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maintains School unveils book vending machine Kemp focus on education By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Hidden under a tarp for weeks, emitting mysterious flashing lights, Inchy the Bookworm Vending Machine made its debut Jan. 13 at Abbotts Hill Elementary School. Instead of the typical money-fed vending machine with edible snacks, Inchy dispenses brain snacks for students who have earned special tokens through “excellence points” for good behavior, participating in monthly Learning Commons contests and completing book bingo. This month’s contest asks students to recommend and illustrate the cover of their favorite book for a chance to win a token raffle. The contest table sat front and center with William the Wooden Boy sitting atop wearing a tiedyed Abbotts Hill T -shirt. A poster slowly getting filled with student illustrations was plastered to the wall outside the library. All book winners will have their picture posted on a specially designed poster board near the school’s front entrance. The Abbotts Hill Elementary Parent Teacher Association funded the vending machine through its annual Fun Run. The PTA will set aside funds in subsequent years to keep the machine stocked and working. Seven students, one from each grade, were in the school’s library ready to stick a token in, push numbers and pull a book from the machine’s slot. Parents were asked to submit pictures of their kids doing something fun over the holiday break, and their names were pulled from a hat.
in his second term
By CANDY WAYLOCK candy@appenmedia.com
PHOTOS BY AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA
Abbotts Hill Elementary School PTA member Dawn Rogers helps a student select a book from Inchy the Bookworm Vending Machine Jan. 13. The device is intended to encourage reading through good behavior and participation. The machine holds books from different grade levels. Titles alternate as they are dispensed. Each student made their selections in excitement. Once they pressed “enter,” the machine spoke and said, “One book coming right up.” Johns Creek Manager of the Office of the Mayor Pamela Sutton, Superintendent Brian Downey and Fulton County School Board Member Kristin McCabe stood nearby as students made their selections, cheering them on. “This is exciting for our school because this is an opportunity to celebrate our students for positive behavior as well as encouraging them to actually
William the Wooden Boy greets students who enter a raffle to win a token for the book vending machine. pick up a book and be able to read a book,” Abbotts Hill Principal Roytunda Stabler said.
ATLANTA —In a spirited inaugural address Jan. 12, Gov. Brian Kemp took media and pundits to task and renewed his commitment to make education a priority in his second term. “We listened to the people of our state…not the cocktail circuit [or] the so-called experts,” Kemp said before the crowd gathered at Georgia State University’s Convocation Center. “We gave Georgians the opportunity to go back to work, get their kids back in the classroom…and protect freedom to live their lives without fear of more government lockdowns, mandates and overreach.” Kemp followed up on his commitment to education the next day by sending his amended FY 2023 budget to the Georgia Legislature which includes a $2,000 raise for teachers, pre-K teachers and certified kindergarten through 12th grade personnel. If approved by the Legislature, the starting salary for first-year teachers will rise this year to $40,500 and average more than $62,000 for the state’s 115,000 public school teachers. The increase could place Georgia among the top 20 states for teacher pay, which was a goal Kemp set in his first run for office.
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