Local chefs are creating new tasty menus for the upcoming 19th Annual Taste of Alpharetta. The City of Alpharetta eagerly prepares for restaurants to set their tables along Old Milton Parkway at Wills Park on Thursday, May 14 from 5 to10pm.
To provide enough delicious samples for over 60,000 attendees, restaurants prepare over 360,000 “Taste of” delicacies. Menus will include BBQ pork sliders, crabmeat cheese rolls, basil chicken salad, chocolate covered strawberries and much more!
From its beginning 19 years ago with only four restaurants in Milton Square Park across from Alpharetta City Hall, the event has become the largest “Taste of” festival in the South. Now an annual tradition for 60,000 families, foodies and festival-goers, Taste of Alpharetta showcases over 60 local restaurants ranging from 5 Seasons North, to Wildflour, to Schakolad Chocolate Factory.
Participating restaurants serve up an amazing array of appetizers, entrees and desserts from their menus for just $.50- 3 per sample. Tickets may be purchased on-site the evening of the Taste or pre-purchased at Alpharetta City Hall.
“The Taste of Alpharetta is one of our city’s most anticipated events,” said Mayor Arthur Letchas. “Each year our committee invites new restaurants and seeks entertainment for the entire community to enjoy.”
Please save gas and use our free shuttle system. Park and ride shuttle options will be available at Alpharetta City Hall (on South Main Street), Publix Super Market (on Old Milton Parkway at Haynes Bridge), and Milton Center (the old Milton High School at Milton Avenue).
Admission, shuttle and parking for the 19th Annual Taste of Alpharetta is FREE. Park and walk options available at the Wills Park Equestrian Center (on Wills Road) and Alpharetta Community Center (on Roswell Street).
The Culinary Arts and Music Stage will feature chef competitions from 5 to 7 pm following with live music from 7 to 10 pm. Come and spread your blanket for a full night of entertainment in Wills Park.
Top chefs pair against one another in contests for Best Appetizer/Salad, Best Fast Casual Entree, Best Fine Dining Entrée, Best Dessert and Best Presentation. Judges will be Atlanta Cuisine editor, Tom Maicon; freelance restaurant writer who contributes to the Atlanta Journal Constitution and WGST, Helen Cauley; director of Salud! Cooking & Lifestyle School at Whole Foods Market, Ashley Brooke; and food writer, cooking show host, and food editor for North Fulton Living Magazine, Hans Rueffert.
Attendees can vote for their favorite restaurant at the Culinary Arts and Music Stage, designating only one restaurant as the Taste of Alpharetta People’s Choice recipient. Additional judges will walk restaurant row to award the Best Booth presentation.
After dining at all of their favorite restaurants in one night, Taste of Alpharetta families can look forward to playing at Wacky World and on the dozens of fun inflatable activities, Guitar Hero, rock climbing, trains and more in the Fun Zone. By the Lion’s Club pavilion at Wacky World, the Reptile Wrangler will feature educational reptile shows all evening plus exhibits. Children can also enjoy wacky hair, face painting, balloon art, and a full farmyard with pony carousal. Metro Atlanta radio stations will add to the evening’s entertainment.
The 19th Annual Taste of Alpharetta is proud to have City of Alpharetta, Comcast, Publix Super Market Charities, Inc., as our Premier Sponsors; AT&T Real Yellow Pages and Revue & News of APPEN Newspapers as our Platinum Sponsors; ADP, Alpharetta Convention & Visitors Bureau, DeVry University/Georgia, Georgia Power Company, and Sprint as our Gold Sponsors; Costco, Eisen Family Chiropractic, Everyday Waterproofing, Flagstar Bank, Taylor Construction Company, and The New York Times and Vantage Card Service, Inc. as our Silver Sponsors.
For more information, visit www.alpharetta.ga.us or phone (678) 297-6000 ext. 1006. Photos, event map, and additional information available upon request (678) 297-6078.
Labels: 2009, city of alpharetta, may 14, milton square city park, old milton parkway, Taste of Alpharetta, Wills Park
# posted by
Brian Vanderhoff @ 7:58 AM
Summer is coming to an end for thousands of Fulton County students and their families. The new school year begins Monday, Aug. 11.
At a Glance
The Fulton County School System continues to be the fourth largest school district in Georgia with a projected 2008-09 enrollment of nearly 88,500 students – an expected increase of approximately 2,500 students from the previous school year. The system includes 94 schools – 55 elementary schools, 19 middle schools, 15 high schools and five start-up charter schools.
New Programs and School Improvement Initiatives
Riverwood International Charter School. Riverwood High School – now called Riverwood International Charter School – begins the new year as an approved conversion charter school. As part of its charter, Riverwood will implement the Middle Years Programme of the International Baccalaureate Organization. This curriculum will enhance the school’s existing International Studies magnet, which features an International Baccalaureate diploma program.
Virtual Campus. Previously operated as a collection of online course offerings, Fulton’s Virtual Campus is expanding to have a centralized physical location. Susan Caster, formerly principal of Connected Academy, becomes its first principal.
Plans call for Virtual Campus offices and support labs to be housed at the system’s new Instructional Technology Center. The center is located in the old campus of Westlake High School, which will be vacated as its replacement building opens. Courses will still be offered online but students without home internet or computer access can take courses through Virtual Campus’s computer labs.
The school’s first semester registration continues until Aug. 18, with Aug. 23 as the first day of class. Courses are offered during the school day at no cost if taken during a regularly scheduled class period. If taken outside of the school day, students are charged a $250 per-course fee. Course offerings and requirements are posted at www.fultonk12virtualcampus.net.
Early Release Days. The 2008-09 school calendar includes five early release days that dismiss students approximately three hours earlier from their regular dismissal time. Teachers and school staff will use the remainder of the day to participate in schoolwide trainings and professional development workshops, such as math curriculum implementation.
Early release dates are:
· Sept. 17, 2008
· Oct.15, 2008
· Nov. 19, 2008
· Feb. 25, 2009
· March 25, 2009
Parents were notified of this calendar change last school year so they could be prepared to find additional childcare or use the extra time to schedule routine medical appointments for their children (rather than having to check out the student during a regular school day). Schools will still offer their after-school programs on these days.
Balanced Math Curriculum. This school year, Fulton begins using a blended approach to teaching the new Georgia Performance Standards mathematics curriculum. Last spring, a team of leading educational consultants conducted a formal audit of the curriculum and spoke with teachers, parents and school leaders. Some favored the new GPS math model; others expressed a desire to return to more traditional methods for teaching math.
As a result, the Fulton County Board of Education approved a plan that blends the two philosophies harmoniously. This balanced approach weaves the new math curriculum into a more traditionally taught standards curriculum. Additional textbooks have been purchased to supplement the texts already in place in grades K-8 and in high school. In addition, the names of some high school math courses are being changed to provide more description of the content rather than being labeled, for example, Math I. Over the summer, teachers received additional training in the math curriculum, which will be continued throughout the school year.
No-Charge Breakfast to Selected Schools. For a fourth year, the Fulton County School System is providing breakfast free-of-charge to all students attending schools not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) targets or those in Needs Improvement status. The program provides each student access to a nutritional meal so they can remain focused on learning.
Elementary Schools - Conley Hills, Heritage, High Point, Hamilton E. Holmes, Oak Knoll, Oakley, Parklane
Middle Schools - Bear Creek, Camp Creek, Elkins Pointe, Holcomb Bridge, McNair, Renaissance, Ridgeview,Paul D. West
High Schools - Banneker, Creekside, Independence, McClarin, Tri-Cities, Westlake
Other Centers - Crossroads/Second Chance North, Crossroads/Second Chance South
FY2009 Budget. Last spring, the FY 2009 operating budget was approved at $1,229,185,533 and the total millage rate was set at 17.502 mills, among the lowest in metro Atlanta. The budget allows Fulton to continue funding programs and school staffing at levels above what the state provides. In addition, the budget includes a 2.5 percent pay raise for all employees and grants full experience credit to teachers coming from outside Fulton County.
Other highlights of the budget include:
Step pay increase for eligible employees
A half undistributed position per school to support continuous achievement and/or specific local school needs (for example, student support team, additional instructional paraprofessional, etc.)
One districtwide technology support coordinator to support new K-12 media software
Additional support position for the social studies curriculum department
New performing arts facility at Tri-Cities High School
Acceleration of the Ison Road elementary school project from a 2010 opening to a 2009 opening
Purchase of land for future schools
K-12 media software replacements
PSAT for all ninth-graders
Crossroads/Second Chance program enhancements
New School Openings/Additions and Construction
Lake Forest Elementary School (5920 Sandy Springs Circle, Sandy Springs). Lake Forest Elementary School is the first new public school to open in Sandy Springs since the area became its own city. The 130,250-square-foot facility was designed by the architectural firm of Collins Cooper Carusi. The three-story school has 54 classrooms and is built to hold 850 students. It serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.
Westlake High School (2400 Union Road, Atlanta). The replacement Westlake High School opens beside its former campus on Union Road in Southwest Atlanta. The 326,000-square-foot school was designed by the architectural firm of Gardner, Spencer, Smith, Tench & Hensley, P.C. The school has 99 classrooms to house up to 1,900 students in grades nine through 12. The building is organized in five, campus-like academic and administrative wings so that similar departments are housed closer together.
Other Construction Projects. Several major school construction projects were completed over the summer, including a new band building at Alpharetta High School, a new cafeteria at Conley Hills Elementary School and a classoom addition at Mimosa Elementary School. The Crossroads/Second Chance South program also was relocated to the school system’s Flat Shoals Center in College Park. McClarin High School and Alpharetta Elementary School received new roofs.
Personnel Changes
New Principals. As new schools are built and veteran principals retire, it’s inevitable that school leaders will shift in Fulton County. The following schools have new principals this year.
Dunwoody Springs Charter Elementary School......................... Ivy Gainey
Hillside Elementary School....................................... Lori Fanning
Hamilton E. Holmes Elementary School...............................LaRoyce Sublett
Lake Forest Elementary School.................................. Dara Jones-Wilson
Ocee Elementary School......................................... Deborah Pernice
Woodland Middle School.......................................... André Wright
Alpharetta High School........................................... Mary Anne Charron
Banneker High School...............................................William Bradley
Creekside High School.............................................. Kevin Robinson
North Springs Charter High School of Arts and Sciences...........Lisa Stueve
Westlake High School........................................ Bryon White
Connected Academy................................................ Cynthia Burgess
Virtual High School............................................... Susan Caster
Crossroads/Second Chance South..................................... Scott O’Prey
Affidavit of Residence
Affidavit of Residence. In August, parents are again required to submit a notarized Affidavit of Residence form for each child. However, the school board has made the process more streamlined from its previous requirement of all students to submit a notarized affidavit and proof of residence. The purpose of the Affidavit of Residence is to make sure that only students who reside in Fulton County attend Fulton schools. This means that Fulton taxpayers’ money stays in Fulton County to pay for the education of those who live there – instead of students from other counties who attend under false pretenses.
Returning students, except those entering sixth grade or ninth grade, do not need to provide proof of residence but will still complete and submit an Affidavit of Residence form. Proof of residence is required only of students who are (1) new enrollees in a Fulton County school or (2) entering sixth grade or ninth grade. Students in their senior year of high school do not have to provide a form or proof of residence. Each school will have a notary available to notarize the form at no charge.
Labels: 2009, affidavit oif residence, fulton county school system, fulton schools, new school year 2008, riverwood international charter school
# posted by
Brian Vanderhoff @ 8:39 PM
