Volume LIII Number 7 November-December 2020 New Staff Hired for In-Person School Students returning to school were greet- ed by many new faces in their classrooms. Paideia added new staff to assist in classes in all levels of the school during hybrid schooling. See the complete list and more photos on page 2. Jordan Battle ’16 Marlis Finn Andrew Haworth ’01 Addison Kerwin ’20 Erin Trapaga Brittany Cook Anna Glass ’14 Karen Hernandez ’14 Chidike Iromuanya Chupzi Lema Rosa Mendez Damon Sumner Gabby Donaldson Lauren Poe Ndelea Simama ’96 Antonjo Agolli Hannah Barnett ’16 Dominic Beaufeaux Callie Clements ’14 Euzhan Collins ’08 Harrison Fisher ’15 Diamond Jones New Members Join Elementary and High School Staff Sarah Davison is a new teacher in the elementary with Emily school. Prior to coming to Paideia Jonathan worked in Atlanta Orr and Emily Schreck. She has B.A. from the University of Public and Fulton County schools. He has a B.A. from Metro- Toronto and an M.A. from the University of Southern California. politan College of New York, an MPA from Georgia State Uni- Jonathan Burke is the new learning specialist in the high versity and an M.A. from Liberty University. COMMUNITY New Faces continued from page 1 Half Day Aides Jordan Battle ’16, afternoon half day aide Marlis Finn, morning half day aide Jay Jones Josalyn Jones Kate Kingma ’14 Ashley San Miguel Andrew Haworth ’01, morning half day aide Addison Kerwin ’20, afternoon half day aide Erin Trapaga, afternoon half day aide Elementary Aides Brittany Cook, elementary aide, with In- dia, Sallie Jose’s class Andrew Stargill Alexandria Sweatt Isis Wilson Anna Glass ’14, elementary aide, Adri- Junior High anne and Dan’s class Callie Clements ’14, high school aide Gabby Donaldson, junior high aide, Karen Hernandez ’14, elementary aide, Euzhan Collins ’08, high school aide Naimah Frame’s class Olivia, Kaela and Terri’s class Harrison Fisher ’15, high school aide Lauren Poe, junior high aide, Bonnie Chidike Iromuanya, elementary aide, Diamond Jones, high school aide Sparling’s class Kristen, Isabelle and Stephanie’s class Jay Jones, high school aide Ndelea Simama ’96, junior high aide, Chupzi Lema, elementary aide, Patrick, Josalyn Jones, high school aide Kelly Clampett’s class Annie and David’s class Kate Kingma ’14, high school aide Rosa Mendez, elementary aide, Alessan- High School Aides Ashley San Miguel, high school aide dra, Britt and Kathy’s class Antonjo Agolli, high school aide Andrew Stargill, high school aide Damon Sumner, elementary aide, Brian Hannah Barnett ’16, high school aide Alexandria Sweatt, high school aide and Thomas and Elisa’s class Dominic Beaufeaux, high school aide Isis Wilson, high school aide Junior High Students Take Paideia Cross Country Science Olympiad Top 3 Spots in Debate Coach Named Boys’ Coach Team Places First Tournament of the Year in Division Three junior high students finished in the top Paideia cross country coach Becca Mc- The high school Science three places in the virtual Middle School Novice Cauley has been named Class A Private Boys’ Olympiad team competed in Tournament of Atlanta Urban Debate League in Cross Country Coach of the Year by the Geor- the South Forsyth Invitational November. Alok Ahn, Ryan Dong and Yolanda gia Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Science Olympiad Tourna- King took the top three spots at a virtual debate Association. ment. Thirty-eight teams from tournament hosted by the Atlanta Urban Debate The varsity boys’ and girls’ cross country schools of all classifications League. teams finished in third and fifth place at the from five states competed in The club was started in August by Ryan, who State meet on Nov. 7. The teams, led by an all-day online tournament. runs the weekly meetings with help from faculty coaches Becca and Dan McCauley, wrapped Paideia finished first in A/AA adviser Andy Sarvady. Ryan is active in another up a successful season despite competing un- schools’ class and 14th overall. local debate club but neither Alok nor Yolanda had der COVID-19 restrictions. Javier Pardo ’21 and Shyam ever been in a tournament before. The director of Three team members earned Top Ten State Tridandapani ’21 finished in the AUDL, Christy Bradley, called their perfor- Championship medals in their races. Boys’ fifth place overall in the Circuit mance at the Middle School Novice Tournament team members Sam Colton and Elijah Mc- Lab event. Phillip Salzinger “stunning” and imagines they’ll be moving up to Cauley finished fourth and ninth respectively. ’23 and Sean Zheng ’22 fin- the varsity level soon. Kudos to Ryan Dong, who Varsity girl runner Jordan Walter finished ished in seventh place overall coached his team to quite an impressive victory. eighth. in the Sounds of Music event. 2 | The Paideia Newsletter • November-December 2020 COMMUNITY #WinAtSocial: Empowering Students to Navigate Their Social World By Tami Oliver, Director of Technology The #WinAtSocial program has two “It was interesting to do the major components: the #WinAtSocial #WinAtSocial activities with my peers For people of all ages, social media curriculum and the Resource Portal. to see how our opinions on certain top- has become an integral part of daily life. ics were different or the same. I love More than ever, we turn to social media #WinAtSocial Curriculum that the emphasis is on social media. for connection, information, and enter- #WinAtSocial is the world’s first gami- Social media is a great way to stay in tainment. While the pros and cons of fied curriculum that empowers students to touch with friends. Especially during social media provide much substance for navigate their social world - social media COVID-19 or times when we cannot debate, there is no indication that it will and technology - to fuel their health, hap- see them.” be going away any time soon. As educa- piness, and future success. This gamified tors and parents, we should do our best and student-led approach to social emo- — 10th grade student to provide the tools and guidance for our tional education was created by the Social students to participate in a thoughtful and Institute with over 50,000 students at 60 The Resource Portal careful manner. schools nationwide. Students use devices The Resource Portal at https://theso- To that end, we are excited to announce (desktops, laptops, tablets, or smartphones) cialinstitute.com/Resource-Portal/ is the our new partnership with The Social In- to play during Homeroom, Advisory, or Social Institute’s parent and staff portal of stitute. Beginning this fall, our students in Health Class. Trainers (advisors or teach- #WinAtSocial, updated with expert tips 5th-12th grades began participating in the ers) host and facilitate the game. While and advice for helping your children navi- #WinAtSocial program to explore impor- students play at school, all parents and gate social media positively. Parents and tant topics and develop skills to help them staff receive real-time updated tools in the staff can log into the portal to stay ahead navigate the world of social media and Resource Portal and Family Huddles. of trending apps, privacy settings, and nec- technology. essary conversations to have about social “Several parents from our classroom media and technology. “The thing that excites me the most mentioned that they had a wonder- While our 5th-12th grade students about this curriculum is the positive ful time discussing the #WinAtSocial will complete several #WinAtSocial approach. We know that our students follow-up topics around their dinner lessons throughout the school year, we are going to use social media, but we table. They appreciated the oppor- invite all our families to take advantage want them to use it in a smart, con- tunity to raise these issues under the of this valuable resource to dive deeper structive way. I believe that this curric- umbrella of school curriculum, which into these topics together at home using ulum will help our students with this.” acted as an opening for bringing them the information in the Resource Portal. — Lacey Andersen, up and provided them with important Instructions on how to sign up for the Re- Innovative Teaching Specialist specifics to address.” source Portal can be found in the parent — Bonnie Sparling, portal of the school’s website at https:// Junior High Teacher www.paideiaschool.org/parent-portal. Paideia’s Financial Aid Tax Credit Program Paideia Senior to Play Thank you to those who participated in the 2020 Financial Aid Tax Credit (FATC) Pro- Soccer at Stanford gram. Through our collective effort, Paideia received over $500,000 from the FATC Senior Will Reilly program! Taking the time to re-direct your tax dollars to Paideia exemplifies how we can signed an athletic have a big impact on our community when we come together. We are grateful you made it scholarship to play a priority to support Paideia’s Financial Aid. soccer at Stanford The application process for the 2021 tax year is now open. Since 2009, participation in University. Stan- the Financial Aid Tax Credit (FATC) Program by the Paideia community has raised close ford is an NCAA to $5 million for financial aid. This important program is integral to strengthening both Division I school and the socioeconomic diversity of our student body as well as the financial well-being of the is a member of the school. Please consider participating today by going to apogee123.org Pac-12 Conference. November-December 2020 • The Paideia Newsletter | 3 continued on page 7 COMMUNITY The Powerful Play Goes On, and You May Contribute a Verse Tal Birdsey ’83 is an alum and taught in the junior high from 1988-1998. He is a co-founder stressed out about it, or worried out loud and head teacher of the North Branch School in Ripton, Vermont.