Student Spotlight of the Week

Name: Terrisianna & Terrianna Taylor

Grade: 8th Grade

School: Crawford W. Long Middle

Terrisianna Taylor and Terrianna Taylor are twins who have a variety of interests, but are both very ambitious with their education and careers. They have a younger brother who they love very dearly, and enjoy attending school at Crawford Long Middle School.

Terrisianna is a caring, silly, and intelligent student who is in the gifted program. Her short-term goal is to pass the 8^th grade and achieve high CRCT scores, and her long-term goal is to attend a great college and become a successful journalist or veterinarian. Terrisianna loves to write stories, has a strong passion for animals, and is very motivated in her schoolwork.

“I want my goals and future aspiration to come true, so I’m going to make it happen by working hard and doing well in school,” she says.

With her ambition and confidence, she is looking forward to a bright and successful future ahead.

Terrianna is a playful, active, and determined student. She loves to draw different characters, and read books about romance and mysteries. Her favorite subject is social studies, as she is really interested in the world. School is one of her top priorities and she takes it very seriously.

“School is where I really feel comfortable at doing my best,” Terrianna says.

She exceeded in every section of the CRCT last year, and is planning to do the same this year. Terrianna is a cheerleader, a Tigerette, and a member of the dance team at school. Her future aspirations are to become a successful in life and have a job that she is passionate about.

Name: Alexandra Warren

Grade: 4th Grade

School: Hope-Hill Elementary 

Alexandra is an intelligent, well-behaved, and talented student at Hope-Hill Elementary School. She excels in reading, and receives A’s on all of her reading tests. “It’s important to read because it helps you increase for vocabulary,” she says. Reading also expanded her spelling skills, as she participated in last year’s spelling bee and placed runner up!  “I liked the spelling bee and can spell more than fifty words,” Alexandra says. “Reading helps with spelling because if you can’t spell a word, you can’t read it.”

Alexandra’s favorite subject is math, and especially enjoys solving multiplication problems. She is very active and enjoys playing basketball and riding her skateboard. Alexandra hopes to become a veterinarian when she grows up because of her love for animals and is looking forward to working with them everyday.

According to her teacher Michelle McDaniel, Alexandra is truly a young lady with intrinsic motivation, and maximizing every educational experience is her priority.

Photo taken by Neighbor Newspapers

Name: Kyah Dumas

Grade: 9th Grade

School: Therrell High School- STEMS

When you hear about Kyah Dumas the words “scholar, student, and athlete” come to mind. Kyah Dumas, a freshman at Therrell High School-STEMS, is a force on and off of the field. When she isn’t exhibiting her athletic ability on the mound, she works hard to excel in academics.

Scholarship and sports are two things Kyah does not take lightly. She is determined to give her all in both areas.

Kyah has been playing softball since the age of seven. She is destined to follow in her mother’s footsteps as her mom was once a star player on Therrell’s softball team as well.

Kyah is also a star on her travel softball team, the Milford Legend. She and her Milford Legend teammates have participated in the world series for the past two years.  But, her triumphs don’t stop there. On September 24th Kyah helped lead the Therrell softball team to victory as the number one seed in the region. Over the next few weeks her team will begin preparing for the playoffs.

Kyah was recently featured in the Neighbor Newspapers as the Female Athlete of the Week. Congratulations, Kyah, on your wonderful achievements!

Excerpt from the Neighbor Newspapers:

Kyah Dumas’ transition on the softball field from Bunche Middle School to Therrell High has been seamless.

In her first seven appearances on the mound this season, Dumas is 4-1 with 42 strikeouts.

“She definitely has had an impact on the mound,” Therrell assistant coach Paul Perriman said. “She is doing what I would expect a senior to do. She has taken a leadership role and that is a good direction to be headed in.”

“I love pitching,” said Dumas, who throws an effective change-up.

Perriman also noted that Dumas’ success on the mound is due to her chemistry with junior catcher Courtney Hayes.

“Kyah and Courtney work it out when to throw inside or outside,” Perriman said. “When to throw the fastball or the change-up.”

Currently, the Lady Panthers are 7-5-2 overall and 3-0-1 in sub-region 6B-AAAA, which was something Dumas was hoping for coming into her freshman season.

“I wanted to lead my team to a lot of wins because I don’t like to lose,” she said.

At Bunche, Dumas helped the Lady Chargers win back-to-back championships. According to the Atlanta Public Schools website, Dumas was also named 2012 Softball Player of the Year.

“I think if we limit our mistakes, focus and don’t get down if we lose, we will okay the rest of the way,” Dumas said.

-Article featured in Neighbor Newspapers

Read more: Neighbor Newspapers – Female Athlete of the Week Kyah Dumas THERRELL

Name:  Quantrell Calip 

Grade:  3^rd Grade

School: F.L. Stanton Elementary School

Even standing on his toes, third-grader Quantrell Calip falls shy of four-feet-tall.  But, as the saying goes, big things come in small packages, and Quantrell never fails to make a huge impression on everyone he meets.

His teacher, Alayna Smith, grins when she attempts to describe Quantrell, and eventually says, “You just have to meet him; once you meet him you’ll see what makes him special.”

In addition to being extremely studious, hardworking and well mannered, Quantrell – an A/B student – has a strong vocabulary, limitless imagination, and a remarkable talent for oral expression.  His curiosity and habit of speaking non-stop — almost forgetting to take a breath at times– reveal his excitement for learning, school and just being a kid.

“He’s like a little man trapped in a little boy’s body,” says Smith.  “He has such a big personality.”  Something Smith believes Quantrell inherited from his grandfather, who recently captivated Stanton students on Grandparents’ Day by reciting an animated and entertaining poem.

“I play games like ‘Army’ with my grandpa, too,” says Quantrell. “He was in the army, so he usually wins.  But, he isn’t as fast as me, so that gives me an advantage –plus, he doesn’t choose good hiding places, so I win sometimes.

“My grandpa told me a few stories about the army and he said it was hard.  But l want to be in the army when I grow up, so I can save the lives of others.  I also want to fly jets, or maybe drive tanks, or maybe both.”

Or, he might become a racecar driver, since he likes playing with Hotwheels, and he says drivers make a lot of money.  Then again, he could become an engineer, who “designs and builds things at construction sites” since he loves designing and building robots and tall buildings with Legos.

Quantrell’s favorite subject is math, and learning tools like base-10 blocks make learning math fun.  And he enjoys American history, too.

“This year, we learned about the war, the Boston Tea Party and Paul Revere’s midnight ride, and how he raced through town on a horse in the middle of the night warning everyone.  It was a very exciting time,” says the third-grader.

Quantrell recently played Arrow in the classroom play, “The Strongest One.” His class also attended an acting workshop taught by actors from the Atlanta Shakespeare Company.

With his gift of gab, creative mind, math skills and love for building and problem solving, Quantrell Calip is a rising star, and when it comes to his future, the sky is the limit.