Smokey Bear is an international symbol for wildfire prevention. Smokey’s message, “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires!” encourages personal responsibility for wildfire prevention. Woodsy Owl is also an American icon for the conservation of the environment. Woodsy’s message, “Lend a Hand - Care for the Land” has helped parents and teachers inspire children to observe, explore, and care for the environment since 1972. To support and to spread the message about wildfire prevention and conservation of our environment, The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the National Garden Clubs Incorporated give students the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of wildfire prevention and caring for the environment through original drawings of Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl.

To participate in the poster contest, a school must be sponsored by a local garden club. River Ridge Elementary has been sponsored by the Spade and Trowel Garden Club for over ten years.

Students submit posters of either Smokey the Bear or Woodsy Owl promoting their messages. River Ridge Elementary submitted these posters to the garden club in November and then they were judged in our local area, the Azalea District. From there the winning artwork was sent to the state-level competition. State winners were then sent on to compete at the national level.

Three Columbia County high schools and one middle school competed at The National Cyber Defense Competition, CyberPatriot XIV (14).

The National Cyber Defense Competition puts teams of high school and middle school students in the position of newly-hired IT professionals tasked with managing the network of a small company.

Through a series of online competition rounds, teams are given a set of operating systems and are charged with finding and fixing cybersecurity vulnerabilities while maintaining critical services all within a six hour time limit.

Teams form in August and competition rounds are held monthly beginning in October and ending in January. These Columbia County School District teams competed against over 2,300 teams throughout Canada and the U.S to earn a top placement in their state, region, and the nation.

Family, Career and Community Leaders of America

State Leadership Conference Competition

Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) is a national Career and Technical Student Organization for students in Family and Consumer Sciences in education in public and private schools through twelfth grade. FCCLA offers intra-curricular resources and opportunities for students to pursue careers that support families. Through participation in competitive events, FCCLA members gain employable skills and industry insight needed to thrive in the 21^st Century. This year, two Columbia County high schools were FCCLA State Leadership Conference winners.

Georgia Future Problem Solvers State Bowl

SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Medalists

SkillsUSA is a national membership association serving middle, high school, and college students who are preparing for further education and careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations, including health occupations. We are pleased to recognize a number of state medalists who will go on to compete at the national level this summer.

Governor's Honors Finalists and Alternates

Georgia Scholar Honorees

Margaret Rodgers Scholarship

4-H Presidents

Thank you to the 4-H Presidents from Baker Place Elementary for leading the Pledge of Allegiance.

GHSA 6A Boys' Basketball State Champions!

The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Boys' Basketball State Championship is a prestigious honor. To qualify, The Warriors Boys' Basketball team finished in the top four of our region classification. Not only did the team finish in the top four, they also earned the top spot in the region’s regular season and region tournament, earning the Warriors their first Boys’ Basketball Region Championship for Grovetown High.

Several of the team members also earned individual awards from the Region 3 5A match. Frankquon Sherman was named Player of the Year. Malik Ferguson earned a spot on 1st Team. Derrion Reid, and Khaleed Heywood both earned a spot on 2nd Team. Markel Freeman, EJ Kency, and Darren Douglas earned Honorable Mentions.

The team then went on to win at each round of the state playoffs. They defeated Northside Warner Robbins High School 93 – 37, and then went on to the Sweet 16, where they defeated Alexander High School with a score of 78-54. Next, the team advanced to the Elite 8, where the Warriors triumphed over Wheeler High School, the former state champions who were ranked 34^th in the nation. The Warriors then earned the school’s first trip to the Final Four, where they defeated Langston Hughes High School at the University of West Georgia. Finally, the team became state champions after defeating Buford High School 66-59 at the Macon Coliseum in Macon, Georgia, on March 11, 2022.

Georgia Athletic Coaches Association State Weightlifting Class 6A

The Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA) is the fourth largest state music education association in the United States. Each year, GMEA hosts the annual All-State Band and Orchestra membership selections and performances. About 20,000 talent-worthy band and orchestra students in grades 6-12 are judged at the school district level, as they play selected scales, part of a prepared piece, and a sight-reading exercise. Students who meet the cut score for their instrument are then invited to participate in the final audition. At the final auditions, approximately 3,000 students perform the entire audition piece and two sight-reading exercises before judges. The highest-scoring students at the final auditions are selected for membership in the All-State Bands and Orchestras.

Georgia Music Educators Association
State Honor Choir and All-State Chorus

The Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA) State Honor Choir and All-State Chorus are two of the highest musical honors a choral student can receive in school.

For sixth grade students, the GMEA provides an opportunity to participate in a State Honor Choir, since they are not yet eligible for the all-state level. Students met weekly after school for an hour-long rehearsal. This year, students learned a Spanish song, as well as four other high-caliber songs.

For students in grades 7-12, All-State Chorus qualifications include successfully completing two auditions. First, students must perform a solo from a required list. Next, they must sight-sing three examples of four measures each, two in a major key and one in a minor key; and sing three different scales. Those who are chosen from the first audition must learn the music they will perform on all-state weekend.

At the second audition they sing 12 – 16 measures of each of those selections, but they do not know which measures they will be tested on until they walk into the audition room.

Across the state, approximately 1,200 singers out of about 7,000 are selected to sing in three different choirs.

This year, a total of 17 students from four schools represented the Columbia County School District at the Georgia Music Educators Association All-State Chorus.

Leadership Additions Approved by the Board of Education

SRP High School Affinity Debit Card Program

4-H Presidents

Thank you to the 4-H Presidents from both Martinez Elementary (left) and Grovetown Elementary (right) for leading the Pledge of Allegiance for the board meetings held on February 22 and March 8, repectively.

Georgia Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (GACTE)

Region 8 Mentor Teacher of the Year

The Greenbrier High Varsity Cheerleading team competed in the 2021-2022 GHSA Cheerleading Championship 5A State Finals. This competition was held on Saturday, November 20, in Macon, Georgia. Coaches for GHS Varsity Cheerleading team are Head Coach Christian Hattaway and Assistant Coach Linsey Price.

To qualify for state, teams must have placed in the top 8 of their region. Greenbrier placed first in their region competition making them the number 2 seed heading into the state championship. This team defended their Region title by becoming back-to-back Region 8, 5A champions. Greenbrier High varsity competition cheerleaders became the first in GHS history to go undefeated in their regular season out of five competitions. On the day of state finals, cheerleaders performed an amazing routine and went on to place third at the GHSA 5A State Championship. This is the highest placement in Greenbrier competition history! Go, team!

4-H Presidents

Thank you to the 4-H Presidents from Westmont Elementary for leading the Pledge of Allegiance.

Simone Rojas, Evans High School

One Act Play Statewide Competition

Two high schools in the Columbia County School District competed in the 2021 Georgia High School Association State One Act Play Championship on Saturday, November 13, 2021. Evans High School and Harlem High School both won state-level recognition for their performances in their respective classes.

Under the guidance and direction of Ms. Rebecca Brune, the Evans High Theater Department competed at the 2021 GHSA Class 6A State One Act Championship, which was held at Denmark High School in Alpharetta, GA. Students from Evans competed against 8 other region winners. After a long day of intense competition, these students placed second with their performance of “The Diviners.”

Under the direction of Ms. Kelly Cook, the Harlem High Theater Department competed at the 2021 GHSA Class 3A State One Act Play Championship that was held at Veterans High School in Kathleen, GA. These students competed against 7 other region winners. After a day of many strong performances, Harlem High placed third in the state with their performance of “The Dining Room.”

4-H Presidents

Thank you to the 4-H Presidents from Euchee Creek Elementary for leading the Pledge of Allegiance.

Harlem High School

With guidance and leadership from coaches Raymond Bains, William Lariscy, Brittany Leverett, and Mike Leverett, the Harlem High School Lady Dawgs Fastpitch Softball Team competed in the 2021 Georgia High School Association Fastpitch State Softball Playoffs Class AAA which was held October 28-30 at South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, GA.

The Lady Dawgs competed in the State Playoffs and finished third in the state of Georgia! Under the leadership of their coaches, this team has achieved an overall record of 29-5 and a regional record of 11-0. During the regular season, the Lady Dawgs had a winning streak of 27 games in a row. This year marks the 10^th consecutive region championship for the Harlem High School Softball team.

4-H Presidents

Thank you to the 4-H Presidents from South Columbia Elementary for leading the Pledge of Allegiance.

Georgia Middle School State Cross Country Championship

The Georgia Middle School State Cross Country Championships was held on October 16, at Bleckley County Elementary School in Cochran, Georgia. This event is the final meet for all middle school runners across the state. Seven runners represented Evans Middle this year at the state championships, two from other schools. The Evans Middle School team is coached by Mr. Clint Green and Mr. Hunter Peace.

4-H Presidents

Thank you to 4-H Presidents from North Columbia Elementary for leading the Pledge of Allegiance.