Monday 3 May 2010

Schools and Baseball

Friday 30th April


Thankfully all team members rose again and enjoyed a buffet breakfast at the home before setting out to learn more of the school system here in Gwinnett County.

First stop was Peachtree High School which was quite something. We were met by Bonnie Driskoll, the assistant principle who guided us around the school which is the largest in the county with 3,100 pupils aged 12-18. The school was a maze of corridors with a huge dining hall at its heart. We are recognising more and more that the Georgian people are no strangers to early mornings and this is instilled in them at an early age as here at Peachtree High School the day begins at 7am. Because of the sheer size of the school lunchtimes are staggered and some eat lunch as early as 10.30am!



Bonnie escorted us outside to take a look at the ‘Special Olympics’ which is an event for Special Ed students to have their sporting talents recognised and no matter what their level of ability they will receive certificates and medals for taking part, or even attempting to take part. Unfortunately the games hadn’t yet started but it was very positive to hear of such an event and see the excitement of the pupils preparing for it.




Straight from the school we headed to the Gwinnett County Public Schools Instructional Support Centre. Here we were met by a lady named Kelly who explained that this huge converted industrial unit was the central hub for all of the public schools in Gwinnett County. The centre houses educational professionals and performs many important tasks such as controlling the air conditioning to all schools, sending out educational television broadcasts that can be accessed by the teachers and training staff how to use the new, innovative education technology such as touch pads and digital projectors. The team had great fun testing out the texting pads and had their wits pitted by the digital educator. Thankfully it appears that we are all smarter than an 8th grader!





The team enjoyed a little time to relax at the Garden Plaza before heading out the see our second baseball game. This time we saw the Gwinnett Braves (who are just one down from being pro’s). We wore our Braves T shirts (supplied by Gwinnett Rotary club – thank you) and proudly cheered them on to a comfortable victory.

By Andrea

No comments:

Post a Comment