Gordon County Schools -

Gordon County Schools would like to thank and congratulate JM Huber Corporation for receiving the Business Commitment to Education Award from the Gordon Chamber's Workforce and Education Committee at yesterday's Gordon Chamber 65th annual meeting. JM Huber Corporation has exemplified what it means to invest in the future of education in Gordon County. Their support for STEAM initiatives at Fairmount Elementary School spans several years, with an annual donation of $1,500 to provide critical resources for student learning and engagement. Last year, Fairmount Elementary was awarded a $10,000 Project Lead the Way grant, enabling professional learning for teachers along with acquiring materials and online resources for student learning. This year, through the Huber Helps 2024 Impact Your Community Program, Fairmount received a $6,000 grant for the Helping Hands Ending Hunger program, a vital initiative in partnership with the Chattanooga Food Bank that provides food security to students and families in need. J.M. Huber have gone above and beyond with their personal time, investing in our students by serving as lunch buddies to offer students support and encouragement as a positive role model. Thank you to Mark Holt, Matt yeast, Curtis Roland, Derek Blankenship, Jenna King, and all J.M. Huber employees who have taken the time to make such a huge difference at Fairmount Elementary and Gordon County Schools. Pictured are Gordon County Schools Superintendent Alice Mashburn and Fairmount Elementary principal Rebecca Champion presenting the award to J.M. Huber Corporation.

March will be busy in our school cafés. We start with National School Breakfast Week, March 3rd - 7th. There will be many special breakfast dishes, school celebrities serving, and fun decorations as we "Clue In to School Breakfast" during the week. Then we'll celebrate St. Patrick's Day at lunch with a yummy green dessert treat.

The next meeting of the Gordon County Schools Wellness Committee is next week: Thursday, March 6th at 3:30.

Gordon County Schools is proud to announce Amanda King as the newest Assistant Principal at Red Bud Middle School. With an impressive 25-year career in education, Mrs. King has been a dedicated and influential leader within our school community. She began her teaching journey in 2000 at Sonoraville Middle School before joining the faculty at Red Bud Middle School in 2014, where she has served as both a life science teacher and as gifted lead. Beyond the classroom, Mrs. King has taken on numerous leadership roles, demonstrating her passion for education and her dedication to the Gordon County community. She has been recognized as RBMS Teacher of the Year, served as a Superintendent Advisory Panel representative, mentored new teachers, and led teacher teams for 20 years. Her experience, vision, and commitment to student growth have made her a respected and valued educator, and we are excited to see her bring that same passion to her new role as Assistant Principal.

Gordon County Schools will be on winter break Monday, February 17th through the 21st. Classes resume February 24th. #TogetherGCS #GordonCountySchools

Gordon County Schools is proud to announce the system-level winners for the Young Georgia Authors Writing Competition. The Young Georgia Authors competition serves to encourage students to develop enthusiasm for and expertise in their writing, to provide a context to celebrate their writing successes, and to recognize student achievement in arts and academics. This prestigious competition, sponsored by the Georgia Council of Teachers of English in cooperation with the Georgia Department of Education, has been engaging Georgia students for more than two decades and is open to any student currently enrolled in Georgia public schools, grades K-12. Students can submit all types of writing such as short stories, poetry, essays, research reports, and more. The following students are the 2024-2025 Gordon County Schools Young Georgia Author System-Level Winners: Kindergarten - Lowrey Haynes, Tolbert Elementary 1st Grade - Lilah Timms, Belwood Elementary 2nd Grade - William Rickett, Belwood Elementary 3rd Grade - Layla Fowler, Sonoraville Elementary 4th Grade - Lily Waters, Fairmount Elementary 5th Grade - Maggie Johnston, Red Bud Elementary 6th Grade - Allison Coleman, Red Bud Middle School 7th Grade - Alicia Smith, Ashworth Middle School 8th Grade - Cassandra Tucker, Ashworth Middle School 9th Grade - Elena Jaiden Blanchard, Sonoraville High School 10th Grade - Emily Demain, Gordon Central High School 11th Grade - Samantha Payne, Gordon Central High School 12th Grade - Maya Beckman, Sonoraville High School These student entries will be moving on to the Northwest GA RESA level competition in March.

GOVERNOR'S HONORS SEMIFINALISTS: GCS is proud to announce our state semifinalists for the prestigious Governor's Honors Program (GHP). This highly competitive program recognizes and supports intellectually gifted and artistically talented high school students, offering them a unique and enriching educational experience during a four-week summer instructional program. Congratulations to students selected as semifinalists who represent their high schools in the state-level application process. Semifinalists will attend an event in March, and their interviews with the GHP panel will help determine state finalists. Gordon Central High School: Hailee Church - nominated in the area of world languages Harrison Hughes - nominated in the area of social studies Anna Caroline Parker - nominated in the area of theatre Sonoraville High School: Pamela Aguilar - nominated in the area of communicative arts Leonardo Parra-Torres - nominated in the area of science

Gordon County Schools is proud to recognize and celebrate the outstanding achievements of its students and educators. Makena Blalock – State FFA Employment Skills Champion Gordon County Schools would like to congratulate Sonoraville High School senior Makena Blalock for winning the State FFA Employment Skills competition at the annual Leadership Development Event. Makena is a National FFA Champion and serves as State Secretary, representing her school and district with excellence. She was joined by Sonoraville High School agriculture teacher and FFA sponsor, Mr. Joshua Boydston. Congratulations to Makena on this outstanding achievement! STAR Students and Teachers Recognition The Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) Program has honored more than 29,000 students and the teachers they have selected as having the greatest impact on their academic success. To receive the STAR nomination, graduating high school seniors must earn the highest SAT score on a single test date and rank in the top 10 percent or among the top 10 students of their class based on grade point average. Gordon County Schools proudly recognizes this year’s STAR students and their selected STAR teachers. Gordon Central High School – STAR Student & Teacher Congratulations to Gordon Central High School senior Evan Wood, son of Jim and Ashley Wood. Evan plans to pursue a career in medicine and has been accepted to Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia, the University of Alabama, and Mississippi State University. He selected Gordon Central science teacher Holly Watts as his STAR Teacher, recognizing her for inspiring his passion for science. Sonoraville High School – STAR Student & Teacher Gordon County Schools also congratulates Sonoraville High School senior Ethan Hurley, son of Bart and Julia Hurley. Ethan plans to attend Reinhardt University to major in History. He selected Sonoraville High School foreign language teacher Amal Yacoub as his STAR Teacher, honoring her for her dedication and encouragement toward her students. Gordon County Schools extends congratulations to all students and teachers recognized this evening and commends them for their dedication to excellence in academics and leadership.

Sonoraville High School math teacher Deron Walraven taught imaginary numbers to his students today. What's not imaginary is Coach Walraven's home opener Monday, February 10th for baseball season! Check out the Phoenix baseball schedule here: https://www.maxpreps.com/ga/calhoun/sonoraville-phoenix/baseball/schedule/

Sonoraville Elementary 2nd grade teacher Alli Smith did a great job today getting students engaged and involved in the lesson. Great job! #TogetherGCS #GordonCountySchools

Red Bud Elementary kindergarten teacher Azlin Cleveland's students were very engaged in their small group activities today. #TogetherGCS #GordonCountySchools

Fairmount Elementary 1st grade teacher Christy Smith had students engaged and ready to answer questions. Great job, Bulldogs! #TogetherGCS #GordonCountySchools

Red Bud Middle School 8th grade social studies teacher Tara Berry taught Georgia history to her students today! #TogetherGCS #GordonCountySchools #GreaterThings

Tolbert Elementary media specialist Katie Edwards had fun activities today in her specials class! Check out how awesome the library at TES is as well. #TogetherGCS #GordonCountySchools

W.L. Swain Elementary 1st grade teacher Rebecca Weaver's class did a great job answering questions about time! #TogetherGCS #GordonCountySchools

Gordon Central High School math teacher Shawna Cox had her students engaged and participating in graphing functions and explaining their key features. #TogetherGCS #GordonCountySchools

Ashworth Middle School 6th grade math teacher Nakia Rice had her math students being accountable with their learning as their questions and discussions led the learning. #TogetherGCS #GordonCountySchools

Belwood Elementary 4th grade teacher Shelby Johnson had a fun activity teaching students about measurements and making inferences based off data! #TogetherGCS #GordonCountySchools

On Saturday, January 25th, the 12 students in the Belwood Robotics club traveled to Cloverleaf Elementary School in Cartersville where they competed against 23 other teams at the FIRST LEGO League Qualifier event. These students were competing for an opportunity to in the top 12 teams that would advance to the region championship in Chattanooga on February 8th at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Belwood’s Robotics Club is divided into three teams and ALL THREE teams earned a spot to compete at the Championship. BES Teams: Team Twilight Terrors - Keaton Cochran, Victoria Hughes, and Audie Winslett. Team Loony Logic - Greyson Cochran, Amberlee Hall, Audrey Psaila, and Kennedy Wall. Team Abyssal Alliance - Avril Brown, Kase Gwin, Blake Hansen, Layla Hogg, and Jay Timms.

Congratulations again to Gordon Central High School STAR Student Evan Wood and his STAR Teacher Holly Watts, and Sonoraville High School STAR Student Ethan Hurley and his STAR Teacher Amal Yacoub! They were recently celebrated at the STAR Student banquet. Evan Wood was named Gordon County winner! #TogetherGCS #GordonCountySchools