CASA of Cherokee County Receives Innovative Program Award of Excellence Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Cherokee County, a program of The Childrens Haven, recently received the 2019 Innovative Program Award of Excellence from Georgia CASA for innovative practices in volunteer recruitment, retention, and appreciation. We are proud to recognize The Childrens Haven, home of CASA of Cherokee County, as the recipient of the 2019 Innovative Program Award of Excellence for their deliberate and creative volunteer recruitment and engagement efforts that have resulted in dramatic increases in the number of volunteers serving children, said Jennifer King, executive director at Georgia CASA.With the help of a Georgia CASA grant, CASA of Cherokee County launched intensive volunteer recruitment and engagement efforts. The program leveraged volunteer and board member connections to diversify awareness and recruitment efforts. Target groups were identified while board members, volunteers, and staff developed attainable recruitment activities and goals. The campaign was a success with a 30% increase in volunteers, resulting in 131 active CASA volunteers. After building up the volunteer base, CASA of Cherokee County turned its focus to volunteer engagement and commitment. The organization incorporated various immersion activities, including tours of local group homes and service providers in addition to intimate conversations between CASA volunteers and community leaders. CASA of Cherokee County also hosted relevant in-service trainings to ensure volunteers are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to best serve children in foster care, and CASA 2 CASA Connections engaged volunteers in roundtable discussions on a regular basis. CASA volunteers were invited to become further involved in the organization by participating with program and event committees.Our organization could not complete the work of serving children in Cherokee County without our caring and dedicated volunteers and The Childrens Haven staff, said Lewis Cline, board chair of The Childrens Haven. This recognition by Georgia CASA is a testament to our staff, as they strive to recruit the best volunteers and engage with them regularly to further the goals of long-term retention and serving more children. CASA is a nationwide and statewide organization of community volunteers who provide compassionate, one-on-one attention to children experiencing foster care. For more information about CASA of Cherokee County, visit CASACherokee.org or call 770-345-3274. For more information about The Childrens Haven, visit CherokeeChildrensHaven.org.
WellStar Cherokee Health Park at Holly Springs Now Open Designed with families in mind, the new, state-of-the-art, four-story, 112,000-square-foot Wellstar Cherokee Health Park at Holly Springs will provide Cherokee County residents with high quality services close to home. Patients have access to primary care services including family medicine, pediatrics, and OB/GYN, plus a variety of medical specialties. The facility is also home to an urgent care center, imaging center, sleep center, cardiac diagnostics, lab outreach services, and OrthoSport physical therapy.
Super Results for Travis Manion Heros Run Fundraiser More than 100 runners hit the pavement in the 2019 Travis Manion Heros Run 5K & 1-mile fun run. In addition, nearly 40 ruckers and over 60 local volunteers contributed to the events success. The run raised more than $5,000 for the Travis Manion Foundation, opening the door for this event to become an annual fundraiser for years to come.The Travis Manion Foundations mission is to empower veterans and the families of fallen heroes to develop character in future generations. This fall, the foundation will once again host Operation Legacy service projects in dozens of communities, where participants will come together to give back in honor of fallen heroes while serving the greatest needs of local communities. To learn more about how you can get involved, visit TravisManion.org.
Jones Building Wins 2019 Best Facade Rehab Award The City of Canton was recently awarded the 2019 Best Facade Rehabilitation Project at the Georgia Downtown Association Conference in recognition of the renovations made to the historic Jones Mercantile Building in downtown Canton.In October 2017, selective interior demolition, a new roofing system, and exterior renovation work were completed. Over $2 million has been invested in the facade of the building to transform it back to its original 1879 beauty.
Sequoyah HS Teacher Earns Prestigious Fulbright Award Sequoyah High School English teacher Elaine Dasher was recently selected by the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board to receive a Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Grant. She is one of only 76 teachers nationwide to earn the prestigious award this year.Recipients are selected based on their academic and professional achievement and demonstrated leadership potential. Fulbright is synonymous with excellence in education, as is Ms. Dasher, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian V. Hightower said. Were so proud of this achievement and know she will gain important knowledge to share both in her classroom and with her colleagues.The year-long professional development opportunity offers recipients the opportunity to develop skills to prepare students for a competitive global economy through professional development and international field experience. Dasher will attend the Global Education Symposium in Washington, D.C., in January, travel next summer to a country yet to be determined, and produce a capstone project.Fulbright is the U.S. governments flagship international educational exchange program, designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries, according to the State Department. Prominent Fulbright alumni include Nobel Peace Prize recipients, Presidential Medal of Freedom winners, and Nobel Laureates.
Jan Rooney State Farm Wins Kindness Revolution Award The Kindness Revolution, a national not-for-profit with a mission to raise the awareness of values surrounding kindness, recently honored the Jan Rooney State Farm Agency for being the Community Kindness Champion for Canton.The Jan Rooney State Farm Agency distributes wristbands to local elementary and middle schools imprinted with The Kindness Revolution and Its Cool 2B Kind. When staff at the schools observe students displaying an act of kindness, courtesy, or respect, they give those students two wristbands. One wristband is for the student to wear; the other is for the student to give to someone they see acting in a kind or thoughtful manner. The program has been popular among teachers and parents, Rooney said. Kindness Revolution wristbands are available from the Jan Rooney State Farm Agency at 7768 Cumming Highway, Suite 400, in Canton.
Thousands of Educators Gather for Ed Talks Before the school year began, Cherokee County School District educators gathered together as a whole for the first time in 26 years.Nearly 3,000 educators, administrators, and other staff attended the first CCSD Ed Talks professional development session. The two-hour program, entitled A Celebration of Teaching and Learning, included brief remarks by Superintendent Dr. Brian V. Hightower and a keynote address by nationally renowned educator, speaker, and Bold School author Weston Kieschnick. Both spoke about the importance of relationships and social and emotional learning (SEL).Dr. Hightower said the national movement in support of SEL is exciting and inspiring. Students emotional and mental health and well-being should be valued as much as their academic success.When I was a teacher, it was all about teaching to the whole child, he said, noting that public education then was overtaken by demands for more and more testing and increased pressure to improve those results. Were talking about the whole child again, and its so awesome. Kids are not data points. Our kids are so much more.Kieschnick, who taught high school for 15 years before beginning his full-time career as an author and speaker, emphasized the importance of building positive relationships with students to encourage success. As part of his session, he outlined 12 classroom strategies and encouraged interaction among audience members. Our character manifests itself in the words we say to kids, said Kieschnick. There is an incredible amount of power in a single sentence.
Cherokee HS Student Ranked Nationally for Career Skills Cherokee High School rising senior Austin Ledbetter competed at the SkillsUSA National contest this summer in Louisville, Kentucky, and now is ranked No. 5 in the nation in collision repair technology. Students who earned gold at their state SkillsUSA competition were invited to the national event to test their hands-on career skills.Austin, who is a student of Cherokee HS automotive teacher Mike Hagan, prepared for the competition throughout the spring with training support from various local shops and Matt Beard of the Metro Atlanta Automobile Association. Contestants must demonstrate their ability to perform tasks set by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and the ASE Education Foundation including metal straightening, attachment methods, plastic repair, and structural analysis. They are judged on overall appearance of the finished product, speed, and proper safety practices. Students also complete written tests on estimating, structural analysis, and ASE knowledge, as well as fill out a job application, present a resume, and participate in mock interviews.After graduation, Austin plans to attend Universal Technical Institute, for which he already has earned scholarships, and then pursue a career in the collision repair industry.
Disney Movie Marathon Comes to Canton Theatre Cant make it to Disney World for fall break? Enjoy a marathon of all your favorite Disney movies with showings at 10:00am and 2:00pm. Each day will feature a special royal guest, who will be available for a meet-and-greet and photos. Sept. 23 Moana Sept. 24 Beauty and the Beast Sept. 25 Aladdin (live action) Sept. 26 The Little Mermaid Day-of-show tickets to individual films are $3 and go on sale one hour before showtime at the historic Canton Theatre box office (171 E. Main Street). Concessions will also be available. All tickets are general admission, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, call 770-704-0755.
CCSD Earns State Award for Outstanding Service to Special Needs Students CCSD Adaptive Technology (AT) specialist Hollis Grabrovac and Debbie Brinneman, retired AT support, were presented with the Georgia Department of Educations Excellence in AT Service Delivery Award at its summer IDEAS Conference. The award recognizes an organization, local education agency, or local school for excellence in coordinating AT services, innovation in development and implementation, and lasting impact on the students served.
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