letters for the soldiers were sent to Colonel Ronald Ross, Chief of Staff ACSE-A, for distribution to servicemen and women serving in Kabul, Afghanistan. Recipients included soldiers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.

Much to McCullough’s surprise, the Colonel, now home from Kabul, unexpectedly showed up at her classroom door the morning of Veterans Day to present the students with a certificate and a special gift for her, a map of Afghanistan made from various rocks and stones found in the country.

“It was so thoughtful and beautiful,” McCullough said of the map. “ It is always so nice for teachers to just get a verbal thank you for our work, but this was overwhelming.”

McCullough said she had her students write the letters to get them thinking about how and why our forefathers began this country, and how and why we continue to keep this way of life.

“It is good that teens see the sacrifices that are made for our country. It is a good lesson for them to give thanks,” she said.

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Rising Starr Students Learn About French Child Who Helped Jews Escape the Holocaust

As students study the Holocaust, they often have the opportunity to hear from Jews who survived the horrific Nazi concentration camps or from those who were able to escape. Eighth graders at Rising Starr Middle got to hear a different perspective this year as told by the daughter of a French woman who helped Jews escape from Holocaust trains headed to concentration camps.

Mariella Crea, a speaker with The Breman Jewish Heritage and Holocaust Museum in Atlanta, told the students about her mother, Jacqueline, who at the age of 12, helped a number of Jews escape to safety in Switzerland. Crea’s great uncle Henri was a train station operator in France and knew precisely when every Holocaust train was due to arrive and depart. He felt compelled to help the Jews and used her mother, knowing no one would suspect a child, to hide them until the trains and guards left.

Crea recalled her mother’s story as it had been told to her since she was a child. Her mother led the escapees from the train station to a nearby water tower where they stood in water for hours while guards searched for them. The water prevented search dogs from picking up on their scent.

After the trains and guards left, her mother took the Jews to her home where they waited in a crawl space until it was safe for them to make their journey to Switzerland. Crea does not know exactly how many people her mother and uncle helped, but she said every one of them made it to safety.

Her uncle is no longer living. Her mother is alive, but has Alzheimer’s and can no longer communicate, so Crea tells her story to keep it from being forgotten. In fact, she is in the process of writing a book about it that will be geared toward middle school students.

Suzanne Carey, an eighth grade language arts teacher at the school, arranged for Crea to speak to the entire eighth grade.

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Rising Starr Student Honors Child Holocaust Survivor

Shannon McKillip displays the wall hanging she quilted in honor of Inge Auerbacher along with Mariella Crea, a speaker from The Breman Jewish Heritage and Holocaust Museum in Atlanta, who gave a presentation about her mother who helped save Jews from concentration camps.

An assignment on the Holocaust has created a special friendship between a student and child survivor of a Nazi concentration camp.

Every year eighth graders in Suzanne Carey’s language arts classes at Rising Starr Middle are required to do a brief biography on a child who was in the Holocaust. This is part of the unit on The Diary of Anne Frank.

Most biographies are done on children who died in concentration camps, but eighth grader Shannon McKillip found, after some Internet research, that her child was actually a survivor.

Inge Auerbacher was sent to the Terezin concentration camp in Czechoslovakia when she was seven years old. She was lucky, only one percent of the 15,000 children there survived. She was 10 years old when she was released.

She now lives in New York City and is a lecturer and inspirational speaker. Shannon contacted Auerbacher via email to let her know that she was going to honor her by planting a flower in the school’s Holocaust Children’s Memorial Garden as well as quilt a butterfly wall hanging in celebration of her life. She asked for her favorite flower and colors.

Honored that Shannon had selected her for the project, Auerbacher emailed pictures of her hometown in Kippenheim, Germany, her immediate family and the star she had to wear in the concentration camp.

“One teenager from my camp wrote a poem, ‘I Will Never See Another Butterfly.’ The butterfly was yellow and it is also the color of the stars we had to wear. I think any yellow flower for the garden would be just wonderful,” Auerbacher wrote.

Shannon chose a Yarrow plant for the garden. She quilted a wall hanging with a butterfly motif, the symbol for children who died in concentration camps, and incorporated the pictures that Auerbacher sent to her. Shannon and Auerbacher have exchanged several emails since the project began. Most recently, Shannon sent her pictures from the garden and of the wall hanging.

“My dearest Shannon, oh my gosh, my tears are flowing,” she said in response the photographs. “I shall treasure these forever. I must meet you in the future, and I want to see my flower blooming in the garden.”

Shannon says she hopes to meet Auerbacher someday, but until then, she is surprising her by sending the wall hanging as a gift. Much of it is hand quilted and took about a month to complete.
“I have been quilting since I was five years old. My grandmother is a very good quilter and she inspired me to quilt,” Shannon says.
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Silver Award Book Drive Benefits Gracie’s Closet

Karson Mizell displays the organized containers of books she collected for Gracie’s Closet

Gracie’s Closet has an additional 1,000 children’s books thanks to the efforts of a girl scout and her school.

Karson Mizell, an eighth grader at Rising Starr Middle and member of Girl Scout Troop 39000, collected over 1,000 books for Gracie’s Closet, which provides clothing, books and school supplies for the county’s foster children.

Karson organized a gently used book drive at Rising Starr during the months of December and January. Not only did she oversee the collection of the books, but she also organized them into categories so that children could easily pick out those of interest to them. The book drive was Karson’s Girl Scout Silver Award Project.

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Booth Middle Hopes to Secure Georgia’s 11th Win at International Science Olympiad

Months of practicing for events such as feathered frenzy, crime busters and disease detectives paid off for two middle school Science Olympiad teams.

J.C. Booth Middle and Rising Starr Middle placed first and fifth, respectively, at the Georgia Science Olympiad last month in Augusta. To get to the state level, teams must win their regional tournaments. Schools with overall placements 1-5 receive trophies and plaques; first and second place teams advance to the international competition.

Science Olympiad teams spend countless hours outside of school preparing for tournaments, often practicing before and after school and on weekends. Both Rising Starr and Booth have won the international title for Georgia 10 out of the last 12 years. They are the only schools in the state that have won at the international event.

As Georgia’s first place finisher, Booth will represent the state at the International Science Olympiad at the University of Illinois in May. This marks the school’s 17th trip to the international event.

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Fayette County Spelling Bee Winners

Savannah Booker shows off her award as principal Len Patton (left) and English teacher Kathy Franks look on.

Top spellers Savannah Booker, a sixth grader at Rising Starr Middle, and Emily Gomes, an eighth grader at Fayette Middle, emerged as finalists in the 2010 Fayette County Public School System Spelling Bee.

Booker and Gomes advanced to the county competition after winning the spelling bee at their respective schools.



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Fugee Founder Encourages Students to Respect Differences, Follow Dreams

A local celebrity, whose story has just been published in a book and purchased by a movie production company, talked to Rising Starr Middle students last week about respecting individual differences and finding life’s true purpose.

Soccer coach Luma Mufleh, founder of the Fugees (short for refugees) soccer team in Clarkston, Georgia, spent an hour telling students about her childhood in Amman, Jordan and her journey to find her life’s true purpose. Along the way she was forced her into bankruptcy and disowned by her parents, but in the end found happiness and fulfillment.

Mufleh left Jordan after graduating high school to attend Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. After college she worked in several different states and eventually settled in Clarkston. One day on her way home, she saw refugee boys playing soccer in the street. Mufleh, a soccer coach and former player, decided to start a soccer program just for refugee boys. She also made a commitment to help their families assimilate into their new lives in America.

Not happy with her decision to stay in the United States and start a refugee soccer program, her wealthy parents disowned her, leaving Mufleh to struggle to make ends meet, just like the families she pledged to help.

“I was never truly happy and I didn’t have a purpose until I decided to form the team. This is my purpose. My challenge to you is to look inside yourself and find your true meaning. It might not be the road that has been mapped out for you,” she told the students.

Mufleh’s presentation was part of the school’s eighth grade Survivor Program, which is wrapping up its second nine weeks with a focus on understanding of and respect for individual differences.
Mufleh receives many invitations to speak but only agrees to do four engagements a year.

“I am a soccer coach, not a speaker. But I love working with children so I was happy to accept this opportunity to talk to the students at Rising Starr,” she said.

The Fugee players come from 18 war-torn countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Congo, Somalia and Sudan. Many of them have endured unimaginable hardships before coming to America: squalor in refugee campus, separation from parents and siblings and witnessing killings of family members.

Several years after the Fugees formed in 2004, the soccer league now has four traveling teams and has become highly recognized by soccer enthusiasts. In conjunction with the team, Mufleh has also formed the Fugees Family, a nonprofit organization devoted to working with survivors of war and helping them transition to life in America. The organization also provides tutoring, assistance with housing, and health and educational programming.

Mufleh was recently selected as one of the 2009 Common Ground award recipients and was featured on NBC and MSNBC. The award is presented to individuals who have made outstanding accomplishments in conflict resolution, negotiation, community building, and peace building.

Additionally, a book has just been released titled, “Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, An American Town,” and Universal Pictures struck a $3 million deal to make movie about the Fugee’s story.

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“Baby Love Squares” are Latest Project of Rising Starr Knitting Club

Looking over the finished knitted baby squares is (L-R) Principal Len Patton (seated), Nancy Ware, NICU nurse at Egelston and Rising Starr parent, Clorinda Roache, assistant principal, Abril Diaz, 8th grade, Kimberly Ware, 7th grade, and Shannon Booker, 8th grade.

Being a patient in a hospital makes most adults anxious, so imagine how it must be for a newborn in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Members of the knitting club at Rising Starr Middle are doing their part to help calm infants in the NICU at Egleston Children’s Hospital by knitting what they call “Baby Love Squares.”

A set of small, knitted squares are given to mothers with infants in the unit who cannot visit their babies often for various reasons. The mother wears the square so that her scent is transferred to it. The square is placed with the baby, making the infant feel safe and secure.

Principal Len Patton started the school’s knitting club shortly after she became principal as a way for her and students to interact with each other while learning the art of knitting. The club has expanded over the years to include different types of handiwork. Participants meet in the afternoons after school. The club is open to students, parents and staff.

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Fayette Schools Involved in Safe Routes to School Program

Peeples Elementary and Rising Starr Middle schools have become partners with Georgia’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program.

SRTS works with elementary and middle schools to create opportunities and activities for children to safely walk and bike to school who live within a 2-mile radius. Schools that become partners receive support from the program’s resource center to help them teach students and parents about walking and biking safety, encourage students to walk and bike to school and methods that can be used to measure the number of students walking and biking.

Both Peeples and Rising Starr are partners at the Silver Level, meaning they have SRTS programs in place. Schools at this level are required to develop a SRTS Travel Plan (per Georgia’s SRTS Guidebook) and implement a SRTS event, sustain at least one on-going program to encourage walking and/or biking or conduct a classroom based program to educate children on safe walking and/or biking behaviors.

Fayette County was among 13 communities in the state to receive SRTS funding in June. The funding will be used for infrastructure projects at Peeples and Rising Starr including construction of a multiuse path, building of a bridge over a creek and installation of pedestrian sidewalks.

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Fayette County Schools Earn Achievement Awards

Fayette County elementary, middle and high schools have collectively received 30 awards from the Georgia Department of Education in recognition of their academic achievement.

The second annual Superintendent’s Distinguished Achievement Awards honor schools that had the highest achievement and greatest improvement on state curriculum tests: the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT), the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT), the End-of-Course Test (EOCT) and state Writing Tests.

All of Fayette’s awards were given in the “achievement” category. The top 10 schools in the state with the highest percentage of students scoring in the “exceeds” category in each honored subject area and grade level received achievement awards. The honored subjects and grade levels include: Grades 1-8 Reading CRCT; Grades 2 and 6 English Language Arts CRCT; Grade 9 Literature EOCT; American Literature EOCT; English Language Arts and Reading GHSGT; Grades 1-8 Mathematics CRCT; Mathematics GHSGT; Grades 4 and 8 Social Studies CRCT; U.S. History EOCT; Economics EOCT; Social Studies GHSGT; Grades 5-8 Science CRCT; Physical Science EOCT; Biology EOCT; Science GHSGT; Grade 5 Writing Test; Georgia High School Writing Test.

A total of three elementary and middle schools received achievement awards for performance on the CRCT:
Kedron Elementary – Grade 3 Reading and Grade 4 Mathematics
Peeples Elementary – Grade 2 Reading and Grade 3 Reading
Rising Starr Middle –Grade 6 Mathematics and Grade 8 Reading

In addition, Rising Starr Middle also received an achievement award in Grade 8 Writing.

Two high schools received achievement awards for performance on the EOCT:
McIntosh – U.S. History and Economics
Starr’s Mill – Economics

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Dominique Wilkins Scores Big for Diabetes in Fayette County

/PRNewswire/ -- Dominique Wilkins, NBA Hall-of-Famer and advocate for healthier living, visited Towne Club today to create awareness of the fact that seniors at risk for diabetes can get a free diabetes screening test in their health care provider's office. This is the core message of the Medicare Diabetes Screening Project (MDSP), a community-based effort that has been active in Georgia since 2007 and is co-chaired nationally by the American Diabetes Association, the Healthcare Leadership Council, and Novo Nordisk, and is supported by more than 20 organizations representing the interests of seniors and health care providers.

Screening seniors for diabetes is urgently needed. According to a study in the February 2009 issue of Diabetes Care, 32% of adults ages 65 and older have diabetes. What's more, almost half (46%) of those seniors with diabetes don't know they have it - they have not been diagnosed. In addition to those with diabetes, another 40% of adults ages 65 and older have pre-diabetes, putting them at very high risk of developing diabetes and heart disease, and it is likely that most of them are unaware of their status.

"Diabetes has touched my family multiple times," said Mr. Wilkins, "and we've seen first-hand the devastation it can cause. That's why I'm proud to be here today, to encourage seniors to get the ball rolling by asking their health care providers about getting screened for diabetes." Mr. Wilkins reminded those seniors in attendance that if they get screened for diabetes and work with their health care providers, they can take steps to either prevent or manage the disease. Featured at today's event at Towne Club was Sen. Ronnie Chance (R - District 16), Senate Finance Chairman and a member of Georgia's Workforce Investment Board. "Everyone has a role to play in the fight against diabetes," said Sen. Chance. "That's why I am delighted to see the business, health and medical and senior-serving communities all coming together to improve the health of seniors in Fayette County."

The day started at the Raising Star Middle School where Dominique Wilkins helped "tip off" registration for the Peachtree City Youth Basketball Association and along with Senator Chance discussed the importance of children forming lifelong healthy habits to prevent diabetes and heart disease.

The diabetes awareness event at Towne Club is one part of a larger day of activities to launch the Fayette Healthy Community Partnership, a collaboration of health care provider organizations, employers, retailers, and other businesses and groups brought together by locals Daye Bexley and Terry Womack to promote health and wellness in Fayette and Coweta Counties. Leaders of the Partnership include the Piedmont Fayette and Newnan Hospitals and the Piedmont Heart Institute, Kroger Stores and Pharmacies, the Center for Health Transformation, and Novo Nordisk.

In addition to the visit by Mr. Wilkins and Sen. Chance to the Peachtree City Youth Basketball Association at the Rising Starr Middle School Gym, today's events included an appearance by Mr. Wilkins at Kroger Fayetteville, where Kroger and Piedmont Fayette Hospital health care professionals combined forces to conduct a Health Fair focused on diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol and Body Mass index.

"At Kroger Stores and Pharmacies, we're committed to giving our customers not only quality products and services, but also opportunities to improve their health," said Liza Chapman, Pharm.D., Clinical Coordinator with Kroger Pharmacy. "That's why we will be providing free health screenings at seven of our stores in Fayette County beginning today through September 19, 2009. Please call 1-877.4RX-CLINIC (1-877-479-2546) or visit www.kroger.com for schedules, times and availability."

A key component of the Fayette Healthy Community Partnership is the Heart Health Scorecard, developed by the Piedmont Heart Institute. This scorecard is intended for use by patients on visits to their health care providers, serving as an anchor to a broader conversation about the need for individuals to become more engaged in their own health and health care. It contains questions to ask providers, as well as a handy chart for recording the results of a variety of important tests and risk assessments related to general health and well-being, such as weight circumference, blood pressure, body mass index, blood glucose (sugar), cholesterol, and triglycerides.

"More than 100,000 copies of this scorecard will be distributed to adults in Fayette and Coweta Counties over the course of the next year," said William A. Blincoe, M.D., cardiologist with the Piedmont Heart Institute. "We're proud to be a part of this community initiative and believe our Heart Health Scorecard will make a difference in the lives and health of thousands of the people we serve."

The Fayette County Chamber of Commerce is also pleased to be a part of this effort to promote a healthy community. The focus of their popular "Find it in Fayette" Community Expo this year is Health, Wellness and Sustainability. Says Chamber President, Virginia Gibbs, "We're thrilled that so many of the Fayette Healthy Community Partners will be exhibiting in the Expo this year. The event features a wide variety of health screenings and interactive displays. It's a great chance for young and old alike to learn more about how to stay healthy." Visit www.FayetteChamber.org for more info on the September 15th Community Expo.

"Community initiatives such as this are essential to transforming the health of our nation," said Laura Linn, Vice President and Director of the Georgia Project at the Center for Health Transformation. "Individuals knowledgeable of their health status living in communities supporting healthy behaviors are central to better health at lower cost."

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Quilt of Courage Honors Parents of Cancer

Laurel and her father, Mike, share a moment following the unveiling of the Quilt of Courage

One by one they came to her office to seek comfort, solace, a reassurance that they would make it through one of the most difficult times in their young lives. In a short span of time, 13 students from various grade levels came to talk to Rising Starr Middle School Counselor Janice McLeroy about their same situation; all had parents who were battling cancer.

Helping students cope with their parents’ illnesses was not new to McLeroy; she had listened and talked to students dealing with these issues many times. But in all of her years as a counselor, she had never had this many dealing with cancer at one time.

“I was overwhelmed. Usually I have one or two but I have never had this many in one year. As the list continued to grow, I became very burdened thinking about what I could do to help them.”

McLeroy knew her office was a safe haven for the students, a place where they could escape and not talk about cancer. She knew a traditional support group was out of the question. Instead, the students needed an activity that would be meaningful and help them channel their emotions.

“I saw a car commercial on TV where the dealer was raffling a quilt to benefit breast cancer. Then the idea hit me,” said McLeroy.

From the commercial came the Quilt of Courage, a 5 X 7 foot quilt created by the students to honor and memorialize their parents who are battling or who have battled cancer.

Meeting after school, each student designed a square that represented his or her parent. PTO volunteers Cynthia Crew, Lynda Montgomery and Fiona Dennis helped the students with the design and sewing of the quilt. It features a total of 48 squares, each tied with ribbon so that future students of parents with cancer can add to it if they wish.

Each completed square has a colored ribbon that corresponds to the type of cancer battled: pink, breast cancer (7 squares); purple, pancreatic cancer (2 squares); light blue, prostate cancer (one square); gray, brain cancer (one square); orange, leukemia (one square). The squares represent two fathers and 10 mothers.

An unveiling ceremony was held outside of the media center on May 19 where the quilt is on permanent display. A total of 12 families were in attendance.

“This quilt is to honor you and the hard work and courage you have done and shown. I told your children that today would be filled with emotions, some happy, some sad. It is OK to cry, it is OK to laugh; this is a journey and we are in it together with you,” McLeroy told the guests.

Before the unveiling, the students conducted a silent presentation with each holding a card with a word on one side representing an aspect of cancer and their own definition of what the word meant to them on the other side. Laurel Jenkins, who lost her mother to breast cancer in February, carried the word “Strength” with the definition “To stay standing when life tries to knock you down.” Austin Smith, who lost his mother in October 2008 to pancreatic cancer, chose the word “Sacrifice” and defined it as “Giving up something for something that is more important.”

A pin drop could have been heard as Laurel and Austin, who have been friends since elementary school, unveiled the quilt. The parents stood still, looking on until Principal Len Patton, a breast cancer survivor whose grandchildren designed a square for her, gently encouraged them to go to the quilt and find their square.

“I considered it a privlidge for me to sit with these students in their pain. I probably learned more from them than they from me. When tragedy strikes such as this, the parents are busy taking care of the situation: changes in finances, household chores and routines, medical appointments, meals, etc. that so often the emotional needs of the students go unobserved. Life passes by so quickly while we just do life. This was simply my way of helping the families,” McLeroy said as she reflected on the unprecedented year she and the students had encountered.

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Fayette County Student Honored for Excellence in Writing

A Fayette County middle school student is among a handful nationwide and one of just two in Georgia to receive a Certificate of Recognition from the 2009 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Promising Young Writers Program.

Rising Starr Middle eighth grader Sydney Seaman is among 163 eighth grade students nationwide to receive recognition out of 487 nominated this year. English teacher Suzanne Carey nominated Sydney based on her display of effective writing. Students were required to submit two pieces of work, one themed-based and the other a “best” writing or excerpt from a “best” piece.

This year’s theme was “Making Meaning of a Place.” Sydney chose to write about a special moment when she stood by her best friend who had been diagnosed with leukemia.

“She tells the story in such an incredible way that you feel her emotions as well as her friend’s,” says Carey.

Sydney’s essay graphically describes the day she saw her friend taken away from school by ambulance after being struck with a sudden, severe headache followed by a loss of vision. Later that evening she would learn about her friend’s disease.

“My perfect life has been shattered in one day. I was young and had not experienced something heartbreaking or life shattering at that point. By the end of the day, pieces of my life were scattered all over the floor and I needed to fix them. I needed to adapt,” Sydney wrote.

She talks about the adaptations that both she and her friend had to make during the course of fighting the leukemia. Instead of playing together, they told jokes and played “I Spy.” Sydney, who was only able to visit her friend in the hospital on Saturdays, spent her time trying to make her comfortable by reading and singing to her and getting juice when she was thirsty. She credits her friend for giving her a new sense of compassion and love for others.

“Emma was my best friend and my best teacher. She taught me to see the world in a new way. She taught me to adjust into the most unpleasant of situations. She developed my sense of love and compassion to an incredible extent. She is my pal, my comrade, my sidekick, and my buddy. She is my friend and she gave me the greatest gift. She gave me my most precious moment,” Sydney stated at the end of the essay.

The Promising Young Writers Program was established in 1985 to stimulate and recognize students’ writing talents and to emphasize the importance of writing skills among eighth grade students. Schools nominate students who have demonstrated evidence of effective writing. Papers are judged on content, purpose, audience, tone, word choice, organization, development and style.

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Fayette County Education Foundation Celebrates Another Successful Year

Fayette County Education Foundation members visited Rising Starr Middle to view the green house and garden maintained by students in Holly Monahan’s class. Monahan is the receipt of this year’s large grant award.

Even with donations being down this year, the Fayette County Education Foundation gave over $18,000 to teachers throughout the county’s public school system to help bring innovative teaching materials and programs to students.

A total of 34 projects received funding this year through the foundation’s mini-grant program. Mini-grant awards range from $200-$750 per person. Additionally, one large grant valued over $1,700 was awarded to Rising Starr Middle to purchase equipment for a green house used by special needs children to study plant life. This marks the second year the foundation has awarded a grant valued greater than $1,000.

The grants give educators the monetary assistance they need to bring innovative and creative programs into their schools and classrooms to help enhance the curriculum that is already in place. These programs are in addition to what is funded by the school system. Without assistance from the Fayette County Education Foundation, funding for many of these programs would not be possible.

Counting this year’s grants, the Fayette County Education Foundation has given over $174,000 to more than 420 recipients since it awarded its first grants in 2002. Funding for the grants would not be possible without the generous support of the business community, Fayette County School System employees and local individuals who have a vested interest in enhancing educational opportunities for Fayette’s students. Donations to the foundation are tax deductible.

In addition to grants, the foundation also gives scholarships to paraprofessionals in the Fayette County School System who are currently enrolled in an accredited teaching program and plan to teach in Fayette after earning their certification. This year’s winners are Patricia Sanders, Oak Grove Elementary, and Tara Fathy-Amin, Robert J. Burch Elementary.

The foundation is a cooperative effort between the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce and the Fayette County Public School System. Anyone interested in becoming a supporter of the Fayette County Education Foundation can contact Melinda Berry-Dreisbach at the Fayette County Board of Education, 770-460-3535.

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Dr. Carol Taylor of Rising Starr Middle School is Fayette County's Top Teacher for 2009

Dr. Carol Taylor (R) on stage with Mistress of Ceremonies Caroline Schmitt after being named the 2009 Fayette County Teacher of the year.

The long journey for the three finalists vying for Fayette County Teacher of the Year came to an end Thursday night at New Hope Baptist Church, North Campus, with the naming of the winner.

All eyes were fixed on Superintendent John DeCotis as he opened the sealed envelope and announced that Dr. Carol Taylor of Rising Starr Middle had been selected as the 2009 Fayette County Teacher of the Year.

The other two finalists were Pamela Kinzly of Whitewater High and Dr. Lisa Gonzalez of Robert J. Burch Elementary.

Taylor thanked a long list of teachers and administrators who she said helped pave the way for her success, including her high school English teacher.

“I have worked hard to model her level of exemplary teaching and learning to affect my students the way she affected my life. She instilled my own passion for learning and that passion is reflected in my teaching,” she says.

Taylor also thanked one of her undergraduate professors from Georgia State University, Dr. Karen Schultz, for influencing her career path in mathematics and made a loving tribute to her husband, children and in-laws for their support of her career.

“Thank you for always being there for me and understanding when I could not be with you because of my commitment to my career. I couldn’t have don this without you,” she told her family.

Besides teaching mathematics to her students, Taylor works hard to be a strong, positive role model, showing them that dreams can be achieved.

“I am a wife, a mother, a grandmother, yet also a private pilot of a single engine aircraft, an advanced certified diver, windsurfer, marathon runner, student, Sunday school teacher, and piano and flute player. I approach my students with the attitude that if you can dream it, you can do it,” she said.

The finalists were selected from among 29 different teachers of the year at each school. An independent panel of judges, including last year’s TOTY, rated the application of each teacher to select the three finalists. The final judging stage consisted of a classroom observation followed by a one-on-one interview with the finalists. Judges individually rated each finalist. Their scores were combined to determine the winner.

As Fayette County's 2009 Teacher of the Year, Taylor will represent the county in the Georgia Teacher of the Year competition next spring.

Fayette County's annual TOTY program honors the county’s 29 teachers of the year from each elementary, middle and high school. The program would not be possible without the generous contributions of local businesses and organizations.

TOTY winners from each school received plaques from the Coca Cola Company recognizing their achievement and a commemorative portrait courtesy of Life Touch Photography. Also, Dell Computer, Inc. donated computers to both the runners up and the TOTY. Additionally, the TOTY received a specifically designed ring from Balfour, a $1,000 check from Allan Vigil Ford of Fayetteville and roundtrip airfare for two from AirTran Airlines.

Other top sponsors included Chick-fil-A Dwarf House, Chick-fil-A Towne Center and Starr’s Mill, Coldwater Creek, Delta Community Credit Union, Fayette Animal Clinic, Southern Federal Credit Union, The Avenue Peachtree City, World Gym and numerous other local businesses and organizations.

The following school PTOs and PTSOs also supported this year’s event: Bennett’s Mill Middle, Braelinn Elementary, Robert J. Burch Elementary, Cleveland Elementary, Crabapple Lane Elementary, Fayette County High, Fayette Middle, Fayetteville Intermediate/Hood Avenue Primary, Flat Rock Middle, Huddleston Elementary, Inman Elementary, J.C. Booth Middle, Kedron Elementary, McIntosh High, Rising Starr Middle, Tyrone Elementary, Whitewater High and Whitewater Middle.

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Peachtree City's Booth Middle School Team Advances to National Science Olympiad

Fayette County's middle schools had a strong showing at the 2009 Georgia Science Olympiad with J.C. Booth Middle School securing its 16th trip to the national competition.

Bennett’s Mill, Fayette, J.C. Booth, Rising Starr and Whitewater Middle schools all secured wins at the regional tournament, allowing them to advance to the state competition on March 28 at Gainesville State College. Each of the schools earned at least first-fourth place medals in a variety of events at the state level, but it was Booth that emerged as the first place winner advancing to the national competition hosted this year by Augusta State University May 15-16.

Booth won the state competition medaling in 19 of 23 events with 79 points. Rising Starr placed third in the state with 159 points.

Booth has won a total of nine first place finishes at the national level. Science teacher Mary Wilde coaches the team. This will be her final year as coach; she will retire from teaching at the end of the school year.

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Rising Starr Students Tour Justice Center

Judge Judy Jones gave Rising Starr Middle students Natalie Kravchuk, Corrie Williamson, Matthew Werner, Nicholas Sanchez and Alex Werner a tour of her courtroom.

From holding cells to the courtroom, a group of Rising Starr Middle students got a first-hand look into the justice system.

Students in Molly Monahan’s class had the opportunity to tour the Fayette County Justice Center and talk to officials who are in charge of enforcing and carrying out laws that govern all citizens. Leann Bartlett and Lt. Francis Cavender led the students on a tour of the center while Judge Judy Jones showed them around her courtroom and explained how court cases are carried out. She even let them try on her robe and bang the gavel.

“Judge Jones, Ms. Bartlett and Lt. Cavender were great to us. The students had a great time and learned a lot about how the justice system works,” says Monahan.

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