Parkside Elementary School of Atlanta Public Schools held a publishing party for the new, student-authored children’s book about spreading kindness. The students proudly presented their new book at their publishing party and answered questions from parents and teachers about their experience.
Operation Hope held the first Bank Day at Parkside Elementary School where students could make deposits into their accounts and build their own savings.
As Atlanta Public Schools is celebrating Random Acts of Kindness Week across the district, Parkside Elementary School held a publishing party for the new, student-authored children’s book about spreading kindness.
Seven students at Parkside Elementary School worked together to research, write, and illustrate Parker Panda’s Adventure of Kindness. The book shares the story of Parker Panda meeting new friends and spreading kindness around the world.
“We went through the writing process, some English Language Arts standards, researched some countries which was really fun, and we put it together,” Tammy Brown, a resource teacher at Parkside Elementary School, said. “I’m excited to see my students excited. When they first received the books, just to see the looks on their faces was so fulfilling.”
Each student researched two countries from different regions around the world for the book. Jamari Myles had Australia and New Zealand. D’lmani Williams had Ghana and South Africa. Demetrius Beaty had Canada and Mexico. Nyle Lewis had France and the United Kingdom. Miracle Howard researched Antartica and Jamaica. Larry Davis did Japan and India, while Jailen Walker had Peru and Cost Rica.
The students worked with Brown during different breaks in the school day, often during snack time or recess, to work on the project. In addition to writing and editing the story, the students created their own designs for the illustrations they made in Canva.
The original plan was to hand draw the illustrations, but the students wanted to use Canva after learning that Brown used the tool to illustrate her books. Brown taught them the basics of the graphic design tool, “but they went above and beyond and learned elements on their own,” she said.
The finished project was a complete book, published by Studenttreasures Publishing, that expresses the students’ creativity.
“I always thought about making a book, but I didn’t know what to do,” Parkside Elementary fourth grader Demetrius Beaty said. “It was actually really fun designing it too. It was my favorite part because when I was designing it I was just trying to find something really cool.”
The students proudly presented their new book at their publishing party and answered questions from parents and teachers about their experience.
“This is one of our proudest moments, given the students who created this masterpiece,” Parkside Elementary School principal Timmy Foster said. “It couldn’t have been better timing given where we are in the district in celebrating kindness. I want to congratulate Mrs. Brown, the teacher who made all this happen, who has encouraged her students and believed that they could do something like this.”
In addition to this great accomplishment, completing this project entered Parkside Elementary into a national contest with a $5,000 grant as a prize. Parker Panda’s Adventure of Kindness is available on Studenttreasures.
This slideshow provides just a glimpse at some of the amazing things that happened at Atlanta Public Schools in November. Click through to see the highlights from your school. A new slideshow will be posted at the end of each month, so be sure to subscribe to APS Today and look for your scholar or your school!
The Music Studio Atlanta’s Cafe Jam Band performed for Warren T. Jackson Elementary students 
Warren T. Jackson was recognized as a Georgia Literacy Leader for Achievement by GADOE (90% or higher literacy rate). 
WT Jackson students had author Kevin Poplawski visit our students. 
Sylvan Hills Middle School’s community project at Perkerson Elementary School. 
Sylvan Hills Middle School’s community project at Perkerson Elementary School. 
Springdale Park Elementary School Thanksgiving Luncheon. 
One Fair at Heritage Academy Nov 16, 2023 Brayan Bonilla and Lola Shy. 
Messiah and Khloe Huey present their project at the One Fair at Heritage Academy. 
Hutchinson Students at the Georgia Tech Lady Jackets basketball game. 
Hutchinson Spellingbee winner and runner-up. 
Hutchinson Students with the Lady Jackets after their victory against Costal Carolina. 
J.W. Dobbs Elementary at the APyeS! Awards Gala. 
The regional meeting with Dr. Battle at Dobbs Elementary School. 
J. W. Dobbs Elementary School 2023 Spelling Bee winners. 
Student at Jean Childs Young Middle School receiving hair care in The Den. 
The Jean Childs Young Middle School Academic Bowl team placedsecond overall at the PAGE Middle School Scrimmage. 
Long Middle School at the APyeS! Awards Gala. 
Long Middle School students participated in the Level Up Minecraft Student Build Challenge. 
Long Middle School in the APS Middle School Football Championship Game. 
Parkside Elementary staff supports Pandarettes performance at Georgia Festival of Trees. 
Peyton Forest Elementary School Thanksgiving Luncheon. 
Triple A Readers at Peyton Forest Elementary School had their final readers theatre performance of the book “Show Way!” 
South Atlanta High School’s 2023 graduation rate was 87.7% 
South Atlanta High School Hornets Renaissance. 
Hispanic Heritage Celebration at South Atlanta High School. 
Springdale Park Elementary School’s Book Fair. 
Literacy Night at Springdale Park Elementary School. 
Page Turners Book Club at Miles Elementary School. 
IB Caring Profilers of the Month at Miles Elementary School. 
Garden Hills Chew Crew sampling new lunch items. 
Garden Hills second grader making a model of Abraham Lincoln to scale. 
Garden Hills kindergarten student as drill leader during Fundations lesson. 
Dunbar’s Band performs at APyeS! Awards Gala. 
Nordstrom and Operation Warm Winter Coat Giveaway at Dunbar Elementary School. 
Dunbar Elementary School Thanksgiving Luncheon. 
Deerwood Media Specialist, Deedre Rice escorts top overall Buzzer Reader winner, Jordan Thompson and top 5th Grade winner, Malik Bell, to the court to be recognized at Georgia Tech’s Women’s Basketball Game. 
Deerwood Academy takes top spots in Georgia Tech Buzzer Reader Competition and attends GT Womens Basketball Game. 
Boyd Elementary School’s Thanksgiving luncheon. 
Literacy Week at Boyd Elementary School. 
South Atlanta received a check from Hibbett and Nike to be used by our Athletics Department. 
South Atlanta Lady Hornets who are in the BuildHer program went on a field trip to visit the BuildHer Studios in downtown Atlanta. 
South Atlanta High School is excited to partner with Empowr in providing students an opportunity to learn how to build apps.
Operation Hope, in partnership with APS and the City of Atlanta, gave the first and second graders at Parkside Elementary an opportunity to start building their financial futures with the first Bank Deposit Day.
Operation Hope’s Child Savings Account (CSA) program allowed kindergarten students to receive $50 to start a savings account. Bank Day represents the next step where first and second graders can have an actual banking experience and deposit money into their accounts.
“It plants a seed for their future,” Operation Hope director of CSA program administration Ruth Wilcox said. “We really challenge our parents and our families to take the next step, which is activating the account, which then activates that seed for them. Then they can begin to make deposits in their account and begin to invest in their future.”
Students visited the school media center to register with the CSA program and activate their accounts before visiting the deposit station and completing their first personal banking experience on campus.
“This activity helps a lot because it puts what they’ve been talking about into action,” Parkside Elementary School principal Timmy Foster said. “Most kids have seen their parents go to the bank, but don’t really understand what that is all about. Now, having their own accounts and being able to deposit their own money really solidifies that understanding of how money works and how saving works.”
The partnership between Parkside Elementary and Operation Hope began two years ago, and the school’s parent liaison, Vernita Jackson, made sure families were able to take advantage of the opportunity. Out of 150 students, 75 signed up last year to start an account and receive the initial $50 in their CSA.
“This was the first bank deposit day in Atlanta Public Schools for first and second graders,” Jackson said. “It gives them an opportunity to know what financial stability is about and saving for themselves.”
Bank Day at Parkside Elementary gave the students a head start on their financial futures and provided an early lesson in financial literacy.
“The major reason Bank Day is important is for financial literacy to begin at an early age,” Foster said. “Having them involved in this type of activity early sets that mindset of, ‘I need to begin saving for my future now, and not wait until a later date.’”
This slideshow provides just a glimpse at some of the amazing things that happened at Atlanta Public Schools in September. Click through to see the highlights from your school. A new slideshow will be posted at the end of each month, so be sure to subscribe to APS Today and look for your scholar or your school!
The Garden Hills Boosterthon Fun Run raised over $11K for our school. (photo: Katie Carlson) 
The Garden Hills Boosterthon Fun Run raised over $11K for our school. (photo: Katie Carlson) 
Trees Atlanta Urban Treetrackers program taught 3rd and 4th grade students at Garden Hills Elementary School about the water cycle and engaged their curiosity about our urban forest. (photo: Katie Carlson) 
Booker T. Washington High School students met with local entrepreneurs representing minority and female-owned businesses during Minority Enterprise Development Week. 
Bunche Middle School opened a new book vending machine on campus. 
Deerwood Academy unveiled its new Out Teach outdoor learning space with an outdoor classroom and two raised veggie beds. 
Deerwood Academy celebrates National Dot Day. 
Heritage Academy celebrating Grandparents Day 
Heritage Academy celebrating International Dot Day at Heritage Academy, where people of all ages are encouraged to tap into their creativity. 
Student at Heritage Academy on International Dot Day at QuiverVision Augmented Reality station making a dot come to life. 
The Dobbs Elementary School APS 5K race team. 
Donuts for Dads at Dobbs Elementary School. 
Dobbs’ National Grandparents Day Celebration. 
Peyton Forest Elementary School students having a fancy tea party. 
Peyton Forest Elementary students racing spheres using coding. 
Sylvan Hills Middle School Homecoming Court 
Grandparents Day at Boyd Elementary School. 
Grandparents Day at Boyd Elementary School. 
Goodr provided free groceries for the families at Boyd Elementary School. 
Student of the Month breakfast sponsored by the West Manor PTO. 
Serving breakfast at Grits with Grandparents at West Manor Elementary School. 
Newbery Award winning authors Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko visit Burgess-Peterson Academy. 
Dogtown Book Signing at Burgess-Peterson Academy. 
Burgess-Peterson Academy had the largest attendance ever at the annual East Atlanta Village Strut Parade. 
Dunbar Elementary MAP Masters Celebration. 
Dunbar Elementary Grandparent and Caregivers Appreciation Breakfast. 
Dunbar Elementary Bring Your Parents To School Day. 
STEAM in action at Douglass High School. 
STEAM in action at Douglass High School. 
Douglass High School 
Douglass High School Homecoming court. 
Cheerleaders at the Douglass High School football game. 
Hope-Hill Assistant Principal McCrary and Principal Gibbons_pop up attendance party where students got to throw water balloons at principal and assistant principal. 
Hope-Hill Elementary students Maddy and Kari twinning in our Hope-Hill spirit wear. 
Hope-Hill pop up attendance party where students got to throw water balloons at the principal and assistant principal. 
Hope-Hill student surveyors making plans for new school playground. 
John Lewis Invictus Academy students show their school pride. 
APS alumni surprised students at Parkside Elementary. 
East Atlanta Kids Club & DTP 
Everybody Wins! Reading to our 1st & 2nd graders 
Kindergarten Community Helpers at Parkside Elementary.
Kimberly Elementary School’s outstanding Student Wellness Ambassadors are pictured with sponsor Rosalind Harkless-Brown.
As Atlanta Public Schools concluded the 2015-2016 school year, the APS Nutrition Department announced its annual “Outstanding Student Wellness Ambassador” (SWA) School winners. Warren T. Jackson, L.O. Kimberly and Parkside elementary schools received “outstanding” honors after illustrating their schools’ efforts to promote health and wellness in the annual SWA video contest.
While Kimberly SWAs stayed busy decorating their monthly health-themed “Wellness Tree” and tending to their impressive indoor gardens, Jackson ambassadors created and displayed signage promoting physical activity, explained the role of calories to their peers, and promoted their morning jogging club.
Parkside SWAs, meanwhile, actively led their school’s efforts with jumping rope for heart health, participating in garden taste tests, hosting a “Parkside Pride” one-mile fun run, and launching a “Karate Kid” club. In addition, all three schools attended the SWA Leadership Academy, where they pledged to eat more fruits and vegetables and drink more water.
In order to recognize the accomplishments of this year’s outstanding SWAs, the Nutrition Department, in partnership with Sodexo-Jackmont Hospitality, hosted an elegant picnic for each of the winning schools’ student wellness ambassador groups.Students were served fruit-infused water, a strawberry spinach salad, summer rolls with ginger soy dipping sauce and fruit kabobs. The students enjoyed the menu, as well as the accompanying etiquette lesson presented during their meal.
The ambassadors, their sponsors, and each individual-winning school received a framed certificate for their achievement. Also, each ambassador was gifted with a cilantro planting kit to encourage his or her continued interest in planting and gardening.
The APS Nutrition Department is very proud of all the hard work and passion each student contributed to their schools this year. The department would also like to send a special thank you to each Student Wellness Ambassador sponsor for their time and dedication to the SWA program. Rosalind Harkless-Brown of Kimberly Elementary; Bethany Black of Jackson Elementary; and Armelia Braddy of Parkside Elementary have really set the mark for implementing wellness at their schools. Way to go SWA sponsors! Congratulations on your teams’ success, and thank you for continuing to model and promote healthy behaviors.
In front of an audience of over 50,000 fans, on January 25th, the Parkside Elementary School chorus performed at the Georgia Dome with South Carolina State University‘s ‘Marching 101’ during Honda Battle of the Bands. The performance was a tribute to Nelson Mandela as they sang “Dry Your Tears, Africa” by John Williams, in an African dialect.
Denetra Henderson, Parkside music specialist and chorus instructor, was approached three weeks ago by the assistant band director at South Carolina State University regarding this rare opportunity. Henderson states that it was a wonderful chance for the elementary aged students to be exposed to college life as they interacted with the band members before and during the performance. Students, she explained, learned that they could major in any field in college while still pursuing their musical talents. “The performance was wonderful… it was electrifying and it was exciting,” said Henderson, a 26 year veteran with APS and former conductor of the district’s prestigious honor elementary chorus.
“The students are learning about the colleges represented at the Honda Battle of the Bands, and are continuing their conversations in class about college and careers,” she said.
Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University, Bethune-Cookman University, Morehouse College, North Carolina A&T University, South Carolina State University, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Winston-Salem State University all took center field during the competition.
Emotions during the performance ranged from excitement to fear, but the young performers didn’t let their nervousness show. Fifth grader Malaika Alilaw thought the opportunity was the chance of a lifetime. “I like to sing and Ms. Henderson is my favorite teacher,” said the fourth year chorus member.
No stranger to singing or music — Malaika’s mother is an opera singer — we asked if her mother’s career led to her joining the Parkside chorus. “Opera is a type of music that really touches you, but I sing in the Parkside chorus because it is something that I really want to do. After I started in the chorus, my mom told me that when she was my age she also sang in her school chorus. I thought that was really great.”
When asked if she was nervous about singing in front of a large audience Malaika told us the secret behind looking so confident, “It wasn’t really scary because we had a chance to go to the stadium on Thursday to practice. By the time we arrived on Saturday, we knew what to expect.”
This event marked the 12th year for the event, which showcases the musical talents and showmanship of bands representing Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
About The Honda Battle of the Bands: “The Honda Battle of the Bands continues to support HBCU music education programs across the nation, while producing an entertaining show that never fails to get fans to their feet,” said Gina Jorge, head of Multicultural Marketing for American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “We are honored to showcase this incredible musical talent, and are dedicated to sustaining music education at these institutions, through the grants awarded to each participating university.”
Widely known as “The Honda,” The Honda Battle of the Bands was created to celebrate, support and recognize the excellence of Black college marching bands and the unique academic experience offered by HBCUs. The participating eight marching bands each received a $20,000 grant for their school’s music education programs from Honda, along with an all-expense paid trip to Atlanta, to perform at the 2014 Invitational Showcase.
About South Carolina State University: The “Marching 101” of South Carolina State is known coast to coast for its brilliant sound, high energy and exceptional musicianship. The band’s name is actually a misnomer, since the current band boasts a membership of more than 200. Under its present director Eddie Ellis, they have entertained thousands of spectators across the Southeast and millions more via various media. The band has performed during pro football halftime shows, on local and national TV, and at national events and parades. Since their inception in 1918, the school’s bands have been an important part of the Orangeburg community and the state of South Carolina.
Parkside Elementary has been selected as a Rise Up Friday School of the Week.
Parkside Elementary School was recently selected as the Rise Up Friday School of the Week for showcasing Falcons spirit. Freddie Falcon and the Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders used wellness promoting activities to reward students who have arrived to school on time everyday this year.
The school was selected for Falcons School of the Week by submitting photos online displaying Falcons spirit. The Parkside students provided photos that included images of the Parkside can-a-thon, which resulted in 931 pounds of food donations for the local homeless community and student drawings of the “Dirty Bird” displayed at the school.
Atlanta Falcons cheerleaders teach Parkside students how to cheer on the Falcons.
“Parkside was rising up to attend school everyday on time; rising up to feed the hungry; rising up to fight obesity; and we’re rising up throughout the school and associating all of that with the Falcons,” said Armelia Braddy, Parkside cheerleading coach. “The rise up concept has created this positive enthusiasm with the students, and we’re going to continue throughout the year.”
Students engage in wellness activities with Freddie Falcon
The Maynard Jackson Cluster hosted “Math Across the Cluster,” a cluster – wide professional learning opportunity addressing math instruction in all content areas and in all grade levels. Every teacher and administrator in the Jackson Cluster, district support staff, and professional developers and consultants participated in this convention.
The instructional coaches, representatives from Carnegie Learning, and district leaders provided the professional development during a general assembly and breakout sessions. They focused on implementing math across the curriculum, since all teachers, including elective teachers will use math into their classroom instruction.
All of the principals in the Jackson Cluster have collaborated to create a cluster improvement plan addressing systemic professional development goals through 2017. Effectively implementing this plan will provide teachers in the cluster with capacity-building support through professional learning, and giving them resources that will prepare students at all levels for academic success.
Cluster improvement planning for the first year of the initiative includes goals ranging from academics to community and parental engagement. Highlights of the planning objectives are listed below:
Academic Goal: Math
▪ Middle schools and high school in the Jackson cluster will increase the number of students who correctly answer at least ½ of the algebra domain questions on the CRCT/EOCT by 10 percent.
▪ Elementary schools in the Jackson cluster will increase the number of students’ meeting and/or exceeding standards in the domain of Number and Operations by 10 percent.
Community and Parental Engagement Goal: Infinite Campus
▪ Increase the number of parents utilizing the parent portal by 10 percent.
Student Well-Being Goal: Attendance
▪ Decrease the number of students who are absent 10 or more days by 10 percent.
Professional Development Goal: Math
▪ 100 percent of our teachers will participate in three professional development sessions aligned
The principals have also developed at least three strategies and plans of action to address each specific goal in the Cluster Improvement Plan for 2013-2014.
Newer Posts