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As a part of the Student Leadership Johns Creek group of which I am a founding partner – we had
Linda Payntor share project management ideas with the students Wednesday. She is PMP (Project Management Professional) certified, with a Masters of Science in Management (Project Management) from Colorado Technical University. She spent 33 years at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and worked at the University of Akron as Adjunct Professor, Masters’ Project Management.

She was also Facilitator for Project Management Fundamentals, gave Workshops for Planning and Risk Management, directed Sponsor Training, and PMP preparation in locations around the world: Americana, Brazil; Himeji, Japan; Pulandian, China; Dahlian, China; Adapazari, Turkey; Debica, Poland; Furstenwalde, Germany; Fulda, Germany; Hanau, Germany; Brussells, Belgium; Colmar-berg, Luxembourg; Akron, OH

At Taylor Road MS our STEM teachers directed their own professional learning Thursday – Dr. Rumbaugh dropped in and witnessed. Mr. Goldie and Ms. Roberson also facilitated teacher
coverage for the day. Photo below.

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I am excited to share that as a part of our Leader in Me journey, I am leading Shakerag in setting up school-wide action teams. These teams are designed with building the leadership capacity of not only our staff but also  our students. (The guiding question I am charging each team with is, “What are adults currently doing that students could do?” and then developing “WIGs” Wildly Important Goals to ensure solid progress is made throughout the year.) Some of the teams we have in place are: Classroom Assistance, Community Outreach, Patriotic Team, Environmental Team, Traditions Team and a Technology Team.

Another team is our Hospitality Team. An event this team took on recently was of welcoming new families. Last week we had a Newcomers’ Coffee. To prepare for this, we had 3 teams of students help: Greeters, Musicians, and Tour Guides. Our student greeters’ purpose was to welcome parents, escort them to the media center and offer them refreshments  and a place to sit. Student musicians were playing selected piano pieces (4th/5th graders who really sounded like adult pianists!) and our tour guides 2nd-5th graders gave our new parents school tours. Based on parent feedback (newcomers and PTA) it was a huge success and made an excellent first impression.
As a former athlete, I believe leading through coaching is one of my strengths. I use this strength in various aspects of my job and really enjoy it. This is just one of MANY ways I am helping our staff to build the capacity of our students and really drawing out the capabilities of more of our adults as well!  Relationships are KEY to being solid leader! I am confident, this, too, is one of my strengths. (Mr. Nuehaus and I both continually communicate to our staff and students, how important it is to take care of yourself—‘sharpen the saw’.  This is critical, --lead yourself well before you can lead others! Believe you CAN!).

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The Services for Exceptional Children Department is committed to providing support to all end users for Easy IEP.  We are offering after-school drop in sessions where any user (IST, teacher, speech pathologist, or related service provider) can come to a central location and get individual support as they work through the process of writing IEPs, Eligibilities, and supporting documents in Easy IEP.

During the first hour of each session, there will be a formal agenda where different processes will be reviewed and tips offered.  The remainder of the time will be spent addressing the needs of the individual users.  Users are encouraged to bring their own laptops in order to access the program during the help sessions.

The following are the dates, times and locations of these Easy IEP Drop-In Support Sessions:

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This month, at River Eves, I am working with the CST and leadership team to finalize a school-wide lesson plan template.  This template will streamline teachers’ lesson plans and provide an easy transition to entering lesson plans on FultonConnect.  I am also working with the CST to deliver a session to the faculty on math regarding rigor on the assessments and how this translates to the classroom.

At Holcomb Bridge, I am going to conduct instructional rounds with the assistant principal with a focus on instructional strategies in the classrooms.

At Esther Jackson, I will be sitting in on the focus school meeting, as well as continuing my work with the mathematics teachers who have two levels in their class.

At Hillside, I support their in-house math coach!

Lastly, I will be attending the NELC STEM Academy with the teachers around the learning community.

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Press Realease from PTA Reflections:

This year’s North Fulton Council’s PTA Reflections was a resounding success!  On Wednesday, November 20, 2013 the N.F.C. held its annual Winner’s Exhibition at the Teaching Museum North.  Over 200 students, parents, teachers and principals came to see the incredible Visual Arts, Photography, Literature, Film Production, Dance Choreography, and Music Composition entries from students from grades Pre-K through grades 12.  Those that placed 1st and 2nd place in each grade and category will now go on to complete against all other counties here in Ga. for a chance to move on to compete at the National Level!
The total number of student entries here in N. Fulton County was 2,345, with 25 Special Artists.  The total number of entries submitted to N. Fulton Council was 842, with 20 Special
Artists.  The total number of 1st and 2nd place winners at the Council level that will be submitted to State Reflections for competition will be 151, with 10 Special Artists.  What an incredible turn out of creativity, dedication, and commitment from our students, their parents, teachers, and the Reflections Committee Members at the local level who contributed to make this signature program of PTA such an overwhelming success!

State Reflections entry turn in date is scheduled for December 6, 2013.  Usually their
results are back at the end of February. The best of luck to all our competitors that will be moving forward, and congratulations to all our students here in N. Fulton County for creating such amazing and moving entries, you are all winners in our eyes!

Some other notable numbers:

Elementary Schools with Highest # of Entries
- River Eves Elementary School - 166
- Woodland Elementary School - 135
- Lake Winward Elementary School - 119

Middle Schools with the Highest # of Entries
- Holcomb Bridge Middle School - 370
- Taylor Road Middle School - 207
- Autrey Mill Middle School - 161

High Schools with Highest # of Entries
- Roswell High School - 31
- Northview High School - 22
- Johns Creek High School - 19
- Centennial High School - 19

Great Job NELC!

Here are some amazing examples:

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-Great things are happening at the Advanced
Strategies Labs around the NELC.  Students at Hillside, Shakerag and State Bridge Crossing Elementary are so excited to engineer designs and solve problems.  They are writing reflections, thinking critically, and applying
their math and science knowledge every day!

-The Math and Science Teachers at Taylor Road, Haynes Bridge, Holcomb Bridge, and Autrey Mill Middle Schools are committed to
STEM.  They are planning together and designing lessons that reach students in both math and science.

-Hillside Elementary had another wonderful Science Day!

-River Eves Elementary students are enjoying time in their new Science Lab!

-Barnwell Elementary is working hard on designing their science lab!  It will open in the Fall of 2015!

-Coordinate Algebra and Analytic Geometry
teachers around the NELC are working hard to increase rigor.  They are collaborating together and sharing resources and ideas!

-Representatives from all over the NELC were
present in the recent GaETC conference on technology.  Great ideas, concepts, and uses for technology in our classrooms were shared!  Haynes Bridge teacher Sandra Bennett even presented at this conference!

Atlanta Science Festival - March 22nd - 29, 2014
The Atlanta Science Festival is a week-long celebration of local science and technology. Atlanta residents of all ages will have the opportunity to explore the science and technology in our region and see how science is connected to all parts of our lives in a range of hands-on activities, facility tours, presentations, and performances.  http://atlantasciencefestival.org/

-The Science Olympiad tournament at Chattahoochee High School was a success.  This Science Olympiad has been a STEM competition since its inception 30 years ago.  It is also the first competition named on Georgia’s STEM website.

CHS ran all 23 events that will be at the regional, state, and national tournaments.  There were 20 teams including three from
Alabama and one from Tennessee. In all, they had approximately 400 students, teachers, coaches, and siblings on campus.

Presidents of Science Olympiad, Stephanie Stathos, Surya Dutta, and Siddu Duddikunta,  planned, organized the fifty Science Olympiad volunteers,  wrote tests, coerced others to help, contacted the National and state Science Olympiads.  Students built structures for
testing robots, boomilevers, wheeled vehicles, helicopters, and rotor egg drops. The 18 events in the classroom ranged from Anatomy to Write It-Do It (technical writing event) and Sounds of Music (student design, build, and play
instruments). Some of the other events included: bugs, rocks, forensics, metric mastery, epidemiology, chemistry of powders, water quality,  glaciers, maps, and experimental design.

This tournament was held to raise money to help CHS students go to the Science Olympiad Invitational Tournament at Yale Jan. 18th,
2014.

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The students at SBCE were excited to have over 35 parents come to school for Career Day! The kids enjoyed the variety of professions which included; business owners, pharmacists, pilots, nurses, CPA’s, software professionals, engineers, occupational therapists, consultants, a radio
broadcaster, an aircraft mechanic, a landscape designer, a QA analyst, an artist/graphic arts designer, an author/musician, an office manager, an x-ray technician,
a doctor, a coach, a yoga teacher, an audiologist, a hair stylist, the general manager for a hotel, a category manager, a marketing professional, a director of finance, a VP of business development, etc. The students are looking forward to another exciting Career Day next year!

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Wilson Creek Elementary is proud to announce the completion of our new leveled bookroom.  Curriculum Support Teacher, Brigit Armbrister, and Media Specialist, MJ Sturgeon, spearheaded the project and recruited teachers and parent volunteers to help organize the bookroom.  Shelving units were custom-built and books are organized by level for each genre: fiction, nonfiction, math readers, and phonics readers. There is also an entire section dedicated to professional development resources. Teachers use the Destiny Catalog software to scan and checkout books. We are very excited about the plethora of resources available for our teachers to use to differentiate students’ reading instruction.

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State Bridge Crossing Elementary Students are learning fun ways to make healthy choices as part of the Fulton County School Nutrition Program’s partnership with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Strong4Life initiative.  The Strong4Life statewide movement includes a public awareness campaign on childhood obesity and wellness
with a school-based program that delivers fun, simple solutions that inspire today’s kids and families to develop lifelong healthy habits, one positive step at a time. In October, State Bridge Crossing Elementary hosted a Strong4Life Kick-off pep rally to get students excited about the four Healthy Habits: make half your plate fruits and vegetables; limit screen time to less than 60
minutes per day; drink more water and fewer sugary drinks; and be active for at least 60 minutes every day. The four Healthy Habits will continue to be encouraged throughout the school year by State Bridge Crossing staff and with additional visits by Strong4Life staff to the PE classes and to the
cafeteria during lunch.

“Our cafeteria is serving nutritious, well-balanced meals, but we must still recognize that children need to be motivated to choose healthy options,” says State Bridge Crossing School Nutrition Manager, Anne Prianti.  Because the Strong4Life team delivers messages that are energetic, cool and kid-friendly, students learn to have fun with nutrition and physical activity.  “School Lunch is really good!  I really like the broccoli.” Said Heather Hines, a first grader at State Bridge Crossing.

The Fulton County School Nutrition Program began partnering with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta in
2012, and all School Nutrition Managers were trained to be better equipped to encourage children to make healthy food choices in the cafeteria.  Nineteen
Fulton County School System elementary schools participated in the Strong4Life movement in school year 2012, and 10 more this school year, including State
Bridge Crossing Elementary School.   Visit www.fcsnutrition.com for more about healthy school meals, and check out the four Healthy Habits that we can all follow at www.Strong4Life.com.

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The Northview Counseling Department sponsored an “Apply to College Day” Tuesday, November 12.  All seniors who hadn’t applied to college reported to the Career Center between the hours of 9 am and 2 pm, for the purpose of completing college applications via GA College 411.  Additional students were also identified as not having completed a college transcript request this school year.  The Career Center met with 11% of the senior class. The seniors applied to the following schools: UGA, GSU, GA Southern, Univ. of So Carolina, GCSU, Univ. of Virginia, The Citadel, Univ. of No GA, GA Gwinnett College, Univ. of W GA, Kennesaw State Univ., Clayton State, Valdosta State, Savannah State, Chattahoochee Tech, San Diego State, College of Charleston, Oglethorpe, Univ. of Texas, Univ. of Minnesota, Spelman, Wesleyan, Queens Univ. of Charlotte, SMU, St. Johns, Univ. of Alabama, GPC,  and numerous Common Application schools….

Although, November 12th focused on seniors, all students (9th – 12th) benefited from this day. The counseling department provided an “Ask Me About My College” sign for all teachers to post outside of their classroom door.  In addition, all staff members wore “Ask Me About My College” buttons.  The purpose was to spark communication about one’s college.ALL
staff members wore their college t-shirt or sweatshirt-any college apparel to support higher education.

Staff members were encouraged to create a college/career assignment for their class. Assignments included the following: research assignment, Socratic seminar, figuring out cost of college tuition, or any other activities that would help students learn about post-secondary options.  The purpose of the activity helped students start preparing themselves to become college and career ready, which is a focus of the Northview High School Counseling Office and an essential part of the Strategic Plan for Fulton County Schools.

The following assignments were highlighted by teachers as successful lessons on Georgia Apply to College Day:

-Students worked in Teams in World History to explore the long history of universities and higher learning—which grew out of the Renaissance & Reformation (our current unit of study). They completed a Group Checklist and an individual K-W-L Chart on NHS’s College Week.

-Below is what I gave my kids in all my AP classes to work on tonight after discussing
it: G o to the following website from College Board: https://apscore.collegeboard.org/creditandpla...

Pick 1-2 universities/colleges you have applied to, are going to, or think you would like to apply to and determine the minimum you must earn on the AP test in May to receive college credit. Post your response (college/university name and number of score needed) here by tomorrow!

-We discussed freshman admission criteria, in state vs. out of state tuition, and college majors. The students participated by sharing their career interests; I guided the discussion by tying in their interests with degree programs, the importance of researching colleges and programs through the career center, andcollege visits. The “College Day” experience allowed the students to see the relevance of taking Advanced Algebra and hopefully, will eliminate the question "why do I have to take this class?”

Students organized themselves into groups by their colleges. Students then had to "solve" a real-life scenario, requiring some creativity in thinking.

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To culminate the Kindergarten unit on Thanksgiving, “Why and how people celebrate holidays”, all of the classes celebrated with a feast in the cafeteria. The students dressed as Native Americans and Pilgrims and exchanged gifts to demonstrate how the two groups worked together many years ago. The students learned the history of Thanksgiving including how the Native Americans taught the Pilgrims to hunt and plant crops for survival.  Many of the foods served at the feast represented the foods at the first Thanksgiving Feast

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Our School Governance Council (SGC) recently voted to move forward with two Requests for Flexibility (RFF) for the 2014-15 school year.  Our SGC is making two flexibility requests; one for flexibility with Fulton County's TAG Resource Model (coupled with TAG Endorsement training for all classroom teachers) and one for flexibility with student dismissal time to provide 6 Early Release Days for teacher training. We believe these two RFF’s will provide us with flexibility that will help us achieve our strategic goals and improve our overall instructional effectiveness.

Per Fulton County Charter Guidelines, these RFF's are posted for a 30-day comment period before our SGC makes a final vote to bring these requests forward for system approval. Visit our website(www.shakeragelementary.com) for more information on the RFF process or to read our requests in detail.

Our student council recently conducted a canned food drive to help stock the pantry at North Fulton Community Charities. Our students have been studying “gratitude” and collected over 50 crates worth of food before Thanksgiving. In addition, we started a “Gratitude Tree” for students to reflect on their blessings and share with our school family. Now our students are collecting new toys and clothing for our “Giving Tree” service project to benefit needy children in our community. Shakerag students are making a difference in our community! Please join our efforts to make the holidays a little brighter for boys and girls in our community by dropping off a toy or donation in December!

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Vicki Culbreth, the Environmental Education Coordinator for the City of Roswell, presented her “Butterfly Study”  to Second Grade classes at River Eves.  She explained the four life stages of the Monarch Butterfly and is complete metamorphosis.  She brought four live specimens
in stage three of the life cycle, the chrysalis stage.  There were hands-on items including real butterfly wings to identify gender of the butterflies.  Ms. Culbreth used a volunteer to “become” the adult Monarch by attaching wings, antennae, tongue and feet.  She also described the
function of all of the butterfly’s parts.  She completed the lesson with a craft in which the students all four stages of the butterfly life cycle.  To cap off their wonderful experience the students released butterflies that
they saw just a week before in the chrysalis stage. River Eves is very proud to be designated as a Reward School
by the Georgia Department of Education (GADOE) for the second consecutive year.  River Eves received the Highest Performing designation for being among the top 5% of the Title I schools in the state with the highest absolute
performance over three years for the “All Students” category on the state assessment.  River Eves will be recognized by the GADOE at its annual Title I Conference.  Teachers and Staff were “rewarded” with coffee, juice, and breakfast for this remarkable accomplishment.  More treats are to come for all of their hard work reaching this goal.

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It’s the season for giving, and Ocee students, staff and
families really know how to give back to those less fortunate. During November and December, Student Council, K-Kids, Ocee staff, and the PTA take turns
planning events to encourage the entire school community to donate items to benefit others. K-Kids, a Kiwanis-sponsored Ocee club,  collected over 320 pounds of candy to send overseas to our troops serving in faraway places; the PTA created a “Giving Tree” where students could write what they are thankful for on colored leaves and then bring back donations to place under the tree to be given to the needy at North Fulton Charities; and Ocee children brought in lots of gently used shoes to recycle. Hundreds of Ocee students wrote letters to send to The Bert Show’s Big Thank You to salute our troops, and K-Kids will send toiletries and
holiday greetings to soldiers in December as well. Student Council is hosting a Can-a-thon, and Ocee staff and families are contributing much needed food to help those who are hungry right here in our own neighborhood. Also in the month of December, Ocee staff members will be donating new books to a local children’s hospital. Ocee Elementary staff, students and families know that the best "gift" of all is the feeling you get when you help others.

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Fourth Grade marched to rave reviews during our third annual “Vocabulary Parade.” The parade featured students dressed as vocabulary words, complete
with definitions. Fourth grade was cheered on by parents and other grade levels, as they marched through the school, showing off their creativity and knowledge. The activity, which promoted reading and the importance of
vocabulary usage, came about after students read the book: Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster by Debra Frasier. In the book, a fifth grade girl is embarrassed when she confuses the word miscellaneous for the person, Miss Alaineus. The young lady in the book transforms her mistake with a creative leap when she arrives on the vocabulary parade school stage as "Miss Alaineus, queen of All Miscellaneous Things".

Students came up with very unique ways to promote and display the words that they chose for the parade.
Some of the students did words relating to curriculum content areas like “solar system” and “precipitation,” while others did antonyms or synonyms. After the
parade, students gave a presentation on the meaning of their word to their classmates and parents. The vocabulary parade is a great way for our students
to get excited about reading while enhancing their vocabulary skills."

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At Medlock Bridge Elementary, we are focusing on creativity and collaboration this year, which is a part of the 4C’s of 21st Century Learning. During last month’s faculty meeting, our special area teachers led the meeting by showing teachers how creativity can be explored in their classrooms. The teachers became the students as we began our lesson using a Tumblebook story.

Teachers were then given a sheet of paper, watercolors and a paint brush, with the only directions being to “start with a dot and see where it takes you.” Within several minutes, we began to see creativity at its best.

We concluded our lesson by giving teachers a crate full of random objects to “create something that can be used in your classroom”.  They had to collaborate in order to create their masterpieces.

Creative people invent, imagine, problem-solve, create, and communicate in fresh, new ways. Those with the ability to "think outside of the box" will lead the future and make special things happen.In the end, the teachers committed to providing time and materials for students to explore the possibilities of creativity because they were able to experience the value of creating themselves.

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Susan Walker/

Governance & Flexibility

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Susan Walker/

Governance & Flexibility

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Cohort 1 Schools are Putting Their Best Ideas Forward!

Our NELC Cohort 1 schools (Abbotts Hill, Autrey Mill, Centennial, Northview, & Shakerag) are in the implementation phase of their work as part of the charter system. This month, these schools put their Requests for Flexibility forward for a 30-day public comment window. Once their ideas are vetted within the school community, the schools will submit their final RFF proposal in January. Decisions to grant the requests will be made by Superintendent Avossa, and accepted proposals will be implemented in the 2014-15 school year. Our NELC schools have already been getting positive feedback on these (& other) ideas:

·Northview requests to waive class size in order to hold a college-style lecture class for 2 AP courses.

·Abbotts Hill & Shakerag request to waive the mandated school day hours in order to provide early release time several days a year for the purpose of teacher professional learning.

·Centennial requests to waive the seat time requirement in order for students to earn their PE course credit through alternate means: completion of one season of a GHSA sport, completion of one season of CHS Marching Band, or completion of one season of an approved club sport.

Additionally, Cohort 1 schools are working on their application for Seed Fund grant applications. The Seed Fund was established in 2013 using $7.8 million appropriated by the Georgia State Legislature to support the Fulton County charter system. Beginning in February 2014, one-year grants will be awarded directly to schools to support local innovations. Our Cohort 1 schools are dreaming big! Stay tuned to hear about their visions!

Cohort 2 Schools are building their School Governance Councils!

Our 11 NELC Cohort 2 schools (Chattahoochee, Dolvin, Haynes Bridge, Holcomb Bridge, Johns Creek, Medlock Bridge, Ocee, River Trail, State Bridge Crossing, Taylor Road, & Wilson Creek) completed their elections for teacher and parent representatives to their new School Governance Councils! These schools worked tirelessly to build excitement within their schools about the elections process, to recruit candidates, and to support a successful
voting process! These schools will hold their 1st Council meetings in December to appoint community members to the Councils.

Cohort 2 schools will kick off many more activities in January!

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Science Day, was held this year at Hillside on November 15, is a large-scale, daylong event dedicated to exposing, inspiring and engaging people in the Hillside Community to the wonders of science. All students, from Kindergarten through 5th grade, work in collaborative groups, study
fundamental science concepts, and acquire real-life experiences and problem-solving skills as they delve into grade-appropriate, skill-based experiments.

In grades K-2, the Science Day experiments are based on a spiral learning approach, which has higher grades studying the same concept at a greater depth and difficulty. For instance, in Kindergarten, students will study how seeds grow in soil during the Dirt Baggers experiment.  This is taken to the next level in 1st grade with the Dirt Discovery experiment, which allows students to observe the properties of soil in three clear bottles with rocks of different sizes. Finally, 2nd grade students look for evidence of erosion and its causes in Agent Erosion.

In grades 3-5, students take their developed scientific
knowledge and utilize it in a competitive science day that promotes teamwork and sportsmanship in friendly competition. Students compete in events such as
BarbieTM Bungee (investigating gravity, force and motion),
Magniviewer (using a handmade microscope to observe different objects), and The Catapult (studying the effect of size, gravity, force and motion on spheres).

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Findley Oaks Elementary values our counseling department, led by Kate Hernandez.  She works tirelessly to create moments to celebrate students.  One way is through the Breakfast of Champions program.   Each month has a new character word. This word is discussed both in class meetings and with video segments on the morning announcements.  At the end of the month, one student per classroom is selected to participate in the Breakfast of Champions, based on their demonstration of the monthly character word.  Parents are invited, and students are treated to a continental breakfast (juice, donuts, fruit) in the Food Court.  During the presentation portion, the character word is discussed, and students are given a Certificate of Recognition.  Photos of students with their families are taken, and posted on a bulletin board for the month.  In addition to the BOC, which is a culminating activity, teachers may recognize students throughout the month, by completing a Mighty Good Character form.  This program motivates students to show good character as well as seek it in others.

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On Friday, December, 20th we are hosting Michael
White, a children’s book illustrator who is a native of Atlanta.  Mr. White is the award-winning illustrator of three children’s books: The Library Dragon, The Secret of Old Zeb, and Harriet’s Horrible Day. He will be doing demonstrations, sharing his experiences about being an
illustrator, and working with the students to create their own one- of-a-kind masterpiece! All students in grades K-5 will participate. Mr. White’s visit is a result of collaboration between our art teacher, Kelly Fujihira, and our media specialist, Kelly Williamson, to enhance students’ authentic experiences related to ELA and Art standards that they have learned this semester.

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Living in the Colonial Times

Dolvin’s fourth grade takes a step back in time. On Monday, November 18th, the 4th grade hall will look like it did for the colonist.  Students have been learning about the hardships, obstacles, and rewards of being a colonist living in one of the 13 original colonies. The students will be participating in activities related to living in the colonial times. There will be hat making, candle making, colonial games, quilting, making corn husk dolls, and stilettos.  This is an all-day event where you will find most of the 4th graders and all the teachers sporting colonial looking outfits.  The teachers will be dressed as colonial ladies from their mop top caps, down to their aprons and shawls.

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Barnwell Elementary School 2nd Annual Science Day

On November 15, 2013,  Barnwell Elementary School and
Barnwell PTA jointly sponsored our 2nd Annual Science Day. We welcomed over 30 parent volunteers and science professional and educators to serve throughout our school. The event was  a highly successful and highly
engaging learning experience for our students, thanks in large part to the joint efforts of our parent and science volunteers along with our amazing staff. Our students engaged  in hands-on, grade-level-specific, CCGPS-aligned science experiments throughout the day, led by science
professionals and classroom teachers, with abundant parent support. This is the true definition of a community. Their collective work allowed our students to be exposed to the many wonders of scientific exploration and experimentation. Science Day allowed our students to explore the connections between scientific exploration and real world practicalities. Check our Twitter page
@TheBarnwellBeat for more pics of the day. Overall, Science Day continued our school’s efforts to allow our students to grow as 21st century learners and tomorrow’s global leaders.

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Abbotts Hill is striving to have an Enrichment Model based on Multiple Intelligences and Higher Order Thinking Strategies supported by enrichment clusters and technology. Multiple Intelligences is based on the
theory and work of Howard Gardner. Joseph Renzulli‘s research and theory is behind providing students with
higher order thinking strategies and enrichment within every classroom.

Highlights of the Abbotts Hill vision for their charter
school include teachers receiving training for gifted endorsement so each child enjoy the benefit of learning to apply concepts and deepen knowledge, no matter
their skill level.  Students will receive a detailed multiple intelligences assessment so teachers, parents and students can understand the strengths and learning styles of each child.  Students will participate in enrichment classes.  These classes will be a non-graded class based on student and teacher interests.  It will be an opportunity for students to grow in areas beyond academics.

Abbotts Hill has two Requests For Flexibility (RFF) documents out for public comment.

1. Our long term outcome is to improve student’s critical
thinking skills.  To improve student’s critical thinking teachers will be provided additional professional development and TAG endorsement.  In order to accomplish this, we are requesting early release days to allow teachers to complete this training.  Proposed half day would begin at 12:20 pm for 6 – 8 days throughout the school year.  The days would be equally divided between the two semesters.

2. In addition to the rigorous curriculum based on state standards, students will be involved in enrichment cluster model classes to extend learning as well as to increase student engagement in academics. In order to do this we are requesting a waiver to exceed the state limit of classroom size for the enrichment classes only.  Classes could be cross-grade level and taught by certified teachers, other non-certified school personnel with assistance from business partners and other community members.

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Mr. Kelly Parker, assistant principal of Taylor Road MS and a founding member of Student Leadership
Johns Creek, works with the SLJC governing committee
to design curriculum and evaluate student success. Last week SLJC students from Centennial, Chattahoochee, Johns Creek and Northview High Schools met with Linda Payntor – project management professional.

Ms. Payntor’s discussion centered on giving the students a crash course on project management – highlighting why projects fail and how to leverage the strengths of group communication to bring projects to successful conclusions.

Ms. Payntor is Project Management Professional certified, with a Master of Science in Management from Colorado Technical University. She spent 33 years at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and worked at the University
of Akron as Adjunct Professor, Masters’ Project Management.

Student Leadership Johns Creek is a two-year program for high school students who live in Johns Creek. Much like its professional counterpart Leadership Johns Creek,
participants learn leadership skills, communication skills and how to make an impact on their community.

The students include:

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River Trail Middle School 7th graders recently
engaged in authentic learning with Korean teachers.  As part of a partnership with ITTI Global, teachers from South Korea are spending several weeks observing and teaching in NELC schools.  The three teachers at RTMS
shared pictures, facts, and stories about Korea to teach the CCGPS Social Studies standards related to Asia.  All 500 students in seventh grade participated.  Being able to learn from teachers with different backgrounds builds upon the NELC concept of a world-class community, and helps students discover their role in the world.

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Holcomb Bridge Middle School hosted its first CoderDojo in conjunction with VersionOne, an Alpharetta based software company. CoderDojo is an opportunity for students to learn computer programming from people currently working in the profession. Twenty-five students were selected based on high performance in Science and Mathematics, but low participation in school activities. The goal is for students attending CoderDojo to find a co-curricular niche within school that motivates them and guides them toward a viable option in high school, college, career, and beyond. Josh Gough, the lead computer programming volunteer, has worked with other CoderDojos in the Atlanta area and told stories of students who learned programming and have since had employment opportunities or even built and sold their own apps. Students reported that coding is easier than they thought and they were hungry for more.
Holcomb Bridge looks forward to hosting two more CoderDojo sessions this semester and many more through the remainder of this year.

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"Made by Milk Contest!"

Students at Haynes Bridge Middle School participated in the “Made by Milk Contest”. The purpose of the contest was for students to use discarded milk cartons in a
creative way. Our students  gave a new life to used milk cartons by engineering them into a pirate ship. This gave students the chance to learn how to work together and display their creativity. The sponsor, Mrs. Isabell, did a
magnificent job supporting and encouraging our students.

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7th Grade Humanities Team: Interdisciplinary Studies: Civil Rights/Apartheid Unit

Interdisciplinary learning has proven to have a positive impact on teaching and learning as well as on the development of relationships with both colleagues and students. The 7th Grade Humanities Team at Autrey Mill Middle School made up of highly qualified Language Arts and Social Studies teachers, has been working on an interdisciplinary unit focused on Civil Rights, Human Rights and Apartheid. After the teachers facilitate the acquisition of background knowledge regarding
this topic, the students will develop a performance-based project they will be working on independently and as a group. This type of differentiation is
typical at our school, but it is prototypical in the Humanities classrooms in 7th grade. The unit begins with the videos of “What are Human Rights” in addition
to watching several of the Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on www.youthforhumanrights.org. While the students will learn about Apartheid and Nelson Mandela in their Social Studies classroom, they will be working on the project-based-writing in their Language Arts class. This project will culminate on a debate where students must take a stand on human rights. Even the Foreign Language teachers are getting involved in this project. The Spanish classes will be researching and exploring human rights in Latin America on a smaller scale.

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Northview HS desires to enhance instructional delivery in support of career connections and authentic learning experiences. It is our goal to fully prepare our students for the most prominent and successful positions our global economy has to offer.

Offering a few specific courses in an arena/lecture-style model (with larger class sizes) allows us to meet two
goals: (1) allow more students to take the courses; and (2) prepare students for success in the academic experiences they will encounter in college by allowing them to experience seminar-style courses while in high school.

Northview requests a waiver of the district rules for class size to allow a few, select courses to be offered arena-style with a class size of 50+ students. Northview aims to use the large lecture model for 2 courses: AP Psychology and Social Issues & Media.

Northview HS desires to enhance instructional delivery in support of career connections and authentic learning
experiences. It is our goal to fully prepare our students for the most prominent and successful positions our global economy has to offer.

Northview HS would like to expand the foreign language course offerings offered to students in order to meet the school’s Strategic Plan outcomes & objectives. In order to expand these course offerings, it is important to cast a very wide net in order to find qualified teacher candidates who can provide instruction in hard-to-staff foreign
language courses such as Arabic, Japanese, Latin, and Chinese. Waiving the certification rules for these subjects would allow Northview to more easily recruit & hire effective instructors who have the content knowledge
necessary for teaching these courses.

Additionally, Northview would like to expand its career pathway course offerings so that our students can
pursue studies in the health sciences field of Physical Medicine. Waiving the certification requirement for teachers of these courses would allow Northview
to bring the best instructors to our students & connect students with real-world career experiences by leveraging a partnership with the Emory-Johns Creek medical establishment to provide course instructors.

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The Pulse is our new on-line creative literary magazine.  This is a new student-created and wholly student-run publication to provide a vehicle through which students may display their creative talents. The staff chose the name “The Pulse” because they wanted creative writing, art, and photography to be what actually helps to sustain JCHS; a student life line, so to speak.  Teacher sponsor, Judy Ritter, trained students in some basics, but all choices for publication are theirs. All of the layouts
and design have been completed by the student staff. They determine what pieces will actually appear in the magazine and they edit as needed. Currently, all of the works displayed have been created by the initial staff; they are talented writers and artists.  Pieces will
be rotated as more are submitted.  The staff held a soft opening of the new web site last month and is currently working on publicity for submissions. The on-line publication has been highlighted on the JCHS morning televised news.  As the word is spread the staff hopes to display a wide variety of student work.  Events are also being organized to honor the students who have
submitted work.  Students put in some long hours to launch this new publication and all are very proud of it.

Check it out!  http://thepulsejchs.wix.com/the-pulse

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Chattahoochee High School’s Breakfast Club Promotes Teacher Leaders

Chattahoochee High School’s Assistant Principal Team formed a “Breakfast Club” to promote teacher leaders. The Breakfast Club Teacher Leader Series meets
once a month to promote ongoing professional development.

The first session, which was held in October, was led by Chattahoochee’s Language Arts Department Chair, Kathy Smith. She presented on how to improve student engagement and learning through Project Based Learning. The November session will be led CHS
Band Director, Nick Garofalo. He will be presenting on how to inspire and ignite intrinsic motivation.

As an extension to the sessions, the Assistant Principal Team shares a monthly newsletter,
Instructional Focus, with feature articles and videos related to the monthly topics. In addition, a PD 360
Breakfast Club group encourages further professional development and collaboration.

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Check out Centennial's Great News We Can Always Use!: http://www.chsgreatnews.blogspot.com/

Centennial HS is excited as we move forward with our governance council work. One of our most important goals is to ensure that we serve our school community effectively.  Currently we are in the process of submitting Requests for Flexibility proposals for the 2014-15 school year.  These requests, if approved by the Superintendent,
will address the needs of  Centennial High School through waivers of state laws and/or district policies in order to implement a school-based strategy.

Centennial has developed two Requests for Flexibility proposals.

1.  Alternative PE Credit: Enables students to earn credit for the required 0.5 unit of Physical Education course through one of three alternate means: (1) completion of one season of a Georgia High School Association (GHSA) sport at Centennial High School; (2) completion of one season of Centennial marching band; or (3) completion of one season of an approved club sport.

2.  Internships for all Students: Opens the internship option to all interested students, not just those enrolled as TAG students.

The complete proposals, the School Strategic Plan Overview, and Strategic Plan Narrative can be found at:
http://school.fultonschools.org/hs/centennial/Pages/RequestforFlexibilities.aspx

Board Member Ms. Bernath was Centennial’s Principal for a day! She participated in classroom instruction, attended technology innovation meetings, and had Thanksgiving lunch with the students at the Siemens L.I.F.E. program!

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The Assistant Principals' program is becoming a great success! The Assistant Principals are continuing to take on many leadership opportunities. The following blurbs are from some NELC APs, about how they are enriching academics in their schools.

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This is a great issue of NELC News & Notes.  As I read through the efforts of each school, I see a
pattern of learning and leadership.  Schools are doing amazing work on enhancing the learning for all students, infusing challenging work for kids and tying their work to real-world environments.  They are also focusing efforts on developing leadership capabilities with students and teachers and community members.  It’s an exciting time in Fulton County Schools and in the Northeast Learning Community’s 22 outstanding schools!

I wish you all, schools and community members, a great holiday season and new year.  We will not have a January issue of News & Notes due to the holidays, but look for your February 2014 issue coming soon!