CINS to Host Town Hall Meeting with APS Superintendent

The Council of Intown Neighborhoods and Schools, the Atlanta nonprofit that advocates for the Grady schools cluster, hosts its annual Town Hall Meeting with the Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. at Inman Middle School, 774 Virginia Ave. NE.

This is the annual opportunity for parents from the communities that comprise the Grady High School cluster of schools — including Inman Park, Candler Park, Lake Claire Old Fourth Ward, Virginia-Highland and Morningside — to ask questions of Supt. Erroll B. Davis Jr.

Davis will introduce key members of his team, update the community on what's happening with the district and answer questions from the audience as well as queries that have been submitted to CINS over the last two weeks.

Next month CINS is hosting a meeting on the implementation of Common Core Standards.

The Common Core Standards are a series of guidelines adopted by a number of states that outline what students need to have in their K-12 schooling to be fully prepared in college.

That meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 14 at Mary Lin Elementary School, 586 Candler Park Dr.

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"Save the Evening" for cluster time on Friday, Oct. 26 with Inman's 12th Annual BBQ & Blues from 6 to 8 p.m.  

Start off the evening sharing dinner at Inman Middle in John Howell Park. You'll enjoy an evening of lip-smacking BBQ from Fat Matt's, Willy Jackson's Blues, and a great evening outside with friends. You'll just need a blanket to sit on and your appetite. Cost is $7 dinner for adults; $5 for kids; and hot dogs are a buck.

After a some BBQ and Blues, head over to the Grady Stadium for a night of football as Grady takes on South Atlanta High School. Come out and cheer on the Grady Grey Knights to cap off an evening of cluster fun.

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Have an opinion about the Atlanta Public Schools 2013-2014 school calendar? Make it known in a new calendar survey here.

The purpose of the survey is to collect public input to inform the development of the 2013-14 and 2014-15 APS calendars. For the upcoming school years, the district plans to return to a single school calendar.

The data gathered through this survey, which will be open through October, will assist the APS Calendar Committee in designing a calendar that meets the requirements of state law, that supports student attendance and achievement, and that considers the preferences of families. 

For a list of frequently asked questions about the proposed APS calendars for 2011-12 and 2012-13, click here.

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The Grady Jesters Debate Team has already competed in two tournaments this year and taken home the overall first place trophies in both.

On Sept. 22, the Jesters traveled to Lincoln County for the “Autumn by the Lake” tournament. Twelve novice Jesters were excited to be included, even if they found the 6 a.m. departure from Grady to be a bit shocking to their systems! Winners from Grady included:
 
Public Forum- Varsity: 3rd Place: Grace Power and Sammi Dean; 4th Place: Salome Kakalashvili and Kathy Zakharova; 1st Place Speaker: Grace Power; 3rd Place Speaker: Sammi Dean. 

Public Forum - Novice: 2nd Place: Noah Li and Sam Wilson; 4th Place: Grady Jones and Todd Pengelly.

Lincoln-Douglas Debate: 1st Place: Zoe Schneider; 2nd Place: Jamie Reid; 3rd Place: Cate Mathews.

Extemporaneous Speaking: 1st Place: Ben Simonds-Malamud; 2nd Place: Isabelle Taft; 4th Place: Isabel Olson.

Impromptu: 2nd Place: Isabelle Taft; 4th Place: Ben Simonds- Malamud.
And of course... overall First Place Debate Sweepstakes Finish!

On Sept. 29, a busload of Jesters traveled to Hall County, to compete at the North Hall High School Speech and Debate Tournament. Again, the Jesters cleaned up with the overall first place finish and many individual awards. 

Open Public Forum Debate: 1st Place: Salome Kakalashvili** and Katherine Zakharova**; 2nd Place: Olivia Veira and Samantha Dean**; 4th Place: Jennifer Moody and Carson Shadwell; 1st Place Speaker: Samantha Dean; 2nd Place Speaker: Katherine Zakharova; 3rd Place Speaker: Salome Kakalashvili; 4th Place Speaker: Jennifer Moody

Open Lincoln-Douglas Debate: 1st Place: Zoe Schneider**; 2nd Place: Rachel Citrin; 3rd Place: Logan Mann**; 5th Place: Gilbert Young; All of these Lincoln-Douglas debaters were undefeated at the tournament. 1st Place Speaker: Jamie Reid**; 2nd Place Speaker: Will Taft; 3rd Place Speaker: Zoe Schneider; 4th Place Speaker: Rachel Citrin

Dramatic Interpretation: 3rd Place: Rex Petersen

Impromptu Speaking: 6th Place: Rex Petersen

Extemporaneous Speaking: 3rd Place: Isabel Olson**; 5th Place: Max Rabb**

All the winners with ** beside their names have earned full qualification for the GFCA Varsity State Championships in March.