Athens Academy Press Releases

The Athens Academy drama department is proud to present this year’s One Act Play, This Side Up, written by alumna Kendall Sherwood. A member of the Class of 2005, Kendall majoring in theatre at Clemson University and is currently in Ireland, working with Boston University’s Dublin Internship Program.
This Side Up will be performed at the One Act Competition at the Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School in Rabun Gap on November 6. The show will run on the Athens Academy campus November 7, 8, and 10 at 7:30 p.m. Donations will benefit Project Pallam.
This Side Up was recently featured in the playwriting festival Wordbridge. “We are very happy to be producing Kendall’s play,” says Lorraine Thompson, One Act director and head of the drama department. “I fell in love with it when I saw it work-shopped this summer at the festival. I knew I wanted to do it on the Academy stage. I was thrilled when Kendall agreed to let us produce it.”
The play is a series of scenes and monologues revolving around the theme of “boxes,” including societal boxes, personal boxes, and physical boxes. “I'm thrilled that This Side Up will be having its first performance at Athens Academy,” Kendall says. “This play means a lot to me, and the drama department there means a lot to me. I really hope the cast will have an amazing time exploring the script and the message of this show. I can't wait to see what they put together!”
The company includes Billy Pate, Jake Parnell, Taylor Lavelle, Christine Shaw, Amy Bruckner, Libby Hansen, T.C Carter, Austin Condict, Montana Perry, Anne Lanier Gilbert, Jarrard Cole, Houston Mahoney, Manisha Reddy, Sophie Wasserman-Smith, Katie Kalivoda, Sarah Schacher, Chase Brantley, Rachel Sterrenberg, Ethan Trice, David Roberts, C.J. Brown, Ansley McAlister, Bridgette Duffield, Cate Jackson, Katlin Stephens, Caroline Peck, Meg Winthrop, Kathryn Woodruff, Jeffery Nordgren, Maggie Kellett, Jeremy Burgess, and Ramey Mize.
The public is invited to attend the performances on November 7, 8, and 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Presentation Hall of the Bertelsmann Building. Donations will benefit Project Pallam. For more information, please call 706-549-9225.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 10:28 AM | Permalink

Athens Academy has been named the Georgia State Champion in the President’s Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards Program for 2006-2007 school year. This marks the sixth consecutive year that Athens Academy has won this award.

“The results achieved by the students are a reflection of their hard work and the support they have received from classmates, parents, teachers, administrators, and the community as they have reached for personal excellence in the field of fitness,” says department chair and program coordinator Don Chuboff. “With much information coming from the Centers for Disease Control about the future medical difficulties associated with a lack of exercise, it’s refreshing to see so many students actively engaged in personal wellness.”

Each fall and spring Athens Academy students in grades 1-8 take part in the test which includes five events (push-ups, curl-ups, mile run, shuttle run, and sit and reach). Students scoring in the 50th percentile or higher on all five tests receive a National Fitness Award. Those students scoring in the 85th percentile or higher in all five tests receive a Presidential Fitness Award. The State Champions program is administered by President's Challenge and recognizes the school in each state in each of three divisions which has the highest percentage of students receiving a Presidential Fitness Award on the spring test. During the recently completed 2006-2007 school year Athens Academy had 44% of students who scored 85% or higher on all five tests.

Since its inception in 1966, the President’s Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards Program has challenged America’s young people to raise their activity and fitness to the next level. The Physical Fitness Test recognizes students for their outstanding level of physical fitness in five events: curl-ups or partial curl-ups, shuttle run, endurance run/walk, pull-ups or right angle push-ups, and V-sit or sit and reach.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 10:24 AM | Permalink

College Board Recognizes 5 National AP Scholars from Athens Academy

This fall, 45 members of the Athens Academy 2006-07 student body were recognized as AP Scholars by the College Board, including five members of the Class of 2007 who achieved AP National Scholar status. Helena Anderson, Lucy Fu, Sixuan David Hou, Matthew Leonard, and Chenzi Xu each qualified for National Scholar status by achieving an average grade of 4 or above on a 5-point scale on all Advanced Placement exams taken, and grades of 4 or higher on 8 or more of these exams.

Twenty-eight members of the Class of 2007, or 35 percent of the class, achieved some level of AP Scholar recognition from the College Board. Success on AP exams generally means that these students entered their first year of college having already earned credit hours. Members of the Class of 2007 have gone on to such colleges and universities as the University of Georgia, Harvard, Princeton, and Duke.

Seventeen members of the Class of 2008 were recognized, including two students who already earned Scholar with Distinction Status for last year as juniors. AP Scholars with Distinction are recognized for having achieved a score of 3 or higher on five or more exams.

National Scholars (5):
Achieved a score of 4 or higher on 8 or more exams.
Class of 2007: Helena Anderson, Lucy Fu, Sixuan David Hou, Matthew Leonard, Chenzi Xu

AP Scholars With Distinction (17):
Achieved a score of 3 or higher on five or more exams.
Class of 2007: Victoria Adams, Shub Agrawal, Philip Brudney, Sharon Covington, Nate Crawshaw, Jacqueline Derron, Thomas Johnson, Brandon Lou, Carley Moore, Allison O’Rear, Surili Sheth, Trey Sinyard, Neeraj Sriram, Cora Beth Tench, Emily Westberry
Class of 2008: Jarrard Cole, Ruby Lai

AP Scholars With Honor (8):
Achieved a score of 3 or higher on four exams.
Class of 2007: Hayley Brown, Jasmin Patel
Class of 2008: Rona Chen, Laura Keith, Sonya Rice, Kathryn Stewart, Elizabeth Trandel, Kathryn Woodruff

AP Scholars (12):
Achieved a score of 3 or higher on three exams.
Class of 2007: Joshua Deaton, Kelsey Ford, Camille Hayes, Kevin Lee, John Stovall, Paige Thomas
Class of 2008: Anand Agrawal, Charles DuBose, Nicholas Kalivoda, Rebecca Marshburn, Ramey Mize, Manisha Reddy, Max Ruppersburg, Hugh Schlesinger, Sarah Weinstein

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 10:09 AM | Permalink