Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2017
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 5B
School
FIRST DAY GREETINGS
Coach David “Att” Stephenson talks with Jennifer Presley as she gets off the bus Friday.
Samantha and Cesar Maldonado-Velasquez are at right rear, getting off the bus.
Commerce opens with more than 1,660
GOOD MORNING
Assistant Principal Gail Robertson greets McKenzie Cox on the
first day of school at CPS.
By Ron Bridgeman
“I’ll bet I get a hundred hugs
a day,” Coach “Att” Stephenson
said Friday as school opened in
Commerce.
“Att,” also known as David,
greeted students as they got off
buses or out of cars the first day. He
made detours to students and par
ents walking into school. He retired
years ago, but “Att” continues with
PE classes and greeting students
each morning on a halftime basis.
He got a lot of hugs. He had
something to say about nearly
every student. Comments were fre
quently about their shoes, usually
the color, but also about dresses on
the girls, hair styles or just “wel
come back.”
Stephenson was one of the fac
ulty members who greeted the stu
dents. Teachers were all over the
building and outside.
Commerce Primary School had
448 students Monday, part of an
increased enrollment to 1,666,
Supt. Joy Tolbert said by email
Friday. The system has added 167
students in two years, 112 of those
this year.
CPS Assistant Principal Gail
Robertson greeted nearly everyone
just inside the front door, where the
halls split.
Her “good mornings” were
interrupted only by hugs and com
ments for specific kids.
Does she know the names of all
450 kids. Robertson was asked?
“I will by next Friday.” she said.
“That’s my goal.”
Principal Susan Tolbert greeted
her students in her first year at
CPS. She is starting her 27 th year in
education. Tolbert came to Com
merce from Clarke County, where
she was principal of an elementary
school.
Susan Tolbert said Commerce
Primary School added a kindergar
ten class for 2017-18.
She said the grade level teachers
will meet daily to discuss instruc
tional practices for academic con
tent areas.
That will come through a revised
master schedule, she said. Students
will have weekly instruction in
such classes as art, music, PE and
Spanish while teachers are meet
ing.
Supt. Joy Tolbert said the system
has added music classes at the mid
dle and high schools.
New positions include a parent
involvement coordinator, interpret
er and social worker for the system.
That is one person.
A math support teacher for
grades 5-8 and an additional health
and PE position at CHS have been
added.
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LEARNING ABOUT
GARDENING
Jackson County
School System
teachers were among
those visiting UGA’s
Green Roof Garden
during a math amd
science workshop
July 18. The Green
Roof Garden on top
of UGA’s Geography-
Geology building
features a variety of
fruits and vegetables
and an herb garden.
Finding food — up on the roof at Georgia
A group of Jackson
County School System’s
elementary and middle
school teachers learned
about sustainable food
systems when they visited
the Green Roof Garden on
top of the University of
Georgia’s Geography-Ge
ology building July 18.
Instead of the usual flat,
gray roof, this building
has 2.200 sq. ft. of grass,
vegetables, and green
space. The garden has a
range of crops, including
turnips, radishes, beets,
collards, spinach and car
rots, as well as blueberry
trees, blackberries and an
herb garden.
The Green Roof Gar
den visit was one of many
activities as part of a week-
long Math & Science Part
nership grant workshop,
Project EPSSSMAR —
Enhancing Problem-Solv
ing Skills through Scien
tific and Mathematical
Argumentation and Rea
soning.
Other topics includ
ed entomology, coding
and robotics, all viewed
through the lens of argu
mentation and reasoning.
Deborah Riddleberger,
science and social stud
ies content specialist for
JCSS. and Todd Nick-
elsen, assistant superin
tendent for teaching and
learning, coordinate the
grant for JCSS.
It is part of nearly $2
million in MSP grants
JCSS has earned from
the Georgia Department
of Education, securing
funds in the competitive
program six of the seven
times they have been
offered since 2004.
These days,
every penny counts.
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Margaret Wier, second from left, won one of
two American Legion scholarships. She is with
American Legion post commander Gene Bennett,
her mother, Ruby, and father, Dwight Wier, and
her grandparents, Sue and Gilbert Wier.
Two get scholarships
Two local high school graduates are the winners of an
American Legion $1,000 college scholarship. Margaret
Felicitas Weir, a graduate of East Jackson Comprehen
sive High School, and Margaret Mae Pfiel, a graduate
of Pine Crest Academy in Buford, are the recipients.
Each will receive a $1,000 scholarship. Martha Wier
will attend UGA this fall. She is the daughter of Dwight
Wier and the granddaughter of Gilbert Wier, both of
whom are members of The American Legion Post 56,
of Jefferson.
Margaret Pfiel will attend Piedmont College this fall
and is the granddaughter of Jim Beckstein, who is a
member of Post 56.
Both students were sponsored by Legion Post 56 in a
statewide contest for a $1,000 scholarship each.
The criteria for eligibility is based upon academic
achievement through course grades, difficulty of the cur
riculum and scholastic and ACT tests scores. Applicants
must be a child or grandchild of a Legionnaire.
COMMERCE BACKPACK GIVEAWAY
Commerce held its first “Commerce Backpack
Giveback” during July. Olivia Freeman, of
the Commerce Fire Department Women’s
Auxiliary and president of Permit Build, head
ed the project to collect new or gently used
backpacks. The project started with Freeman
asking for backpacks on social media. More
than 60 backpacks and hundreds of school
supplies were collected. The Commerce Fire
Department opened the station for families
to come by and pick up a backpack July 22.
After the children picked out their new back
packs, Lieutenant Jimmy Usher, Firefighter
John Freeman and Firefighter Tyler Brady gave
tours of the trucks.
Stephens earns nursing degree
Rayma Stephens, of Jefferson, has received her bach
elor of science in nursing from Western Governors
University.
The university held its 33rd commencement ceremony
at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City
on July 15 and celebrated more than 10,000 graduates.
School news
The deadline for submitting school news is noon
Monday. Please send photos as JPEG files.
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