The Pickens County School District has an opportunity for potential funding to establish a School-Based Health Center. The School-Based Health Center could provide vision, dental, and general healthcare to our students and community via a partnership with licensed healthcare providers. Parents/guardians, please take a few moments to help us gather information for the grant by filling out this anonymous survey.
https://forms.gle/PpRheo4b2mFTazedA
This is just a reminder that October 11th is a virtual day for students to allow for parent/teacher conferences. Please reach out to your student's school for more information.
Farah Jones, a Pickens High School senior, was one of 74 students selected by State School Superintendent Richard Woods to serve on his 2024-2025 Student Advisory Council. Congratulations!
October 2nd is Custodian Appreciation Day. Here at PCSD we want to thank all of our custodians for making our schools sparkle!
The PCSD Staff Spotlight for October goes to Hill City Elementary's incredible Academic Coach Mrs. Rhonda Lane. Whether it’s driving their instructional program, coordinating professional learning, or making sure teachers and students have the resources they need for success, she excels. From creating engaging writing lessons to sparking curiosity with new hands-on experiments in our science lab, her leadership is truly top-notch. We are so grateful for her dedication and positive impact at Hill City.
The September PCSD Extracurricular Spotlight is on Journalism.
Journalism is an elective course offered at PHS. Students enrolled in the class engage in a variety of multimedia activities from conducting interviews and covering events for our local newspaper, to designing and producing the school’s yearbook.
The goal of this course is to create engaged and informed citizens on our campus and in our community while fostering creativity and independence. PHS Journalism is grateful for our collaboration with the Pickens Progress, and for the generous donation of a subscription to the paper provided by Chattahoochee Technical College.
We all know that our school’s staffing attendance is directly related to student outcomes – including student attendance. That is why we want to congratulate Harmony Elementary School for having the Best Staff Attendance for the month of August.
Important weather updates from Pickens County School District...
Pickens County School District Outpaces State and National SAT Average once again!
Read the full article here: https://www.pickens.k12.ga.us/article/1783570
As part of Hill City Elementary's "Leader in Me" initiative, Mr. Nate, our tech specialist, is launching a Junior Tech Team. These student leaders will be trained to tackle tech issues around the school. Third-grader Hudson Mosley was the first to step up and join the team! Here's a behind-the-scenes look at his very first training session!
This month's Clean School Spotlight goes to Jasper Middle School! These students took extra care to help clean up after a Behavior Celebration. JMS takes great pride in their school and the students know that it takes everyone to keep the school looking its best! Shout out to those students: Jake Kirby, Sam Schreiber, Sylas Boyd, Hattie Poag, Treasure Nelson and Chelsea Rainwater!
it is Backpack Awareness Day and we here at Pickens County School District would like to remind you to "Pack it Light and Wear it Right!" Here are some tips to help keep your child injury free.
Congratulations to Hill City Elementary's PreK Teacher Brooklyn Hamilton for being September's teacher Dragon Award winner! Thank you for consistently going
above and beyond and working tirelessly to ensure the success of Pickens County School District students.
Congratulations to Mckinley Thomas for being September's student Dragon Award winner. Thank you for being a positive student leader, always promoting school spirit and for being willing to step up and help others with a positive attitude. Way to go Mckinley!
We all know that our school attendance is a powerful predictor of student outcomes. Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school—and themselves. Here at PCSD we encourage building this habit early as good attendance will help our children do well in high school, college, and at work. That is why we want to congratulate Jasper Middle School for having the Best Student Attendance for the month of August. Way to kick off the new school year!
September 10th is Suicide Prevention Day.
We encourage you to A.C.T. - Acknowledge the signs you are seeing in yourself or a friend. Practice self-care or show a friend that you care. Tell someone if you or a friend needs help.
You are NOT alone.
If you need help, call or text 988 for help.
Important Reminder Regarding the Free & Reduced Meal Program
The carryover in benefits from last year’s Free & Reduced Meal Program will end September 13, 2024. After this date the student will return to full pay status unless a new application is submitted to re-establish the student's eligibility before the end of the carryover period.
For households that meet the income requirements we encourage you to submit a new free and reduced application now.
Here is the link below for our online or paper application:
http://frapps.horizonsolana.com/PICC01
All schools will be closed September 16-20, 2024 for fall break. District offices will be open normal business hours. Have a safe and restful time off!
Celebrate Arts in Education Week with us here at Pickens County School District. Arts benefits children by training right brain intelligence, encouraging exploring with colors and shapes, practicing creativity, and helping to express feelings.
Over the course of the last several days, a number of threat rumors related to local schools have continued to circulate on social media. We have been working with law enforcement and collaborating with other area school districts to monitor these threat rumors. At this time, none of the reported threat rumors have been found to be credible or valid by Pickens County Sheriff’s investigators or the GBI.
The Pickens County School District will continue normal operations this week under heightened security. In addition to existing school resource officers that all of our schools have, our local law enforcement will continue to provide additional presence on all of our campuses. We sincerely appreciate the diligent work of our local law enforcement, and their partnership in keeping our schools secure.
Also please remember the additional security measures each of our schools have. When visitors arrive on our campuses, they have to be given access to enter the main part of our schools. Additionally, each faculty member has a Centegix badge which activates an alert system if anything suspicious is perceived. This alert system notifies local law enforcement and our district office.
Students and parents have reached out and reported threat rumors found on social media. We ask that you please continue to report this information to law enforcement and your school’s administration.
Additionally, parents and guardians can take some additional steps to help make the difference in keeping our schools secure:
Check your child’s backpack on a daily basis to make sure they are only taking what they should be to school.
Monitor their electronic devices and social media accounts, including looking at their browser history.
Encourage them to report any suspicious activities or threats to school officials, law enforcement, or you.
Discuss the severe and very real consequences of making threats or jokes in regards to harming another student or school.
Please contact your child’s school if you need more information, support, or resources. Additionally, our school counselors are available to talk with your students if they need someone to talk to. Together, we will work to ensure students’ safety is the highest priority.