The Thomas County School System is planning a viewing opportunity for our students and staff to experience the partial solar eclipse phenomenon on Monday, April 8. To ensure the safety of our students and staff, we will be providing solar eclipse glasses equipped with the ISO filter recommended by NASA. This is a rare event that we are eager to use as a unique learning experience for our students.

Register now for new students from Pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade. Use link below to register.
PreK and Kindergarten 24-25 Registration

Thomas County Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School recognizes first and second graders for outstanding character attributes on a monthly basis.  Homeroom teachers selected one child per class that exemplified the character word for November:  dependable.  These November Character Kids represented what “dependable” looks like each and every day!  Pictured:  (first row) Ahmad Wilkinson, Aubrey Stone, Evelys Rivera, Antwain McLemore, Aiiden Padgett, Piper Eidson, Amir Ford, Saniyah Jackson, Quynh (Queenie) Nguyen, Akerea Jackson, Madelyn Dukes, Noah Smith, Carter Hayes, Braydon Shaw, Emanuel Samard, Jackson Carlton, Vaughn Voelker, AraBella Frazier; (second row) Killian Dorsey, Benjamin Blodgett, Raeleigh Hemby, Kenrick Bradshaw, Somer Goskey, Iyana McCoy, Jaylee Kennedy, Summer Yancey, Madison Reddick, Noah Jones, Sierra Ochoa, Korie McCutchen, Jaxon Hall, Zaniyah Johnson, Addi Roberts, Jessica Garcia, Houston Sparks, Blaze Powell, and Zyland Bell.  Not pictured:  Octavian Williams and Nevaeh Hill.

Make your plans to be at Mercedes-Benz in Atlanta on Tuesday, December 12 at 7:00 p.m. to watch our Yellow Jackets battle the Woodward Academy Eagles for the 6A State Championship! Click on the link below for the details. See you there!

State Championship Game Details

Thomas County Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School recognizes first and second graders for outstanding character attributes on a monthly basis.  Homeroom teachers selected one child per class that exemplified the character word for September:  self-control.  These October Character Kids represented what “self-control” looks like each and every day – even wearing Halloween costumes!

Thomas County first and second graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School are encouraged to read books of their own choosing through celebrations, accountabilities, and incentive programs.  On a monthly basis, students can see short-term rewards by cashing in Wee Bee Bucks at the AR (Accelerated Reader) Store.  Students can decide to save up their Wee Bee Bucks for something big, or they can cash in during each AR Store monthly visit.  Some students did not get to shop the first time, but the desire to earn Wee Bee Bucks has already proven to be an incentive that is persuading students to make reading a priority.  Information is shared with families so that they can encourage their students to read books at night, help them read if needed, and remind them to take their tests daily.

Thomas County Schools is charging forward with its participation in “Literacy and Justice for All,” an opportunity for district and school leaders to join a multi-year literacy leadership cohort in support of House Bill 538, the Georgia Early Literacy Act, with the Georgia Department of Education in collaboration with the Rollins Center for Language & Literacy.

The Rollins Center, a program of the Atlanta Speech School, develops expertise with educators, system leaders, families, and advocates in the sciences of healthy brain development, language, and literacy. Through this partnership, the Rollins Center will support Thomas County Schools, one of 10 selected Georgia school districts, in its Navigation & Implementation Leadership Cohort.

Amy Tyson is the Thomas County School System’s Elementary Curriculum Director and a member of the district’s Implementation Team.  Tyson expects to see many positive results from the in-depth training such as a decrease in foundational gaps in reading across all grade levels and an increase in language development and student reading performance.

Thomas County first and second graders at Garrison Pilcher Elementary School are Plains Festival Postcard Contest Winners among 2,263 entries from students all over the state. Each winner will visit Plains, Georgia on the weekend of September 23 along with their families where they will receive an award and walk down Main Street as a participant in the 25^th Annual Plains Peanut Festival Parade. Principal Robin Binion and Assistant Principal Chad Parkerson are pictured with the winners: First Grade 1st place Pierce Shaver, 2nd place Willa Gilligan, and 3rd place Steele Dean; and Second Grade 2nd place J.B. Palacios and 3rd place Charlotte Broome.  

Most of Georgia's public school systems are accredited by Cognia, a nonprofit organization tasked with setting educational standards that prepare students for life after the classroom. Cognia will be conducting an accreditation review for the Thomas County School System during the school year. As part of the accreditation process, schools submit their educational environment to a rigorous process of analysis and evaluation. This parent survey will allow you to respond to questions about Cognia standards and how Thomas County includes families in the education of their students. Please complete this survey by September 22, 2023. If you have children in two or more schools, please take a moment to complete a survey for each school.

Click here to for more information and to take the survey!

With the threat of severe weather from Hurricane Idalia, Thomas County Schools will be closed Wednesday, August 30. This decision was made after consulting with national, state and local emergency agencies. The safety of our students, teachers, and staff is very important to us. Please stay safe!

The valuable, yearlong Cross Creek discount cards are on sale now through September 1. Buying a Cross Creek card has many benefits including saving money, helping to provide incentives and rewards for Cross Creek students, as well as keeping the shopping local for our generous merchants.  Selling at the same low price of $5.00 since 1994, Cross Creek cards save money throughout the year and pay for themselves after the first or second use.

The first Cross Creek cards were sold in 1994 and have continued to be an important fundraiser for Cross Creek.  Almost 30 years later, money raised over the years continues to fund many extras.

According to Cross Creek Principal Ashley Lane, past funds have helped purchase a golf cart for the school, which is used to monitor grounds and transport students, and provide an incentive for good behavior to ride with the SRO.

“The funds also help us support all academic celebrations every nine weeks including Accelerated Reader (AR) prizes and Positive Behavior incentives.  This includes our end-of-the-year celebration for students at the YMCA,” Lane said.  

The TCCHS CTAE Department is in the process of reviewing a textbook for possible adoption for the 2023-2024 school year for the Animal Science pathways. 

The TCCHS and Bishop Hall Physical Education Department is in the process of reviewing a textbook for possible adoption for the 2023-2024 school year for the Health and Personal Fitness courses.

Samples of these texts will be on display in the main administration office at the Thomas County Schools Board of Education. Parents are invited to stop by during normal office hours (7:30-5:00) from July 10-13 to review these materials and leave any desired feedback

Please contact Robin Cartright, Curriculum Director, if you have any questions (rcartright@tcjackets.net or 229-584-9158).

Thomasville Toyota was named Thomas County School System’s BEE Partner of the Year for 2022-2023.  This is the second time Thomasville Toyota has been chosen as BEE Partner of the Year. The first time was in 2020.

The Business and Education Exchange (BEE) Partner of the Year is chosen from the outstanding BEE Partners who work with Thomas County Schools to strengthen the link among schools, businesses/industries, and the community.  

The partnership between Thomasville Toyota and Thomas County Schools is strengthened by the support of Brad Ramsey, Thomasville Toyota’s Service and Parts Director.

“It is a true honor to be selected as the BEE Partner of the Year,” Ramsey said. “Thomasville Toyota is committed to providing resources to help the staff and students at Thomas County Schools. We are happy to be a part of their mission to educate students and help young people become productive members of society.”

Thomas County first and second graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School are recognized for outstanding behavior attributes on a monthly basis.  Homeroom teachers selected one child per class that exemplified the character trait for April:  wisdom.  These April Character Kids represent what “wisdom” looks like each and every day.  Pictured:  (first row) Aubrey Shelton, Charlotte Broome, Mark Rush, Matthew Phelps, Preston Clayton, Octavian Williams, Ellie Johnson, Ada Bland, Tristan Oliver; (second row) Nathaniel Twyman, Ellie Scott, Kamaiya Wilds, Ky-Mani Bryant, Zaniyah Johnson, Savannah Braswell, Alice Singletary, Ansley Bunn, Kelis McGraw, Gracen Rose Warren, Jazmin Mejia Zunun, and John Hinds; (third row) Anna Redfern, Elias Roberts, Khloe Hudgins, Memphis White, Meyah Walker, Harper Cray, Daniel Bryant, Jayden Mediate, Ledger Best, Sean Sullivan, and Bre’Anna Davis.  Not pictured:  Ma’laisha Dukes, Emmitt Harrell, Saylor Hurst, Nautica McDonald, and Alanah White.   

Thomas County first and second graders get a jump start on their days with Garrison Pilcher Elementary School’s Morning Mile organized by physical education and health teacher Lisa Guyton. 

“One of our goals this year is to increase physical activity of the students by 30 minutes each day,” said Guyton.  

Guyton applied for a grant and received $1000 and used part of the money to purchase fitness trackers.

“Not knowing how many students would participate, I purchased 30,” said Guyton.  “Ninety-five kids showed up on day one!”

Guyton says that they are averaging 75 kids per day on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 7:10 a.m. to 7:35 a.m.  Since the program only had 30 fitness trackers, Guyton quickly created a way to measure the distance each student walks.  Those without a tracker get a cup, and for each lap he or she walks a coin is put in their cup. At the end of the time, the student counts their coins or steps and it is written down.  2000 steps or 23 coins = 1 mile.

Captions:

Enthusiastic students wait in line to pick up their tracking method: a pedometer or a token system. Garrison Pilcher faculty Blair Hubbard, Rosalie Wilson, Jessica Duncan, and Tami Thompson are some of the generous volunteers who help man the sessions.

Early risers Conner McMullen using the token tracking system, and Ward Hayes showing off his digital tracker join the Morning Mile fun.   

Thomas County first and second graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School created stamps, poster, and banner to win top honors in the Georgia, Southeastern United States, and United States Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Junior Citizens Contest themed: “The 200th Anniversary of the Santa Fe Trail:  Moving Stars and Stripes Westward.”  

Thomas County School System officials have named Melissa O’Neal, third grade teacher at Cross Creek Elementary, as the District Teacher of the Year. O’Neal has worked for Thomas County Schools for 21 years.

Upon being named Teacher of the Year for the system, O’Neal said, “What an incredible honor! I am beyond thrilled and deeply grateful to be recognized as the Teacher of the Year for Thomas County. Teaching has been my true calling and passion in life, and I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of my students every day. This award is not only a recognition of my passion for teaching, but also a celebration of the collective efforts of our entire educational community.”

O’Neal currently teaches 3rd grade, having previously taught pre-kindergarten, 1st grade, 4th grade and 3rd grade. She has taught various academic levels such as special education inclusion, ESOL, and gifted students.

Cross Creek Elementary School Principal Ashley Lane said that O'Neal is deeply committed to the field of education and to the noble profession of teaching.

Lane said, “Ms. O'Neal has a true heart for teaching.  She embraces the profession and dedicates her time and attention to the needs of her students.  She often states that her students are her heart.”

O’Neal said that from the moment she stepped into the classroom, she knew that teaching was her true passion.

Thomas County first grader Madalyn Morris won 1st place for the Southwest Georgia Region in the Young Georgia Authors writing competition for her story entitled "My Dog Island Adventure." The purpose of the Young Georgia Authors (YGA) writing competition is to encourage students to develop enthusiasm for and expertise in their writing, to provide a context to celebrate their writing successes, and to recognize student achievement in arts and academics.

Thomas County first and second graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School each recently received their own hardback copy of “Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea” by author and illustrator Dav Pilkey. 

Pilkey donated 25,000 copies of the millionth book donated to the “If You Give a Child a Book” literacy initiative funded by the Scripps Howard Fund. Copies of the book are being given to every student in the Fund’s 77 partner Title 1 schools across the country. 

Starting back at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year, Principal Amy Tyson was informed that Garrison-Pilcher would be included in the generous literacy initiative that has been committed to putting books in the hands of children across the country since 2016.  Donations from local businesses and citizens in the Thomas County area were included in the seventh annual childhood literacy campaign which provided 200,000 books for kids across the country.

The main benefit that was anticipated from the program was a Scholastic Book Fair set up at no cost to the school in January 2023 in which each child in the school was gifted three books.  The added bonus gift of the highly anticipated graphic novel from Pilkey was icing on the cake!

Thomas County first and second graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School are recognized for outstanding behavior attributes on a monthly basis.  Homeroom teachers selected one child per class that exemplified the character trait for March:  courage.  These March Character Kids represent what “courage” looks like each and every day.  Pictured:  (first row) Cayden Groves, Caleb Fletcher, Ariel Tyson, Mac Trammel, Malaki Williams, Harbor Wilson, Winter Olguin, Johnathan Morgan, Oleg Korchagin, Paisley Reagan; (second row) Grant Brown, Brayden Jones, Luke Bozeman, Kloe Willis, Piper Cordwell, Cannon Creech, Case Wilson, Kendrick Bradshaw, Daniel Lindquist, Ella Palmer, Willow Lane, Piper Edenfield, Carter White; (third row) Ny’Asia Harrison, Brody Milligan, Jase McLeod, Matthias Smith, Donovan Blalock, Jayden Mediate, Alice Kimsey, Jaxon Palmer, Boden Reynolds, Hutch Clark, Aubrey Carter, and Robin Zellers.  Not pictured:  Joemmanuel Baldwin, Jackson Howington, and Demetrius Marshall. 

Do you have a rising first grade student? Curious about what Garrison-Pilcher looks like? Have questions about the schedule? Want to meet your new team of administrators? If any of this is something you would like to know or do, please join us for Rising First Grade Orientation. 

Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School Principal Amy Tyson and science teacher Jessica Duncan show off the initial harvest of radishes from the raised-bed gardens made possible through a $5000 grant from the America’s Farmers Grow Communities program. 

Duncan teaches science to all Garrison-Pilcher students on a rotating specials schedule.  Duncan plans her lessons from a standards-based curriculum, and the new gardens increase the hands-on experiences for the students.

Chasity Hurst is Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School’s 2023-2024 Teacher of the Year.  Hurst was selected through nominations from her teacher colleagues, as well as through an interview process with past Teachers of the Year at the school.

Hurst is known for her humble charm and has been nominated three times during her 17 years as a second grade teacher at Garrison-Pilcher, but each time she declined, admitting that she feels very comfortable talking to students but was uncomfortable talking about herself before a committee.

“Once I did the interview this year, I felt so comfortable and was able to just be myself,” said Hurst. “I definitely feel honored to have been chosen.”

Thomas County first and second graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School are recognized for outstanding behavior attributes on a monthly basis.  Homeroom teachers selected one child per class that exemplified the character trait for January:  kindness.  These February Character Kids represent what “kindness” looks like each and every day.  Pictured:  (first row) Rielle Willis, Wayland Gainey, Anthony Lopez, River Daniels, Carter Bevelheimer, Kenley Collazo, Corbin Wilks, Paislee May, Madison Croker, Thailei Kerbo; (second row) Dominic Rodriguez, Nolan Williams, Harper Daughtry, Bryer Harris, Violet Mares, Ja’Bralon Everett, Kaylen Reid, Hayden Joiner, Rheigan Turner, Cate Collins, Conner McMullen, Ny’Asia Harrison; (third row) Walker Eason, Kye Fye, Ra’Morrion Paytee, Koedah Bowen, Amari Barnes, Addelynn Marsh, Rhiley Esther, Piper Knight, Kyana Coleman, Raelyn Cooper, Blaze Powell, and Katalina Forgille.  Not pictured:  Jailey Green, Daniel Griffin, Heaven Johnson, and Emanuel Lara.  

Thomas County first and second graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School are recognized for outstanding behavior attributes on a monthly basis.  Homeroom teachers selected one child per class that exemplified the character trait for January:  honesty.  These January Character Kids represent what “honesty” looks like each and every day.  Pictured:  (first row) Aiden mainprize, Pacer Guinn, Raven Swymer, Emma Hurst, Ava Gailey, Robert McSwain, Tristan Barber, Joseph Edwards, Noah Jones, Hootie Sparks; (second row) Mary Grace, Slate Johnson, Benjamin Blodgett, Deiana Hayes, Dawson Younavjak, Cooper Freeman, Piper Tillman, Joshua Matias, Ellie Clay, Alaina Gay, Cullen Collins; (third row) Nathaniel Phillips, Bella Dawson, Dallas Drew, Nola West, Jonah Player, Wallace Willingham, Piper Hurst, Jaiden Ponder, Daniel Trautman, Sam Carter, and Olivia De La Cruz.  Not pictured:  Cason Mickens, Zailey McLeod, Kev’Yana Proctor, Cohen Wade, and Leland Wickham.

Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School Principal Amy Tyson personally congratulates and distributes t-shirts that say "Un-BEE-lievable Character Kid" each month to students who are selected by their homeroom teachers for their outstanding behavior within a particular character trait.  Tyson also uses positive reinforcement on the morning announcements each day as she uses "Shout Outs" to acknowledge students who have been noticed for exemplary choices in the way that they independently help fellow students, take care of their campus, and work hard on tasks.   

Thomas County Schools produced 19 local winners in the National Garden Club Smokey Bear/Woodsey Owl Poster Contest who will have their posters judged at the regional level in late February. What is now known as the Smokey Bear & Woodsy Owl Poster Contest began as an initiative of the New Mexico State Garden Club in 1959.  In 1994, the contest celebrated Smokey Bear’s 50th birthday under the name of the Smokey Bear & Woodsy Owl Poster Contest. The contest became a national art competition inviting children to draw their interpretation of Smokey Bear and his wildfire prevention message or Woodsy Owl and his conservation message. Today, the Smokey Bear & Woodsy Owl Poster Contest is an annual tradition amongst elementary schools, scout troops, and youth groups across the nation.

Thomas County second graders in LeAnn Roddenberry’s class at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School reaped the benefits of their teacher’s shelling trip to the 10,000 Islands in Florida.

Roddenberry brought back shells that she hand-selected for each of her students:  Olives, Florida Fighting Conchs, and Lightning Whelks. An accompanying lesson included how shells are made, the properties of the shells, and also how to identify them.

“Shelling is one of my favorite hobbies,” said Roddenberry. “It brings me joy to teach my students about these beautiful natural treasures.”

Roddenberry shares her shells and her love of collecting them with children in hopes that it will inspire them to get outdoors, enjoy nature, and put something unique into their hands and homes.

Garrison-Pilcher Elementary produced 5 local winners in the National Garden Club Smokey Bear/Woodsey Owl Poster Contest who will have their posters judged at the regional level in late February.  What is now known as the Smokey Bear & Woodsy Owl Poster Contest began as an initiative of the New Mexico State Garden Club in 1959.  In 1994, the contest celebrated Smokey Bear’s 50th birthday under the name of the Smokey Bear & Woodsy Owl Poster Contest. The contest became a national art competition in which children draw their interpretation of Smokey Bear and his wildfire prevention message or Woodsy Owl and his conservation message. Today, the Smokey Bear & Woodsy Owl Poster Contest is anannual tradition amongst elementary schools, scout troops, and youth groups across the nation (https://gardenclub.org/smokey-bear-woodsy-owl-youth-poster-contest).

 

Garrison Pilcher Elementary School’s vibrant Media Center is even more active than usual as the students are incentivized with “golden tickets” hidden in random books throughout the library.  Once the student finds the ticket in his or her book, the student must read the book 2-3 times and then earn a passing grade on an Accelerated Reader comprehension test. Homeroom teachers sign the ticket and indicate the AR test grade before the student presents it at the Media Center for a treat.  Media Specialist Elexis Griffin places the tickets in books that the students don't tend to check out as often, which helps to expose them to different genres of books.  Second grader Boden Reynolds is pictured with his ticket that boasts a 100% score on his test. 

Thomas County first and second graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School are recognized for outstanding behavior attributes on a monthly basis.  Homeroom teachers selected one child per class that exemplified the character trait for December:  generosity.  These December Character Kids represent what “generosity” looks like each and every day.  Pictured:  (first row) Leyla Rodriguez, Nylah Minjarez, Autumn Davis, Jimmy Simmons, Killian Dorsey, Amelia McIntyre, Blakeley Powers, Journey Jones; (second row) Leilani Jones, Pierre Mills, Lilly Hutchinson, Khloe Christopher, Oliver Brown, Ryleigh Gooden, Brayden Todd, Layla Flinchum, Jade Wallace; (third row) Eli Baker, Kailyn Hodges, Parker VanHeiningen, Karmah Padgett, Thomas Cox, Connor Duncan, Stella Scully, Ethan Duck, Aenerys Reid; (fourth row) Xaviana McCoy, Eden Bozeman, Kenyan Mack, Flip Edwards, John Edgerton, Halley Cray, Brooks Frascona, Autumn Powell, Leaunnie Herring, and Mary Grace Cannon.  Not pictured:  Harmonie Swartz and Aiden Mobley. 

The Thomas County Board of Education held its first meeting of the new calendar year Tuesday night. After the invocation, outgoing chair Mark NeSmith declared the positions of chair and vice chair vacant and asked for nominations.

Board member Ken Harper made a motion that Leah Smith be elected chair and that Dan Stewart be elected vice chair. Chris Hayes seconded Harper’s motion.  NeSmith called for any additional nominations. There were no additional nominations, so Smith and Stewart were elected to their respective roles with no dissenting votes.

Smith has been a member of the board since 2018, and this is her first time serving as chair. Smith is a registered nurse at the Thomasville Eye Center. She and her husband, Ben, have two children in the school system.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue representing Thomas County’s students, parents, and taxpayers with my re-election,” Smith said. “As the chair, I’m excited for all of the wonderful things this year holds for our school system. Working alongside Dr. Williams, vice chair Dan Stewart, the other board members, and our staff to channel your voices, I look forward to witnessing Thomas County’s successes.”

An ONLINE registration portal will be active on January 30 and 31st. This live link will be available on this website and on social media for registration. If you need access to a computer, please call Hand-In-Hand at 229-225-3908 and ask for Trish Kearce who will schedule an appointment to assist you in registering your child.  All eligible students signed up for pre-k on January 30 and 31st will be guaranteed a slot. Out-of-district students will be accepted upon approval by the Board of Education.

A link will also be available during online registration to schedule your child’s screening appointment. 

The Thomas County School System recently held the official groundbreaking for a new 122,000 square foot multi-purpose building housed on the Thomas County Central High School campus. The new building, expected to be completed in 2024, will feature a state of the art band facility, new home for the JROTC program, new basketball locker rooms for both girls and boys varsity and junior varsity programs, a full gymnastics and cheerleading gymnasium, football locker rooms for the varsity and junior varsity teams, presentation room, health classrooms, modern weight room, and a full 120 yard indoor practice field for football, soccer, baseball, softball, and golf. The groundbreaking was held to kick off the beginning of Phase I which includes the addition of a new student parking lot which will allow room on the high school campus for the new facility. School board members, community members, and district and school administrative staff were present for the event. 

Parents and Guardians, 

Our first-grade students will be taking the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and Cognitive Abilities Test the week of January 23-27. Please encourage your child to get plenty of rest each night, eat a good breakfast at home or school, and arrive at school each day by 8:00 A.M. Please avoid any sign-outs during the morning hours on these days if at all possible. Testing should be completed each day by noon.  Students with perfect attendance for the week, will receive a special treat on Friday the 27th after testing is completed. 

First Grade Only Testing-Monday-Friday, January 23rd-January 27th

The Winter Break is December 19 - 30, 2022. There is a teacher workday/student holiday on Monday, January 2. We look forward to seeing students back on Tuesday, January 3!

Thomas County first and second graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School are recognized for outstanding behavior attributes on a monthly basis.  Homeroom teachers selected one child per class that exemplified the character word for November:  dependable.  These November Character Kids represented what “dependable” looks like each and every day.  Pictured:  (front) Kinley Williams, Everly Greene, Jessica Garcia, Ah’lari Mitchell, Neriah Wyche, Ella Melton, Braylen Daniels, Kameron Barber, Trenton Smith, Sam Beaty, Iyana McCoy, Maddison Reddick, and Kam Scott; (middle) Ava Bostick, Sam Kantner, Alizabeth Gillis, Duchess Sankey, Aurora Brue, Casey Pittman, Braxton Lindsay, Payten Blackburn, Jackson Dalton, Autumn Beltran, and Cissy Esra; (back) A’Laysia Wynn, Victoria Torres, Tommie Milner, Zachary Dunn, Klyde Godwin, Layla Smith, Nicholas Zambrano, Khalea Cooper, Kaylee Rankin, Delilah Woodcock, and Jake Boyett.  Not pictured:  Ethan Nissley and Ella Stallings. 

Thomas County first and second graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School won top honors in the local Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Junior Citizens Contest themed: “The 200th Anniversary of the Santa Fe Trail:  Moving Stars and Stripes Westward.”  First place winners at the local level will be submitted in progression for the state, southeastern region, and national levels of competition for banner, stamp design, and poster.

Thomas County first graders in Lynn Burton’s class at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary extended their understanding of texts by using pumpkins to create 3D caricatures based on characters in their favorite pieces of literature.  Creations are on display in the media center throughout the month of November.

Parker VanHeiningen shows off his mustached pumpkin and colorful trees from The Lorax by Dr. Seuss.  

Gracen Rose Warren’s display not only features the lovable character Wilbur the pig, it also includes one of Charlotte’s web creations that states “Some Pig” from E.B. White’s beloved novel Charlotte’s Web.         

Saviyon Boykins’s pumpkin cleverly resembles the canine main character in Goldie by Ellen Mills. 

Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School is decorating Christmas trees with a purpose with a reading tree in the Media Center and a giving tree in the front office.

Students are decorating the reading tree in the Media Center by designing ornaments with the title of a book that they have read, a drawing from the story, and a detail that makes that book a favorite.  The reading tree has become a vehicle for giving, too.  The number of ornaments completed by students quickly grew beyond the tree and are hanging on all of the windows of the Media Center. 

Media Center Paraprofessional Rachel Roberts said that students who come into the library who are unsure of what book to check out are looking at the ornaments for ideas. 

“They look at the drawings and the reasons why other students liked the books, and that helps them choose a book to read,” said Roberts. 

A new tradition has started with a blue and gold decorated tree displaying the school’s Yellow Jacket spirit, but also to include numbered tags that each represent an anonymous child in the school. Each child has four tags on the tree, and they will receive four gifts:  an outfit, a blanket, and two toys. The children were chosen based on those in need by the administration.

On the Monday after Thanksgiving, the tree was full with 72 tags.  Parents, staff members, community members, and teachers were asked to give back by choosing a child.  All 72 tags were claimed by the end of the first week.

"It was our hope that by the end of the week, The Giving Tree would be empty," said Principal Amy Tyson.  "Since it was, then that means we will have filled the hearts of the children of our school with the Christmas Spirit."

Thomas County second graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School participate in meaningful learning experiences outside of the classroom. Lynn Burton’s students extended their learning about life cycles and the migration of the monarch butterfly after their unit that focused on the book Journey of a Butterfly.

St. Mark's Wildlife Refuge is a great place to witness the butterflies’ migration in their natural habitat during October and November.  Just this past summer, the monarch butterfly was officially designated as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Scientists estimate that the species' population has dropped between 20% and 90% over the last several decades.

Other species of butterflies and wildflowers were observed by the students and parents using their guides from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Florida Game and Wildlife officers, along with the parent chaperones, extended the learning by playing a game with the students to experience how monarchs have to survive each stage of their life cycle to make their migration. Each started as an egg and ended up as a beautiful monarch butterfly. The students did not realize the multitude of obstacles that butterflies have to overcome.

“It is important to connect kids to nature and inspire them to learn more about the world around them,” said Burton.  

It was the first time that some of the students have seen the ocean and explored the small beaches just south of Thomasville.  The students loved seeing the butterflies, other animals, and sea creatures that live in the saltwater marshes. Fiddler crabs were also a class favorite.

“I would have to say that seeing my students learning new things is always my favorite!” added Burton.

Calling all Santa’s helpers: Thomas County Central High School’s Shop With A Yellow Jacket, or SWAYJ, annual charity event is almost here. 

Always held in mid-December, SWAYJ assists Thomas County Schools pupils whose families could use a helping hand during the holiday season. 

“TCCHS is committed to improving the lives of its students and members of the Thomas County community,” assistant principal Levi Williams said. “The holidays can be an especially difficult time for many of our families and students. The mission for SWAYJ is to share a little holiday cheer and to reinforce the belief that helping and caring for one another is how we grow as a community.” 

Teams of TCCHS students raise funds to take an elementary-age pupil Christmas shopping at Walmart. But it’s not a spree for themselves.

“Instead, the gifts they purchase are for their family members, further spreading the spirit of giving during the holiday season,” Williams said.

Senior Bhumin Patel knows how special SWAYJ is because he’s participated before and plans to do so again this year. He started because he wanted to do something nice for someone else.

Patel recalls his favorite part of the experience as seeing the smile on his group’s little shopper’s face after finding a specific toy.

Thomas County first and second graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School are recognized for outstanding behavior attributes on a monthly basis.  Homeroom teachers selected one child per class that exemplified the character word for October:  self-control.  These October Character Kids represented what “self-control” looks like each and every day.  Pictured:  (front) Atticus Mintz, Ava Lamon, Celeni Rodriquez, Gabby Brown, Kash Gipson, Jaceon Gosier, Gaspar Escobar Marcos, Londyn Johnson, Geraldine Hernandez-Fuentes, (middle) Mason Stephens, Dontre’vion Wallace, A’Zayden Mash, Anthony Freeman, Korie McCutchen, JoyAnna Rossi, Lucy Legeai, Riley Jones, Raed Barakat, Jazmin Mejia, Henry Le (back) Carson Marsh, Rhett Payson, Eiyani Brooks, Lateria Hollis, Richie “Keegan” Jones, Messiah Thomas, Jaxon Hurst, Allison Parramore, Jayce Davis, Lyrik Gilbreath, Royalty Wyche, Trey Forgille, Wyatt Harvey, and support teacher Tammy Mills.  Not pictured:  Marcus Walden, Avery Barber, Sariyah Veney, Charley Adams, and Kaleb Kelson. 

Thomas County first and second graders visit the Garrison-Pilcher Media Center regularly to check out books, enjoy read-alouds, and engage in interactive makerspace sessions.  A recent session revolved around the standards of nonfiction text features, force and motion, and life cycles.

Media Specialist Elexis Griffin began her lesson by comparing a non-fiction and a fiction book about pumpkins. Students were able to identify the general differences between the two types of text and then specifically discuss the text features that can be found in non-fiction books and how those help the reader understand the text. Griffin presented a timeline of how a pumpkin grows as well as a diagram of a pumpkin life cycle.  The comparison was extended with the reading of a fiction book called 10 Spooky Pumpkins, and Griffin acting out the story with her students.

Thomas County first and second graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School are encouraged to read books of their own choosing through celebrations, accountabilities, and incentive programs.  On a monthly basis, students can see short-term rewards by cashing in Wee Bee Bucks at the AR (Accelerated Reader) Store.  Information was shared about the AR Store with parents to encourage their students to read books at night, help them read if needed, and remind them to take their tests daily. Students can decide to save up their Wee Bee Bucks for something big, or they can cash in during each AR Store monthly visit.  Some students didn’t get to shop the first time, but the desire to earn Wee Bee Bucks has already proven to be an incentive that is persuading students to make reading a priority.  Pictured:  Riley Jones, Eli Baker, and Alizabeth Gillis peruse options while Parent Involvement Coordinator Misty Taylor helps guide Owen Brown at the first AR Store event at the beginning of October.  

Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School’s annual Reading Rally during the week before Fall Break boosts enthusiasm about reading and presents an opportunity for young Yellow Jackets to positively interact with high school students in the district. 

 
First and second graders at the school are regularly celebrated for their reading victories with Accelerated Reading Parties and shopping at the AR Store with Wee Bee Bucks, and a return of the outdoor, interactive Reading Rally after the restrictions of COVID over the last two years was welcome.  

“This is a tradition that was started before I arrived, and I wanted to keep the tradition going,” said Elexis Griffin Garrison-Pilcher Media Specialist. “It is such a fun time that promotes reading and literacy for our students and staff.”

Thomas County first and second graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School are recognized for outstanding displays of character.  The focus for September was RESPECT. Each morning, the students hear Principal Amy Tyson recite the Three Bees:  be responsible, be respectful, and be ready to learn. Homeroom teachers select one student per month that exemplifies the character trait focus. 

These September Character Kids represented what “respectful” looks like each and every day.  Pictured:  (front) Carmen Patterson, Ava Witherspoon, Axyl Stocker, Tyson Gibson, Haley Hall, Jayce Clark, Taliyah Brown, Jax Wilson, Carolina Jacob-Tomas, Addilyn Roberts, Lyla McEntire, Mason Williams, Camdon Abrams, Paisley Holt, Jh’Asia Gosier, Maddox McMillan, Lelu Hynote, and MacKenzie Kreznar (back) Daniel Haggins, Sawyer Mintz, Wilder Howard, Jorge Lopez, Ally Pilkinton, Sidney Argo, Amira Carter, Aubrey Baillargeon, A’Niyjah McLemore, Kalani Wade, Conner Chastain, Mason Gay, Addelyn Marsh, Paris Bryant, Kingston Samuel, Hannah Joiner, Andi Smith, De’Marion Newkirk, and Janali Garlin. Not pictured:  Jewelliaunna Brown.   

Thomas County first and second graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School are recognized for outstanding attributes on a monthly basis.  Homeroom teachers selected one child per class that exemplified the character word for August:  responsible.  These August Character Kids represented what “responsible” looks like each and every day.  Pictured:  (first row) Anna Poole, Leland Arthurs, Madalyn Morris, Somer Goskey, Carsyn Collins, Hollyn Hurst, Konner Lewis; (second row) Messiah Revill, Alexander Asbell, Issac Gonzalez, Bre Clark, Paloma Lara, Ruben McGowan, Emery Colvin, Ah'Zilah Roberts, Mabrey West; (third row) Angeliyah Wells, Corey Thompson, Abel Perez Lopez, Knox Norton, Camden Wood, Kyra Bullard, Pierrah Mills, Kaity Hodges, Carly Singletary; (fourth row) Trinity Davis, Leilani Hernandez, Kellan Morris, Lilly Bramblett, Samual Prosser, Dallas Parmer, Serenity Suber, Andrew Copeland, Davis Lipsey, Gunnar Hurst.  Not pictured:  Lilly Cannon, Rebekah Sholar, and Ka'mari Darden.

Thomas County first graders in Laura Mathis’s class at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School Mrs. Mathis’s have been learning about weather tools and created their own wind socks. They learned the term “wind sock” and how to use it to determine if the wind is blowing a lot, a little, or none at all. Students took their windsocks outside to test them out. The class determined that it was not a windy day but a cloudy day with a slight breeze. The budding scientists also learned about "artificial wind" caused by things such as a fan or running around. 

“The students can build on this experience in the future by learning more about weather and wind and specifically learning how to accurately read a real-life windsock,” said Mathis. “The kids loved being able to take their learning outside and see their weather tool work in real life.”

Thomas County first graders in Jill Grimes's class at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School were so excited to have their first Media Center visit.  Classes visit the Media Center weekly to have a story read to them, learn about technology, or to engage in Makerspace hands-on activities. Any other day of the week, there is a steady stream of students in and out of the library checking out books to read and enjoy. Reading is the thing at Garrison-Pilcher and faculty and staff love seeing books in the students’ hands.

Thomas County School Nutrition Director Dr. Lauren Duplantis was recently appointed to serve on the 2022-2023 State School Nutrition Director’s Advisory Council. As a member of the Advisory Council, she will work with other directors, state staff, professional association and industry members to enhance the reach and effectiveness of school nutrition services across Georgia.

Duplantis was asked by State Director of School Nutrition Dr. Linette Dodson and will serve on the council for three years. The majority of the meetings are held virtually, but at least one meeting per year is held in person.

“It is an honor to be chosen to serve on the advisory council for the state, and I look forward to providing input that will not only improve the programs we provide locally, but that also enhances school nutrition services throughout Georgia,” Dr. Duplantis said. “Our mission is to provide quality meals and nutrition education opportunities for students that promote healthy children, ready to learn, and it is exciting to work alongside others in school nutrition who share this passion as well."

The current alignment of the council is with the RESA districts, having one local director from a district in each of the 16 different RESA districts.

State School Superintendent Richard Woods has appointed 16 new parents to serve on his 2022-2023 Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Council (PAC). Danniell Slocumb, a Thomas County Middle School representative on the Thomas County School District’s Parent Advisory Council, was chosen as one of the members.

Slocumb, who is one of only 31 parents serving on the State PAC, was nominated by the Thomas County School District at the beginning of this school year. New members are selected each year by representatives of the Georgia Department of Education based on the applicants’ responses to questions on engaging parents to ensure their children’s success at school and the local school superintendent’s recommendation. Slocumb will serve a two-year term on the council.

Slocumb is actively involved with the Thomas County School System and a supportive member of the community. Having a recently graduated senior and a current seventh grader, Slocumb is well aware of the academic and social supports families can benefit from. She has partnered with the different schools in the Thomas County school district since her first daughter started school 18 years ago.

“I think that being engaged in a constructive way at the school level is the only way to be able to have a voice so that the school has a chance to listen to an outside perspective and then take action accordingly,” Slocumb said.

Thomas County Schools has added two Elementary School Instructional Coach positions for the 2022-23 academic year.  

Jordan Nelms will serve grades pre-kindergarten through first grade and Tanishia Barnhart will serve second grade through fourth grade.  The coaches aim to bridge communication as they connect three schools in the district:  Hand-In-Hand Primary (pre-K & K), Garrison-Pilcher Elementary (1st & 2nd), and Cross Creek Elementary (3rd & 4th).  

Garrison-Pilcher Principal Amy Tyson said that the addition of two Instructional Coaches was prompted by discerning the needs of classroom teachers for curriculum support, lesson planning assistance, and help in delivering data-driven instruction.  

Nelms and Barnhart met with curriculum teams over the summer to get linked with the teachers who serve as leaders in curriculum development.  The coaches are meeting directly with all elementary school teachers on a weekly basis now that the school year has begun.
Tyson was delighted with the selection of Nelms and Barnhart for the two positions.  

Thomas County students at Garrison-Pilcher and Cross Creek Elementary Schools are the lucky beneficiaries of a series of music outreach concerts made possible through a Title IV Student Support and Academic Achievement grant.  The first of four concerts took place on August 31, 2022.

Dr. Boyan Bonev, strings teacher at Cross Creek and Thomas County Middle School, oversees the project that includes a pre and post quiz to assess the knowledge the students glean from each program and to hone how the musicians can improve the delivery of the content. Topics of the first presentation included the label given to a group of string instruments playing together and the identification of individual string instruments.

Dr. Bonev brought a professional orchestral group to play for the students. Students listened to the instruments they possibly have never heard before. The musicians introduced the instruments (violin, viola, cello and double bass) and discussed how they are played and how they sound. Students asked questions and were given an opportunity to hold and play instruments.

“My colleagues and I had a great time playing for the students,” Bonev said.  “This was the first outreach program of our project to expose and engage the students with the performing arts. We are planning on three more featuring chamber music, opera, and ballet/dance in October, February and March.”

Thomas County first and second graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School worked hard during the “Summer Reading Challenge.”  Rising 1st and 2nd grade students were encouraged to continue good literary habits over the summer by reading a minimum of 25 books.  During the first week of school, students presented their logs of books they read and were rewarded with an outside celebration in the school courtyard organized by Media Specialist Elexis Griffin on Friday, August 19, 2022.  

Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the America’s Farmers Grow Communities program.

According to Principal Amy Tyson, the funds will be spent building raised-bed gardens that will be used by the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) “specials” elective classes.   Materials used to build the containers, soil, plants, and tools will all be covered by the grant.  

Garrison-Picher was nominated by 3G Farms of Thomas County.  Trey, Brent, and Pat Griffin of 3G Farms made the nomination in the honor of Charlie Griffin, Jr. who passed away in 2018.  Trey and Brent are the sons of Charlie and Pat, who were married for 40 years.  Charlie farmed his entire life except for the time he served in the United States Army.  The Griffins are fifth generation Thomas County farmers and farm approximately 1500 acres of primarily cotton and peanuts.

STEM teacher Jessica Duncan teaches all Garrison-Pilcher students on a rotating specials schedule.  Duncan plans her lessons from a standards-based curriculum, and the new gardens will increase the hands-on experiences for the students.

“Children love getting their hands dirty," said Duncan. "I think they will love their garden!”

The Thomas County Board of Education has adopted a $65 million general fund budget for the current school year, and to partially fund this budget, approved a tentative rollback millage rate of 12.533 mills for tax year 2022.  The rollback rate is a 9% decrease from the 2021 millage rate of 13.804.

The proposed millage rate marks the tenth year in a row that the county board of education has reduced the school property tax rate. Thomas County School’s 2021 millage rate of 13.804 was the 25th lowest out of 180 school districts that can levy a tax, placing it in the bottom 14% of districts in the state.  The state average school property tax rate for 2021 was 15.88 mills.  Since school districts are in the process of adopting millage rates, comparison rates for 2022 are not yet available, but the school system’s proposed roll back rate is expected to move lower in the state ranking to at least the bottom 10% of the lowest property tax rates in the state.

Property values in the Thomas County School tax district increased 11.7% from 2021, but only 1.5% of the increase is in the form of real building growth. Over 10% of the property value increase was in the form of property reassessments, and by law, the school district is required to roll the millage rate back to yield the same amount of revenue that would have been collected had the reassessments not occurred.  By law, if a rollback is not adopted, the school system must declare a tax increase.  Approximately $11.7 million of local property tax revenue is included in the system’s 2022-2023 budget.

For the eighth time and fourth consecutive year in a row, the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts has recognized the Thomas County School System for Excellence in Financial Management and Reporting.

The Department of Audits created the award program to recognize those entities that are audited annually and go beyond standard financial business practices to be considered “the best of the best.” An award of distinction is presented to organizations that submit quality financial statements and supporting documentation in a timely manner, whose annual financial report is given an unmodified audit opinion and is free of any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses, and comply with all Transparency in Government requirements.

Thomas County School Superintendent Dr. Lisa Williams and Board Chair Mark NeSmith presented the award to Deputy Superintendent for Finance Joey Holland at the July board of education meeting. Upon receipt of the award, Holland gave credit to the staff members in the system’s finance department.

All Thomas County Schools students have access to the TCPLS public library via their student lunch number. This is a completely free public library
card with an added benefit: there are no overdue fines!

Georgia Youth Science & Technology Centers (GYSTC) has recently awarded Garrison-Pilcher science teacher Jessica Duncan with the 2022 Georgia STEM Scholar Award. As part of this special recognition, she will receive a $500 grant to purchase STEM education materials for her classroom, as well as receive free admission to attend the GYSTC Summer STEM Institute. 

Duncan believes that Garrison-Pilcher provides a great foundation for STEM education.

Duncan says, "I am very thankful for the opportunity to expand the resources for the students who will come through my classroom next year and the years to come.”

She also said that the activity mentioned in the award "Slimy Attributes" is a second grade favorite. 

The graduation ceremony will be livestreamed on Saturday, May 21, starting at 9:00 a.m. using the link below:

https://youtu.be/UsLSLY2_xqw

Thomas County School System hosted their first Art Show this Spring. It was a joined effort from all our amazing and talented art teachers. They combined the work of students across our system to put on showcase for parents and the community. You could hear the buzz about the pieces all over the room. So much talent is represented in our school system. 

Ms. Parker-Priest, art teacher at Garrison-Pilcher, said she enjoyed this event and hopes to see more of them in the future. She was thrilled to see the art work from previous students that she taught. Just having all the schools together in one room showcasing their talented students allowed you to see how much they grow. 

Garrison-Pilcher celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week with several goodies from multiple businesses. We appreciate all the donations given from these businesses. Teachers and staff felt appreciated in many ways because of their generosity.

Thank you Ellianos of Thomasville for the great pick me up on May 2nd, Grassroots, thank you for the bags of coffee for all staff members, and Mama's Garage for the biscuits. This was such a treat to start our week off. 

Thomas County first graders in Cyndi Tarin’s class at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary created fraction pizzas as a culminating activity to close out a fractions unit.  Students learned about and discussed dividing whole pieces into different equal amounts. Students used higher order thinking skills (HOTS) to apply their understanding of fractions by choosing to cut "pizzas" in half, fourths, and eighths. They extended their application further by using vocabulary associated with fractions.

Thomas County second graders in Rosalie Wilson’s class at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School integrate history and reading in culminating hands-on projects.  Students made their own “papyrus” and wrote their names in hieroglyphics.  The shared reading unit was a collection of two pieces of literature about ancient Egypt. In the first story, Mummies, students were introduced to the customs of the ancient civilization as a way to build background knowledge. Next, students read The Boxcar Children: Mystery of the Mummy's Curse which is about a group of children who save an exhibit about ancient Egypt at their local museum from strange happenings.

The Thomas County School System is conducting a Parent Survey. We value your opinion and ask that you take the time to complete this survey. Please be assured that your responses to this survey will be anonymous.

The survey is open until April 1. Thank you for your time and valuable feedback!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ParentSurvey21-22

Spanish surveys available upon request.
Encuestas en español disponibles a pedido.

The Thomas County School System announced recent staff promotions and title changes following approval at the February regular board meeting.

Both Dr. Jim Rehberg and Lindsay Thompson are moving from Thomas County Central High School to the district office.

Rehberg is now serving as the Director of Facilities and Operations. Rehberg, who holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership, spent the previous 10 years as a district and school administrator at Thomas County Central High School where he was in charge of testing, academic recognition, and facilities. Prior to that, he worked as a media specialist serving the entire student body and faculty of TCCHS after teaching English literature and computer science.

"There is a direct correlation between a warm, welcoming, and secure atmosphere and student achievement,” Dr. Rehberg said. “The facilities at Thomas County Schools are among the best, and it is a privilege to work alongside the men and women responsible for ensuring our buildings remain a place where all students are safe and happy. We are always looking for ways to make what we have better. I look forward to facilitating the best environment possible for the students of Thomas County Schools."

Rehberg, a 1990 graduate of then Central High School, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at University of Georgia before completing his graduate work at Valdosta State University.
 

Tanishia Barnhart is Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School’s 2022-2023 Teacher of the Year.

Barnhart was selected through nominations from her teacher colleagues as well as through an interview process with past Teachers of the Year at the school.  Barnhart was honored by her selection.

“Classroom teachers work in our own ‘silos’ focused on the needs of our students and our own classrooms, so to be received and noticed by my fellow teachers is humbling and makes me feel honored,” said Barnhart.

Kylene VanHeiningen, previous Teacher of the Year, views Barnhart as a role model for other colleagues.

“Her quiet and respectful disposition earns the respect of her students and all those who are around her,” said VanHeiningen.  

Principal Amy Tyson describes Barnhart as a passionate teacher who comes to work each day to make a difference in the lives of her students.

“All of our students come to school with different learning styles and different needs. Ms. Barnhart identifies each need very quickly and works hard to make sure that need is met for her students. Her patience is one of her highest qualities and it is visible each and every day,” said Tyson.

Barnhart considers the whole child when she plans ways to increase student achievement.
 

Thomas County students, faculty, and staff all joined in a week-long Read Across America celebration that coincides with the beloved author Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Nods to the books “Green Eggs and Ham,” “Fox in Socks,” and “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” fueled themed dress-up days and adventurous changes to the usual lunch menu.  The culminating activity of the week was Friday’s Read-A-Thon.  Children read and were read to for extended periods of time in their classrooms throughout the day.  A goal was set this year for the children to reach 5000 books. Media Specialist Elexis Griffin sweetened the challenge by agreeing to “kiss a pig” if the goal was met.  The students read 6347 books, and Griffin kissed “Willow and Petunia,” two pigs owned by front office administrative assistant Tina Prevatt. The students were thrilled with a video of the fun when they arrived at school the following Monday.
 

Thomas County first graders in Amy Bennett’s class at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School who meet their AR goals are allowed to celebrate by having a picnic lunch with their teacher in the outdoor courtyard area outside of the cafeteria.  Students are also rewarded through visits to the AR Store where items may be purchased according to their number of points earned as well as inclusion in big, school-wide AR Celebrations that occur at the end of every nine weeks. 

Thomas County first and second graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School have been exploring some of the solfege pitches (do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do) and using the xylophones to hear the pitches in Donna Sellars’s Music specials rotation.  Students learn that melodic direction refers to pitches going up, down, or staying the same in repeated notes. The students have been singing simple songs with only three pitches (mi, so, la) in the Quaver Music curriculum.  Sellars additionally selected a familiar song, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” for the students to try to play on the xylophone because it is a well-known song.  Sellars led them with each phrase of the song and had them repeat and added additional parts of the song when they were ready. 

Brrr... It's cold in Thomas County and in Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School Makerspaces last week it was a little chilly, too! First and second graders created ice walls out of marshmallows and sticks and then watched to see if their ice wall could withstand the avalanche/glacier that came through the library. Students activated their prior knowledge about the continent of Antarctica, various types of weather conditions, and states of matter.

A video of Antarctica featured examples of glaciers and ice walls.  To further encourage their thinking about these frigid features students gave their predictions on how the ice walls were formed, what would happen if the ice walls were too thin, and why they think the ice wall would work better if it was thicker. Once the avalanche happened, students had to then tell why they think their ice wall stood up or what they should have done differently if the ice wall fell down. "The entire time the students were completing the activity, they were discussing why they were building the wall a certain way. They were fully engaged and super excited at the end when it was time to test out their creations," said Elexis Griffin Garrison Pilcher Media Specialist.  

Thomas County second graders in Rosalie Wilson’s class at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School engaged in an interdisciplinary learning experience when writing informational reports about cheetahs. Students practiced their technology skills as they worked on revising and editing digitally using Google Docs. After publishing their writing, they graded it themselves using a rubric. A class celebration was the culminating activity where the students snacked on Cheetos and painted pictures of cheetahs to illustrate their informational texts.

Thomas County students at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary learn about the Impressionism art movement in the art portion of their specials rotation.  Claude Monet’s iconic series of paintings from late 1800’s Paris, Water Lilies, was the inspiration for a cut paper collage project in Christ Parker-Priest’s class.

"The Help a Child Smile Dentist Bus is coming to Garrison Pilcher on February 21! Look for permission forms coming home with your students OR you can sign them up by visiting MySchoolDentist.com! Please return permission forms no later than Friday February 18!"

The links below will take you to the registration forms. The forms are not compatible on mobile phones, but computers will be available at HNH and the board office. Please call 229-225-3908 for more information.

Pre-K English Registration Form

Kindergarten English Registration Form

After you register, please click here to schedule the Pre-K & Kindergarten Screener.

de prekínder Formulario de

registro de jardín de infantes

La cita de evaluación de su hijo será el  22 de febrero de 2022. Llame Thais Woods al (229) 516-2080 entre las 10:00 am y las 3:30 pm para registrarse para la evaluación de su estudiante.

Thomas County first grade teacher Bethany Warren of Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School was awarded the Community Foundation Public Education Mini-Grant of $500 this past December for spring 2022 projects. Warren’s students received a class set of “Boogie Boards” which is an alternative to the traditional whiteboard. Students can use the included stylus, a pen, or even a fingernail. There is no need to buy special markers. The boards erase instantly with the push of a button and can be disinfected with any available cleaning product. These boards will be used daily for years to come.

Ten teachers from the Thomas County School System received Community Education Mini-Grants including the following: Hanah Taylor, Hand-In-Hand; Bethany Warren, Garrison-Pilcher; Melissa Artz and Stephanie Wilson, Thomas County Middle School; Farren Burnette, Ashley Finch, and Caitlin Muse, Thomas County Central; Regina Beasley, Bishop Hall; Bill Wilhelm, Renaissance Center; and Gini Billingsley, Pathways.

Teachers in Thomasville City, Thomas County, and Brooks County School Systems were awarded grants of up to $500. A total of $10,500 was awarded in December 2021 to 22 educators across these three school systems.

An ONLINE registration portal will be active on January 31 and February 1. This live link will be available on this website and on social media for registration. If you need access to a computer, please call Hand-In-Hand at 229-225-3908 and ask for Trish Kearce who will schedule an appointment to assist you in registering your child.  All eligible students signed up for pre-k on January 31 and February 1 will be guaranteed a slot. Out-of-district students will be accepted upon approval by the Board of Education.

A link will also be available during online registration to schedule your child’s screening appointment. 

Click here for more information.

Our first-grade students will be taking the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and Cognitive Abilities Test the week of January 24-28.  Please encourage your child to get plenty of rest each night, eat a good breakfast at home or school and arrive at school each day by 8:00 AM.   Please avoid any sign-outs during the morning hours on these days if possible.  Testing should be completed each day by noon.

First Grade Only Testing- Monday-Friday, January 24, 25, 26, 27 & 28

Thomas County first grade teacher Bethany Warren of Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School was awarded the Community Foundation Public Education Mini-Grant of $500 this past December for spring 2022 projects. Warren’s students received a class set of “Boogie Boards” which is an alternative to the traditional whiteboard. Students can use the included stylus, a pen, or even a fingernail. There is no need to buy special markers. The boards erase instantly with the push of a button and can be disinfected with any available cleaning product. These boards will be used daily for years to come!

Nineteen Thomas County students form Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School were winners in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Junior Citizens Contest:  “The 100th Anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier: Rise and Shine for Duty, Honor, and Patriotism.”  The National Daughters of the American Revolution created the Junior American Citizens Committee to promote good citizenship and appreciation of American heritage and history among every school-age child in the United States. The JAC Committee offers contests in art, creative expression, and community service.

A new year brings new beginnings for the Thomas County School System. During a called meeting this morning, the board approved the retirement of Mrs. Trista Jones, along with the recommendation of Mr. Jamie Thompson being named the new Thomas County Central High School principal and Mrs. Ashley Lane being named the new Cross Creek Elementary School principal.

Mrs. Jones has devoted 30 years of her life to our students and system. She will always be a cherished member of our Yellow Jacket family. We congratulate Mrs. Jones on her retirement and thank her for her many years of service to our system.

Congratulations also to Mr. Thompson and Mrs. Lane! They are both excellent leaders who will continue to help our system flourish and excel in their new positions.

Thomas County second graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School participate in meaningful learning experiences outside of the classroom.  Lynn Burton’s second graders extended their learning about life cycles and the migration of the monarch butterfly after their Shared Reading unit that focused on the book Journey of a Butterfly.  St. Mark's Wildlife Refuge is a great place to spot these butterflies in their natural habitat during October and November.  Other species of butterflies and wildflowers were observed using their guides from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

“It is important to connect kids to nature and inspire them to learn more about the world around them,” said Burton.  Burton explained that this was one of the first field trips that this class has been on since kindergarten. It was the first time that some of the students have seen the ocean and explored the small beaches just south of Thomasville.  The students loved seeing the butterflies, other animals, and sea creatures that live in the saltwater marshes. Fiddler crabs were a class favorite.  “I would have to say that seeing my students learning new things is always my favorite!” added Burton.

 
 

Justin Rogers was hired as the Thomas County Central head football coach Friday following the Thomas County Board of Education’s unanimous approval at a morning board meeting.

He will officially begin his duties as the Yellow Jackets’ head coach on January 3 according to Athletic Director Philip Duplantis.

“It is a privilege and honor to be able to serve as the head coach at Thomas County Central,” Rogers said. “I’m super excited to be a part of the Yellow Jacket family and feel passionately about continuing the tradition of excellence.”

December Teacher Spotlight: ~Jammin’ with Jamboard~ Congratulations to 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Rosalie Wilson, the Teacher Spotlight recipient for the month of December. Mrs. Wilson is being recognized for the innovative way she integrates technology in her classroom to keep her students actively engaged in learning! Mrs. Wilson uses Jamboard, an online, interactive whiteboard made by Google, to create jams with her students because it gives everyone in her class a shared space to work collaboratively together. Her students use Jamboard on their Chromebooks as they all collaborate in real time on the jam that is displayed on the viewboard in the classroom. Mrs. Wilson said, "Each day after Shared Reading, our class would collaboratively respond to our shared reading text on Jamboard. We analyzed choices made by the author, characters and events, shared predictions, and practiced presenting text evidence."

Thomas County students at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School are screened in reading and math at the beginning, middle, and the end of the year through benchmark assessments provided by Acadience Learning and Data Management.  Pictured are Reading Interventionists Erin Logue, Desiree Celaya, Donna Corbin, and Joy Clark who make up the “SWAT Team” that systematically screens the entire student body at each benchmark to increase continuity and validity of the reading assessments.  Data from the screeners is used to detect students’ progress and deficits as well as what level of need is appropriate within the district’s Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) process.  Student progress is additionally monitored throughout the year by classroom teachers and interventionists between the benchmark screeners. 

It's time to kick off our Annual Christmas Giveaway Fundraiser held by our Bee Boosters. We are forever grateful for the many businesses that have donated items for this fundraiser to happen. Be sure to reach out to a student at Garrison-Pilcher for your tickets. They are available for $1.00 each and sales will end on December 10th. 

Thomas County students routinely engage in “Makerspace” enrichment experiences in the Garrison-Pilcher Media Center.  To complete the end of the creepy season of late October, Media Specialist Elexis Griffin began a “Creature Catchers” activity with a lesson about living/non-living things involving spiders. First, the second grade students had to identify the things that would be living on the table. Then, the students drew on the dry-erase surface table what they thought a spider uses to catch its prey.

“This open-ended part of the lesson allowed the students to get their ideas down of what they eventually would make,” said Griffin.  

Thomas County students engaged in a technology-rich activity to focus on the second grade standard that involves classifying objects by their different properties. Budding scientists in Rosalie Wilson and Ann Quick’s class at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School participated in a QR code scavenger hunt. Students scanned QR codes using the camera app on their Chromebooks that led them to images of different objects such as: a bumpy pumpkin, a dog, concrete, a swimming pool, or a doughnut.   They then had to describe the texture of the objects in the photos using descriptive words such as rough, bumpy, soft, prickly, and smooth.  To differentiate among the achievement ranges of their students, Wilson and Quick provided a word bank of descriptive words as well as full encouragement for students to come up with descriptive words of their own.  

“At the beginning, students were a little thrown off because they had never used the camera app before,” said Wilson.  

A return to cool weather and fall traditions comes along with a return to field trips for Thomas County Schools at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School.  Current second graders consist of the group of students who were in kindergarten when the March 2020 COVID-19 shutdown brought an abrupt end to the school year. Along with missing in-person school, the students missed an annual Cheehaw Park kindergarten field trip. The first week after Fall Break, second graders traveled to Aunt Louise's Farm in Monticello, Florida. 

Second grade teacher Blair Hubbard said, “There were several students that had never seen ‘real’ animals-- as they kept calling them!”  Since these students had never experienced an all-day field trip, Hubbard said that her students had questions beforehand like: Where will we eat lunch?  How will we get there?  Students are housed in “pods” of classrooms, making for a small-group feel in the building.  Hubbard’s pod of 6 classes enjoyed rotating through 6 stations at the pumpkin patch:  corn maze, playing in the corn bin, hayride, viewing animals, feeding animals, holding bunnies, and duck races. 

Corn Pic: Graysen Weaver, Nolan Cooper, Kimbreesha Ross, Kailyn Crawford, Tessa Anderson

Ducks: Nolan Cooper, Caleb Bell with Ann Quick

Class Pic:  Graysen Weaver, Laynee Stewart, Bryce Burdon, Hailey Widerman, Katelyn Davis, Landyn Hemby, Kaylee Mash, Blair Hubbard, Peyton Harper, Sutton Warren, Kimbreesha Ross, CJ Newkirk, Nolan Cooper, Bray Broadway, Tessa Anderson, Thomas County Central High School Early Childhood Education intern Emily Hobbs, Kailyn Crawford, Ann Quick, Kailan Hadley, and Caleb Bell.

Thomas County first and second graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School are encouraged to read books of their own choosing through celebrations, accountabilities, and incentive programs.

To kick off the 2021-22 Accelerated Reader academic year, students participated in an annual “Reading Rally.”  COVID restrictions limiting large group gatherings and travel between the Thomas County Central High School and Garrison-Pilcher Elementary caused students to celebrate a little differently this year. Students visited the media center with their homeroom classes and received a children’s book autographed by various TCCHS football players along with a snack bag to enjoy during the virtual reading rally they would watch afterwards in their classrooms. Media Specialist Elexis Griffin and library support teacher Victoria Crosby ramped up the excitement by ringing bells and cheering on the kids in advance of their hard work.

Thomas County first graders in Tanishia Barnhart's class at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School manipulated Q-tips to demonstrate the use of tally marks to count in math! During the number sense unit, students used their tactile learning abilities to group tallies by 5.  Young learners explored how simple items can be used as math tools.  Barnhart’s students’  learning chant, “After 4, shut the door,” helps them to remember that the fifth tally is placed diagonally on a group of 4 tallies as a visual to close out the total group of 5.

Barnhart said, “Students were able to grasp this concept with more confidence and ease when using the Q-tips as opposed to just using traditional pencil and paper.” They were given a dictated number and were required to work with their partners in formulating the number using tallies. As a partnered activity, students were engaged in accountable talk and collaborative processing.  After grouping, students extended their understanding by orally counting by fives. This skill helps students increase their development in counting and cardinality which is a prerequisite skill in 1st grade.

Thomas County second-graders in Jessica Duncan’s exploratory science class at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School learned about the phases of the moon during the “Patterns in Day and Night Unit” that is part of the homeroom science curriculum.  Using Oreo cookies, students engaged in a hands-on educational activity that was not only fun but also tasty! Students used repetition by creating the moon phases with the icing on the cookie and then copied the contrasting shapes onto a graphic organizer. While the cookie is the fun part, the graphic organizer is a daily grade that the homeroom teachers may apply towards the students’ science grades. Duncan plans activities based on what the homeroom teachers are teaching in their 30 minute science lessons they teach 2 - 3 days a week. The students take formal assessments in their homeroom classes.  All first and second graders at Garrison-Pilcher participate in a rotation of “Specials” classes consisting of music, physical education, health, art, and science.  

Trinity Davis and James Rosier.

Warren Pierce, Jax White and Gabby Hopkins.

This week students at Garrison-Pilcher are learning all about bus safety. They took a short ride around the block and went over some rules of how we should/shouldn't act on the bus. This was beneficial for field trips and daily bus rides. We appreciate all our bus drivers for always keeping our students safe. Students Pictured: Ashten Baker, Coleson Braswell, Micah Thomas, and Skylar Pinkins

Several of our students recently participated in a postcard contest sponsored by the President Jimmy Carter National Historical Park and Plains Festival.

The theme of the postcard contest was: History in a Nutshell-Plains, Peanuts, and a President. There were 1, 986 entries in this statewide contest.

Garrison-Pilcher Elementary school has three winners:

1st Grade-First Place winner.....Aurora Brue

2nd Grade-First Place winner.....Isla Farlow

2nd Grade-Third Place winner....Jayceon Glenn

We are so very proud of these students.

Second grade students enjoyed the Valdosta Symphony, featuring the Marimba. They were able to have the full experience while enjoying the program titled "Reflection." 

This summer students had a reading challenge to keep their skills fresh while out of school. Congrats to all the students for reading throughout the summer and keeping that brain sharp. Kiss your brain! The students below won a gift certificate to the Book Fair this week. Listed from left to right: Kingston Samuel, Laynee Exum, T.J. Perkins, and Ivey Clapper. 

The Thomas County School System decided to "GO GOLD" in September which was Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Faculty, staff and students wore gold or yellow on Friday, September 3, to share awareness and show support for kids and families impacted by childhood cancer. Each school in the system also participated in Caps for CURE by paying one dollar to wear a hat on Friday. Thomas County Schools raised a total of $2,125.68. The money raised was donated to CURE Childhood Cancer. Sharon Johnson visited the school system recently to accept the check on behalf of CURE. 

First graders in Cyndi Tarin’s class at Garrison-Pilcher made windsocks as a culminating activity of a two week unit that focused on weather, seasons, and tools used to measure weather. Students visited one of many outdoor learning areas at Garrison-Pilcher to use the windsocks to determine the direction that the wind was blowing.

The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) awarded the Thomas County School System $3,754,352 over four years to advance literacy efforts. During this second round of Literacy for Learning, Living, and Leading in Georgia (L4GA),  grants were awarded to 23 school districts totaling $22,101,554. 

Curriculum Director Robin Cartright “We are excited to again be awarded the L4GA grant as it allows us to provide literacy opportunities to our students and to our community. Through previous grant awards, we have implemented literacy initiatives and provided books and other texts that have led to stronger readers, and I have no doubt this will continue with the current grant award.”

Dr. Lisa Williams, Superintendent of Thomas County Schools stated, “I commend the extraordinary collaboration among our district and school level faculty in preparing the grant. It’s because of their exceptional teamwork that our system was awarded the L4GA literacy grant. The funds received from the grant will go a long way in helping our system to continue its focus on overall literacy improvement."

As a recipient of the Literacy for Learning, Living, and Leading in Georgia (L4GA) grant, Thomas County Schools will focus on creating plans for children from birth to 12th grade. Additionally, the school will partner with the community to support early literacy for all local children.

In July, the Thomas County School Board approved administrative personnel changes for the new school year upon the recommendation of Superintendent Dr. Lisa Williams.

Brecca Pope has been named Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services. In her new role, she will continue to support the district with a primary focus on human resources.  

Pope has worked with the Thomas County School System since 1999.  She served in Thomas County as a Speech Language Pathologist at Cross Creek, as assistant principal at Hand-In-Hand Primary School, and as assistant principal at Cross Creek before joining the district office administrative team. Pope is currently working on her doctorate degree in educational leadership.

The Thomas County Board of Education has tentatively approved a rollback millage rate of 13.804 mills for 2021, a 2.4% reduction from the 2020 millage rate.

The proposed millage rate marks the ninth year in a row that the county board of education has reduced the school property tax rate. Thomas County School’s 2020 millage rate of 14.139 was the 34th lowest out of 180 school districts that can levy a tax, placing it in the bottom 19% of districts in the state.  The state average school property tax rate for 2020 was 16.14 mills.  Since school districts are in the process of adopting millage rates, comparison rates for 2021 are not yet available, but the school system’s proposed roll back rate is expected to once again be among the lowest property tax rates in the state.

When: Monday, September 20th-Friday, September 24th

Where: GP Library/Online

https://www.scholastic.com/bf/garrisonpilcherelemschool

We are so excited to host a Virtual Grandparent's Day this year. Our second grade students have a special presentation planned out for their grandparent's on September 22nd. Please be on the look out for more information on this event. 

We are so excited to host a Virtual Grandparent's Day this year. Our first grade students have a special presentation planned out for their grandparent's on September 21st. Please be on the look out for more information on this event. 

Second grade students will have picture day on September 15th. Please send money in by then in order to purchase pictures. 

First grade students will have picture day on September 14th. Please send money in by then in order to purchase pictures. 

PINES Library Access for Youth (PLAY) is brought to you through a collaboration between the Thomas County School System, Georgia Library PINES, and the Thomas County Public Library System. 

Thomas County School System student ID numbers will now act as a library card number for your public library! The public library provides free access to books and online resources to help your child succeed in school, as well as fun resources that help develop a lifelong love of reading.

Click below for more information.

PLAY - PINES Library Access for Youth

Join us for the TCCHS Cheer for Kids' Clinic! The Thomas County cheerleaders will travel to your school to teach you chants and jumps so that you may cheer during pre-game festivities for our September 3 home game (a parent or guardian must be in attendance at the game with his/her child). Campers, only attend the clinic offered at your school.

Please click on the link below for more details and to access the form: 

TCCHS Cheer for Kids' Clinic

Welcome Back-to-School Letter from the Superintendent 

Back-to-School Information 

The Thomas County School System wants students to READ this summer!  Did you know that students can have up to a 2-3 month loss in reading ability over the summer?  It's important for students to spend time sharpening their reading skills!

Each school has developed a summer reading challenge for students.  We would like for students to read for 15-30 minutes everyday this summer. The guidelines and requirements vary by school.  Please click the link below for more information about each school's guidelines and a list of eBook resources.  If you need more information, please talk to the media specialist at your school.  The guidelines are for the school the students will be attending in the 2022-2023 school year.

Summer Reading Challenge Website

The School-Based Health Center, located at the Thomas County Middle School, has released the summer schedule. There are some days and weeks when the center is open, but not for sick visits. During those times, there will be no provider on site so only COVID tests and vaccines will be administered. Call 229-227-2936 for questions or appointments.

Congratulations to all our DAR winners, these students worked so hard and many made it to state and nationals.

Winners (DAR-JAC Art Contest)

Banner Group 1 (1st Place in Local, State, Southeast District, and National)

Jane Nestale, Ethan Thompson, James (JB) Lattay, Ladarrius Small

Banner Group 2 (1st Place in Local, State, Southeast District, and National)

Caden Singletary, Kollin Bradshaw, Guthrie Sprague, Preston VanHeiningen

Group 1 Stamp

Ethan Thompson (1st Place in Local, State, Southeast District, and National)

Group 1 Poster

Jane Nestale (1st Place Local, State, and Southeast District, 3rd Place National)

Group 2 Stamp

Guthrie Sprague (1st Place Local, 1st Place State, 2nd Place Southeast District)

Group 2 Poster

Parker Howell (1st Place in Local, State)

Group 2 Poem

Dahlia McRae (1st Place in Local, State, and Southeast District, 2nd Place National)

This week,  our second grade students had a special treat and learned about the string program they can take part in next year at Cross Creek. To say they were captivated is an understatement. There were a lot of fantastic questions being asked about the program. Be sure to ask your student about this program.

This week Garrison-Pilcher celebrated students that met their AR goals for this nine weeks. With summer coming, please plug your child into a reading program, go check out books at your local library, make fun reading activities for them to do. We want them to continue growing in their love for reading and need your help over the summer to ensure this.

At the regular April meeting, the Thomas County Board of Education accepted Charles Evans' resignation as the District 3 Board representative. According to Evans, his resignation is due to health reasons that have made it difficult to continue in his role.

For his more than 14 years of service as a board member to the children of Thomas County, Evans was honored during the meeting with a certificate of appreciation and a personalized clock showing his years of service and support to the school system.

“Serving on the board has been one of the greatest experiences in my life,” Evans said. “It has been such a part of my life that I will miss tremendously."

Superintendent Dr. Lisa Williams said, “The school system is very appreciative of Mr. Evans for his more than 14 years of faithful, dedicated service as a board member to the children of Thomas County. We greatly appreciate all the many ways that he has helped support our students and system. He has served District 3 and the Thomas County community well and even though his time as a board member has ended, he will forever be a member of our Yellow Jacket family.”

The Board also approved the appointment of Ken Harper to fill the vacant District 3 board seat for the remainder of the current term.
 

Our Spring Book Fair kicks off April 19 and will go until April 23. While parents are not allowed to attend, we wanted to share this video with you so you have an idea of what's available. Your child's teacher has signed up for a time for them to shop, please check your communication logs for this information. 

The Thomas County School System is pleased to offer three camp sessions this summer for students interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics!  There is NO COST for these camps.  Click here for more information and the registration link.

The Thomas County School System recently held the spring Parent Advisory Council meeting. Superintendent Dr. Lisa Williams presented an overview of the systems’ plans for Federal CARES and funding and reviewed projects planned for successful E-SPLOST V funding. Assistive Technology Technician Alison Parker provided an update on the assistive technology resources and supports provided by the school system. Dr. Bob Dechman, Assistant Superintendent for Federal Programs and Accountability, presented the system’s policy on Family Engagement and asked participants to complete a survey to provide suggestions for plan revision. Each school principal reviewed progress on their School Improvement Plans to date and asked parents to complete a survey to make suggestions for next year’s plan.

We invite you to watch the recording of the meeting and provide your input as well. If you have questions or input, you may contact Dr. Bob Dechman by email bdechman@tcjackets.net or contact the parent involvement coordinator at your child’s school.

ZOOM Meeting Recording

You may also share your input by completing the following surveys:

District Family Engagement Policy: https://forms.gle/9cJp73gXCBqK4L8C6

School SIP survey: https://forms.gle/M6yXUwZSEZRVtLk96

The Thomas County Central High School Lady Jackets will be holding a softball camp June 1 - 3, 2021. The camp is open to children currently in grades 2 - 8. Campers will learn hitting, bunting, base-running, throwing, fielding, pitching, and catching fundamentals. The registration deadline is May 21. Click on the link below to access the form:

2021 Lady Jacket Softball Camp Form

Two Garrison-Pilcher Elementary students have been selected as winners for the 2021 Young Georgia Authors Writing Competition for the Southwest GA RESA District.

This is a reminder that Friday, March 26, is a teacher workday. There will be no school for students!

Our Spring Book Fair is right around the corner and we are so excited. With Covid, we cannot allow parents/volunteers in the building. Your child's teacher will sign up for a time to shop. Remember that a portion of proceeds go back into our school library. Mrs. Griffin uses these funds to purchase new books for our ever growing library. 

Each year Mrs. Webb typically has a class pet to encourage collaboration of the students and to expose them to the needs of living things. Since Covid has been such a major issue, that has restricted hands on collaboration so by adopting the calf, we are still able to learn about what living things need. In addition, the process encourages growth and responsibility as we track the health and well being of the calf through the host dairy farm. Throughout the experience, we receive updates on how our calf is growing. In fact, April or May we will have the opportunity to video chat with our calf. This is of course a part of our Science standard related to the needs of living things as well as our Social Studies standard related to producers and consumers. In the process, we will discuss how the dairy cow is a producer of milk and how we as consumers benefit from that. The students have fun with it and it's a great way to teach them in the process!

Picture Day is coming soon! First Grade is February 24th and Second Grade is February 25th. 

Parents can Pre-Order Online Now!

Individual & Classroom Group Portrait Information

Classroom Groups-All students will be photographed in the classroom group picture.

Individual Spring Portraits-Individual portraits are purchased on a pre-pay basis.

The student must turn in a printed copy of the online order receipt, or their envelope with ordering information and payment enclosed to the SWI Photographer on picture day.  Students will not be photographed individually without a pre-order.

Please click below for information on our "Finish Strong" plan:
"Finish Strong" Video

Dear Parents and Guardians,

At its February meeting, the Thomas County Board of Education endorsed a series of proposals recommended by the curriculum department to support students and teachers through the second semester of the 2020-2021 school year.

The “Finish Strong” plan calls for the return of more students to in-person learning and aims to reduce the number of teachers who have to simultaneously teach both in-person and on-line classes. To provide time for teachers, counselors, and administrators to plan for these adjustments, three teacher work days have been added to the school calendar.

Many students at Garrison Pilcher recently participated in the DAR Junior American Citizens Contests and won at the local level. The topic this year was “The 400th Anniversary of the Mayflower: Rise and Shine for New Opportunities in a New Land.” The banner winners are: (First Place) Jane Nestale, Ethan Thompson, JB Lattay, L’adarrius Small, Caden Singletary, Kollin Bradshaw, Guthrie Sprague, and Preston Van Heiningen; (Second Place) Brantley Frascona, Erik Garcia, Henry Woods, and Bowen Bennett. The winners for poster are: (First Place) Jane Nestale and Parker Howell; (Second Place) Ethan Thompson and Guthrie Sprague; (Third Place) Ruby McInnis and Kollin Bradshaw; and (Honorable Mention) Brantley Frascona. The winners in the stamp category are: (First Place) Ethan Thompson and Guthrie Sprague; (Second Place) Perry Long and Allison Burke; (Third Place) JB Lattay and Caden Singletary; and (Honorable Mention) Jane Nestale. Poem winners are: (First Place) Dahlia McRae; and (Second Place) Bowen Bennett. Not pictured are JB Lattay and Guthrie Sprague.

Garrison-Pilcher is becoming superheroes against COVID on February 4th! Join us as we show our love to Mrs. Diaz and her family. She is currently in the hospital fighting COVID. All money raised will go to her family.

The Thomas County Board of Education held its first meeting of the new calendar year Tuesday night. After the invocation, outgoing chair Charles Evans declared the positions of chair and vice chair vacant and asked for nominations.

Board member Nancy Hiers made a motion that Kay Streets be elected chair and that Mark NeSmith be elected vice chair. Leah Smith seconded Hiers’ motion.  Evans called for any additional nominations. There were no additional nominations, so Streets and NeSmith were elected to their respective roles with no dissenting votes.

Our Christmas Giveaway would not have been possible without all our business partners. Thank you B. Marie Crafts, Barberitos, Battery Source, Black Oaks Lodge, Chick-Fl-A, City of Thomasville, Clark & Bellamy Attorneys at Law, Cryo Reveal, Ellianos, Factor X Fitness, FunTime Bounce House, Golden Services, Hands & Hearts for Horses, Hubbard's Meat, Hurst Boiler, Imagination Emporium, Ivey Logue Photography, J. Smith Lanier & Co., JB Crumbs, Jonah's, Les Cheveux, Martin's Custom Crafts, Metta Day Spa, Office Support Services, LLC, Petroleum Products, Inc, Ponder's, Publix, Sony's, Sun Rise Farms, Sweet Cacao Chocolate, Thomasville Pediatric Dentistry, TNB, and Walmart. 

• Congratulations to our basket winner and we hope you enjoy your gifts. Relaxation Basket winner was Dasia Mopes of Valdosta, GA, Family Fun Basket Winner was Belinda Bolan of Ochlocknee, GA, Getaway Basket Winner was Amanda Hunsberger of Meigs, GA, and Man Cave Basket Winner was Emily Hotchkiss of Cairo, GA. 

Congratulations to our students in second grade that were the top ticket sellers for our school. Our first runner up winner was Levi Downs out of Mrs. Humphries's class, who sold 280 tickets. Second runner up was James West from Mrs. White's class and Jaxon Godwin from Ms. Jackson's class that both sold 270 tickets. Third runner up was Daniel Howell from Mrs. Drew's class that sold 230 tickets. Our second grade top pod was Pod I with a total of 2516 tickets sold. Thank you guys for all the hard work for our Christmas Giveaway!

Congratulations to our students in first grade that were the top ticket sellers for our school. Our overall winner was Brantlee Majors out of Mrs. McKenzie's class, who sold 615 tickets. Second runner up was Brighton West from Ms. Quick's class that sold 477 tickets. Third runner up was Ellison Niswonger from Mrs. McKenzie's class that sold 170 tickets. Our first grade top pod was Pod F with a total of 2198 tickets sold. Thank you guys for all the hard work for our Christmas Giveaway!

Thomas County Schools is pleased to announce that Joey Holland, SFO, Deputy Superintendent for Finance, has earned the Certified Administrator of School Finance and Operations® (SFO®) by the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO). School business professionals who earn the SFO certification have proven that they have the required knowledge, expertise, and fiscal credibility to lead their school district and effectively manage the district’s finances.

“Even though I’m going into my twentieth year in school finance for Thomas County Schools, I wanted reassurance that I had the knowledge and professional competencies to lead the school district in not only finance, but other areas of school operations,” Holland said.  “I was also eager to find out if my finance and operations knowledge was on par with other school finance officials across the country.”

ASBO International’s SFO certification is an internationally recognized standardized assessment for school business officials.

The Thomas County School system recently held its annual Fall Parent Advisory Council meeting via zoom. Each school was represented by parents and stakeholders. The meeting is designed to inform stakeholders of system initiatives and request feedback on future planning. A link to the recording and follow up survey are posted below and on the Federal Programs page. If you have questions or input, you may contact Dr. Bob Dechman by email bdechman@tcjackets.net or contact the parent involvement coordinator at your child’s school.

Zoom link

Survey link

We celebrated National Parent Involvement Day giving us the opportunity to recognize the many contributions parents and caregivers provide on a daily basis. We appreciate your continued support of our school system!

https://youtu.be/HiFMuwKMsLg

Recently Kona Ice visited Garrison-Pilcher and the students were able to purchase a cool treat. We are thankful for all of our business sponsors and those that go above and beyond to help our school. A portion of the proceeds go back into our school, which helps us purchase the items needed throughout the school year. 

The Thomas County School System decided to "GO GOLD" during the last week of September which was Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Faculty, staff and students wore gold or yellow on Friday, September 25, to share awareness and show support for kids and families impacted by childhood cancer. 

Each school in the system also participated in Caps for CURE by paying one dollar to wear a hat on Friday. Thomas County Schools raised a total of $2,178.61. Each school showed their support by donating the following: Hand-In-Hand, $241.23; Garrison-Pilcher, $412.30; Cross Creek, $634.08; TCMS, $351; TCCHS, $500; and Bishop Hall, $40.

Superintendent Dr. Lisa Williams said, "I am very appreciative of the compassion that our students, staff, and parents have demonstrated in their support of Childhood Cancer Awareness and Research as shown through their actions and contributions. Together, we were able to make a difference for such a worthy cause." 

The money raised was donated to CURE Childhood Cancer. Sharon Johnson and Kathy Pipkin visited the school system recently to accept the check on behalf of CURE. 

“‘Caps for CURE’ was started by my family's friend, Sarah Barr, from Locust Grove," said Johnson. "Her idea to encourage students to raise awareness and funding for childhood cancer continues today.  Sarah fought Ewing’s sarcoma for seven years and passed away just before her 20th birthday. We appreciate the continuing support of ‘Caps for CURE.’”

The Rose City Foundation, associated with Envision Credit Union, recently donated money to Thomas County Schools to buy books for the elementary schools. The foundation donated $1 per student in grades Pre-K through fifth grade with the total being $2,794. Kellie Merck, left, Envision's Georgia Community Development Manager, recently presented the check to Thomas County Schools Superintendent Dr. Lisa Williams.   

Don't forget next week is red ribbon Week! We are so excited and cannot wait to see all our students dressed up throughout the week.

Even COVID can't keep a good Bookfair from coming to Garrison-Pilcher! Even though it will look a lot different, we hope you will still support our school. This year everything will be digital and you can shop at home in your pajamas if you want. Please invite family and friends to purchase as well. Books always make great presents. https://www.scholastic.com/bf/garrisonpilcherelemschool

Here at Thomas County Schools, we appreciate all our parents! Thank you for taking a daily interest in your child’s schoolwork. Since last spring, we have developed closer family-school connections than ever before. Regardless of your child’s instructional model (traditional, remote, virtual) we know our families are all committed to supporting their child’s learning. Please use the link or QR code below to share some pictures or a video of how you support learning at home. We hope to receive pictures/videos from families of all learners, traditional, remote and virtual. The pictures/videos submitted will help us develop our Family Engagement message posted on school system Facebook, webpages, and other forms of promotional media. Thank you again for supporting Thomas County Schools.

https://bit.ly/TC2020ParentDay

Help show your school spirit and support for Childhood Cancer. This Friday, September 25, Thomas County Schools are going GOLD. Wear you best gold colors and help raise awareness. We are also doing our Caps for a CURE on this day. Your child may wear a hat if they bring in $1.00 or more. All proceeds go to our local chapter.

Ayude a mostrar su espíritu escolar y su apoyo al cáncer infantil. Este viernes, 25 de septiembre, las escuelas del condado de Thomas serán GOLD. Use sus mejores colores dorados y ayude a crear conciencia. También estamos haciendo nuestros Caps for a CURE en este día. Su hijo puede usar un sombrero si trae $ 1.00 o más. Todos los ingresos van a nuestro capítulo local.

Reading is vital during these times and we want our students to continue reading everyday! Our Summer reading program has been extended and we hope that ALL our students are participating. Can't wait to see how many books have been read!

It has seemed like this day would never come, but it's getting close. Our faculty and staff are eagerly awaiting the return of students and have been working hard to get rooms prepared and ready for a "different" way of learning. Please take a moment and review the flyer below for our Open House for TRADITIONAL students. Please note the time frames are separated by first letter of your child's last name. We look forward to seeing you.

The renovations are coming along beautifully! We cannot wait to have our students back in the classroom with us remotely and traditionally. Below, you will find information about our upcoming orientation for our REMOTE ONLY students. Your child's remote teacher will be calling to set up an appointment for you to attend. Please DO NOT come unless it is your appointment time. For everyone's safety, face masks are required while in the building.

Due to the delay in the start of this school year, our 20-21 school calendar had to be revised. Please make note of the changes. Fall break has been eliminated, Thanksgiving break was shortened, and the end of the school year has been extended one week with the last day of school on Friday, May 28. We are looking forward to our students starting back to school on Tuesday, September 8, either traditionally, through our remote classrooms, or our virtual school option. We are greatly missing our students and are counting down the days until we are able to see them again soon. Please continue to monitor the system and school websites and social media pages for continued updates.

2020-2021 School Calendar

Dear Thomas County Schools Families,

After many recent discussions with the local and regional health departments regarding Thomas County's current COVID-19 data, along with Archbold's announcements of rising COVID-19 case numbers, and the Governor's announced recommendation for systems to reopen after Labor Day, the start date for pre-planning has been moved to August 17 with students scheduled to return on September 8. The changes in dates will cause some changes to our 20-21 school calendar, which will be shared once it has been revised.

The postponement of school reopening will allow further development of our remote learning plans, computing device deployment for our digital learners, teacher preparation, continued discussions with health and local officials, and to ensure that our families and employees are fully prepared to start school in a successful manner.

We realize that the delay may not be the ideal solution for everyone, but please know that we did not make this decision lightly. The health and wellbeing of all of our students, staff, and families are vitally important to us. We are all eager to get back to traditional learning in our schools because that is where the majority of our students and staff thrive.

Our remote classroom and virtual school options will continue to be available for families who are not ready to have their child return to traditional learning.

Open house dates will be communicated to families through their child's school.

Thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we work to provide the safest learning environment for our students and staff.

Please continue to monitor our district website and social media pages for system updates.

Survey results are in, and parents' voices have been heard so now it's time to choose the best learning opportunity for your student! You will be choosing between the Traditional Option, the Remote Classroom Option or the Virtual School Option. Click below to access a flyer that contains more information and the necessary links such as the Superintendent's Letter, the Registration Form, and Frequently Asked Questions. Please complete the registration form by Friday, July 17.

Time to Make a Choice - Registration Form 

Please call our Buzz Helpline at 229-413-1234 for more information.

6/24/2020

Dear Thomas County Schools Families,

We only have a few weeks before school is scheduled to start back. I realize that this Back to School season is weighing heavily on your minds, as it is ours. Please rest assured that the leadership of our system has been working hard to stay current with agency guidelines related to the safe operation of schools. We are continuing to use the guidelines received from the Georgia Department of Education, Department of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to prepare for the reopening of our schools.  One of the most challenging aspects of this work is that the guidelines and restrictions continue to evolve. We greatly appreciate your patience and understanding during this time as we continue to plan for a safe re-entry for all students and staff.

We are planning for our schools to reopen for in-person instruction for our students as scheduled on August 3rd.

We hope that the majority of our families will feel safe returning to a fairly traditional school setting with health screening and enhanced hygiene measures in place. Thomas County Schools will be implementing additional measures to address COVID-19 concerns and to keep our students and staff as safe as possible within the school environment.

Click on READ MORE to see other options and access survey

The School-Based Health Center on the TCMS campus reopened June 1.  In light of COVID 19, and PCSG’s desire to keep our patients and staff safe, patient appointments will be limited to two per hour.  PSCG is working with the School’s Athletic Director and Archbold Medical Group in providing the community-wide sports physicals (dates to be determined).  If you are unable to make those dates, PCSG will provide sports physicals in the clinic for $10. 

The clinic will be open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday – Friday. In addition to offering in-clinic appointments, PCSG offers telehealth visits.   

To help maintain physical distancing rules, all appointments must be scheduled in advance.  To schedule your appointment, please call  229-227-2936.

For the safety of our patients and staff:

1.      Before entering the clinic everyone must be screened.
2.      Only one person may accompany a minor for a visit.
3.      All patients and accompanying adult must wear a mask.
4.      PCSG staff will be wearing a mask as well as other protective equipment.
5.      PCSG will limit the number of individuals in the clinic at any one time.   

The Thomas County School System wants students to READ this summer!  Did you know that students can have up to a 2-3 month loss in reading ability over the summer?  It's important for students to spend time sharpening their reading skills!

Each school has developed a summer reading challenge for students.  We would like for students to read for 15-30 minutes everyday this summer. The guidelines and requirements vary by school.  Please click the link below for more information about each school's guidelines and a list of eBook resources.  If you need more information, please talk to the media specialist at your school.  The guidelines are for the school the students will be attending in the 2020-2021 school year.

Summer Reading Challenge Website

GARRISON-PILCHER

Chromebook Drop-Off
May 26 - 29 - Hall Road side of Cross Creek
Tuesday, May 26 -  9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 27 - 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Thursday, May 28 - 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Friday, May 29 - 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Yearbook Pick-Up
Wednesday, May 13 – 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. on sidewalk outside PLC

*Teachers have already collected needed work packets & dispersed student belongings. Questions concerning packets should be discussed with teachers.

CROSS CREEK

Chromebook/Work Packet Collection
May 26 - May 29 – Clark Road side
Tuesday, May 26 -  9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 27 - 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Thursday, May 28 - 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Friday, May 29 - 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Because we always want the very best for our students, Thomas County Schools has found a way to provide meals during the month of June. The new program will deliver meals to your doorstep for free. This program is called Emergency Meals-to-You, and students who attend Thomas County Schools are eligible to participate in the program. However, you must enroll your student in the Meals-to-You program in order to have meals shipped to your home during the month of June.

All you have to do is fill out and submit an online form.

Please hurry because the enrollment period ends at midnight on May 18.

Even if you enroll in the Emergency Meals-to-You program, please remember that our local meal distribution will still take place every Wednesday through May 27. 

Thomas County Schools is distributing meals for the week and the weekend. Pick up breakfast and lunch for seven days! Distribution for meals is ONLY on Wednesday of this week. Students no longer have to be present. Visit TCMS from 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. or our various community locations from 11:00 - 12 noon. We are still here for you! Please call the Buzz Helpline at 229-413-1234 for questions or information.

​

SECOND HARVEST PROVIDING MEALS MONDAY & WEDNESDAY

Please don’t forget to stop by Hand-In-Hand tomorrow, Monday, April 6, from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. to pick up meals. Students do NOT have to be present during the meal pick-up. We are very appreciative of Second Harvest’s willingness to help feed our families during spring break.

We will be distributing ready-to-eat meals ONLY on Tuesday & Thursday starting this week (Tuesday, March 31 & Thursday, April 2). NO meals will be distributed during spring break (week of April 6 - 10). Please visit our main location at the Thomas County Middle School during the limited times below. The time for community distribution sites will remain the same.

Meal Distribution Schedule Week of March 30 - April 3

For the week of March 23-27: Meal Boxes (10 meals) are available for distribution on MONDAY ONLY.  A snack and a meal provided by Second Harvest will be available on WEDNESDAY. Our meal distribution sites will remain the same.

Meal Updates:  This week we will only be able to provide the meal boxes containing 5 breakfasts and 5 lunches on Monday (3/23). Please plan to pick up a box with your child(ren) on Monday. We want to ensure that all of our students receive a box of food for the entire week. A snack and a meal provided by Second Harvest will be available on Wednesday. Our meal distribution sites will remain the same.  

See schedule below:

Monday & Wednesday
TCMS - 8:00 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.*
Bus deliveries - 11:00 a.m. - 12 noon
*On Wednesday while supplies last

Please continue to monitor the district’s web page and Facebook daily for important updates. We are here for our families. For assistance, call the Buzz Helpline at 229-413-1234. 

As a result of the school closures due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Thomas County School System plans to distribute items needed to provide instruction to our students in a variety of formats. Chromebooks will be provided  for any student in grades 2-12 who needs a device to complete digital learning assignments. 

A distribution site will be located at each of our schools during the times below:  

Monday, March 16: 1:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 17: 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

As we experience this temporary closing of our school, we hope you find the resources below helpful.

Literacy Workbook for 1st and 2nd Grade

Useful Websites

Parents and Guardians,

The Thomas County School System is working diligently to provide services to your children in order to minimize, as much as possible, disruptions in your child’s education due to the school system closure.

To help us better serve your child, we have developed a short on-line survey.

Please complete the survey at the following link as soon as possible: Thomas County Schools Closure Survey 
Spanish version of survey: Thomas County Schools Encuesta de Necesidades de Cierre

Please continue to check our website and/or Facebook page daily for updates regarding services that will be available to your child during the closure.

The Thomas County School System is in the initial phase of the system's strategic planning process. We value the input of our stakeholders and want to take into consideration the thoughts, ideas, wishes, and dreams of those who are invested in our system. Your input will help establish the system's goals and priorities, which will guide the system over the next five years. If you were unable to attend the Community Engagement Session on Thursday, February 20, to provide your input, please complete the short survey below by 11:45 p.m. on March 5. Thank you for your time, and we greatly appreciate your feedback. 

English survey:    https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CE20-Thomas

Spanish survey:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CE20-Thomas-Spanish

Those who need translation may email Emily Ross eross@tcjackets.net for assistance.

Thomas County Schools will be closed Thursday, February 6, due to the threat of high winds and inclement weather. The safety of our students, teachers, and staff is very important to us.

Having a gymnasium full of students singing “Happy Birthday” to him wasn’t Deputy Donald Franklin’s only surprise Tuesday morning.

The Garrison-Pilcher Elementary school resource officer also was admittedly taken by surprise when he was honored by Sonny’s BBQ as part of the company’s “Random Acts of Barbecue.”

Franklin was nominated by six members of the G-P staff. 

“He didn’t have a clue,” said Garrison-Pilcher Principal Sharonda Wilson. 

The staff lured Franklin to the gym on the pretense that it was a disciplinary assembly. So he got together his notes to speak about safety.

The Thomas County School System is initiating a strategic planning process and invites you to participate! It is vital that we hear from our stakeholders on the future direction of the school district before the plan is developed.

When:  February 20, 2020, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Where:  Thomas County Central High School   

Who:  All Thomas County School System employees, parents, senior citizens, businessmen and women, civic leaders and residents. High school students are also encouraged to attend.

What:  A Community Engagement Session to gather input from parents, citizens, district employees and students. Everyone is invited: parents, all district employees, high school students and community members. No special experience or knowledge is required. We will present information on the district, the strategic planning process and then break into small groups for discussion.

NOTE: Sandwiches and beverages will be served at the event. Please RSVP using the link below to help us plan how much food to prepare.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CommunityEngagementEvent                                                              

Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School saw its College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) scores increase from 2018 to 2019 and was named a Reward School by the Georgia Department of Education. Garrison-Pilcher teachers recently enjoyed a celebration planned in their honor.

"I am extremely proud of our students, teachers, and staff,” Garrison-Pilcher Principal Sharonda Wilson said. “We are dedicated to providing quality educational experiences and opportunities to all of our students. I appreciate our students, parents, teachers, and staff for their hard work, persistence, and love shown to the students of Garrison-Pilcher and Thomas County Schools."

The CCRPI is the state’s measuring stick for Georgia public schools, and does so by weighing certain metrics such as performance on state-mandated assessments and attendance rate. Reward Schools are among the greatest-improving 5% of Title I Schoolwide schools and Title I Targeted Assistance schools. Reward Schools also have to maintain the performance of their economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, and English learners to be recognized.

The Thomas County School System is offering an anxiety seminar entitled, "Beyond Survival: Helping Families Cope with Anxiety." The hour-long seminar will be held in the Thomas County School Board Auditorium on Tuesday, January 14, at 6:00 p.m. 

We hope that each of you had a wonderful break and enjoyed special time with friends and family. We look forward to our staff and students returning next week. As a reminder, Monday, January 6, is a teacher workday and a student holiday. Our students are scheduled to return on Tuesday, January 7. Happy New Year!

Eleven Thomas County students were announced winners of the statewide Fire Safety Contest. They were recognized at the 27th Annual Life, Fire, and Safety Awards luncheon sponsored by the Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner at the Monroe Conference Center in Forsyth, Georgia.

With 72 schools participating from all over the state, Thomas County Schools had four first place winners, three second place winners, and four third place winners. First place winners received a $50 cash prize, a variety of other prizes, and a visit from the fire safety house to his or her school.

Students from Hand-In-Hand Primary, Garrison-Pilcher, Cross Creek, and Thomas County Middle School brought home awards.   

This year’s poster theme was, “Not Every Hero Wears a Cape. Plan and Practice Your Escape.” The Poster Contest is open to grades K through 5 and must focus on fire prevention in the home and reflect the National Fire Protection Association theme.

The essay contest theme titled, “What I Want to Learn and Know About the Fire Safety House,” is broken down into two age groups. The Fire Safety Tips Calendar Contest is designed for grades K through 5, and each essay should consist of at least 75 words. Students in grades 6 through 12 must write an essay of at least 500 words.

After celebrating its 50^th birthday last year, Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School is about to receive a top-to-bottom modernization which will position it to serve Thomas County students for another half-century.

The Thomas County Board of Education has awarded a contract for $7.5 million to CCH Construction, Inc. of Thomasville for the renovation and modernization of Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School.

The project has been in the planning stages for the last five years and is funded through a combination of proceeds from the 2016 ESPLOST program and State Capital Outlay Funds.

Plans and specifications for the project were prepared by SRJ Architects of Albany, Georgia. A request for bids was advertised for four weeks, and bids were received from three contractors as follows: CCH Construction, Inc. of Thomasville, $7,570,136; Quillian Powell Construction of Valdosta, $8,262,000; and SRS, Inc. of Griffin, $8,021,500. The Board of Education awarded the project to the low bidder.

It's National Computer Science Education Week, but in Thomas County, we are proud to have computer science as a part of our curriculum all year long! Cross Creek Elementary School was featured in this video from the Georgia Department of Education about Computational Thinking. Take time to watch this short video!
https://youtu.be/BAxW5vzREr8

Thank you to all our awesome staff and parents for making our family dance a success. Even on a cold rainy night, each of you showed up and danced the night away with us to help raise funds for our needy family. 

Tanisha Barnhart, first grade teacher at Garrison Pilcher Elementary, was recently awarded a classroom grant from Envision Credit Union. Barnhart said she initially thought of applying for the grant while working on a project for her leadership degree. Barnhart plans to use the grant funds for STEM and mathematics projects within her classroom and to increase awareness to all of her students about opportunities provided through engineering and mathematics.   

The Thomas County School System's BEE Partners of the Quarter were recognized for the first nine weeks. These businesses and industries support the school system in so many ways, and their support is very appreciated.
Hand-In-Hand -Dawson Street Baptist Church WMU
Garrison-Pilcher - Barnett's Creek Baptist Church
Cross Creek - Dog World
Thomas County Middle School - McDonalds
Thomas County Central High School - Thomasville Dental Center (Dr. Sanders)
Bishop Hall - Donathan Photography
If a business or industry is interested in partnering with Thomas County Schools, please contact Erin Rehberg for more information. See pictures of our Partners of the Quarter by clicking the link below.

We hope you will make plans to come join us for a night of dancing! Be sure to come dressed in your best 80's attire and ready to have a fun. All money from dance will help us in purchasing Christmas for some of our families. We will have glow necklaces, totally rad shades, slap bracelets, mesh gloves, and more for purchase. 

Hand-In-Hand Primary School is competing for a $2000 Envision grant that will allow the school to further develop their "Beecoming Your Best" program through social and emotional learning. The school made it to the top nine, and we want them to be in the top 3! See details below about voting.

How to Vote:
Share with your family, friends, and coworkers and encourage them to cast their vote. Come back and vote once per day. Voting ends November 11! To vote, visit the link below. Simply click on the video frame or the circular button in the top left corner of the video to select your choice, enter your email at the bottom of the page, then click the "Vote" button.

www.EnvisionCU.com/VOTE   

Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School students recently celebrated their reading victories with a Reading Rally at school.

“This is a tradition that was started before I arrived, and I wanted to keep the tradition going,” said Elexis Griffin, Garrison-Pilcher Media Specialist. “It is such a fun time that promotes reading and literacy for our students and staff.”

Students from Thomas County Central interacted with the younger students in a positive way, the band provided upbeat music, and the athletes and cheerleaders encouraged first and second grade students to read daily, work hard, and take pride in being a Yellow Jacket.

Students got a special treat today thanks to our Local Thomas County Fire Department. Firefighters came to the school to discuss fire safety with our students and showed them what to do if a fire happens in their home. Parents, be sure to ask you child about what they learned today. Do you have a fire and safety plan in place for your family?

Three Garrison-Pilcher Elementary students were winners of the Plains Peanut Festival Postcard Contest sponsored by the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site Education Program. These state winners met President Jimmy Carter last Saturday. Left to right are Abigail Rogers (1st Place), Sumner Sauls (2nd Place), and Preston VanHeiningen (3rd Place).

We are always looking for ways to improve our communication with parents, ways to work together for our students, things to change within our classrooms, and so much more. Would you take a minute to complete the survey below (shouldn't take any longer than 5 minutes) so we can better serve you and your family. https://gshs.gadoe.org/Pages/Parent.aspx

We are so proud of our very own Abigail Carlton out of Mrs. Vicki Warren's class! She recently won first place in the One Book Art Competition on the second grade level. Keep up the great work Abigail and never let your imagination and creativity disappear.

Mrs. McKenzie's class wants to be a blessing and help a fellow classmate by donating can tabs to the Ronald McDonald House. This cause is close to their hearts because their classmates' sister has been fighting cancer. Her big brother was super excited to give his classmates bracelets to show support for Maddie. If you would like to send in tabs to show your support as well, please put them in a bag and put Mrs. McKenzie's name on bag.

Garrison-Pilcher Elementary and Hand-In-Hand teamed up to bridge the gap between home and school. The schools have created a Community Outreach team with the mission to ensure all homes have the resources needed to help their child be successful. The committee hopes to help parents that may not be able to attend school events or workshops by visiting local community libraries. We are thankful for Mr. Reynolds at the Thomasville Library for being so open to the idea as well.  Be sure to come visit with us when we come to your local library. Contact Misty Taylor at Garrison-Pilcher or Mary Dennis at Hand-In-Hand for more information.

A federal grant is providing fresh fruits and vegetables to Thomas County students.

The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) is a federally assisted program that provides all children in participating schools with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the school day. It is an effective and creative way of introducing fresh fruits and vegetables as healthy snack options. The FFVP also encourages schools to develop partnerships at the state and local levels for support in implementing and operating the program.
 

We love our families and students so much that we are coming to a local library near you. We hope you will join us when we are in your area. We will have resources you can use at home, Chromebooks to show you how to check your child's grades, we will read to your children so you have a chance to ask questions, and so much more.

It's that time of year again to stock up on all your reading needs. Garrison-Pilcher's annual Book Fair is coming to town. This year we have the ability to share online shopping with everyone. This helps our school in earning points to get FREE books. Of course with the Book Fair, we also need super volunteers to make it happen. The link below is for you to shop with us and to sign up to volunteer. We hope if you can you will consider helping out. https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/garrisonpilcherelemschool

Art After School is a studio class where students get hands-on art making instruction. Students will use various materials such as watercolor, ceramics and mixed media. Classes are offered for elementary students Tuesdays (grades K - 2 ONLY) and Thursdays (grades 3 - 4 ONLY). Monthly tuition is $35 and limited to 20 students per day.

Art classes will begin September 3. Due to fall and spring breaks, two free makeup days will be offered in December and one in May. All materials for the class are provided. Please be aware that some days students will be working with paint, oil pastels, and clay.

Tuition must be paid at time of registration and at the last class of each month for the following month for students to continue classes. Should your student have an unpaid balance, they will not be able to continue classes. If you have questions, please contact Ms. Young at (229) 225-5050 ext. 126 or cyoung@tcjackets.net.

The deadline to register is August 27. Click on link below for more information!
Art After School flyer

Thomas County School Superintendent Dr. Lisa Williams has appointed Dr. Lauren Duplantis to serve as the district’s health and wellness coordinator.

Duplantis will chair the system’s wellness committee and will help market the school-based health center as an option for parents who do not have a primary-care provider.

The Thomas County School Board has approved administrative personnel changes for the 2019-2020 school year upon the recommendation of Superintendent Dr. Lisa Williams.

Richard Potter has been named principal of the Renaissance Center for Academic and Career Development. The Renaissance Center is Thomas County’s alternative school, serving students in grades 5-12 whose home schools are Thomas County Middle School, Thomas County Central High School, or Bishop Hall Charter School.

Thomas County School Superintendent Dr. Lisa Williams has appointed Michele Dechman instructional coordinator of Bishop Hall Charter School.

Dechman joined the faculty of Thomas County Schools in 1999 where she has taught elementary education, special education, gifted education, and computer coding.  She earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Florida State University and an educational specialist degree from Valdosta State University.
 

In order to recognize the teachers who have gone above and beyond with implementing the effective use of technology in classroom instruction, this year the Thomas County School System named the second annual Digital Learning All-Star Teacher at each school and for the district. Daphney King, a fourth grade teacher Cross Creek Elementary School, was selected as the district winner.

“The Thomas County School System has made a significant investment in technology for our students and teachers as a result of having E-SPLOST funds and receiving other grants," said Erin Rehberg, Digital Learning Coordinator for Thomas County Schools. "It is important to reward those teachers who have used the technology provided to them to effectively transform the learning process in their classrooms.  Not only do all of our Digital Learning All-Star Teachers effectively use technology with their students, they are also known for helping their peers with various technology tools.”

Each school held a nomination process with the winner for each school completing an application in order to compete for the district title. This year, the district winner was awarded a Google Chromebook courtesy of Firefly Computers and will be able to attend an educational technology conference in the fall.  

Enjoy your summer break! Be sure to check out all the amazing Summer tips on our Facebook page @garrisonpilcher and use #GPsummerfun to show us what you are doing this summer. Want to keep up with your friends? Check out our "summer" page and post your memories as well. https://padlet.com/mitaylor4/GPsummerfun

Student Google accounts will be disabled from June 17 - August 2, 2019. If a student needs account access during this time, he or she should complete the form below.   Please allow 24 hours for access to be granted. Student accounts will continue to be monitored for inappropriate usage during the summer months.  Questions should be directed to Erin Rehberg at erehberg@tcjackets.net.

Student Account Request Form

The Thomas County School System wants students to READ this summer!  Did you know that students can have up to a 2-3 month loss in reading ability over the summer?  It's important for students to spend time sharpening their reading skills!

Each school has developed a summer reading challenge for students.  We would like for students to read for 15-30 minutes everyday this summer. The guidelines and requirements vary by school.  Please click the link below for more information about each school's guidelines.  If you need more information, please talk to the media specialist at each school.  The guidelines are for the school the students will be attending in the 2019-2020 school year.

Guidelines for all schools

Click here for information about programs at the Thomas County Public Library this summer!

Free eBooks are provided for all students this summer -- Click here for more information

Tips to avoid the summer reading slump

Congratulations to all of our winners! Continue reading to see more. 

Marnee Stone, 1st grade Teacher at Garrison-Pilcher - "Mrs. Stone is always looking for innovative ways to teach and accelerate her students.  She often shares with me the new and exciting ways her children are learning. She differentiates beyond expectations using technology as an avenue to differentiate and individualize for her unique learners

Thomas County School System officials have named Jill Grimes, first grade teacher at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School, as the District Teacher of the Year.

“Being named Teacher of the Year for the Thomas County School System is such an honor,” Mrs. Grimes said. “I am incredibly grateful to work with the most amazing and supportive colleagues. Our system is composed of phenomenal people on every level. The support of my coworkers, family, and friends is what has shaped me into the educator I am today. To represent our system at state will be a privilege.” 

Grimes has been a teacher for three years with Thomas County Schools. She began her teaching career in Mitchell County in 2008 first as a fifth grade teacher in math, science and social studies, and then as a Pre-K teacher at Mitchell County Elementary School where she taught for eight years.

Due to the threat of high winds and inclement weather, the Thomas County School System will be closed Friday, April 19.

WoodmenLife of Thomasville recently donated disinfecting wipes to Garrison-Pilcher to help fight germs. These are greatly appreciated this time of year. Teachers supplies begin to run low, so this unexpected surprise meant a lot. Thank you WoodmenLife for your donation. 

School systems throughout Southwest Georgia took part in this annual event. This competition allowed students to showcase projects they created using media and digital technology resources. Students shared interactive blogs/posters, digital presentations, websites, documentaries, podcasts and videos they designed this school year. 
 

Children at Garrison-Pilcher will not have to wait until summer to begin harvesting fresh vegetables. An indoor tower garden will make it possible to enjoy fresh vegetables all year long. Mary Beth Donaldson of Diversified Benefits Administrators donated the tower garden to the school.

We are so excited about our Spring Fling Friday, March 22! Get the family and be sure to come join us for cotton candy, Kona Ice, popcorn, games, raffles, and so much more. We have several awesome raffles from Bossman car-wash to family pass at Chehaw Park. You don't want to miss out. Event is from 3:30-6:30 with raffle drawing starting at 5:00. If your business would like to donate, we are still accepting items. Use link below to print out raffle tickets and stop in to pay for them. http://bit.ly/GPspringfling

• $15.00 Gift Card to Diablo's
• 2 tickets to Flint River Quarium
• $200 Voucher to Jumpin' Joe's
• 2 AMC Passes
• 4 Zoo Atlanta tickets
• 2 Georgia Aquarium tickets
• $50 Gift Certificate to Picaboo

“We are grateful to the many, many community volunteers who helped us make this happen, said Misty Taylor, GP’s Parent Volunteer Coordinator. “It was wonderful to see students and adults reading books; it was totally a win-win situation even if we had not met our 8,000 book goal. When a child is reading, a child is learning.” added Taylor.

The Thomas County School System's financial system was recently targeted by criminals who sought to steal funds from a school system account. Security procedures that the school system and its banking partner have in place prevented the loss of any funds. Click on the link below for more information. 

IMPORTANT SECURITY AND PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION NOTIFICATION

In light of the recent news stories concerning hacking on YouTube and other websites that provide children's programming, we urge parents to monitor what their children are viewing by way of Internet connections. The Internet can be a wonderful educational tool, but the online world can also be dangerous. Please protect your children by supervising their Internet exposure.

The Thomas County School System has services that monitor all student web searches, email messages and storage of files for inappropriate or dangerous content. We are diligent in protecting students while they are using accounts and devices provided by the district whether they are at school or off-campus. We urge parents to monitor their students’ use of all Internet connections, especially those that occur outside of the school system’s monitored network.

Please feel free to contact your child’s school or the school district if you ever have concerns about Internet content that your child accesses by way of a school system owned device or connection.

Congratulations to Ms. Grimes on being named Teacher of the Year for Garrison-Pilcher. She is a first grade teacher here and always makes learning fun for her students. We wish you the best of luck and are thankful to have you as part of our family.

Do you have a budding scientist in your family?  Join us for a night filled with fun activities for the whole family.  

Cross Creek Elementary Cafeteria:
Monday, February 25th from 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Garrison-Pilcher Elementary Gymnasium:
Tuesday, February 26th from 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Thomas County Middle School Gymnasium:
Wednesday, February 27th 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM

"Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School raised $9,661 for the Kids Heart Challenge last week.  Students participated in this event to raise money for The American Heart Association.  Xalen James was the overall top student to raise $1,635.00" (Picutred L-R, Coach Lovejoy, Coach Vann, Coach Guyton, Xalen James)

Mark your calendars and be sure to come out for our STEM Night! Several hands on activities for all your budding Scientists and their friends. 

Students in Mrs. Harper's class recently got to participate in a STEM project, while learning all about magnets. Their student teacher Ms. Taylor, from Valdosta State University, had them do a hands on activity to determine what items were magnetic and what ones were not. Student Maggie Hamby said, "She enjoyed the activity and would like to do it again, because it was fun!" The entire class was up moving around, placing magnets all over the room to see what items where magnetic. 

We are so excited to kick off our annual cookie dough fundraiser. The prizes for children are super cute and we know there will be several of them around campus. ALL students selling at least 10 items will get a bonus gift! 

Today all our students and staff #HunkerDownForHarrison our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends. Thank you to everyone in our community that participated in this special occasion. We live in an exceptional area!

Jump Rope For Heart has kicked off!  Please register your child online following the link so they can start getting donations!  JRFH will be February 15th, 2019 from 12:30-2:30 p.m. in the GP gymnasium. All donations go to the American Heart Association!

http://www2.heart.org/site/TR?pg=company&fr_id=3996&company_id=157501

• Also we need snack donations for our Heart Hero chex mix during JRFH....Any type of snack to go in a chex mix. 

 Be a HEART HERO Today!  

Hand-In-Hand Primary School is holding Pre-K and Kindergarten registration for the 2019-2020 school year on Monday, February 4, and Tuesday, February 5, from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. both days. Registration will take place on the Board of Education campus in the Professional Learning Center. For Pre-K, your child must be 4 or 5 years old ON or BEFORE September 1, 2019. All eligible students signed up for Pre-K on these days will be guaranteed a slot. Click on the link below for more information.

Hand-In-Hand Pre-K/K Registration

Check out our local Garrison Pilcher winners of the recent DAR contest. These students will now advance to the state level.

Archbold came for their annual visit this year with some yummy super foods for our stduents. Not only did they bring amazing recipes for them to try, they also had prizes that the students could win. We are thankful for this opportunity to expose our students to foods they may never get exposed to. 

We are so proud of ALL our students and the hard work they are doing for reading. This year we wanted to find a way to show our students just how proud we are of them, so we started our AR Star Readers club, once a student hits a certain amount of books read; their name is added to our wall. We have a 25, 50, 75, and 100 star club. Continue reading with your child so we can have our walls filled with stars at the end of the year!

Garrison-Pilcher has it's ITBS testing for first grade students from Monday, January 28 through Friday, February 1. This week your child needs some extra positive affirmations. Help them do well on the tests by making sure they get plenty of sleep, eat a healthy breakfast (not one full of sugar), and get them to school by 8:00. We want this week to go smooth for everyone! 

Parents, be sure to check your child's book bags tonight. We are sending home a really easy fundraiser, but the catch is it's due back tomorrow! Watch this short video below to see all the cool prizes for both students and teachers. These fundraisers help us with things from attendance incentives to field trips, so we would love to see at least 75-100%

participation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKlp5qpdepY&t=9s

We are pleased to announce that the Thomas County Health Department will be coming to your child's school during the month of January to offer the flu vaccine. There will be no out-of-pocket cost for your child to receive the vaccine given during the school flu clinics. If you would like for your child to get vaccinated at the school flu clinic, please click on the link below for more information and to access the consent form: 

Flu Packet to return by January 15, 2018

Our annual Donuts for Dads was another huge hit. Thank you to all our staff for the help they offered during this event, we appreciate all you do. Ellianos Coffee and KeySouth Realty were our business sponsors for this event and we are honored to have them as partners. We hope that all our dads and dudes enjoyed themselves. If you attended, please take a minute and fill out the quick survey below. https://goo.gl/forms/rivvddDDxfjzRuMo1

The Thomas County School System has been named a Google Reference District. In order to become a reference district, Google must recognize the work being done by a district with G Suite for Education and send an application to the system.  

Thomas County Schools began using G Suite for Education in 2015. Since that time, the district has adopted Google Chromebooks at a rate of one device per student in grades 2-12.  Students in grades 9-12 are allowed to check out a Chromebook for use both at home and at school.

“Adding G Suite tools and Chromebooks in our district has allowed our teachers to do many things that they have never been able to do in the past,” said Erin Rehberg, Digital Learning and Media Services Coordinator for Thomas County Schools. “Technology truly has the power to transform learning by allowing students to easily collaborate, communicate, and create.  Being named a Google Reference District is confirmation that our teachers are using technology to help prepare Thomas County students for their futures.”

Every year during the Holidays our teachers and students look forward to making visits to our local nursing homes. They take little gifts and entertain the residents. This morning Mrs. Stone's class took a trip over to Rose City Rehab and shared with music and cards. If you have time, try to make it over to a nursing facility near you. The residents love having visitors.

Ms. Wise's music classes were thrilled to have new equipment to enjoy this week. Thanks to our SPLOST funding, she was able to make this purchase for all children at Garrison-Pilcher to enjoy. 

Jurnee Buck was named Junior Deputy today by our very own Deputy Franklin. Teachers are asked to nominate one student per pod that represents what it means to be a leader and that is always willing to help others. Her teacher said she is always a great example to others, willing to lend a helping hand, well mannered, and just a well rounded student. Congrats sweet girl, continue to be a leader and a great friend to others.

Mrs. Barrett's class had a special visitor today, Coach Tully Payne stopped by and read the book, The Nutcracker to them. He also surprised the students with donuts. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and make our students feel great!

Second graders from Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School recently went on a field trip to Flowers Bakery and Marie's Kakes. Students from Vicki Warren's class compared and contrasted the adventures and experiences from the two bakeries. As they toured Flowers, they saw honey buns, powdered donuts, and bread being made and prepared for distribution. The students experienced making cookies and decorating them at Marie's Kakes. Warren said, "This field trip is always a favorite with the students.  We are thankful to Flowers Bakery and Marie's Kakes for supporting our students and allowing them to visit and participate in their businesses. It is an experience they won't forget."   

Calling all dads and dues, you totally DONUT want to miss our Donuts for Dads and Dudes. Mark your calendar now for December 17 at 8:00 a.m. This year Ellianos and KeySouth have sponsored this event. We are blessed to have so many amazing business partners to help with these events. Can't wait to see each of you there. 

Students from Garrison-Pilcher, Ms. Warren's second grade class recently took field trips to Flowers and Marie's Kakes. The students compared and contrasted the adventures and experiences of the two bakeries. We appreciate all our local businesses and their partnership with our school. 

We hope each of you enjoy your Thanksgiving Break, we will resume normal school hours on Monday, November 19. Please be safe and stay warm as temperatures begin to drop. The Kent Tribe has the right idea of showering with special love during this season of thankfulness.  

Students from Ms. Stone's class enjoyed creative time in the Media Center. The students learned about the "domino effect' by using potential energy to topple each domino. Students also determined how momentum and cause and effect are used with the chain reaction of the falling dominos. 

We would like to invite all our Veterans to come enjoy lunch with us on Monday, November 12. The menu for the day is chicken and dumplings, steamed broccoli, black-eyed peas, garden salad, and fruit. We appreciate all that have served our country and all those still serving. 

Students from Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School recently celebrated reading success with a rousing Reading Rally, an annual event that promotes reading and literacy. 

A drive-thru flu shot clinic scheduled for Monday, October 15 at Thomas County Central High School has been canceled until further notice.  

We are very proud to announce our Dine With A Deputy crew! Teachers watched these students grow in many ways this past nine weeks and decided they deserved the Most Improved Student award. Keep it up guys and we can't wait to see all the changed this school year. A big thank you to Jimmy Johns for donating lunch for our crew, they sure enjoyed eating their subs and chips.

Garrison-Pilcher recently held a Fall Festival in hopes of giving families something they could enjoy together and to help raise funds for attendance incentives, needy familes, and numerous other things. We had over 100 students show up with their families to enjoy themselves and raised over $1700. 

Thank you to Lowe's for all of our cute decorations, Flowers for the buns needed, and Brown Farms for the hay bales to decorate with. Your donations for the Fall Festival helped make it a success.

Thank you to every staff member for all the help in creating unique games, set up, and break down.

A special thanks to our resource officer and lunch staff for staying to help, even when you did not have to, you guys always go above and beyond!!

Kona Ice, thank you for coming out to help us cool off some. If you need anyone for fundraisers or parties, contact them. You will not be disappointed.

Thank you to each of the parents/guardians for coming out in this South GA heat wave to enjoy our festival. You guys are the heart of our school, without your support we couldn't do the things we do.

First and Second grade Lego league students recently enjoyed a trip to the Challenger Learning Center where they enjoyed the planetarium, completed two moon missions, enjoyed an IMAX movie about astronauts, along with other activities. 

Today was a special day for Braxton Bennett; he was named Jr. Deputy by Deputy Franklin. Deputy Franklin got word that every morning he gets up and plays out directing traffic like our Deputy. The look on his face was priceless and he is wearing his badge with pride. Thank you Deputy Franklin for always going above the job and making each child feel special.

Parents...Are you familiar with vault apps? Do you have questions about cyberbullying and dangerous social media trends? Thomas County Schools is sponsoring a FREE Cyber-Safety Seminar with nationally recognized speaker, Sgt. Jesse Hambrick of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.  Please make plans to attend on September 11 at 6:00 PM at the Thomas County Board of Education.

Raising a reader doesn’t have to be complicated; it can be as easy as dedicating just 20 minutes every day to change habits and get kids excited about reading. For a great selection of books and resources, visit our upcoming BOOKFAIR - September 10- 14. All bookfair profits are used to promote reading right here at Garrison-Pilcher. 

Grandparents Day 2018

GP will be welcoming Grandparents for their annual event celebrating the role grandparents play in the lives of their grandchildren. Please join us!

First grade - Tuesday, Sept. 11

Second grade - Wednesday, Sept. 12

A RSVP form has already been sent home with your child, please return it to the school once completed. 

The Thomas County Public Library will be on hand at the following open house events to register you and your children for public library cards:

Thursday, August 1 - Thomas County Middle School
2:30-4:00 PM - 5th and 6th grade
3:30-4:30 PM - 5th grade MERIT

Friday, August 2 - Hand in Hand 
8:00-10:00 AM - PreK and Kindergarten

Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School - 10:00 AM -12:00 PM - 1st and 2nd grade

Thank you for your support of Thomas County Schools and the Thomas County Public Library.  

Please click "...Read More" for all open house dates and times.  

The Thomas County Elementary Schools supplies/wish list is now available. The Thomas County School System has not made any changes to the bookbag/backpack policy. For questions, please contact the Thomas County Board of Education at 229-225-4380.

Thomas County Elementary Schools Supplies/Wish List

Save the date for the annual Back to School Blitz! This year's event will take place in the gym at Thomasville High School on Saturday, August 4, from 9:00 AM until 11:00 AM.

In order to recognize the teachers who have gone above and beyond with implementing the effective use of technology in classroom instruction, this year the Thomas County School System named the first ever Digital Learning All-Star Teacher at each school and for the district.

“With the help of local E-SPLOST funds as well as several grants received over the past several years, the Thomas County School System has made a significant investment in technology for our students and teachers," said Erin Rehberg, Digital Learning Coordinator for Thomas County Schools. "This year we thought it would be very beneficial to reward those teachers who have used the technology provided to them to effectively transform the learning process in their classrooms. Not only do all of our Digital Learning All-Star Teachers effectively use technology with their students, they are also known for helping their peers with various technology tools.”  

Each school held a nomination process with the winner for each school completing an application in order to compete for the district title. This year, the district winner was awarded a laptop computer courtesy of ByteSpeed Computers and will be able to attend an educational technology conference in the fall.  

Thomas County School System officials have named Lacey Howard, fourth grade special education teacher at Cross Creek Elementary School, as the District Teacher of the Year.

“I was very surprised and felt very honored to be named Teacher of the Year,” Howard said. “There are always so many wonderful things happening in the Thomas County School System. To be given the opportunity to represent our amazing system is such a privilege.” 

A huge thank you to Mr. Daniel Smith Jr. of Woodmen Life for stopping by today with donuts for all our teachers and staff. We appreciate all that you do for us. It was a nice treat and everyone was very pleased to start their Monday off with such a sweet treat! 

The Thomas County School System wants students to READ this summer!  Did you know that students can have up to a 2-3 month loss in reading ability over the summer?  It's important for students to spend time sharpening their reading skills!

Each school has developed a summer reading challenge for students.  We would like for students to read for 15-30 minutes everyday this summer. The guidelines and requirements vary by school.  Please click the link below for more information about each school's guidelines.  If you need more information, please talk to the media specialist at each school.  The guidelines are for the school the students will be attending in the 2017-2018 school year.

Guidelines for all schools

Click here for information about programs at the Thomas County Public Library this summer!

Free eBooks are provided for all students this summer -- Click here for more information

Other free learning resources for the summer

The Thomas County School System is conducting a Parent Survey.  We value your opinion and ask that you take the time to complete this survey. Please be assured that your responses to this survey will be anonymous. Thank you for your time and valuable feedback!

2019 Parent Survey

Early Thursday morning, the Thomas County School System’s Maintenance Department was notified that employees and students at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School were complaining about the odor of diesel fuel in some parts of the building.  A few students and teachers complained of headaches that they believed to be associated with the odor.  The maintenance department investigated the odor and found diesel fuel in a ditch near the school.

Spring Break is Monday, April 2, through Friday, April 6. Students will return on Monday, April 9. Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday and a very Happy Easter!

State competition for The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Junior American Citizens annual competition.  This year’s theme was “100th Anniversary of World War I—Service on the Homefront.” 

Four first grade students from Garrison-Pilcher recently won 1st place awards for the DAR-JAC State competition.

Donna Taylor's second grade students from Garrison-Pilcher recently won 1st​ place in the DAR-JAC State Competition for Group 1 Banner. 

Two Garrison-Pilcher teams from Kathy Swearingen's second grade class recently won 1st​ place awards in the DAR-JAC State competition for Group Banners.

Two Garrison-Pilcher teams from Kathy Swearingen's second grade class recently won 1st​ place awards in the DAR-JAC State competition for Group Banners.

Garrison-Pilcher recently participated in the annual Jump Rope For Heart. This event encourages our students to take charge of their own heart health and to reach out to their community to help those whose lives have been affected by heart disease. The students who raised the most money this year were, from the bottom, Carson Morales (Ms. L. Jackson), $1280.00; Karson McKutchen, $550.00 (Ms L. Jackson); and Owen Leblanc, (Ms. J. Rich), $720.00.  The total amount raised by Garrison-Pilcher students was $9,619. 

     Stephanie Bass, shown with Principal, Sharonda Wilson, is Garrison-
Pilcher’s Teacher of the Year. Ms. Bass has been a teacher for eleven
years with Thomas County Schools, all of those years employed at
Garrison-Pilcher Elementary.

     Daniel Smith, Jr. representing Woodman Life of Thomasville recently donated sanitizing supplies to each classroom at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary.

     Smith, shown with Principal Sharonda Wilson, encouraged teachers and students to use these supplies to clean and disinfect those surfaces and objects that are touched often in an effort to help slow the spread of and prevent the flu this season.

     Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School students recently experienced the sound of music at the Valdosta Symphony Youth Concert. Students from Lynn Burton’s, Marnee Stone’s, Kathy Swearingen’s, and Vicki Warren’s classes attended the concert accompanied by music teacher Kathy Buechner.

JRFH will take place on 2/16/18. Students have been sent home a packet of information. To register online go to heart.org/jump and enter our school name and sign up. It's as simple as that! Money is due Feb. 9. If you have any questions feel free to call or email Coach Reed.

Due to the drastic increase in flu cases throughout the nation and state, the Thomas County Health Department has agreed to return to our system to provide flu vaccines to our students. The Health Department will have flu vaccine clinic sites at TCMS and GP on Jan. 31. The school system will transport the participating students to the flu clinic sites on Jan. 31 to obtain their flu shot.

Participating students from HnH, TCMS, TCCHS, and BH will obtain their vaccinations between 7:30–10:00 AM at TCMS on Jan. 31. GP and CC participating students will receive their flu shots at GP between 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM on Jan. 31.

If you would like to sign your child up to receive a flu vaccine on Jan. 31, you will need to complete the Parental Vaccine Consent Form linked below and return the form to your child’s school by Friday, Jan. 26. If the vaccine consent form is not signed and returned by Friday, Jan. 26, your child will not be able to participate in the flu vaccine clinic on Jan. 31.

Flu Vaccine Consent Form - Students

Flu Vaccine Sign-up Form - Staff 

Flu Vaccine Administration Record, Flu Vaccine Info, Privacy Notice 

Thomas County School System officials have been closely monitoring the weather forecast for tomorrow and have been in communications with Thomas County Emergency Managment Services. Unless there is a change in the forecast, Thomas County Schools will be open tomorrow, Wednesday, January 17. If there is a change in conditions, announcements will be made on our website, social media pages, and by way of our phone messaging system and local media outlets. 

The Thomas County Board of Education has approved the hiring of Ashley Henderson as Thomas County Central High School’s head football coach. Henderson will officially begin work on Thursday, February 1.

Henderson comes to the Thomas County School System from Valwood School in Hahira, Georgia, where he served as head coach for six years. While a coach at Valwood, he led the team to state championships three times, and celebrated being region champs five times.

December 4-10 is Computer Science Education Week in America.  According to csedweek.org, there are currently 486,686 open computing jobs nationwide.  Last year, only 42,969 computer science students graduated into the workforce.  Students in the Thomas County School System are participating in a variety of coding and computer science activities this week in order to foster an interest in computer science and expand upon computational thinking practices. In addition to the activities this week, students in our system have the opportunity to be a part of a comprehensive computer science education program that spans from grades K-12.  Check out this video from Mrs. Michele Dechman's coding class at Cross Creek Elementary School!

A community listening session will be held Monday evening, December 11, at 6:00 p.m. in the Thomas County Central High School cafeteria.

Students and faculty members in Thomas County Schools sing and play their favorite Christmas songs on "A Yellow Jacket Christmas 4," on sale in the TCCHS front office and school store and at most Thomas County Schools for only $10. 

All proceeds are donated to fund Shop With A Yellow Jacket teams! 

All selections are recorded & produced in Yellow Jacket Studios within the TCCHS Broadcasting/Video/Audio Production department!

Click on the picture above to hear previews of the songs.

The Red Nose Run is being held on Saturday, December 16, at Thomas University. The half marathon and 5K run/walk will begin at 8:00 a.m., and the fun run (12 & under) will begin at 9:00 a.m. The event is sponsored by Thomasville Junior Service League and Thomasville National Bank. Proceeds from the event will benefit Thomas County's children's charities. Register before December 1 to ensure t-shirt availability! Click on the link below for the registration form:

JSL/TNB Red Nose Run Registration Form

Red, white, and blue decorated the halls at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary  to welcome local Veterans on Veterans Day. Students honored these Veterans with hugs and thank you notes of appreciation for their service. The Veterans talked with students about their time of service and what it means to serve in the military. The students were given opportunity to ask questions and share dialogue with the Veterans. Lunch was also provided for all the Veterans.

“Veterans Day is a special day for our school”, said Sharonda Wilson, GP Principal. “Our teachers, staff and students enjoy welcoming the Veterans of our community to our school.  The activities planned and the lunch provided is only a small token of our appreciation for them and their service.”  "It also teaches our students about the sacrifices these men and women have given”, added Wilson.

It was all blue and gold for the students at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School as students celebrated the end of their first nine-week term with a pep rally for reading and literacy.

“This has become an annual event,” said Darlene Cook, Garrison-Pilcher media specialist. “We have such a wonderful morning full of activities that support reading. Volunteers from the community come to read to our students and Thomas County Central High School students are on campus to help create that pep rally atmosphere.”

Thomas County Central’s band members, cheerleaders, and football players come to interact with the younger ones getting them excited about reading and literacy as well as being a Yellow Jacket. Thomas University basketball players were also on campus cheering on the kids and encouraging them to read.

“I really liked the football players autographing my book the best,” said second-grader Dakota Law. “I loved all those books that people read to us, too.”

The event begins with students choosing a free book that was provided by proceeds from the recently held book fairs. The students then proceed to the track where they have the pep rally, popcorn, photos, autographs by the athletes, and of course reading books. Community volunteers help with all these activities.

“This is just an awesome event,” said Richard Potter, assistant principal of Garrison-Pilcher. “We appreciate the collaboration between our school and Thomas County Central High School. The interaction between our students and the high school students is very important. They see the rewards of being a good student and definitely want to be a Yellow Jacket.”

The Thomas County Board of Education has approved the appointment of Brecca Pope to the position of Director of Administrative Services at the Board of Education. Pope comes to the board office from Cross Creek Elementary School where she served as assistant principal for the past six years.

"I am very thankful for the opportunity to serve the students and staff of Thomas County Schools in this capacity,” Pope said.  “As an educator, I recognize the benefits of lifelong learning and look forward to my new role as Director of Administrative Services.”

In her new role, Pope will assume many of the duties currently assigned to Dr. Lisa Williams as Dr. Williams prepares to transition into her new role as superintendent designee.

From now on when the school bell rings, Jeanna Mayhall won’t know what to do with herself. For the first time in almost 30 years, the retiring Hand-In-Hand Principal won’t be returning to the school campus at the break of dawn every week day. For Mayhall, who has been in the school environment her whole life, says “it will be hard to transition to the ‘normal’ world because my internal rhythm follows the rhythm of the school calendar.”

The beloved veteran educator who just completed her 29^th year in education was sent off by an adoring group of family, friends and coworkers during a recent reception held in her honor. Mayhall received many gifts and was honored by coworkers who made signs and a slideshow, performed a humorous skit and entertained her with a song written just for her.

The Covey Film Festival is offering an opportunity to view the movie, "Hidden Figures," at no charge on Monday, October 2, at 7:00 p.m. The movie will be shown in the Thomas County School System's Auditorium at 200 North Pinetree Boulevard. Click on the link below to see the flyer for details!

Covey Film Festival Hidden Figures

Hand-In-Hand Primary School Assistant Principal Dee Gaines has been appointed principal designee to assume the role effective October 1, following Jeanna Mayhall’s retirement.  The Thomas County Board of Education approved the appointment at its meeting on September 12.

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month.   On Wednesday September 27^th all Thomas County Schools’ staff and students will be showing their support of these brave, beautiful children by GOING GOLD for Childhood Cancer Awareness.  Please allow your child to wear GOLD to school on this day.

Employees from Commercial Bank recently made a special delivery to a few of our first grade classrooms at Garrison-Pilcher.  Mrs. Melanie Robinson was selected as a recipient of the Here Matters program. Mrs. Robinson works with three first grade teachers and had her wish list of classroom needs fulfilled by the bank.  

A word about the Here Matters program from Commercial Bank:

Here Matters demonstrates our commitment to be the bank that leads and strengthens our communities and serves the needs of our customers through real, personal relationships. We believe in giving back to the communities in which we live and work and will concentrate on three categories of giving: Education, Needs-Based, and Health/Wellness.

Mrs. Vicki Warren’s 2nd grade class recently used two local businesses to learn to compare and contrast with two sweet field trips.  The class visited both Flowers Foods and Smallcakes Cupcakery.  The class was able to find many differences, but also many similarities between the large bakery and the small bakery.  With all of the fun of learning, they also enjoyed some sweet treats!

Due to our schools being closed for Hurricane Irma, we have rescheduled our 1st grade Grandparents Day activities for Thursday, September 14. We will continue with our 2nd grade Grandparents Day activities as planned for tomorrow morning, September 13. The times for both days are 8:30-10:00 AM. Please remember our Bookfair will be open both days! We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to seeing all of our Wee Bee Grandparents this week!

Thomas County Schools will welcome staff and students back for a normal day tomorrow, September 13. We do not expect any significant changes to bus routes, and all of our schools will be open for the regular schedule.

The Thomas County School system is monitoring Hurricane Irma very closely. We are working with Thomas County EMS and the National Weather Service to determine the best plan for school closures. Please stay up-to-date by tuning in to the local news, checking our website, and following us on social media including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. It is important to ensure that we have your current contact information because we will be sending out alerts through our notification systems. Thank you for your patience and understanding!

Plans are underway for a phenomenal day in Thomas County Schools as students, teachers, and staff observe “The Great American Solar Eclipse” on August 21. To allow students to fully appreciate the experience, the school day in Thomas County Schools will be extended by 30 minutes on the day of the eclipse.

While Thomas County will not see a total eclipse, expectations are that the moon will cover approximately 90% of the sun for a brief period, enough to create a dramatic effect and illustrate the phenomena of an eclipse.

Click here to access the Solar Eclipse Opt Out Form.  

Join us at the Thomas County Central High School gym for the Back-to-School Blitz this Saturday, July 29!

The Thomas County Board of Education has given tentative approval to a $63.5 million budget for the 2017-2018 school year. The board has scheduled two public hearings prior to final adoption of the budget in compliance with a law passed by the general assembly in 2016 which requires public hearings for school board budgets even if no local property tax increase is anticipated.

The first public hearing will be held in conjunction with a 7:00 p.m., May 23, called board meeting at the Board of Education Meeting Room located at 200 North Pinetree Boulevard, Thomasville. The second hearing will be held in conjunction with the June 13, 2017, board meeting, also at 7:00 p.m. in the Board Meeting Room.

Click here to see FY18 Budget

Your participation matters! Please click on the link below to complete our annual parent survey. The survey will be open until Saturday, May 20. 

PARENT SURVEY

Dr. Caitlin Dooley, Georgia Department of Education (DOE) Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, recently visited Thomas County Schools to learn more about what is needed to ensure all students in Georgia – in rural, suburban, and urban schools – have access to high quality Science Technology Engineering Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) education including computer science across all grades in K12.

Dr. Dooley’s visit started at the Thomas County Board of Education where she met with school principals and administrators. The group interacted as Dr. Dooley asked questions about Thomas County’s intensive computer science program that starts in Pre-K and continues through twelfth grade.

“Last week, I had the pleasure of seeing students in Thomas County while visiting several school districts in South Georgia,” Dr. Dooley said. “The county is a leader and innovator as it incorporates computer science education throughout elementary, middle, and high school.”

March 27, 2017: The Thomas County School System became aware early this morning of a very vague threat to an individual student at one of our schools. The student is safe, and the threat is not deemed to be credible. Contrary to social media rumors, no weapons have been found on any of our school campuses nor have there been any incidents of violence on our campuses.  We have determined that it is safe for our schools to continue with a normal day. Out of an abundance of caution, in cooperation with the Thomas County Sheriff’s Office, we have increased security at our schools.

Read all of the latest news in the Buzz newsletter! Click the link below:

Jan/Feb 2017 Buzz

The Help a Child Smile Dental Program will be visiting our school on March 6 & 7.  This is an exciting time for the students of our school to receive dental care that they may not have access.  The forms are attached below if needed.  Please return these forms by February 12. 

English Form

Spanish Form

Honors Assemblies were held to recognize students earning All A Honor Roll or A/B Honor Roll for the 1st and 2nd nine week grading periods.  Way to go, Wee Bees!

Garrison-Pilcher hosted Parent Night on Tuesday, December 13.  Students from Communities C, G and I performed holiday songs and ended the evening with a parent sing-a-long led by the teachers.

Garrison-Pilcher welcomed all Dads and Dudes to visit our school on Monday, December 12.  Students were encouraged to invite their fathers, grandfather, uncles or any other important men in their lives to school during this annual event.  

All parents are encouraged to participate in the Georgia Parent Survey. Parents may complete the short 24 question survey using their personal computer, smartphones or tablet. For parents that do not have access to the Internet, please contact your child’s school to make arrangements to complete the survey.

The data from the survey will be used to calculate the School Climate Star Rating for our schools. Survey responses are anonymous and will be submitted directly to the Georgia Department of Education for analysis. Individual data results from the Georgia Parent Survey will not be available to the public and will not be posted online. 

To access the Georgia Parent Survey, please click on the image below. Your participation in this survey is very important to our system and our schools.

Please help us support local families with our annual Food Drive.

Mrs. Burton's 2nd Grade Class recently visited the St. Marks Lighthouse in St. Marks, FL.  The students were able to see animals in their habitat, including a Bald Eagle.  They also saw the migration of Monarch butterflies on their way to Mexico.  Please visit the photo gallery to see more pictures from their field trip.

Garrison-Pilcher observed Red Ribbon Week during the dates of October 24th through October 28th. Red Ribbon Week is a national campaign aimed at drug prevention.  Throughout the week, students participated in theme days such as, “Teaming up Against Drugs”, “Too Bright For Drugs”, Don’t Get “Tied Up” With Drugs and Tell Drugs to “Buzz Off”.  Please visit the photo gallery for all of the fun from the week!

Garrison-Pilcher students show off their prize-winning art work from the Deep South Fair.  Students from Garrison-Pilcher received honors ranging from first place to honorable mention.

All students participated in a Bus Safety presentation on Friday, October 21.  Students loaded the buses and took a short ride while learning how to stay safe as a passenger.  The bus drivers discussed how to respond in emergency situations and why it is important to obey all bus rules.

The Garrison-Pilcher annual Reading Rally was held Thursday, October 13th.  The Reading Rally is held each year to encourage students to become excited about reading.  Many visitors including the high school football players, cheerleaders, band and dance line come out each year for the event.  The Thomas University Basketball team also visited this year.  Students enjoy listening to the band, eating popcorn and listening to a guest reader share a favorite book.  Please visit our photo gallery for all of the fun from the event.

State School Superintendent Richard Woods has appointed sixteen new parents to serve on his 2016-2017 Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Council (PAC). Allen Thornhill, a Hand-In-Hand Primary School representative on the Thomas County School District’s Parent Advisory Council, was chosen as one of the members. 

Thornhill, who is one of only 24 parents serving on the State PAC, was nominated by the Thomas County School District at the beginning of this school year. New members are selected each year by representatives of the Georgia Department of Education based on the applicants’ responses to questions on engaging parents to ensure their children’s success at school and the local school superintendent’s recommendation. Thornhill will serve a two-year term on the council.

Click More Information to Read Full Story

Please make plans to join us for Grandparents and Grandfriends Days at Garrison-Pilcher!   

First Grade- Tuesday, September 13th 8:30 AM -10:00 AM

Second Grade- Wednesday, September 14th 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Please click here for more information.

The Thomas County School System will be closed Friday, September 2, due to the threat of inclement weather. The schools will have normal dismissal today (Thursday).

CANCELLED
Also, the Parent Volunteer Orientation meeting that was scheduled for today (9/1) at 5:30 p.m. has been cancelled. Please contact the parent involvement coordinator at your child's school about ways to volunteer. He or she will be able provide you with volunteer opportunities.

Please help to ensure that we have current contact information and phone numbers on file for your child(ren) at all times. You can access and update this information through your Parent Portal account.  If you do not have a Parent Portal account, please sign-up for one today. The process only takes a few minutes of your time and you will also gain access to your child(ren)'s grades, attendance, and schedule(s).  Please click on the link below to access the Parent Portal Instruction Guide and the Parent Portal Registration Link. 

Parent Portal Instruction Guide and Registration Link  

Thomas County Elementary Schools will host the Jack O'Lantern Trail Run on Saturday, October 22.  The trail run will take place at 5:00 PM and will be followed by the fun run at 6:00 PM.  There will also be a raffle for some great prizes!  Please click here to print the registration form and find out more information.

Click here to sign up for the event.  

The volunteer orientation scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 1 has been cancelled due to the weather.  

This is a reminder that ALL Thomas County Schools will re-open for students Monday morning.

It is normal for traffic to be heavy around our schools the first few days of the school year, so please allow a little extra time on your morning commute this week.

Children throughout the county will gather at bus stops, so please watch out for the children and exercise caution around bus stops. Please keep a safe distance from all school buses, especially while they are loading and unloading students.     

Best wishes for a great school year.

As always, thank you for supporting Thomas County Schools.

The Thomas County School System provides on-line learning opportunities for home-school and cyber-school students. Please join us for an informational meeting. Two sessions will be offered to provide more opportunities for parents to attend.

Tuesday, May 3
10:00 a.m. & 6:00 p.m.
Professional Learning Center
Thomas County Board of Education
Call 229-225-4380 for more information!

Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, the Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health and the State Health Officer, has requested that we share important information with our school families about protecting against mosquito bites and preventing the spread of Zika virus in Georgia.

Please click on the link below to view the information. 

Zika Virus Information

It's time to support our Thomas County Elementary Schools with our annual cookie dough "and more" sales.  Whether you want cookies, cheesecake, pretzels, or another treat, we have it for you.  Contact your favorite student or the school.  Sales end March 11.

Teachers, parents and students gathered on Thursday, February 18th for Science Night.  Mr. Love showed the crowd cool ways to turn items around the home into cool science projects.

The Thomas County School System will be closed Wednesday, February 24, due to the threat of inclement weather.

MEETING POSTPONED 

Medical In-service

Provided for School Staff and Parents
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Thomas County Board of Education
Professional Learning Center
(across from Wendy’s)

Sponsored by Thomas County Schools

Sweaters, snowflake wings, mittens, and hats.  These were among the many accouterments that inspired Thomas County Central HS students to compete in a school-wide art contest that placed “Buzz,” the school mascot, in wintry garb or setting.

Every classroom in every school in the county has a Smartboard, an interactive whiteboard, and Thomas County Schools has recently deployed more than 1,400 new Chromebooks and plans to add at least 1,100 more over the next year.

Garrison-Pilcher students took a trip back in time on Friday, November 13th. Pioneer Day, an annual event at the school, allowed students to participate in activies and traditions from the past.  To see all of the fun from the day, please visit the photogallery here.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to create timeless keepsakes and great personalized holidays gifts with your child’s art work throughout our new Square1Art fundrasier!  Go to https://shop.square1art.com/shop/ to order online using your child’s personalized access code found on his/her catalog.

The Thomas County School System has announced the schedule of patriotic events honoring veterans for Veterans Day. Every campus will be participating. Click below for details. 

November is Parent Engagement Month!  Please click here to view a calendar that includes ways you can become more involved with your child's learning this month!

Come to one of our STEM Family Science Nights on Monday or Tuesday and enjoy awesome experiments in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics with your family. Learn together and have fun at the same time!

Cross Creek Elementary
Monday, October 26
4:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Garrison-Pilcher Elementary
Tuesday, October 27
4:00 - 6:00 p.m.

The Wee Bee Reading Rally was held on Thursday, October 15th. Students celebrated their love of reading with band members, cheerleaders and members of the football team from the high school.  Please click here to see more pictures from the event!

Please join us at this community event for children of all ages. Click on the link below for more information:

Thomas County Literacy Fair Flyer

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month.  To honor their fellow classmate and friend, cancer survivor Neveah Sloan, students in Community C wore their yellow on Wednesday, September 30th.

Last Friday, the Georgia Department of Education awarded the Thomas County School System a 2.7 million dollar grant to assist the district in implementing a comprehensive literacy plan for children in Thomas County from birth through eighth grade.

The Striving Reader competitive grant was awarded based on the quality of the proposal and the capacity of the system to implement the plan. Thomas County’s plan places a heavy focus on reading and writing in all content areas and on vocabulary development.

Garrison-Pilcher Character Kids were honored in an assembly on Friday, September 25th for the months of August and September.  Character Kids are chosen by classroom teachers for displaying the character trait for the month. Character Kids chosen for the month of August displayed School Pride. Character Kids chosen for the month of September displayed Respect.  Please visit the photo gallery here for more pictures.

Thomas County Schools present an art show: Celebrating Hispanic Arts and Culture.  Make plans to view the art show at the Thomasville Center for the Arts from October 19 - November 13, 2015.  An Opening Reception will be held on October 19 at 5:30 PM.   

Wee Bee Grandparents are the best! Please visit the photo gallery here to see all of the fun from our two days of celebrating grandparents!

The Thomas County School System is happy to partner with the Thomas County Health Department in offering flu vaccines to our students at no cost this fall.  An information packet was sent home with Garrison-Pilcher, Cross Creek, Thomas County Middle, and Thomas County Central High School students regarding the vaccine. For these students, the HIPPA acknowledgement and vaccine consent forms are due back on Monday, September 28. Click here to find out more and download the information sheets and the acknowledgement and consent forms. 

Our school fundraiser is happening now through September 18^th.  There is even a way to shop online!  Please click here to visit the online catalog.  We appreciate your support!

If you are interested in volunteering at Hand-In-Hand, Garrison-Pilcher, Cross Creek, Thomas County Middle, Thomas County Central, The Renaissance Center, or Bishop Hall, please attend one of the volunteer orientation sessions listed below:

Tuesday, September 1
9:00 a.m. OR 5:30 p.m.

Orientation sessions will be hosted at the Bishop Hall Charter School.

Garrison-Pilcher welcomed all Wee Bee parents to come out and learn more about a Day in the Life of a Wee Bee on Tuesday, August 25.  Parents gathered in the gym for a brief meeting of the Wee Bee Boosters.  President of Wee Bee Boosters, Anna Griffis, spoke to parents about an upcoming fund raiser that will allow parents to purchase items displaying their child’s art.  After the meeting, everyone moved to the classrooms where teachers discussed daily schedules and happenings in the classroom.  Please visit the photo gallery here for more of this event!

Come out and join the fun at the Hand-In-Hand and Thomas County Upper Elementary Campus on October 24, 2015. Costumes are encouraged. Awards and prizes will be given.  Click here for more information and the registration form.

Families registered by October 2 will be entered to win a one year
membership to the YMCA!

Students love visiting the Media Center to check out their favorite books.  All first grade students have participated in a Media Center orientation class with Mrs. Cook during the first weeks of school.  Students are encouraged to visit the Media Center daily.  Wee Bees love reading!

Wee Bees love to share all things science while in Mr. Love’s classroom.  Check out what Mrs. Harper’s first grade students shared today!

We need your input for improvement! Please complete survey by Friday, September 30.

We would like your input on our system-wide Comprehensive Local Education Agency’s Implementation Plan (CLIP).  Below are two links where you can view the plan and complete a brief survey.  Thank you for your input and suggestions.

Click here to review the implementation plan (CLIP).

Click the link below to complete the survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/16-17-CLIP

The Thomas County School System is pleased to offer several afternoon fine arts opportunities for our students through partnerships with the Dance Academy, Versa Music Conservatory (formerly Thomasville Music Academy), and members of our own faculty.  Please click on "More Information" to learn more about these programs and to view the informational flyers.

Endless possibilities await students at Thomas County Schools for the 2015-2016 school year.  Thomas County Schools offer academic excellence, career preparation, and unmatched opportunity.  Please click on the link below to imagine the possibilities:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpva66Rhpg4&feature=youtu.be

Due to the inclement weather that is expected on Wednesday, the 2^nd grade Olympic Day has been rescheduled for Friday, May 1^st.  Olympic Day for 1^st grade will remain on Thursday, April 30^th.  The Character Kid assembly originally scheduled for Friday will be held Monday.  We apologize for any inconvenience.

Students from Ms. Burton’s (3rd place), Swearingen (2nd place), and Warren, participated in the recent RESA Media Festival. Students produced original media projects using various means of technology connected to aligned classroom learning.

Congratulations to Mrs. Janet Lambert on being named our Garrison-Pilcher Teacher of the Year!

We're going to celebrate all of the books that we have read this 9 weeks!  Students are encouraged to wear their western attire.  Break out the boots, cowboy hats and bandanas.  It's time to boogie!

We will celebrate Dr. Seuss' Birthday next week.  Please see the list for the activity for each day of the week.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!! March 2nd - 6th

Monday – Wear Green for Green Eggs and Ham

Tuesday – Wear Red or Blue – Red fish, Blue fish Wear Red or Blue –

Wednesday – Dress for picture day 1^stgrade

                       2^nd grade wear a hat

Thursday –Dress for picture day 2^nd grade

                   1^st grade wear a hat

Friday – Fox in Socks – wear silly socks

7 Tips for Maintaining a Positive Attitude

The most wonderful day of the year is currently in the works at Thomas County Central High School. Shop with a Yellow Jacket, also known as SWAYJ, is being prepared for community kids this Christmas. “Students and teachers come together to help the less fortunate,” Renae Moore, TCCHS teacher and a SWAYJ coordinator, said. “It’s a time where we come together and show what it means to be a true Yellow Jacket.”

This Christmas season at TCCHS teachers are lending a helping hand in a unique way: by sharing their voices. A group of teachers came together to record a CD in order to raise funds for the annual Shop with a Yellow Jacket (SWAYJ) project. The CD is titled “It’s a Yellow Jacket Christmas 2014” and CDs are $10 apiece.

Natalie Carlisle placed 3^rd in the K-2^nd grade division for the Keep Thomas County Beautiful poster contest.

The Wee Bees had a great time at the annual Reading Rally!  We especially enjoyed our visitors from the high school!  Thank you to everyone that encouraged the younger students to read!

Please visit the Photo Gallery for more pictures from the event.

Mrs. Vicki Warren's 2nd Grade Class recently visited The Bread Wagon for a tasty learning experience. 

School Bus Safety Week reminds students, parents and
motorists of their important role in school bus safety

Georgia celebrates National School Bus Safety Week on October 20 - 24, 2014, and Georgia School Bus Driver Appreciation Day on Monday, October 20.  Schools and safety advocates throughout the Peach State are using the week as an opportunity to highlight the importance of school bus safety.  The 2014 theme for the week, Be Smart - Be Seen, I wait in a safe place, reminds students, parents and motorists of the important role each plays in ensuring student safety at the school bus stop.  One key factor in protecting Georgia’s students rests with motorists obeying the law and stopping for Georgia’s school buses as they board and exit. But, drivers should also be reminded that obeying the law is just not enough.  Children are unpredictable… motorists must have an overall heightened safety awareness and expect the unexpected as children wait at bus stops and as they get on and off their school bus.

Author David Sargent will be visiting Garrison-Pilcher as our special guest during our Reading Rally.  Mr. Sargent's books may be purchased and autographed during the morning visit.  A flyer with more information will be sent home with students.

Garrison-Pilcher students are learning more about science and engineering by participating in the Junior First Lego League.

Miss Erin Hall

Parents read to your child at least 3 times a week or have them to read to you.  Ask questions about the story to make sure they are comprehending what is read.  If you need books to read, please come by the Parent Resource Room.  We have books and other activities you can check out.

Nancy Rogers

Parent Involvement Coordinator

We can't wait for our Wee Bee Grandparents to join us at school!  Grandparents of 1st grade students are invited to visit on Monday, September 8th.  Our grandparents of 2nd graders are welcome to come out on Tuesday, September 9th.  Grandparents will participate in activities in the classroom, attend a presentation by our students and receive breakfast treats.  Grandparents may also take their grandchild to the Book Fair that will be located in our Media Center.  We will begin activities each day at 8:30 AM and end by 10:00 AM. Please refer to the detailed schedules that were sent home with our students for specific times in each community.

Please join us Wednesday, August 13, at 5:30 p.m. for the Volunteer Orientation Meeting at the Thomas County Board of Education Auditorium.  Click here for further details.

Over 50 of our rising 1st and 2nd graders participated in the Summer Reading Challenge. 

Click here to get the information you need as you prepare to send your children back to school. Open House dates, supply lists, and dress code information are provided for your convenience.

There is a vacancy at Thomas County Central High School for the position of principal's secretary.  If interested, please click the link below for further details and apply online through our job portal at www.thomascountyschools.org.

TCCHS Principal's Secretary Vacancy Notice

Due to the inclement weather in the forecast for the remainder of the week, Olympic Days have been rescheduled.  2^nd Grade Olympic Day will be held on Monday, May 5^th and 1^st grade Olympic Day will be held on Tuesday, May 6^th.

A message from our Parent Involvement Coordinator

One of the most important things your child can do to achieve academic success is attend school everyday.  Students who attend school regularly are more likely to keep up with daily lessons and assignments and make higher scores on test. 

Support the Thomas County Middle School Cheerleading Squad by participating in the "Color Me with Cheer" Color Run!  The 5K run/walk is Saturday, May 17, at 8:30am.  Register by May 3.  See the flyer and registration links below for more information.

Color Run Flyer

Color Run Registration

Be A Part!  Please begin reviewing the Strategic Plan Report found at the first link below. After you have read and reviewed the report, please complete the related survey questions found on the second link below before Friday February 21. We appreciate your input on our Strategic Planning Process.

Strategic Planning Report 

Strategic Plan Survey

Parents practice addition and subtraction facts nightly with your child. 

A message from our Parent Involvement Coordinator

Due to potentially hazardous road conditions associated with frozen precipitation, the Thomas County School System was closed Wednesday, January 29, 2014. All schools and offices will open on regular schedule Thursday, January 30, 2014.

Due to potentially hazardous road conditions associated with frozen precipitation, the Thomas County School System will be closed Wednesday, January 29, 2014. Thomas County Schools will reopen Thursday, January 30, 2014.

Gray hair, walkers, and canes!  Garrison-Pilcher students are looking a little older these days.  January 27th marks the 100th day of the 2013-2014 school year.  Several of our teachers encouraged students to dress as they would look if they were 100 years old.  Please visit the photo gallery for more pictures of our old-timers!

Parents make sure your child’s homework is complete everyday.  Learning does not end in the classroom.  Children need help and support at home to succeed in school.  Try to sit down with your child at least once or twice a week while he or she is doing homework.  This will keep you informed about what your child is learning and you will be aware if they are having problems with a specific topic.  By taking these small steps, you will be helping your child become successful both in and outside the classroom.

(National PTA everychild.onevoice.)

Honors day for the first school semester will be Friday, January 10th.  The first grade assembly will be held at 8:30.  The second grade assembly will be held at 1:00.  Teachers will be notifying parents of students receiving honors this week!

Please make plans to attend our Family Reading Night on Friday, January 24th.  Magician Ken Scott will provide entertainment and laughs for the whole family.  The show will begin at 6:00 with free admission for everyone!  For more information on Mr. Scott, please check out his website at www.kenscottmagic.com.  This event is sponsored by the Wee Bee Boosters.

Garrison-Pilcher hosted "Donuts for Dads and & Dudes" on December 16th.  Fathers, grandfathers, uncles and friends were encouraged to visit the school to enjoy donuts and read to the children.  Thank you to all of our guests!   Please visit the Photo Gallery for more pictures from the event.

Iowa   Test   of   Basic   Skills

1^st Grade Only

Monday, November 4^th – Friday, November 15^th

**Get plenty of sleep

**Arrive to school by 8:00

**Eat a healthy breakfast

Did you know that 91% of teens post photos of themselves on social media sites and 71% post their school name and where they live?  It is important to stay informed about your teen's social media use.  Click here for more information about our Digital Citizenship Initiative and to see a video of TCCHS students participating in a panel discussion on social media use among teens.

Click here for more information and registration form!

Garrison-Pilcher welcomed all grandparents to visit the school and spend time with grandchildren.  Students enjoyed showing their guests around and sharing classroom classroom activities.  Please visit the photo gallery to see all of the fun!

Mrs. Pam Griffin teaches first grade at Garrison-Pilcher.

Brandy Majors has joined our staff as the new school nurse.

Mrs. Cook and Mrs. Wendy are getting ready for students to begin checking out books.  Classes will visit the Media Center during the first week of school to hear a story read by Mrs. Cook and to discuss check out procedures.

Students were excited to see their friends at Open House. We would like to thank all of the parents and students for a wonderful start to a brand new school year!

Please join us for the 7th Annual Back to School Blitz on Saturday, August 3, 9:00-11:00am, at Thomas County Central High School Gymnasium (upper level)!  Please click here for more information.

Your opinion is important to us! 

Please click here to review our Implementation Plan (CLIP) and provide input for improvement! 

Click here to get the information you need as you prepare to send your children back to school! Open House dates, supply lists, and dress code information are provided for your convenience.

Mr. Jay Patel of Coolidge Food Champ was selected as the Thomas County School System's B.E.E. Partner of the Year.  Mr. Patel was nominated by Garrison-Pilcher and was also awarded Partner of the Quarter earlier in the school year.

Garrison-Pilcher students meeting their AR goal for the 4th nine weeks were treated to a magic show performed by Ken Scott.  Scott is an Atlanta based magician with a list of notable performances and television apperances.

Attention parents!  Please take a moment to complete our Parent Survey which will provide us with valuable information about our schools and will help with future improvement strategies.  Your feedback makes a difference!

Garrison Pilcher students participated in the annual Olympic Days on April 24th and 25th.  Please see the photo gallery for pictures from these fun times!

Ms. Jennifer Braswell was selected as the Teacher of the Year at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary for the 2012-2013 school year.  Congratulations, Ms. Braswell!

Participate in the development of our school system's New Strategic Plan by viewing the Community Engagement Meeting presentation and taking the Community Engagement Survey.    Your opinion matters!

Garrison-Pilcher students celebrated the birthday of Dr. Seuss on Friday, March 1st. Students participated in wearing silly socks and hats.  The celebration kicked off early when students were encouraged to wear something crazy for a Wacky Wendesday!

Garrison-Pilcher's very own Mr. Love treated students and parents to a night of wonderful science learning on Feb. 21st.  Please visit the picture gallery to see more of our Science Night event.

Garrison-Pilcher students may be 100 days smarter in the school year, but some of our students are starting to look a little older!  Please visit the Photo Gallery to see what happens on the 100th day of school!

Mrs. Bush's class learns about landforms with an exciting performance! 

Mark your calendar and make sure you have all documentation ready to register your child for Pre-Kindergarten at Hand-in-Hand Primary School!  Click the link to the flyer below for all details including dates, times, and a list of documents needed.

Pre-K Registration Information

The Thomas County School System has introduced a new program for gifted and high achieving students in grades 5-12. Dr. James Rehberg, the Thomas County School System’s director of gifted and talented instruction, will direct the MERIT program in conjunction with middle school and high school building administrators.

Please complete the Parent Survey!

The Thomas County School System is conducting a Parent Survey. We value your opinion and ask that you take the time to complete this survey. Please be assured that your responses to this survey will be anonymous.

The survey is open until Friday, March 29. Thank you for your time and valuable feedback!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Parent-FY24

Spanish surveys available upon request.
Encuestas en español disponibles a pedido.

Our amazing Christmas Giveaway fundraiser is right around the corner and we are so excited. Tickets will be coming home soon with more information. If you decide not to participate, please send the tickets back in with your child. We encourage everyone to sell at least 10 tickets and would love for our remote students to be a part of this as well. Check out all the amazing prizes to be won below. A huge thank you to all out spectacular business sponsors as well. This fundraiser is a CASH only fundraiser.

The Thomas County Health Department and Thomas County Schools are teaming up to fight the influenza (flu) virus again this year by providing immunizations in our schools. 

Flu registration packets are being sent home with students. If you need another copy, the forms and other additional information can be accessed by clicking on the links below. Flu registration packets must be completed and returned to the school on or before Tuesday, October 6, 2020. You can also fax the forms to the health department by dialing 229-379-3521. 

2020 Parent Letter - Flu

2021-2022 Student Consent Form

Adult Vaccine Consent Form

Influenza Inactive VIS 2021-22

Privacy Notice

Thomas County Schools will be offering meal distribution every Wednesday starting April 22 through May 27. Each box will contain breakfast and lunch for seven days. Thomas County Middle School will be the main location, and we will continue to deliver to the outlying areas. Times will also remain the same with it being from 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. at TCMS and from 11:00 a.m. - 12 noon at the other sites. We are happy to still be here for you! Please call 229-413-1234 if you have any questions.

Thomas County Schools is pleased to announce the opening of a School-Based Health Center on Friday, January 12, 2018. The School-Based Health Center is located on the campus of Thomas County Middle School. The health center will be open to all Thomas County School System students, regardless of which school they attend. The school system will provide transportation from other Thomas County Schools to the health clinic for students who need to be seen there.

Please click on the link below to access the consent form and the health information packet for your child. The completed forms may be returned to your child's school or to the School-Based Health Center. There will be prize drawings held to encourage the return of the consent forms and health packets. The prizes include free pizza coupons, movie passes, Wild Adventure passes, and many more. 

Link: School-Based Health Center Registration Packets for Students and Staff

Second graders in Mrs. Vicki Warren's class are starting off the new school year by planting a class garden.  Students observed the different seeds and took turns planting each one in the soil.  The class will use their garden to learn about the life cycle of plants.

Garrison-Pilcher students recently drummed along to the beat with professional musician and performer Steve Campbell. Campbell’s visit was provided by the Thomasville Center for the Arts and Visiting Artist workshops. Students rotated through a variety of drum and percussion instruments as they experienced the importance of working together as a team to make music sound great!  

Photo Gallery

Please join us to to learn more about the Life of a Wee Bee!

Please participate in this important online survey! We need your feedback and suggestions to revise our School Improvement Plans. This survey is available now through Saturday, May 21, 2016.  Click on the link below.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/parentsurveyFY16

FAMILY READING NIGHT CANCELLED!

Due to a family emergency with our guest speaker, David Sargent, the Garrison-Pilcher Reading Night on Thursday, January 28^th has been cancelled.  We hope to schedule again for a later date.

Over 200 Garrison-Pilcher students participated in Jump Rope for Heart on Friday, February 20^th.  The event is a celebration held for students raising money for the American Heart Association.  Garrison-Pilcher students raised over $11,400 this year!

Parents, please participate in our online survey. We need your feedback and suggestions to help revise our School Improvement Plans.  The survey is available now through Friday, May 22, 2015.  Please click the link below to complete the parent survey.

Parent Survey

Join us Sunday, March 30, at 2:30 p.m. for the Open House for the new Career Science building at Thomas County Middle School. Click the link below for more information.

TCMS Career Science Open House Invitation

The Book Fair has taken over our Media Center and is ready welcome students!  The book fair will run from Monday, September 9th through Friday, September 13th.

Open House:

Friday, July 29

10:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. 

Thomas County first graders at Garrison Pilcher Elementary annual study the topic of landforms in their social studies classes, but this year they embarked on a multimedia and multisensory adventure.  Students participated in a three-part STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) activity to examine landforms such as mountains, valleys, coasts, and deserts. Students toured the different landforms across the world through virtual reality headsets with Digital Learning Specialist Joshua Mimbs, used coding skills to program Bee-Bots with Media Specialist Elexis Griffin to visit the landforms, and created landforms with Legos in the Media Center MakerSpace.

The Thomas County Board of Education held its first meeting of the new calendar year Tuesday, January 16. After the invocation, outgoing chair Leah Smith declared the positions of chair and vice chair vacant and asked for nominations.

Board member Mark NeSmith made a motion that Dan Stewart be elected chair and that Ed Hopper be elected vice chair. Chris Hayes seconded NeSmith’s motion.  Smith called for any additional nominations. There were no additional nominations, so Stewart and Hopper were elected to their respective roles with no dissenting votes.

Stewart serves District 6, and he and his wife, Sheri, reside on a family farm outside of Ochlocknee. Stewart retired as building maintenance supervisor at the Southwestern State campus where he worked for 30 years. Stewart is a family partner in a cattle/farming operation.

Stewart said, “I am humbled and honored to serve as chair alongside an incredibly cohesive group of board members. I feel my position as chair is dignified by the fact that we have the best school system that I could ask for. I look forward to working closely with Mr. Hopper, the rest of the board members, and Dr. Lisa Williams for a successful year.”

Hopper, who serves District 7, is self-employed. Hopper is a product of Thomas County Schools, and is excited to serve on the board for his alma mater. He is married to Lauren Hopper who teaches at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School.

“I am honored to serve on the Thomas County Board of Education as the vice chair,” Hopper said. “It is an exciting time to be a Yellow Jacket! Whether in the classroom or on our athletic fields, we have great things happening in Thomas County, and I am proud to be a part of it.”

Our BEE Boosters are at it again and we are so excited about our upcoming fundraiser "The Christmas Giveaway!" So many amazing prizes bundled into three different packages and items just keep coming in. We have a 3 night stay at Black Oaks Lodge donated by Bud & Sandy Hutchinson, Downtown bucks donated by TNB, RTIC Cooler donated by Hurst Boiler, Gift card to Ellianos, Pecans from Sun Rise Farms, Custom Birdhouse from Martin's Custom Crafts, Sonny's Gift card & meat rub, Hubbard's Meat Gift card & spices, Sauna Sessions by Cryo Reveal, Christmas item from B. Marie Crafts, Gym Membership from Factor X Fitness, JB Crumbs Gift Card, Summer Camp from Hands & Hearts, Publix Gift Card, Sweet Cacao Gift card, and much more to come. The following companies have given $250.00 as a sponsorship for this "Giveaway," Hurst Boiler, Thomas County Hardware, & Ellianos. If you are a business and would like to donate any items/funds for this "Giveaway," contact Misty Taylor at mitaylor@tcjackets.net. We cannot wait to kick ticket sales off in a few weeks!

We have 18 free WiFi hotspots available at various locations throughout the county to help those without internet access at home. Please email us at techsupport@tcjackets.net or call 229-413-1234 for assistance or if you are having any trouble accessing the free WiFi.

*NOTE - We request that people don't park directly in front of the garage doors at the fire department locations. There should be plenty of space to park at these sites without blocking the doors. Thank you!

Thomas County WiFi Map

Many of the digital resources for our school system can be found on our Clever page.  

The Clever page address is clever.com/in/tcjackets

Hand-In-Hand Primary School

2018-2019 Pre-K & Kindergarten Registration

Students currently enrolled in Pre-K at Hand-In-Hand DO NOT need to register for Kindergarten.

Monday, February 5 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, February 6 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.

Registration Place: Thomas County Board of Education, PLC 200 N. Pinetree Blvd.

(Park in the big parking lot across the street from Wendy’s.)

Click Here for Registration Requirements

We're excited to see all of the new and returning faces here at Garrison-Pilcher!  We hope this will be the best year ever for our Wee Bees!

Winners of the annual Garrison-Pilcher Book Awards recently celebrated their achievement with an Author’s Tea. Each year, classes create a classroom book for the event. Judges select a 1st and an Honorable Mention winner from each grade level. Classes are encouraged to take on the project as a whole class and the books should demonstrate student work.    

There are two new ways to stay connected to what is going on in the Thomas County School System.  

Thomas County Schools now has an app! In the App Store or Google Play, search for "School Pointe" and then locate the Thomas County School System the first time you open the app. The app allows you to find contact information for schools and staff, as well as see current news articles and information.  

We are also on Instagram!  Follow us by searching for @thomascountyschools.  

The Thomas County School System wants students to READ this summer!  Did you know that students can have up to a 2-3 month loss in reading ability over the summer?  It's important for students to spend time sharpening their reading skills!

Each school has developed a summer reading challenge for students.  We would like for students to read for 15-30 minutes everyday this summer.  The guidelines and requirements vary by school.  Please click the link below for more information about each school's guidelines.  If you need more information, please talk to the media specialist at each school.  The guidelines are for the school the students will be attending in the 2016-2017 school year.

Guidelines for all schools

Click here for information about programs at the Thomas County Public Library this summer!

Garrison-Pilcher students celebrated the 100^th day of school on Thursday, January 21^st.  Classes participated by dressing as if they were 100 years old, by counting items to 100 or by imagining what the world would be like 100 years into the future.  Please visit the photo gallery here for more pictures of the day.

Students and parents enjoyed another amazing science night.  Mr. Love showed us ways that we can use science to learn and have fun!

We would like your input on our system-wide Comprehensive Local Education Agency’s Improvement Plan (CLIP).  Below are two links where you can view the plan and complete a brief survey.   Thank you for your input and suggestions.

Click here to review the improvement plan (CLIP)

Click here to complete the survey

The Thomas County School System wants students to READ this summer!  Did you know that students can have up to a 2-3 month loss in reading ability over the summer?  It's important for students to spend time sharpening their reading skills!

Each school has developed a summer reading challenge for students.  We would like for students to read for 15-30 minutes everyday this summer.  The guidelines and requirements vary by school.  Please click the links below for more information about each school's guidelines.  If you need more information, please talk to the media specialist at each school.  The guidelines are for the school the students will be attending in the 2015-2016 school year.

Click More Information for links to all guidelines

Cick here for information about programs at the Thomas County Public Library this summer!

Please click the link below to view vacancies for the 2014-15 school year. Instructions for applying are included in the document.

2014-15 Vacancy Notices

Woodmen of the World Lodge Presented a Flag to Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School, Thomasville, GA. In the photo are Richard Potter, Assistant Principal of Garrison-Pilcher, and Elliott Kirby, Field Representative for Woodmen of the World.

Two Thomas County students at Garrison Pilcher Elementary School won 1st place at the local and district levels of the National Garden Club's Smokey Bear & Woodsy Owl Poster Contest. Lilly Hutchinson (2nd grade) and Piper Eidson (1st grade) both completed posters for the competition. Their posters will now advance and enter into the state competition.

Fifteen first grade and 25 second grade Thomas County students from Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School were winners in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Junior Citizens Contest:  “Sparkling in the Stars with the 50th Anniversary of the NASA Space Shuttle Program.”  The National Daughters of the American Revolution created the Junior American Citizens Committee to promote good citizenship and appreciation of American heritage and history among every school-age child in the United States. The JAC Committee offers contests in art, creative expression, and community service.

The JAC Committee complimented Thomas County Schools for encouraging its children to participate in the contest and added that what they are learning today will influence the kind of American citizens they will become in the future.

Click READ MORE to see First Grade Winners

Legendary coach Ed Pilcher arrived at Thomas County Central in 1991. During his 17 seasons as head coach, the Yellow Jackets never missed the playoffs, played in eight semi-final games and made six championship game appearances, winning five state championship titles. Amassing 169 wins at TCCHS and 250 in his career, Pilcher is the 26th winningest coach in state history and was elected to the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association's Hall of Fame in 2017. On Friday night, November 20, the field at the Jackets' Nest will be named in his honor. Please join us pre-game as we celebrate Coach Pilcher and his impact on Yellow Jacket football.

A special thank you to Battery Source for stepping up when we had a need for a golf cart. They have been kind enough to allow us to use it to deliver lunches to our outer buildings.

Federal Bank noticed several of our teachers and staff didn't have umbrellas and were walking out in the rain to get students. So they showed up with some umbrellas to help us out.

Thank you Synovus Bank for the morning pick me up of coffee. Around here that doesn't last long and is always a great way to start our day.

Thank you Mr. Lester of WalMart for all the wonderful school supplies for our students and teachers. It was like Christmas morning. 

Thank you Diablos for the box of supplies and goodies you sent our way. We were overwhelmed with all the love shown. 

Thank you Pineland Baptist Church for thinking of us and bringing by some awesome face masks. It is greatly appreciated.

We are so thankful for all of our business sponsors!

April 17, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The Thomas County School System family has made me very proud as we have worked together to help keep our families safe and connected through the COVID-19 pandemic. While it is common to hear that “the schools are closed,” your school system has remained open and has continued to serve its students and the community in a number of ways.

Our food service workers have already prepared more than 212,000 meals that have been delivered by our transportation department or made available for pick-up at Thomas County Middle School. We will continue to provide weekly meal packages each Wednesday through the end of May. Dozens of school employees and community volunteers make this meal program possible, and I thank them for their service. The Backpack Buddies Program has made generous donations of food to provide weekend meals that are packaged with the weekly food deliveries.

Our technology department has partnered with our public library system and other entities to create free Wifi zones in various locations across the county to support our distance learning efforts.

Click READ MORE for the remainder of the letter

Join us for an afternoon of family fun. Our annual Spring Fling will take place on March 20 from 3:30-6:30. There will be unlimited games, vendors, Kona Ice, popcorn, cotton candy, hot dog combos, raffle tickets, and more. Check the link below to see what items are up for grabs on the raffle tickets. More is being added daily. We hope to see you there. http://bit.ly/2020Raffle

In an effort to support fathers and male role models in the lives of young children, Garrison-Pilcher Elementary recently held their annual Donuts for Dads and Dudes. Almost 600 fathers and community volunteers visited the school and spent time with students doing various activities. These men shared breakfast with students, read books, toured the school, and participated in classroom learning.

Garrison-Pilcher's Parent Involvement Coordinator Misty Taylor said, “Family involvement has always been a key theme in early education and academic achievement. We want mothers and fathers to come to our school and be involved in our school activities.”

 “We also know that the male role model is a powerful factor in children’s success," added Taylor.

Along with parents of students who attend Garrison-Pilcher, men from Thomas County and Thomasville City Police Departments, EMT, and fire departments, Thomasville Utilities, and Thomas County School Board Office personnel, were on hand to engage with students and to show the value of supporting education, particularly reading.

Student Tonia Coffee, pictured with her father Brandon Coffee, stated that her favorite part about Donuts for Dads and Dudes was getting to show her daddy around the whole school after reading a book. Giggling, Tonia said “I liked drinking his coffee too”.

As we prepare for the new year, we like to reflect on our past accomplishments. This video highlights some of the many successes of our staff members and students who make this school system one of the best. We are looking forward to exciting opportunities and new successes in 2017-2018!

Simply the Best

Summer Reading Resources

10 Tips 10 Tips to Avoid the SUMMER SLUMP

Students at Garrison-Pilcher enjoyed an afternoon of dancing after meeting their reading goals for the third nine-week grading period.  Students and staff were encouraged to dress in their western wear for the Book Scoot Boogie.  Wee Bees love to read!

Wee Bees love to read!  Students that participated in the Summer Reading Challenge were treated to an ice cream treat on Friday, August 5th. Each student turned in their reading log with all of the wonderful books they read over the summer break.

Thomas County School System officials have named Erin Hall, second grade interventionist at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary, as the District Teacher of the Year.

“Words cannot express how incredibly honored and grateful I am to represent the Thomas County School System as Teacher of the Year,” Hall said. “My family, friends, coworkers, and administration support me in my passion for children and education. Without their support, I would not be able to make such an impact on the students I serve.” 

Hall has been a teacher for five years with Thomas County Schools. She taught PreK for two years at Hand-In-Hand and three years at Garrison-Pilcher, with one year in a second grade classroom and the past two years as the Second Grade Interventionist.

Click "More Information" for complete story

Get Georgia Reading partner myON is delivering more than 10,400 free books to your computer and mobile devices that you can access 24 hours a day—every day—through Aug. 31.

You can search from more than 50 different categories and genres, fiction and nonfiction, picture books, graphic novels, chapter books, titles for struggling and reluctant readers, and Spanish and bilingual titles. It’s like having your own personal library right at your fingertips.

Click "More Information" for details on how to access these free books!

Students in Mrs. Jennie Rich's 2nd grade class recently built catapults.  The students tested their tools out using ping pong balls. The students then used measuring tools to find how far the ping pong balls traveled.  

On January 4, Thomas County Upper Elementary and Thomas County Middle School held its third annual “Techno Expo.” On this professional learning day, teachers attended sessions to learn how to integrate technology into their classrooms.  Click "More Information" for details.

Ms. Bush's class celebrated Earth Day on April 22nd by sharing their home recycling projects. 

Sam Holland will be the new athletic director at Thomas County Central, the school announced Wednesday. He’ll work with current athletic director Mike Singletary, who announced his resignation in December, until the end of the school year when Singletary’s contract runs out. “I’ve been athletic director before and when the opportunity came up I was extremely excited to do it again,” Holland said during a phone interview Wednesday.

Parents, we need your feedback and suggestions.  Please take a moment to complete our online survey by clicking the link below.  The survey is available now through Friday, September 5, 2014.  We value your feedback and appreciate you taking the time share it with us!

Parent Survey

Monday, April 14, 2014 was the opening reception for the Thomas County School System student art exhibition at the Thomasville Center for the Arts lower level gallery. The student artwork exhibited was a collection of over 100 works from Garrison-Pilcher, Cross Creek, and Thomas County Upper Elementary and Middle School. Everything was organized by the school’s art teachers, Christy Parker-Priest, Annie Burke and Emily Holton.

Click "More Information" to see pictures from the opening reception.

IT'S POPPIN! Student Art Exhibition

Dee Gaines serves Garrison-Pilcher as a Speech Language Pathologist.

Thomas County Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School recognizes first and second graders for outstanding character attributes on a monthly basis.  Homeroom teachers selected one child per class that exemplified the character word for January:  honesty.  These January Character Kids are pictured with Principal Robin Binion and represent what “honesty” looks like each and every day:  (first row) Braylen Mitchell, Pedro Perez Rivera, Everly Greene, Joseph Edwards, Alex Asbell, Zy Crump, Zailey McLeod; (second row) Hanah River Daniels, Eleck Edenfield, Zyon Holton, Ruben McGowan, Makenna Ballard, Austin Hester, Gaspar Escobar, Katherine McMullen, Luke Bozeman, Carson Revels, Pierce Shaver; (third row) Sadie Christie, Timothy Brown, Braelynn Cross, Kaiden Futch, Olivia Mills, Penelope Ray, Zoey Ivey, Maya Costley, Heaven Moriss, Quardell Johnson, Fallon Steinberg, and Raelyn Drew.   Not pictured:  Kyle Branham, Mikayla Carter, Serenity Clayton, Braelyn Dasher, Kamden Gartner, Jack Harrison, Emmalie Martinez, Anthony Lopez Ramirez, and Jai’liyah Rogers.

Versión en Español

Dear Thomas County Schools Community,

Today, April 1, Governor Brian Kemp announced an executive order closing all public schools in Georgia for in-person instruction for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. It is very hard to believe that our students will not be physically returning to our schools and classrooms again this school year. We are truly heartbroken for our seniors and all students impacted by this pandemic.

Distance learning will continue for our students. We will provide alternatives to online instruction for those who do not have access to the internet. Our teachers, administrators, and county office will remain in contact with you through this challenging process. We will abide by the Governor's order and follow the guidance of the Georgia Department of Education and the Governor's Office of Student Achievement in completing the remainder of the school year. 

Spring break is April 6-10, and we encourage you to relax, rejuvenate and enjoy time with your family. Distance learning will resume Monday, April 13.

The Thomas County School System remains in close contact with local and state agencies to assure that we are all doing what we can to protect the health and welfare of our students and school system employees. 

Our system is committed to providing our staff and students with a safe and healthy learning environment. We are working hard to ensure that our schools and buses are being cleaned and sanitized daily. 

Families are encouraged to frequently check the Georgia Department of Public Health (GaDPH), the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE), and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) websites for the most current, reliable information about this issue. These websites are listed below. 

• https://dph.georgia.gov/novelcoronavirus
• https://www.gadoe.org/External-Affairs-and-policy/communications/Pages/coronavirus.aspx
• https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Search for Thomas County Schools in your app store to get our new app. Click the link below for more information.

Thomas County Schools App

What began as a project topic for a grant turned into a full-blown extension of learning about the conservation of honey bees at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School. 

Students from Mrs. Warren's 2nd grade class show off their Chihuly inspired art work that was made during their Art Specials time.

Students from Mrs. Vicki Warren and Mrs. Kathy Swearingen’s 2^nd grade classes participated in the Georgia Student Media Festival.  Project were sent off to the state level for judging.  Both projects were recognized for Outstanding Media Production with high scores for Merit.

Students pictured from Mrs. Warren’s class are (L-R) Blade Trawick, Drew Jones, Laylen Hines, Katelyn Bradshaw and Sophia Stewart.

Students pictured from Mrs. Swearingen’s class are (L-R) Makenzie Smith, Elizabeth Ralston, Jazmine Burgess and Logan Webb.

Garrison-Pilcher students participated in the annual Jump Rope for Heart event on Friday, February 19th.  The event is held in an effort to raise money and awareness for the American Heart Association.

During the week of December 7^th-11^th Garrison-Pilcher students participated in Hour of Code activities.  Hour of Code is a world-wide event held in schools to promote computer science. Below, 2nd grade student Trey Guyton helps 1st grade student Dontavious Pickett on kodable.com. For more information and activity resources for coding, please click here..

Each year, Thomas County parents, students, and teachers sign a compact to establish the partnership and how the three will work together for that student's maximum achievment.  As we look to the upcoming year, your input about how we can improve this document is very important to us.  We would appreciate it if you would please click here to access a short questionnaire that can be printed out and returned to your child's school.  

Mrs. Cindy Carnes speaks with first grade students about careers in Early Childhood Education.

Support the Thomas County Elementary Schools by signing up for the Jack O'Lantern Jog!

When: Saturday, October 18, 2014

Where: TCMS and Hand-in-Hand Campuses

Click here to download the Registration Form

Click here to see the T-Shirt Design

Click here to register online

Congratulations to Mrs. Dara Creech on being named Garrison-Pilcher's Teacher of the Year!  Mrs. Creech (right) is pictured with Garrison-Pilcher Principal, Mrs. Sharonda O'Neal.

Following a recent executive order from Governor Brian Kemp, the Thomas County School System will remain closed until Friday, April 24, with students returning on Monday, April 27. According to the Governor, the closure could be extended if the pandemic crisis worsens.

Tras una reciente orden ejecutiva del gobernador Brian Kemp, el Sistema Escolar del Condado de Thomas permanecerá cerrado hasta el viernes 24 de abril, y los estudiantes regresarán el lunes 27 de abril. Según el Gobernador, el cierre podría extenderse si la crisis pandémica empeora. 

The Thomas County Board of Education has named Associate Superintendent Dr. Lisa Williams as its sole candidate to succeed Dr. Dusty Kornegay as superintendent of the county school system upon his retirement which will be effective June 1, 2018.

Kornegay informed the school board in January that he plans to retire at the end of the 2017-2018 school year, and he provided official notice of his retirement in a letter to the board in June.

Click "More" to read entire press release

Classes recently presented technology projects in Camilla at the SWRESA Student Media Festival. Congratulations to Mrs. Marnee Stone's class for placing 1st in the K-2 group with their project: Oil Spills are Bad for the Environment.

Garrison-Pilcher's BEE Partner of the Quarter is Jones Septic Tank.  Thanks for supporting our school!

Please visit our district BEE Partner page here.

William Hester and Lafabian Paytee are showing off their patriotism in Mrs. Bennett's 2nd grade class!

The students of Garrison-Pilcher raised $9,200.00 to donate to the American Heart Association at the annual Jump Rope for Heart event that was held on February 21st.  Thanks to all of the students and parents that participated and helped make this a successful event!

Kylene Van Heiningen (right), shown with Principal Sharonda Wilson, is Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School's Teacher of the Year. 

Click the link below to see the supply wish list for Hand-In-Hand Primary School, Garrison Pilcher Elementary School, and Cross Creek Elementary School.

SUPPLY WISH LIST

Each year classes at Garrison-Pilcher take their turn at being authors and illustrators.  There were so many wonderful books that our guest judges had a difficult time choosing just one class to be recognized from each grade. The classes earning 1st place honors and Honorable Mention were treated to an Author's Tea to celebrate their great work. 

The 2nd Annual Color Me With Cheer 5K Fun Run/Walk is scheduled for Saturday, May 16.  Hosted by the TCMS cheerleading squad, the event is great for all ages!  For more information, click on the link below:

Color Me With Cheer Flyer

Register before May 4 to ensure a t-shirt!  To access the registration form, please click on link below:

Color Me With Cheer Registration Form

Dedicate a time and place at home to do homework.  Each child is different.  Finding the best time and place for your child's homework may involve trial and error.  Begin by picking a time and stick with it for 2 weeks.  If this time does not work, try another time for 2 weeks.  When choosing a place to do homework, it does not need to be completely isolated, but also does not need alot of distractions.  You may want to try the dining room or kitchen table.  Once you establish a time and place in  your home to do homework, you must be consistent everyday.

The Thomas County School System wants students to READ this summer!  Did you know that students can have up to a 2-3 month loss in reading ability over the summer?  It's important for students to spend time sharpening their reading skills!

Each school has developed a summer reading challenge for students.  We would like for students to read for 15-30 minutes everyday this summer.  The guidelines and requirements vary by school.  Please click the link below for more information about each school's guidelines.  If you need more information, please talk to the media specialist at each school.  The guidelines are for the school the students will be attending in the 2017-2018 school year.

Guidelines for all schools

Click here for information about programs at the Thomas County Public Library this summer!

Free eBooks are provided for all students this summer -- Click here for more information

Our Wee Bees became world travelers as they explored different countries and lands represented in each of our communities. Each community has spent time learning about their specific country and were able to share with the rest of the school. Our tourist marked their passport by collecting an interesting fact from each country.  Please visit the photo gallery here to see more of the fun day.

Erin Hall, shown with Principal, Sharonda O’Neal, is Garrison-Pilcher’s Teacher of the Year.

Thomas County Schools present Yishu: Art of the Far East!  Make plans to view the art show at the Thomasville Center for the Arts from January 12 through March 13.  An Opening Reception will be held on February 19 at 5:30pm.  Click here to view the flyer.

Mr. Love entertained both students and parents at Science Night.  Please visit the Photo Gallery to see the highlights from the event.

The Thomasville Chapter of the DAR has announced the winners of the Community Service Division of the Junior American Citizenship Contest for 2015. Please click on "More Information" below for a complete list of winners.

Mrs. Swearingen's 2nd Graders

Miss Taylor's 2nd Graders