As sixth graders at Inman Middle School rigorously prepared for their upcoming mock trial, several attorneys from the community shared valuable insight from their experiences. In the mock trial, the students were assigned roles from the characters from the novel The Outsider by S.E. Hinton.
āWe learned some very useful information that will help us defend or prosecute the defendant,ā said Hope, sixth grader at Inman Middle School.
Name: Fritz Joseph
Grade: Pre-K
School: Continental Colony Elementary
Fritz Joseph is a Pre-K student at Continental Colony Elementary School of C. H.O.I.C.E. Ā He enjoys listening to music, dancing, reading and exploring on the computer and his teacherās iPad.Ā Fritzās favorite subject in school is music because he enjoys playing with the various instruments in class with his friends. He also enjoys learning with his peers and participating in hand-on-activities. Ā Fritz is very active and likes to move around.
āFritz is a phenomenal student,ā says Christopher Strozier, Fritzās teacher.Ā āHe follows directions and lends a hand to his classmates.Ā In class Fritz loves to receive stickers and prizes for a job well done.ā
At the beginning of the year Fritz was selected as the Student of the Month for August.Ā Three goals Fritz has mastered this year are identifying his colors, numbers and shapes.Ā He has exceeded in all areas. Fritzās teacher also describes him as a developing leader. He exemplifies leadership qualities daily by leading the line throughout the building from the classroom to the cafeteria and opening doors for others. Ā He is also a representative on the Student Government Association.
Outside of school Fritz is involved in his church.Ā His ultimate goal in life is to be successful and become a college graduate.
Atlanta Public Schools hopes to cultivate more students like Fritz through its Pre-K programs. APS has 34 school sites, including Continental Colony, with 41 classes that serve more than 850 students in the traditional Pre-K program. In all, APS serves approximately 1,050 early education students, including 3- and 4-year-olds who have special needs and attend an APS Pre-K classroom.
Name: Zackariya Beasley
Grade: 5th Grade
School: Cleveland Avenue Elementary
ZackariyaĀ is an active young-lady-in-training as part of the Just Be Beautiful,Ā Inc.Ā girls mentoring organizationĀ under the mentorship of Rita Simmons, who is also her gifted and talent-development teacher.Ā Last school year, she enjoyedĀ the weekly afterschool sessions where girls discussed a variety of topics including etiquette, character, friendship, health, cleanliness and other topics of interest.
āZackariya is a young lady of great integrity and positive character. She embodies the very essence of great work ethics.Ā Zackariya is self motivated and extremely responsible.Ā She is an excellent representation forĀ Just Be Beautiful, Inc. Girls Mentoring Organization,ā Rita Simmons states.
For the past two years,Ā Zackariya has been a student in the Gifted and Talent-Development Program at her school. As part of their economics unit, Ā students in the class created a business.Ā Zackariya created Karaās Parties during her first year, and Parties 4 U the following year, in partnership with a few classmates for the Student Entrepreneur Business Showcase. Students were required to create their own business cards, logo, motto, decorations, and provide their own products to sell. The event was held in the school gymnasium, and students were invited to attend and purchase products from the budding entrepreneurs.
āI learned how to create a business plan, how to manage a business and student employees, and how to sell products and make a profit,ā Zackariya says. Ā She is looking forward to the Gifted and Talent-Development field trip in November to Orlando, Florida, where she will learn about marine biology.
ZackariyaĀ enjoys running in her free time, and her favorite subjects are math and reading. She hopes to become a teacher in the future because she enjoys helping her teacher with tasks, such as monitoring the classroom behavior chart. Zackariyaās teacher, KimberlyĀ Lawrence, sums her up in one statement, āSheās like Channel 2 News ā ‘dedicated, determined, and dependable.āā
Name: Kai Mahra
Grade: 6th Grade
School: Inman Middle
Kai is an 11-year-old sixth-grade student at Inman Middle School.Ā His favorite subject is science, and he enjoys all of his other subjects as well.Ā One of his favorite hobbies is reading, and his favorite book series is “The Maze Runner” trilogy.
Sixth-grade English language arts teacher Mary Elizabeth Todd says, āKai is a hard-working, creative and witty student who gets along well with peers, and is very likable.ā
Kai is an athletic student, and plays tennis and soccer with the Inter Atlanta F.C. Blues. āI cannot wait until basketball season starts,ā Kai says. He is passionate about music, and plays the trumpet in the InmanĀ sixth- grade band and both school jazz bands.
A frequent traveler, Kai has visited various areas in the U.S. and numerous countries, including India, Japan, Thailand, Europe and South America. Ā He hopes to eventually travel to all seven continents. Ā Although Kai is allergic to dairy and nuts, he likes to cook and learns cooking skills from his mom.
āMy favorite foods are pasta, buffalo wings and bacon,ā he says.
Kai is a talented, active and creative student who displays great behavior at school, and is a great example to everyone around him.
Name: Ā Jordan Boswell Ā 
Grade: Ā 4th
School: Ā Garden Hills Elementary
Jordan Boswell is new to Garden Hills , but he has already decided that the expansive school media center is one of his favorite places.Ā The large windows and decorative walls inside the media center are alluring and inviting, and make it the perfect get-away for avid readers like Jordan.
The fourth-grader loves settling down with a good book, like his favorite read, “Charlie Bone and the Castle.” Ā In fact, Jordan says he prefers spending his spare time reading more than watching television.
Incidentally, his life is probably just as intriguing as any book on the library shelves.Ā For starters, Jordan, like his mother, was born in Ethiopia, and has dual citizenship.Ā His grandmother ā an American ā traveled from the U.S. to Ethiopia as part of an expedition, and two generations later, Jordan entered the world.Ā Although he was very young when he left Ethiopia, Jordan still remembers living in the familyās mud house, a standard type of dwelling in the African nation.
Jordan is number eight in a lineup of nine children .Ā He says he is happy he belongs to such a large family, because visiting them allows him to travel all over the country.Ā Of all the places he travels, Jordan likes visiting Chicago and Detroit the most, because he enjoys the snowy winters . Ā In addition to playing in the snow and building snow angels, a trip up north in the winter allows Jordan to do one of his favorite things: Ā join his siblings as they load into a canoe and race down the snow-covered hills.
Robbie Brown, Jordanās teacher, calls him āan excellent studentā; thatās good, because in order to succeed at his career goals, nothing short of excellence will do.Ā Jordanās grandmother, mother and uncle are physicians, and he wants to follow in their footsteps and become a doctor or brain surgeon when he grows up.Ā Then again, since his father plays professional football, Jordan says a career in the NFL is another appealing possibility.
Brown says Jordan is an āinquirer,ā and āhe likes to learn new things.ā Ā Whether heās suiting up for surgery, or charging down the gridiron, these traits will certainly serve this impressive student well.
![DSC_0130[1]](https://i0.wp.com/atomic-temporary-8804724.wpcomstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/dsc_01301.jpg)
Grady Highās Lady Lacrosse team went undefeated this season with a score of 11-0! They entered the TILT, the Stateās largest and most prestigious girls J.V. Tournament, held at Northview High School in Johnās Creek.Ā Thirty-two teams participated from across the extended metro region, including traditional powerhouses such as Roswell, Alpharetta and Augusta.Ā After two days of spirited competition, Grady returned home with the championship trophy for the West Bracket — the first ever in APS lacrosse history!
These unprecedented accomplishments are the result of many factors, but perhaps the most influential is the arrival of 15 experienced freshmen from Inman Middle School.Ā Grady High School started a CLUB Lacrosse team five years ago; two years later, Inman began a CLUB team and Grady became a JV team.Ā The expectation was that the programs would improve over time, as the Inman players would enter into the Grady program, and pave the path for lacrosse in APS.Ā In fact, that evolution has progressed so rapidly that it has produced something more analogous to a revolution. After struggling to win a handful of games in the first few seasons, Grady Lady Lax finished this season undefeated!
āWe were so pleased to augment our talented veteran players with this wave of new players,ā says Coach Martha Jones.Ā āTheyāve given our team the depth and breadth we needed to truly compete.āĀ That depth was evidenced as 17 of the 26 girls on the team scored goals over the season.Ā Grady did not simply compete — they dominated!Ā The ladies scored an average of 11 goals per game, but gave up an average of only 3 goals per game.
Eighteen of the current Grady players were members of the inaugural team at Inman Middle School, which current Grady Coach Katie Meyer led at the time.Ā Coach Meyer says, āIām thrilled about how far these girls have advanced since that first season,Ā but Iām even more excited about the future ahead of them.Ā We are going to convert the team to varsity next year, which will be tough for this young a team, but theyāll be competitive and will gain a ton of experience.Ā So the year after next, watch out Atlanta!ā
The Inman and Grady lacrosse combo has catalyzed lacrosse activity throughout APS.Ā North Atlanta High and Sutton Middle are now also fielding teams.Ā This is consistent with APS Athletic Director Jeff Beggsās vision for APS athletics, which includes starting lacrosse programs at every APS middle and high school.Ā Grady Lady Lax has been the vanguard for APS, and next year will be raising the bar by fielding a Varsity Lacrosse team.
![GEMS GT Students with Inman Students[3]](https://i0.wp.com/atomic-temporary-8804724.wpcomstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/gems-gt-students-with-inman-students3.jpg)
The Inman GEMS Club has received the 2013 Educational Partnership Award offered through the Georgia Tech Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL). Ā The Educational Partnership Award is an annual Georgia Tech award of $7,500 that recognizes genuine and substantial partnerships between the faculty and students of Georgia Tech and the K-12 community. GEMS club, which stands for Girls Excelling in Math and Science, will accept the award at the annual Georgia Tech staff and faculty awards luncheon in April.
![GEMS Inman Students in Lab[3]](https://i0.wp.com/atomic-temporary-8804724.wpcomstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/gems-inman-students-in-lab3.jpg)
Now in its fifth year of operation, GEMS attracts more than 40 girls in grades six through eight to its sessions. Club members meet after school for 1.5 hours each week to engage in hands-on experiments and leadership activities.
Georgia Tech professors, Carol Colatrella and Mary Lynn Realff, co-direct GEMS Club. The club is a joint initiative sponsored by the Center for the Study of Women, Science, and Technology (WST) and Inman Middle School. Ā Members of the educational partnership include several Georgia Tech students, as well as Paula Herrema, Principal at Inman Middle School, and Candice Price, 7th grade Science Teacher at Inman.
Name: Karin Wilksa
Grade: 8th
School: Inman Middle
Karin transferred to Inman from Finland this school year, and placed 2nd in the Georgia State Technology Fair on March 9. Ā Karin and Max Nevins, an Inman 7th grader, were among 700 participants from around the state. Karinās multimedia project from math class won 2nd place in the Multimedia Division for 8th grade. Her movie was created with Windows Media Maker and explained mathematical functions with photo drawings, text, and voiceover. āI was not expecting to win and was really surprised when I won,ā Karin says. āI decided to do a little more than what was required for my math project, and my teacher submitted it for the APS Technology fair, but I didnāt expect to go this far.ā The State Technology Fair was a great experience for her, and sparked further interest in technology. āI am going back to Finland next year, but I would really like to participate in a technology fair again,ā Karin says.
This year was an adjustment period for Karin, as it was her first time in America. The new school environment was also a major change for her, as her previous school only had a few hundred students. āIn the beginning, it was pretty hard for me, but now, itās really easy and I will be sad to leave my friends and teachers,ā Karin says.
Karin hopes to become an architect, engineer, or a software designer. She loves to draw, and hopes that her skills will benefit her in the future. Her other hobbies include photography and sailing, and sheās part of Inmanās Karate club as well. āBasically, I want to do really well in school so that I am in good shape for the future,ā Karin says. āI think school is really important for success, and I really enjoy it.ā
Name: Jordan Malloy
Grade: 2nd Grade
School: Connally Elementary
Jordan Malloy is a second grade student at E.L. Connally Elementary School.Ā Ā Jordan’s teachers and administrators recognize him as a star studentĀ because he always strives to do his best eachĀ day. Jordan is very inquisitive and remains dedicated to his education and goals, even in the midst of challenegs or adversity.
“Jordan meets and exceeds the standards in all content areas,” explains Toni Pickett,Ā Connally Elementary Principal.Ā “He is very good at reading and science and has a high interest in mathematics.”
In his spare time,Ā Jordan enjoys sitting and looking at nature, playing football, and spending time with his family and friends.Ā Jordan says his family serves as his source ofĀ inspiration.Ā He always turnsĀ to themĀ for advice and guidance in all that he does.
āI wonāt let anything push me behind,” he says.Ā “I willĀ do everything I can to make sureĀ my family is okay.Ā I know my family loves me, and thatās all I need to know to work hard in life.”
Jordan aspires to one day become a scientist or a police officer.
āIām very intelligent so I think I can be a scientist,” he boasts.
But it doesn’t stop there. JordanĀ also recentlyĀ received several awards, includingĀ recognition inĀ spelling bees and football.
“We continue to be proud of Jordan and his accomplishments,” Pickett said. “We know that he is just one of the many bright stars at Connally Elementary.”
Name: Maria Gallo-Blanco
Grade: 5th
School: Margaret Fain Elementary School
Maria Gallo-Blanco is big on student achievement.Ā She sets high academic goals for herself, and expects the same from others ā especially her students.
Maria says she teaches an excellent group of students.Ā Her favorites ā Selena, Rihanna, and Nikki Manage ā are every teacherās dream; they follow directions and stay on task, turn in their assignments on time, perform well on tests, always smile and they never talk back to the teacher. Of course, it helps that the students are stuffed bears, and their permanently smiling mouths are sewn shut.Ā Ā Ā Maria says her biggest problems are with the live children in her class ā her younger brother and sister.
āThey act up, and I have to threaten to call their parents,ā she says. She is working on a solution to this problem, and she will probably have one soon, because Maria loves solving problems.
She satisfies her hunger for problem solving by diving into challenging schoolwork like math, her favorite subject.Ā As an active member of the math league, Maria helped Fainās fifth-grade team place first in the regional math competition.
āIn math I can use numbers often.Ā I love numbers, because they donāt lie ā no matter how many times or how many different ways you use them,ā she says.
Maria, a Junior Beta Club member and Principalās List student, also uses her problem solving skills outside of the classroom.Ā She recently won the bronze-key award at the district-wide Science Fair Awards ceremony.Ā And when she translates for parents at her school, in her community and her family, Maria shifts into problem-solving- mode again.
āMy brain is always moving, because Spanish doesnāt really have all the words that English has,ā she explains.Ā Ā āI have to quickly find a way to say things so they make sense and everyone understands each other.ā
Maria enjoys translating, because she likes helping people. She also helps her classmates with math.
āYou donāt want them to struggle and fall behind; you want everyone to be on the same page in the book. And itās fun watching them when they understand.ā
Fain Challenge teacher and Math Team Coach Ms. Riddick calls Maria āa shining example of character who is always there to help other students.ā
Away from school, Maria dances ā she is a member of the schoolās dance team ā plays soccer and keeps the earth clean by picking up litter in her neighborhood. But she says her favorite pastime is playing āLawyerā with her sisters. In āLawyerā they pretend that one sister is the judge, one sister needs a lawyer and Maria is the lawyer.
āItās fun, because the judge is tough and always asks for more proof, and I have to figure out how to keep my sister out of jail.”
And what does this bright and imaginative problem-solver want to be when she grows up? A teacher or a lawyer, of course.
Name: Jasmine Williams
Grade: 12th
School: Carver Early College
Jasmine Williams started her ninth grade year at Carver Early College by immersing herself in the Biology and Neuroscience Clubs. Now, as a twelfth grader, she plans to follow her dream of being an anesthesiologist or a general surgeon. Sheād like to pursue her degree at either Duke University or Howard University. She says that the field of medicine will allow her to combine her love of science with her love of people. Her stellar academic record has her on the Principalās List every semester. She also holds membership in the National Honor Society and Beta Club. For four years, she has been the SGA President of her grade level. She is a scholar-athlete leading the Varsity Soccer Club as their captain and boasts of last yearās winning season.
As a member of Sophisticated Ladies and Upendo JaJa, she has learned to value high self-esteem and intellect. Her community service involvement in the Key Club and the Knitting Club has rewarded her with warm feelings and sheās distributed hand-knitted winter clothing for the homeless and less fortunate. With her latest internship with the National Institute of Health, she conducted research on hypertension and cognitive decline and presented it to distinguished medical personnel. As Ms. Early College and the valedictatorian for this yearās graduation, Jasmine is poised to launch into her great future.
written by Linda J. Green, Media Specialist at Carver Early College
Inman Middle School Teacher Jatisha Marsh is among twelve teacher leaders from eleven states selected as a 2013 Hope Street Group National Teacher Fellow. The National Teacher Fellowship is a competitive program designed for teacher leaders wanting to share their expertise, experience and ideas in helping to shape education policy nationwide. Marsh was selected from nearly 100 applicants from 27 states to serve as representatives of Hope Street Group, advocating for education policy changes. She will meet with fellow educators to present to national, state and local policymakers, as well as peers across the country.
“This fellowship will provide me the forum to combine my interests education and policy,” says Jatisha Marsh. “The opportunity to talk and collaborate with teachers from across the country regarding educational policy issues excites me. The fellowship will allow me to interact with business leaders and government officials while bringing teacher voice into the shaping of educational policy.”
Jatisha Marsh is a middle school teacher at Inman Middle School where she is a member of the Local School Council, an Atlanta Public Schools Ethics Advocate, and the Site Director for the Before Care and After School Program. She attended Florida A&M University on a full scholarship and graduated summa cum laude with Bachelorās degrees in Business Management and History as well as a Masters in Business Administration. She also holds a Master of Public Policy degree from Georgia State University. Jatisha entered the teaching profession in 2006 through Teach For America.Ā She has received a number of recognitions and honors, which include appointment to the APS Farm to School Task Force, TFA/CRSS School Board Fellowship, and IIE Korean Workshop for American Educators Award Recipient.Ā Jatisha also serves as a Recruitment Ambassador for TNTP.
|
January 22āJanuary 29 Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā In February, the Atlanta Board of Education will take action on the district calendars for the next two school years (2013-14 and 2014-15). Prior to the boardās consideration, however, the Department of Organizational Advancement will present information about the proposed calendars to the community. The district calendar meetings will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in each region as follows: Ā·Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā South Region: January 22 ā South Atlanta High School Ā·Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā West Region: January 23 ā Mays High School Ā·Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā East Region: January 28 ā Inman Middle School Ā· Ā Ā Ā North Region: January 29 ā Douglass High School
|
This week, the Georgia Department of Education announced APS schools that have received the distinction of Highest Performing and High Progress Schools.
Congratulations to Inman Middle School and Carver Early College, named āHighest Performingā schools.
A āHighest-Performing Schoolā is a Title I school among the 5% of Title I schools in the State that has the highest absolute performance over three years for the āall studentsā group on the statewide assessments.Ā Ā A Highest-Performing School must have made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the āall studentsā group and all of its subgroups in 2011.Ā A school may not be classified as a Highest-Performing School if there are significant achievement gaps across subgroups that are not closing in the school.
High Progress Schools include South Atlanta Law and Social Justice, BEST Academy Middle, Washington HS (Senior Academy) and Drew Charter School.
AĀ āHigh-Progress Schoolā is a Title I school among the 10% of Title IĀ schools in the State that is making the most progress in improving the performance of the āall studentsā group over three years on the statewide assessments.Ā A school may not be classified as a High-ProgressĀ School if there are significant achievement gaps across subgroups that areĀ not closing in the school.
As part of Georgiaās ESEA flexibility waiver that was approved by the United States Department of Education (US ED) on February 9, 2012, states are required to identify Priority, Focus, and Reward Schools as part of the next generation of accountability.
Congratulations to all of our schools who met these important milestones.
APS is excited to introduce Ripley Smith, one of the youngest certified power paragliders in the country! On the ground, she lives an active life as an 8th grader at Inman Middle School, and off the ground, she soars several thousand feet high by herself in her spare time. Her father is the inspiration behind her unique hobby, as he encouraged her to start flying tandem with an instructor at age 11. Within 3 weeks, she was certified and has completed 15 solo flights since then.Ā āAt first I was a little nervous but I got over it, because it really feels like youāre flying,ā says Ripley.
Power paragliding is different from paragliding because it has a motor, which gives the flyer more control and more airtime. Ripleyās longest flight was between 1.5-2 hours, which resulted in tired hands because she holds onto the brakes in order to steer. Ā Her dad is very scared for her every time she flies, but she is not scared at all and says, āIf youāre scared, you will make a mistake.ā Fear is the last thing that will keep Ripley from flying, because the adrenaline is what keeps her wanting more. āItās one of my favorite hobbies because itās really exhilarating and youāre in control of where you go and whether you live,ā Ripley says.
Ripley is also part of two recreational soccer teams for AYSA (Atlanta Youth Soccer Association), school soccer team, school basketball team, soccer referee for AYSA, and a swimmer at Garden Hills Elementary School. She loves to be active in order to stay in shape and be productive with her time.Ā Ripley is also active in the classroom as sheās enrolled in several honors classes and accelerated math. Sheās looking forward to joining the robotics team next year, because sheās been the mascot since she was 3 years old, and her mother, Aimee Smith, was one of the founders of Gradyās robotics team.Ā Ripley participates in more recreational activities than many of us, but this is not the end for Ripley as she says, āI really enjoy sports and staying active, and in the future, I want to learn base jumping and paragliding also.ā
We here at www.TalkUpAPS.com know that our primary mission is share the incredible things that are going on around the district to show how APS is making a difference in students’ lives. So we think we know effective communication when we see it. That’s why we’re so happy to pass along a little memo about the accomplishments of Inman Middle School, assembled by Principal Dr. Betsy Bockman. We couldn’t break this down any better ourselves! We encourage all schools within APS to prepare something like this and share with their communities. Here it is, after the jump …
