Better Together

The Clarke County School District wishes all of our families, students, and staff Happy Holidays and a safe and relaxing winter break! As a reminder, students' final day before the winter break is Wednesday, Dec. 20. High school students will be dismissed at 12:45 p.m. on Dec. 19 and 20. Elementary and middle school students will be dismissed at normal times. Check with your child's school about their after-school programming schedule for next week. All district offices will be closed from Dec. 21 through Jan. 2 and reopen on Wednesday, Jan. 3.

CCSD's Department of Public Relations and Communications thanks you for your continued readership of this weekly newsletter. This will be the final edition of 2023, but the newsletter will return on Friday, Jan. 12. Until then, follow us on social media (@ClarkeCoSchools) for all the latest updates and information!

CCSD schools were well represented last week in the annual Athens Downtown Parade of Lights with numerous student and staff groups marching and performing. Special shout-out to the Early Learning Center Early Head Start home-based program, which won the Mayor's Award for Best Overall Float!

Check out more recent photos from around the district below, and remember to follow us and all of our schools on social media!

As a reminder, CCSD student registration is now fully online! Click here to access the registration application (available in English and Spanish). For those coming to the Student Registration Center in-person for assistance, an appointment must be made. Click here to schedule an appointment.

Additional information about student registration and the required documentation can be found here.

CCSD currently has two school-based health centers for all CCSD students, staff, and families — the Clarke Middle Health Center and the Hilsman Health Center — and is considering opening clinics at Coile Middle School and on the H.T. Edwards Campus, which includes Classic City High School, the Athens Community Career Academy, and Early Learning Center West.

We would like your help in better understanding our students' and staff's healthcare needs and asks you to complete this brief survey. The survey is available in English and Spanish. Click on the dropdown menu above the introductory text on the screen to select your preferred language. Thank you for taking a moment to share your perspective on this important topic.

At its Thursday, Dec. 14 meeting, the Clarke County Board of Education approved a pair of administrative hires, promoting Tamika Henson from assistant principal to associate principal at Clarke Central High School and hiring James Price as an assistant principal at Cedar Shoals High School.

Click here to read the full announcement!

Clarke County School District saw improvement in its 2023 College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) scores — while achieving significant gains in Progress and Closing Gaps — and remains focused on increasing its performance across all components to further its mission of empowering all students to fulfill their potential.

Click here to read the full press release.

Check out the newest episode of CCSD's Studio 595 podcast in the video below!

In the final episode of 2023, Producer Alex and hosts Owen and Jules look back at the best of the year. What are the hosts' top video games, movies, and shows of the year? How would they describe the year? What are they looking forward to in 2024? Also, in a flashback to the 2022 finale, the hosts play a round of "Would I Lie to You?", telling real (or fake) stories and answering questions. All of this and more in this semester finale!

Congratulations to Renita Bolton, East Side bus router for the Transportation Department, for being named CCSD's Employee of the Month for December! Ms. Bolton has worked with CCSD for 28 years and was nominated by a colleague for always going above and beyond in her role to ensure that student transportation runs smoothly. She was surprised with the award this week by Superintendent Dr. Robbie Hooker and recognized at the Thursday, Dec. 14 Board of Education meeting.

As a reminder, anyone in the community (parent, staff, student, community member) can nominate any full-time CCSD employee with at least one full year of service for Employee of the Month. Nominations for January Employee of the Month will be accepted through Friday, Jan. 5. Click here for more information and to get started!

Students across CCSD at many schools have been participating in community service throughout the school year, but especially during the holiday season. Among them, Coile FFA members Madisah Craft, Taraji Peek, Akiyah Watson, Riley Freeman, and Jordan White, along with Coile ag science teacher and FFA advisor Chasity Tompkins volunteered part of their weekend to construct raised beds for the memory care center housed within the Avery Village Senior Living Center in Winterville.

They built two large (4x8 feet) and two small (4x4 feet) raised beds, added soil, then planted eight mums. They also put together a bench to add to the space for members and their families to have when they visit the space and added a trellis and garden flag. The team put a winter flag up for now and donated a summer flag for later. The FFA chapter also donated 20 packs of seeds for the center to plant in the spring.

The Coile FFA was awarded a $1,200 Living to Serve Grant by the National FFA Organization to complete the project. The nationwide program provides grant money to local FFA chapters to support semester-long service-learning projects that address needs related to community safety; environmental responsibility; hunger, health and nutrition; and community engagement during the fall semester.

Great work by Ms. Tompkins and these students!

Congratulations to Clarke Central students who competed in the recent Veterinary Science Career Development Event at the University of Georgia Livestock Arena. Students worked in teams to demonstrate their technical competency with small and large animals by completing a written exam, critical-thinking scenario questions, identifications, and hands-on practicums.

The Clarke Central Senior Team finished second overall in their division with Max Burnham and Clarice Buril finishing first and second, respectively, as individuals. The Clarke Central Junior Team also finished second in their division. Kate Hinger was second individually among juniors, while Colin Boyle was fourth.

Both teams will now compete in the state competition in Perry in February.

Congratulations to the Howard B. Stroud Elementary girls' team and the Johnnie Lay Burks Elementary boys' team, who were crowned CCSD Elementary Basketball League champions on Thursday, Dec. 14, following their wins in the tournament finals. Also, congratulations to the Fowler Drive Elementary girls and Howard B. Stroud boys for finishing as runners-up and to all of our schools' players and coaches and the officials and volunteers who made this a successful season.

Congratulations to the following members of the Clarke Central football team for being selected to the All-Region 8-AAAAA first team:

• Nicholas Paul, offensive lineman
• Muntravic Bankston, offensive lineman
• AJ Lonon, defensive lineman
• Bartez Gillespie Jr.,
• Kendrick Curry, linebacker
• Cooper Evans, kicker
• Corey Watkins Jr., running back
• Jaden Cofer, wide receiver
• Jaylen Jackson, returner.

The following players were honorable-mention selections:

• Alexander Leahy, linebacker
• Jamarion Davis, tight end/defensive end
• Memphis Huff, offensive lineman/defensive lineman
• Nehamiah Jones, wide receiver
• Leon Tate. cornerback.

CCSD's Science and Engineering Fair for students grades 6-12 is set for Saturday, Jan. 20, at Hilsman Middle School, 870 Gaines School Rd. Schools will be supplying students with additional information. See the full schedule for the day's events below!

All CCSD high school students grades 10-12 are now invited to apply to take high school- and college-level pathway courses at the Athens Community Career Academy for the 2024-25 school year.

Students interested in high-school level courses (grades 10-12 for 2024-25) must have at least a cumulative high school GPA of 2.0 and no more than 36 unexcused period absences to be eligible. Students interested in college-level courses (11th and 12th grade only) must have a 2.6 or higher HOPE GPA and no more than 36 unexcused period absences to be eligible.

Go to bit.ly/accacatalog to read more about our pathways and go to bit.ly/accaapp to apply.

The Young Scholars Program at the University of Georgia is a paid, five-week summer internship opportunity for high school students interested in agricultural, food, and environmental sciences.

YSP aims to expose selected students to college life and encourage them to apply to the University of Georgia. Selected students work 30 hours per week, Monday through Friday, actively engaged in research under the guidance of a faculty mentor on the UGA campus. Young Scholars will be sent home on weekends and on the Juneteenth and Fourth of July holidays.

Learn more about this program by watching this video and viewing this presentation. Apply on the Young Scholars website here.

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, Jan. 11, 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.

Fill out the short Google form below or here, and a CCSD Human Resources representative will follow up with you.

Looking for an opportunity for your child to participate in ice hockey in Athens? Registration for the Northeast Georgia Hockey Association winter youth ice hockey season is now open! The co-ed program is for players ages 4-18. Players don't need any previous experience, and players can come out and try hockey for two weeks for free before committing to the whole season. The season runs Nov. 25 through Feb. 26, and practices and games are held at the Classic Center Pavilion in Athens.

For more information, contact Dr. Kellie Templeman (templemank@clarke.k12.ga.us) or

visit www.NEGAhockey.org for additional information on schedules, equipment (loaner gear is available to new players at no cost), and registration. Please note: You will need to create a free account on the website to register.