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KAITLYN HOLTZCLAW
2016 NATIONAL RISING STAR AWARD WINNER IN ART!
Walton Senior, Kaitlyn Holtzclaw, has been awarded "The National Rising Star Award' from the National Art Education Association (NAEA). This award is presented annually to one student in the entire nation. Past winners have gone on to receive the most prestigious art scholarships in the country. Offering her congratulations, Deborah Reeve, NAEA Executive Director, observed, "There is no greater testament of exemplary contributions to the field of visual arts education than being chosen for this prestigious honor."
WHS Visual Art Teacher, Ms. Kathleen Petka, thinks the honor is well-deserved. "Ms. Holtzclaw is one of the most talented students I have encountered in my career as an educator. As a senior, Kaitlyn is working on two AP Studio Art Portfolios and received a perfect score of a "5" on her AP Studio Art 2D Design Portfolio last year. She is extremely passionate about the arts and loves to learn, even using her summers to take courses. She has participated in the Governor's Honors Program (GHP), the MICA's pre-college program and in SCAD's Summer Seminar where she won the Silver Level Scholarship. Kaitlyn serves as Co-President of the WHS National Art Honor Society and constantly shares her talent in the community, from painting at the Foundation for Hospital Art to assisting elementary art teachers. She is phenomenal!"
Kaitlyn's work has been displayed at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and is currently a part of the Capitol Art Exhibit, which is co-sponsored by the Georgia Art Education Association and the Office of the Secretary of State. The Capital Exhibit is the premier event of Youth Art Month and showcases the exceptional creative ability of Georgia's students.
Kaitlyn will be receiving her National Rising Star Award at an awards ceremony in Chicago on March 17th at the 2016 National Art Education Convention, along with her parents, Mrs. Petka, and Judy Condon, Supervisor of Visual Art for Cobb County School District.
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WHS Foundation Plans Dinner & Auction
Walton's Foundation is hosting its first dinner and auction as a fun way to kick-off the Class Size Reduction Campaign. The dinner & auction will be on Saturday, March 5, 2016 at the Parish Center at Holy Family Catholic Church on Lower Roswell Road. All proceeds from the evening will benefit class size reduction at Walton.
The Dinner & Auction's theme is country western. BBQ1 will be preparing barbecue for all the guests. The ticket price of $45.00 includes your dinner and two drink tickets, music and entertainment. Items from local and regional businesses have been donated for the auction. It's sure to be a great night that benefits our students' education. Grab your boots or cowboy hat and join us for a great cause.
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Education Reform Advocacy
Walton, YOU DID Make A DIFFERENCE!
As this year's legislative session kicked off, Governor Nathan Deal stated in his State of the State address that he would not pursue a change in the education funding formula during this session. The funding formula recommended by the Education Reform Commission (ERC) needs further review according to Gov. Deal. He plans to bring recommendations to the 2017 legislative session after having a still-to-be-appointed Teacher Advisory Council submit input. A criticism of the ERC was that there were no active teachers on the commission. The commission's work was not completely tabled for next year. Fiscal year 2017's proposed budget does include increased funding for Georgia's Pre-K program.
Gov. Deal's desire to give the funding formula change more consideration can be attributed to the active involvement by stakeholders. By contacting the governor and our legislators, our voices were heard! We were able to pass along the message that we would like to see education funded based on the actual cost rather than backing into a cost based on current funding levels. The Walton community has certainly made an impact on the issue of how to fund education; however, there is still much work to be done. For now, we have a reprieve from making recession-era funding permanent, but we are still subject to a 30-year-old funding formula and more than a decade of austerity cuts. Although the amount of austerity cuts continues to decline, we could see a $166 million gap between fully funding QBE and what school systems actually receive.
Even though the Governor appears to be reexamining merit pay for teachers, the compensation models continue to be concerning. Our teachers still need our support to make sure they are adequately compensated for their hard work ensuring our children succeed in the classroom. While the new budget calls for a 3% raise for teachers, it also seeks an increase in healthcare costs for non-certified employees. Your child's bus driver, the cafeteria employees, as well as the office staff all contribute to the success of our school. If those costs are passed on to the local district, they could erase any gains made from additional dollars granted to the districts in their K-12 allotments.
Please continue to follow the latest on education reform and funding as this year goes on. Plan to attend forums to learn more about the issues. Stay in contact with your legislators to make sure they examine what it costs to educate your child. Together we can do more.
What can you do?
- Continue to educate yourself about the latest in education reform and spread the word among your friends and neighbors. All stakeholders are impacted and this is not just a Cobb County issue.
- Learn about the Georgia PTA Legislative Priorities, particularly as they look at the amount of testing required of our students.
- Look at the 2016 Legislative Priorities put out by the Cobb County School District Board of Education.
- Participate in community events related to education reform:
- Town Hall Meeting at Lassiter High School on Tuesday, January 26 from 7 - 8 pm
- Legislative PTA Monthly Coffee in the Pope High School media center (not limited to Pope parents) on Tuesday, February 9 at 7 pm
- Contact Governor Deal and your lawmakers (Representatives Matt Dollar & Sharon Cooper and Senator Judson Hill). Remind them of the importance of real education reform. Share your concerns about teacher compensation as it relates to retaining and recruiting quality teachers. Tell them how funding cuts and increased class sizes have impacted your child.
This publication is funded entirely by the WHS PTSA. No public funds were used to convey this message.
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WaltonStrong
We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. - Aristotle
By now, most of us have made and broken several New Year's Resolutions! For lasting change, we have to identify and replace the habits that are keeping us stuck in the same old rut. Habit change isn't complicated; it basically consists of 3 simple steps:
*Write down your plan
*Identify your triggers and replacement habits
*Focus on doing the replacement habits every single time the triggers happen, for 30 days.
To help you stay focused and succeed in changing your habits, review these tips.
- Work on one habit at a time. Habit change is difficult. Give yourself the time and commitment to focus on one habit for 30 days (some studies say 60). This is why so many New Year's Resolutions fail; we try to change everything at once and are completely overwhelmed 5 days into January.
- Start small. If you want to eventually exercise for 30 minutes a day, start with 10 minutes and work your way up to 30 minutes over time.
- Write it down. Saying you are going to change isn't enough. Commit on paper to your goal and clearly state your motivators for change. Identify the habit, your triggers for this habit, and what alternative action you will take to replace the negative habit with a positive one. While you are at it, plan how you are going to accomplish the goal, identify any roadblocks to achieving your goal and figure out how you are going to move past them.
- Don't start right away. Take the time to plan and do the things you need to do to be successful. Want to eat a healthy diet? Purge your house of junk food and replace it with quality food. Spend some time looking for recipes and scheduling time in your week to shop and prep foods so the healthy choice is the easy choice. Determine your start date and give yourself time to prepare for success.
- Set up accountability...the more public the better. If we know we have to report our progress to others, we are more likely to stick to our goals. Accountability partners also are a source of support in your journey.
- If you fail, figure out what went wrong, plan for it, and try again. Failure and guilt are just obstacles, but they can be overcome. Use failure as a learning experience and it will become a stepping stone to your success. So, regroup and get back on that horse!
Want to become a better you? Commit to changing your habits today!
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GADOE Revises Performance Standards for Science/Social Studies
A formal review and revision process has been conducted for the K-12 Science and Social Studies Georgia Performance Standards (GPS). The review process included several public survey opportunities and included teacher and stakeholder surveys in the revision process. Review the Science and Social Studies fact sheets and click on the following links to access a short survey to provide your feedback about the revisions to the standards by March 14, 2016.
- Science Standards Fact Sheet
- Social Studies Fact Sheet
- Survey for Feedback of Revised Science Standards
- Survey for Feedback of Revised Social Studies Standards
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 WHS CHORUS FASHION SHOW
Make plans to attend the 12th annual Walton Chorus Fashion Show & Silent Auction, Saturday, January 30th in the Walton Theater. The Silent Auction begins at 6pm and the curtain rises for the Show at 7pm.
With over 75 models, 12 musical performances, yummy refreshments and lots of great items available in the Auction & Raffles, there is something for everyone! Tickets are available online here: Fashion Show Tickets or at the door on the day of the show. All tickets purchased will be distributed at the Ticket Table on the day of the show.
Thank you for supporting the WHS Chorus!
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Connections and The Raider Review
are paid for by funding from your
Visit Our Website to Learn more about Walton's PTSA
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