School News

With a sense of adventure, facing the next phase of their lives, the Deerfield-Windsor School Class of 2018 celebrated the end of their high school years in the traditional graduation ceremony on May 20 in the W. T. Henry Gymnasium. With a mixture of anticipation and anxiety, the 61 graduates marched through the doors of DWS for the last time as students. Presenting the invocation, Evan Campbell encouraged his classmates that as they reflect on their high school years, they should "recall the times with friends, the funny stories, and exciting events with a warm smile." Salutatorian Olivia Bell focused her speech on "Thank You Letters" realizing that although she can never thank each and every person the way she wants to, she is "grateful for the opportunity." Valedictorian Aaroh Patel roused a standing ovation of his classmates and all in attendance as he carried everyone through the journey of his life at Deerfield Windsor School, explaining with great emotion and compassionate recollection, the value of each one of his classmates and the impact they had shaping him into the person he is today.

Sarah Norton recognized the following BETA graduates:

Olivia Ellene Bell

Dara Nicole Bruck

Evan Edwards Campbell

Mary Larkin Carden

Joan MaryJohn Collier

Mary Morgan Dasher

Walker Davenport Davis, Jr.

Hana Jaleh Ghiathi

Julia Morgan Grundfast

Zoe Gabrielle Hopson

Hilmar Furst Houston

Alexandria Kanella Michas

Sarah McKenzie Norton

Aaroh Kalpesh Patel

Dhavan R. Patel

Raj Kalpesh Patel

Brynnan Anders Sammons

Alexandria Ruth Sells

Mary Angeline Shaw

Lillian Corrine Sullivan

Hana Ghiathi recognized the following Honor Graduates:

Yash D. Amin

Olivia Ellene Bell

Dara Nicole Bruck

Evan Edwards Campbell

Mary Larkin Carden

Joan MaryJohn Collier

Mary Morgan Dasher

Walker Davenport Davis, Jr.

McKenzie Rae Elam

Hana Jaleh Ghiathi

Julia Morgan Grundfast

Zoe Gabrielle Hopson

Hilmar Furst Houston

Alexandria Kanella Michas

Sarah McKenzie Norton

Aaroh Kalpesh Patel

Dhavan R. Patel

Raj Kalpesh Patel

Sarah Grace Perrine

Brynnan Anders Sammons

Alexandria Ruth Sells

Mary Angeline Shaw

Lillian Corrine Sullivan

Before receiving their diplomas, Headmaster Geoffrey Sudderth presented the following awards:

~ Outstanding Academic Achievement Awards – Zoe Hopson, Hana Ghiathi, Aaroh Patel, Bittu Patel, Olivia Bell, and Jonathan Herrbold.

~ The Graham P. Lowe Award – Olivia Bell

~ The Russell L. Grace Jr. Service Award – Raley Holman

~ The W.T. Henry Knight of Valor Award – Lilia Sullivan

Giving the Faculty Challenge to the Class of 2018 was Mrs. Debbie Allen, introduced by Zoe Hopson who fondly referred to Mrs. Allen as her "favorite drama queen" who gives her students a "glimpse of this world through literature on her stage." Addressing the graduates, Mrs. Allen reminded the graduates that "mistakes and failure are part of the human experience" and encouraged them to "show the world your true colors, your unique personality, your individual talents and skills." With Allen's words lingering and the anticipation of beginning a new adventure, Brynn Sammons closed the ceremony with his benediction praying for "success, prosperity, and joyful times" for his classmates as they leave Deerfield Windsor School, a place he will remember for "learning, friendship, and development."

Congratulations to the Baseball C-Team for being Middle School Region Champs. Their record for the season was 14-2-1. Go Knights!

Congrats to the DWS Track Teams for their stellar performances in state! The girls won their fifth straight state title. Hadley Holt was the state high point winner - winning triple jump, 300 hurdles, and state runner up in long jump. She was also on both state champion relay teams. Camryn Bridges was second in the state in high points - winning all three of her individuals (3200, 1600, 800) and as the anchor leg on the 4x400m relay team. Charlotte Augenstein was fourth in high points in the state - state runner up in 400m, triple jump, and 800m. She was also on both state champion relay teams. The girls scored the highest number of points in school history in the state meet with 138.

The boys finished as state runners up. Garrett Jones ranked fifth in overall high points in the GISA. He won the 100m and 200m dash. Jackson Tennyson was state champion in pole vault. John Collier Logan was state runner up in both discus and shot put.

2018 Academic Signing Day celebrated three amazing young ladies and their combined $355,000 worth of academic scholarships. To participate in this event, students had to be awarded $20,000 or more to the school they are choosing to attend. Julia Grundfast received the Presidential & Legacy Scholarship to St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Zoe Hopson is the recipient of the $20,000 Coca-Cola Scholar Program and will attend Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Olivia Bell is our school's first recipient of the Morehead-Cain Scholarship of $250,000 to University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Coach McSwain, "This group has tremendous potential. I'm proud of the time and effort they have put into improving their game."

Playing 5 regular season matches, they won 3 of them and placed 2^nd in the other two. They finished 2^nd in the Region Tournament. Boles Middleton was the low medalist in the region tournament and Blake Broadaway was third in region golf match. Congratulations to these students for a great season!

Odyssey of the Mind teaches students to learn creative problem-solving methods while having fun in the process. OotM teaches students how to think creatively and divergently by providing open-ended problems that appeal to a wide range of interests. Deerfield-Windsor currently has two OotM teams composed of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. These teams competed in the vehicle and balsa problems at the regional tournament in Hawkinsville, GA today. Congratulations to both teams for winning first place! They advance to state finals in Columbus, GA on April 7.

Each year, Deerfield-Windsor students are able to compete for a half-tuition scholarship. Eligible students are those in grades 9,10,11. While academic record and extracurricular activities are considered, the scholarship is based primarily on the essay written. Competing students entered by application and were asked to write an essay. This year's topic was: If you had the choice to include three items in the 2017-2018 Deerfield-Windsor school time capsule, what would you choose to include?

We are proud to announce this year's recipients are Juniors, Anna Johnson and Gracie Swan. While excelling academically, both young ladies are entrenched in student life at Deerfield-Windsor. Anna has been active in Student Council, Science Club, DWS Swim team, Beta Club, Spanish Club, Key Club, YB Literary and serves as a writing center tutor. Gracie is active in Latin Club, Spanish Club, B-team Cheer, Science Club, Beta Club, Key Club where she serves as current President, Honor Committee, Thespian Society and Spring Musical.

Congratulations to you and your families, Anna and Gracie! Job well-done!

Congratulations to the Literary team members who competed at State competition in Barnesville, GA on Tuesday, March 20.

Larkin Carden: First Place Dramatic Oral Interpretation (three-peat)

Zoe Hopson: First Place Personal Essay

Morgan Dasher: Third Place Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Other state competitors were Brynn Sammons, Evan Campbell, and Michael Michas.

The 26^th Annual Lower School Speech Contest was held on Thursday, March 1 in the Multiplex with fourteen talented finalists participating. Fourth grader Kendal Massie won first place with "The Real Story of the Three Little Pigs". Second place went to Cooper Harris, fourth grader and third place went to Mary Adelaide Yeiser who is also in fourth grade. Those receiving honorable mention were: Helen Chandler, Jaelyn Hanna, Colleen Hood, Brooklyn Ivy, Karen Kitchens, Mary Margeson, Thomas Phillips, McRee Smith, Caroline Tinkham, Mason Wiggins, and Alex Wilson.

For more than three decades, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) Internship programs have successfully worked to address underrepresentation of African Americans among professional staffers on Capitol Hill. In 2014, CBCF initiated Emerge 535 campaign with the goal of placing 535 African American interns throughout the United States within every office on Capitol Hill. Mr. Trey Young, Deerfield-Windsor 2016 graduate, has been selected for one of these nationally coveted positions. He is currently serving in both Democratic and Republican member offices where he is offered learning from diverse voices and experiences among Capitol Hill staff.

The CBCF Communications Internship is a rigorous program that includes a full-time work week, educational seminars, individual and team building projects, along with several social and networking events. Therefore, the mission of the program is to improve our quality of life by training the next generation of leaders to make sound public policies. The mission is achieved with an eye towards change and a value of excellence. The semester-long CBCF Communications Internship program sponsored by State Farm offers selected undergraduate students who are interested in learning about press and media relations on Capitol Hill.

When asked to comment on his task, Mr. Young explains, "As a millennial servant leader on Capitol Hill in the 21st Century I am to serve as a vehicle to provoke positive change and modern ideas in American society. As a millennial servant leader, I would like to engage in our future society by investing in my community in a way that embodies responsibility to pave the way for a better and just society for all."

STAR Teacher Jake Clawson with STAR Student Aaroh Patel

Senior Aaroh Patel was named 2018 STAR Student for Dougherty County and will advance to Region competition. His score of 1580 secured this title among the schools in our county. Interested in a career in the medical field, Aaroh is currently interviewing at Brown University, Harvard, University of Georgia, University of Miami, University of Virginia and Yale. He selected Jake Clawson, mentor, history teacher and cross country coach, as his STAR Teacher. Aaroh is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Kalpesh Patel. Congratulations to Aaroh and Mr. Clawson for this prestigious honor.

Team Members: L to R: Amari Goode, Autumn Hart, Sarah Mullins, Charlotte Augenstein, Yash Jani, Porter Hill

Not pictured: Anthony Lacovara, Yvonne Ramos, Hannah Sims

The Academic Bowl Team recently competed in the Andrew College Academic Competition. Our team competed in the Small School/Independent School division. Congratulations to these students on an outstanding performance!

Hannah Sims – 1st place, Vocal Music

Yvonne Ramos – 1st place, Instrumental Music

Anthony Lacovara – 1st place, 9th grade Science

Autumn Hart – 1st place, 10th grade Science

Yash Jani – 2nd place, 10th grade Mathematics

Porter Hill – 1st place, 10th grade Mathematics

Amari Goode – 1st place, 9th grade Social Studies

Sarah Mullins – 1st place, Personal Essay

Quizbowl – 2nd place

Congrats to Leslie Sosby, Baylin Moore, & Camryn Bridges on their college athletic scholarships.

DWS celebrated its student athletes who will be playing at the collegiate level next year with a Signing Day Assembly today. Congrats to Leslie Sosby who will be playing soccer at Georgia State University, Baylin Moore who will be playing baseball at Georgia College and State University, and Camryn Bridges who will be running cross country and track & field at Columbus State University.

Baylin Moore Accolades: Baseball

Member of 2015-2016 state championship team

Under armour pre-season all American

USA Baseball NTDP Alumni

Perfect Game-East Cobb invitational Most Valuable Player

2016 Perfect Game Super 25 National Champion

14 Perfect Game All Tournament team selections

Camryn Bridges Accolades: Track and Cross Country

• USAT&F Meet of Champions in Fayetteville, GA. Place-5th, time- 19:57
• Footlocker South Regional Sophmore race in Charlotte, NC. Place- 13th, time-19:58
• Footlocker South Regional Junior race in Charlotte, NC. Place- 14th, Time- 19:48
• Footlocker South Regional Senior Race in Charlotte, NC. Place 3rd, Time- 19:14

Leslie Sosby Accolades: Soccer

Tournaments and showcases-

• GA and Alabama State Cup (Final 4 in GA)
• Disney (Orlando RPL)
• CASL(North Carolina RPL)
• PDA showcase (New Jersey ECNL)
• Phoenix showcase (Arizona ECNL)
• Sanford showcase (Orlando ECNL)
• Eclipse showcase (Chicago RPL)
• Philadelphia Turf showcase (Philadelphia RPL)
• Nationals for ECNL in San Diego California (ECNL)

Deerfield-Windsor Lady Knight swimmers bring home THIRD consecutive STATE title.

Saturday January 27^th the Deerfield Lady Knight swimmers competed in the GISA state championship. The Lady Knights, led by coaches Lisa Bartlett and Morgan Garcia, returned to defend their state crown at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center. In a strong start, Lady Knights took first and fourth place in the 200 yard medley relay. The team consisting of Dorian Usry, Grace Mix, Anna Johnson and Deena Willcox finished a massive 10 seconds ahead of the second place team. In their first individual event, Lady Knights kept the pressure on other teams with Grace Mix taking first in the 200y freestyle with Deena Willcox finishing 5^th. In the individual medley, Haleigh Joslin and McCall Nicholson kept the points ticking along with 4^th and 5^th place finishes respectively. In the 50y freestyle, Dorian Usry placed 3^rd and Anna Johnson 7^th. In the 100y butterfly, Grace Mix finished 3^rd. The Lady Knights got their second win of the night with Grace Mix winning the 500y freestyle by 5 seconds and Deena Willcox coming in 5^th. Dorian Usry followed that with first place in the backstroke with Haleigh Joslin (5^th) and Kassidy Usry (8^th) rounding off a great event. In the last of the individual events, Anna Johnson (2^nd) and McCall Nicholson (6^th) carried on the Lady Knights points tally in the breaststroke. With only the 200y freestyle relay remaining, the Lady Knights had an incontestable lead. However, that did not stop them from putting the exclamation mark on their performance. The team of Dorian Usry, Anna Johnson, Grace Mix and Deena Willcox finished 1^st, with the team of Haleigh Joslin, Kassidy Usry, McCall Nicholson and Anna Lane Pierce finishing 5^th. The Lady Knights took home the state crown by a massive 81 points, finishing with a total of 142. The Heritage School (Newnan, GA) was the closest challenge to the Lady Knights finishing second with 61 points. Senior Dorian Usry completed an impressive stint by taking home her 5^th consecutive state title in the 100 yard back stroke.

The boys team, led by junior Logan Clark finished 9^th in the state gaining points in 200y freestyle relay finishing 6^th, as well as other finishes with Clark (9^th)in the 100y freestyle and 4^th in the 100y fly. Clark finished 6^th in the freestyle again to complete a great individual day. The Knights also picked up a 6^th place finish in the 200y medley relay with the team of Clark, Campbell Williamson, Anthony Lacovara and Levi May.

Congratulations to our Mock Trial team. Our Prosecution Team won the first of their two rounds and AnnaMarie Armstrong won the Best Witness Award in one of her rounds. They did a fantastic job in their first ever competition. Our team is comprised of Jaden Hubbard, Giacomo Palazzolo, Josh Lumogdang, Annalise Allen, Jackson Steers, AnnaMarie Armstrong, Amari Goode, Charles Peeler and Zoe Hopson. Anna Wilschetz '11 is the faculty advisor. Local attorney and alum, Melissa Peeler '89, also assisted the team.