Recently the group of Middle School students above participated in a Math Counts competition at UGA. The group met on Friday mornings for several weeks to prepare for the event. They placed third among the ten schools present and two of the students have progressed to represent us at the state level. Congratulations to Alois Cerbu and Max Ruston who will advance and to the other great Spartans who participated: Aurora Bunten, Haidee Chen, Helen Chen, Nathan Iyer, Darshan Parikh, and Nick Rorabaugh. Thanks to Mrs. Green for leading the group!

See the top 10 finalists here.

Excerpt from the NASA website:
"For nearly 40 years, NASA astronauts have designed mission patches to symbolize their individual space missions and flight accomplishments. Carrying on this tradition, Disney Parks and NASA launched a search for the most creative mission patch design to honor Buzz Lightyear as America's first and longest-serving space ranger. After serving 15 galactic months aboard the International Space Station, the 12-inch action figure returned to Earth in September 2009, aboard space shuttle Discovery with the crew of STS-128.

Students from across the nation submitted designs and a brief essay to commemorate Buzz Lightyear's achievement. As part of the Buzz Lightyear Mission Patch Design Challenge, students had the opportunity to learn about the requirements of spaceflight and the science surrounding NASA programs, helping to create a strong understanding about the importance of space exploration."

Students have also lead the Middle School in two fundraisers which will help support the American Red Cross in their disaster relief program. Each grade has been collecting coins in gallon jugs. This will end Friday, January 29. Additionally, all Middle School students participated in a t-shirt day on Friday, January 22. Students donated money and an extra t-shirt to have their own t-shirt and jeans day. This fundraiser helped raise $711 of aid. These are two small ways our students have expressed their support for the Haitian people.

Middle School students, Will Divers, Darshan Parikh, and Max Ruston participated on the team along with Upper School students, Christopher McGahee, Caleb Dasher. The team coached by Mike Callinan will compete at the state tournament on February 20. Congratulations Sparbots and good luck!

Fifth, sixth and seventh grade students have just finished our annual Toy Drive for the Salvation Army. Footballs, board games, stuffed animals, and other toys were collected by homerooms and delivered to be distributed to needy families in the Athens area. This is an exciting and rewarding event for all involved!