Two Da Vinci Students go to Nationals

Hundreds of students from more than 40 schools all across Georgia met at Macon State College on Saturday May 1st for National History Day in Georgia. Students qualified at regional competitions and twelve students from Da Vinci Academy attended. Students compete individually or in groups within five categories: websites, documentaries, performances, or exhibits. Ian Cundiff took first place in Individual Performances and Katie Dionne received second place—also in Individual Performances. Ian and Katie will be going to National History Day in Washington D.C. in June to compete with teams from all over the world.

Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA)

The Georgia chapter of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) holds an annual career day on the second Tuesday of April.  As part of this event they award the Thomas Mettille Student Achievement Award to deserving students for projects utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in three categories: K-12, Undergraduates and Graduate students.  First and second place awards are given to students selected by the Georgia URISA board members in each category. Da Vinci Academy Middle School students took both first and second in the K-12 competition.  Logan Allen took 1st by creating a Hall County map with school district lines that contained both ELA and Math CRCT data based on elementary and middle school districts.  Chad Newstrom placed second with his thematic population map of Hall County that included emergency response locations (fire stations, medical facilities, and hospitals).

NHMS February 2010 Newsletter
NHMS February 2010 Newsletter

NHMS January 2010 Newsletter
NHMS January 2010 Newsletter

NHMS December 2009 Newsletter
NHMS December 2009 Newsletter

NHMS October 2009 Newsletter
NHMS October 2009 Newsletter

NHMS September 2009 Newsletter
NHMS September 2009 Newsletter

NHMS August 2009 Newsletter
NHMS August 2009 Newsletter

The Rain Barrel

I am so very proud of the NHMS's Directed Studies' class' rain barrel. This project has turned in to a major collaborative effort-Laura Tucker (our wonderful Art Teacher) guided several of her students 6, 7, and 8th graders to help. The D.S. class wanted the rain barrel to be used in Ms. Cumming's SAVE club's bog garden. Isaac Jackson (DS Student) wrote the poem about the rain barrel in the bog garden. But, since it has turned out so beautiful-we now want to raffle it. (Also to promote water conservation). We have decided that all of the proceeds will be divided between the NHMS Directed Studies class (for enrichment activities), The Art Department, and the SAVE club of NHMS. I am happy that three different departments will benefit from the sale of this beautiful rain barrel. I have attached more photos. Check out the one with the hawk.

Click Here to Read The Rain Barrel Poem

World OM Competition

Above Photo: Martin Team Members Left to Right-Carson Lee, Amanda Rockenbach, Jake Smith, Abbey Cantrell, Dylan Barron, Cody Blystone, and Daniel Torre

Davis Middle Principal Eddie Millwood and Martin Elementary Principal Tamara Ettinger have announced that teams from Davis Middle and Martin Elementary are bound for the 2009 Odyssey of the Mind World Championships to be held May 27-30, 2009 at Iowa State University. At this world event, they will be competing against students representing 100 different countries.

Both the Davis and Martin teams finished 2nd in the ‘Shock Wave’ category at the State Odyssey of the Mind Championships held on April 4, 2009 at Columbus State College. The main objective of the Shock Wave project was to build a 19 gram maximum structure from balsa wood that would take weight being dropped on it (thus, the “shock wave”). The Martin team structure held 685 pounds and the Davis team’s a whopping 960 pounds.

The Davis team, coached by Amy Kellogg, Joel Cantrell and Laura Seabolt, includes Maddison Sharp, Joey Miller, Steven Porter, Zac Kellogg, Nick Cantrell, and Jennifer Keller. The Martin team members, coached by Kim Carroll, Tommy Carroll and Danica Pruitt, include Dylan Barron, Cody Blystone, Abbey Cantrell, Carson Lee, Amanda Rockenbach, Jake Smith, and Daniel Torres.

Each year many schools in the United States and many other countries participate in Odyssey of the Mind.  Teams of up to seven students each may decide to accept the challenge of a technical, dramatic, scientific, communications, or construction problem. The problems vary from year to year and are always offered in different age divisions.

The purpose of Odyssey of the Mind is to provide creative problem-solving opportunities for everyone and to foster original and divergent thinking.  Through the Odyssey of the Mind program, we promote creativity by challenging teams to solve divergent problems, that is, those with more than one solution.  By working in teams, participants learn teamwork, the appreciation and understanding of others, and that a group is a more powerful thinking force than an individual.  They develop a sense of self-respect and respect for others through preparatory activities such as brainstorming and role playing.

Above Photo: Davis Team Members left to right are Maddison Sharp, Joey Miller, Steven Porter, Zac Kellogg, Nick Cantrell, and Jennifer Keller.

For additional information, please contact the coaches:
Davis coaches: Joel.Cantrell@hallco.org
Martin coaches: Kim.Carroll@hallco.org; Danica.Pruitt@hallco.org

National History Day Competition

South Hall Middle School students whose projects won at the regional National History Day competition in Athens. These students will be going to the state competition in Macon. South Hall Middle School won more awards at the regional competition than any other school in NE Georgia!

National History Day celebrates historical events and people around the world through a themed competition each year and is sponsored in Georgia by the Georgia Humanities Council. South Hall Middle School students want to thank Glen Kyle of the Northeast Georgia History Center for his help and encouragement with the projects this year. The winning projects are in the categories of Performances, Documentary Films, and Websites.

Left to Right are: Paxton Davis, Caitlin Parsons, Destin Poole, Jessica Collier, Brecken Lawler, J.D. Ross, Danish Roshan, and Asher Griffith.

Juggernaut, DS Class with Jeramy

In keeping with the Honors Directed Studies spring-semester theme of communication, students were visited by a performing Young American, Jeramy Lewis, who shared how music is truly the universal language. Jeramy has been on tour with the Young Americans and has performed all over the world. He taught the students a "stomp dance" and played with Directed Studies percussionists.

NHMS Students learn about NASA's Apollo Space Missions

North Hall Middle School Directed Studies Students enjoyed learning about NASA’s Apollo space missions from a primary source. Mr. Paul Krippner, PE, gave a first-hand account of his work as an engineer with Grumman Aircraft/Aerospace where he worked on the lunar module. He later became Grumman’s Project Engineer at the Johnson Manned Space Center in Houston, TX.

Students enjoyed learning about the engineering behind the Apollo missions. Mr. Krippner shared original NASA photos taken from various missions and authentic NASA models and documents. Students even looked at the blueprints of the lunar module.

Honors Directed Studies teacher Kathy Mellette stated: “We learned about the physics behind the incredible feat of landing on the moon. I know that in our class are future engineers and physicists, and I can only imagine what they will accomplish!”

Hall County Essay Winner for Water Use It Wisely Contest

Victoria Rogers, North Hall Middle School, is the Hall County winner in the sixth annual water conservation and preservation essay contest, sponsored by the Clean Water Campaign and the Water Use It Wisely Campaign. County winners receive a Clean Water Campaign / Water Use It Wisely certificate presented by an elected official from that county and a $25 cash prize.

The Clean Water Campaign and Water Use It Wisely teamed up to encourage children to address the growing need to improve water quality and conservation efforts in Georgia. Students researched and shared their thoughts on why conserving water and preventing water pollution are important for the future of their river, lakes and streams. The main goal of this program is to encourage students to create inventive solutions to water conservation and water quality in metro North Georgia.

In her essay, Rogers says, “After participating in the Rivers’ Alive Clean Up, I saw first hand what pollution can do to our water supply….I guess what I am trying to say is, water IS a big deal. If we keep treating it the way we have been, we are going to run out." The contest was open to sixth, seventh and eighth graders in Bartow, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Paulding, Rockdale and Walton counties. Each participating school submitted its winning essay for the county competition, and one overall winner was selected from among the county winners.