Caleb Cole, a junior at Pepperell High School, has been selected to participate in the 2013 Governor's Honors Program

Media release: Caleb Cole, a junior at Pepperell High School, has been selected to participate in the 2013 Governor's Honors Program. Governor's Honors is a four-week summer instructional program designed to provide intellectually gifted and artistically talented high school students with challenging and enriching educational opportunities not usually available during the regular school year. Cole was selected for the program in music/Bass French Horn.

 

This is not the Pepperell junior's first recognition for his talents playing the French Horn.  Earlier this year, he won the high school instrumental division of the Rome Symphony Orchestra's third annual concerto competition. Cole performed the first movement of Mozart's "Concerto for Horn, No. 3, in E-flat major, K. 447" on his French horn.  He will perform with the Rome Symphony Orchestra during their spring concert at the Rome City Auditorium on Saturday, April 27. Cole was the only high school student from Rome and Floyd County to earn a spot in the spring concert.  Cole has also been named to All-State Band, District Jazz Band, All-State Chorus, the Jacksonville State University Honor Band, Floyd County Honor Band, Floyd County Honor Chorus, District Honor Band, and District Honor Chorus. He was a participant in the Rome Kiwanis Music Showcase this past Wednesday. Cole plans to continue his music career after high school and major in music. 

"This is a tremendous accomplishment to be selected for this prestigious program, and it is a wonderful opportunity," stated Dr. Jeff McDaniel, superintendent of Floyd County Schools. "This honor recognizes Caleb as one of the best-of-the-best in Georgia."  Governor's Honors is a function of the Georgia Department of Education and takes place on the campus of Valdosta State University. This will be the program's 50th summer, making it the longest continually running program of its kind in the nation. Rising juniors and seniors in Georgia public and private high schools are eligible to be nominated by their teachers to participate in the program. The program is fully funded by the Georgia General Assembly, so there is no charge for students to attend.

Each applicant must go through a very extensive selection process to be invited to participate in the program. On the local level, transcripts of grades and records, nomination forms, endorsements and other pertinent information are submitted to substantiate the nominations and the students must interview with a screening committee. Local nominees are then sent to statewide screening interviews and auditions. The written evidence and data gathered in the student interviews and auditions are used to rank nominees and select finalists. Thousands of students from across the state interview and audition for the program over three weekends in January and February. From those nominees, the selected finalists are chosen to participate in the summer program.

The program's activities are designed to provide each participant with opportunities to acquire the skills, knowledge and attitudes to become independent, life-long learners. Major instructional areas included in the program are: communicative arts (English), foreign languages, mathematics, science, social studies, visual art, theatre, music, dance, design, technology, and executive management. Instruction is also provided in four support areas -- computers, counseling, library/media, and physical fitness. For four weeks, students will spend the morning in their major area of nomination, exploring topics not usually found in the regular high school classroom. During the afternoons, students choose one additional area in which to study. The curriculum in all the areas is challenging and engaging. Evenings are filled with seminars, activities, concerts, and performances.