Lanier Middle School ranked among top 10 in Math for Georgia Schools

     Lanier County Middle School was recently recognized by Governor Sonny Perdue as being one of the top 10 schools in 8^th grade Math CRCT performance.

     The state average for 8^th graders passing the test was a dismal 62 percent.  Lanier County students passed at a rate of 74 percent, and when students were retested after summer school intervention the percentage passing rose to 85 percent.  Also, reading pass rate for 8^th graders was 99.5 percent.

     The middle school is also proud to announce that they made AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) this year as measured under the federally mandated No Child Left Behind Policy.  The school has set goals for the 2008-2009 school year to reach even higher.

     The middle school math department has been working hard to implement the new, more difficult curriculum that is being taught and tested.  Under the new standards in math, by the time student finish 8^th grade, they will have learned 80 percent of the concepts and skills previously taught in Algebra 1, 50 percent of the content traditionally taught in high school geometry, and a significant amount of statistics and probability previously taught in high school courses.

     Principal Gen Culpepper gives all the credit to a dedicated staff, motivated students, and supportive parents.  “We’ve adjusted our curriculum maps, provided support, and challenged students with fun, competitive team activities,” he said, “The entire school have taken pride in improving its test scores, but most importantly students will be better prepared to handle the new more rigorous high school math curriculum.

     Superintendent Keith Humphrey praises the hard work of all faculty and staff in the Lanier County School system for their commitment to providing the best education possible for all students.

Jenny Gilbride named Lanier County’s Teacher of the Year

Jenny Gilbride was named 2008-2009 Teacher of the Year at the system’s annual employee appreciation luncheon held during pre-planning.  She has taught as a special education teacher at Lanier County Middle School since 2003.  Mrs. Gilbride received her undergraduate degree from Valdosta State University in 1974 and her masters of education in 1976.  She received additional coursework from various universities to expand her field of education. 

In describing what she considers to be her beliefs about teaching, Mrs. Gilbride believes that teaching is a God-given gift and that she has been embraced with the talents, knowledge, patience and enthusiasm that she would need everyday when she enters the classroom.   Mrs. Gilbride has been teaching for 35 years and feels as though she is still learning and growing as a teacher.  She will now go on to represent Lanier County as a candidate for Georgia’s Teacher of the Year.

Other teachers who were honored for being named as their schools’ Teacher of the Year were Holly Browning from Lanier County Elementary School and Margo Montgomery from Lanier County High School.

Additional faculty members were recognized for their creative instructional strategies resulting in increased student success.  Each school principal presented an Educational Pedagogy Award to these faculty members.  Recipients of the awards were: Carolyn Burch, Lanier County Elementary School, David Abbott, Lanier County Middle School and Donna Cook, Lanier County High School.

LOCAL STUDENT RECOGNIZED FOR OUTSTANDING

SKILLS IN NATIONAL COMPETITION

Orlando, FL. –, Samantha Donnell recently participated in the STAR (Students Taking Action with Recognition) Events at Family, Career and Community Leaders of America’s (FCCLA) 2008 National Leadership Meeting.

Samantha Donnell, a sophomore at Lanier County High School, received a Silver medal in Interpersonal Communication JR, one of 16 national STAR Events available to FCCLA students.  She was presented a medal at the recognition session honoring all participants at the Shingle Creek Plaza Convention Center on Thursday, July 17. More than 5,000 members, advisers, alumni, and guests from across the nation attended the meeting. Nearly 2,500 students advanced from the local, regional, and state level of STAR Events to the national meeting. 

Samantha was a participant in the Interpersonal Communication JR event.

She used her Family and Consumer Sciences related communication skills to develop a program for the ninth graders, to learn to communicate better with each other to solve problems without using violence.

Ms. Donnell’s project was on conflict resolutions and how to prevent violence between high school age students.   Her project selection was based on the fact that violence is a serious issue that affects students, school, families, and the community. According to Samantha, “This project taught me a great deal about organizing and presenting information to others and to let them know that youth can make a difference.”  

  Mrs. Marina Ortiz, FCCLA advisor, was very instrumental in Ms. Donnell’s achievements with her leadership and guidance.  Her hard work is very evident in the success of her students.

The Lanier County FCCLA Chapter would like to thank the  Lanier County Board of Education, especially our superintendent, Keith Humphrey, the Career Technical and Agricultural Education Director, Mr. Kevin Moore and Mr. Chuck Everett, Family Connections. Without their support, we would have been unable to have this once in a lifetime learning experience.