From the Headmaster
The month of February was
a prime example of Walker at its best. During Arts Month
celebrations we hosted award-winning performers, illustrators,
authors, and musicians school-wide. At the third annual
International Day, several of our students dressed in
costume during our WOW group assembly and brought attention to
the various cultures represented in our Walker family. Look for more
on these events in the upcoming spring issue of Walker
magazine.
IN THE
COMMUNITY
Coach
Bill Curry to speak at Walker
Bill Curry, Head
Football Coach at Georgia State as well as an accomplished public
speaker and acclaimed author, will speak to the general public in
the Coca-Cola Family Auditorium at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 8. Be sure
to mark May 8 on your calendar and invite your family and
friends to join you. Space is limited for this free event. Make your
reservation by contacting Rebecca Jordan.
Walker
joins Cobb Habitat High School Coalition
The Walker
School, along with Interact, our school's community service club,
has teamed up with four other high schools in Cobb County (Kennesaw
Mountain, Pope, Harrison, and Wheeler) to form the Cobb Habitat High
School Coalition. In February, the group started the
construction of a 3BD/2BA home and will continue to work on it every
Saturday this spring until it is complete. Almost one-third of our
high school students will be involved in this project over the next
three months, whether they are swinging a hammer or helping raise
funds and awareness. To learn more please contact Peter Sullivan at 770-427-2689 ext.
2542.
Neil
Clark gives advice in Atlanta Magazine's Georgia College
Guide 2009
Neil Clark, Dean of College Counseling
and Guidance, was consulted for an article, "Georgia On Our Minds,"
in the Georgia College Guide 2009 available now. Clark is
one of five local college counselors featured in the
article. He was also recently nominated to serve on the
University of Georgia's High School Advisory Council. (read article)
DEVELOPMENT
Did you know...?
Rates of Annual Fund support among a private
school's parent base are a major factor in a foundation's
decision to support a school. Walker has received $3.3 million in
foundation and corporate support in the last five years alone.
That's why gifts of every amount make a big impact and are greatly
valued. Make your pledge or donate to the Annual
Fund today.
AROUND
CAMPUS
Walker
Auction update
We
hope you have reserved Saturday, May 2, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. so
that you can join us at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel for Walker’s
2009 Casino Night and Auction. Parents should have already received
a brochure explaining the evening’s events, but if you have not,
please let us know and one will be mailed to you right
away. Click here
to learn how you can help make this evening a success and here for the auction website.
New
website feature
We have added a new page to our
website. It is accessible from the home page in the upper menu as
"This Week." Each Friday the next week's activities will be
listed here for easy access by our Walker
community so that you may quickly see events on campus.
Box Tops
Thank
you to all parents who participated in our first annual Box Tops
contest. Mrs. Smith’s Preschool class won with over 1,300 Box Tops
coupons. Ms. Brooks’ fifth grade class came in first in the Lower
School and Mrs. Carter’s fifth grade class came in second. Each of
those classes brought in over 500 coupons. We will have another
contest in April for the Preschool and in May for the Lower School,
so start clipping! If you have any questions about the program
please check out the Box
Tops for Education website.
Parent
Networking
We have had some wonderful networking
coffees this year with more on the way. In February, we hosted
speaker Ray Hinton, Jr., CPA. He presented "Tax Strategies for
Small Businesses" as well as answered questions. Our next meeting is
this Friday, March 20, at 7:30 a.m. in the Leithead Boardroom. The
Boardroom is located near the main dining hall and the Bowden
Library. The group offers networking opportunities to assist the
Walker professional community. All Walker parents are invited to
attend. Whether you are looking for a job or to expand your
business, this group can help! Please contact Lisa
Weinert for more information.
Annual Trivia
Night
On
Saturday, March 21, at 6:30 p.m. Kevin Tilley will host
the annual trivia night in the dining hall. Please form teams of six
that include your friends, relatives, neighbors. Bring your own food
and drink (non-alcoholic only) and enjoy a fun night of
trivia.
Book
Sale
On
Wednesday, May 27, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Muthiah Activity Center,
Walker parents will hold a textbook sale for our Middle and Upper
School families. Please sign up by May 13 if you are interested.
Book sellers will need to set a price for their books in advance and
will need to be present or have a responsible representative at
their selling table on the day of the sale. All sellers will be
assigned a specific table for the event. The Walker School is not
responsible for the individual sale of books as in the past with the
SGA sale. If you would like to participate, please contact Loretta
Bobo at lorettabobo@mindspring.com.
Calling all Walker business
owners…
If you are a member of the Walker family and
are interested in getting the word out about your business to the
Walker community, please contact Cathy LaClaire.
The Development Office, with assistance from the WSA
business networking group, is exploring an idea that will help
provide free exposure/advertising for Walker owned businesses.
PRESCHOOL
Preschool
celebrates Arts Month
Our
Preschool students enjoyed an eventful month from International Day
to the annual art show to the visiting author Susan Stevens Crummel.
This year’s theme for the Preschool art show was “Wild About Art”
and featured several pieces of art from each student in the
Preschool. A special thanks to all of our parent volunteers who
helped Ms. Crowley and Ms. Nasca display the
artwork.
Book
fair in April
Mark
your calendar for the annual Preschool Book Fair! This year the book
fair will be held April 22-24. More information will be sent home
with students closer to the event.
LOWER
SCHOOL
Georgia
Department of Agriculture thanks Taylor Wilson, students and
faculty
Mary
M. Greene, the Director of Animal Protection and Equine Health for
the Georgia Department of Agriculture, expressed appreciation in a
letter addressed to Taylor Wilson, students and faculty for $301.67
donated to the Equine Impound Program. “It is because of people
like Taylor, and grass roots support from people like the students
and staff at The Walker School, that the Equine Impound Program can
intervene when necessary to insure the health and welfare of the
equine population in Georgia,” she stated.
Thanks
to Wilson’s efforts, a horse named Henry has received immediate
care by a veterinarian. The horse came to the Georgia Department of
Agriculture Equine Health section after being impounded because his
owners failed to properly care for him. Henry has made a recovery
thanks to these much needed funds.
Renee Fink
and Matt Stokes beautify Lower School garden
Renee
Fink, parent of William (’20), has been donating her time and
talents as a Cobb County Master Gardener to our Lower School
garden. Fink’s work in the fall is being enjoyed now that
spring is here and the flowers are in bloom. She has
styled the garden based on an English/Butterfly garden concept
and a new shade garden section will be added this fall. Look
for more on Fink's work in the upcoming issue of Walker
magazine.
Matt Stokes (’09), who built a fence around
the garden last year, recently donated $175 to be used for the
garden.
Third-graders explore Egyptian
culture
Arts Month was a great opportunity for our
third-graders to explore Egypt. Activities included mummy making, a
trip to the Carlos Museum, paper making with guest artist Katy
Dement, and reading "The Magnificent Mummy Maker." Students learned
all about the culture and artifacts. Seen to the right is Mrs.
Wardi, a docent at the Carlos Museum, with Jason Thomas as
the "mummy" surrounded by other students in Mrs. Schlich's and Mrs.
Kelley's class.
Lights!
Camera! Book Fair!
The
Lower School will host a Scholastic Book Fair April 1-3 in the
Winship Library. On April 1 and 2 you may stop by between 8 a.m. and
3 p.m. and on April 3, visit between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m.
MIDDLE
SCHOOLDebate
Team wins first
Our
Middle School Debate Team, coached by Kitty Drew, won first
place in February’s debate meet held at St. Francis. This was a
team best – our students won five out of six rounds. Students on the
team included: Margi Wiles, Trisha Ramakrishnan,
Mohini Chakravorty, Chandler
Smith, Will Stowers, Reilly Johnson, Chantal Sharp, Hensley Babb,
Sarah Syrop, Erin Leagan and understudy/statistician Rachael
Zimmerman.
Math
Counts team captures third
In
the Regional Math Counts tournament held on Feb. 14, Decker Onken
and Mitch Van Den Eynde qualified for state competition to be held
on March 21. The Walker team placed third overall. Alex LaDue, Joe
Zuckerman, Daniel Sosnovsky, Pooja Mayur, Mohini Chakravorty, Trisha
Ramakrishnan and Sabrena Rutledge also participated in the
tournament. Congratulations to all of our Math Counts team
members!
Rosaria
Prasad and Nika Fendler receive
recognition
Two
sixth-graders have distinguished themselves in recent days: Rosaria
Prasad was one of the top 100 scorers on the state level National
Geography Bee Test and will advance to the state meet on April 3 in
Milledgeville. Nika Fendler placed third in the Library of Congress
Letters About Literature Contest and will read her letter to Dr.
Seuss about Oh, The Places You'll Go at the Decatur Library
on April 25.
UPPER
SCHOOL
Mock
Trial
Walker's
Mock Trial team placed second in the region to Walton High School on
February 6 and 7. This year's scores were incredibly close and
attorneys Bas de Vuyst, Katie Ragan, Alexcia Fauscett (the only
four-year team member), Shannon Pitts, Morgan Johnson and Michael
Crouch dazzled the judges with their courtroom prowess. Stellar
witness performances came from Ian Adams, Steven Touchton, Drew
West, Ali Bobo, Nicholas Arjona and Jordan Perry stepped in as a
substitute for veteran Ryan
Shirley.
Caroline
Brashier scored 1000th career point
Caroline
Brashier scored her 1000th career point on Feb. 3 in a
game against North Cobb Christian School. Brashier is the sixth
female to reach this milestone at Walker and the first to do so
during her junior season. She accomplished this with a left-handed
layup midway through the second quarter.
The Lady Wolverines
ended the season by making a trip to the first-round of state
playoffs earlier this month. Congratulations to the entire team
on a job well done! (Click here for more athletic
information.)
Spring
Break Out
The
Upper School Parent Council and Upper School Administration will
host the second annual “Spring Break Out” on Tuesday, March 31, at 5
p.m. This laid-back event celebrates spring sports, the upcoming
Spring Break, and just spring weather in general! Students and
faculty will have a tropical dress day and be greeted in the
morning by students passing out Hawaiian leis. After
school, Upper School students, faculty and parents will enjoy a free
cookout featuring hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and drinks. Cold
Stone ice cream will be sold with a portion of the proceeds going to
Relay for Life. Donations to Relay for Life will also be accepted.
Fans and athletes from Whitefield and AIS are welcome to join in the
fun. Head chef Bob Murphy and his crew of faculty members and
parents are in charge of the
grill.
