January Star Student
Blue Ridge Elem February 8, 2021Today we will celebrate our star students and staff for the month of January. These guys were chosen for showing the character trait of tolerance, meaning they have the ability to endure an opinion or behavior, even if they do not agree with it. We are so proud of each of them!
Top row (l-r)
Bristol Mann, Ryleigh Callihan, Hailynn Stillwell, Ellianna Urano, Jaden Chambers, Imma Deal, and Emoree Chancey
Second row (l-r)
Cade Britt, Anna Biddy, Zeke Payne, Elijah Crowder, Ana Temples, Addi Jo Davis, and Brylee Chancey
Third row (l-r)
Easton Merrell, Elizabeth Evans, Hailey Kuebler, Ryleigh Clore, David Molina, Brantley Merrell, and Alex Cruse
Bottom row (l-r)
Kole Stanley and Nancy Watkins
Blue Ridge Elementary School 5th graders welcomed the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall
Community, Rebel's Corner October 6, 2019Blue Ridge Elementary School 5th graders welcomed the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall today as it entered Blue Ridge! They waved flags, held banners, and cheered for Vietnam Veterans who led the procession. The event was incredibly moving and brought tears to the eyes of many adults!
2nd Grade Field Trip
Blue Ridge Elem, Rebel's Corner October 19, 2019The entire 2nd grade from Blue Ridge Elementary School visited New Echota State Historic Site in Calhoun, GA on October 16. The children were able to tour various historic buildings and visit Sequoyah’s printing press. This field trip was free to the children and was funded by The “Get Outdoors (GO) Georgia” Field Trip Grant which is made possible by the Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites and the Georgia Natural Resources Foundation.
Just wanted to pass along this opportunity that our entire 2nd Grade had to visit the New Echota State Historic Site. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Blue Ridge Elementary School Fire Safety winners
News, Press Release September 18, 2019BLUE RIDGE, Ga. – Blue Ridge Elementary School announced their Fire Safety winners on Wednesday, September 18, 2019! Congratulations to these students from everyone at Fetch Your News!
Good Afternoon,
Our 1st place winners of the Fire Safety Poster Contest were announced this morning, and we would like to share this exciting news with you. I have attached the photo of our winners.
“Not Every Hero Wears A Cape. Plan and Practice Your Escape.” Is the name of the contest this year.
Top Row (L-R) Zoe Callihan (5th Grade Winner), Laurel Minear (4th Grade Winner), Addyson Bradburn (3rd Grade Winner)
Bottom Row (L-R) Claire Whitener (1st Grade Winner), Aubrey Tapia (2nd Grade Winner), Sean O’Quinn (Kindergarten Winner)
FetchYourNews.com attracts more than 300,000 page views and 3.5 million impressions per month for ad server. FYNTV attracts approximately 15,000 viewers per week and has between 15,000 to 60,000 per week Facebook page reach. For the most effective, least expensive local advertising, call 706-276-6397 or visit [email protected].
Captain Planet Foundation Visits and Cooks with BRES
Blue Ridge Elem September 18, 2019BLUE RIDGE, GA – Blue Ridge Elementary School (BRES) students participated in a mid-morning gathering and cooking activity hosted by Ingles Supermarkets, Dole Packaged Foods, and Captain Planet Foundation to celebrate their Project Learning Garden and Sustainable Initiative.
BRES received a “learning garden” grant from Ingles and Dole in 2019 for their on-campus garden to teach students about growing their own vegetables and living sustainably. The school changes out the plants with each season.
Assistant Principal Gini Bell commented that the kids love the garden and during tomato season, they were outside picking handfuls daily to take home.
Currently, strawberries, peppers, green beans, and lettuce are growing and students harvest them. They also have a cooking class every two weeks to learn about preparing food.
Tasha Gomes, the Learning Garden Manager with the Captain Planet Foundation led the children throughout the presentation. She taught them how to sauté vegetables, season meals, and properly use a knife.
She also instructed the children to not “yuck anyone’s yum” explaining that everyone had different tastes and not to make anyone feel bad for liking something different.
All the students eagerly ate their sautéed green beans and salad, grown and prepared by themselves. Many agreeing that they would like to eat these meals again.
The Captain Planet Foundation began in 1991 and was founded by Ted Turner and Barbara Pyle. It’s based on the cartoon, Captain Planet and the Planeteers and strives to ensure that the next generation is environmentally conscious. The organization has conducted over 2,000 hands-on environmental education projects with schools and non-profits that serve children in all 50 U.S. states and in 23 countries internationally.
The Project Learning Garden program provides a context for multidisciplinary learning, ranging from nutrition and science to social studies, math and language arts. Students benefit by expanding their palates, taste-testing healthy foods, and learning about food origins; engaging in authentic science field investigations; manipulating the environment to understand math in real-life applications; recreating historical activities; and writing across all these disciplines.
Only four schools received the grant from Dole and Ingles in 2019, which marked the second year that the organizations partnered to offer Project Learning Gardens to schools in Ingles’ market area. Ingles Grocery stores cover six southeastern states with its headquarters in Asheville, NC.
Ingles works with local farmers to carry more local food than its competitors, and the company has donated more than 18 million dollars to local schools through its Tools for Schools program. The two programs together teach children the cycle of food is a great opportunity for all.
BRES Receives Support from Master Gardeners
Blue Ridge Elem August 29, 2019BRES received a $200 check from the North GA Master Gardeners August 28, 2019. The group is supporting BRES to purchase bird seed and plants that provide food for the birds as well. BRES is grateful for the continued support of the Master Gardeners. This year they plan to volunteer time to help BRES with various beds including our pollinator garden and on our community service project restoring the town’s historic, forgotten graveyard. Included in the picture is Flora Grindstaff (Master Gardener), Jane Brackett (Master Gardener), April Hodges (BRES Principal), Sally Crawford (Master Gardener), Teresa Tate (STEAM Teacher), and Gini Bell (BRES Assistant Principal).
Blue Ridge Elementary School Event
Blue Ridge Elem August 29, 2019Everyone had an awesome time learning about Title I, PTO, and Curriculum at our BRES Family Fun Night on August 20, 2019! They had so much fun singing, dancing, learning, and thumb warring! Parents, staff, and students joined in on the first ever Goosechase Scavenger Hunt.
Youth Art Month being held at Art Center
Downtown Blue Ridge, Lifestyle March 9, 2019Many talented Fannin County and Copper Basin young artists had their pieces displayed recently at the Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Center to kick off Youth Art Month.
Blue Ridge Elementary School, East Fannin Elementary School, West Fannin Elementary School, Fannin Middle School, Fannin County High School, and Copper Basin High School were well represented with various arts from rock painting to canvas.
The following Art teachers/mentors were on hand as well:
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Nancy Watkins – Blue Ridge Elementary School.
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Kimberly Huffman- East Fannin Elementary School.
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Ben Sexton- West Fannin Elementary School.
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Dana Stone- Fannin Middle School.
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Holly Vicarro- Fannin County High School.
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Jennifer Danner- Copper Basin High School.
Bethany Musselman, a Fannin County High School Art student, helped dedicate the month of March as Youth Art Month by reading the 2019 Proclamation.
Each First Place winner from the various schools represented received a Gift Certificate to The Art Center’s store.
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Hudson York- Blue Ridge Elementary School.
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Presley Daves- East Fannin Elementary School.
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Ava Acker- West Fannin Elementary School.
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Vanessa Medrono- Fannin County Middle School.
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Bethany Musselman- 2D- Fannin County High School.
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Alyssa Anderson- 3D- Fannin County High School.
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Aidan Garcia- Copper Basin High School.
Watkins, Huffman, Sexton, and Stone accepted the First Place prize awards for the students in their respective schools who were not able to attend.
Executive Director Nicole Potzauf commented the Youth Art Month event was one of her favorites at the Art Center which showcases and honors students to help develop creativity in the community.
One young artist, Ireland Wilson, a freshman at Copper Basin High School, sold her first acrylic painting.
She said in a candid interview the inspiration behind her painting was, “I love space. I gave Ms. Danner the idea of a ‘night sky’. We just went with it.”
To view all the wonderful pieces of art from our local youth, please visit the Blue Ridge Mountains Art Center at 402 West Main Street in beautiful downtown Blue Ridge, GA. Call (706) 632- 2144 or email [email protected] for more information on March Youth Art Month.
2019 Upcoming Youth Art Events
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BRES Grant Award Winner
Blue Ridge Elem, Rebel's Corner March 25, 2019BRES was awarded a Captain Planet Foundation Project Learning Grant this Fall. Over the past 5 months we have received a $500 garden enhancement gift card that we were able to purchase items for our current school gardens. Teachers have participated in online professional development on ways to incorporate grade level standards in our learning garden activities. Today we received a fully equipped mobile cooking cart and classroom lesson kits!
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From the Captain Planet Foundation:
I’m thrilled to be writing you today to let you know that Blue Ridge Elementary has been selected to receive Project Learning Garden, a garden based education grant program from Captain Planet Foundation.
In partnership with Dole Packaged Foods and your local Ingles, we are able to provide PLG to Blue Ridge Elementary so that your students and teachers can get growing in the coming semester.
Your school will receive the following:
Raised garden beds or a $500 Garden Enhancement gift card
Professional development for teachers and for school garden teams
Access to standards-aligned lessons and curriculum/science supplies to teach those lessons and take learning outdoors
Fully-equipped mobile cooking cart
Colorful, interpretive garden signs
Attached, you will see information about what resources your school will receive (a garden, mobile cooking cart, professional development, standards-based lessons and supplies, etc.) and there is more information about the program on our website here.
This grant is being offered to you at no cost thanks to our friends at Dole Packaged Foods. We’d love to work with you to bring Project Learning Garden to your students and teachers! If we do not hear from you within the next week, we may move on to another school, so please reply with any questions you may have or to confirm your interest!
New BRES Student Council members
Rebel's Corner October 8, 2018The following students were inducted into the BRES Student Council:
Yohana Cendejas-Hernandez – 4th
Angel Mojica-Carmona – 4th
Lilly Whitener -4th
Miller Denton – 5th
Eli Queen – 5th
Arwen Wood – 5th
(Left to right in the main picture above)
Dr. April Hodges (principal), Trista Ragsdale (counselor)- advisors
Previous members (served refreshments)- Conrad Head (5th), Adeline Beavers (5th), Kennedy Mason (5th)
Parents question the finances of Fannin County Athletics
News, Rebel's Corner February 13, 2018BLUE RIDGE, Ga. – The Feb. 8 Fannin County Board of Education (BOE) meeting was packed, with many left at standing room only, as parents and supporters of Fannin County Athletics gathered once again to voice concerns over the direction of the program.
Fannin County School Superintendent Dr. Michael Gwatney addressed the crowd before the meeting got underway saying, “Safety is always the top priority. With that in mind, ladies and gentlemen, we have received a maximum number that’s allowed in this room from the state fire marshal, and we must adhere to that number.”
School principals were present to help usher the crowd and school resource officers were stationed at all emergency exits.
“Our room is at capacity,” Gwatney continued. Gwatney announced that the BOE had set up accommodations in expectations of the large turnout. The meeting would be streaming online and alternate locations had been set up at the high school as an overflow where supporters could watch the live-stream.
Ten community members signed up prior to the meeting to ensure that their voices would be heard during public commentary.
Donnie Kendall, who spoke at the January BOE meeting, led the way again and spoke first during the public’s allotted time.
“The last four weeks the administration has not only been helpful, but they have also made theirselves available in hearing all of my concerns, ” Kendall began. “The problem is our administration is reactive instead of proactive.”
Kendall voiced that the same accountability that is placed on educators in the school system should also be placed on coaches, citing the boys basketball team finishing with just three wins and 21 losses.
In comparing this with an academic classroom where only three students were passing with 21 failing, Kendall stated that that educators job would come into question, and the likelihood of their position being renewed would be slim.
“If you choose coaching as career path, you will ultimately be judged by your wins and losses,” Kendall added.
A point of concern among many of the public commentators and mentioned first by Kendall is a need for the BOE to produce total financial transparency of the athletic departments. Kendall, like many others, would like to know what formulas are in place for the funding and who is responsible for the financial decisions.
Speaking of the numerous booster clubs throughout the different athletic departments, who are responsible for raising tens of thousands of dollars every year, Kendall stated, “What we can do and what we are prepared to do is refuse to support that program financially.”
Another commentator, Cliff Shirah spoke from experience on the financial transparency that is desired by parents. Shirah has been treasurer of the Dugout Club for four years.
In those four years, Shirah cited that approximately $192,000 had been raised by the community for this club and the money directly supports Fannin County Athletics.
“We want to know how programs are funded and from what budget, and what is the process or guidelines that those decisions are made?” Shirah questioned the BOE.
Shirah pointed out that the Dugout Club had spent $34,000 in field maintenance and asked, “Why are parents forced to pay for these facilities and field expenses?”
Brian Johnson, former president of the Basketball Booster Club, also touched on finances, stating the Tip Off Club had raised upwards of $200,000 in four years, and asked the board, “What will the school board’s actions be if financial support is taken away from these programs?”
Johnson also addressed what many parents felt were excuses being given by administration for the current state of Fannin County Athletics: “excuses have been given from, ‘we don’t have talent’ to ‘we’re rural and secluded’ to ‘other teams should be playing in higher classifications.'”
Johnson countered these arguments by stating, “What in your minds makes us more secluded than Union County, Murphy, North Carolina, Hayesville, Towns County, or Hiawassee, Georgia? We have struggled against these very schools that are as small or much, much smaller than we are.”
Ryan Walton, who also spoke alongside Donnie Kendall at the January BOE meeting, did not agree with the explanations that the administration has offered. “All I’ve heard is excuses on why we don’t compete. I haven’t heard any answers,” Walton said.
Walton added, “I will say that the coaches at Fannin County right now are doing a great job of teaching our kids that life is not fair and that the best person does not always get the job, but the athletic director and board are doing a terrible job by showing these kids that you can be terrible at your job and not get fired.”
Other parents were present giving testimonials on how success in athletics directly correlates with success in a child’s personal life and their academics. These parents expressed concern over what they saw as the coaches’ lack of involvement with or enthusiasm displayed for their athletes.
Ultimately, the parents and supporters united under a common theme of change. They wish to see a winning culture come back to Fannin County and want the full chain of command, from the BOE down to the coaches, to take responsibility for this turn around.
Follow FetchYourNews as we look into obtaining full financial transparency for the Fannin County Athletics Department.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that attracts more than 300,000 page views and 3.5 million impressions per month in Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYNTV attracts approximately 15,000 viewers per week and reaches between 15,000 to 60,000 per week on our Facebook page. For the most effective, least expensive local advertising, call 706-276-6397 or email us at [email protected]
S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G Bee champion moves forward to regional competition
Community, Rebel's Corner February 7, 2018BLUE RIDGE, Ga. – After a lot of practice and many rounds, Fannin County School System (FCSS) named their champion speller. Eighth-grader Chloe Carter will advance for a third year to the Region 1 Competition held in Rome, Georgia, later this month.
FCSS held school-wide spelling bees in the month of January, and the winners from each school met on Jan. 31 at the Board of Education to determine a champion.
“Before I say anything else, I would like to say how proud I am of each of you for reaching the Fannin County School System spelling bee,” Superintendent Dr. Michael Gwatney said, welcoming the competitors.
With family and faculty present, each principal introduced their respective champion.
From Blue Ridge Elementary School, Principal April Hodges introduced school champion Jade Dlugokinski. Cole White, winner of East Fannin Elementary School, was presented by Principal Matt Price. Principal Keith Nuckolls announced the Fannin County Middle School Champion Chloe Carter, and West Fannin Elementary School Principal Lucas Roof introduced their champion Fox Sharp.
Curriculum Director Robert Ensley read the rules and formalities of the spelling bee. These rules must be strictly adhered to within each district for champions to move forward in hopes of reaching the national bee.
Fannin County High School Literacy Coach Sarah Welch was the official caller for the event, giving each student his or her word and further clarification if needed.
The second round saw two competitors eliminated, with a third contestant being eliminated in the following round.
Students Chloe Carter and Cole White battled it out for another round with Carter spelling the winning word for the round, “cruiser”.
As dictated by the rules Carter then had to spell an additional champion word. “Ninja” was spelled with ease by Carter and solidified her as Fannin County spelling champion.
“We are proud to have Ms. Chloe Carter as our eighth grade spelling champion,” Welch announced, officially bringing the bee to a close.
Carter is no stranger to this honor. It is Carter’s third year winning the Fannin County School System spelling bee. Last year, Carter also advanced from the Region 1 Competition to compete at the state level.
The Region 1 competition will take place on Feb. 24 in Rome, Georgia. Carter will face other district champs in hopes of progressing to the state finals.
“Your achievement sets a fine example for the students across our county,” Gwatney beamed to the contestants and congratulated all of the students on their achievements.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that attracts more than 300,000 page views and 3.5 million impressions per month in Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYNTV attracts approximately 15,000 viewers per week and reaches between 15,000 to 60,000 per week on our Facebook page. For the most effective, least expensive local advertising, call 706-276-6397 or email us at [email protected]
BREAKING: Downtown Blue Ridge experiencing water crisis
News January 30, 2018BLUE RIDGE, Ga. – Currently, much of downtown Blue Ridge is experiencing a widespread water outage after a contractor working at a site near Blue Ridge Elementary School struck and damaged a water main earlier this evening, according to Fannin County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director Robert Graham.
Graham stated Rebecca Harkins, director of Water and Utilities for the city of Blue Ridge, contacted him telling of the emergency. Harkins stated crews from the city were working to repair the line but that it could be hours before water could be fully restored to downtown Blue Ridge.
Continue to follow FetchYourNews as more details on the Blue Ridge water situation emerge.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that attracts more than 300,000 page views and 3.5 million impressions per month in Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYNTV attracts approximately 15,000 viewers per week and reaches between 15,000 to 60,000 per week on our Facebook page. For the most effective, least expensive local advertising, call 706-276-6397 or email us at [email protected]
Blue Ridge Elementary teachers followed Governor Deal’s request
Blue Ridge Elem January 8, 2018Blue Ridge Elementary School teachers followed Governor Deal’s request and showed their support for our Dawgs!
Fannin County School administration responds to parents’ concerns
Education, Rebel's Corner January 24, 2018BLUE RIDGE, Ga. – Parents recently expressed concerns over the state of the Fannin County Athletics Department at the Jan. 11 Board of Education (BOE) meeting. These concerns were heard by members of the BOE as well as administration and staff within the school system.
Fannin County Superintendent Dr. Michael Gwatney, Fannin County Athletic Director Dr. Scott Ramsey, and Fannin County Curriculum Director Robert Ensley spoke with FetchYourNews about the issues raised during the meeting.
Gwatney expressed concerns about parents being unable to speak directly with coaches or administration in the schools: “That can happen. There might be a parent that has concern with the administration at the school and they want to come see me or somebody in my office.”
Wanting parents to feel comfortable with approaching administration at the schools, Gwatney did advise that speaking with administration first would allow the parent “to speak to people closer to the issue than the board.”
Gwatney also wanted it to be clear saying, “I don’t ever want to dissuade anybody from speaking at the public comment (during the BOE meetings) if it’s on their heart to do so.”
Many parents were surprised to learn of the salaries of several of the coaches as the matter was publicly announced at the January BOE meeting. Gwatney broke down the process of how educators are paid in Fannin County: “These coaches, they are teachers. Legally on paper, they are teachers as well, which can speak to their salaries. They do receive a coaching supplement, but that supplement is a small percentage of their overall salary.”
In Fannin County, an educator’s salary is based on a number of components, the first being the level of education and experience an educator possesses. The higher the degree of learning (ex. bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate) an educator has obtained will directly affect the base salary given to that educator by the state of Georgia.
The second factor in determining an educator’s salary is a local supplement that is given in Fannin County. This supplement is a flat percentage based on the salary being given by the state of Georgia. Both the supplement and the base pay increase based on years of service in the educational field.
Finally, there is a coaching supplement for those educators who take on the task of instructing Fannin County’s young athletes in their sporting endeavors.
Ensley spoke directly about his thoughts on Fannin County Athletics saying, “I think we’ve got great coaches. They’re building character. Obviously, we want to win.”
Ramsey agreed, “Obviously, we would like to be winning more. I don’t think there is anybody who would argue that, but I think our coaches are working hard. I think they are doing things that they can do to help our kids be successful.”
“The hurdles that we face is that we are a small AAA school. Third smallest in the state,” Ramsey spoke on the difficulties within the program.
Ramsey stated that there are many talented athletes in Fannin County but further explained the hurdles of being a smaller school. “What gets us is the depth. When we have an injury, or kids wear out, there may not be somebody sitting over on the sidelines or sitting on the bench that can come fill those shoes,” Ramsey stated.
“I’m not sitting here making excuses. Our numbers are what they are,” Ramsey clarified as he shared his thoughts on the athletics program.
There is also the problem of multiple sports within the same season. Having a smaller pool of athletes can cause some key players to miss opportunities in one area due to scheduling conflicts. The girl’s softball team and volleyball team was cited as an example of splitting the athletic pool among the two sports.
“Softball is very successful,” Ramsey pointed out despite this obstacle.”I think five out of seven years (Coach David Dyer has) made state, and finished in the top five in the state one year.”
Ramsey also addressed allegations made during the public commentary portion of the BOE meeting concerning his second job as an educator at a local night school: “My schedule at the second job is set around the schedule that Mr. Cioffi (Fannin County High School principal) makes for the after school stuff. Mr. Cioffi makes the schedule at the beginning of each season, not just for athletics.”
“It’s a two night a week job and one of those nights is always on Wednesday, and there is nothing athletically on Wednesday. The other is based on whatever the need is,” Ramsey further explained.
Ramsey also spoke of whether other administrators had been asked to cover for him. “If they’re there it’s because they were scheduled to be there. They’re not covering for me. Just like I’m not covering for them when I’m at a drama event or academic thing. We all have a schedule, and we go by that schedule,” Ramsey said.
As far as the future of Fannin County Athletics, Ramsey explained, “We evaluate programs every year. We try to look at it realistically, and we have made changes. This year won’t be any different. We’ll evaluate the programs this year, and if we feel based on the direction of the program that a change needs to be made, then we’ll certainly do that.”
Ramsey did point out that a coach in Fannin County is an educator first, and for a change in coaching to take place, there must also be a need and an opening in an academic department.
Ramsey said that he understood the parents’ frustration and shared a piece of advice given to him during his coaching days saying, “There is a natural conflict built in between coaches and parents because coaches watch the kids with their head, and parents watch the kids with their heart.”
He added that that is the way it should be. “A parent should be their kid’s biggest fan and biggest advocate,” Ramsey said.
Gwatney concluded, “It really is all about the kids. The kids here are our number one priority, and we want to provide them with what is best for them.”
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that attracts more than 300,000 page views and 3.5 million impressions per month in Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYNTV attracts approximately 15,000 viewers per week and reaches between 15,000 to 60,000 per week on our Facebook page. For the most effective, least expensive local advertising, call 706-276-6397 or email us at [email protected]
Administration addresses athletics at Board of Education meeting
Community, Rebel's Corner February 14, 2018BLUE RIDGE, Ga. – After hearing concerns expressed at the Jan. 11 Board of Education (BOE) meeting, Superintendent Dr. Michael Gwatney, as well as other members of the board, added a new agenda item covering extracurricular activities within the school system.
At the Feb. 8 BOE meeting the board unveiled this new item. Dr. Gwatney explained that updates of Fannin County extracirruclar activities will be a recurring item.
While these updates will encompass all of Fannin County’s extracurriculars, the focus of the Feb. updates centered around the state of the Fannin County Athletics Department.
Fannin County High School Principal Erik Cioffi presented this information to the public.
“There were some questions about accountability,” Cioffi spoke of concerns presented at the previous BOE meeting. “You don’t have to look any further than right here. I am the one who has hired people and put them in positions. So if there is a concern it should come to my department.”
Cioffi spoke of the staff of Fannin County School System and added that the pool of educators in which coaches can be pulled from is currently 59 certified teachers.
“They are teachers first and they have responsibilities that make up a bulk of their time,” Cioffi added.
Athletic Director Dr. Scott Ramsey clarified that there are 62 coaching positions that have to be covered, and for this reason coaches have to work or coach in multiple departments. Ramsey backed up Cioffi stating that a coach’s first priority is to be an educator.
“As they should be,” Ramsey stated. “Because that is the ultimate thing, they (students) leave with a high school diploma.”
Cioffi discussed the current Georgia High School Association (GHSA) policy and why Fannin County continues to be placed a AAA region school. In the past GHSA reevaluated schools on a two year cycle. Recent changes, however, has left evaluations happening every four years.
“We have no control over the region we’re placed,” Cioffi explained.
A meeting is scheduled on Feb. 21 where representatives from Fannin County Athletics along with representative from other AAA schools will meet with GHSA officials to examine the new policy.
“It’s ridiculous. If they (GHSA) get it wrong, that’s impacted a child’s entire four years,” Cioffi told the crowd about plans to hopefully bring about change on the state level when it comes to athletics.
The possibility of dropping to AA classification could pose a different set of difficulties for the student athletes of Fannin County, as travel is cited to be a large consideration in the possibility of changing regions.
A new AA classification could mean that students would have to travel as far as three hours away to play other AA teams.
Cioffi also proposed what all parties (parents, coaches and administration) want a “Winning Culture”, and explained how to take steps in this direction: “Before we even get to a winning culture, we need a positive culture. That’s going to take everyone in this room and everyone outside this room to get there.”
“Stay positive. Our kids see when there’s negativity going around,” Cioffi spoke of the recent discussions taking place via social media. “One thing I can promise you is that coaches aren’t posting things on social media about kids and parents.”
“Communicate with each other and figure out how can we best meet the needs of all the programs,” Cioffi went on,”Ultimately we want all programs to be successful.”
The parents coming forward was a big step in addressing the issues that Fannin County Athletics faces, and administration wants to keep lines of communication open and figure out how to “get over the hump and move forward.”
Athletic Director Dr. Scott Ramsey concluded the presentation: “We’re working together, because we don’t ever want to be an us versus you mentality. There never needs to be adversary. We all need to be working for the good of the kids.”
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that attracts more than 300,000 page views and 3.5 million impressions per month in Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYNTV attracts approximately 15,000 viewers per week and reaches between 15,000 to 60,000 per week on our Facebook page. For the most effective, least expensive local advertising, call 706-276-6397 or email us at [email protected]