Creating culture at the Creek: Students showcase involvement during Coahulla Creek tour

Published 11:00 am Saturday, October 28, 2023

When Coahulla Creek High School first opened its doors to students on Aug. 10, 2011, “the culture of (the) building was that we had no culture,” said Sasha Raborn, the school’s media specialist.

But, surrounded by a host of student athletes, club members and community business representatives in the lobby as part of a Red Carpet Tour of Coahulla Creek on Tuesday, Rayborn said that particular notion has changed over the last 13 years.

Red Carpet Tours, which are offered at various schools within the Whitfield County and Dalton Public Schools systems — as well as Christian Heritage School — began in February as a joint effort by Believe Greater Dalton and the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce to help give community members and local businesses an in-depth, educational look at what goes on inside area schools.

“That very first day, we had 430 students, all coming from North Whitfield Middle School, Southeast (Whitfield High School) and Northwest (Whitfield) High School,” Raborn continued. “So we kind of had a blank slate to make Coahulla Creek whatever we wanted it to be; and I think now, 13 years later, the results of that has been from a lot of students and alumni seeing a vision to want to make a culture for our school.”

Raborn said the high school experience at Coahulla Creek isn’t just about advanced placement exams and biology tests — “although those are important to the success of a student,” — but rather a sense of belonging and feeling connected.

“Some of our favorite memories in high school have to do with friendships and the activities we’re involved in, and that is where our culture comes in,” she said. “I feel like we’ve tried to work really hard to create a culture at Coahulla Creek where when our kids show up on a Monday morning, even though it’s not the most fun, they feel like they have a place (where) they can belong.”

As visitors roamed the hallways and floors of the three-story building alongside their twelfth-grade tour guides, students educated them on what exactly the “Coahulla Creek culture” looks like in 2023, beginning with a look into the school’s fine arts programs.

Senior Preston Green, Coahulla Creek’s drum major, said the school’s band program, which encompasses percussion, music appreciation, color guard, marching band and intermediate/advanced band, supplies no shortage of opportunities throughout the school year, such as the One Whitfield annual drumline program or district Honor Band.

“With the drumline program, basically Southeast, Northwest and Coahulla Creek all have members that show up and you have to audition for it,” Green said. “Last year, we had four members apply; this year we have eight that are going to try out. With Honor Band, last year we had five members of our band join it, and this year we have 18 members applying. That’s a pretty big increase.”

Green said the One Whitfield marching band featuring students from Coahulla Creek, Southeast and Northwest will be participating in the Veteran’s Day Parade in downtown Dalton on Nov. 11, where they will be “performing the marches of the U.S. armed forces, which will be all of the branches of the military.”

“We also have our One Whitfield band trip coming up as well,” Green said. “As a community, Northwest, Southeast and us will all make one big giant band and we’ll go to Norfolk, Virginia (in April) to perform in the Parade of Nations and compete against other bands around there.”

Rose Calvillo, a senior taking the Art III class, said 16 art pieces by Coahulla Creek students are currently on exhibit at the North Georgia Agricultural Fair at 500 Legion Dr.

“We also have students that participate in the Creative Arts Guild Student Arts Expo in March annually, with two students (winning the Expo’s) Bernice Spigel Award, and there is also a 100% pass rate with AP Art students,” said Calvillo.

Calvillo said the school offers four classes in the visual arts pathway: Art I, Art II, Art III, and AP Art. Students who complete the Art I class are able to also take a photography class.

“I think my favorite thing about the art classes here is the whole community that we have and how we can critique each other’s work and grow and learn from each other; It’s a very close community,” she said.

“Art is a great place to let your emotions out and into the work that you’re doing. It’s very relieving and if you are stressed with school work or are stressed with stuff at home, you can really express that through the artwork you create.”

Visitors during the tour also were able to hear about the school’s performing arts and theatre programs.

“As far as classes that we have in-school, we have a technical theatre program, which is where you will work in the scene shop with drills and saws to build the sets,” said Aaron Coker, a senior representative of the Coahulla Creek Performing Arts Company. “You need a permit for that, obviously. Everything is ran by the kids. We direct, we choreograph, we act, we build the sets, we run the music and we have kids running the light booth. We also have a guitar class, which I didn’t even know about until this year. (All of this) gives us a really good opportunity to explore everything that theatre has to offer.”

Coker said program starts out the year with a region One Act competition “which is a GHSA (Georgia High School Association)-sanctioned competition where you go to Ringgold and compete against other schools in your region.”

“We are performing two plays this year,” he said. “Our first one is ‘The 146 Point Flame,’ which is about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (in New York City in 1911), and then ‘Persephone,’ which is about the Greek myth. Later in the year, we perform a musical; this year it will be ‘Kiss Me, Kate.’”

The tour also made stops at Coahulla Creek’s new school store, which is ran solely by students in the school’s Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) club. The store offers a variety of sweets, treats and beverages.

“Our big seller is the iced coffee,” said senior David Noll, who operates as store manager. “We also have our ‘berry blast’ lemonade with boba (pearls). Our most popular thing is the ‘Cold-uccinos,’ (a chilled twist on the cappuccino). We make these every day in class to help fund the DECA program.”

Speaking to the group of visitors, Raborn said student involvement is one of the main goals in cultivating a culture to remember.

“We try to build a lot of experiences so that our kids have the same memories that you all have had,” she detailed. “Whatever form that takes, whether that’s with the basketball team or ‘Crackle at the Creek’, which is a night for our families to come and gather around a bonfire. We have our senior parking lot in which our seniors get to come and spend a whole day here at the Creek with their families. I know once you’re in high school there’s not a whole lot of opportunities for your families to be involved, but that’s important to us here and we feel proud that we’ve worked really hard to supply that.”

Above all, Raborn said she believes the school’s culture involves making memories and leaving a lasting legacy.

“Every kid that comes through here is so important and matters to us, and we want to make experiences for them so that when they are eventually in your position, they can look back and say ‘I really liked high school because of this great memory that somebody provided for us.’”