Dear Walton Families,

It’s hard to believe we have already completed six weeks of Spring semester and our seniors are within a few short months of Graduation.  I am looking forward to handing our Class of 2023 their diplomas and celebrating this great milestone.  We will be sending detailed information to our senior families in the coming weeks.   

National School Counselor Week was February 7-11, which gives me an opportunity to thank our wonderful counselors.  From academic advisement to help in times of crisis or struggle, they are there to support our students and our families.  I appreciate the kindness and caring our counselors bring to school each and every day. 

Recently, Walton was named a 2023 GaDOE AP Honor School!  This award recognizes the dedication of our school and district to ensure that students are prepared for college.  It also highlights the hard work of our AP teachers and students as they challenge themselves with rigorous coursework, culminating with the AP exam in May. 

Walton’s long history of success has largely been due to outstanding community support.  This is the time of year where our PTSA, Foundation and Booster Clubs will start looking for parent volunteers for the 2023-2024 school year.  Whether you can help at a one-time event or can serve as a board member, please consider saying yes to the call to service.  Not only does engaging with the school help us all connect as a community, but these organizations truly focus on serving our students and giving them opportunities above and beyond what just the school can offer.   

As you will see in this newsletter, our students are continuing to see success in the classroom, on the field and through extracurricular activities.  Go Raiders!

All the best,
Principal Richard Tischler

Hi, Walton Community:

The first two months of our spring semester have been busy.  Thank you everyone who has helped make our Walton Community even stronger.  Please be on the lookout for signup genius requests in our e-blasts and on social media to further help in the school over the next few months. 

We are happy to announce that our Teacher of the Year, Katie Bustle, and our Classified Employee of the year, Melissa Schrenk, were honored along with the other Cobb County honorees at a PTSA sponsored Brunch on February 7th.  Again, we congratulate them for a job well done.  Thank you to Beth Freeman for helping coordinate the event and to Mr. Basulto and his students for creating the video used at the event.    

We would like to thank Ginny Kirkland for attending the Georgia PTA Day at the Capitol on February 7th on behalf of the Walton PTSA.  At the meeting, they shared legislative updates for the 2023 Georgia Legislative session, which included an overview of Georgia PTA's official stance on two pieces of legislation: 

• SUPPORTS:  HB 3, Support for Students Living in Poverty Act

• OPPOSES:   HB 54, Provides for an Increase in the Education Tax Credit

We would like to thank Beth Freeman and her committee for doing such an amazing job to thank our bus drivers, custodians, police officers, and many others around the school on February 14th.  Also, thank you all for sending in the requested treats.  The appreciation luncheon was well attended and enjoyed by all. 

The Career Fair is soon: March 15th during WEB.  Please encourage your children to attend.  It is a wonderful opportunity to learn about various careers and practice networking skills.

Stay safe and healthy!

Fondly,

Melanie May and Caroline Whaley, PTSA co-Presidents

waltonpresident@gmail.com

Classified Employee of the Year Melissa Schrenk with Principal Richard Tischler

The Georgia Department of Education and State Superintendent Richard Woods recently announced the list of 2022 Advanced Placement (AP) Honor Schools, which includes all 16 traditional high schools in the Cobb County School District. 

“We are committed to expanding opportunities for Georgia students, including in advanced and accelerated coursework,” Superintendent Woods said. “I offer my sincere congratulations to each of this year’s AP Honor Schools, and thank each teacher, student, and school leader who worked hard to create strong AP opportunities in these Georgia schools.”

Nine schools earned honors in five categories: Hillgrove High School, Kennesaw Mountain High School, Kell High School, Harrison High School, Hillgrove High School, Lassiter High School, Pope High School, Walton High School, and Wheeler High School.

The 2023 AP Honor Schools are named in eight categories based on the results of 2022 AP courses and exams.  

Walton took home honors in five categories:

AP Humanities Schools
Schools with a minimum of five students testing in each of the following AP categories: one ELA course, two history/social science courses, one fine arts course, and one world language course.

AP Humanities Achievement Schools
AP Humanities schools (see above definition) with at least 50% of all AP Humanities exams earning scores of 3 or higher.

AP Schools of Distinction
Schools with at least 20% of the total student population taking AP exams and at least 50% of all AP exams earning scores of 3 or higher.

AP STEM Schools
Schools with a minimum of five students testing in at least four AP STEM courses. (AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Physics C, AP Computer Science A, AP Computer Science Principles)

AP STEM Achievement Schools
AP STEM schools (see above definition) with at least 50% of all AP STEM exams earning scores of 3 or higher.

Walton High School senior Tianyue Xu has been named the school’s 2023 PAGE STAR Student.  Tianyue selected Alan Farnsworth, Latin teacher at Walton, as his STAR Teacher.  At a recent ceremony, Xu was selected to represent Cobb County Schools and moved on to be recognized at the State level.

The PAGE Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program is sponsored, administered, and promoted by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) and the PAGE Foundation. Since its inception in 1958 the STAR program has honored nearly 28,500 students and the teachers selected as the most influential to their academic achievement.  High school seniors must have the highest score on a single test date on the SAT and be a top student in their class based on grade point average to qualify for STAR nomination.

The students and their teachers are honored by their schools and receive special recognition in their communities from one of the more than 172 statewide civic organizations and businesses that serve as local sponsors of the STAR program.  Students then compete for school system recognition as the top STAR Student, and those winners compete for region honors.  Region winners contend for the honor of being named State PAGE STAR Student.  STAR Teachers continue on with their STAR Students at every level of the program.

The Walton High School Model UN Team competed at the Yale University Model UN Conference in January representing the countries of New Zealand, Chile & Cyprus.  Pranaya Balaji won Outstanding delegate for her work as New Zealand in UNDP. 

Participants included: Pranaya Balaji, Zoya Bandukwala, Hunter Buchheit, Kavya Devareddy, Sarah Paul Kattookaran, Josie McCarey, Priya Venkatesan, Nate Wilson, Owen Wu and William Zhao.

Walton Books Without Borders is a club that focuses on providing underprivileged children with access to books and literature so that they can improve their education and have a better future.  We are affiliated with Books for Africa (BFA), the largest shipper of books to all 55 countries in Africa, and our volunteers go to the BFA warehouse to help sort and pack books to be shipped to Africa.  We also donate books to this organization.  So far, we have donated about 200 books.  

Our volunteers also virtually tutor Ukrainian students to help them improve their English and offer support during the unstable situation currently occurring in eastern Europe.  We also tutor students around the globe aged Kindergarten through 8^th grade in various subjects to make them feel more comfortable with school and enjoy learning.  

The collage below pictures our club members at the Books for Africa warehouse in Marietta, GA. 

Congratulations to Zoe Mocklar and Sanjana Konduru for having their work accepted into The AHSAE Main Show that will be exhibited at The Atlanta Dogwood festival.  Out of 816 entries from 83 schools, Walton had two fantastic works accepted!  

As part of its mission to celebrate visual artists of all ages, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival welcomes and supports the Atlanta High School Art Exhibition (AHSAE) each year.  A juried show that allows young artists to gain real-world experience and compete for prizes like scholarships and art supplies, it has also become a favorite festival feature.

Established in early 1970, the AHSAE has a long history with the Atlanta Dogwood Festival and recognizes and encourages the fine quality of art created by the area’s high school students.

Be sure to visit the Atlanta High School Art Exhibition in the Community Center near the 12th Street Entrance to get a look at the variety and breadth of Atlanta’s young artistic talent.  You can even purchase printed copies of your favorite pieces!

#cobbartrocks #artsedga #waltonart #WaltonRaiders #GoRaiders

Congratulations to Aara Ahn for winning Best Overall in all grades and 1st place for 11th grade in the Kiwanis Art & Music Marietta showcase! Her work will go on for further judging.

The Georgia Kiwanis Art & Music Showcase is an annual event that is open to the public and includes an art and music contest featuring students all across the state of Georgia.  This year's date is April 22, 2023 in Gainesville, Georgia.

Last year, scholarships were awarded by the Georgia District Kiwanis Foundation in the total amount of $15,000 to the top 4 winners in both Art and Music.

There were more than 250 entries submitted to the 2023 Georgia Science & Engineering Fair pin design contest. 

The 2023 contest winner is Isabella Corradini from Walton High School.  Isabella’s design will be featured in the GSEF program and on the pin that GSEF participants will receive at the GSEF event March 30 – April 1, 2023.  Read on below to see Isabella’s design, as well as some fantastic Honorable Mentions. 

We also congratulate the following students whose designs earned Honorable Mentions from the judging committee.  These students’ designs will also be featured in the 2023 GSEF printed program.

On March 2-3, the Walton Orchestras will be represented at All State Orchestra by the following students.  These students passed two round of auditions to earn this honor.

Jacob Chen, Viola- 11/12 String Orchestra (12th Chair)  

Christian Hable, 2^nd Violin- 11/12 String Orchestra (7th Chair)  

Zhikai Huang, Cello- 11/12 Full Orchestra (12th Chair)  

Sean Jiao, Bass- 9/10 Full Orchestra (3rd Chair)  

Sunny Kim, 1^st Violin- 11/12 Full Orchestra (3rd Chair: will re-audition for concertmaster!)  

Sophie Landrum, 1^st Violin- 11/12 Full Orchestra (15th Chair)  

Angelina Lee, 1^st Violin- 9/10 Full Orchestra (13th Chair)  

Daniel Lee, Cello- 11/12 String Orchestra (7th Chair)  

Kang Lee, Viola- 11/12 String Orchestra (2nd Chair)  

Ethan Lo, Cello- 9/10 Full Orchestra (2nd Chair)  

Evan Lohbrunner, 2^nd Violin- 11/12 Full Orchestra (10th Chair)  

Collin Marbutt, Bass- 11/12 Full Orchestra (7th Chair)  

Mike Shen, Cello- 9/10 String Orchestra (13th Chair)  

Ryan Tan, 1^st Violin- 9/10 String Orchestra (16th Chair)  

Jason Xu, Viola- 11/12 String Orchestra (3rd Chair)  

Harry Yang, 2^nd Violin- 9/10 Full Orchestra (PRINCIPAL!)  

George Young, Viola- 11/12 Full Orchestra (PRINCIPAL!)  

Stephen Zhu, 1^st Violin- 11/12 Full Orchestra (9^th Chair)

On February 13-15, Walton Orchestra performed at GMEA Large Group Performance Evaluation for a panel of judges.  The judges remarked that all the levels of orchestras were well-prepared, had great tone, and received the highest ratings.  Additionally, the students helped run the event for all of the other orchestras performing.  They were spectacular volunteers and representatives of Walton High School.  (Photo below of Walton Aeolian and Locrian performing).

The Walton Wind Symphony was one of only four High School Bands from across the Southeast to be invited to perform at the 2023 University of Georgia January Music Festival.  The Wind Symphony performed a concert for over 1,000 of the top band students from Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina and Tennessee.  The concert featured a varied program of modern works and traditional band compositions.

Congratulations to the 19 singers selected to represent Walton High School at the District 12 GMEA Honor Choir:

Sam Beltran

Lex Bractancia

Kiana Castellano

Piper Corsi

Sofia Flowers

Robert Greblick

Vinay Guhan

Stefan Ivutin

Maya Iyer

Davis Kambies

Max Mazzacurati

Chase Paink

Ashley Rice

Katie Scott

Melanie Thalhimer

Rebekah Trapnell

Cooper Virant

Sean Wittreich

Special congratulations to Ashley Rice who was selected as a soloist.

The Walton girls basketball team won the region title on February 17 defeating Cherokee High School 66-56.  Coached by Matt Kelterborn, this is the first region championship since 1983 and only the second in school history for the Lady Raiders.  The girls went on to win their first game against Denmark High School in the state playoffs, which is the first playoff win since 1999.  The team finished 19-10, which is the most wins for the program since 1989.  Congratulations on a great season!

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Walton High School 

1590 Bill Murdock Road

Marietta, GA  30062

770-578-3225