School News

Donation Helps Pine Mountain Students

The Rotary Club of North Cobb, the Kennesaw Police Department (KPD) and the Kennesaw Police Citizen Advisory Board recently presented a Family Stabilization Impact Grant to Pine Mountain Middle School. Provided on behalf of Chief Bill Westenberger’s citizen review board, the grant will support the school’s student services team, which assists students and families in need. Funds were raised at the Juneteenth Unity in the Community Celebration, hosted by the KPD and advisory board last summer. The Rotary Club, along with local faithbased institutions and businesses, also was instrumental in helping with the donation.

Evelia Hormes hosted the table for Mexico, which featured Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) crafts, Mexican hot chocolate and other tasty treats.

School Celebrates Diversity at Culture Fest

Mount Paran Christian School recently hosted Culture Fest, a biennial international celebration that featured food, music, art, cultural traditions and activities from nearly 20 cultures represented by the school’s community, including Belgium, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, England, France, Greece, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Scotland, Sweden, Thailand and Venezuela. Other activities included crafts for children, such as making an African hat, a sombrero, a maraca or a Chinese drum, as well as a photo booth and bagpipe performances.

Mount Paran cheerleaders show off the trophies they won for their 11th consecutive state championship.

Cheer Squad Earns Record Championship

The Mount Paran Christian Eagles competition cheer squad earned its recordbreaking 11th consecutive Georgia High School Association (GHSA) cheerleading state championship — fittingly enough on the 11th day of the 11th month — after moving up to Class 2A and welcoming an entirely new coaching team of McKenzie Rutan, Shelley Ray and Nikki Hamilton. The squad is the only team in the state, across any regional class, to win 11 consecutive cheer titles. It also has the most consecutive GHSA state championships for any sport in Cobb County and is second in most consecutive titles in the state in any sport.

Local Students Win Art Contest

Three students from Durham and Lost Mountain middle schools were among the winners of Cobb’s waterSmart waterArt calendar contest. Maddux C. from Durham and Sam D. and Penelope R. from Lost Mountain have their work featured on the October, May and November pages, respectively, of the 2023 calendar produced by the Cobb County Water System (CCWS) and Cobb CountyMarietta Water Authority. The art, which was judged on creativity, relevance and artistic ability, depicts how each student interpreted the question, “How Is Water Important to Me?” The calendar is available, while supplies last, at the CCWS customer service lobby, 660 South Cobb Drive, Marietta. The winning artwork can be viewed at https://bit. ly/3Q0uTDj.

Harrison High School was recognized recently by the Cobb County Board of Education for earning the district’s STEM certification, which recognizes schools that provide students with STEM-enriched learning opportunities and are committed to helping students cultivate the criticalthinking and problem-solving skills necessary for future success in STEMrelated college and career fields.

Students at Mount Paran present the flags of the U.S. military branches.

Attending the presentation were, front from left, Jennifer Nelson, Christine Morris, Henry Hene and Darion Dunn; and, back from left, George Davis, Bion Jones, Nita Willard, Mike O’Brien and Jackie Willard.

Mount Paran Celebrates Veterans Day

More than 1,300 students, faculty, staff and invited guests gathered for the annual Veterans Day Chapel at Mount Paran Christian School to honor those who have served in the armed forces.

The schoolwide event featured the veterans procession, a choral performance of the “Armed Forces Medley,” a slideshow and an inspirational message on hope, faith and love from guest speaker Rob Swartwood, a 2001 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy. A combat veteran, with multiple overseas tours, including Afghanistan and Iraq, he was a two-time recipient of the Bronze Star and was honorably discharged from the Army as a captain in 2008.

NCCS Principal Megan Strange, left, and MPCS Principal Tawanna Rusk.

Two Teams of Eagles Tackle Breast Cancer

North Cobb Christian School (NCCS) and Mount Paran Christian School (MPCS) joined forces to raise more than $10,800 for Sisters by Choice, an Atlantabased nonprofit that supports breast cancer patients, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As an incentive, both high school principals, Megan Strange from NCCS and Tawanna Rusk from MPCS, agreed that the principal of the school that raised the most money could throw a pie in the other principal’s face during halftime of the MPCS-NCCS football game. And if more than $10,000 was raised collectively, both principals would take a pie to the face, which is what ended up happening, since students exceeded the goal.

Scholarship Established at Chattahoochee Tech

Habitat for Humanity recently presented a $5,000 donation to the Chattahoochee Tech Foundation to establish a scholarship in memory of Habitat volunteer Mike Willard, who died in March at age 79. Willard built high-quality homes in the Atlanta area and did volunteer work with Habitat that included teaching young people how to swing a hammer.

The scholarship will support Chattahoochee Technical College’s mission of preparing students for the local workforce in highdemand career fields, including construction.