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STONE MOUNTAIN, GA—Stephenson Middle School, 922 Stephenson Road, will host a “Rising Sixth Grade Mini Conference” on March 25, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Organizers are hosting the free conference to welcome rising sixth graders and their parents to middle school ahead of the 2023-2024 school year.
The conference is a collaboration between Stephenson Middle School and feeder elementary schools in the area. Stephenson Middle School Head Counselor Subrena Glenn facilitated the effort and spent weeks planning the event. Glenn met with counselors from Rock Chapel Elementary(Torie Callaway), Wynbrooke Elementary (Lavorious Mullins), Princeton Elementary (Phyllis Hale, and Marcia Bryant-Cornelison and Kelly ridget, parent liason) , and Pine Ridge Elementary (Shunterica Whitehead and Lisa Kegler-Huckabee to develop the conference.
The keynote speaker for the event will be Dr. Alduan Tartt, clinical psychologist. Actor and singer Eric Moore of the Greenleaf television drama series, also will be a special guest, along with surprise celebrities.
Orrin “Checkmate” Hudson will be at the event with his life-sized chess board. The nationally-known chess champion and motivational speaker has trained more than 88,000 students worldwide “to make their next move their best move.” Hudson has traveled the country with comedian Steve Harvey, and collaborated to promote chess through the Disney movie, “The Queen of Katwe.” He made the opening move in the 2022 FIDE World Championship match in Dubai.
The conference will include several activities and workshops for parents and students. Some of the workshops will cover academics, discipline, attendance, safety nets and parent engagement. There will be a health fair, entertainment and food trucks, DeKalb County School District’s Mobile bus.
