Cherokee County Schools Shares Good News From Community

CANTON, GA -- The Cherokee County School District has plenty of good news to share from around the county.

Cherokee Career Expo

The Cherokee County School District, CCSD, this month participated for the first time in the Cherokee Career Expo presented by the Cherokee County Office of Economic Development and partners. This recruiting event followed a successful CCSD annual job Fair. The School District is seeking applicants to fill several hundred anticipated openings, due to retirements and growth, including classroom teachers, school nurses, bus drivers, clerical staff and school nutrition cafeteria workers. For information, visit the district's website.

Georgia Young Authors Competition

Congratulations to the winners of CCSD’s 2019 Georgia Young Authors Competition! This contest showcases the excellent writing instruction that is taking place in each of CCSD’s schools in grades K-12. The winning students’ writings now advance to Regionals, with the potential to move on to the State competition in June. The judges of every grade level remarked about the difficulty of choosing winners because of the high quality of the entries. The winners are: kindergarten, Vivian Rivera, Bascomb ES; first grade, Ruby Resnick, Bascomb ES; second grade, Ava Lakhansingh, Bascomb ES; third grade, Regan Wehr, Bascomb ES; fourth grade, Aubrey Smith, Holly Springs ES STEM Academy; fifth grade, Maile Rowley, Macedonia ES; sixth grade, Emily Cruse, Teasley MS; seventh grade, Lily Schwartz, E.T. Booth MS; eighth grade, Emma Johnson, Dean Rusk MS; ninth grade, Jasmeen “Jazz” Peck, River Ridge HS; 10th grade, Keilah Araujo, Etowah HS; 11th grade, Avery Adams, Woodstock HS; 12th grade, Caroline Bulger, River Ridge HS.

National Youth Art Month

March is National Youth Art Month, and this celebration is marked every year in Cherokee County with the kickoff of a series of exhibits featuring artwork by Cherokee County School District students from all grade levels. The art shows are presented with the support of CCSD Partner, the Cherokee Arts Center, which hosts the displays that are divided into elementary, middle and high school shows.

Etowah High School

The Etowah High School Electric Eagles robotics team recently competed at its first competition of the year. The team placed eighth out of 39 teams at the Dalton event, and will compete again later this month in Forsyth.

Indian Knoll Elementary School

The Indian Knoll Elementary School second-grade teachers recently hosted a week of “Math Boot Camp.” The teachers developed rigorous, hands-on math activities, and students rotated between classrooms to practice their skills. The top three math students from each classroom participated in a math bowl as their culminating activity. “Indian Knoll Elementary School teachers are always looking for creative and innovative ways to engage students and to instill the love for learning,” Principal Kim Cerasoli said. “Congratulations to our top three winners!”

The winning students are Mason Andrews, second place; Robert Smith, first place; and Charles Crandall, third place.

Indian Knoll Elementary School recently recognized third-grade teacher Kristin Towns as its February Employee of the Month. She is praised for her use of technology across the curriculum and development of hand-on activities. “She is always the first teacher to try something new and innovative,” Principal Kim Cerasoli said. “She also has developed positive relationships with all of her stakeholders, and her class is truly a family.” She was presented with a certificate of recognition, gift cards, and a gift from the PTA.

Oak Grove Elementary School Fine Arts Academy

Oak Grove Elementary School Fine Arts Academy recently celebrated Family Literacy Night with special events… including a certificate for every student to pick out a free book at the book fair! Scholastic, Kellogg’s, and BJ’s Wholesale Clubs sponsored the event and the gift to more than 500 students.

Oak Grove Elementary School Fine Arts Academy is celebrating a new Partner in Education: Yanmar Evo Center. As part of National Agriculture Week, Yanmar parked a tractor at the school, which is home to a community garden that is maintained by students and facilitated through their Problem-Based Learning lab.

Life Scout Byron Harris of Troop 641 in Woodstock recently completed his Eagle Scout project at Oak Grove Elementary School Fine Arts Academy. He constructed a 28-foot long, 7-foot tall partition for the school’s Professional Development room. The six-section partition has wheels to allow for multi-purpose use. He added cork boards, white boards, and chalk boards to make the partition even more useful. “I give Byron an A+ on this outstanding project!” Principal Penny Valle said. Byron said he was inspired to give back to his alma mater. “I most certainly benefited from attending this school. I am more than happy and proud that my multi-purpose partition wall will help this wonderful school, and I hope that it helps them provide a better experience for students currently enrolled at Oak Grove,” he said.

River Ridge High School

River Ridge High School junior Alexander Blankinship earned first-place in the Cobb EMC Youth Tour competition. He will receive $1,500 scholarship and have the opportunity to attend the Georgia EMC Youth Tour trip to Washington, DC in June.

Sequoyah High School

Sequoyah High School’s drama club recently hosted a special performance of its spring musical, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” for elementary school students from its Innovation Zone. “It was the biggest audience for a preview show ever at Sequoyah!” drama teacher Gerald Parker said. “It was such a thrill especially to see the cast and audience interact after the show!”