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4A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, October 24,2018
Trunk or Treat promises Halloween fun for all
By Jessica Brown
jbrown@dawsonnews.com
Rock Creek Park is gearing up for its sev
enth annual Trunk or Treat festivities on
Halloween night.
The family-friendly event began at the park
in 2012 as a way to provide children in the
community a safe place to trick-or-treat in a
well-lit and traffic-free area.
The event will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Oct. 31. Admission and parking are free and
all ages are welcome.
Last year, the event saw 3,000 people in
attendance with approximately 900 to 1,000
of those being children. Buffie Hamil, pro
grams and facilities coordinator at the county
parks and recreation department said she
anticipates the same turnout, if not more.
“We’re actually planning for more. We’ve
prepared over 1,400 bags of candy for our
department to give out,” Hamil said.
Trunk or Treat is sponsored by local busi
nesses and organizations including the sher
iff’s office, Rotary Club, Wee Books and
K.A.R.E. for Kids. There are over 40 sponsors
and the list keeps growing, according to
Hamil.
There will be plenty of candy, treats and
toys for trick-or-treaters as well as activities
such as hay rides, carnival games, bounce
houses, face painting, miniature horses and an
obstacle course.
Trunk or Treat is more than just a ghoulish-
ly good time for kids. There are some great
opportunities for those wanting to give back.
A mobile blood unit will also be on site for
anyone who would like to donate blood, and
concessions will be available for purchase and
will benefit the American Cancer Society.
Activities and booths will be set up in the
cloverleaf ball fields (Fields 9-12). Booths will
be set up along the sidewalks while the activi
ties will be set up in the outfields of the fields.
Rock Creek Park is at 445 Martin Road in
Dawsonville.
Tips for staying safe
The Safe Kids Worldwide ini
tiative suggests the following tips
to help children stay safe on
Halloween:
• Walk safely.
• Cross the street at corners,
using traffic signals and cross
walks.
• Look left, right and left again
when crossing and keep looking
as you cross.
• Put electronic devices down
and keep heads up and walk,
don’t run, across the street.
• Teach children to make eye
contact with drivers before cross
ing in front of them.
• Watch for cars that are turning
or backing up.
• Trick-or-Treat with an adult.
• Keep costumes both creative
and safe.
• Decorate costumes and bags
with reflective tape or stickers
and, if possible, choose light col
ors.
• Choose face paint and make
up whenever possible instead of
masks, which can obstruct a
child’s vision.
When selecting a costume
make sure it is the right size to
prevent trips and falls.
• Have kids carry glow sticks or
flashlights to help them see and
be seen by drivers.
•Drive safely on Halloween.
Popular trick-or-treating hours are
5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. so be espe
cially alert for kids during those
hours.
Jessica Brown Dawson County News
Dawson County High School Spanish teacher
Paola Epstein was named the system-wide
Teacher of the Year. Epstein has taught Spanish at
the high school for five years and is the leader of
several student clubs and organizations.
FROM 1A
Teacher
in school psychology so that
she could better understand
and help students with dis
abilities. She was also
instrumental in creating an
integration program for stu
dents with special needs.
Fifteen years ago she
came to Georgia where she
hit a few road blocks in her
career, causing her to start
from the bottom and work
her way up.
“When I came to
America ... first thing is
that you need to go to
Georgia Professional
Standards and it’s not easy
to get your degrees recog
nized because Georgia
does not have the possibili
ty to just bring your
degrees and start teaching.
You need to go through a
big process,” Epstein said.
That process wasn’t an
easy or fast one as Epstein’s
degrees were in Spanish
and Hebrew and needed to
be validated to see if they
met Georgia’s standards.
Epstein also graduated
before computer records
and had to provide the syl
labi and transcripts from
every class she had taken.
The process took two
years and resulted in
Epstein’s bachelor’s degree
being accepted, but her
master’s degree was 15
credits shy.
“All that time, what do
you do? Without a degree
it’s hard,” Epstein said.
“When I arrived in Georgia
15 years ago my English
was not as good as it is now
so it was very tough for me
and I had to put my pride in
my pocket and say ‘okay
what am I going to do? All
I know is to teach.’”
Epstein began working
in daycare, something that
was quite an adjustment
for her.
“All my prestige as a
teacher, all my experience
means nothing at that point
so I had to start from the
very bottom,” Epstein said.
Eventually, Epstein
worked her way from day
care to teaching pre-K to
kindergarten to assistant
director to director at vari
ous schools in Georgia.
During her journey she
realized her weakness was
English, so she enrolled at
Kennesaw State University
to pursue her first degree in
the U.S., a degree in ESOL
(English for Speakers of
Other Languages) that
helped open more opportu
nities in education.
Epstein accepted a posi
tion as a Spanish teacher at
DCHS five years ago and
continues to learn and
improve her teaching with
the help of her students.
Thanks to their construc
tive input, Epstein earned
her master’s in
Instructional Technology
and is seeking her doctor
ate in that field in order to
provide the best learning
experience possible.
“I’m kind of like the eter
nal student. I think that the
day I stop learning is not a
good day because there is
always something that you
can get, something new that
you can adopt. Here, I am
blessed because with the
kids — oh my gosh — I
learn every single day.
Every single day they come
up with different things that
help me with not only my
English but with life,”
Epstein said. “Everybody
thinks that I got the big deal
because I had the chance to
spend time with kids. No,
they teach me so much.
That’s where I get the good
deal.”
Her students also con
vinced her to obtain her
American citizenship and
became involved in the
process.
“For me taking the citi
zenship, I didn’t feel like I
needed it because I was
able to speak the language
and have no problems ...
but it was not enough. For
me the biggest concern was
no matter what I do I will
always be a foreigner,” she
said. “I thought ‘okay I
need America to grow with
me’ because it’s not enough
to have an American hus
band, an American daugh
ter. I thought ‘I need to
feel American.’”
In October 2016, Epstein
became an American citizen
after months of studying.
Epstein also wears many
hats, both literally and fig
uratively at the high
school. After seeing several
needs at the school, she
stepped up to sponsor a
number of clubs.
Two years ago, she
helped found the Anime
Club which now has close
to 60 members who explore
Japanese culture and go to
conventions. She also leads
the International Club
which serves both as a fun
way for students to get
together and explore world
cultures but the students
also serve as ambassadors
to non-English speaking
visitors to the high school.
Epstein also runs the
Dawson Tiger TV news
station, helping her stu
dents gather material for
their Friday morning news
show which she edits on
Thursdays.
If that weren’t enough
on her plate, Epstein also is
in charge of the homecom
ing and prom court nomi
nations. With time to spare
she still finds time to dress
up in the Tiger mascot and
cheer on many of the
school’s sporting events.
“This is never about me.
It’s not about what Mrs.
Epstein wants or what Mrs.
Epstein would like to do.
It’s about the kids,” Epstein
said.
In her free time, Epstein
is a big NASCAR fan and
is a sanctioned official in
the sport of curling. She
loves to travel with her
husband Jacob and has a
daughter, Dafna. She lives
in Cherokee County.
Despite the obstacles and
setbacks, Epstein said she is
a proud Chilean American
that loves Dawson County
and hopes to continue to
inspire the students she
loves so much.
“As teachers we are the
mediator between the
knowledge — it’s not that I
know everything. I’m not
the center of knowledge.
I’m the mediator,” Epstein
said. “I’m here to present
you this. This is what you
have. Do whatever you
want with this knowledge,
and I hope that I inspire
you enough to go beyond.”
Bargain Days Oct 26-28
Bargain Barn
3622 Camp Road • Jasper, GA 30143
706-253-9462