WINGSPAN
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FURTAH PREPARATORY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 3, 2013
New International Students
Jay Li
We have new international
students to welcome to FPS this year.
They are from China, Turkey, Serbia,
Chile, and France. Be sure to say hi to
them when you see them in the
hallway. In case you didn’t know, 60%
of international students choose to
come to America. That means it’s very
important to know their culture and
how to deal with their cultural
differences.
Global Horizons
Representative Meeting- Host
Family Interest
August 29, 2013. This meeting was for
people who are interested in hosting
an international student. Paul
Hallgrimson, a representative of
Global Horizons, was there to answer
questions. He was an international
student in Germany during his senior
year. Twelve years later he went back
to Germany as a coach. He
understands the challenges
international students face, and that is
why he chose to help them come to
America. There are many international
students who want to come to FPS.
Could you consider becoming a host
family for them? If you are interested,
please contact Mr. Furtah.
Why Are International
Students Very Important to
Our School?
According to Mr. Furtah,” the
reason we have international students
is so that we can gain a better
understanding of the global
community and develop strong
relationships with people from other
nations. One thing you understand is
that all teenagers are just alike no
matter where they come from. It is
exciting to see them develop and
integrate into the American culture. It
is important because the world is
shrinking and we need to learn to
communicate in a very positive way
that will eventually lead to global
peace.”
Çagatay Tanir thinks
America is a little bit
similar to Turkey, but
has better education
than Turkey. He also
told me he has an
awesome host family
and that he loves
America.
Jackson Haung thinks
that America is very
different from China.
He came “to open my
eyes.” He will try his
best to learn English
and would love to go to
an American university.
Paul Bokeloh thinks
that America is very
similar to Germany. He
loves it here and hopes
to attend an American
University. Paul told
me he has a very cool
host family!
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Wrestler Inspires Furtah
Students
Avery McCoy
Marc Mero, an American
retired amateur boxer and professional
wrestler, recently came to visit the
students at Furtah Prep to share his
story and impart the wisdom he has
gained from his experiences in life.
Some of these experiences have been
as turbulent as the divorce of his
parents and the loss of many of his
friends to drug-related causes, while
others have been positive, such as
training as a young boxer under golden
gloves coach Ray Rinaldi. All, however,
led him to travel the country inspiring
students to chase after their dreams,
make wise choices, make the most of
life, and stand up against bullying.
Marc Mero’s commitment to
improving the lives of children and
teens is unparalleled. Mero works
countless hours to respond to students
who need his word of encouragement.
In addition to sharing his
story, he remained at Furtah after the
presentation to join in Fellowship of
Christian Athletes, where he happily
listened to the stories of our own
students. He speaks from the heart
when he says, “I’m dedicated to
helping people know that there is hope
in this world.” Anyone can achieve
their goals and dreams if they believe!
While much of
Mero’s
presentation
dealt with
serious topics,
it did not at all
lack fun
Interested in knowing
more about Marc Mero’s
story and his ministry?
Visit his website at
www.ThinkPoz.org.
Falcons Face Off Against Public Schools
Tom Kennington
The Furtah Prep basketball
team has been given the privilege to be
invited to participate in a fall league
with local public high schools. This
league, which kicked off on August 29
against Allatoona High School, will last
until October 10, and is expected to give
the team great practice before the
regular season begins on October 15.
Games will be held every Thursday and
will feature such competitors as
Woodstock, Kell, Covenant Christian,
and Creekview, among others.
Pictured, standing,
from left to right:
Jackson Huang, Milos
Sikimic, Tom
Kennington, Wesley
Spencer, Paul Bokeloh,
Joe Wolfe, Ryan Anibie,
Tyler Timothy, Travis
Grady. Seated:
Anthony Azzarello.
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Furtah Welcomes Back
Tiffani Listenbee
wants to be. I don’t ever wake up in the morning not wanting
to come to work,” she says. “It may be tiring, but I don’t ever
wake up not wanting to come.”
Madeline McGee
While many new changes and experiences have
accompanied the start of this new school year, we are excited
to welcome a familiar and much-missed face back to the
Furtah family. Tiffani Listenbee, well known for her
commitment to helping students to grow not only
academically but in all facets of life, truly stands apart. “Life is
a continuing learning process every day,” she says. “It doesn’t
always have to be academic-wise; it’s life lessons. It can be
academics, it can be family, it can be love; whatever it is,
you’re always learning something.”
While we were thrilled for her having been offered a
position coaching basketball at Kennesaw State University at
the end of the 2012 school year, it was not at all an easy task
saying goodbye to one of the most dynamic teachers this
school has ever had. Returning from this hiatus, she has
resumed teaching high school English and history here at
Furtah Prep. In her own words, “I wanted to be back in the
classroom. Most of life is figuring out what you don’t want to
do, and I needed to really know that’s not what I want to do. [In
the classroom you kind of have a more direct, everyday affect
on your students. You can see the gradual progression of
growth on an everyday basis.”
While we as students have gotten older and matured
in the past year, and many of us have become new people than
the ones she remembers, she has returned the certainty that
she too has learned a great deal about herself and where she
Advanced Art Students to Enter
Art Competition
Morgan Agee
The Furtah Prep art
department is proud be represented by
four of its most talented students in the
2013 State Botanical Garden of Georgia
Art Competition. These four, Jay Li (12),
YanLin Yang (12), Morgan Agee (12),
and Cagatay Tanir (11), already wellknown around campus for their artistic
talent, have been hard at work creating
masterpieces using a variety of
mediums including pencil, watercolor,
oil paint, and photography. These
pieces, which befitting the botanical
theme are mostly floral in nature,
are turning out quite beautifully day by day.
Winning pieces will be reprinted to be sold
in the Botanical Garden gift shop in Athens
on various merchandises. First prize is
$1000, with a second prize of $500 and a
third prize of $250. We wish these gifted
students good luck, although we doubt
they’ll need it.
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What’s Coming Up
4
Oct 9- Term 1 Report Cards Sent Out
Tanir’s Win
Kicks Off 2013
Student Council
Oct 14-18 Conference Week, 11:30 Dismissal
Zach Benak
Oct 14-18 Book Fair
On August 30th we had this
year’s student council election, with 7
candidates being considered for 3
positions. Çagatay Tanir against
Madeline McGee and Tom Kennington
for president, Wesley Spencer against
Travis Grady for secretary, and Alex
Eppsteiner against Jiade Li for
treasurer. After all the highschool
students voted on their choices,
Çagatay, Wesley, and Jiade (Jay) were
the winners, with Madeline and Tom
taking joint vice presidency. The
council is also made up of ten plus
additional students who are organized
into committees with a specific
purpose such as social media or charity
event planning.
October
Oct 5- SAT administration
October 15- Start of Basketball Season
Lunch Menu
Tuesdays- Moe’s
Wednesdays-Chick- Fil- A
Thursdays-Chinese
Fridays- Little Caesar’s Pizza/ Chick- Fil -A
biscuits in morning
SSO Campaign
In May 2008, the State of
Georgia passed new legislation (HB
1133) that allows taxpayers to obtain a
dollar-for-dollar tax credit by
redirecting tax dollars to Student
Scholarship Organizations. These
Organizations, otherwise known as
SSO’S, would then make awards to
private schools designated by the
taxpayer to be used for students from
lower and middle income families who
otherwise could not afford a private
school education.
Taxpayers include:
• Married couples:
can redirect (annually) up to
$2,500 of their state taxes
owed to the state of Georgia
• Individuals: can redirect
(annually) up to $1,000 of the
state income taxes they will
pay
• Sub-chapter S, LLC’s and
LLP’s can redirect up to
$10,000(1) to an SSO, CCorporations can redirect up
to 75% of their Georgia state
tax liability.
The income tax dollars do not
reduce public school funding, which
comes from property taxes rather than
state income taxes.
Furtah Preparatory School works
with GASSO (Georgia Student
Scholastic Organization Inc.), a
501(c)(3) non-profit, to create a pool of
funds for student scholarship
opportunities. Furtah Prep draws from
these funds to make awards to
students qualified by the school.
In order for these funds to be
available, Furtah Prep has to develop
its own contributors who are taxpayers
willing to contribute to the scholarship
Çagatay, an exchange student from
Turkey this year, and a junior, has big
plans for Furtah, based on things his
school’s council did back home; such
as doing parties, charity works, and
dinners. He also wants to rework prom
and homecoming to make them as fun
as they can be. I asked him about
becoming student council president
and he said “When I started at FPS, my
biggest goal was being a part of
student council, especially president.
Everyone, including my parents, told
me it would be impossible because I
was new in this school and a foreigner an exchange student. However, I didn’t
stop believing that maybe I could
accomplish an ‘impossible thing’. Not
giving up on my dreams got me here
and I’m really excited about being a
part of student council and working
with my teammates. I will never stop
believing and I am sure that we are
going to accomplish more ‘impossible
things’ with our friends.”
pool of funds. The process is simple;
however, developing the contributors
requires a focused effort to educate
each taxpayer about the benefit to
them, and to the many students who
have educational needs that the public
schools cannot provide.
In the near future, a meeting will be
held at Furtah Preparatory School to
explain this program and answer your
questions. Be on the lookout for more
information regarding this important
topic.
For more information, please
contact Christy Houchins at
[email protected]
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Student Revamps The Monkey’s
Paw
When Tiffani Listenbee’s English II class
received the assignment to write an
alternate ending to W.W. Jacob’s The
Monkey’s Paw, senior Eric Celentano’s
ending immediately stood out. The
story, which features a cursed monkey’s
paw with the power to grant three
wishes, ends normally in the unintended
death of the son of the main characters.
However, Eric’s ending ends on a slightly
more optimistic note.
At this time of night the
town was always hollow, but this is
the night when Mrs. White needs the
town to be alive. The echo of the
wind and the steps of the body,
which follows behind her, fill the
streets. Step by step it draws closer.
The wife gets to her feet and runs a
few lamp posts more. The shadow of
the body is projected onto the floor,
getting closer and closer every step.
The wife, falling to her knees then,
cries, "Why did this have to happen
to me?" she asks herself as tears
flow down her
cheeks and onto
the street.
After moments
of crying she
feels a soft
touch on the
shoulder, "MMom..." she
hears what
sounds like her
son waking up from a late night. She
clears her face from the water that
flows down her cheeks. When her
vision is fixed, she sees her son his,
skin a little pale and some dirt in
hair. "Mom, did father get the
money...?" he asks looking down at
her.
At home, the paw of the
monkey’s hand rests in a cold palm.
Eyes fixed on the door, to what he
watched from the last breath that
was able to mutter from the white
lips before they grew cold. The skin
A Reading Oasis: The
Scholastic Book Fair
Comes to Furtah
reflects the light from the lantern
that sits on the table. No more
words will exit the lips, the lashes
from the eyes will not meet again,
and the blood stopped in his veins
sits motionless. The last wish the
man asked for was to let his son be
normal once again.
Have something you’d like to
contribute to the newsletter?
We’re always looking for
stories. Feel free to email us at
[email protected]
Wingspan Staff
Advisor
Mary Cousins
Contributing
Reporters
Morgan Agee
Zach Benak
Tom Kennington
The time has come again to be whisked
away on adventures, to expand the imagination
and find refuge in the leaves of a good book. The
Scholastic Book Fair will be held at FPS the week
of October 14-18 in the lower building. The
selection, picked specifically for our grade levels,
will feature everything from new releases to
perennial favorites. Be sure to stop by!
Jay Li
Avery McCoy
Madeline McGee
Editor
Madeline McGee
Photography
Morgan Agee
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