Better Together

CCSD elementary school students paired up with University of Georgia student-mentors last weekend for the annual Shop with a Bulldawg event at the Eastside Athens Walmart. Students picked up items on their holiday wish list and enjoyed additional activities and lunch at Cedar Shoals High. See more photos here! If you are interested in donating or getting involved with Shop with a Bulldawg for next year, please visit swabuga.org.

CCSD and MedLink Georgia held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday, Nov. 12, for the brand-new Coile Health Center. Located on the campus of Coile Middle School, the center is open to students and staff across CCSD, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Appointments are preferred and can be made by calling 706-352-9244. Head to this link for more information. See more photos from the ribbon-cutting here and check out the video below!

At its Thursday, Nov. 14 meeting, the Clarke County Board of Education approved the academic calendars for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years. The calendars are based off the recommendation of the district calendar committee, which convened earlier this year following a public survey that garnered 863 responses. The committee was composed of certified and classified staff, school leadership, representatives from local school governance teams, families, and students. It included representation from each school within the district as well as the central office. Click the buttons below to view the calendars.

Congratulations to Ms. Denisse Maddox, eighth-grade English Language Arts teacher at Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School, for being named our November Employee of the Month! Ms. Maddox, a veteran teacher of 23 years, is in her third year at BHL and was nominated by a colleague who said she is a highly engaging teacher who "combines high expectations with empathy and compassion, maintaining a calm, respectful presence that commands attention in the most remarkable way." Ms. Maddox was surprised with the award this week by Superintendent Dr. Robbie Hooker and was also recognized by the Clarke County Board of Education.

As a reminder, anyone (students, staff, families, community members) may nominate any full-time CCSD employee who has at least one year of service for this award. Go to bit.ly/CCEmployeeAward to get started or find the form embedded directly below!

The Clarke Central High School boys' cross country team capped another stellar season last weekend, finishing second place overall in the GHSA Class 5A state championship meet at Carrollton High School. It was the team's third consecutive top-three finish in the state meet. The team also captured its fifth straight region championship this season.

The Gladiators had two top-10 individual finishers as junior James Daniel placed fourth overall and junior Waylon Vaughn finished sixth out of 172 runners. Senior Ryan Marshall, junior Noah Kilpatrick, freshman Henry Morgan, senior Gavin Benitez-Gay, and senior Karl Ritzler also competed in the state meet. Congratulations to the Gladiators and head coach Erica Cascio and her staff on another terrific season!

Gladiator Softball All-Region Honors

Congratulations to Clarke Central senior centerfielder Kaiden Bradford on being selected to the All-Region 8-AAAAA Softball First Team and being unanimously voted as the region's Defensive Player of the Year! This was Kaiden's fourth consecutive all-region selection. Congratulations also go out to Peyton Aubrey, Alex Ozuna, and Adriana Ozuna for being voted Second Team all-region.

Clarke Central High School's ODYSSEY Media Group carried on its longstanding tradition of excellence last weekend, bringing in several awards for the 2023-24 school year during the National Scholastic Press Association's National High School Journalism Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

More than 3,500 convention attendees from all 50 states and eight countries traveled to the nation's largest student journalism convention. Clarke Central's ODYSSEY Newsmagazine and website and the iliad Literary-Art Magazine combined to win more than a dozen awards. For a full recap from the iliad Literary-Art Magazine, please click here. For the ODYSSEY Media Group's recap, please click here.

Congratulations to all of these student journalists!

Several orchestra students from Clarke Central High and Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle schools performed last weekend in the GMEA District 14 Strings Solo/Ensemble Festival, and all students received Superior ratings! Dr. Eunice Kang is the lead orchestra director Clarke Central. Matthew Rubenstein is the lead orchestra director for BHL.

• Clarke Central students: Edie Ash, Zarema Douris, Rose Pearson, Miley Tenas-Balderas, Theresita Huaman-Vega, Ava Daniels, Apolo Smith, Shiori Umeda, Samuel Lorenzini, and Mick Weaver.
• BHL students: Steven Baker, Wiley Duncan, Mario Moreno, Jude Cranston, Bryan Victoria de Paz, Dylan Jennings, Journey Dantzler, Luis Gonzalez, JeKaii Jackson, Cole Morgan, Oscar Black, Gianluca Bacilieri, Tristin Bryant, Connor Ivey, Juliette Heinzle, Lucas Lopez, Khylen Edwards, Grayselin Hardman, Zayden Washington, Jeffery Lee, Alex Montalvo, Kaylee Maldonado Rojas, Jude Striepe, Larken French, Maddy Hardman, Joan James, Garance Stanley, Lazarus Barger, Joshua James, Cristian Labarca, Tiger Tabb, Addison Luke, Nathan Caponigro, and Chris Carcamo.

In the next of a series of "Community Conversation" town hall-style events featuring Clarke County Board of Education members, board President and District 6 representative Dr. Mumbi Anderson will be at Timothy Road Elementary, 1900 Timothy Rd., Athens, from 6-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 19, to speak with and hear from Clarke County residents about current CCSD-related issues.

The meeting is open to all residents throughout Athens-Clarke County, and a Spanish-language interpreter will be present.

Looking to keep your students active during Thanksgiving Break? CCSD's Athens Youth Development Initiative and the fine arts departments at Cedar Shoals and Clarke Central high schools have partnered up to offer free two-day camps at both schools from 9 a.m. to noon Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 25-26.

Space is limited. Registration opens at 7 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 16. For more information visit www.athensyouthdevelopment.com or email YDI coordinator Chris Hulse at hulsec@clarke.k12.ga.us.

It's Apply to College Month in Georgia, and CCSD high school seniors have the opportunity to apply to participating University System of Georgia, Technical College System of Georgia, and private institutions for free throughout November! For more information, reach out to your counselor or get started by following this link for a list of participating colleges and universities and their application process.

Ret. Lt. Col. Ed Postell, field representative for Georgia's 10th Congressional District, will host an informational Zoom session featuring three current cadets on Tuesday, Nov. 26, from 7-8 p.m. The meeting will give students a great opportunities to interact directly with the three cadets, all of whom are graduates of area high schools, and learn more about the West Point application process.

Those interested in attending should email Lt. Col. Postell at postell71@gmail.com or call him at 610-420-6765 and he will provide the Zoom info for the meeting.

The Classic City Dawgs Adapted Sports Program, coordinated by CCSD, is open to all public and private school students grades 1-12 throughout the Northeast Georgia RESA area (Clarke, Oconee, Jackson, Madison, Barrow, and Oglethorpe counties) with a qualifying disability. Participation is completely free, and chairs are provided. Adapted handball season is wrapping up and basketball season will start Nov. 17.

Wheelchair basketball is a GHSA-sanctioned co-ed sport. Those interested in their student participating or who know someone who may be interested should complete or share this form (also embedded below). For more information, contact area coordinator Chris Aiken at aikenc@clarke.k12.ga.us.

Does your student need updated immunizations? CCSD is required to turn in all student immunization forms to the Georgia Department of Public Health on Nov. 22, 2024. If you are having trouble finding a vaccine appointment, CCSD students can use any of the CCSD school-based health centers listed below. Please contact your school nurse with any questions and call the health centers directly to schedule a vaccine appointment. All centers are open to students throughout the district.

• Hilsman Health Center: 706-564-7463
• Classic City Health Center: 706-389-1095, Ext. 4700
• Coile Health Center: 706-352-9244, Ext. 4800
• There are currently no vaccines available at the Clarke Middle Health Center.

The Clarke County Board of Education welcomes community feedback. Here are ways you can share your voice:

• Contact BOE Members: Click here to view a list of the BOE members and their contact information.
• Attend a Meeting: The board's next scheduled meeting is Thursday, Dec. 12, with the work session beginning at 5 p.m., followed by the regular meeting at 7 p.m. All meetings are held in the Vernon Payne Meeting Hall at the CCSD administrative offices building, located at 595 Prince Ave. in Athens. The public is invited to attend meetings in person. Meetings are also streamed live and are available for on-demand viewing on the CCSD YouTube channel. Click here for the board meeting schedule.
• Agendas: Click here to access board meeting agendas.
• Board Briefs: Click to read the "Board Briefs" overview from meetings.
  
• Public Comments: Click here for information on how to sign-up to speak at a BOE meeting.
• Review Policies for Review: View and comment on district policies pending public review.

The Georgia Museum of Art, 90 Carlton St., Athens, is partnering with the National Endowment for the Arts "Big Read" program for its "Spotlight on the Arts" Family Day from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Nov. 9. Little Characters Theater Troupe will perform a piece inspired by the featured book “Show Way” (by Jacqueline Woodson), and families can join in group improv games. The event will also include interactive art cart activities, a quilting demonstration by local artist Beatrice Brown, and a take-home art project. The first 50 guests will receive a free copy of “Show Way.”

For those who cannot attend in person, Family Day to-go kits will be available for pick-up starting at 1 p.m. Saturday through the end of day Sunday, Nov. 10, while supplies last.

The Pollack Family Foundation will host the Banquet of Blessings, a free Thanksgiving community feast, on Sunday, Nov. 24, from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at the Classic Center Grand Hall, 300 North Thomas St., Athens. The goal of the event is to provide a warm meal to those in need along with fellowship and hospitality during the holiday season. Items such as jackets, gloves, hats, socks, sleeping bags, children's books and toys, and baby items will also be given away.

The Food Bank of Northeast Georgia and City of Refuge Athens are teaming up to host a holiday drive-thru food pantry beginning at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26, at Athens Church, located at 10 Huntington Rd., Athens. Food will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Synovus Bank Beechwood branch, located at 310 Alps Rd., Athens, is hosting its annual Toys for Tots Holiday Toy Drive. Donations can be dropped off at the branch, which is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays, and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. For more information, contact Latoria Robbins at latoriarobbins@synovus.com.

Athens Area Habitat for Humanity will hold a community bake sale from 1-5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22, at the Globe, 199 North Lumpkin St., Athens. The sale will feature baked goods from local businesses, and proceeds will benefit the Athens Habitat Global Village Project, which will consist of volunteers constructing and making improvements to houses in Guatemala.