Athens Academy Press Releases

U.S. Congressman Paul Broun recently announced Athens Academy graduate Amy Michel as the 10th Congressional District winner in the 2008 Congressional Art Competition, An Artistic Discovery. Congressman Broun visited the Athens Academy campus on Tuesday, May 27, to congratulate Ms. Michel.

Each spring, a nation-wide high school arts competition is sponsored by the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. This year Congressman Broun selected Ms. Michel’s charcoal and pastel sketch Dandelion. Ms. Michel is invited to attend a reception in June in Washington, D.C., and her artwork will hang in the U.S. Capitol for an entire year.

After traveling in Europe this fall, Ms. Michel plans to study art at the University of Georgia.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 10:24 AM | Permalink

Parents in Touch would like to thank everyone who recently attended the sessions for parents of rising fifth graders: “Does Your Family Have a Line in the Dirt?” and “Parents! Do You Know the Five Questions to Ask?” We had positive parent discussions and interactions following the video clips. Thanks to Mr. Bill Oliver for providing so much valuable information.

There have been many requests for future sessions, so look for more information about Parents in Touch gatherings this fall. If you have any questions, please contact Lisa Bonet (706-613-9780) or Leslie Sinyard (706-546-5783) for further information.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 8:09 AM | Permalink

Athens Academy’s Lower School recently participated in the Elementary/Middle School Foreign Language Poster Contest sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish & Portuguese (AATSP). This is contest is held each year and includes students in grades K-8 in two divisions, grades K-3 and 4-5. Students from all over the state create posters representing the importance of studying a foreign language, and winners are selected at the school and state levels. The students were presented with their certificates by Spanish teacher Mrs. Crystal Vicente at the awards ceremony in April. The 2008 contest theme was “A Window to the World.”

Athens Academy’s school-wide winners:
Category 4-5 winners: Davis Haeusser (4th grade, 3rd Place), Tesh Parris (4th grade, 2nd place), Colin Murphy (4th grade, 1st Place)

Category K-3 winners: MacKenzie Ferguson (3rd grade, 2nd Place), Sydney Williams (3rd grade, 1st place), Drew Swan (3rd grade, 3rd Place)

AATSP-GA state winners:
MacKenzie Ferguson (3rd grade, 2nd Place), Tesh Parris (4th grade, 3rd place), Colin Murphy (4th grade, 1st Place)

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 11:03 AM | Permalink

At the 20th annual Cum Laude Society lecture and induction ceremony on April 16, fifteen members of the Class of 2008 were tapped for membership. As the secondary school equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa, Cum Laude recognizes superior academic achievement and sound character. Rona Chen, Jarrard Cole, Charles DuBose, Joseph Gaines, Ken Kansky, Laura Keith, Ruby Lai, Rebecca Marshburn, Ramey Mize, Sonya Rice, Sidney Sanders, Kate Stewart, Elizabeth Trandel, Evans Wellborn, and Kathryn Woodruff were each tapped for membership.

This year’s Cum Laude speaker was Thad Hill, executive vice president of NRG Energy and president of NRG Texas. Mr. Hill is a 1986 graduate of Athens Academy.

In 1988, Athens Academy became the seventh school in Georgia to be chartered for Cum Laude. There are now eight chapters statewide.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 11:19 AM | Permalink

Seven Athens Academy seniors have been named Finalists in the 2007-2008 National Merit® Scholarship Program for their performance on last October’s PSAT/NMSQT. Rona Chen, Jarrard Cole, Audrey Glasgow, Ruby Lai, Thomas Li, Sonya Rice, and Elizabeth Trandel will continue in the competition for National Merit scholarships.

Charles DuBose, Hannah Gollin, Nick Kalivoda, Ken Kansky, Laura Keith, Ramey Mize, Hugh Schlesinger, Kate Stewart, and Kathryn Woodruff have been recognized by National Merit as Commended Students.

The National Merit® Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). Of the 1.4 million entrants, some 50,000 with the highest PSAT/NMSQT® Selection Index scores (critical reading + mathematics + writing skills scores) qualify for recognition in the National Merit® Scholarship Program. Approximately one-third of those 50,000 students are then notified that they have qualified as Semifinalists. To ensure that academically able young people from all parts of the United States are included in this talent pool, Semifinalists are designated on a state representational basis. They are the highest scoring entrants in each state. Semifinalists will be notified in early spring as to whether they have been selected as Finalists.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 10:58 AM | Permalink

Beginning April 14, the artwork of Athens Academy art teachers Lawrence Stueck and Nancy Lloyd will be on display in the Myers Gallery of the Science & Art Building on the Athens Academy campus (1281 Spartan Lane). A reception will be held in the artists’ honor on Sunday, April 27, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. in the Myers Gallery. The public is invited to attend.

The show, entitled “Cycles, Revolutions and Transitions” will feature 20 works that explore cycles: personal, societal and ecological. Dr. Stueck’s sculptures and paintings involve things that revolve. Using canvas, steel, oak, plastic, glass, cardboard, copper, pine and paint to create forms that spin, they elicit a playful response. Themes range from ludicrous to cosmic using metaphor, irony and enigmatic relationships. Ms. Lloyd’s exhibit of photographs, Polaroid transfer paintings, oil with gel transfers and a collage installation are an exploration of transitions. A sixteen-foot collage wall incorporates these methods with images inspired by a trip to Paris last summer.

Over the past 25 years, Dr. Lawrence Stueck’s installation art has been about environmental and societal issues. Dr. Stueck earned a BFA in sculpture from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, before moving to Athens, Georgia, in 1976. While working on a Ph.D. in art education at the University of Georgia, he conducted his dissertation research on the design of learning environments. Dr. Stueck taught in the art and education departments of the University of Georgia from 1996-2000. In 2000, he began teaching art at Athens Academy.

Nancy Lloyd received her master’s degree in art with an emphasis in painting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has taught art at Athens Academy for 24 years in addition to teaching watercolor in Italy with the UGA studies abroad program, painting classes through the UGA Continuing Education Department, and a workshop at the University of Arkansas. She also spent six years working in video, which included producing and scriptwriting television and video programs. Ms. Lloyd’s artwork has been displayed at the Georgia Museum of Art, the Tate Gallery, the Lee Scarfone Gallery at the University of Tampa, Meredith College, and the Palazzo Casali in Cortona, Italy.

Dr. Stueck and Ms. Lloyd’s show will run through May 29. In addition, the Bertelsmann Gallery will showcase an exhibit by Athens Academy Middle School students from April 14-May 1, and the student gallery in the Science & Art Building will have optical art projects by the senior psychology class, followed by exit shows from the senior portfolio class. For more information, please call 706-549-9225.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 9:27 AM | Permalink

The Athens Academy Academic Team placed third in the Georgia Academic Team Association (GATA) State Tournament in Dacula, Georgia, on March 8. The team, captained by Margaret Heald and supported by Hugh Schlesinger, Nick Kalivoda, and Ferris and Malik Obeidin, also took first place in the Region 8 competition. The team had four wins, with one loss during the tournament, including an exciting overtime win against the defending state champions. The state tournament is the culmination of the academic team season consisting of tournaments during which teams from across the Southeast compete against each other based upon knowledge of subjects including history, science, mathematics, art and literature. Additional members of the team were Della Cummings, Michael Lai, Kristen Turner, Bryan and David Roberts, Eric Perkerson, Elizabeth Newcomer, and Esther Deaton.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 11:29 AM | Permalink

For the third consecutive year, the Athens Academy Mock Trial team won the Northeast Georgia Regional Championship. The team won every award in every round in which they participated, and they competed against Lumpkin County High School in the final round. Senior Houston Mahoney and junior Amy Bruckner each won three Best Witness Awards, senior Jarrard Cole won three Best Lawyer Awards, sophomore Christine Shaw won two Best Lawyer Awards, and senior Ramey Mize won one Best Lawyer Award.

Athens Academy’s Mock Trial team is sponsored by Latin teacher Kelly Ryan and drama teacher Lorraine Thompson, and local attorneys Rich Connelly, Eric Eberhardt, and Ernie Harris helped to coach the team this year. Judge Ethelyn Simpson also advised the team.

The team then went on to the state tournament in March in Lawrenceville, where seniors Jarrard Cole, Houston Mahoney, Rebecca Marshburn, and Ramey Mize each received awards.

Mock Trial allows students to sharpen their speaking skills, their ability to persuade, and their knowledge of law. It also provides a unique simulation of a case actually playing out in a courtroom.

Pictured: Seniors Houston Mahoney, Ramey Mize, Rebecca Marshburn, and Jarrard Cole celebrate their hard work following the state tournament in March.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 10:59 AM | Permalink

Guest author Todd Strasser will visit Athens Academy on Friday, March 28. Mr. Strasser is the author of numerous books for middle school and teen readers, including Can't Get There from Here, Give a Boy a Gun, The Wave, and the popular Help, I'm Trapped and Here Comes Heavenly series, among many others. His books have received awards from the American Library Association and the International Reading Association, and as well as many state book awards. Boot Camp, a 2007 novel about a fifteen-year-old boy sent by his parents to a disciplinary boot camp, has just been nominated for the Georgia Peach Book Award.

The public is invited to hear Strasser speak at the Middle School assembly from 8:15-9:00 a.m. and the Upper School assembly from 10:05-10:50 a.m. Both assemblies will be conducted in the Presentation Hall of the Bertelsmann Building. Mr. Strasser will also be available to answer questions and sign books until noon. For more information, please call 706-549-9225.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 12:52 PM | Permalink

Mrs. Caroline Ridlehuber recently received the 2007 Leadership in Literacy Award, presented by the Georgia Branch of The International Dyslexia Association (IDAGA). Mrs. Ridlehuber was honored at the IDAGA annual conference in Atlanta in February.

Mrs. Ridlehuber joined the Athens Academy faculty in 1972 and has served in many leadership roles as a language arts teacher, Middle School Director, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, and currently as Academic Dean (grades PK-6). Her love of reading and her keen mission of literacy have driven her work. Throughout her career she has sought ways to enhance reading instruction and identify struggling readers, creating a culture where reading is valued and enjoyed.

The Leadership in Literacy Award honors educators who have “significantly improved adolescent literacy at his/her middle or high school; supported early intervention programs that have led to measured success at his/her school or school district; creatively engaged parents in school/home cooperative ventures to support early literacy; and supported excellent teacher training and professional development that has led to significant gains in student reading achievement in his/her school district.”

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 12:43 PM | Permalink