GCSS Community Update

Greene County School System News & Notes for the Community

In this Issue

In this Issue

  • STEM Highlight: Hologram Projectors
  • Winter Wonderland
  • DECA Students Shine at Regional Competition
  • Alumni Spotlight
  • Parent University Recap
  • GCCA Wins New Pathway Grant
  • Career Coach Spotlight
  • How to Get Involved
  • Upcoming Events & Important Dates
In this Issue
STEM Highlight: CMS Students Build Hologram Projectors

STEM Highlight: CMS Students Build Hologram Projectors

In an exciting and creative STEM project, 7th graders at CMS recently created their very own hologram projectors. Ms. Tiffany Silas's class discussed Wakanda the week before Thanksgiving Break and the relation of holograms to scale factor. Students were then given the dimensions of the hologram projector that would work using an iPhone. Using Scale Factor and Dilation, they were able to create a hologram projector that would work with their Chromebooks.


“Ms. Silas's lesson was an excellent STEM lesson as students used the engineering design process to create a futuristic hologram scale model,” said GCSS STEM Coordinator Dr. Laurie Weaver. “This lesson was one of many ideas and strategies our teachers learned after attending a two-day STEM workshop at the acclaimed Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, GA. Teachers are looking forward to implementing more RCA strategies into their lessons and classrooms to challenge students and create a culture of love for learning.”

STEM Highlight: CMS Students Build Hologram Projectors
GCHS hosts Winter Wonderland at Greene College & Career Academy for pre-k and primary school students

GCHS hosts Winter Wonderland at Greene College & Career Academy for pre-k and primary school students

Students from Greene County Primary School and CBJ Preschool enjoyed a magical Winter Wonderland at Greene County High School on Dec. 8th! Students decorated ornaments and gift bags, enjoyed face and hand painting in the art lab, took photos with Santa in the audio/visual technology lab, decorated Christmas cookies in the culinary lab, colored Christmas coloring sheets in the school cafe, wrote letters to Santa in the library, and watched The Polar Express! Thank you to all of our students in the Greene College & Career Academy and their teachers for creating such a wonderful holiday experience for the younger students. Watch the video below to view magical moments and smiles from Winter Wonderland, and click here to view more photos.
GCHS hosts Winter Wonderland at Greene College & Career Academy for pre-k and primary school students
GCHS Winter Wonderland 2022

GCHS DECA students shine at regional competition

GCHS DECA officers, members, and advisor Mrs. Kati Mize traveled to Loganville on December 5th to compete against over 300 students in DECA’s Region 7 Competition. GCHS DECA competitors represented their chapter well. Seven of the nine students who competed will advance to compete at Georgia DECA’s State Career Development Conference in January!


Congratulations to Ruby Abarca-Sanchez (2nd in Principles of Marketing), Jai’lyn Amour (2nd in Retail Merchandising), Cinthya De Leon Escobar (4th in Principles of Hospitality & Tourism), Mariah Leslie (8th in Entrepreneurship), Aiden Turner (8th in Human Resource Management), Jayla Turner (1st in Themed Speech), and Ellie Webb (6th in Principles of Finance). All of the students who competed worked hard to prepare for their events.

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Alumni Spotlight: Ivy Smith Ramage

Alumni Spotlight: Ivy Smith Ramage

A 2014 graduate of Greene County High School, Ivy Smith Ramage attended the University of North Georgia and The University of Georgia after graduation and majored in Public Relations. While in college, Ivy completed internships with the City of Greensboro's Downtown Development Authority and Dawson County Family Connection, and was also named a Yarbrough-Grady Fellow at UGA. Ivy now works for The Classic Center in Athens, Georgia as the Public Relations Coordinator. Her role includes working with the local community to represent The Classic Center, as well as working with magazines and media to advertise the different offerings that The Classic Center provides. Ivy recently helped her team coordinate the groundbreaking event for The Classic Center Arena which will open in 2024.


Ivy said, "Greene County Schools provided me with a wonderful experience and education. Having the opportunity to be involved with many organizations and cheering really gave me the confidence to get out there and pursue my dreams of working in the community and in communications. Greene County helped shaped me into the person that I am today. Once a Tiger, Always a Tiger!"

Alumni Spotlight: Ivy Smith Ramage
December Parent University Recap

December Parent University Recap

We had a great turnout for Parent University at GCHS on Saturday, Dec. 3rd. Parent University is designed to equip parents with tools & knowledge to help their children succeed in school. Attendees heard an inspiring keynote message from Dr. Stephen Peters (retired superintendent and author of One: A Process for Success for Every One and Everyone) as well as breakout sessions on digital citizenship, student behavior and academic success, literacy and Title III for English learners, a health and wellness session from our DPH partners, and more. Congratulations to our door prize winners who took home gift cards and other prizes! The next Parent University session will be on February 11, 2023.
December Parent University Recap

GCCA receives grant funding from Georgia Power Foundation for Early Childhood Education Pathway

The Greene College & Career Academy was recently selected to receive a Workforce for Georgia grant from the Georgia Power Foundation. GCCA CEO Mr. John Ellenberg wrote the $50,000 grant in August for a proposed Early Childhood Education CTAE pathway at the GCCA.


Through Workforce for Georgia funding, the Georgia Power Foundation seeks to invest in building or sustaining capacity at career academies and CTAE programs to better serve students and instructors and in program alignment of educational and training pathways to meet workforce needs of businesses in local communities. The Early Childhood Education pathway at the GCCA will help the Greene County School System to continue to develop homegrown talent and begin to help address the statewide teacher shortage.

Career Coach Spotlight: Chuck Rowland

Career Coach Spotlight: Chuck Rowland

Education: BS degrees in Agriculture and Accounting from the University of Kentucky, MBA from University of Illinois, CPA (Certified Public Accountant)
Hobbies/Interests: I have run lots of 10K's and a marathon. My work took me to 86 countries and 43 states. My adult life has been much different from when I was a child, growing up poor on a farm near a small Southeastern Kentucky town, going to a one-room elementary school with no indoor restrooms, and being the only one in my family to go to high school.
Career: I had 11 jobs with 2 companies in my 40-year career, ranging from internal auditing to Managing Director of International Sales & Operations.
Note to students: Set goals, stay focused on those goals and do your best to succeed.
Note to parents: I feel so blessed to be able to share freely my experience with your children and help them figure out, and achieve, the careers they desire.
Career Coach Spotlight: Chuck Rowland

How YOU Can Get Involved

Volunteer - Reading Buddies (GCPS & CMS)

Volunteer - Reading Buddies (GCPS & CMS)

Help a 2nd grader at Greene County Primary School or a 4th grader at Carson Middle School by becoming a Reading Buddy! You can make a REAL difference with just 1 hour per week by sparking conversations, building relationships and social skills, and helping children foster a love of reading. Interested? Contact Beth Thomas at beth.thomas@greene.k12.ga.us or 706-347-0750.

Volunteer - Reading Buddies (GCPS & CMS)
Volunteer - After School Enrichment (CMS)

Volunteer - After School Enrichment (CMS)

Want to help students learn golf, tennis, or sewing? We'd love to have you join our After School Enrichment Program to help students master these skills or to get involved with our Robotics program or Pollinators Protectors club! For more information, contact Beth Thomas at beth.thomas@greene.k12.ga.us or 706-347-0750.
Volunteer - After School Enrichment (CMS)
Donate - Wraparound Program (GCHS)

Donate - Wraparound Program (GCHS)

Focusing on the “whole child”, GCSS Wraparound Services address student needs that exist or occur outside the classroom but may impact the student’s ability to be successful in the classroom. These may include physical needs such as clothes, food, hygiene products, and bedding, or other types of support such as mental health counseling. You can donate to our Care Closet by bringing clothing and shoes, backpacks, school supplies, and hygiene products to the school. For cash donations, you may make a check payable to GCHS with Wraparound in the memo. Thank you for your support!
Donate - Wraparound Program (GCHS)

Upcoming Events & Important Dates

December 15, 2022

Board of Education Regular Monthly Meeting

The Greene County Board of Education will hold its October Regular Meeting at 6:00 p.m. in the Board Meeting Room located at 101 E. Third St. in Greensboro. To view Board of Education agendas and minutes, please click here.


December 19, 2022 - January 2, 2023

Winter Break

These weeks are Winter Break for all students, faculty, and staff. All schools and the District Office will be closed.

We want to hear from you!

Some of the sections in this newsletter were topics suggested by your fellow community members. What subjects would you like to read more about in this newsletter? Please share your feedback by emailing us at gcsscommunications@greene.k12.ga.us.


Please also share this newsletter with your communication circle and encourage them to sign up on this form so we can include them on our mailing list for future updates, and thank you for helping spread the word about the great things going on in Greene County Schools. As always, we appreciate your support as we strive to educate, inspire, challenge, and support Greene County’s students.

Keep up with us!

Keep up with us!

Email: gcsscommunications@greene.k12.ga.us
Website: www.greene.k12.ga.us
Location: 101 3rd Street, Greensboro, GA, USA
Phone: 706-453-7688
Facebook: facebook.com/gcsstigers
Twitter: @gcsstigers

Instagram: @gcss_tigers

Keep up with us!