School News

Fall Semester Kicks Off at Kennesaw State

Kennesaw State University (KSU) recently opened its newest residence hall for more than 500 first-year students, just in time for the start of the fall semester.

President Kathy Schwaig joined others in the campus community to cut the ribbon for The Summit, a 105,202-square-foot residence hall overlooking the south end of the Kennesaw campus. The new hall features two-bedroom double suites with shared common spaces, a large lobby area and study spaces on each floor. Tours of the five-story building followed the ceremony.

The Summit, which began construction in early 2021, is the 10th residence hall on the Kennesaw and Marietta campuses and brings the number of students living on campus to about 6,000. Eighteen resident assistants and one live-in professional staff member will reside in the building.

When fall semester began Aug. 15, KSU welcomed more than 43,000 students on the first day of classes, a slight increase over fall 2021.

The semester kicked off the night before with the First-Year Convocation, an annual tradition formally welcoming freshmen to campus, followed by a festival-style event with food, music and games. On the first day, students were invited to enjoy the First Day of School Cake tradition held on the Kennesaw and Marietta campuses. Students were greeted with a sweet treat and had the opportunity to create their own KSU mascot in the Stuff-An-Owl tradition.

Volunteers gather for a recent cleanup day at Pine Mountain Middle School’s memorial garden.

Memorial Garden Refreshed

The Rotary Club of North Cobb and the Kennesaw Mountain High varsity volleyball team teamed up recently to refresh the Pine Mountain Middle School (PMMS) Memorial Garden in Kennesaw.

The garden was created in 1985 as a tribute to students and employees who had died. It was rededicated during the 2004-05 school year to honor Jack Hensley, a PMMS substitute teacher and parent who was one of three hostages kidnapped and killed while working in Iraq in 2004. Since then, other beloved individuals from the school have been memorialized at the garden.

The garden became overgrown during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Rotary Club and volleyball team — with help from some local businesses — spent a day clipping, cutting, raking, pulling weeds, pressurewashing structures and spreading mulch.

Phase 2 of the project will be completed soon. The pergola, benches and table will be painted by Kennesaw State University students, new plants will be installed, and additional mulch will be spread by Home Depot volunteers. A rededication is being planned.

The school needs help from the community to uncover some of the garden’s lost history. Anyone who would like to provide information to add to the history or to help with the second phase of the refresh, contact Principal David Nelson at David.Nelson@ cobbk12.org.

Kennesaw Mountain High varsity volleyball players, from left, Milana Thornton, Phoebe Whitaker, Brooke Rowlette and captain Cydney Burnett help clean up the memorial garden.

From left, Cobb Schools Director of Athletics Don Baker, softball coach Angela Lack, KMHS Athletic Director Philip Matthews and Principal Nathan Stark.

Kennesaw Mountain Staff News

Two staff members from Kennesaw Mountain High School (KMHS) were recognized recently for their achievements.

Fastpitch softball coach Angela Lack was the first female recipient of the new Coach of the Month award started this year by the Cobb Schools’ athletic department to highlight the great work coaches do every day. A male and female coach will be honored each month. Lack, who was the August winner, is in her first year as head coach of the Lady Mustangs. The inaugural winner received a complimentary one-night stay at Aloft Atlanta at the Battery and dinner from Good Game Atlanta.

KMHS paraprofessional Rebecca Muller was one of 165 employees who retired during the past year to be honored at a luncheon hosted by the school district last month. Muller served 44 years, making her one of the longest-serving employees to retire last year. The new retirees had a total of 3,673 years of combined service.

Never Forget: School Remembers 9/11

To mark the 21st anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Kennesaw Mountain High’s Navy JROTC coordinated a remembrance ceremony at the school’s flagpole for the student body last month.

Sophomore Anja Remolina spoke these somber words as her fellow JROTC cadets prepared to raise the flag during the ceremony:

“On that day 21 years ago, America was changed forever. History books were rewritten, and families were never the same again. Innocent people lost their lives, and brave first responders sacrificed everything to make sure they saved American lives. Twenty-one years ago, families lost sons, daughters, mothers and fathers. Nothing would fill the void in these families’ lives, but with us gathering here today, we show these families that we will never forget, and their loved ones will always be remembered. By us coming together today and putting on this ceremony, we show America’s spirit will never be broken. We will always show hope, faith and resilience.”

Local first responders, U.S. service members and veterans stood among the silent crowd of high school students who were born after the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001.

Seniors Named National Merit Semifinalists

Six seniors from Harrison High School and four seniors from Kennesaw Mountain High School were among the 16,000 semifinalists named in the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

These academically gifted students, representing less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors, will compete for 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million next spring. About 15,000 semifinalists are expected to advance to the finalist level and will be notified of their status in February. About half the finalists will win a scholarship and earn the Merit Scholar title. Winners of the various scholarships will be announced between April and July.

Semifinalists from Harrison are Matthew Amante, Carlton Anderson, Katherine Calhoun, Karan Jaitly, Jack Lakis and Austin Smith. Kennesaw Mountain’s semifinalists are David Chan, Kenneth Doan, Anahita Kanga and Lucas Kim.

High school juniors entered the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2021 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screening.

Mount Paran Coach Reaches Milestone

Mount Paran Christian (MPC) varsity volleyball coach Selina Chancy has reached her 350th win during her tenure as head coach of the Lady Eagles.

Chancy has spent her entire coaching career with MPC. During her tenure, her Selina Chancy teams have won two state titles, one state runnerup title, five area championships and two Cobb County championships. She received the Marietta Daily Journal Cobb County Coach of the Year Award in 2018 and 2021, as well as the A/AA Private Coach of the Year Award in 2018.

The coach also is a high school English teacher who has been in the profession for more than a decade, having earned her bachelor’s degree in English education, with a minor in coaching, from Kennesaw State University.