Magnet Times

The North Cobb School for International Studies Coordinator's Blog

Posted by magnet on March 14, 2012

We have had several big events of late, starting with our senior presentations on the 28thof February.  Every NCHS Magnet senior who presented earned a passing score from the committee of judges.  Judges were particularly complimentary about the level of focus in this year’s candidates.  Projects were narrow enough to be researchable, and results were valid.

Earning marks of distinction were the following 12thgraders:
Sarah Geil, Larissa Mapua, Emily Priborkin, Morgan Delhey, Jared Wallace, Tyler Lapointe, Mikaila Minott, Danielle Ereddia, Bethany Hailstone, Chrissy Brimmage, Rachel Burgener, Jane Jeong, Bradley Stephens, Adhiti Bandlamudi, Renata Bareza, Ebony Lowery, Alyssa Waldrop, Eric Hearn, Walker Loucks, Natalie Wynn, Cole Moore, Luisa Botelho, Maria Hawkins, Ryan Nichols, Chelsea Beimfohr, Amber Heibeck, James Jackson, Caity Szalay, Tyler McIntosh, Ben Seyoum.

Our Spring Magnet Meet and Greet for Accepted 8th graders was this past Thursday evening.  By all accounts, it was a great success. We had six wonderful student speakers, Yessennia Velez, Graham Husband, Amber Reeves, Caity Szalay, and Sarah Geil, and we had about 45 of our students serve as “ambassadors” by hosting our rising 9thgraders through a short tour.  We heard wonderful words about how poised and personable our ambassadors were, and as always I’m left with the understanding that the best advocates for our program are our wonderful students themselves.

Four Year Planning for Magnet 9thGraders:
Dr. Shropshire and I are visiting 9thGrade Magnet classroomsthis week to help create the 4 year plan for their schedules.  While the four year plan is very preliminary and subject to adjustment going forward, it’s very helpful for students and parents to have a visual of what the academic schedule will look like over the next three years.  There is a two-step process involved:

  1. Students create a four year plan in school on Wednesday, 3/15 and take copies of their plans home along with an appointment time for parents consults.
  2. Parents (if they would like) will meet with Magnet staff during scheduled appointments on March 20thand 21st.

AP Test registrations:
We’re down to one more week to collect payments for this May’s AP exams.  Please encourage your child to bring payment to my office or to Ms. Epps in Admin 1.  Students receiving free/reduced lunch through the federal assistance program will have one test provided free of charge by the state.  You must complete a fee waiver form, which can be found in my office, to qualify.

China Bridge Trip Information is IN!
Our China Bridge trip information and applications packets are available, and I am attaching them to this newsletter.  All current 9th through 11thgrade magnet students as well as rising 9thgraders are eligible to participate.  The trip is two full weeks at the end of July.  Students will visit Beijing and a province of focus.  What’s perhaps most amazing about the trip is the cost, which is primarily transportation only, with the China Hanban and Confucius Institute funding the lodging, board, and travel within China.

Please forward applications back to my office, so that I can submit them altogether to our liaison at KSU.  I am personally excited to attend, and I hope to have a large group of Warriors along with me!

Magnet Evening Events:
We are planning two evening events at Northstar Church.

  • On the evening of April 16th we will have an event for our 9th and 10th graders.  There will be a dinner catered, but we will need to collect RSVPs  and money to off-set the costs.  We would like to give our underclassmen a semi-formal dinner and to recognize them in a non-competitive, but meaningful manner.
  • The next evening, April 17th we will have an event for our 11th and 12th graders.  We will recognize the colleges that our seniors have chosen, as well as (per tradition) allow members of our graduating class to recognize a faculty member who has made a difference in their NCHS experience.  Juniors will be invited as well, and we plan to recognize the research projects that each junior has worked on as well as “pass the baton” so to speak from graduating class to our rising seniors.  This event will be desert and light refreshments only.

Attendance at these events is not required, but I feel that some recognition within the program of our fine students is warranted, and I encourage all to attend.  We need to do this in April because May is filled with AP tests, finals, and graduating!  More details will follow very soon.

Points of Pride: 

Senior Sarah Geil was recently featured in the Marietta Daily Journal, regarding the publication of her fine research (seehttp://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/17782299/article-North-Cobb-senior-has-paper-published-in-Harvard-journal?instance=secondary_story_left_column)

Senior Larissa Mapua was featured in the Acworth Patch for her outstanding performance at the Georgia College Performance Competition for Strings.  Here is the link to the article:  http://kennesaw.patch.com/articles/north-cobb-student-wins-music-competition#photo-9280419

Model United Nations went to KSU last week and emerged with some outstanding awards.  These students represent the ideals of our program so very well, and I’m personally extremely proud of their accomplishments last week!
Best Delegation and the Helen S. Ridley Cup for Outstanding Delegation at the KSUMUN

France represented by:

Walker Loucks        

Allie Boggess         

Magnolia Triplett   

Graham Husband  

Megan Kriss           

Jacob Bearden       

Megan Sonner        

Daniel Bozeman                    

Jeel Oza

David Kime

Best Delegation Pakistan represented by:

Austin Meredith

Adrianne Mino       

Nick Nasr               

Alyssa Waldrop      

Shannon Lehr         

Will O’Rourke

Position paper Awards

Amna Jamshad  Jordan IAEA

Megan Sonner France UNEP

Shannon Lehr Pakistan WHO

 

Distinguished Delegate

Graham Husband GA6 France

Nick Nasr GA3 Pakistan

Survey:  Finally, I know I already sent a message earlier today, but please take the time to complete our Foundation survey.  It’s our goal to have this functioning by the start of the 2012-2013 school year, and your participation really helps.  the link is  http://goo.gl/6qKW2 

Thanks for reading!  Happy spring, everyone.

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Belize City and Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary

Posted by magnet on February 1, 2012

A quick report on Day 1 in Belize:

Juan, one of the full time employees of the program met us at the airport and took us into Belize City for a bite to eat and a visit to the national museum.  Although small, the museum was a nice introduction to the ecology and history of the country (the museum is also built out of an old colonial prison that sits right on the Caribbean Sea).  Lunch was at a small Taiwanese place where we met Taiwanese immigrants and discussed the investment of Taiwan and mainland China into Belize.

A ride through the city followed with stops at a few schools and a fish market.  Belize City is certainly a developing world city with desperate poverty in places, but the richness of the cultural diversity is profound.  Creole, white, Mesitzo, and Asian locals are all evident.  Creole English, Garafuna, Spanish and Oxford English were heard.  Garafuna is an indigenous language of Arawak origin that I had never heard before today.

A quick pass by several schools was telling.  The schools appear to be well-regarded, in nicer condition than neighboring buildings in most cases, and the students all dressed in uniforms, some blue, some purple, some white, some yellow.  I will be speaking in coming days about the opportunity to network with a school closer to the Monkey Bay campus, about 40 miles inland of Belize City.

Monkey Bay is wonderful.  Hammocks dot the campus, rainwater is collected and used for all the showers and toilet areas, food is cooked by staff who share the origins of the food, its cultural and national significance, and dorms are clean.  A short walk around the campus provided glimpses of wild parrots.  The 1.5 mile treck to the end of the sanctuary property take us to the Sibun river and from mangrove plains down to tropical forest with howler monkeys.

Over 40% of Belize is protected, much of it through the Belize Audubon society, which I will meet with tomorrow.  They will take me through their state zoo, which features entirely native species in their natural habitats. We will also see a Mennonite community, of which there are several here in the central area of the country.

 

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Visiting Belize

Posted by magnet on January 31, 2012

I am heading to Belize to visit Monkeybay Nature Center and to survey the program that I wish to make an integral component in our magnet experience.

I will survey the program’s campus, meet members of the local community members, including students with whom our students would network, and I will participate in several of the programs available, including  a river-based rainforest ecology experience, a visit to a true indigenous Mayan village, interactions with creole, African, Mennonite European, and Hispanic populations within Belize, as well as visits to Tikal in Guatemala and the coral reef off the Belizean Coast.

I also hope to meet with university faculty or their representatives who can provide lecture and field experiences in particular areas of focus for our upper division students.

Foremost of mygoals is ensuring that the program as our students would experience it is safe, valid, and impactful.

Monkey Bay’s website is at http://www.monkeybaybelize.org/

I will post from Belize as internet service allows!

 

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International Studies Magnet

Posted by magnet on August 18, 2011

Welcome to the Magnet Coordinator’s Blog at North Cobb High School’s School for International Studies.

Obviously, a lot has changed in terms of the faces up front at NCIS Magnet in recent weeks.  Most notably, Mrs. Delhey accepted a position at the County office managing Social Science Curriculum, and Mrs. Stephanie Watts is taking care of her newborn baby daughter. 

I took over the coordinator job just over three weeks ago, and Dr. Brent Shropshire has been named our new Magnet Counselor.    Allow me to speak for us both when I say that we are honored and excited to serve the students of our International Studies Magnet.  We intend to maintain the spirit and core design of the program while endeavoring to evaluate and improve in areas that will help us serve our growing population of magnet students. 

I will be updating this blog regularly, and I encourage you to visit it often.  I would like to take full advantage of the diverse talents that our Magnet parents can provide to this program in terms of volunteering, guest speaking, and many other areas to be covered soon.

Please bear with us for a few more days as I work to update our website and develop our newletter system.  In the meantime, don’t hesitate to email me at david1.stephenson@cobbk12.org, or call me at 770-975-66588, extension 301. 

I thank you for your support of our fine program, and I look forward to working with you closely to ensure the absolute finest high school experience for your child.

Mr./Coach Stephenson

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