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Dual Language Japanese-English State Charter School Accepting Applications for August 2019

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International Charter Academy

International Charter Academy of Georgia (ICA Georgia), a new dual language Japanese-English charter school, will start accepting applications for August 2019 on January 10, 2019. Applications will be available online at www.internationalcharteracademy.org.

As a statewide charter school located in Peachtree Corner, GA, the school is open to any K-5 student residing in the state of Georgia. ICA Georgia uses the Dual Language Model for Japanese and English instruction, which is supported by a wealth of research and recommended by experts in dual language acquisition. In this innovative model, the ratio of time spent in each language favors Japanese in younger grades and shifts to balance more evenly with English as students age. All core subjects will be taught in both languages, exposing students to a wide range of content learning areas in the target language and enhancing academic achievement in general.

The school will employ a number of other state-of-the-art techniques to further enhance students’ education. English and Japanese teachers will use a team teaching approach, and pull out classes will be available in both languages to ensure the success of non-native speakers. Hands-on inquiry based learning and a student-centered environment conducive to lifetime learning and open-mindedness will be hallmarks of ICA Georgia’s program. A special emphasis will be placed on writing in all grades, particularly research paper writing. Effective use of IT will further enhance cooperative learning and differentiation.  A high level of Japanese will be attained by using the Japanese Ministry of Education curriculum in the Japanese department.

Beyond learning the Japanese language, ICA Georgia students will also be exposed  to Japanese school life, including Japanese physical education, music, haiku, cultural events, healthy Japanese food (recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO), and Japanese calligraphy.

School days begin at 8:00 am and end at 3:00 pm Monday through Thursday, with Friday’s dismissal at 2:00 pm. After school care is available until 6:30 pm from Generation in Focus (www.generationinfocus.com). To balance the academic benefits of the year-round calendar for students while at the same time maintaining the convenience of the traditional calendar for parents, the school will have 190 school days per year.

ICA Georgia aims to broaden the horizons of students in Georgia so that they may become global citizens who promote peace around the world. ICA Georgia students will be expected to contribute to the local and global community through various service learning projects, and ICA Georgia will promote parental involvement and build a community that learns from one another.

According to Georgia State Representative Tom Taylor (District 79), “Our state needs employees who can speak more than one language, and there is no better time for its citizens to acquire language skills than when they are young. This charter school will also be an excellent educational environment for children with parents who come from Japan to do business in Georgia.”

Barbara Kennedy, Ed.D, Director of Dual Language and Bilingual Education at the Center for Applied Linguistics, states, “We are excited to see the progress in the preparations for the opening of International Charter Academy of Georgia. Multilingual education is a research-validated approach to promoting second language acquisition among students of various language backgrounds. Additionally, multilingual education can provide opportunities for the promotion of cross-cultural understanding among students, who, in turn, develop important lifelong skills that enhance their ability to interact effectively in our increasingly globalized world.”

Chenyi Zhang, Ph.D, Assistant Professor, Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education, Georgia State University, states, “In recent years, given the trend of globalization and international collaboration, supporting children’s early foreign language learning has become an important educational issue in early childhood and elementary education. ICA Georgia employs a unique dual language immersion approach to promote children’s foreign language skills through environment exposure and adult-child interactions without interrupting typical English early literacy development…In short, ICA Georgia will provide an early learning experience that is valuable for preparing future generations of ‘global citizens.’”

The US State Department designates Japanese as a Critical Language, and there are more than 600 Japanese companies in Georgia. Yet despite the increasingly globalized nature of our society, research indicates that Global Literacy is low in American youth (Council on Foreign Relations, 2016). Studies show that immersion students develop greater cognitive flexibility, increased attention control, better memory, and superior problem-solving skills compared to their peers. (See Lindholm-Leary, Dual Language Education. (2001)). ICA Georgia’s mission is to provide the students of Georgia with the skills they need to succeed in our increasingly globalized society.

For further details about the school, visit www.internationalcharteracademy.org, call 770-604-0007, or email info@internationalcharteracademy.org.

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Arts & Literature

Norcross High School Students’ Art to be Featured at Dogwood

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Atlanta High School Art Exhibition

The Atlanta High School Art Exhibition has become a staple of the annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival at Piedmont Park. Every year, talented high school students from across Atlanta come together to showcase their skills and creativity in an event that celebrates the power of the arts.

The exhibition takes place over the course of three days during the Atlanta Dogwood Festival. One of the largest art festivals in the Southeast, the Dogwood Festival will run April 14-16 this year.

This year, 14 Norcross High School (NHS) students in grades 9-12 have works selected from among hundreds of submissions from high school students across the state of Georgia — Gisela Rojas Medina (11), Beila Rivas (12), Luptia Ortiz (12), Journey Pierre (12), Eva Rios (9), Harlet Martinez Castro (11), Fatima Huerta Rodriguez (11), Madonna Phan (11), Katelynn Pallotto (12), Dani Olaechea (11), Katherine Martin (12), Elena Garson Padoan (12), Grace Peagler (12) and Le’Anah Smith (12).

The students have the opportunity to display their artwork in a professional setting, connect with other artists and potentially win awards for their work.

The exhibition showcases the best in high school art and is highly competitive. The artwork on display includes drawing, painting, sculpture, photography and jewelry pieces. Not only does the event showcase the students’ artwork, it also brings students together to create a community of young artists in the city.

Students explored a range of different art media and themes. Gisela Rojas Medina focused on creating work from photographs of herself as a child. She then printed them using cyanotypes and hung each faded photo to create a mobile reminiscent of childhood memories.

“This piece was inspired by my own faded and distorted memories,” Medina said.

The Atlanta High School Art Exhibition is free and open to the public. A Satellite Show will be held April 2-30 at the Limelight Gallery at Binders, 3330 Piedmont Road in Atlanta.

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Arts & Literature

North Metro Academy of Performing Arts Settles into Peachtree Corners

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North Metro Academy. Photos by George Hunter

Gwinnett County’s first themed elementary school aims to incorporate arts education into a robust, imaginative, and collaborative environment.

“The arts are an essential element of education, just like reading, writing, and arithmetic. Music, dance, painting, and theatre are all keys that unlock profound human understanding and accomplishment.” — William Bennett, former US Secretary of Education

Those words were declared many decades ago, long before students and even some staff members at North Metro Academy of Performing Arts (NMAPA) were born. But the sentiment rings as true today as it did then. 

Gwinnett County Public Schools’ first themed elementary school, NMAPA is still somewhat of a hidden gem. Dr. Rodriguez Johnson, principal since the school was established in 2014, along with students, staff, and the community are working to change that.

“It’s amazing that we have over 40 different elementary schools represented in our community here. We have kids that come from Lilburn and Lawrenceville and Duluth and all over to attend our school, and it’s really about that close-knit family community,” said Johnson. 

“We have our kids learning the same curriculum that they do at every other elementary school,” he continued. “I think it’s just really our personal connections that really separate us from our sister schools.”

The purpose of the K-5 school, open to every Gwinnett County resident, is to give students the opportunity to develop unique interests, uncover hidden talents, experience satisfaction in accomplishments, gain a sense of responsibility and pursue education as a way of life through educational programs tailored to their own specific needs, according to the school website.

This hidden gem didn’t pop up overnight. It has been a dream of lifelong educator Beauty Baldwin. After decades of dedication to educating students in Schley, Muscogee, and Gwinnett counties, Baldwin retired in June 1994 as the first Black female superintendent of Buford City Schools, as well as the first in the entire state of Georgia.

Her commitment to education and her community is evident with a school and a municipal building named for her. In 2016, the Gwinnett County Board of Education dedicated Baldwin Elementary School in Norcross in her name. In 2020, a ceremony was held to dedicate Gwinnett County’s newly- renovated elections office as The Gwinnett Voter Registrations & Elections Beauty P. Baldwin Building.

Perhaps her passion for education and commitment to children and the community is most evident in the former Hopewell Christian Academy that opened in 1997, shortly after Baldwin thought she had put away her educator hat. Many years later, she admitted that one never stops being a teacher.

Baldwin served as Hopewell’s administrator for 16 years until it became a Gwinnett County Charter School. The move to the public school system came with a name change — North Metro Academy. In May 2021, the Gwinnett County Board of Education approved transitioning NMAPA from a public charter school to GCPS’s first themed elementary school.

But the work doesn’t end there.

Room for everyone

North Metro Academy of Performing Arts engages students in instruction that integrates the academics and performing arts in ways that address the unique needs and interests of each student, said Dr. Johnson. He added that, unlike the fictional school of the arts in the movie “Fame,” there’s no auditioning for a spot at NMAPA.

There is currently no wait list and no child within Gwinnett County is turned away.

“Before we moved onto this campus, we had around 320 students. We expect to continue to increase our enrollment each year,” Johnson said. “We’re really excited about our future and our continued growth. And we’re extremely excited about being here in Peachtree Corners and Norcross.”

Although Peachtree Corners is considered a more affluent area than many other parts of the county, the student body is quite diverse and there’s a place for everyone.

“I think a lot of families choose us because they know that when they come here, we are an extended part of their family and there is no judgment. Every kid is one of our students and we make sure that we build a rapport with all of them,” said Johnson.

“We have such a small staff that I think that really helps us build those relationships, too,” he added. “Our parents know the teachers and we treat everyone like family.”

The first group that started kindergarten at NMAPA will be transitioning from fifth grade to middle school at the end of the academic year. 

He said he gets requests from parents who want to see the theme extended to middle school, and perhaps even high school. However, Johnson is focusing on the ones in his care and preparing them for their best futures.

“Right now, we’re just trying to embrace our new space and continuing to grow our program,” he said. “Hopefully, one day, we will have so many students on the waiting list that we’ll have to have a bigger building.”

Photos by George Hunter

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Education

Paladin Pacer 5K and Fun Run Debuts New Course

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Paladin Pacer 5k and Fun Run

Pinecrest Academy’s 4th Annual Paladin Pacer race is set for Saturday, February 25. It’s open to all runners, walkers, and hikers. As in previous years, the Pacer includes a 5K event and a Fun Run.

The 2023 Pacer will debut two changes this year.

  • The entire 5K course will be run or walked on Pinecrest Academy’s 68-acre campus, which includes a cross-country trail. In previous years, the 5K portion of the event has run along Highway 141.
  • The 5K portion of this year’s Pacer will be a Trail Race. Trail running, running in a natural environment with minimal paved or asphalt roads, has become a popular sport. It increases the physicality of the race by adding climbs and rougher terrain. Paladin Pacer participants should be ready for over two miles of scenic dirt trails, grass, and hills.

“As an avid runner, I am particularly excited about our transition to a trail race,” said Mary Tollett, Paladin Pacer Race Director. “Trail run enthusiasts usually have to travel to a destination, sometimes to rural locations, to participate in a trail run. But this one is right here in our neighborhood.”

Paladin Pacer 5k and Fun Run
Photo from Last Year’s Paladin Pacer 5k and Fun Run. This year the 5K will be a trail race on campus.

The 1-Mile Fun Run includes three laps around the school driveway, allowing parents to support their “little Olympians” throughout the race. It’s also perfect for the casual walker or jogger.

The epic costume contest will return this year. Cross-country teams are encouraged to participate as a group, as are families with children of all ages.

“We are thankful to be part of Forsyth County, a vibrant and growing community, and delighted to be able to offer a unique running experience for our neighbors,” said David O’Shea, Pinecrest Academy Director of Advancement. “The Paladin Pacer is an opportunity to come together for a fun community event while getting some exercise and trying out a new local trail run!”

Paladin Pacer 5k and Fun Run
Photo from Last Year’s Paladin Pacer 5k and Fun Run

Awards will be presented for Overall Male/Female and Top 3 Male/Female finishers in each age group, along with an award for Best Costume.

Registration is open, and the early bird rate for both the 5K and Fun Run is available through February 17. All participants registered by February 13 will receive a race t-shirt.

For more information on the 2023 Paladin Pacer and to register, visit active.com/cumming-ga/running/distance-running-races/paladin-pacer-trail-race-2023. Limited sponsorships are available. Please contact David O’Shea at doshea@pinecrestacadem.org or call 770-888-4477.

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