A new elective will be offered at Carrollton Junior High School next year to help prepare students for the high school video production pathway. 

The new video production course will be offered to seventh and eighth-grade students. The goal of the class is to introduce students to the fundamentals of film and video production. Students will engage in hands-on experiences as they learn the basics of filmmaking and will participate in every aspect of video production, from editing to directing on-screen talent. They will practice shooting videos, creating sound recordings and sound engineering, and editing using video editing software. The intent of offering this elective is to give students a head start if they choose to pursue a high school pathway in video production. 

Wendy Samples will be teaching the class and said she is excited to get started.

“I believe that students will be excited to have this opportunity at the junior high school level,” she said. “I am looking forward to inspiring creativity and watching students enhance their technical skills.”

The film industry is booming in Georgia and Samples said helping students gain skills that could potentially help them earn a living one day is a great opportunity.

“Georgia’s film industry adds billions to the state’s economy which provides job opportunities that were not once available in our area,” she said. “One of the benefits of taking this course is that students learn a skill that can someday earn them a living.”

Carrollton High School Senior Class President “Jeb” Jackson, an honor graduate with distinction, was the Class Legacy speaker during commencement ceremonies May 20 in Grisham Stadium. He was also the recipient of the Charles Richard Mehaffey Scholarship, one of 33 community scholarship awards administered by the Carrollton City Schools Education Foundation that were presented this spring. These scholarships are included in the $14 million cumulative total of scholarship offers for the Class of 2022.
 

Academic, athletic excellence drives offers to students

Carrollton High School graduates of the Class of 2022 received $14 million in scholarship offers from colleges and universities, not including the HOPE/Zell Miller scholarships, which awarded an additional $1.8 million to 268 CHS honor graduates this year.

The majority of the awards were offered by educational institutions, but there also were private awards presented by individuals and nonprofit entities, including the Carrollton City Schools Education Foundation.

Though many students earned awards for academic success, three graduates were presented $10,000 awards from the REACH Scholarship program for their commitment to focus on academic achievement. Marneja Daniel, TaMaya Glenn and Tania Turcios-Navarette were named REACH Scholars as eighth graders and represent the third group of REACH Scholarship recipients at CHS.

Carrollton High School emphasizes a focus on academics, arts and athletics and has produced a mix of scholarship offers that recognize the outcome of this focus. Three students accepted full scholarships for their academic prowess from private institutions: John Van Valen, Emory University, a $234,776 award; Carladrian Lawson, Bard College in New York, a $242,000 award; and Abby Woznicki, Berry College, where she was offered three awards totaling $175,396.

There were numerous athletic scholarship offers, with Trojan football standout Myles Morris garnering solicitations from 31 colleges alone and ultimately deciding on North Carolina State University’s $177,884 scholarship. Lady Trojans track star and two-time state champion in triple jump Kayla Pinkard accepted the University of Florida’s offer of $163,728 over five other Division I schools.

"These students are the top academic and athletic performers at CHS, but are also well-rounded and multi-talented students involved in many school activities," said CHS Principal Ian Lyle. “I am eager to follow their college journey. I know they will continue to make us proud."
 

Crystal Udombon, left, and Emily Conn wear their graduation regalia for photos taken during graduation practice May 20.

Udombon, Conn named valedictorian, salutatorian for Class of 2022

A graduation tradition that stands the test of time still headlines the announcement of graduates at every high school commencement – the recognition of the top two academic performers of the class who claim the coveted titles of valedictorian and salutatorian. But this year also recognizes the honorees from 100 years ago whose names were lost to history – until now.

For Carrollton High School Class of 2022, Crystal Udombon, the daughter of Emmanuel and Hope Udombon of Villa Rica, earned the top honor while Emily Conn was designated salutatorian. Emily is the daughter of Jody and Sharon Conn of Carrollton. Both will attend Georgia Tech in the fall.

Retired history teacher and administrator Rita Gentry, who serves as the school’s unofficial historian, said she was thrilled last week to discover the missing honorees for the CHS Class of 1922 – thanks to a history buff who saved a commencement program he found in the attic of a house in Temple. 

“A man named Jerry Collins dropped off the program at the school’s front office,” she said. “While he wasn’t absolutely sure it was from Carrollton High School because it just said ‘CHS Class of 1922’ on front, he thought it might be. When I saw it, it was clear it likely was because the list of graduates included common names of the era.”

Gentry scoured her list of graduation records and confirmed that it was. The rudimentary program contained the list of 41 graduates along with the order of the Monday, May 29, 1922, service, which included speeches by the valedictorian, George Smith, and the salutatorian, Claude Hendon, who was also a class officer and sang in the quartet that performed during the ceremony. 

A listing of previous honorees is showcased in the CHS academic building in a historical display acknowledging the school’s founding in 1886. While the earliest recipients are lost to history, the first verified record shows Allie Beall was named valedictorian in 1898.

Gentry said valedictorian and salutatorian honorees are still missing for the years 1889, 1890, 1892, 1893, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1909, and 1921, and encourages others to follow Collins’ lead.

“It is always thrilling to solve these mysteries,” said Gentry. “We appreciate so much people taking the time to check with us before throwing something away. Otherwise, history truly is lost.”