Panther Press
a weekly publication of the Georgia Academy for the Blind
April 6, 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
*April 9: Plant sell begins (see below for details)
**April 10-12: GABWILL’s Bag Days (see below for details)
April 9-20 Elementary and Middle Milestones
April 10: Special Olympics
*April 14: GAB participates in Middle Georgia State University’s Soapbox Derby, Macon. More information coming soon!
April 19-22 SCASB, Thompson Stadium, 1210 Shurling Dr, Macon, GA
April 26-29: Senior Trip
April 30-May 11 High school End of Course Milestones
May 1: Help a Child Smile Mobile Dental Clinic
May 14-18: Milestones’ Retests for grades 3, 5 and 8
May 17: Community Partners Recognition Day 10:30-11:30 am, Media Center
May 24: Awards, 10 am, Parent/guardian input meeting afterwards
May 24: Project Search Graduation, 4 pm at Navicent Health
May 25: Graduation, Wesleyan College’s Porter Auditorium, 4760 Forsyth Road, (3.2 miles west of GAB)
April Birthdays
1st Kevin
2nd Pierce
4th Caden W
7th Marquez H
12th Taylor
17th Dillon
18th Frankie
21st Eugene
21st Ashlyn
26th Marquez C
27th Majestic
30th Joseph
Character Education
Learn more about our Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program by visiting the link below.
*GAB’s annual spring plant sell
See the link below for products and prices. For more information, contact Mr. Blackwell, kblackwell@doe.k12.ga.us
Remember, you must sign in at the office before going to the greenhouse.
**What are “GABWILL Bag Days” you ask?
This week and last week in pictures!
Week 3 of Lunch in the Library winners (below):
Elementary school - Berkley, Ja’Miyah, and Joshua (seen on right with middle school boys)
Middle school - Jonathan, DaQuan, and Zy'Quavious
High school (not pictured—sorry): Noah, Sebastin, and Kameron
MARCH WAS COMPLETE MADNESS AT GAB!
The Math Department focused on March Madness for their Pi Day theme this year. Pi Day is celebrated on March 14th each year to focus on the approximate number of Pi, 3.14.
March Madness follows College NCAA Division 1 teams as they try to win the National Championship game to be crowned the best basketball team in the Nation. March Madness centers on basketball which contains a ton of data and statistics, geometry and measurements. Everyone was encouraged to post their favorite team's logo and fill out a bracket for a chance to be the be the best statisticians or best guessers at GAB! The beauty of March Madness is that anyone can win because anything can happen!
(Below) The winners for the overall contest were Mr. Smith won first place for the staff bracket challenge and Tay Primus won first place for the student bracket challenge. The runner ups included:
Staff Category - Mrs. McDavid, Mrs. Applebee and Mrs. Lynch
Student Category - Leah Streams, Kaleb Evans and Caiden Evans
Congrats to the winners and thank you for playing to everyone that turned in a bracket!
Parent/guardian survey continues!
Your voice matters and we want to hear from YOU! Please take a few minutes and complete this quick survey from the Georgia Department of Education. Sonya Milam stands ready to assist you!
Annual Georgia Special Education Services Parent Survey. This online anonymous survey with 10 questions also takes only 5 minutes to complete. It is available to all Georgia’s families who have a student with a disability. This survey helps the state determine parents’ perception of the success of parent engagement between them and schools. Georgia is required to conduct a parent survey collection process to measure parent/family perceptions. The information is gathered as a component of the State Performance Plan, Indicator 8: Percent of parents with a student receiving special education services who report that schools facilitated parent involvement as a means of improving results for children with disabilities. The data collected is reported as a percentage of parental involvement in the Annual Performance Report for each district. This survey can be found here: When prompted to select district, choose STATE SCHOOLS, not your county! You will then be prompted to choose Georgia Academy for the Blind.
Stay in the Know About the Issues in Education!
The April Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) Media Update is now available! To learn about Superintendent Richard Woods’ proposal to fund Georgia’s Schools, creating the Senate School Safety Study Committee, rural CTAE labs, National School Library Month and more here:
Mystery Theatre Presents: "The Case of the Missing 300 Box Tops: Part 2"
No Box Tops were found during our Spring Break. Those Box Tops are hiding. We must find them!If everyone “springs” into action by the end of May, we can reach our second goal of 1,000 Box Tops. The clue to finding Box Tops is to look on items you buy such as cereal boxes, can goods, and frozen items. They hid in the funniest places. Get them before they “spring” into the trashcan unnoticed. To see a list of participating products, go to link below: Get them to GAB before they “spring” into the trash can unnoticed.
Middle Georgia Families and Friends!
Atlanta Area Families: Two great events in your community!
1. Spring Toward Success! A transition training sponsored by the National Federation of the Blind of Georgia
April 27- 29, 2018
Decatur, GA
Students, come join us for a weekend filled with exciting activities!!! Discover the latest technologies for travel, school, and fun. Get to know other students like yourself from around the state while learning skills that will help you move towards your future goals. Meet adult mentors who can coach you as you look toward your future.
The NFB of Georgia has partnered with the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency to provide this training.
2. STARS Summer Enrichment at the Center for the Visually Impaired.
Mondays through Thursdays 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
June 4 – 7 “STEAM Week”
June 11 – 14 “Olympics Week”
June 18 – 21 “Career Week”
June 25 – 28 “Nutrition Week”
If you are interested in attending either of these, please contact Sonya Milam for more information! 478-262-3303 smilam@doe.k12.ga.us Space is limited, so sign up ASAP! The deadline to sign up is April 13, 2018