Best in Class

Thanks to a pair of eighth graders from Cobb's Durham Middle  "Georgia Month" will be celebrated in September. Gov. Nathan Deal signed a resolution this week establishing September as the month for Georgia history and character education. BethAnn Shires and Ryan Mulkey came up with the idea of honoring the character and accomplishments of the state's founder, James Oglethorpe.  Thomas Panter, their Georgia History teacher; and Mandy Martin, a language arts teacher at Durham, assisted the students.

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Nine members from Mount Vernon Presbyterian School's Business & Entrepreneurship Club were invited to Harvard Business School's breakfast meeting where the keynote speaker was Dan Cathy, CEO of Chick-fil-A. Cathy recognized student Amelia Kohl for her work with the company's foundation, WinShape Camps. Other Mount Vernon students in attendance were: Alex Butler, Caroline Courtney, Bob Luo, Bliss Mallory, Miles Mallory, Connor Martel, Matt Shelden and Ben Tyler.

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More than 600 students from 35 teams took part in the Cherokee County Elementary Science Olympiad Saturday at Creekview High School. Three teams emerged as winners in the event that encourages students to explore new ways of solving problems as a team. They are: Carmel Elementary School's Team Maroon (first place); Holly Springs Elementary School's Team 1 (second place); and Team 2 from Holly Springs (third place). The teams now move to the state competition in May.

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Redan High School student Gift Baanen has been elected president of Georgia's Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) . This is the first time a student from DeKalb County has held the post, according to the district.

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Woodward Academy eighth grader Alexandra Huey received a gold medal for her digital artwork in the National Scholastic Art Competition. The award recognizes the most outstanding works in the nation. Gold medalist artwork will be on display in New York City in June, along with a celebration at Carnegie Hall. Avery Tutt, an eighth grader at the school, received a silver medal for her mixed media artwork. The National Scholastic Art Competition allows students in grades 7-12 to apply in 15 visual art categories for a chance to earn scholarships. This year, 120,000 works were submitted.