BOE hosts Pickens schools and sports teams recognitions
Board of Education, Dragon's Corner November 12, 2021
PICKENS, Ga. — The Pickens County Board of Education recognized several of Pickens County’s schools and sports teams during their latest meeting. The recognitions included GAC accreditations, and Mountain League Region Champion titles.
School Recognitions:
Destiny Shope, Director of Public Involvement and Community Involvement, began by recognizing the Pickens County School District as a whole, “All schools in Pickens County were accredited with quality, and that means the district is also accredited with quality.” The accreditation comes from the Georgia Accrediting Commission. “The accrediting process prompts local schools and school districts to provide better and safer physical facilities and to improve the qualifications of staff members, teaching conditions, and curriculum,” Shope explained.
Mrs. Marla Callahan, Principal of Harmony Elementary; Mrs. Jennifer Halko, Principal of Hill City Elementary; Mrs. Stephanie Hall, Principal of Tate Elementary; Mr. Corey Thompson, Principal of Jasper Middle; Dr. Chad Flatt, Principal of Pickens Junior High; and Mr. Tony Young, Superintendent of the Pickens County School District each received their school’s certificate of accreditation at the meeting. Pickens High Principal Chris Wallace was unable to attend.
Janet Goodman, Director of Federal Programs, then recognized Hill City Elementary for their Title I designation, “Their school continues to get statewide and national recognition for the good work they’re doing.” That work, Goodman says, includes supplemental literacy support programs like iRead, Star Reading, and Leveled Readers to “make sure that every child is ready to move on to the next grade level with their reading ability.” Goodman then mentioned that Prinicipal Halko has also “been asked to present in a Teams meeting … where she is going to present to the state and talk about all the innovations at Hill City and to tell them why she believes that what they’re doing is the best work that they can do.” Hill City was further recognized for their 2021 National ESEA designation. Only two schools in the state of Georgia were chosen to receive this award, Goodman says.
Sports Recognitions:
Pickens Junior High:
Athletic Director Kanyon Petti spoke briefly before the recognitions of the PHJS softball team and 8th grade football team: “I walked into the best group of coaches and kids that I could ever have imagined. These teams are truly doing phenomenal things, and I really feel like I don’t have to do a lot, because the coaches and the kids are doing such a great job.”
“What I’m here to recognize is the accomplishments of two of our fall sports teams … tonight we’re here to recognize the Mountain League Region Champion softball team, and then our eighth grade … Mountain League Super Bowl Champion football team,” she continued, “I think it’s important to really say that neither team has a Cinderella story, because both of them have dominated for years … but it doesn’t really take away the countless hours that they put in to get to this point.”
Pickens High:
Coach Williams spoke for Principal Wallace at the meeting to recognize Pickens High School Volleyball and Cross Country teams, “First we have our volleyball team, and we’re very proud of their accomplishments this year … It’s been 17 years since we have had any major success … in our volleyball program.” The PHS Volleyball team placed fourth in the region, and then went on to play in the Elite 8. Williams continued, “These ladies played their hearts out. They represented Pickens High School and Pickens County school system very well.”
Williams then recognized the PHS Girl’s Cross Country team saying, “These young ladies, again, worked very hard and were … still fairly young and looking forward to great things coming in the future, but again placed fourth in the region … and then was able to go to the state tournament in Carrollton … and end up placing ninth in the state.”
He followed with the PHS Boy’s Cross Country team, “They won their fourth straight region championship and seventh region championship in the last nine years … all these students that we brought before you tonight are some of the best that Pickens High School has to offer … and I’m very thankful to be associated with them as their athletic director and work with these coaches.”
After recognitions, the board addressed several other action items, including approval to name a PHS court after Coach Cowart.
BoE Recognizes Student and Faculty Accomplishments During February Meeting
Board of Education, Dragon's Corner February 15, 2020
JASPER, Ga. – The Pickens County Board of Education recognized student and faculty accomplishments during their meeting held on Thursday, February 13, 2020.
A video of the ceremony may be viewed at the bottom of this page!
7th Grade Jeremy Westbrook Wins State FFA Contest (Click to Enlarge)
In October, Jeremy Westbrook competed in the Area Future Farmer’s of America (FFA) Quiz event. This event is a fifty question quiz covering all aspects of FFA. Jeremy was in the top 2 of 48, 6th through 9th graders. He then advanced to the state contest which was held at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC). While there, Jeremy competed against eleven more students who qualified out of 243 total students from across the state. Of those eleven, eight were 9th graders and three were 8th graders. At the end of the event, Jeremy was recognized as the state winner. It has also come to our attention that Jeremy, a 7th grader, is the youngest student on record to ever win the contest.
Mykenzie Weaver reaches 2,000 career points in Girls Basketball (Click to Enlarge)
Congratulations to Mykenzie Weaver for recently passing 2,000 career points in Girls Basketball. Mykenzie is only the 3rd person in school history to achieve this feat. She currently sits 2nd in all-time leading scoring in Dragonettes Girls Basketball History!
She was also named the Region 6AAAA Player of the Year.
Dragons Esports Team Wins Second State Championship (Click to Enlarge)
Our Dragons win the Fall GHSA Esports Rocket League state championship!We defeated Forsyth Central 4 games to 1 at Mt Vernon at the GHSA State Esports Championships!
Congratulations to Mason Watkins, Carter Logan, and Tristan Warren and Coach Wil Nix on this accomplishment!
The Dragons Esports Rocket League team also won the Spring GHSA Esports State Championship last May.
PHS and PJHS Band Recognitions (Click to Enlarge)
The PHS and PJHS band would like to recognize our students who were selected for the District 9 Honor Bands, the GMEA All-State Band, and who qualified for the final round audition at the State level.
Hill City Elementary School was named to the 2019-20 list of Distinguished Schools released by the Georgia Department of Education. Title I Distinguished Schools are among the highest-performing 5% of Title I schools in the state. Hill City Elementary was 1 of 87 schools named to this list.
PHS and PJHS Band Recognitions (Click to Enlarge)
In a press release, State School Superintendent Richard Woods shares, “While we are focused on continuous improvement for all schools, it’s also essential that we recognize when schools are doing well, These schools are overcoming barriers, meeting challenges, and producing great gains for their students. I commend the school leaders, teachers, parents and communities in our 2019-20 Distinguished [and Reward] Schools who are opening up opportunities for their students.”
Congratulations, Hill City Elementary!
PHS and PJHS Band Recognitions (Click to Enlarge)
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