Athens Academy Press Releases

Four Athens Academy students involved in the Upper School's media production efforts were recently invited by Dr. Steve Robinson, the president of the Southern Association of Independent Schools, to film the organization's Winter Retreat held at the Emory Conference Center in Atlanta in January. Sarah Yoder, Drew Jacoby, Jordan Richardson, and Torie Owers, along with their advisor Mike Callinan, had the opportunity to film several presentations dealing with educational trends and also met with Pat Bassett, the president of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), and Abdul Yaro, NAIS Regional Director for the southern United States.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 10:17 AM | Permalink

On January 22, eight Athens Academy teachers and administrators got an exciting first-hand look at the Ron Clark Academy, an Atlanta middle school that has earned both national and international acclaim for its innovative and highly energetic approaches to teaching and learning. Jacqueline Land, Jennifer Rorabaugh, Stefan Billmayer, Ginna Ezernack, Caroline Ridlehuber, Brenda Klein, Bob Sears, and Pat Cuneo spent the day at the school meeting with teachers and students, observing classes, and attending workshops--all just hours after students and faculty from Ron Clark had returned from Washington, DC, where they performed their song “Dear Obama” at four inaugural events.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 10:14 AM | Permalink

On Tuesday, March 3, a group of ten Upper School students, accompanied by Headmaster Bob Chambers and history teacher Beth Sensing, will leave for a ten-day trip to China as part of an international exchange program with Hangzhou High School. Seniors Amy Bruckner, Ella Douglas, William Harris, and Ginny Pylant will travel to China along with juniors Akash Agrawal, Nelson Fleming, Christian Lapp, David Millard, Jeffrey Nordgren, and Ben Terry. Dr. Ming-Jun Lai, father of Ruby ’08 and Michael ’10, will accompany the group as the main facilitator for the trip. Dr. Lai has been instrumental in the planning and organization for the group’s trip to his hometown of Hangzhou.

The group will spend their first four days in Beijing, where they will tour sites including the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, and the Forbidden City. On March 8, they will travel to Hangzhou, where they will live with local host families and study daily at Hangzhou High School. The students will learn about Chinese culture and history and will get to know students and teachers at the school. Each student will keep a journal of his or her experiences while in China, and they hope to set up a blog for family and friends at home. Their knowledge of Chinese culture will help in the transition for the group of ten Hangzhou students who will visit Athens Academy in August 2009 as part of the international exchange.

The student travelers began meeting last November to gain basic knowledge to help them be respectful guests and good ambassadors for Athens Academy. The meetings have helped students learn more about Chinese culture and civilization and to gain perspective on China’s aspirations and role in the modern world.

Through academics, club activities, service, and travel abroad, Athens Academy continues to offer its students opportunities to develop the requisite knowledge and experience to contribute to an increasingly complex global community. According to Associate Headmaster J.P. Watson, “Opportunities like our China Exchange, where we not only see the sights but are truly engaged with the people of a nation and culture other than our own, will continue to provide our students the experience necessary to create greater cultural understanding.”

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 4:35 PM | Permalink

Congratulations to Athens Academy Upper School band students Esther Deaton, Eric Perkerson, Aneet Patel, Tavish Gantz, and Shida Chen, who were selected to perform at the UGA January High School Band Festival. Their performances in Hugh Hodgson Hall in the UGA Performing Arts Center will occur on Sunday, January 18. These free concerts begin at 11:30 a.m. and run until 5:00 p.m. and are open to the public.
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Based on his December audition, senior Eric Perkerson was selected to play first chair flute in the Georgia Music Educator's District #13 Clinic Band, which will perform in the sanctuary of Smokerise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain on February 21 at 2:00 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public.
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Congratulations to Middle School band students Jessica Gross, Taylor Payne, Rebecca Edison, Jason Fern, Nick Rorabaugh, Max Ruston, and Zoe Brewster. They will perform in the Georgia Independent School Association’s Middle School All-Select Band concert in Macon in the theatre at Tatnall Square Academy at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, February 8. This concert is also free.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 11:34 AM | Permalink

Students and faculty from Athens Academy’s SEEDS environmental club volunteered at the Keep Athens-Clark County Beautiful “Bring One for the Chipper” event in January. David Cason, Alejandro Clark, Della Cummings, Maddie Dahl, Margaret Heald, Mira Schweppe-Figueira, Jon Wilson, and Christina Zhang worked with club sponsors Dr. Lawrence Stueck and Mrs. Sally Harris to help collect Christmas trees to be chipped and recycled into mulch. This is the fifth year that Athens Academy has been involved with the event, during which over 18 tons of Christmas trees were recycled.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 10:32 AM | Permalink

Blake Sinyard Named DAR Good Citizen
Athens Academy senior Blake Sinyard has been selected as the 2008 DAR Good Citizen for the Reverend John Andrews Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Oconee County. After Blake was chosen by the faculty and her fellow seniors as the 2008 DAR Good Citizen for Athens Academy, her essay went on to win the Oconee County chapter’s essay competition. The Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizens Committee “recognizes and rewards high school seniors who possess good citizenship qualities of dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism in their homes, schools, and communities. Each award is given on a merit basis including completion of a questionnaire, essay, scholastic record, and a letter of recommendation.”

Everett Young Named Morehead-Cain Scholarship Finalist
Senior Everett Young has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious Morehead-Cain Scholarship from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Everett was one of only 70 students selected from over 1,700 out-of-state applicants. The Morehead-Cain Foundation seeks students who are “dynamic leaders in their schools and communities. Successful candidates will rank near the top of their class academically and exert positive and meaningful influence in non-academic areas.”

Will Harris Named Football Scholar Athlete
Athens Academy senior Will Harris has been named the Region 8A Football Scholar Athlete by the Georgia High School Association and will be competing with the other 39 region winners from all classifications for a scholarship sponsored by the Atlanta Chapter of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

McKay Matthews State Finalist in Wendy’s High School Heisman Competition
Senior McKay Matthews made it to the state finals of the Wendy’s High School Heisman competition. He was selected as one of 20 finalists from across the state. This award honors students who excel in academics, athletics, and student leadership.

Student & Teacher Honored by Rotary
Athens Academy senior Emily Rea was named the Oconee County Rotary Student for the fall semester. Based on Rotary’s motto, “Service Above Self,” this award is given to students who have excelled in the classroom while giving of themselves generously in the community. Emily selected Thom Beaulieu as her Rotary Teacher for his influence on her life at Athens Academy. The two were recognized at the November meeting of the Rotary Club of Oconee County.

HOBY Representative Selected
Sophomore Jane Robbins Mize has been selected as Athens Academy’s representative to the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Seminar. Jane Robbins will participate in the Georgia seminar at Berry College from June 12-14.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 12:15 PM | Permalink

Eight fifth and sixth graders from Athens Academy’s “Sparbots” robotics team traveled to Conyers Middle School on Saturday, December 6, to compete in an FIRST (For Recognition of Science & Technology) Lego League tournament. Over the past several months, students met twice a week after school to design, build, and program a robot to run autonomously on a challenging obstacle course. During the tournament, their robot had three attempts to score points by completing challenges on the course. The students also performed a skit demonstrating what they learned while conducting research on this year’s theme, “Climate Connections.” For their skit, the students chose drought as the most obvious local climatic concern. Several panels of judges graded the Sparbots on robotics design, research presentation, table/information display, and overall professionalism. The Sparbots garnered a second-place trophy for overall teamwork and had a great time meeting students from fifteen other schools. To learn more about the FIRST Lego League, visit www.usfirst.org.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 12:13 PM | Permalink