Panther Press
a weekly publication of the Georgia Academy for the Blind
October 26, 2018
Dr. Cindy Gibson, Superintendent
Email: smilam@doe.k12.ga.us
Website: www.gabmacon.org
Location: 2895 Vineville Avenue, Macon, GA, United States
Phone: (478) 751-6083
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Georgia.Academy.for.the.Blind/
Twitter: @gab_library
Mission Statement
The Georgia Academy for the Blind provides quality education services to Georgia’s students with visual impairments and/or visual impairments in conjunction with other disabilities to prepare them to achieve their highest level of independence in transition to college and career readiness.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
Mark your Calendars!
*Just added
October 29-November 2: Red Ribbon Week (details, page 2)
October 31 and November 2: Bus Driver Appreciation Days
November 4: Daylight Savings Time ends (set clocks BACKward)
November 15: Annual Senior Dinner and Silent Auction Fundraiser (details, page 4)
November 19-23: Thanksgiving Break
*December 10 – 20: Santa Shop in Media Center (a chance for students to purchase gifts for family. More details coming soon).
*December 17 – 20: Scholastic Book Fair in Media Center
November 30: School Council Meeting (open to all)
December 20: Winter Music Program at 10:00 a.m. (details page 5) and Student Art Show
December 21 – January 4: Winter Holidays
January 21: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
February 18: Presidents’ Day Holiday
March 7: Braille Challenge
March 25-29: Spring Break
*April 4: High School Prom
April 22: Easter Holiday
*April 25- 28: Senior Trip
*May 17: GAB graduation
May 24: Last day of school
Character Education
Honor: A sense and an action of what is right, just, and true.
“Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good.”
GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK!
This newsletter is produced by Sonya Milam, Parent Mentor. Please send your news ideas and items and/or resources in your community to share with others. Smilam@doe.k12.ga.us 478-262-3303
RED RIBBON WEEK: Celebrate with the Georgia Academy for the Blind
- Monday – ”Red out” (wear all RED - sign pledge in the cafeteria and get your wrist bands)
- Tuesday - “Mustache you to not do drugs” (come and get your mustache)
- Wednesday – “Say Boo to Drugs” (wear your Halloween costume)
- Thursday – “Shade Out Drugs” (come and get your sunglasses)
- Friday – “Team Up against Drugs” (wear your favorite sports team attire)
For more information, contact Ms. McDavid, kimford@doe.k12.ga.us
DID YOU KNOW: Children of parents/guardians who talk to their teens regularly about drugs are 42% less likely to use drugs than those who don’t, yet only a quarter of teens report having these conversations. Parents/guardians: You too can take the pledge! Take the National Red Ribbon Campaign Pledge now and be a part of the creation of a drug free American.
WHAT’S THE PLEDGE ABOUT?
1. As parents and citizens, we will talk to our children and the children in our lives about the dangers of drug abuse.
2. We will set clear rules for our children about not using drugs.
3. We will set a good example for our children by not using illegal drugs or medicine without a prescription.
4. We will monitor our children's behavior and enforce appropriate consequences, so that our rules are respected.
5. We will encourage family and friends to follow the same guidelines to keep children safe from substance abuse.
Click on the link below to take the pledge:
October Birthdays
Students:
Ja’Miyah 11/2
Christopher 11/8
Crystal 11/16
Judy 11/17
De’andre 11/20
Bryce 11/22
Staff:
Ms. Thouchton 10/29
Ms. Grist 11/02
Ms. Bell 11/06
Ms. Wells 11/10
Ms. Edalgo 11/11
Ms. Bain 11/15
Ms. Keith 11/16
Ms. Williams 11/16
Ms. Moorman 11/17
Ms. Harvey 11/19
Ms. Eckman 11/20
Ms. Gray 10/18
? Jackson 11/22
Christmas gift ideas (yes, it’s time to begin thinking Christmas!)
Check out these dolls and action figures reflecting children with wheelchairs, white canes and other helping tools! Click on the link below:
GAB's Teacher of the Year, Kristen Applebee
Ms. Applebee was chosen by her peers to be the GAB Teacher of the Year. She will now compete with the Teachers of the Year from our sister schools, AASD and GSD.
Mrs. Applebee earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Brigham Young University, and Master of Fine Arts from The Ohio State University, an Early Childhood Educator’s Certificate from Wesleyan College and TVI certification from Middle Georgia RESA. As an artist, she has exhibited her work across the country in twenty-one solo and forty-one group/juried shows. She has won awards for writing and illustrating, and her children’s picture book, The Body Language of Veronica Sue, was published by Black Dog Books in 2011. She has taught on five college campuses in three states, including graduate level Art at The Ohio State Marion Campus. Kristen created and taught Wesleyan’s Early Childhood Creative Expressions (MA program) class as well as Advanced Integration of the Arts in the Early Childhood Classroom (M.Ed. program) and she continues to adjunct for the Creativity in the Classroom course.
Mrs. Applebee currently teaches Visual Art to students in grades K-12 at Georgia Academy for the Blind. Her students have exhibited at Mercer University, Allied Arts Gallery, Goodwill, and the APH Insights Exhibition in Louisville, KY. They have upcoming shows at Macon Little Theatre and a gallery in Pittsburg, PA. Kristen lives in Macon with her husband, Dennis Applebee, who is an Art Professor, and their three teenagers, Jonah, Isaac, and Lauren.
We give her our best wishes as she continues to represent GAB in the coming year.
Be on the lookout
The School-Student-Parent/Guardian Compact for Achievement that was showcased at Open House will be coming home over the next two weeks. Please sign and return only the signature sheet with your student as soon as possible. Let Sonya Milam know if you have any questions 478-262-3303, smilam@doe.k12.ga.us
SECOND NOTICE: Attention parents/guardians of students in music class! A note from Ms. Holloway:
Greetings from the GAB music department!
We will be having our Winter Program on Thursday, December 20 at 10:00 a.m. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the location of the Winter Program will be at Vineville Baptist Church. The address is listed below:
Vineville Baptist Church
2591 Vineville Avenue
Macon, GA 31204
Students will be transported to and from the church by bus. There will be a very important parent meeting afterwards at the school.
Parents are to check their child out at the school and not take them from the church. We want to make sure all students are safely and securely transported back to the school after the program. Per Dr. Gibson, if you are signing your child out before the 1:00 p.m. end of the day, sign out in the Hendricks office. See Shirley Bronner and Brittany Jackson.
This is a mandatory performance, and all students will receive credit for the performance.
Music classes will be required to wear jeans and their appropriate shirt handled by their teacher.
Ensemble and Chorus classes are to wear their uniform provided for them. Boys are to wear black dress shoes with black socks.
The students are very excited about this performance opportunity. I hope you will be able to join us to support GAB and our music department! Thank you for your patience and your ongoing support to help the students be successful!
Catherine Holloway
Music Director
catherine.holloway@doe.k12.ga.us
(478) 751-6083 ext. 4110
The Case of the Missing 1000 Box Tops: October 26, 2018
IT'S TIME FOR 1,000 MORE!
Our detectives are having a tough time finding those Box Tops this week. They have found about 25. Those Box Tops are hiding from them and must be found. Please remember detectives to look on everything you have in your freezer and pantries. Some Box Tops have been known to show-up on packages with clothes inside. One example is a package with Hanes underwear. Yes, they show up in the most unusual places. Our new goal is to find 1,000 Box Tops before the December break. I know we can do it! A list of participating products can be below.
Sylvia Layson, TVI (478) 751-6083 Ext. 1200, slayson@doe.k12.ga.us
This week in pictures
Top left: Worm composting in Mrs. Thompson’s Environmental Science class. Hopefully the worm castings will make good soil for her future garden additions.
Top right: first crop of radish grown as a part of environmental science class
Bottom right and left: Fridays are STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) days in Ms. Moore’s class. Last week’s activities took the students to the hallway.
Left top, middle and bottom: Middle and high school students working on the computer, reading a print book and reading an audio book.
Right top and middle: We celebrated National Walk TO School Day by walking AT school.
Right bottom: Ms. Bechtal’s class is visited by a Music Therapist student and her professor.