READY, SET, LEGO: Tomorrow, Adairsville Middle School will host a BIG FIRST LEGO League Qualifier Competition for 33 teams from Bartow, Catoosa, Dalton, Darlington, Fannin, Gordon, and Murray!
The Qualifier at AMS is a free event open to the public. Come out and see the LEGO Robots in action as they compete to earn the most points in 2 ½ minutes in the MASTERPIECE game!
Bartow's participating teams include: 306 Pride: Master Bots (AES), Allatoona Autobots, CCES Team Blaze, Cloverleaf Robotics Team, Emerson Encoders, Euharlee Mechanical Cats, Robo-Knights (HCES), Kingston Artsy Eagles, Kingston Musical Eagles, MRES Robocats, Logology Bots (PLES), Tiger Tech (TES), WES Golden Warriors, WES Warriors, AMS Tigers, Cosmic Coders (AMS), Save the Tigers (AMS), Cass Creators, Colonel Tech (CMS), Big Tom Miners (RTMS), NRO Miners (RTMS), LEGO Annihilators (WMS), and LEGO Masters (WMS).
Fourteen teams from the 33 competing will advance to the Region Championship in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on February 10. The top two teams from the Region Championship will advance to the World Festival Competition in Houston, Texas (1st place) and an International Invitation event (2nd place).
Good luck, Bartow County students!
👀DRUMROLL, PLEASE👀: And the Bartow County winners advancing in the Georgia Student Technology Competition are...
+ Jacob Hyde, PLES, Animation
+ Saydie Ray, AES, Robotics
+ Ellie Hardman, AES, Robotics
+ Mekenzie Moss, CCES, Productivity Design
+ Katie Martel, CCES, Productivity Design
+ Loretta Jones, WMS, Multimedia Applications
+ Kaydence Agan, WMS, Multimedia Applications
+ Nathaniel Fortier, AHS, Project Programming
+ Skyla Rowland, AHS, Digital Photo Production
+ Ashlin Folger, AHS, Graphic Design
+ Brayden Smith, AHS, Project Programming
+ Giovanni Aguilar, CHS, Device Modification
+ Sarah Smith, WHS, 3D Modeling
Congratulations! The regional competition in Rome today was fierce with 408 tech-savvy students participating from more than 15 local districts!
Winners will now move on to compete in the state competition in McDonough on March 2.
TRANSFORMATIONAL STEM ERA: Bartow teachers and leaders are in Orlando right now for the National Future of Education Technology Conference! They're learning alongside industry leaders in the areas of instructional technology, AI, STEM, robotics, computer science, and so much more! We cannot wait to see how these new innovative practices transform instruction in the classroom and inspire student achievement!
FROM TODDLERS TO TECH GURUS: Let's wish our students well! Tomorrow, 41 of our tech-savvy students will be competing in the Northwest Georgia Student Technology Competition at Georgia Highlands College in Rome!
The competition includes 408 students from schools across Northwest Georgia vying for the top spot in each category to advance to the Georgia Student Technology Competition on March 2.
The 12 schools from Bartow County with participants in the regional competition are Adairsville Elementary, Clear Creek Elementary, Hamilton Crossing Elementary, Mission Road Elementary, Pine Log Elementary, Adairsville Middle, Cass Middle, Red Top Middle, Woodland Middle, Adairsville High, Cass High, and Woodland High.
The names of the participants are below! GOOD LUCK!! 🍀🏆🍀
ROUND OF APPLAUSE: Congratulations to Adairsville High School Senior Kaniala Bunch and Junior Ella Goble on their superior scoring during the individual Georgia Thespys competition! This qualifies them for NATIONALS and a chance at individual NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS this summer in Indiana!
CENTRAL OFFICE CELEBRATIONS: When you work in a school system and community like this, you have a lot to celebrate! And, if you know Superintendent Page, then you know he likes to celebrate the RIGHT WORK. In the Bartow County School System, the right work supports learning, collaboration, and results. That's what we value.
This month, we celebrate and honor Joyce Hudson, our Pre-K Support. Joyce's professionalism, knowledge, and expertise in the pre-K realm is second to none. She definitely makes us all better! Congratulations, Joyce!
WELCOME ABOARD: Join us in welcoming Mrs. Tanya Rucker as the new assistant support specialist to the chief leadership and learning officer!
Tanya's journey with the Bartow County School System actually began in 2010 at Mission Road Elementary as the front office receptionist. In the summer of 2014, she became Adairsville High School’s administrative assistant, and that's where she served for the last 10 years.
Tanya is originally from Fort Myers, Florida. She attended Florida State University as an Opera major and utilized her gift through local churches. Tanya has also been blessed to sing at the Georgia State Capitol, sing the National Anthem for the Kansas City Royals, and has been a guest soloist on Trinity Network and INSP. Though singing has been a great joy in her life, she will tell you one of her greatest accomplishments is her family. She has been married to Donald Rucker for 35 years, and they have two children, Dr. Donald Rucker, Jr., Principal at KIPP Charter Middle School in Atlanta, and Brooke Rucker, a dancer, and choreographer in New York City.
We're so glad to have you, Tanya!
FREE SENSORY FRIENDLY MORNING AT THE BOOTH:
Saturday, January 27, 2024
8 am – 10 am
Neurodiverse audiences and their families are invited to enjoy the Booth Western Art Museum in a comfortable and welcoming environment! Visual schedules, a sensory friendly map, and social stories are available for download on their website under Plan Your Visit https://boothmuseum.org/accessibility/ (also available onsite). Sensory bags will be available to check out and a family quiet space will be available for anyone who needs to catch their breath. An art project is also included!
Registration is preferred. Again, this event is free of charge!
Visit https://79494.blackbaudhosting.com/.../Sensory-Friendly... to register!
IN THE NEWS: Amazing feature on Bartow County Schools in the brand-new Cartersville Bartow County Chamber of Commerce 2024 Community Guide and Business Directory!
QUICK RECAP:
"Bartow County School Systems' graduation rate for this past year is 94.6%. Between the high graduation rate, an almost perfect score for our Cognia accreditation, our Model PLC District and School status, district and state STEM certification, Magnet Programs offered in our system, the new STEM Innovation Center, and the Esports Arena, Bartow County has a lot going on for our students."
WAY TO GO, BARTOW COUNTY: Our new Wellness Committee, with the help of all BCSS schools, provided some much-needed winter items for the kids at The Boys & Girls Club of Cartersville! Top contributors were Adairsville High School, Woodland High School, Mission Road Elementary School, Clear Creek Elementary School, Hamilton Crossing Elementary School, and Taylorsville Elementary School!
RIGHT WORK: Let's recognize our new Ms. Dot STAR Award winners for going above and beyond in their line of work. Their impact can truly be felt districtwide!
CONGRATULATIONS:
Crystal Anderson, Technology Support Specialist, BCSS
Helen Stephenson, Custodian, Allatoona Elementary School
Wendy Eubanks, Bookkeeper, Woodland Middle School
BIG WIN: Cass High School Wrestling earns the GHSA STATE DUALS TITLE! Congratulations🤼♂️🥇🎉
READY, SET, LEGO: The Chickens of the Round Table from Clear Creek Elementary School earned FIRST PLACE FOR ROBOT DESIGN at the Lumpkin County FIRST LEGO League Regional Qualifier event! Judges said the team used outstanding programming principles and solid engineering practices to develop a robot that is mechanically sound, durable, efficient, and highly capable of performing challenge missions! Congratulations to the following team members:
Aaron Goodwin
Callie Pearson
Jordan Stone
Kaidon Vu
Katie Martel
Lawson Hovarth
Madalie Furey
Mallonie Day
Mekenzie Moss
Noah Dale
COLORING OUR WORLD: The Horace Mann Companies held a nationwide calendar art contest, and guess who won third place in the region? Our very own Woodland Middle School eighth grader, Payton Davis! She received a $100 gift card from Horace Mann Representatives Jason Daniel and Lee Holman! That's not all! Payton's art teacher, Ms. Ashlyn Spurr, also received funding for a Donor's Choose art project! Just this year alone, the Horace Mann Companies funded two WMS Donor's Choose projects, totaling more than $1,100! THANK YOU & CONGRATULATIONS, PAYTON!
SCHOOL CRASHERS: Guess who crashed Kingston Elementary? Georgia United! Through the School Crashers grant program, KES was able to add two new sensory rooms this year, a sensory path, and a revamped faculty lounge!
In the sensory rooms, you'll find sensory boxes, gel floor tiles, weighted blankets, fine motor tools, and much more!
The sensory path was added to the kindergarten hallway. There, students of all ages can reset their minds and bodies by balancing, jumping, taking deep breaths, and refocusing.
This is just one more way KES is collaboratively engaging students in meaningful learning experiences and supporting students' social and emotional needs.
Only seven School Crashers grants were awarded last year, and Bartow County received two of the seven! Congratulations, KES and CMS!
ON A HIGH NOTE: Sweet sounds from Allatoona Elementary today! That's because the Atlanta Percussion Trio was there to perform two concerts for our students! Our sincere thanks to Miss Karma Goodson of Keller Williams, Northwest Realty, for sponsoring such a unique program and supporting the Arts & ALES!
PERFECT SCORES: 100's across the board on our Sanitation Scores Report! Big CONGRATULATIONS, BCSS cafés!!
GOING GREEN: Raise your hand if you knew Bartow County has one of the most outstanding 4-H clubs in Georgia? 🙋♀️
Here's proof. Highlighted in the Georgia 4-H Annual Report, you'll find the egg preparation and chicken BBQ contest (WMS/CHS), Livestock Ambassador program, project achievement, summer camps, NW District Board leadership, winning teams, and scholarship recipients ALL FROM BARTOW COUNTY 👏
NEW: Bartow County Schools will observe a two-hour delay on Wednesday, January 17, due to the extremely cold temperatures forecasted for our area. The delay will allow time to ensure all buses and facilities are fully operational and warm. For those who ride a bus, please add two hours to the time it normally arrives at your stop. Stay warm, and we look forward to seeing you tomorrow!
NEW: Due to a winter weather advisory, Bartow County Schools will be closed to students and staff tomorrow, Jan. 16, 2024. All after-school activities are also canceled.