Gordon County Schools

WARRIORS AGAINST CANCER: In October, Gordon Central High School launched the “Warriors Against Cancer” campaign where student athletes and members of the pep squad challenged the student body to raise awareness and money to help the local chemo warriors in our community. Through this campaign, students raised over $1,500 dollars to create care bags for patients undergoing chemotherapy and the medical staff that serve them. On Tuesday, students from GCHS visited AdventHealth Gordon to deliver the care bags to cancer patients and the gifts of appreciation for the health care providers at the Cancer Center. Principal Brian Hall, Athletic Director Billy Shackelford, and students from GCHS toured the AdventHealth Gordon Cancer Center and the AdventHealth Harris Radiation Therapy Center, met the cancer care team, and hand delivered care bags to patients who were undergoing chemotherapy treatments in the infusion center. Way to go Warriors!! #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

A group of students and adults stand together with cancer patient bags

A group of adults stand around a table with gifts

A student presents a gift bag to a cancer patient

GC YOUNG FARMERS NEWS: Last night, Gordon County Young Farmers Association hosted a legislator meet and greet at the Gordon County Agricultural Service Center. Senator Chuck Hufstetler, Senator Chuck Payne, and State Representative Matt Barton were present to give updates from the 2022 legislative session and to educate our young agricultural leaders on the legislative process! #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

A group of adults and students stand together for a picture

APPLE DISTINGUISHED SCHOOL CELEBRATION: Recently, staff at Ashworth Middle School celebrated becoming the first Apple Distinguished Middle School in Georgia! Apple Distinguished Schools are centers of innovation, leadership, and educational excellence. They use Apple technology to connect students to the world, fuel creativity, deepen collaboration, and make learning personal. Ashworth Middle School has been recognized for the use of their iPad devices as an essential learning tool for finding inspiration, boosting creativity, gaining global insights, and helping students to apply critical thinking skills as they prepare for a successful career in high school and beyond. Congratulations Ashworth Middle!! We are so incredibly proud of you!! #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

A group takes a picture with the ADS banner

A group takes a picture with the ADS certificate

SYSTEM LEADERSHIP MEETING: Yesterday, Gordon County Schools system leadership joined together for our monthly leadership meeting. Leaders from across Gordon County Schools met to discuss teaching, learning, and student engagement across GCS. We are so grateful for our #OneBIGFamily and the work our teachers and support staff do daily to make a difference in the lives of our students and their families! #GoCoSchools #GETGCS

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

A group of adults sit together to discuss classroom engagement

FIRE HYDRANT REDESIGN CONTEST: Fourth and fifth grade students across the Gordon County Schools system recently had the opportunity to participate in a fire hydrant redesign coloring contest, hosted by Suzanne Roberts and the Calhoun Downtown Development Authority. In each of our local elementary schools, students were given the creative freedom to design a fire hydrant! After receiving a ton of entries, a winner was selected at each GCS elementary school. Each of the six designs will be painted onto fire hydrants in downtown Calhoun by local student artists from Gordon Central High and Sonoraville High. Thank you to Ms. Suzanne Roberts and the Downtown Development Authority for providing this opportunity for our students!! #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

student stands with a fire hydrant he designed

student stands with a fire hydrant she designed

EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR - BOARD RECOGNITIONS: The inaugural Gordon County Schools Employee of the Year awards has been established to recognize the efforts of an individual from each Gordon County Schools department who has demonstrated exemplary support and dedication to their service, their department, the school they serve and the students/staff at their school of service. During the month of October and November, we recognized the first two departments: School Nutrition and Transportation. Joining the GCS Board of Education last night to receive recognition for this outstanding achievement were School Nutrition Employee of the Year, Tammy Fuller and Transportation Employee of the Year, Jane Ridley! Congratulations to you both!! #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

GCS Board of Education stands with Jane Ridley and Tim Watkins

GCS Board of Education stands with Tammy Fuller and Nicole Head

TRAY OF THE WEEK BOARD RECOGNITION: In October of 2021, the Georgia School Nutrition program launched the Georgia Tray of the Week Campaign. The purpose of the campaign is to highlight the consistently high-quality school meals served in Georgia schools. Having competed in the year-long, statewide competition, two Gordon County Schools were recognized for their outstanding dishes during the 2021-22 school year. Sonoraville Elementary School was selected as the Tray of the Week winners for their Pizza Power Pack and Sonoraville High School was selected as the winners for their Spaghetti entrée. Joining us at the board meeting last night to accept recognition for this outstanding accomplishment were Sonoraville Elementary School Nutrition Manager, Stacey Lemmermann and Sonoraville High School Nutrition Manager, Kristin Cronk! Congratulations!! #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

GORDON COUNTY SCHOOLS BOARD OF EDUCATIONS MEMBERS STAND TOGETHER WITH STACY LEMMERMAN AND KRISTIN CRONK

November is Parent and Family Engagement Month! To celebrate Parent & Family Engagement Month, we are posting weekly tips filled with activities and ideas to help you engage with your child. Please post photos or videos of your family engaging in the activities on our Gordon County Schools social media pages or email them to kpannell@gcbe.org -Each post made by your family will enter you in a drawing to win a Family Prize Pack. -The drawing will take place on November 18, 2022 and the winners will be announced on our website and social media channels! Week THREE tips are available below and on our website at www.gcbe.org/pfemonth #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily #FamilyEngagement

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

Week Three: Tips for Reading Together - Reading aloud is a great way to boost your child’s vocabulary, listening skills, and problem-solving skills. Long after children have learned how to read, they still benefit from read-aloud time. Try these tips for keeping it fun as your child gets older. Select books that you will both enjoy. Ask the media specialist or librarian for titles of chapter books with plenty of plot twists and interesting characters. Select some books that are a little too hard for your child to read alone. Exposure to challenging books is a great way to increase vocabulary. Let your child set the stage each day. Ask your child to summarize what you read the previous day. Take turns imagining what might happen next. Take turns reading. Alternate paragraphs, pages, or chapters. Help your child sound out difficult words, and look up the meaning of new words. Talk about what you read. Ask questions, like “Have you ever faced a situation like the one in the book?” “Do you know anyone like the main character?” Close the book at an exciting point – this will make you both want to read again tomorrow!

VETERANS DAY IN GCS: Thank you to all of the members of our Gordon County Schools community for joining us for our Veterans Day Celebrations today. The weather may have not been the best, but that couldn't keep us from honoring our veterans! Thank you to ALL who served!! #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

VETERANS DAY: Today we honor our country's military veterans who put their lives on the line for our freedom. Thank you to all who have served. 🇺🇸❤️ #VeteransDay #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

Non-Informative: Gordon County Schools Veterans Day Post - featuring the american flag and veterans in the image

PARENT & FAMILY ENGAGEMENT MONTH CONTEST: Don't forget to send in pictures of your family completing some of the weekly tips to be entered to win one of these amazing baskets! Parent & Family Engagement month contest tips are available now on our social media pages and on our website at www.gcbe.org/pfemonth Thank you to our Community Partners at Savoy Automobile Museum, Kroger, Jumping Jacks, and Cracker Barrel for your support of the Parent and Family Engagement program! #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

Non-Informative: Parent & Family Engagement Month Contest Baskets

VETERANS DAY: Gordon County Schools will be celebrating Veterans Day at each of our local campuses. Check out the events happening this Friday! Ashworth Middle School- Veterans will be honored at the school’s Veterans Day Breakfast on 11/11/22 at 7:45 a.m. Belwood Elementary School- There will be a Veterans Day breakfast on November 11 at 8:00 a.m., followed by a program. Fairmount Elementary School- Veterans will be honored with a parade on November 11th at 8:00 a.m. Gordon Central High School- GCHS will be hosting a Veterans Day Luncheon on November 11th during your student's regularly scheduled lunch period. Red Bud Elementary School- RBES & RBMS will be hosting a Veterans Day Parade on November 11th at 9:00 a.m. Red Bud Middle School- RBES & RBMS will be hosting a Veterans Day Parade on November 11th at 9:00 a.m. Sonoraville Elementary School- SES & SHS will be hosting a Veterans Day Parade on November 11th at 10:00 AM Sonoraville High School- SES & SHS will be hosting a Veterans Day Parade on November 11th at 10:00 AM Tolbert Elementary School- TES will be hosting a Veterans Day Luncheon where students are encouraged to invite veterans to visit with them at lunch on November 11. W. L. Swain Elementary School- Students will honor veterans on November 11 at 8 a.m. with a special breakfast. For more detailed information about the Veterans Day events, check our Community Bulletin Board by visiting www.gcbe.org/bulletinboard #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

Veterans Day Image - Honoring All Who Served

MENTORS WANTED: Help make a difference by becoming a REACH Scholarship Mentor! REACH mentors are volunteers from the community who provide support and guidance to encourage students in grades 8-12 in achieving academic, personal and occupational success. Interested? Contact Dr. Amy Parker at ajparker@gcbe.org for more information! #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

Informative: REACH Scholarship Mentor - If you are interested in becoming a mentor please contact Dr. Amy Parker at ajparker@gcbe.org today!

November is Parent and Family Engagement Month! To celebrate Parent & Family Engagement Month, we are posting weekly tips filled with activities and ideas to help you engage with your child. Please post photos or videos of your family engaging in the activities on our Gordon County Schools social media pages or email them to kpannell@gcbe.org -Each post made by your family will enter you in a drawing to win a Family Prize Pack. -The drawing will take place on November 18, 2022 and the winners will be announced on our website and social media channels! Week TWO tips are available below and on our website at www.gcbe.org/pfemonth #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily #FamilyEngagement

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

Week 2 Activities: Turn Junk Mail Into An Effective Learning Tool Try this fun tip for turning your families junk mail into a learning tool to help your child improve skills in geography, math, map reading, and more. Appoint you child the family mail detective. Ask them to examine each piece of mail to find where it came from. Help search for a postmark and return address. Once your child pinpoints the places of origin, work with them to: Locate each place on a map. Get or print out a large map of the United States. Your child can use dots to mark where the mail came from. Have him or her keep track and see if more mail comes from certain areas. Watch to see if you can receive a piece of mail from each state. Sort the mail using different criteria. Sort by state or regions of the country, by climate or by which ocean or mountain range the mailer’s address is closest to. Measure how far away each place is from your hometown. Which piece of mail traveled the longest distance? The shortest distance? Use a highway map to plan a pretend trip. Measure the mileage between where the mail originated and your home. Go online to research interesting places to see or do on your imaginary trip.

Six Gordon County Schools middle school students have been named a Realizing Achievement Can Happen (REACH) Scholar. The REACH Georgia program provides support for students with academic promise, to help them successfully progress from middle school through college, with a goal of earning a degree. The students will receive scholarship funds upon high school graduation. The GCS REACH Scholar signing day will be held December 5th at the Gordon County College and Career Academy of Design and Advanced Manufacturing. Congratulations to our 2022 REACH Scholars! Emma Derrick MacKenzie Holland Madison Richards Leonardo Parra-Torres Carla Ramirez Hope Loveday

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

Reach Scholars: Congratulations to our 2022 REACH Scholars! Emma Derrick MacKenzie Holland Madison Richards Leonardo Parra-Torres Carla Ramirez Hope Loveday

FIRED UP FOOD DRIVE: The annual fired up food drive starts MONDAY! November 7-11, Gordon County Schools will be participating in the Fired Up Food Drive to benefit our community partner, the Voluntary Action Center (VAC). The VAC is looking to collect items that are either canned goods or unopened non-perishable items. #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

SCHOLARSHIP WINNER: Congratulations to Gordon Central High School senior, Gavin Holmes, on being named a School Winner for the 2022 Heisman High School Scholarship! The Heisman High School Scholarship program extends the Heisman prestige to the nation’s most esteemed high school seniors by celebrating and rewarding outstanding male and female scholar-athletes who understand that the most important victories happen not only on the field, but also in their schools and communities. #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

SES LUNCH BUDDIES: Check out some of the lunch buddies at Sonoraville Elementary School today! The Lunch Buddy program pairs mentors with elementary school students for a lunch meeting twice a month where students are able to speak with their mentors about their studies, classes, friends and what's going on in their world. This fantastic mentoring program first started in Gordon County Schools in 2018 and has made a positive impact in our schools. We are extremely thankful for the continued community support of this program!! #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

A mentor and a student eat lunch together

A mentor and student play cards together

Our theme for the 2022-2023 school year is #OneBIGFamily. We asked Leigh-Ann Hunt, Media Specialist at Ashworth Middle School, what it means to be part of our One BIG Family: "I am thankful that I am a part of Gordon County’s One Big Family because of the impact we collectively make on the lives of our students, families, and coworkers. None of us can do it all on our own, but when we work together, we see great results. What I love most about being an educator is that it allows us opportunities to serve others every day, and it warms my heart to see so many teachers and staff pouring into our students – developing their skills, providing support, and showing them love. I personally benefitted from the love and support of countless Gordon County employees and families when I experienced an extended illness six years ago. Our people come from various backgrounds and experiences, but they pull together and show up when it counts. This quote sums it up well. “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up!” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10" #GoCoSchools #GETGCS

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

One Big Family, Featuring Leigh-Ann Hunt: I am thankful that I am a part of Gordon County’s One Big Family because of the impact we collectively make on the lives of our students, families, and coworkers. None of us can do it all on our own, but when we work together, we see great results. What I love most about being an educator is that it allows us opportunities to serve others every day, and it warms my heart to see so many teachers and staff pouring into our students – developing their skills, providing support, and showing them love. I personally benefitted from the love and support of countless Gordon County employees and families when I experienced an extended illness six years ago. Our people come from various backgrounds and experiences, but they pull together and show up when it counts. This quote sums it up well. “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up!” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

November is Parent and Family Engagement Month! To celebrate Parent & Family Engagement Month, we are posting weekly tips filled with activities and ideas to help you engage with your child. Please post photos or videos of your family engaging in the activities on our Gordon County Schools social media pages or email them to kpannell@gcbe.org -Each post made by your family will enter you in a drawing to win a Family Prize Pack. -The drawing will take place on November 18, 2022 and the winners will be announced on our website and social media channels! Week 1 tips are available below and on our website at www.gcbe.org/pfemonth #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily #FamilyEngagement

over 1 year ago, Gordon County Schools

Descriptive: Tips To Make Reading At Home Exciting Children who are strong readers find it easier to do well in other subjects, because so much of learning depends on the ability to read. Experts say that to improve reading skills, children must want to read. It can be difficult to compete with technology and video games, but try these tips to show your child that reading can be both exciting and rewarding. Give reading coupons. Show your child that you think reading is special with reading coupons. Coupons might be for an extra 20 minutes of reading with you. For older children, you might offer a coupon for reading 20 minutes past bedtime on a weekend. Other coupons might be redeemable for a trip to the library or bookstore. Plan a field trip together. Ask your child to research attractions in your area, such as museums and parks. Visit the attraction together and let your child act as your tour guide sharing the information they learned in their research. Introduce audiobooks. This is a great way to show a reluctant reading how interesting books can be. You could even record yourself reading a book. Then your child could listen while reading along. Follow current events together. Is there a developing news story that interest your child? Read the latest reports together in a newspaper or online together.