Newspaper Page Text
The
Commerce News
DECEMBER 24, 2008
PAGE 6B
School News
Changes In County
School Busing May
Affect Breakfast Too
By Kerri Testement
It may take an “out of
the box" approach for the
Jackson County School
System to solve some of its
transportation issues.
The school district is eye
ing solutions to revamp its
bus transportation system,
which hasn’t changed since
1990. One of the possibili
ties that an advisory com
mittee of school principals
is considering is a longer
school day for elementa
ry students, starting next
school year.
The latest proposal calls
for the district’s eight ele
mentary schools to start
class at 7:40 a.m. and end at
2:40 p.m. Currently, elemen
tary classes start between
7:50 and 8:00 a.m.
“None of the elementary
schools are exactly the
same,’’ said Vicky Evans,
transportation coordina
tor for the county school
system. “They all have their
own times.’’
But with a possible start
time of 7:40 a.m„ elemen
tary bus riders would have
to arrive early enough to
eat breakfast. It is estimated
that up to two-thirds of the
district’s 7,100 students eat
breakfast at school.
“If you drop off at 7:30,
which is what’s dropping
now, but school starts at
7:40, you can’t get kids
through breakfast to start
in time,’’ said Diane Carr,
principal of West Jackson
Intermediate School.
South Jackson Elementary
School principal Pam Johns
estimated that students may
wait up to 10 minutes in the
cafeteria to be served break
fast, when multiple buses
arrive at once.
But if school buses drop
off elementary school stu
dents earlier — it would
mean that drivers would
pick-up middle and high
school students earlier,
too. And that would leave
the possibility of students
arriving much earlier before
classes start. The school
system is not considering
changing its starting and
ending times for middle and
high schools.
“It’s going to take an out
side the box answer and
maybe with breakfast,’’ said
superintendent Shannon
Adams.
Revamping how students
eat breakfast could give
more time for classroom
instruction in elementary
schools.
The committee discussed
a range of possibilities in
how the district serves stu
dent breakfasts — including
from carts in hallways and
eating in classrooms.
But without district nutri
tion director Wanda Oliver
available for questions at
last week’s meeting, the
committee opted to hear
from her in January.
That’s also when school
council presidents from the
district are welcomed to join
in the transportation discus
sion. Adams said the school
system wants parent input
in how the district busses
students.
Evans said one of the
major complaints among
parents is that student bus
riders get home too late in
the afternoon. Some stu
dents get home around 5
p.m., she said.
The proposals being con
sidered by the committee
are based on the current
number of buses and driv
ers, Evans said. The coun
ty school system will not
add new buses next school
year.
“We’re trying to stay in
what we have now to make
it work,’’ she said.
The committee will meet
again Wednesday, Jan. 21, at
1 p.m., at the central office
in Jefferson.
Ayers An ABAC Ambassador
Eric Ayers, Nicholson, has
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Visit King Tut Exhibit
Belinda Warnell’s Quest classes at Commerce had been studying various aspects of the Ancient
Elementary School enjoyed a field trip to the King Egyptian culture.
Tut exhibit at the Atlanta Civic Center. The classes
EJMS livestock Teams Brings Home Awards
The East Jackson Middle
School Future Farmers of
America (FFA) Livestock
Judging Team recently com
peted in the Area II FFA
Livestock Judging Career
Development Event at the
Oglethorpe County High
School Agriculture Center,
Lexington.
EJMS team members
include Hayley Griffith, Ty
Beason, Troy Croft, Samuel
Swain and Jake Tate.
The Livestock Judging
Career Development Event
trains agricultural educa
tion students to make accu
rate observations of live
stock, determine the desir
able traits in animals, make
logical decisions based on
their observations, and
discuss and defend those
decisions before experts in
the field.
A total of 155 FFA mem
bers from throughout the
state participated in the
event. Members placed
Pictured at the recent Area II FFA Livestock Judging Career Development
Event are East Jackson Middle School FFA members. Left to right are (front)
Samuel Swain, Jake Tate, (back) Ty Beason, Hayley Griffith and Troy Croft.
classes of breeding and why they placed each class The Livestock Judging
market beef, sheep, and as they did. Career Development Event
swine, and then gave oral Micah Story is the EJMS is sponsored by the Georgia
reasons to the judges as to FFA advisor. FFA Foundation.
J
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