Gordon County Schools -

COUNSELOR OF THE YEAR – BOARD RECOGNITION: 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. Earlier in December, we recognized the 2022-2023 Gordon County Schools Counselor of the Year. Joining the GCS Board of Education on Monday night to receive recognition for this outstanding achievement was the newly announced recipient of the award, Stacey Cohea! Congratulations Mrs. Cohea!!! #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

CELEBRATION: Today, students from the Gordon County College and Career Academy of Design and Advanced Manufacturing competed at SkillsUSA! Jenna McCarty won 1st place in SkillsUSA Region 1 Pin Design. Tommy Roden and Kris Rooks won 2nd and 3rd place in the welding competition. Students that placed in the top 3 at today's event qualified for a spot to compete at State. Congratulations! #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

APPLE DISTINGUISHED SCHOOL: Gordon County Schools officials, school board members, Gordon Central High cheerleaders, and other guests joined the students and staff of Tolbert Elementary School today in celebration of the school’s designation as an Apple Distinguished School. TES is the only public elementary school in Georgia to receive this recognition two times. 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. Tolbert Elementary continues to be recognized for their use of Apple tools and applications to create pathways for students to explore the world in ways they not otherwise experience. Congratulations Tolbert Elementary! We are so incredibly proud of you!!

LOCAL HERO: Fairmount Elementary School student, Lane Parker, became a hero when he recently took control of an unfortunate situation. During Thanksgiving break, he was involved in a house fire. He immediately called 911, calmly told them the needed information, and helped get his younger siblings and an elderly relative out of the structure. Captain Jessie Aliberti, Fire Investigator with Bartow County Fire and Emergency Services, was so impressed with Lane and his quick response that she presented him with a certificate and brought him gift cards for ice cream donated by The Southern Creamery. Way to go Lane!! #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

PARENT & FAMILY ENGAGEMENT TIP OF THE WEEK: Have regular emotional check-ins with your children. During challenging times, children can easily pick up on the stress and worry of adults in their lives. Disruptions to schedules and troubling news stories can leave a child feeling confused and concerned. Set aside time to check in and connect with your child every day. Talk about your day and what will happen tomorrow. Ask them simple questions: “What was the best part of your day?” “Were there any hard parts?” “How did you feel?” “Do you have anything you would like to talk about?” Listen carefully to what your child says so they know their thoughts and emotions are important to you. Visit www.gcbe.org/pfe to learn more about GCS Parent & Family Engagement today. #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

Good Afternoon Gordon County Schools families, We want to make you aware of recent activities and hoaxes that have been rapidly spreading across the state today. There is a new "challenge'' that references threats of violence on high school campuses. There have not been any threats made against our schools in the GCS system. We work closely with local police departments in our school communities to monitor these types of trends to ensure our schools remain safe. Please know, that should a threat of harm be made to any school within our system, it will be taken seriously and all emergency response protocols will be put into place. This “challenge” is yet another example of a national trend that encourages participation in the spread of false or misleading information. These types of messages disrupt the learning in our schools and create fear amongst our GCS community. As a system, we remain committed to the safety and security of all our students and staff. If you become aware of any concerning messages or behavior, please report it to school administrators and local police immediately. Thank you, Gordon County Schools Communications

LOCAL SCHOOL SYSTEMS HOST GEORGIA COLLEGE AND CAREER ACADEMY NETWORK REGIONAL MEETING Gordon County Schools, in partnership with the Gordon County Chamber of Commerce & Calhoun Schools, co-hosted the Georgia College and Career Academy Network (GCCAN) 2022 Northwest College and Career Academy Regional Meeting yesterday at Georgia Northwestern Technical College. Nearly 100 local stakeholders, community partners, educators, and district and state leaders were in attendance to discuss local economic development, meeting workforce needs, innovations in industry and education, and highlighting the successes of college and career academies in the region. Gordon County Schools College and Career Academy of Design and Advanced Manufacturing Principal, Leah Newsom, discussed the recent re-branding of the GCS career academy and the expanding opportunities GCS is providing to our students to meet the needs of the growing local workforce. GCS students Hannah Jones and Tyler McGhee shared their experiences as students currently enrolled in the GCS career academy and provided insight as to how the program is helping to shape their career paths after they graduate. Gordon County Schools would like to thank technical college partner, Georgia Northwestern Technical College, and lunch sponsor, Georgia Power, for hosting the event. #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

VIRTUAL LEARNING ACADEMY APPLICATIONS: Gateway Virtual Learning Academy is now accepting applications for the second semester of the 2022-2023. Gateway Virtual Learning Academy is a program designed for high school students who desire a non-traditional route to a high school diploma. The program has both an in-person and online component with flexible scheduling options. All applications are due by December 13, 2022. For more information, visit: https://www.gcbe.org/gatewayacademy To apply today, visit: https://www.gcbe.org/gatewayapplication #GoCoSchools #OneBIGFamily #GETGCS

PARENT & FAMILY ENGAGEMENT MONTH CONTEST: To celebrate Parent & Family Engagement Month, we posted weekly tips filled with activities and ideas to help parents/guardians to engage with their student(s). The GCS community shared photos and videos of their families engaging in the activities on our social media pages and emailed them to our Communications team. Each post received by the families served as an entry into the drawing of one of three Family Prize Packs! We received many entries, and we are excited to announce the winners: Elias Dallas, Becket Hall, and Kylan Daniel! CONGRATULATIONS to you all! Thank you to everyone that participated in the contest!! #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily

ICYMI: Gordon County School Nutrition has been serving up some excellent Thanksgiving Meals! Check out some of these wonderful dishes made with love by our nutrition staff! #GoCoSchools #GETGCS #OneBIGFamily #MoreThanJustAMeal

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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