Chisum Named Athlete of the Year

A Sandy Creek High football player has just netted his school $5,000 by being selected as the WSB-TV Sports Zone Montlick & Associates Athlete of the Year.

Alex Chisum, a senior, was selected for the honor after being one of three finalists who received the most votes from an online survey. Chisum was selected as the Sports Zone Athlete of the Week earlier in the season, making him a candidate for the grand prize. He joined 10 other Athlete’s of the Week vying for the coveted award.

From November 6-14, the public was asked to vote on their favorite Athlete of the Week. The three with the highest number of votes were named finalists. A panel of judges with experience in television production and sports broadcasting selected the winner based on the athlete’s on field contributions (75%) and the athlete’s off field contributions (25%).

Chisum excels both on field and off. Not only has he helped his team have a winning season this year, but also is a high academic achiever and member of the National Honor Society. He will attend the University of Cincinnati next year on an athletic scholarship.

In addition to the $5,000 given to the school by Montlick &Associates, Chisum received a trophy and will be featured on WSB-TV’s Sports Zone on November 19. The Sports Zone crew filmed the segment at Sandy Creek on November 16.

Photo source:  Fayette County Board of Education

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Norman Named Georgia’s Outstanding Social Studies Teacher of the Year

Students love her history classes, so much so that she has earned a reputation as being one of the best teachers in her school and in the Fayette County Public School System. Now that reputation has extended statewide.

The Georgia Council for the Social Studies has named Janet Norman of Fayette County High Georgia’s Outstanding Social Studies Teacher of the Year.

Norman lives and breaths history, and it shows. She has created a number of “traveling trunks” full of artifacts she has collected from her travels. She uses them in class to help students connect to history and develop an appreciation for the past.

Her dedication to her students and their understanding of history is evident in the amount of time she spends outside of the classroom preparing teaching materials that capture and hold their attention. To date, she has created 23 PowerPoint presentations that address each standard from the GPS for U.S. History, all done on her personal time.

She does not catch a break in the summer either. She has participated in all three of Fayette’s Teaching American History Grants spanning 2003 to 2010. Grant participants spend the summer learning about a specific era of American history and have the opportunity to travel to various areas of the country to visit historical sites and listen to guest lecturers. Each grant is a two-year commitment. Not intent on slowing down any time soon, Norman is applying to participate in a fourth Teaching American History grant that has been awarded to the school system.

As Georgia’s Outstanding Social Studies Teacher of the Year, Norman received a $250 cash award and a two-year comprehensive membership to the National Council for the Social Studies.

In order to be nominated, teachers must utilize activities that demonstrate significant service and foster the development of democratic values and citizenship in the classroom, school, and community; show efforts toward improving student learning; exhibit professional involvement beyond the normal job requirements; and use multiple sources to enhance social studies instruction.

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Finalists Named for Fayette County Teacher of the Year

Friday is usually the favorite day of the week for most people, and for three teachers, it was a day that they will not soon forget.

The Teacher of the Year prize patrol made surprise classroom visits on January 29 congratulating the three finalists selected to vie for the 2010 Fayette County Teacher of the Year title. The three finalists are Sally Meyer, Crabapple Lane Elementary; Jamie Munoz, Bennett’s Mill Middle; and Carrie Collins, Peeples Elementary. The winner will be announced on April 22, 6 p.m., during the Teacher of the Year ceremony at New Hope Baptist Church, North Campus.

For Sally Meyer, a gifted teacher at Crabapple Lane Elementary, a career in education was not her first choice. She was a successful banker, a highly ranked employee who enjoyed her work, but was unsatisfied.

“Have you ever felt like a misfit? That’s how I felt. The corporate culture left me unsatisfied because every decision I made was impersonal,” she says.

She decided to change careers and become a teacher because school had always been a positive place where she felt successful. Now, she applies what she learned in banking to make real life connections to math and social studies.

Meyer creates her own teaching units that focus on the Georgia Performance Standards. Her original curriculum integrates subjects and links real life to school.

“I enthusiastically share my sense of wonder and love of learning through original units that require critical thinking, are based on my own learning adventures and make specific connections to real life outside of school,” she says.

Meyer has presented her original teaching units at annual conferences and some of them have received awards and honors from various organizations. They are also used as part of the curriculum for gifted students in the Fayette County Public School System.

Although she has received recognitions for her teaching accomplishments, she says the accomplishment that makes her most proud is the impact she has on children everyday.
“I see it in the excitement and pride shown when they have worked through their frustration and finally understand a concept. I feel it in my heart when I have to say good-bye or when I read the newspaper and learn that one of my former students accomplished a personal goal,” she says.
Meyer sets high expectations for her students and tells them that when a brain is stretched, it says “thank you.” When her students struggle, she praises their efforts and facilitates progress by tutoring, developing specialized lessons and sponsoring clubs.

Looking back on her decision to leave the corporate world to be become a teacher, Meyer says she has no regrets.

“Twelve years later, I still love teaching; it is the perfect career match for me. It has allowed me to make decisions with my heart, not just my head, and seeing the positive impact I have had on adolescents has been exceptionally rewarding,” she says.

Meyer has taught for 12 years in the Fayette County Public School System. She started her teaching career at Peeples Elementary and has worked at Cleveland, Tyrone and Robert J. Burch elementary schools prior to teaching at Crabapple Lane.

Like her colleague, Jamie Munoz, a science teacher at Bennett’s Mill Middle, didn’t dream about becoming a teacher when she was young. Instead see dreamed about a corner office with a wall of windows, a leather chair and a big executive desk. She was on her way to achieving this dream, majoring in accounting at the University of Georgia, when her dream started to change.

She volunteered for a nonprofit organization, Reading is Fundamental, and worked with second grade students at a local elementary school where she discovered she enjoyed watching them grow in their reading skills. A summer job as a camp counselor later solidified her decision to change her major to education.

Munoz says part of being a great teacher is the willingness to want to entertain students to help them learn. She says building relationships with students is integral to their success. Students learn more if they respect, enjoy and feel connected to the teacher.

“I am willing to stand on my head, to amuse, for the sake of students’ learning. If learning can be both educational and fun, why not capitalize on both,” she asks.

Much of the learning that occurs in her classroom is hands-on, interactive and collaborative. Students often work cooperatively within groups because the shared effort requires students to employ communication and critical thinking skills. She also utilizes students’ interest in music and technology.

“I teach students songs and raps with lyrics depicting scientific concepts, and I encourage students to take advantage of the innovative technology to access relevant science data and present their findings,” Munoz says.

Munoz loves watching students experience light bulb moments and delights in the fact that she is the reason they are able to grasp complex scientific theories.

“Although I may not have a corner office with a wall of windows as I had once planned, my classroom is on the corner of the sixth grade and main hallways, and the view into the delicate minds of our future is often breathtaking,” she says.

Munoz has been teaching in the Fayette County Public School System for 10 years. She began at Whitewater Middle as a science, math and reading teacher before moving to Bennett’s Mill.

Carrie Collins, a kindergarten teacher at Peeples Elementary, always knew she wanted to be a teacher, more specifically, a kindergarten teacher. She loved playing school with her sisters, but her real inspiration was her kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Walker.

“She had a way of making me feel special in a classroom full of students needing the same attention. She was interested in my life and that made me interested in hers,” says Collins.
Collins tries to emulate Mrs. Walker in her classroom by forming relationships with students, motivating those who seem impossible to motivate and inspiring students that need the extra push to be all that they can and more.

“It makes me feel wonderful to reach a student who struggles academically, socially or behaviorally. I know I have made a profound impact when these types of students look forward to coming into my classroom, smile when they see me outside of school, and send me notes years after completing kindergarten,” she says.

Collins realizes that students learn at different levels; she sets up her classroom so that high performing students are challenged and those who need extra help are equally supported. One way she engages all learners is by creating songs with motions to teach everything from oceans and continents to money skills.

“I know all students can learn and achieve at high levels if given appropriate resources and adequate time,” she says.

She also believes that students need to feel safe and have a sense of belonging in order to learn. She says her students feel comfortable working, exploring, taking risks and learning because they think of the classroom as a second home.

“We often take time to acknowledge feelings, celebrate successes, comfort friends, and assist each other with problem solving,” she adds.

Collins has taught in Fayette County for 11 years at Peeples Elementary.

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Fayette School Counselors Association Names Counselors of the Year, Installs Officers

School Superintendent Dr. John DeCotis (center) along with this year’s counselor and advocate of the year winners: (L-R) Dionne Maddox, Linda G. Williams, Sonya Tucker and Diann Ferrante.

Fayette County's school counselors celebrated their craft and honored their colleagues during the ninth annual Fayette School Counselors Association (FSCA) Installation of Officers and Awards Ceremony.

Each year the association seeks nominations from members, teachers and administrators for those who are always going above and beyond the call of duty to help students excel at each academic level. One counselor of the year is selected from the elementary, middle and high school level. The 2009 counselors of the year are (elementary) Linda G. Williams, Brooks; (middle) Dionne Maddox, Flat Rock and (high) Sonya Tucker, McIntosh.

In addition to naming counselors of the year, the organization recognizes a non-counselor who has worked hard during the year to advance counseling programs and services at an individual school or system wide. This year’s advocate of the year award was presented to Diann Ferrante, secretary for CARE (Children at Risk in Education).

During the ceremony, the association also installed its 2009-2010 officers: Kaye Eubanks (Open Campus) president elect; Linda G. Williams (Brooks Elementary) president; Brenda Cannington (Bennett’s Mill Middle) past president; Kelly Hubbard (Robert J. Burch Elementary) secretary; Tama Matthews (Flat Rock Middle) treasurer; Stacey Patterson (Crabapple Lane Elementary) elementary school vice president; Dionne Maddox (Flat Rock Middle) middle school vice president and Hope Huey (McIntosh High) high school vice president.

Fayette has three counselors who have made the decision to retire this year. Each has dedicated at least 30 years of service to the field of education and has impacted countless students, parents and coworkers. The following retirees were honored by the association: Susanne Pinkley, Oak Grove Elementary; Fanita Duvall, Fayette County Alternative School; and Winkie Greenhaw, Sandy Creek High.

School counselors at all levels provide valuable services to students and their families as well as faculty and staff. On a daily basis they are involved in character education, violence prevention, career planning and much more.

Counselors are professional educators who understand and respond to the challenges presented by today’s diverse population. They don’t work in isolation; rather they are integral to the total educational program. They provide proactive leadership that engages all stakeholders in the delivery of programs and services to help students achieve school success.

Professional school counselors align with the school’s mission to support the academic achievement of all students as they prepare for the ever-changing world of the 21st century. This mission is accomplished through the design, development, implementation and evaluation of a comprehensive, developmental and systematic school counseling program.

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Chamber Announces 2008 Small Businesses of the Year

The Fayette County Chamber of Commerce announced the recipients of the 2008 Small Business of the Year Award at their annual awards luncheon held on November 12 at Flat Creek Country Club in Peachtree City. The Small Business of the Year Award is given to recognize exemplary business practices and innovation of Fayette small businesses. The nominees were evaluated on the following criteria: business plans, goals, performance, growth, vision, economic impact, civic activities, Chamber involvement and contributions to the community.

The winner of the 2008 Small Business of the Year Award in the 1-10 employees category was Accounting Resources, owned by Bob and Alice Reeves of Fayetteville. Accounting Resources began in 1998 and have since grown their client base to over 400 individual and corporate clients. Alice believes the business fills a unique niche in the community, providing accounting services to small businesses that don’t have the resources to hire a full-time employee. Customer service is high on their list of priorities, and Alice will often flex her schedule to meet the needs of her clients, many times going to client locations during off-hours. Engaged in both Chamber and community activities, Bob and Alice believe in doing all they can to strengthen the community by encouraging small businesses and supporting many local charities.

In the 11-50 employee category, the winner was Outpatient Imaging (OPI) of Peachtree City. OPI opened for business in July 2003 with a vision to provide first-rate medical imaging services for Fayette County and the surrounding areas. Their diagnostic services include MRI, CT, ultrasound, flouroscopy, general x-ray, mammogram, bone density and nuclear medicine. In addition to their Peachtree City location, they have recently opened a second facility in Newnan. OPI has been an active member of the Chamber since 2003 and has a strong commitment to the community, evidenced by their support for education, senior citizens, the arts and a wide variety of other community-based programs.

Other businesses nominated for this year’s award included Kemp's Dalton West Carpets and Print Graphics.

The Fayette County Chamber of Commerce is an association of businesses and organizations that work together to promote economic prosperity and enhance excellent quality of life through strong leadership, networking, education and a variety of programs that encourage partnerships between businesses and our community.

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Hospice Advantage Fayetteville Recieves "Office of the Year" Award

Note: The Fayette Front Page has had opportunities to meet and get to know many of the wonderful people in the Fayetteville office. They are outstanding, caring individuals and they impressed us deeply. Congratulations! - FFP Staff

Hospice Advantage, Inc., a leading provider of hospice services, recently announced that their Fayetteville, Georgia, office was the recipient of their “Office of the Year" Award.

Annually, HOSPICE ADVANTAGE recognizes one of their 24 offices throughout the seven States they serve that exemplify their vision of excellence. The winning office is chosen based on several quality indicators.

The company reviews satisfaction surveys from their past patients, families and referral sources, as well as staff retention rates and growth within their market. Ultimately, the office of the year is chosen because of their success in providing superior care, comfort and compassion to the patients, families and healthcare professionals they serve.

Owner, Rod Hildebrant states, “The Fayetteville office has seen tremendous growth in their market because of the commitment of each and every team member. Their dedication to enhance quality of life is apparent in every interaction with this team from the office personnel that answer the phone, to the nurse that is caring for our patients.”

Led by Administrator, Rebecca Folkes, the Hospice Advantage Fayetteville office is located on Yorktown Drive and has served hundreds of patients in the Southern Metro Atlanta area since 2006. Dr. Ferrol Sams III, with Piedmont Physicians Group in Fayetteville is acting Medical Director. Associate Medical Directors include Dr. Charlotte Grayson, Dr. Aaron Buice and Dr. Mike Oxford.

Hospice Advantage, GA offices are located in Athens, Fayetteville, Kennesaw and Norcross with plans to open in Ellijay and Macon in 2009. Hospice Advantage also has offices in AL, KS, MI, MO and WI. Hospice Advantage invites anyone seeking information about hospice help in the Greater Metro Atlanta area to call them at 800-307-8178.
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Fine of Peachtree City's McIntosh High School Honored as Georgia’s Assistant Principal of the Year

FL Note: Kudos to Ms. Fine for this very fine accomplishment!! Fayette County and Peachtree City are proud of you!

One assistant principal now has her very own school desk, complete with her name on it, thanks to Virco Manufacturing Corporation.

Lisa Fine of McIntosh High was presented with the desk in honor of her being named the state’s Assistant Principal of the Year by the Georgia Association of Secondary School Principals.

Competitors for the title are judged based on an application process where they answer questions about how they have achieved at least three successes in the areas of collaborative learning, curriculum, instruction and assessment and personalization.

As the state’s winner, Fine represented Georgia in the national competition, sponsored by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, earlier this year in Washington DC.

Virco presented Fine with her personalized school desk on September 16 to commemorate her achievement.

“Ms. Fine faced very tough competition to win this honor. This morning I was fortunate enough to be able to present her with this award from Virco Manufacturing,” says account representative Connie Joyce.

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