The Thomas County School System is pleased to offer five camp sessions this summer for students interested in science, technology, engineering, arts and math. These camps are provided at NO COST. Please click on the link below for more information and to register!

STEAM CAMPS

Lauren Powers has been named Cross Creek Elementary School’s 2024-25 Teacher of the Year.  Selected through a rigorous process involving nominations from fellow teachers and interviews with past Teachers of the Year, Powers stands out for her exceptional dedication and expertise.

Powers teaches fourth grade reading, writing, and language arts and has been teaching at Cross Creek Elementary since 2010.  In addition to general education, she has taught special education in resource, inclusion, and early intervention program settings.  Early in her career, she knew without a doubt, she was where she belonged. She has an innate understanding of how students learn and how to meet the needs of her students.

Cross Creek Principal Ashley Lane said that Powers is an exceptional teacher.

“She is dedicated to her students and to her profession and is willing to do what is needed to meet the needs of her students while setting high expectations for their learning,” said Lane.  

 Lane added that Powers is a well-respected role model among her colleagues and is always willing to help others.  

 Powers said that in addition to her responsibilities as a classroom instructor, she has assumed the mantle of a teacher leader in recent years.

“Just as students require guidance and encouragement, so do my fellow educators,” said Powers. “I approach this role with utmost dedication, understanding that advocating for my colleagues not only bolsters their professional growth, but also significantly impacts the academic journey of our students.”
 

Cross Creek students visited the Thomas County Schools' mobile planetarium. Students have learned about stars, constellations, galaxies, and the upcoming solar eclipse. They were excited to have an opportunity to explore space from the safety of planetarium. Thank you Thomas County Schools for the wonderful learning experience. 

Cross Creek Elementary School students recently competed at the K-12 InVenture Prize State Finals at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. There were about 100 teams competing at the state level, and two teams from Cross Creek won special awards.

Fourth graders Ivey Clapper and Isla Farlow won at the state level in the category of Animal and Pet Care. Their invention, Cool Dog Collar, won 2nd place at the regional level. Katie Bruce, Ellie Butler, and Abigail Bone, also fourth graders, won the People's Choice Award at the state level with their invention entitled "Splash Guard." The Splash Guard project won 1st place at region.

The K-12 InVenture Prize State Finals at Georgia Tech is an in-person field trip experience for student teams who advanced from the regional qualifiers. Students were required to have a tri-board detailing their invention process and attend in person to present their invention and design process to judges in person.

Around 140 K-12 students participated in South Georgia Innovation Day presenting their own inventions as a part of Georgia Tech’s K-12 InVenture Prize competition. Winning at the regional competition qualified them to compete at the state level.

K-12 InVenture Prize is an invention and entrepreneurship program at Georgia Tech's Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing that challenges students to identify real-world problems and design novel solutions through analysis, creativity, and the scientific method.