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thesylvaniatimes.com
The Sylvania Times
Wednesday, February 23, 2022 - Page 7
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Georgia bills seek to limit
inappropriate school materials
Staff Reports
Georgia lawmakers are advancing two measures meant to limit public school students’ ac
cess to inappropriate or obscene materials.
On Thursday, a House Education subcommittee passed House Bill 1217, which is de
signed to tighten Georgia’s standards preventing schoolchildren from accessing material
harmful to minors using school computers or internet networks. It now awaits action by the
full committee. On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee passed Senate
Bill 226 on a split voice vote, creating a process for parents to demand removal of books
and other materials. It moves forward for consideration by the full House. The measures are
part of a broader conservative push on school issues this year, including efforts to ban trans
gender girls from playing school sports and to give parents the right to examine instruc
tional materials.
The internet filtering bill requires the state Department of Education to each year publish
standards that districts must meet for using internet filters to block access to materials that
are obscene, pornographic or harmful to minors. It also calls for using notification systems
that will let a district employee know if a school computer or network is used to access
such material.
The state also would be required to provide technical assistance, a list of acceptable
vendors and training guidelines for school districts. Each school district or charter school
would have to provide a copy of its acceptable use policy and filtering systems to the state
for annual review, starting in fall 2022.
“This is a technology based bill that is to serve our families and to protect those youngest
learners,” said the bill’s sponsor. Re
publican Rep. Chris Erwin of Homer.
The bill as presented Thursday calls
for any student or school employee
who violates a school district’s accept
able use policy to be disciplined, even
if the violation was unintentional. Er
win said he would change the measure
to only cover unintentional violations
after an Associated Press reporter
pointed out the language. The measure
also allows parents to entirely opt their
students out of using the internet.
The anti-obscenity measure would
let parents file objections to material with a school’s principal, who would have seven busi
ness days to decide whether to remove or restrict access. Parents could appeal to their local
school board.
SCDEVEN COUNTY
HIGH SCHOOL
r
'TjJce $ trip to the
-Sharon Blank
Library Lover’s Month is
in its final week - have you
come by to share the library
love? We would love to see
you!
With warmer weather arriv
ing, it’s time to start think
ing about your spring and
summer travels, and we can
help with that! The Georgia
State Parks Family Pass will
get your family into almost
any Georgia State Park
or Historic Site free,
including free park
ing. Planning on doing
some hiking? Make
sure that you pick up
the Georgia State Parks
Backpack Kit when
you pick up the Family
Pass, and you’ll have
the perfect way to bring
along snacks, drinks,
and whatever else you
need to enjoy Geor
gia’s amazing natural
beauty. It even comes
with quick guides to
the birds, animals, and plants
that call Georgia home, and a
set of binoculars to help you
get the very best look at them
in their natural setting!
Are you more into fishing and
boating than hiking? Check
out the Go Fish Education
Center pass, which gets you
into the Go Fish Center near
Perry for free. You can ex
perience all of the different
aquatic environments of our
beautiful state in one place.
You can even go fishing right
there in the center!
If you’d like to see all the
other amazing places you can
visit with a little help from
your library, head over to
https://georgialibraries.org/
partnerships/ and see the in
credible list of partnerships
we have with places like the
Georgia Aquarium, Zoo At
lanta, and so many more!
That’s not to say that there’s
nothing going on at the li
brary, of course. We’ve got
plenty happening! Our sto-
rytimes are back on Tuesdays
at 4 pm, with great stories
and a fun craft for the kids.
It’s a great way to foster a
love for reading, and for life
long learning!
Then there’s the Crafts to
Go program. Every week,
we have a new craft for the
kids, and we also have crafts
for teens and adults monthly!
All you need to do is come to
the desk and ask for one.
And don’t forget, Facebook
has our latest news! Just
head for www. facebook.
com/screvencountylibrary
and click “Like!”
Well, that’s all for now - see
you at the library!
“It’s giving parents and guardians a process to address concerns about materials in a K-12
environment.”
4-H’ers Succeed at Project
Achievement
-Morgan Triplett
Project Achievement is a
core program in Georgia 4-H
that empowers a young person
and teaches public speaking,
interview skills, record keep
ing, social skills, leadership,
creativity, and self-confidence.
Georgia 4-H Project Achieve
ment provides students a plat
form to showcase their hard
work and success. To compete
at this level of competition,
7th - 12th grade 4-H mem
bers must first pick a project
area of interest to them, then
keep a yearly record of proj
ect work and finally prepare
a 10-12-minute presentation
for competition. The yearly re
cord that students keep of their
project work is formatted like
a resume so students can also
begin learning resume build
ing skills as well! Students
present their projects in front
of judges during an exciting
weekend at Rock Eagle 4-H
Center.
This year, Screven County
took four bright 4-H students to
Rock Eagle for District Project
Achievement. These students
worked hard and spent hours
building their portfolios, pre
paring their presentations, and
practicing for the big competi
tion over the course of a year.
This incredible group of young
people truly shined and repre
sented Screven County well at
District Project Achievement.
The 4-H staff is proud of their
hard work and dedication to
their projects. They are a dis
tinguished group and have set
themselves apart as leaders
among their peers.
Junior competitors include
Anna Williams, Diya Patel,
and Barrett Garland. The se
nior competitor was Landon
GACD sponsors Georgia Ag Experience
STEM Challenge for elementary schools
Georgia elementary classes in
third through fifth grades are be
ing challenged to put their sci
ence, technology, engineering
and math (STEM) skills to work
to explore the real-world issue
that farmers face of maintaining
soil health. Elementary teachers
and their students may enter the
Soil Health Explorers STEM
Challenge competition between
March 1- May 14 for the chance
to win a prize package totaling
$350 for their class. The top
grade winner from the third,
fourth and fifth grade entries
will win a prize package. The
winners will be announced via a
Zoom presentation on May 21.
The Georgia Association of
Conservation Districts (GACD),
a non-profit organization that
promotes the conservation of
natural resources, is sponsor
ing the statewide competition,
which is being coordinated by
the Georgia Ag Experience
(GAE) and Georgia Foundation
for Agriculture (GFA).
Teachers interested in partici
pating in the Soil Health Explor
ers STEM Challenge may visit
www.gfb.ag/stemchallenge for
more information and to register
for the program. Once teachers
register their class, they will re
ceive instant access to a digital
resource toolkit that equips the
class for participating in the soil
health stem challenge.
“The Georgia Association
of Conservation Districts is ex
cited to partner with the Georgia
Foundation for Agriculture on
its first statewide STEM Chal
lenge,” said GACD Executive
Director Katie Sponberger.
“This challenge, which focuses
on soil and water conservation,
will help students understand
and appreciate Georgia’s vibrant
and diverse natural resources
and leam how to conserve those
resources for future genera
tions.”
Each participating class is
being asked to answer the ques
tion “How can we improve soil
biodiversity and overall soil
health?” The stem challenge
asks participating classes to: 1)
Develop an initial report that ex
amines a plot of land where they
will study the soil and perform a
series of tests on the soil to de
termine the land’s current soil
health status. 2) Reach out to
their local Farm Bureau office,
Natural Resources Conserva
tion Service office and/or UGA
Extension office for assistance
or speakers to discuss soil health
with their class. 3) Create a pre
sentation on how to improve
Weaver.
We are pleased to say that
Screven County had two of
the four students place at DPA.
Anna Williams placed first in
the Performing Arts-Dance
Project Area and Barrett Gar
land placed third in the Team
Sports Project Area. Diya Patel
represented Screven County in
the Team Sports Project Area
as well and Landon Weaver
represented Screven County in
the Workforce Preparation and
Career Development Project
Area.
The 4-H staff will begin
working with 5th and 6th
grade students on Project
Achievement. This competi
tion will take place on March
26th in Emmanuel County. All
5th and 6th grade students are
welcome to participate. For
more information and to sign
up please call the 4-H Office at
(912)564-2064.
What’s Going
on in 4-H?
*For more information on any of our events,
please call the 4-H office at (912)564-2064
February 23: SC A Club Meetings
February 27: Shotgun Team Practice
February 28: Senior (9th-12th Grade) Camp
Applications and Deposits Due
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their soil and understand the real
world impact for their plot of
land. Class presentations must
be uploaded to the challenge
portal for judging before May
14.
“We developed the STEM
challenge as a way to connect
elementary students to Georgia
agriculture. Every year students
will have a new opportunity to
solve a real world ag problem
with a different community part
ner” said GFA Executive Direc
tor Lily Baucom. The Georgia
Ag Experience/Georgia Foun
dation for Agriculture STEM
Challenge is designed to be a bi
annual competition with a spring
and fall contest. The GACD is
the 2021 challenge sponsor.
The purpose of the challenge
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o
is to encourage elementary
teachers and students in grades
3-5 to explore aspects of Geor
gia agriculture by applying their
STEM skills to solve real-world
problems that farmers face in
producing our food and fiber.
Business For Sale
ise.
No experience required
Purchase includes training*
Contact 682-9571
or
sgwrcom for more information
SCES Breakfast Menu
Monday, February 28
Cinnamon Roll
Tuesday, March 1
Breakfast Bagel
Wednesday, March 2
Pancake on a Stick
Thursday, March 3
Sausage Biscuit
Friday, March 4
Breakfast Pizza
*A11 breakfast meals are served with cereal & yogurt, choice
of fruit, grab and go breakfast, milk and fruit juice.
SCES & SCMS/SCHS Lunch Menu
Monday, February 28
Comdog, Fries, Baked Beans
M/HS: Choice of Ham Entree Salad
Tuesday, March 1
Chicken & Waffles, Mustard Greens, Cheesy Cauliflower
M/HS: Choice of Deli Sub
Wednesday, March 2
Beef Tacos, Lettuce, Tomato, Cheese, Black Beans, Com
M/HS: Choice of Cheese Entree Salad
Thursday, March 3
Sloppy Joe, Green Beans, Carrot Dippers, Salad
M/HS: Choice of Grilled Chicken Salad
Friday, March 4
Pizza, Side Salad, Green Peas
M/HS: Choice of Cheeseburger
*A11 meals are served with a choice of fruit and milk
