Apple Distinguished Schools are recognized for innovation, leadership, and educational excellence through the meaningful use of technology in teaching and learning. This distinction reflects W. L. Swain Elementary’s continued commitment to creating engaging learning experiences, encouraging creativity, and helping students develop skills that support success now and in the future.
As part of the recognition, Board members and guests viewed the video presentation W. L. Swain submitted to Apple during the application process. The video was filmed, edited, and produced by the Sonoraville High School Video Production team under the direction of teacher and advisor Brandon Hufstetler.
Principal Tara Green and Assistant Principal Carrie Christophel were recognized, along with teacher leader India Bennett, for W. L. Swain’s achievement. Sonoraville High School Video Production students Nic Dutton, Easton Fletcher, Lukas Holmes, Emily Roberts, and graduates Jayden Johnson and Joey Mayes were also recognized, along with Mr. Hufstetler, for their work in helping tell the school’s story.
Instructional Technology Coordinator Whitney Prather was also recognized for working closely with W. L. Swain throughout the application process and helping showcase the innovative learning opportunities available to students.
Congratulations to W. L. Swain Elementary and everyone who helped make this recognition possible!
#GrowConnectSucceed #GordonCountySchools #WLSwainElementary #SonoravilleHigh
W. L. Swain Elementary is excited to invite our veterans to join us for a special Veterans Day Breakfast on Wednesday, November 11, at 8:00 AM! ❤️🤍💙
RSVP forms will be coming home soon! Please complete and return your form by Tuesday, November 10, so we can plan for this special morning.
We look forward to welcoming our veterans next week and showing our appreciation for their service and sacrifice! 🇺🇸
It's time to talk together, Gordon County Schools families!
Week 3 of our "We Did It!" Family Challenge begins Monday. As part of Family Engagement Month, we are encouraging families to slow down, spend time together, and strengthen their connections through meaningful conversations.
November 9–15: Talk Together!
Next week's challenge is all about making time to listen, share, and learn more about one another. Whether you're sitting around the dinner table, riding in the car, or spending time together at home, a simple conversation can create meaningful connections.
Not sure where to start? Try asking your family some of these conversation starter questions:
- What was the best part of your day?
- What made you laugh today?
- What are you proud of?
- What was something hard today? How did you handle it?
- What is one thing you would like to learn more about?
- What is something you are looking forward to?
Take turns answering, listen to one another, and enjoy learning something new about your family members!
Enter for a Chance to Win a Family Engagement Prize Basket!
Once your family completes the challenge, take a selfie with a homemade "We Did It!" sign and submit your entry through our website or email Kerri Chatman at [kchatman@gcbe.org](mailto:kchatman@gcbe.org).
Be sure to include the following information with your entry:
- Student's name
- School
- A short description of your family's conversation activity
Each Gordon County Schools school will select a winner through a random drawing from the entries received.
Family engagement doesn't have to involve a special event or a big activity. Sometimes, the most meaningful connections happen through everyday conversations. Taking a few minutes to ask questions, listen, and show interest in one another can help children feel supported, valued, and connected.
Small conversations can make a BIG difference!
#GrowConnectSucceed #GordonCountySchools
Students and staff gathered for a special pep rally featuring the Gordon Central High School football team, cheerleaders, and band. Head Coach Billy Blizzard and the Warrior football players spoke words of encouragement to the students for their hard work, while the cheerleaders and band had students fired up and excited throughout the program. Thank you to Cheerleading Coach Liza Allen and Band Director Cameron Born for helping make the event so special.
The celebration also recognized the Sonoraville High School video production students who created a video highlighting W.L. Swain’s work. Those students were Nic Dutton, Easton Fletcher, Lukas Holmes, Emily Roberts, and graduates Jayden Johnson and Joey Mayes.
Joining the celebration were Superintendent Alice Mashburn, Assistant Superintendent Sket Angland, Board of Education Chairperson Charlie Walraven, and central office leaders. The pep rally was hosted by Instructional Technology Coordinator Whitney Prather, who worked closely with W.L. Swain throughout the application process. Principal Tara Green gave Mrs. Prather a special shoutout for her collaboration and support in helping Swain renew its Apple Distinguished School recognition.
Apple Distinguished Schools are recognized for their commitment to innovation, leadership, and educational excellence. These schools demonstrate a clear vision for how technology-rich learning environments can support instructional goals and help students learn in creative, meaningful ways. W.L. Swain’s continued recognition reflects the work of its teachers, students, staff, and leaders to use technology to strengthen teaching and learning.
Congratulations to the entire W.L. Swain Elementary family on this outstanding achievement!
#GrowConnectSucceed #GordonCountySchools #WLSwainElementary
Before students got started, Coach Angland used examples and class discussion to help them understand how cardiovascular exercise strengthens the body and why proper form and technique are important. Students then put those lessons into practice as they worked on their jump-rope skills.
It was a great combination of learning, movement, and building healthy habits!
#GrowConnectSucceed #GordonCountySchools #WLSwainElementary
Reminder: Week 2 of our "We Did It!" Family Challenge is here! As part of Family Engagement Month, we are encouraging families to spend time together, stay active, and have fun with our Week 2 Challenge: Get Moving!
This week's challenge is all about being active together as a family. Take a family walk, play outside, ride bikes, visit a park, or come up with your own family exercise challenge. It doesn't have to be complicated! The goal is to spend quality time together while building healthy habits and making memories.
Enter for a Chance to Win a Family Engagement Prize Basket!
Once your family completes the challenge, take a selfie with a homemade "We Did It!" sign and submit your entry through our website or email Kerri Chatman at kchatman@gcbe.org.
Be sure to include the following information with your entry:
- Student's name
- School
- A short description of what your family did and how you got moving together
Each Gordon County Schools school will select a winner through a random drawing from the entries received.
Family engagement doesn't always mean attending an event or participating in a school activity. Sometimes, it's as simple as spending time together, encouraging one another, and having fun. We hope our families will use this week's challenge as an opportunity to connect and enjoy being active together.
Healthy families build stronger communities!
#GrowConnectSucceed #GordonCountySchools
Week 2 of our "We Did It!" Family Challenge begins Monday, November 2nd! As part of Family Engagement Month, we are encouraging families to spend time together, stay active, and have fun with our Week 2 Challenge: Get Moving!
Next week's challenge is all about being active together as a family. Take a family walk, play outside, ride bikes, visit a park, or come up with your own family exercise challenge. It doesn't have to be complicated! The goal is to spend quality time together while building healthy habits and making memories.
Enter for a Chance to Win a Family Engagement Prize Basket!
Once your family completes the challenge, take a selfie with a homemade "We Did It!" sign and submit your entry through our website or email Kerri Chatman at kchatman@gcbe.org.
Be sure to include the following information with your entry:
- Student's name
- School
- A short description of what your family did and how you got moving together
Each Gordon County Schools school will select a winner through a random drawing from the entries received.
Family engagement doesn't always mean attending an event or participating in a school activity. Sometimes, it's as simple as spending time together, encouraging one another, and having fun. We hope our families will use this week's challenge as an opportunity to connect and enjoy being active together.
Healthy families build stronger communities!
#GrowConnectSucceed #GordonCountySchools
Gordon County Schools is pleased to announce that W.L. Swain Elementary School has been recognized as an Apple Distinguished School for the 2026-2029 program term. Schools apply and are selected for this distinction based on their commitment to continuous innovation in education and using Apple products to inspire, imagine, and impact teaching and learning.
Apple Distinguished Schools are centers of leadership and educational excellence, with a clear vision for how technology-rich environments support learning goals. In Apple Distinguished Schools, forward-thinking leaders and their communities work to inspire, imagine, and impact teaching and learning, and they have documented results of academic accomplishments.
Schools all over the world are using iPad and Mac to transform learning. As teachers incorporate technology into their lessons, they empower students to lead, learn, and thrive, to discover new opportunities, and to make their world a better place.
From October 26 through November 1, families are encouraged to read together for at least 20 minutes. Spending time reading as a family helps build literacy skills, strengthens relationships, and creates meaningful learning experiences at home.
Families can also enter for a chance to win a Family Engagement Prize Basket in one of two ways:
1. Send a selfie with a homemade “We Did It!” sign to Kerri Chatman at kchatman@gcbe.org. Include the student’s name and school.
2. Email a short description of what and how your family read together to kchatman@gcbe.org. Include the student’s name and school.
We hope families across Gordon County Schools will join in this week and make reading together part of their family time!
Gordon County Schools is excited to celebrate Family Engagement Month with our “We Did It!” Family Challenge, taking place October 26 through November 20!
Strong families help build strong schools, and we know that even small moments spent together can make a big difference. Throughout these four weeks, we are encouraging families across our district to participate in simple, meaningful activities that help them grow, connect, and succeed together.
Each week features a different family challenge:
Week 1: Read Together
Spend 20 minutes reading together as a family. Whether it is a favorite book, a bedtime story, or something new, take time to enjoy reading with one another.
Week 2: Get Moving!
Get active as a family! Take a walk, play outside, or complete a family exercise challenge. Find a fun way to enjoy physical activity together.
Week 3: Talk Together
Make time for a family conversation using conversation starters that will be provided. This challenge encourages families to communicate, share experiences, and strengthen their connections.
Week 4: Give Together
Do something kind for another person. Whether it is helping a neighbor, supporting someone in need, or finding another way to show kindness, families are encouraged to make a positive difference together.
Participate for a Chance to Win a Family Prize Pack! Families who complete a challenge can enter for a chance to win a Family Prize Pack! Each school will select a winner through a random drawing from the entries received.
Families can submit their participation in one of two ways:
1. Take a selfie of your family completing the activity while holding a homemade “We Did It!” sign.
OR
2. Send a brief written description of the activity your family completed together.
Be sure to include your student's name and school with your submission. Email your entries to Kerri Chatman at kchatman@gcbe.org.
We encourage all Gordon County Schools families to take part in this special month of activities. You do not need elaborate plans or expensive experiences to make meaningful memories. Reading a book, sharing a conversation, getting outside, or showing kindness can help strengthen family relationships and support student success.
We look forward to seeing how our families participate throughout Family Engagement Month!
#GrowConnectSucceed #GordonCountySchools
Students explored the important parts of this type of storytelling, including characters, setting, and plot, while learning how these elements work together to create an imaginary story. By identifying each part in the text, students strengthened their reading comprehension and their understanding of how stories are organized.
It was a great day of literacy learning at WLS!
#GrowConnectSucceed #GordonCountySchools #WLSwainElementary
Tara Green is in her 21st year as an educator and her 5th year as principal of W.L. Swain Elementary School. For Mrs. Green, the students are at the center of what makes the role so rewarding. She enjoys the daily interactions that allow her to encourage students, help them feel valued, and remind them that they are an important part of the school community.
Mrs. Green believes Swain Elementary is special because of the strong sense of community shared by students, families, and staff. She is proud of the welcoming environment they have created together and of the way everyone works toward giving students opportunities to learn, lead, and succeed.
She is especially proud of the dedication shown by both students and staff. Mrs. Green sees firsthand the time teachers devote to planning, collaboration, professional learning, and meaningful instruction. She also values the effort students put into their learning each day and the way teachers make purposeful use of every minute in the classroom.
One message Mrs. Green wants every student to carry with them is that they are loved, valued, and believed in. She wants students to know that they are capable of growth and success and that there are people at Swain who believe in what they can become.
For Mrs. Green, being a principal means having the opportunity to make a positive difference each day by supporting teachers, encouraging students, building relationships with families, and creating a school where people feel supported.
Outside of school, Mrs. Green enjoys reading and spending time with her family. Her husband, Billy, is a Battalion Chief with the Calhoun Fire Department. Their daughters are Katy, who is in her final year at the University of Tennessee Winston College of Law, and Sophie, a freshman at Gordon Central High School. Their family also includes Rowdy, their Golden Retriever.
During National Principals Month, Gordon County Schools is proud to recognize Tara Green for her leadership, care, and commitment to the students, staff, and families of W.L. Swain Elementary School.
Our coaches play an important role in helping students and staff grow, whether they are leading on the field, court, track, or supporting teaching and learning throughout our schools. Their leadership, encouragement, knowledge, and commitment help others build confidence, develop skills, and reach their goals.
Thank you to all of our athletic coaches and instructional coaches for the time, energy, and heart you invest in Gordon County Schools each day!
#GrowConnectSucceed #GordonCountySchools
We are proud to recognize our WLS Pre-K teams: Mrs. Greer and Ms. Silvers, Mrs. Byrd and Mrs. Christy, and Mrs. West and Mrs. Traylor.
Thank you for creating classrooms filled with learning, play, encouragement, and care. Your work helps build the strong foundation our students will carry with them throughout their school years.
Happy Georgia Pre-K Week, WLS!
#GrowConnectSucceed #GordonCountySchools #WLSwainElementary
W.L. Swain Elementary kindergarten students had a special visit to Gordon Central High School today, where they worked alongside high school students in Mrs. Albright’s Teaching as a Profession classes.
Our future Warriors visited several classrooms, including those of Ms. Mills, Mrs. Hice, and Mrs. Lee, and participated in fun, hands on activities throughout the day. Pictured here, students were having a great time learning in Mrs. Lee’s Healthcare class.
We always love seeing our older students connect with younger learners and share their knowledge, encouragement, and school spirit. Experiences like this bring our schools together as one community and give students of all ages opportunities to learn from one another.
#GrowConnectSucceed #GordonCountySchools #WLSwainElementary #GordonCentralHigh #GCCCA