Inman, Grady Students Excel in Acedemics, Arts, Atheletics
By Susan Rose
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the May 2016 issue of The Candler Park Messenger and is reprinted with the kind permission of the author and the Candler Park Neighborhood Organization.
As the 2015-2016 school year comes to a close, here are some highlights of student achievements since January.
Inman Middle School
The Georgia Department of Education proposed changes to the 6th grade Social Studies curriculum standards that included the elimination of the study of slavery and the Holocaust. Inman 6th grade students organized a campaign to oppose that proposal. They made posters, spoke with parents, and appeared on 11Alive news with reporter Donna Lowry. The 6th graders celebrated their efforts in April when it was announced that the study of slavery and the Holocaust would remain in the state standards.
In January, Inman Middle School principal Dr. Betsy Bockman reported that Inman was recognized for the best monthly student attendance of all APS middle schools for the previous four months.
Two 8th grade students, Jay Hammond and Issac Turner, joined Grady jazz musicians to record and release a jazz CD from which all proceeds from sales will go directly to the Inman Band program and Citizen Advocacy. The recording is available both digitally and as a physical CD.
The Inman Reading Bowl team won the APS District Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl Championship for the middle school division in February. Four students read 20 books (over 4,000 pages) and answered detailed questions to win.
Both the girls and boys basketball teams qualified for playoffs. The girls team finished the regular season with a 10 – 2 record and entered the playoffs as a top seed. The boys squad finished the regular season 4 – 7 – 1. Both teams competed in the APS Middle School Championship at Corretta Scott King on February 6 and each team came in second place in the entire district.
The Inman Debate team won first place in the city tournament on March 5 at Emory University. The Inman Math team won the gold medal in the APS Middle School Math Competition held at King Middle School in March.
Inman 7th grader Lauren Silcock won first place in her age division in the National Carol Marsh Mystery Writing Contest for her story A Beautiful Scent which was recognized for creativity and exceptional writing.
The Inman girls track team placed 2nd in the city at a meet in early April. Nkoiva Dawson won 1st place in the long jump and the high jump. Nikita Laye placed 2nd in the high jump. Lindsay Schroeder won 1st place in the mile and 2nd place in the 800m. Emily Sands placed 2nd in the mile, and Ameah Richardson won 2nd place in the 400m. The boys 4×4 team (Zaire Thornton, Jehdia Hosley, Jackson Sexton and Justin Wilborn) placed 2nd. Justin Wilborn won 1st place in the 400m and the long jump.
The Inman Art team won the rain barrel art contest at the Dogwood Arts Festival in April. The Chattahoochee River Keepers who sponsored the contest awarded the team a trip on the Chattahoochee River Keepers floating classroom.
The Girls Lacrosse team finished the season with two wins against Marist and Pace, closing the season 8 – 2. The team is ranked 2nd in the South Division and is advancing to the playoffs on April 30.
The Boys Lacrosse team defeated St. Pius for the first time in almost 3 years.The Inman tennis team beat Carrollton Middle School on April 10 as the boys won 9-6 and the girls won 7-4. On April 13 the team split against Woodward Academy as the boys lost 2 – 10 and the girls won 6 – 5. The girls team won all matches against Paidea on April 14.
The Inman Golf team had a record number of players, 14, this season and included the first two girl players in recent memory. The team finished with 4 wins and 4 losses, including an 8th place finish in the Sutton Invitational, the unofficial State Middle School Golf Tournament, on April 23. The team was undefeated on its home course, Candler Park Golf Course, with tournament victories over Sutton Middle School and Drew Charter Middle School.
Grady High School
Grady student Clarrissa Mullig’s play, In and Out, from last year’s Grady Writing Center playwriting workshop, was chosen out of thirty entries to be used at the Georgia Thespian Conference Playworks program.
In December, the Grady JROTC cadets won one 1st place, two 2nd place and two 3rd place trophies at the JROTC Christmas Invitational Drill Meet.
The Grady Knights swim team won the City Championship Title with a score of 1,421.6 to 1,221.5 as the regular season concluded. The girls team received the 1st place trophy with a score of 768 as they placed 1st in every event they entered. The boys team won the 2nd place trophy.
Grady sent 19 swimmers to the Georgia High School State Swimming Championships on February 5 at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center. Two swimmers qualified for finals. Melissa Brown placed 3rd in the 50 Free and 16th in the 100 Free. Justin Cucchi placed 15th in the 200IM and 12th in the 100 Back, which represents the highest placements in Grady history.
Congratulations to the Grady Mock Trial team on its 18th consecutive win at the Georgia State High School Mock Trial Regional Competition. Six team members won individual awards such as best witness and best attorney. The team proceeded to the state championship on March 19 and finished in the final four. Grady had not qualified for the state championship since 2013. Several team members won individual awards.
As of April 10, the Grady boys lacrosse team was undefeated with eight consecutive wins. The team has 30 players, which is the largest roster ever. Grady aims to be a “lacrosse powerhouse.” Grady Senior Mack Hodges will be recognized as one of four finalists for the 2016 Georgia Poet Laureate’s Prize. The Governor, First Lady of Georgia and the Poet Laureate will officiate a ceremony at the State Capitol on May 12.
Seventeen Grady High School juniors have met the requirements for the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program. These students will be recognized in the fall and have the opportunity to compete for 7,400 National Merit Scholarships to be offered in 2017. To qualify for this recognition, these students were among the 50,000 highest-scoring performers on the PSAT/NMSQT test among 1.5 million program entrants nationwide.