School News

Cobb schools food and nutrition services team members load a parent’s van with free meal kits.

Schools Serve More Than 3.5 Million Meal Kits

Fueling student success is the mission of the Cobb Schools Food and Nutrition Services team. That mission extended beyond the school walls since the start of the 2020-21 school year, and the team has distributed more than 3.5 million meal kits to Cobb County students. That number is on top of the millions of breakfasts and lunches dished up for students learning inperson during the previous school year.

Although the 2020-21 school year technically ended in May, the Cobb team continued to serve free meal kits for students through July.

Thanks to the continued flexibility and guidance from the USDA, Cobb Schools will continue to provide breakfast and lunches at no cost to all in-person students for the 2021-22 school year.

STEMapalooza Prepares Teachers for School Year

Teachers from across the state and country continue to look to Cobb Schools for professional learning opportunities. Approximately 250 teachers attended Cobb Schools STEMapalooza in-person this summer, while an additional 150 tuned in virtually to learn lessons from their fellow educators and experts in the STEM field, to take back to their classrooms this month.

“It was absolutely amazing to be back in-person and learning together for the fifth annual STEMapalooza summer conference,” Cobb Schools Supervisor of STEM and Innovation Sally Creel said. “The STEMapalooza conference is designed specifically to ensure that teachers have the opportunity to learn from other teachers.”

Conference attendees came from across the state and neighboring states such as Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. Virtual attendees checked in from Illinois, Colorado and beyond.

Kennesaw State University’s iTeach team brought their MakerBus and allowed teachers to explore and create using 3D printers. STEMapalooza offered attendees diverse sessions on concepts from primary robotics for elementary students to collaborations with NASA for high school students.

For more information, visit www.stemcobb.com.

Cobb 4-H’ers Continue to Shine

The Georgia 4-H State Horse Show winner in the hunt seat discipline is Emma Bayer of Harrison High School. She earned Master 4-H status for her state title.

Out of 34 students competing at the Junior/Senior District Project Achievement public speaking competition, seven Cobb 4-H’ers advanced to the state 4-H Congress. They will compete to earn Master 4-H status.

Congratulations to the advancing 4-H’ers: • Laura Harriss, Hillgrove High • Quadriyah Williams, Marietta High • EL-Adonis Williams, Marietta High • Isaiah Farrow, Homeschool • Venya Gunjal, Wheeler High • Emma Bayer, Harrison High • Swami Kajale, North Cobb High

High Schooler Excels at New Sport

What began as a way to keep in shape during down time last year has led Avi Fox to a sport in which he is thriving, and winning awards. At the Stars and Stripes National Championship in Salt Lake City, Utah, in July, the gymnast walked away with first and third place wins, while sister Talia placed 12th, 16th and 30th in her competition.

The ninth-grader at The Walker School is a retired artistic gymnast who began trampoline and tumbling in May 2020, when school and most sports shut down. He joined his younger sister in the gym to keep in shape and have fun. Mom, Alison, said that with lots of hours in the gym, hard work and training, Avi qualified to compete at the USA Gymnastics Championships in June, held in conjunction with the Olympic Trials. He earned a silver medal, competing as a level 8 trampoline gymnast in the men’s 15 and older division.

“Having to train with your sibling by your side isn’t the easiest thing for these two, but they have made it work, pushing each other and cheering each other on,” Alison said. “It’s never a dull moment in our household, where someone is always bouncing and flipping around.”