Scholars Academy

📣 Attention: Mini Cheer Camp Families Due to inclement weather expected tomorrow night, the Mini Cheer Camp Cheerleaders will NOT perform this week (Sept. 6). Instead, we will perform during PRE-GAME on October 4th. We apologize for any inconvenience, but the safety of our little campers is our top priority. 🛡️✨ If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Louann Pilcher at 📧 pilcherl@tcitys.org. Thank you for your understanding! ❤️💛

🌟 Staff Spotlight: Mr. Darrin Minns 🌟 Introducing Mr. Darrin Minns, our amazing 8th grade math teacher at Scholars Academy! With 24 years of teaching experience in Georgia and Florida, Mr. Minns brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to our classrooms. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Statistics from UCF and a Master's degree in Educational Leadership from FSU. 🧮🎓Originally from Orlando, Mr. Minns has been happily married to his wonderful wife, Sherri, for 32 years. Together, they have two children and four grandchildren. In a bold adventure, Mr. Minns bought a sailboat with no prior sailing experience! His first-ever sail took him and his wife across the Gulf of Mexico, a 23-hour journey that he calls the most terrifying experience of his life! ⛵️😅 When asked what he loves about teaching at Scholars Academy, his answer is simple: "The kids—they are great!" We’re so grateful to have Mr. Minns and his adventurous spirit on our team! Let’s show him some love in the comments! 💬❤️

📣 Community Impact Alert! 🐾 Our amazing middle school students have shown their love for animals in the best way possible! They have collected around 100 bags of cat and dog food to support our local Humane Society. 🐶🐱 A huge shoutout to our compassionate and dedicated students for making a difference in the lives of our furry friends. Let's keep up the kindness and continue to support our community together! We have extended this commuity outreach project until September 6th if students would still like to participate. Bring all donations to your homeroom teachers to earn 1 hour of community service. Teachers will supply a completed community service form.

📚 Attention, High School Students! 📚 Are you interested in joining the THS Literary Team? 📖✍️ There will be a brief Interest Meeting this Thursday, September 5th, at 3:15 PM in Mrs. Nicolay's Room F-1. Come to the meeting for more information and to see how you can be a part of our amazing team. We look forward to seeing you there! 🌟

🎶 Staff Spotlight: Mr. Adam Swan 🎶 Meet Mr. Adam Swan, our incredible high school band director, currently in his 12th year of teaching! A proud graduate of Jacksonville State University, Mr. Swan brings his passion for music to life both in and out of the classroom. During the summer, he shares his expertise as a member of the brass educational team at Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps. When he's not teaching, you can find him on the golf course, fishing, or crushing it at CrossFit. Fun fact: he firmly believes pineapple doesn't belong on pizza! 🍕😉 Mr. Swan loves the unique support system between Scholars Academy families and staff, saying it's like nothing he's experienced before. We are so grateful to have him as part of our SA family! Let's give Mr. Swan a big round of applause for all he does for our students! 👏🎺🎵

🧮 Math in Action! 🧮 Students in Mrs. Sumner's 7th grade math class are exploring arithmetic combinations of negative and positive numbers! Working in collaborative groups, they're exploring new strategies, solving problems, and learning together. We love seeing their enthusiasm and teamwork in action! Great job, future mathematicians! 🙌

🌟 Staff Spotlight: Mr. Lucas Kimmel 🌟 We're excited to highlight Mr. Lucas Kimmel, who is in his 7th year of teaching a variety of science classes at Scholars Academy. He is currently teaching 7th Grade Life Science. A proud graduate of Georgia Southwestern University, Mr. Kimmel also shined on the soccer field, playing 4 years of college soccer. He now brings that same passion to the field as the Head Coach for the Girls Varsity Soccer Team. When asked what he loves about teaching at Scholars Academy, Mr. Kimmel shared, "The drive the students have to learn." We're grateful to have such a dedicated and inspiring educator on our team!

🌟 Staff Spotlight: Mrs. Mandy Russo 🌟 Say hello to Mrs. Mandy Russo, a dedicated educator in her 13th year of teaching at Thomasville City Schools! She currently teaches AP Biology, AP Physics, regular Biology, and Anatomy and Physiology, and she has also taught middle school science. Mrs. Russo is not only a passionate teacher but also a lifelong learner, currently working on her doctorate. She already holds a master's degree in curriculum and instruction and a specialist degree in instructional technology. Beyond the classroom, she’s the school's Odyssey of the Mind coach and has led teams to the world finals for the past four years! 🌍 Originally from near the Canadian border in New York State, Mrs. Russo has brought her love of science and education to our community. Her husband works at THS, and their son is a first-year Honors student at Georgia State University. 📚 In her free time, Mrs. Russo enjoys reading, spending time with her dogs. Fun fact: Mrs. Russo played rugby in college!. She has a deep love for the students, staff, and the incredible support from the administration at Thomasville. We're grateful to have such a passionate and accomplished educator like Mrs. Russo on our team!

✨Substitute Teacher Training Update✨ Thank you to everyone who signed up and came to our substitute training sessions at Thomasville City Schools. We trained over 130 substitute teachers who are ready to work with our students! If you are still interested in substitute teaching, Southwest RESA has a great option to become credentialed. Here are the steps: 1. Apply with our School System - Please complete the following steps: https://yossplatform.com/companylogin/Thomasville After clicking on this link, 1. New candidate of Thomasville City Schools. 2. Register as a new user 3. Input information for your new user account 4. Click My Application 5. Click Submit New Application 6. Select Classified employee 7. Once application is complete, click apply button for the substitute position (JB75) 2. Complete online Training through SWGA Resa https://www.swresa.org/substitute-teacher-training Once your training is complete, you will be sent a certificate from SWGA Resa. Please email this certificate to youngl@tcitys.org. 3. Schedule a Background Check Call or email youngl@tcitys.org and we can set up a time to complete this in our office. You must bring your social security card and driver's license. 4. Approved by the Board of Education Once you have completed steps 1-3, pending background check results, you will be added to our board report. We usually have these at least once a month.

Updated MS info: Students will check in with their homeroom teachers to receive their Community Service Form before turning in their food to the office. Homeroom teachers will keep up with completed forms. Forms can also be found on the SA website in the documents tab through quick links.

Attention SA Middle School Students:

🌟 Staff Spotlight: Mrs. Dana Rainey, 8th grade Social Studies Teacher 🌟 Introducing Mrs. Rainey, a dedicated educator with an impressive journey! She graduated from Auburn University's College of Education and pursued her master's degree in administration at LSU. Over her career, Mrs. Rainey has taught in Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana, and this is her seventh year at the Scholars Academy. Originally from metro Atlanta, she began her teaching career in Cobb County. Her husband's job with Flowers Foods has taken their family to various places, but they've called Thomasville home for over 20 years. Both of her children are proud THS / Scholars Academy graduates! 🎓 Mrs. Rainey is a big fan of SEC sports, enjoys reading, cooking, and cherishing time with family and friends. Fun fact: she learned to water ski at just 5 years old, and to this day, the lake remains one of her favorite happy places! 🌊 She’s passionate about making a difference in her students' lives and takes her role as an educator seriously, knowing that she’s helping shape the lives of future generations. We're so fortunate to have her guiding our students!

Exciting news—the teachers have taken the lead in the High School Student vs. Teacher Reading Challenge! 📖 But don’t worry, there’s still plenty of time to catch up! Special shoutout to our top readers so far: 🧑‍🏫Top Teacher Reader for the First Two Weeks: Ms. Piazza! 🏆 Right on her heels: Mrs. Everett and Mrs. Peralta are close behind! 🧑‍🎓Top Student Reader: Mya Lee! 🎉 Keep up the great work, everyone! Check your school email for all the details on how to participate. Let’s see if the students can reclaim the top spot—there are awesome prizes up for grabs! Let’s get reading! 📚

♦️REMINDER♦️

❤️💛Staff Spotlight: Meet Dr. Sally Hernandez, a dedicated educator with 14 years of service at Thomasville City Schools teaching middle school and high school orchestra! After earning her Doctorate from Florida State University, she found her way to our community in 2016 and has been a vibrant part of it ever since. Beyond the classroom, Dr. Hernandez is a talented musician who performs with the Tallahassee Symphony and at weddings. She also shares her passion for music by singing and directing the choir on Sundays. 🎶 Originally from Oklahoma City, she loves the small-town charm of Thomasville. Fun fact: she met her husband while salsa dancing! 💃 Dr. Hernandez has traveled to China and Africa, bringing a wealth of experiences to her students at the Scholars Academy, THS, and MPMS. She treasures watching her students grow and is deeply committed to coaching and teaching them every step of the way. We're so blessed to have Dr. Hernandez as part of our Thomasville family! 💛

Mrs. Russo’s AP Biology class took part in testing how enzymes interact with raw chicken, beef liver, potato, and an apple. Learning through hands-on experiments!

Check out this community service opportunity for H.S and M.S. this Saturday, August 24th.

Parents, please look over our rainy day procedures for Middle School below.

🎾 **Physics in Motion!** ⏱️ Our AP Physics students took on the challenge of testing acceleration and velocity using tennis balls and timers! From recording times to analyzing data, it was a day of discovery and learning. 📈

❤️💛Thomasville City Schools & Bulldog Community💛❤️ We are continuing our "Attendance Matters... Because YOU Matter" campaign. 🏫🎒 Join us in promoting and increasing daily student attendance! Let's work together to make every school day count. ✨Together, we can achieve greatness! ✨ #thomasvillecityschools #thomasvillega #attendancematters #youmatter #everydaycounts 🐶