Each year, Thomas County students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade participate in the Georgia National Fair's Fair Bear Writing Competition.  Students compete at the school level, and first place winners from each grade compete at the state level.    

The annual competition asks students to write a story about an American black bear who lived from 1980-1993 in Middle Georgia near the Georgia National Fairgrounds.  The bear’s path often involved crossing 1-75 where it met its tragic death in 1993.  It was immortalized as the Georgia National Fair’s mascot and has been the subject of their writing competition since 1994.

This year’s topic was “Fair Bear's Family Reunion” where students were asked to write a story describing Fair Bear's family traditions that he looks forward to each year, and new memories that he looks forward to making at the annual family reunion.  

Nathan Jarrett from fifth grade and Alana Musselwhite from sixth grade will compete at the state competition.  State-level winners will be announced on April 15, 2018.

Pictured below on the bottom row is fifth-grade winners from left to right: Kennedy Warren - 3rd Place, Nathan Jarrett - 1st Place, and Lydia Glass - 2nd Place.  Pictured standing from left to right is 6th-grade winners:  Libby Stewart - 3rd Place, Alana Musselwhite - 1st Place, and Brady Whatley - 2nd Place.