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BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2023
School
BCES Students of the Month named
Banks County Elementa
ry School has named Stu
dents of the Month.
Third graders named are:
Taylor Blevins, Malachi
McCoy, Jeremiah Grindle,
Matthew Sanchez Fernan
dez, Copeland Ledford,
Mitchell Newsome, Strick
land Marchbanks, Evan
Benfiel, Brooke Brown and
Alexa Montes Rodriguez.
Fourth graders named
are: Adamson Tran, Bri-
elle Lockhart, Lane Pirkle,
Gavin Silva, Zoey Wil
banks, Emi Moore, Kin-
leigh Langston, Journey
Mendoza , Carson Bennett
and Gabby Grimes.
Fifth graders named are:
Piper Mansur, Brentley Car-
lan, Ramon Paramo, Tadeo
Paramo Andrade, Emory
Wilbanks, Raif Moua, Rob
ert Ward, Cayden Wilson,
Laine Shadbum and Eliza
beth Farmer.
Third grade Banks County Elementary School Students of the Month are: (L-R) Taylor Blevins, Malachi McCoy, Jeremiah
Grindle , Matthew Sanchez Fernandez, Copeland Ledford, Mitchell Newsome, Strickland Marchbanks, Evan Benfiel, Brooke
Brown and Alexa Montes Rodriguez.
Banks County Elementary School fourth graders named Students of the Month are: (L-R) Adamson Tran, Brielle Lockhart,
Lane Pirkle, Gavin Silva, Zoey Wilbanks, Emi Moore, Kinleigh Langston, Journey Mendoza and Carson Bennett. Not pic
tured: Gabby Grimes.
Banks County Elementary School fifth graders named Students of the Month are: (L-R) Piper Mansur, Brentley Carlan,
Ramon Paramo, Tadeo Paramo Andrade, Emory Wilbanks, Raif Moua, Robert Ward, Cayden Wilson, Laine Shadburn and
Elizabeth Farmer.
FFA TEAM ADVANCES TO STATE
FFA Junior Environmental Natural Resources team won the area competition and advanced to the state level in December.
Team members are: Natalie Seigler (1st Place), Catie Cochran (2nd Place), Jabe Andrews, and Maggie Braswell.
Mrs. Annie Reece is shown working with a student in her
classroom.
Teacher Spotlight:
Mrs. Annie Reece
This school year, Banks County Schools launched an
initiative to strengthen student achievement in the schools.
The system will spotlight several teachers who demon
strate exceptional best practices and student success.
Mrs. Annie Reece has been in education for over 16
years. This is her third year as a first-grade teacher at Banks
County Primary School.
She is a “beacon of inspiration to others,” stated Dr.
Mike Boyle, principal at Banks County Primary School.
“She recognizes that reading is the cornerstone of academ
ic and lifelong success.”
Mrs. Reece has wholeheartedly adopted the school’s ob
jective of reading achievement. She has created a multifac
eted approach to guarantee her students not only acquire
reading skills but also cultivate an enduring passion for
reading.
She employs two key strategies for teaching reading:
differentiated small-group guided reading instruction and
interactive read-aloud for whole-group reading. These
methods are carefully tailored to meet each student’s needs
and abilities.
In small-group instruction, students are grouped based
on their instructional reading levels.
“Students progress to the next level when they are
ready,” Reece said. “This personalized approach ensures
that no student is left behind and that all have the opportu
nity to thrive.”
For whole-group activities, she implements interactive
read-aloud. It involves Ms. Reece reading a selected text
to the class while encouraging students to engage in dis
cussions with their peers. This boosts comprehension skills
and fosters active listening and speaking abilities.
To assess her students’ reading progress, Ms. Reece re
lies on the county’s reading assessment system, Fountas
and Pinnell, for benchmark assessments. In addition, she
conducts running records and keeps anecdotal notes to
monitor week-to-week progress. This tracking allows her
to pinpoint the specific needs of each student, facilitating a
more targeted and effective approach to instruction.
According to Reece, one of the most significant chal
lenges in teaching reading is crafting the perfect reading
formula for each student while accommodating her stu
dents’ diverse needs and levels.
“Every student is unique, and their instructional require
ments may differ significantly, even if their reading levels
appear similar,” she added.
A typical reading lesson in Ms. Reece’s classroom guided
reading sessions feature small groups working on phonics
and leveled texts while other students engage in hands-on
phonics games, independent reading, iPad-based learning
games, and more. Activities rotate every 15-20 minutes,
encouraging peer interaction and honing reading, listening,
and speaking skills.
Interactive read-aloud sessions are another highlight.
Ms. Reece brings her favorite books to life with expressive
reading and tum-and-talk discussions, emphasizing com
prehension and fostering a love for reading.
“While Ms. Reece’s toolkit includes a variety of effec
tive strategies, it is clear that her commitment to personal
ized instruction and fostering a love for reading are at the
heart of her success,” school leaders state.
When they leave her classroom at the end of the year, her
ultimate goal for her students is not just academic achieve
ment.
“I hope they know that they always have a teacher in
their comer who loves them, cares for them, and wants
what is best for them. I love building a little family together
in the classroom,” she said.
The best part of teaching, according to Ms. Reece, is the
sheer joy of creating engaging lessons and sharing the ex
citement of learning with her students. From using funny
voices while reading, dancing for brain breaks, conducting
science experiments, and playing educational games, she
brings learning to life in her classroom.
BCES TO RECOGNIZE TEACHERS
Banks County Elementary School introduced a new initia
tive known as the “Shout-Out Box” to celebrate teachers.
This initiative allows students to express their gratitude by
submitting heartfelt notes or “roars” to recognize a teacher
or school employee who has positively impacted their lives.
These messages of appreciation are then delivered to the
teachers at the end of each school week. The initiative can
be attributed to the collaborative efforts of the dedicated
School Governance Team at BCES. This team, which con
venes once a month, brainstormed ways to create more op
portunities to showcase teachers and staff members.