Newspaper Page Text
School News
The
Commerce News
JULY 30,2008 • PAGE 9A
Heidi HOI Hired As
New EJMS Principal
By Kerri Testement
East Jackson Middle School’s
new principal is someone whose
teaching experience started in
the county school system.
Heidi Hill, Braselton, was
named principal of the school by
the board of education Monday.
She replaces Frank Sarratt, who
resigned at the end of last school
year.
Hill returns to the Jackson
County School System from
Gwinnett County where she was
assistant principal of Creekland
Middle School in Lawrenceville
for seven years. Prior to that, she
was a special education teacher
for seven years at Nor cross High
School.
Hill, who moved to Georgia
from Pennsylvania, started her
teaching career at Jackson County
Middle School, where she was a
special education teacher from
1993-1994.
Jackson County Middle School
was located in the facility that is
today the Gordon Street Center
in Jefferson. Hill’s former prin
cipal at the middle school was
Shannon Adams, who is now
superintendent of the county
school system.
Hill said she wanted to return
to the school system in Jackson
County when the EJMS position
became available.
New EJMS Principal Heidi
Hill
And since she was hired just a
few weeks before class starts Aug.
7, Hill has been busy preparing
her staff for the new school year.
Hill said she plans to increase
teaching and learning at EJMS,
seek feedback and use research-
based strategies to effectively
teach students.
She and her husband, Dave,
have two children — Bryson, 3;
and Brianna, three months. Dave
Hill is chief of the Hoschton Police
Department.
Middle School Announces
Student Supply Lists
Chuck Bell, principal of
Commerce Middle School, has
released the list of supplies stu
dents will be expected to have
when school starts Aug. 7.
Fifth Grade
Fifth grade students will need
the following for all classes: note
book paper, pencils, highlight
ers (optional) and two boxes of
tissue paper. In addition, they
will need a one-inch binder with
dividers and wide rule paper for
reading; a two-inch binder with
dividers and loose leaf papers,
plus a pack of page protectors for
English; a one-inch binder with
dividers and wide rule paper,
and a ruler with inches and cen
timeters/millimeters for math; a
1.5-inch notebook with dividers,
colored pencils or crayons, a
pencil pouch, hole reinforcers,
gallon size plastic bags and a
hand-held pencil sharpener for
science; and red pens and col
ored paper for social studies.
Sixth Grade
Five one-inch three-ring note
books (hardback with inside
pockets) and 18 dividers, loose-
leaf notebook papers, pencils,
colored pencils, a glue stick,
white reinforcement labels, three
stretchy book covers, 10 clear
sheet protectors, a box of tissue
paper and a container of hand
sanitizer. Trapper Keepers are not
acceptable.
Seventh Grade
One three-inch three-ring note
book or one large Trapper Keeper
with class dividers, two packs
of notebook paper, two packs
of five tab dividers, one pack
of reinforcements for notebook
paper, two boxes of pencils, pens
(blue or black ink only), erasers,
colored pencils, graphing paper,
a pocket dictionary and thesau
rus (optional), two boxes of tissue
paper, a container of hand sani
tizer, a big eraser, a 12-inch ruler,
a hand-held pencil sharpener and
a pack of construction paper.
Eighth Grade
Seven 1.5-inch three-ring note
books with college rule paper,
seven sets of notebook dividers,
six white posters, a package of
colored pencils, a package of
washable markers, a package of
black ink erasable pens, a pack
age of red ink pens, a package of
colored and lined 4 by 4 index
cards, a package of 4 by 4 white
lined index cards, a package of
erasers for pencils, a package
of ring reinforcements, a box of
tissue paper, a bottle of hand
sanitizer and two boxes of No. 2
pencils.
County Meal Prices Going Up
By Kerri Testement
Just like a grocery bill, lunch
prices will be rising for students
in the Jackson County School
System.
Despite rising food and fuel
costs across the nation, school
leaders were hoping a price
increase wasn’t needed for county
students.
But, that isn’t the case.
Wanda Oliver, food service
director for the county school
system, said bids for milk and
bread were higher than initially
expected.
“When I opened the bids and
saw them, I knew it might be
trouble,’’ Oliver said at Monday’s
board of education meeting.
The result is that the Jackson
County School System is increas
ing meal prices, from $.10 to
$.25, depending on the meal and
school.
Breakfast at elementary schools
will rise from $1.30 to $1.40. At
the middle and high schools,
breakfast will increase from $1.40
to $1.50. Adult breakfasts will
change from $2.25 to $2.50.
Lunch at elementary schools
will rise from $1.45 to $1.60. At
the middle and high schools,
lunch will increase from $1.85 to
$2.00. Adult lunches will now be
$3.50, instead of $3.25.
The costs of reduced price
meals for low-income students
will remain $.30 for breakfast and
$.40 for lunch.
At the end of last school year,
Oliver said she thought the district
could maintain the current meal
prices.
“I just don’t think that we can
hold the prices another year,’’ she
said.
The board also approved con
tracts with Mayfield Dairy for
milk and EarthGrains for bread at
county schools.
County System Appealing AYP Finding
State Counted EJCHS Students Against JCCHS Graduation Rate
By Kerri Testement
The Jackson County School
System is appealing a state
report saying one of its schools
didn’t meet Adequate Yearly
Progress (AYP).
Jackson County Comprehen
sive High School was one of 37
high schools in Georgia that didn’t
meet AYP because it didn’t achieve
the required graduation rate.
And because one school failed
to meet AYP, the entire Jackson
County School System was
labeled as failing to meet AYP.
The Georgia Department of
Education says JCCHS’s grad
uation rate was 67.4 percent
in 2008, according to a report
released Friday. High schools
need a graduation rate of at
least 70 percent to keep off the
AYP list.
Shannon Adams, superinten
dent of the Jackson County
School System, said Friday that
an appeal of the AYP status was
submitted two weeks ago.
Adams said the appeal cen
ters on the fact that JCCHS’s
graduation rate includes students
from East Jackson
Comprehensive High
School, which opened
in August 2007.
The Georgia DOE
grouped the gradua
tion rate from the two
county high schools
for JCCHS’s AYP
report, Adams said.
Officially, EJCHS
won’t have a gradu
ation rate accounted
for its AYP status until
the fourth year after its opening.
“We have students that received
the vast majority of their edu
cation at Jackson County
Comprehensive High School,’’
Adams said. “Those students
then moved to East Jackson
(and) East Jackson has no gradu
ation rate until its fourth year of
existence.’’
Adams said when the gradu
ation rate for the two county
high schools is done correctly,
JCCHS will meet AYP. He said
school officials are confident the
state will approve the appeal.
The Jackson County School
System estimates that
JCCHS’s graduation rate
was 74 percent in 2008.
Statewide, the gradua
tion rate was 74.2 per
cent.
AYP is a measure of
year-to-year student
achievement on state
wide assessments,
such as the Criterion-
Referenced Competency
Test (CRCT) for ele
mentary and middle
schools, and the Georgia High
School Graduation Test for high
schools.
The AYP report is released as
part of the federal No Child
Left Behind Act. AYP measures
schools in three areas — aca
demic performance, test partici
pation and a “second indicator,’’
such as graduation rates or atten
dance.
The latest AYP report is the first
time JCCHS has failed to meet
AYP. Schools that don’t meet
AYP for two or more consecu
tive years are labeled as “Needs
Improvement’’ and face potential
consequences.
The last time a county school
didn’t meet AYP was 2005, when
East Jackson Middle School had
students with disabilities that
failed math standards. Maysville
Elementary School didn’t meet
AYP in 2004 for failing to meet
attendance standards.
No county school has been
labeled as “Needs Improvement’’
since the implementation of the
AYP report, according to the
state department of education.
The Jefferson and Commerce
city schools were two of 34 sys
tems in Georgia in 2008 that had
100 percent of their schools meet
AYP.
State Schools Superintendent
Kathy Cox said in a statement
that about 69 percent of all
schools in Georgia made AYP.
This fall, the AYP report will be
updated — when final graduation
rates are calculated to include
summer graduates. The state will
also account for summer CRCT
retest results of third, fifth and
eighth grade students.
Shannon
Adams
'Eagle Prep Day' to
Get EJCHS Year Off
To Strong Start Tuesday
East Jackson Comprehensive
High School hopes to get its
second year off to a strong start
with a series of events Tuesday,
Aug. 5.
School starts Thursday, Aug.
7.
The day will start with Eagle
Prep Day, from 8:30 to noon
for incoming ninth graders.
Buses will run on their regular
schedules and freshmen will go
through their classes, and lunch,
just like they will when school
starts.
During the process, they will
get their schedules, meet their
teachers, get familiarized with
the layout of the school, find out
about clubs and extracurricular
activities, win prizes, learn their
bus schedules and eat lunch.
Ninth grade orientation will
take place at 5:30 in the audi
torium.
That evening, the school will
host open house from 5:00
to 7:00 at which time student
schedules will be available for
all students — including any
freshmen unable to make the
Eagle Prep Day.
'Eagle Day' Set
At EJMS Next
Tuesday Morning
Parents, along with sixth
grade students, are invited to
attend East Jackson Middle
School Eagle Day from 9 to
11 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5, in the
Eagles Eatery.
Eagle Day will include stu
dent schedules, grading ori
entation, school tour, proce
dures and more.
The school year will begin
two days later Thursday, Aug.
7.
NEWS DEADLINE
4:00 MONDAYS
We Buy All
Gold & Silver
Xtainesoiffe
770-532-2592
1020 Jesse Jewell Pkwy. • Gainesville, GA
Mon. - Thurs. 10-6:30 • Fri. - Sat. 10-7
Including:
Class Rings • Wedding Bands
• Coins • Broken Jewelry
• Dental Gold
Stressed Out Over Finances?
We offer personal loans
from $150.00 to $500.00.*
Telephone Applications Welcome.
Call or Come Visit Us Today!
1816 N. Broad Street
security Commerce, GA 30529
™ (706)335-3551
*More if you qualify. All loans are subject to our
liberal credit policy and credit limitations, if any.
Open House Set At
City Schools Tuesday
Believe it or not, summer vaca
tion is almost over.
Commerce High School will
hold open house next Tuesday
and seniors can pick up
their first semester schedules
Monday.
Students may pick up their
first semester schedules at the
CHS media center at the follow
ing times:
•seniors, Monday, Aug. 4,
1:30-3:00
•juniors, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 9:30
a.m.-10:30
•sophomores, Tuesday, Aug.
5,10:30 a.m.-noon
•freshmen, Tuesday, Aug. 5,
1:30-3:00
Students unable to pick up
their schedules at the desig
nated times may get them
from their homeroom teachers
during open house, which is
Tuesday night, Aug. 5, from
6:00 to 8:00.
Seniors may purchase park
ing permits from Tammy Bruce
in the guidance office Monday,
Aug. 4, when they come for their
schedules. All other students
who need permits may buy
them from Mrs. Bruce Tuesday
afternoon, Aug. 5, from 1:30 to
3:20, or at open house.
Open House At
All City Schools
All four Commerce City
School System schools will hold
open house Tuesday night.
Hours are 6:00 to 8:00 and
parents (and students) may
drop in at any time during
those hours.
$ 5 00 OFF
Ticket Of s 2(T° Or More. Valid with coupon Mon.-Thurs. only.
La Hacienda Commerce La Hacienda Braselton
173 Steven B. Tanger Blvd. 5391 Highway 53
706-335-7458 706-654-0070
| The Original Mexican Restaurant! Not affiliated with any other restaurant. |
Bulldog Chiropractic
Needs Your Help!
As you know, at the beginning of every school year, there are
many children in our community who go to school empty-
handed. This year, we want to make sure that every child has
supplies to begin his or her learning experience with
confidence. Our goal is to help 200 kids in our community start
the school year off.
With your $25.00 donation, new patients
(or returning patients) will receive:
• All new patient case histories
• Comprehensive chiropractic exam
• All necessary X-rays
• Report of your finding with Dr. Strohman
Supply drive ends: August 31, 2008.
Due to insurance regulations, Medicare and some other insurances may be excluded from this offer.
Bulldog Chiropractic
30346 Hwy 441 S.
Commerce, Georgia 30530
706-335-2225
BulldogHealthCenter.com
If s our 3rd Annual
School Supply
Drive