Maureen Downey wrote an excellent profile of the Global Village School a couple days back in the AJC. The school, which opened in August, helps teenage survivors of war and refugee camps acquire the necessary education to attend and graduate from high school and college.

As Downey explains, the school – which teaches an “intense, extended five-day program” – grew out of a Saturday class at the International Community School on Covington Highway. Students get up as early as 4 a.m. and take trains and buses into Decatur every morning, looking to learn to speak better English and improve math skills.

The school utilizes donated classroom space at Decatur Presbyterian and students eat lunch everyday in Agnes Scott College’s dining hall.

Thanks to Adam for pointing out this great article!

From the Agnes Scott Communication Office…

Agnes Scott College’s lacrosse team, the first varsity women’s lacrosse team in Georgia, will take the field for its first regular season game ever on March 2 against LaGrange College.

Agnes Scott was the first Georgia college to establish a varsity women’s lacrosse team, though other Georgia teams (including LaGrange) have followed or are preparing for their first seasons. While there are several club lacrosse teams at other Georgia colleges and universities, Agnes Scott’s team was the first school-sponsored (varsity) women’s lacrosse team.

The game will be held at Agnes Scott’s Gellerstedt Track and Field from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. The NCAA Division III team is competing in the USA South Athletic Conference, which includes seven other colleges from Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

Read the full article HERE.

As DM’s Events Calendar shows, George Winston kicks off the Eddie and Agnes series tonight at Presser Hall on Agnes Scott’s campus.

In a recent interview with the AJC, Winston explains why he’s DRIVING from California to the Decatur event and why he’ll be performing without shoes.

Q: We know you don’t want microphones at this show in Decatur. What else can audiences expect from the performance? Will you perform in your socks?

A: Yes, shoes make too much noise on the floor. And I don’t like the sound of a miked piano. I’ll be playing fall and winter songs. Some Vince Guaraldi, folk and melodic piano, New Orleans R&B. I’m sure the drive over will inspire something, too. I have yet to make it to the Great Plains, Tennessee and Alabama. I want [the journey] to affect what I play. We’re all influenced by the seasons whether we think about it or not.

Sock-tip to the AJC’s Jamie Gumbrecht.

Tickets for the event can still be purchased HERE.

Decatur Commissioner and Bicycle South’s Fred Boykin writes in…

Agnes Scott has just started a Bike Agnes Scott program with Bicycle South and Fuji Bicycles. Their program is modeled on the Bike Emory program that Emory, Bicycle South and Fuji started as a pilot project in 2007.

Agnes Scott deserves some credit for setting this program up. The web page just went live today.

To learn more about Agnes Scott’s new bike lending program, “purple bikes”, and check out discounts on Fuji bikes for ASC folks, click HERE.

Photo courtesy of the Agnes Scott “Purple Bikes” website.

This sounds like pretty compelling stuff.  From an Agnes Scott College press release…

Brother Guy J. Consolmagno, SJ, an American research astronomer and planetary scientist at the Vatican Observatory, will discuss “The Ethics of Exploration: Planetary Astronomy” during a lecture at Agnes Scott College Feb. 16. The 7:30 p.m. event is in Evans Hall and is free and open to the public.

A number of ethical issues arise in the field of planetary sciences ranging from the way astronomers do their work to the broader question of the nature of exploration itself. Is the study of astronomy a valid use of scarce resources, or does it make inappropriate demands on money, human talent and scarce environmental settings? Are humans “contaminating” space with their presence? Consolmagno will discuss these and many other questions during his lecture.

More info, including a short bio of Consolmagno can be found HERE.

From Agnes Scott’s Communication Office…

Trucks and service vehicles won’t be able to keep their engines humming while at Agnes Scott College—the college is the first educational institution in Georgia to prohibit idling on campus, according to The Clean Air Campaign, a not-for-profit organization that works with partners, Georgia employers, commuters and schools to encourage actions that result in reduced traffic congestion and improved air quality.

Trucks and service vehicles on campus will now be required to turn off their engines while making deliveries. “No Idle Zone” signs will be placed in the three areas where service and delivery vehicles frequently operate while on campus.Drivers will be expected to cut off their engine upon arrival and restart engines only after loading or unloading is complete and the vehicle is ready to depart. The new policy excludes safety and emergency vehicles, electric vehicles and trailer engines used solely to control freight temperatures.

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Emily sends along this email from Agnes Scott College’s Michelle Hall announcing the return of “a pioneer of the campus sustainability movement”, David Orr.

According to a press release sent along with the email, Orr’s visit “is the inaugural event for Agnes Scott’s Environmental and Sustainability Studies program created in 2009. In addition to his lecture to the wider community on January 26th, Orr “will teach an introductory environment and sustainability studies class and have a roundtable discussion with faculty.”

After the jump, read Michelle’s full message, which includes the date and time of Orr’s lecture along with a brief bio.

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Agnes Scott College, Little Shop of Stories and Daren Wang all have reason to be yelling “Squeeeee!” this week.

In an extensive article profiling the prolific, counter-culture, superstar author Neil Gaiman, all three Decatur institutions found themselves mentioned in the latest issue of the New Yorker.  After detailing Gaiman’s life-story and his unique fan-base in an elegant journalistic style , the article closes with Gaiman’s December trip to Decatur.

In December, Gaiman flew to Decatur, Georgia, the location of Little Shop of Stories, which he had picked as a winner of the contest. In tribute to “The Graveyard Book,” the store had transformed its basement into a crypt and led the children in a danse macabre, beating out a store in Larchmont, New York, that had brought in a live white pony, in honor of the preferred conveyance of the novel’s death figure.

It was a foggy day, with intermittent rain, and people started lining up before noon outside Agnes Scott College, which was hosting the event. The reading started at six.

Little Shop announced the news yesterday in a post on their blog, while Mr. Wang had a bit of an identity crisis over on Verb.

More great press for the little city of growing book fame!

Daren Wang just announced – via Twitter – that the first Eddie & Agnes concert at Presser Hall will be none other than pianist-superstar George Winston.

1st Eddie & Agnes show-2/23. GEORGE WINSTON plays from seasonal albums, N.O. R&B, stride piano & from LOVE WILL COME, MUSIC OF V. Guaraldi

So maybe I spoke too soon (or too generally) when I said the concerts would “all rock”, but that’s still a pretty good get and should fill up the space quite nicely!

Andisheh sends us a photo of this year’s post-Christmas Agnes Scott pine tree gathering.

But where he sees a place where “Christmas trees in Decatur go to die”, I see a lively Christmas tree pig pile. (Someone must have left a bottle of water in the parking lot.)

And speaking of dispensing of your tree, Cate writes in…

Please Decaturites, don’t leave your be-tinseled tree on the curb for the trash guys to pick up. All sorts of small animals love to chew on tinsel and can get seriously ill.