Sandy Springs Middle School 7th grader Josh Perling celebrated his Bar Mitzvah with a school-wide Anti-Bully Prevention Seminar on Oct. 23. Over 800 students participated in the martial arts demonstrations and skits that provided bully prevention techniques and information about the psychology of bullying. Every participating students took a pledge not only to stop bullying themselves but to assist bullying victims.
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Aio Wireless has expanded its philanthropy to the Atlanta area, honoring 30 local scholarship recipients on Oct. 22. The organization offers each student a $1,000 college scholarship and a tablet as part of the “30-Days, 30-Dreams” program. The program collaborates with local nonprofit organizations and aims to create opportunities for future leaders. In Atlanta, Aio worked with 100 Black Men of Atlanta, the Latin American Association and the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta. The organization will continue the celebration online with its Community Blog, Instagram and Facebook pages. The organization will also celebrate local scholarship recipients in Los Angeles and Dallas this year.
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Gwinnett's Trickum Middle School teacher Tracey Lee Buchner received a $7,000 grant from Nordson Corp. Foundation for a project she is conducting in her 8th grade language arts class. Project R.E.A.C.T. (Reaching Every At-risk Child through Technology) provides incentives for different types of writers, including second-language learners and special education students. The grant will fund a mini-lab that includes a Smartboard, laptops and an iPad.
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Two Johns Creek High School engineering students designed and built a hand-crafted wooden podium for Northwood Elementary School in Roswell. Katie Babiarz and Chandler Collier — who built the podium — included Northwood's motto and logo on the podium. Northwood students greeted the builders with thank you gifts and a plaque.
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The Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics has chosen Gwinnett County teacher Sarah DaSilva as the 2013 Teacher of Promise. The award is for math teachers who have recently joined the field and have shown excellence. DaSilva is a first grade math teacher at Britt Elementary was selected for her creativity, integrity and commitment.
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On Thursday, Rack Room Shoes presented a $50,000 computer lab grant to Berrien High School of Berrien County for winning their nationwide Back to School Photo Contest with a photo of the school's drama class shot by local resident Carla Burns. Burns won a new MacBook Pro for her photo as well. The school will be able to decide how to use the grant money.
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