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Prep School News Briefs
THIRD GRADE REINTRODUCED
GMC Prep School reintroduced third grade in the 2019-2020 school year, welcoming a maximum number of 40 third-graders into two classrooms on the first day of school.
Throughout the school year, third-graders joined in various elementary school activities and programs that included becoming Bulldog Buddies with the high school seniors, joining a Junior Bulldogs sports team, and expressing themselves in the new elementary visual arts program.
Third-grade students expanded their educational horizons in other ways that included: taking a field trip to The Rock Ranch and to the Museum of Aviation; participating in Fire Safety Awareness Month with an informative, interactive visit from the Baldwin County Fire Department; and writing and publishing their own hardcover books.
One of the third-grade teachers, Sara Gray (HS ’10, JC ’11), is a GMC Prep School, as well as GMC Junior College, alumna.
Fourth and fifth grades were reintroduced at the Prep School at the start of the 2018-2019 school year. To meet enrollment demands, an additional class was added to fourth and fifth grades in fall 2019.
The GMC Board of Trustees approval of the addition of third through fifth grades allows the Prep School elementary program to dovetail with the county public school system that has K-2 primary schools.
Afterschool Program
When in-seat classes were held during the 2019-2020 school year, Prep School students and their parents had the opportunity to participate in an afterschool program first introduced in February 2019. The program is open to students in third through fifth grades.
The afterschool program offers regular enrollment as well as a daily drop-in option, giving parents several childcare choices to fit their needs. An average of 35 students – almost one-fourth of elementary school enrollment – participated in the program. Students who participate in the Prep School afterschool program are given a snack, and have opportunities to complete their homework and participate in various activities, such as art and games, as well as outdoor playtime.
Prep School Annex and Jenkins Hall Open
A pair of ribbon-cutting ceremonies was held at the start of the 2019-2020 school year to unveil the all-new GMC Prep School Annex and the adjoining fully restored historic Jenkins Hall. Both facilities house elementary school students in third, fourth, and fifth grades.
The Prep School Annex has a 1,428-square-foot visual arts studio; the Bulldog Café, a cafétorium for students
in third through ninth grades, featuring a snappy black and red décor and a sizeable stage; expansive Pursley Patio with a fireplace located outside directly off the cafétorium; and two computer labs for third through twelfth grades.
Jenkins Hall was restored to its original ten classrooms, each with their charming transom windows. Each teacher decorated their classroom with a different theme to add a fun, modern touch to the facility’s historic interior design. The structure’s facade was reestablished to feature its original exterior windows arrangement. Additions include a recreational room for P.E. classes and an outside playground.
ELEMENTARY VISUAL ARTS PROGRAM INTRODUCED
The Prep School Visual Arts Program was expanded to include third, fourth, and fifth grades beginning at the start of the 2019-2020 school year. The youngest students were taught in the classroom and online by elementary art teacher Andrea Sammons (HS ’10).
Through the creative process of art, students were exposed to other cultures, including Latino and African. Along the way, they were able to pull in other disciplines by using their researching, reading, writing, and math skills. Students were taught about the elements of art and principles of design.
Fourth- and fifth-graders were immersed in art-inspired cultural studies that included learning about the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, “a bright,
fun way to introduce them to another culture around them,” Sammons says. Students made colorful skulls, papiermache masks, and spirit animals using aluminum foil and papier-mache. They also wrote “beautiful stories” about their spirit animals, she says.
When remote learning began in March due to COVID-19, Sammons and her students took art classes online. “We found a groove halfway through,” she says. Sammons made videos and posted them on a private portal, Padlet, and Facebook account. Students could remain anonymous on Padlet, while sharing their artwork and commenting on classmates’ creations. In addition, Sammons provided each student with an Art-to-Go bag filled with materials needed to complete several art projects at home. Toward the end of the school year, Sammons created a website to display a virtual art show for her students.
Sammons is a Prep School alumna who attended classes in Jenkins Hall when she was a student and now teaches students in the fully restored historic building.
Baldwin County 4-H Winners
A trio of Prep School fourth-grade students were Baldwin County 4-H contest winners during the 2019-2020 school year with a variety of creations from a holiday card to a healthy sandwich recipe.
Maddie Elder used various found items gathered around her home to take first place in the Baldwin County 4-H Ornament Contest. Maddie’s ornament featured a snowman made out of a light bulb sitting inside a blue box decorated with a ribbon and other items.
Aharon Walls took firstplace honors in the Baldwin County 4-H “Peanutrition Contest,” sponsored by the Georgia Peanut Commission, with his wholesome peanut butter sandwich recipe. For the winning recipe, Aharon added slices of banana and Granny Smith apple to ramp-up the nutrition value of the sandwich.
Anna Grace Darity composed a heartfelt card about things and people in her life she is most thankful for to win the 2019 Baldwin County 4-H Thanksgiving Day Card Contest. In addition to writing the winning card entry, Anna Grace decorated the holiday card.
Eagle Scout Honors
Two Prep School students – eleventhgrader Hudson Caldwell and eighthgrader Jayden Daniel - earned the highest rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America during the 2019-2020 school year.
For his Eagle Scout service project, Hudson chose to resurface the boat dock at the GMC lake lot located on Lake Sinclair in Milledgeville. He engaged the help of several friends and collected donations to complete the project.
To complete his Eagle Scout service project, Jayden built six bat houses and installed them at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Eatonton. He is the first Prep School student to earn an Eagle Scout badge who was also part of the GMC Prep School High Adventure Leadership Program. GMC Prep students Bryce Smith, Jayden Daniel, and Dylan Smith
Distinguished Order of the Servant Leader Awards
Five Prep School students volunteered their time and talents to serve others and earn the Distinguished Order of the Servant Leader Award during the 2019- 2020 school year. During the Martin Luther King Jr. Ceremony held in January 2020, the award was presented to three Prep School students: senior Tyler Crump had 600 hours of service, eighth-grader Sara Johnson 400 hours, and eighth-grader Danica Resha 200 hours.
Two other seniors, Tara MacCartee and Ryan Barsby, each completed 100 hours for the year and were set to officially receive the award during spring 2020, but were unable to as school events were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Crump Johnson Resha MacCartee Barsby
ROTC Scholarships
Ryan Barsby
4-Year Army ROTC Scholarship Vanderbilt University
Meredith McCook
3-Year Army ROTC Scholarship University of Tennessee - Chattanooga
ELP Summer Interns
The Executive Leadership Program (ELP) offers an 8-week internship to Prep School graduates in various departments at GMC.
2020 ELP'ers: First row: Charles Lam and Jonathan Bradley Second Row: Emily Arp, Mattison Strom, Tara MacCartee, Shayla Simmons, Jessica Edwards Third Row: ELP Program Administrator, Jill Robbins, Caylee Barnes, Ju’Niah Beal and President William Caldwell. Not pictured: Kayleigh Stackpole and Leah Frazier.
2019-2020 STAR STUDENT AND STAR TEACHER
Senior and class of 2020 valedictorian, Carson Waters, was named the Prep School 2019-2020 STAR Student. Biology and AP biology teacher, Emily Boylan, was then selected by Waters to be 2019-2020 STAR Teacher.
As STAR Student, Waters received a $500 scholarship. He plans to attend the University of Georgia to major in the biological sciences and eventually enter the pre-dentistry degree program. Boylan taught Waters biology in ninth grade and AP biology in eleventh grade.
Boylan has received the honor of being chosen as STAR Teacher three times so far in her teaching career. She was also chosen by 2014-2015 Prep School STAR Student Katie Nelson and 2017-2018 STAR Student Tyler Gray.
The STAR Student has the highest score on a single SAT test date in their graduating class and is in the top 10% or Top 10 students of their class based on GPA. The STAR Teacher is the teacher who the STAR Student feels has made the most significant contribution to their academic development.
The STAR (Student-Teacher Achievement Recognition) statewide program is overseen and administered by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators Foundation, or PAGE. For more than thirty years, the local sponsor for the program has been the Milledgeville-Baldwin County Chamber of Commerce.
TAKING THE LEAD IN LIFE
Madison Sloan (HS ’20)has sung, danced, and acted her way through school since third grade – from her role as Shulie in “Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr.” to Rosie in “Mamma Mia!” – winning awards and garnering recognition along the way.
Sloan’s love of theater was the reason the “She has an amazing, unique quality that Prep School class of 2020 graduate chose to really makes her stand out,” Prep School Theatre attend Columbus State University to pursue Director and Assistant Fine Arts Director, Jenny a bachelor’s degree in theatre with an eye toward a Morris, says regarding Sloan, who was typically future on or behind the stage. cast as a character actor. “She can mold herself into
“I know I want to work in theatre. … I’m not all of these characters, which is a great asset to have really sure where I see myself. I really want to as an actress.” explore this in college,” Sloan says, noting that her As a junior, Sloan won Best Actress at the studies at Columbus State give her the chance to 2018 GHSA One Act Play Class A Public State take classes in all areas of theatre, including acting, Championship for her role as Violet Newstead in directing, scene design, sound, and teaching. “9 to 5: The Musical.” Out of all of the roles she was
Despite the fact that as a third-grader Sloan lost her voice at cast for in elementary, middle, and high school, playing Violet in “9 to the last minute and was unable to sing on opening night of her first 5” was her favorite. musical performance, she remained bitten by the acting bug. She After the musical comedy took first place at the GHSA state excelled from the start, landing roles in third grade that were meant competition, the Prep School troupe traveled to Columbus, Georgia, for fifth-graders. to perform two shows on the main stage at the Georgia Thespian
Sloan began attending the Prep School in sixth grade. By her Conference, or ThesCon, in front of thousands of other high school sophomore year, she was winning GHSA Literary and One Act Play theatre students. competitions thanks to her singing and acting prowess. By the time “That’s the most proud I have ever been of a play,” Sloan says she was cast as Babe Williams in “The Pajama Game” that same year, regarding the ThesCon performances of “9 to 5,” adding that “all Sloan was starting to feel more comfortable and sure of herself on the marks were hit” by the Prep School cast. “I was so proud to be a stage. leading player in a play like that.”
“SHE HAS AN AMAZING, UNIQUE QUALITY THAT REALLY MAKES HER STAND OUT,” -- PREP SCHOOL THEATRE DIRECTOR AND ASSISTANT FINE ARTS DIRECTOR, JENNY MORRIS
Sloan returned to ThesCon in 2020 as a member of the All-State Opening Production, one of only 50 to make the cut out of more than 300 high schoolers who tried out for the musical “Memories,” written by Morris, who serves as Georgia Thespians Director of the All-State Opening Production. The play features songs from Broadway classics. Sloan sang the part of Magenta for the song “Time Warp” from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” as well as in ensemble numbers.
As a theatre major at Columbus State, Sloan plans to participate in ThesCon each year, perhaps helping out during auditions. The annual event showcases the state of Georgia’s top high school theatre performers, technicians, and educators.
Sloan’s final Prep School performance was to be as Mrs. Meers, her first role as an antagonist, in “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” the last theatre production for members of the class of 2020. Unfortunately, the play was canceled along with all other student activities and events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In her end-of-senior-year and second-place Usery essay, Sloan reflects on hitting all the marks and making memories during her years at the Prep School. “The impact that GMC has had on me is less of what it has done for me and more of who it has made me,” she writes, “as I will take the school and its values wherever I go.”
Virtual Virtuosos
Seniors Caroline Charnes and Jessica Edwards were among students across Georgia whose artwork was selected in May 2020 for the 21st annual Metro Atlanta High School Exhibition, cosponsored by the Georgia Art Education Association and the High Museum of Art. The annual exhibit was held only online with a virtual gallery showcased on the High Museum website. Artwork for the exhibit was selected based on several criteria that included application of media and personal artistic expression.
“Woman Walking Alone on the Beach” by Caroline Charnes “Oozing Imagination” by Jessica Edwards
Socially Distanced Pomp and Circumstance
Members of the class of 2020 stand during a socially distanced graduation ceremony held on Grant Parade in June 2020.
prep 2020 graduation
LEADING A CHARACTER-BASED LIFE AND SAVING A LIFE
Almost 30 years after graduating from GMC Prep School, Tara Johns Craig (HS ’93) continues to be influenced by her character-based education – from the career she chose to her decision to donate a kidney to help save a stranger’s life.
“One of the biggest values I learned [at GMC] … is Smith signed up together on the Registry, a compatible just to help others,” says Craig, who chose to be an pair was found in Utah to swap kidneys. The recipient English teacher thanks, in part, to GMC Prep School in Utah matched Craig’s blood type, with her kidney Principal Pam Grant, who taught English when going to them. The donor in Utah matched Smith’s Craig was a Prep School student. blood type, with their kidney going to him.
It was in her role as an English teacher at “It’s just so obvious this was God’s plan,” Craig Perry Middle School in Houston County, Georgia, says months later, still marveling at the timing and that Craig got to know Assistant Principal Kizzy how quickly things had fallen into place once the Johnson, and learned that Johnson’s boyfriend, Jerrell process began. Craig made her decision to become Smith, was in dire need of a donated kidney. a living donor in November 2019. She went in to have
At that time, Smith, a 27-year veteran of the Fort surgery, along with Smith, in February 2020. Valley Police Department, had spent five years undergoing Craig and Smith are no longer strangers. They and their dialysis three times a week. He had been on the National Kidney families have grown quite close in the months following the lifesaving Registry list waiting for a donor for three years. In his mind, Smith surgeries. “I’ve gotten to know his whole family,” Craig says. “His knew the average wait time was between five to eight years. family had prayed for so long. I was an answer to that prayer. … He
After speaking with Johnson, Craig took a weekend to think it over couldn’t live much longer on dialysis [with] no kidney function.” and to speak with her husband about it, which included planning how Smith and Craig live less than 5 miles from each other in Perry, the couple would take care of their 2-year-old son during her postGeorgia. He speaks to her at least once a week and often drops by her surgery recovery. By the end of that weekend, Craig had decided to home, along with Johnson, at a moment’s notice. Smith says Craig become a living donor on behalf of Smith. gave him “the opportunity to get a second chance at life.” A life free of
Once Craig made her decision to help Smith, his years of waiting dialysis. turned to weeks and days. “The biggest thing is Since their blood types not having to be attached to were not a match, Craig a machine,” Smith says by and Smith were placed telephone while enjoying together on the National his first vacation in five Kidney Registry in what is years without having to be called a paired exchange hooked up for hours to a donation program, with portable dialysis machine. hopes of finding another “Compared to dialysis, recipient-donor pair to I’ve got a lot of energy. I swap compatible kidneys. am able to exercise now. I
The expected wait time am able to walk a longer for the paired exchange distance.” donation was a year. Only In fall 2020, Craig will eight days after Craig and Tara (fourth from left) with classmates at GMC's 2018 Alumni Weekend start a new position as a
media specialist at Bonaire Middle School, where she will continue to serve others through her career and her life, all of which she attributes to the characterbased education she received from GMC Prep School.
Craig family with the Smith family
I do,” says Craig, who attended
GMC Prep School in seventh through twelfth grades. “I would say GMC has influenced every aspect of my life.”
Change of Command with a Change
In May 2020, the Prep School held the long-standing tradition of its high school Change of Command Ceremony to transfer leadership to the class of 2021 officers with a few changes made due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ceremony was held outside on Davenport Field with students observing social distancing, and taking other necessary precautions.
FUNDRAISER BAGS GAME BIRDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
2020 Bill Craig Memorial Pheasant/Quail Hunt and Auction
Participants in the 2020 Bill Craig Memorial Pheasant/Quail Hunt and Auction pose before heading out to hunt. The annual event is a fundraiser for the Bill Craig Scholarship Fund, which provides a 4-year scholarship for two GMC Prep School cadets. The event is held on the last Saturday in February at Burnt Pine Plantation in Newborn, Georgia, a favorite hunting place for the late Bill Craig (HS ’71) and his brother, Henry Craig (HS ’65, JC ’67).
M U C H MOORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
GMC Prep School class of 2007 alumna, Ashley Moore, has used her life experiences to make the world a better place.
She is a multifaceted and driven young “Talk about divine intervention. … My heart has professional – succeeding as a cardiac clinical always been in medicine and science,” says Moore, specialist, nonprofit domestic violence volunteer, who opted to work for Medtronic in Las Vegas, selling and a model representing women of color. The Seven gastroenterology devices used to diagnosis medical Year Club member of the Prep School has overcome a conditions, such as Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel painful past and is making the most of her passions. syndrome, and ulcerative colitis. “I learned so much
After graduating from the Prep School, Moore about these clinical states.” attended Georgia State University with dreams of While building her impressive career, Moore was entering medical school, but switched to broadcast coping with a tragic event that occurred in January journalism because of her love for writing and being 2001. Moore lost her mother, Sheila Easley, to in front of the camera. As a student, Moore worked in domestic violence. Her mother was a devoted Georgia State’s fundraising department, calling alumni employee of Georgia Military College. “GMC did such to ask them to support the university financially, a great job providing a memorial service for my which prepared her for a sales career. mother, and they made sure my brother and sister
A few years later, with two internships and a were taken care of,” Moore recalls. “I’m so appreciative completed college degree, Moore worked in the of everything the school did for my siblings and me marketing department of an Atlanta business. After during that time. They rallied around me when I lost two years and three promotions, she was approached my mom, and that always stands out in my mind when by one of the largest consulting firms for university I think about GMC.” fundraising, Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL). For three After moving to Las Vegas, Moore discovered years, Moore traveled, working alongside university people were dying at a faster rate there than in most students and staff members from around the country, areas of the country due to domestic violence. She managing fundraising campaigns with goals of raising completed training to become a certified domestic $300,000 or more in a matter of weeks. violence advocate with SafeNest, Nevada’s largest
While at RNL, Moore received two awards that domestic violence advocacy nonprofit organization recognized the Top 10 percent of managers in the that provides victims a wide range of support and company. Within three years, she had managed a resources. “So while my career has me here, I’m also total of almost $10 million for various colleges and using my personal experience to spread awareness and universities. During that time, Moore completed a increase education on these issues in our state,” she says. Master of Business Administration degree in only Moore modeled part time as a college student and 15 months. later discovered a market for minority modeling in
A few years later, Moore was approached by Las Vegas. She walked the runways during New York Medtronic, a leading international biomedical Fashion Week in December 2019, with photos of her technology company, to join its inside sales team featured in Vogue Italia. “Storytelling modeling is the for its Minimally Invasive Therapy Group division. type of modeling I really am passionate about,” Moore Less than two years later, she was promoted to the says. “It’s more than just being on a cover, which I am company’s largest division, the Cardiovascular Group. humbled and thankful by, but there’s so much art in the world of modeling.”
Moore authored a book, “The Natural Hair Bible,” after she saw a need for women of color to learn how to wear their hair naturally without harsh chemicals. The book, purchased by readers in the U.S., Australia, U.K., and Africa, with plans to publish in Asia, is dedicated to her mother. “My bond with my mother was so strong because, every Sunday, she did my hair,” Moore says. “Parents can use hair to drive bonding with their children, especially in the black community, where our hair can be perceived as troublesome.”
Her brand, Lifestyle of Moore, with the tagline – “Moore food. Moore travel. Moore life.” – chronicles her travels and perspectives on life. Recently, she went from writing a blog to posting videos on YouTube and food reviews on Tripadvisor.
Moore credits Prep School eighth-grade science teacher, Mrs. Barr, for bringing out her passion for science. Anne Mason’s anatomy and physiology class was tough, but by the end of the class, Moore loved learning about the subjects. English teacher Shannon Davis influenced Moore’s love for writing, pulling her writing interest and talent out through various exercises.
“The tag line, ‘Start Here, Go Anywhere,’ from GMC is so true,” Moore says. “The school prepared me in so many areas of my life, not just academically, but with my physical discipline, too. The physical demands of PT and having Rutledge say, ‘Monday, fun day, run day,’ still rings loudly in my head to this day. I’m still running miles every week because of those disciplines.
“I was given many responsibilities at GMC,” she continues. “It was hard there, and my time as a student molded me into a hustler, both as a student and as a professional. … I knew in college that GMC prepared me more than some of my peers. I was ready and was already a working professional while a student. Those three teachers were instrumental in my education – and in my career.”
JUNIOR COLLEGE ALUMNI
YANCEY LEGACY The life and legacy of the late Goodloe Yancey III (JC’49) have become synonymous with the fine arts at Georgia Military College.
A planned gift established by Yancey continues to provide financial Harvard University. support to the GMC Prep School and Junior College fine arts In 1995, Yancey reconnected with his beloved GMC to support programs, including to help jumpstart fundraising for the newly his alma mater and then-President Peter Boylan at the beginning of approved Center for the Education of the Arts. determined efforts to return the College to its former glory – and
The GMC Junior College Corps of Cadets alumnus was a member beyond. In addition to providing generous financial donations, Yancey of the marching band during his time as a student. Fond memories of went on to serve as a GMC Trustee Advisory member, and GMC those years inspired Yancey decades later to sponsor the band room at Foundation Board trustee and advisory committee member. He was The Kidd Center by providing a donation for the spacious room. also an Oak Leaf Society member and Distinguished Alumnus Award
“I really did have a great time,” Yancey, who passed away in 2018, recipient. has said of his College marching band days. “In fact, I became quite an Over the years, Yancey’s continued financial support for the accomplished musician at GMC, mastering the sophistication of my fine arts at GMC earned him the nickname “angel of music.” His chosen instrument: the bass drum.” estate gift has posthumously provided the seed funds to build the
Yancey and his fellow GMC Junior College cadets took great newly approved Center for the Education of the Arts at the GMCpride in being a part of the Corps of Cadets during the Milledgeville campus. post WWII years. “We were very proud to wear that cadet In addition, Yancey’s perpetual gift helps the uniform,” he said. GMC Prep School to purchase music, costumes, and
The Albany, Georgia, native graduated from GMC and other materials to present award-winning theatre The University of Georgia before joining the U.S. Air Force productions that provide entertainment for the for two years. Afterward, Yancey moved to Atlanta to work GMC Family and those living in the surrounding for his family’s company, Yancey Bros. Co., the nation’s area. first and oldest Caterpillar dealer. He started there as a Yancey and his wife, Delores Ann, were mechanic’s helper in 1954, moving his way up to president married for 61 years. Together, they raised three by 1974. Prior to retirement, Yancey returned to school to sons, Goodloe IV, James, and Allen, and have one earn an Executive MBA from Harvard Business School at Goodloe Yancey III grandchild.
