Whitfield County Schools kicks off 150th anniversary celebration with community block party

May 6—Several families were so eager to attend the recent community block party kicking off Whitfield County Schools' year of celebration for its 150th anniversary they arrived 90 minutes before the event started "to get their spots" at the Burr Performing Arts Park, said Kris Horsley, communications specialist for the school system.

"What a great turnout," said Superintendent Mike Ewton. "The art contest, the choir — to me, nothing brings home the emotion like a children's choir (the system's elementary honors chorus) — the students from our Leader Academy running this, it's a real celebration."

"I wasn't expecting this many people," said Southeast Whitfield High School sophomore and member of the Chick-fil-A Leader Academy Jimena Padron. Members of the Leader Academy helped turn the planned kickoff event into a community block party with inflatables, yard games and food, and they split duties — Padron helped get submissions from schools for the art contest, then assisted with overseeing the voting for the people's choice award.

For kindergarten-grade two, Westside Elementary School's Caden Stanley received first place, while Tunnel Hill Elementary School's Jorja Pierce was second, and for grades three-five, Emmalynn Headrick, a student at Tunnel Hill Elementary, received first place, while Cedar Ridge Elementary School's Maria Ramirez was runner-up, according to Horsley.

For grade six, Eastbrook Middle School's Monica Triana was first, for "Fruit Bowl," while Westside Middle School's Shelbie Bandy was second, with "Light in the Dark;" in grade seven, "Frida," by Eastbrook's Lesly Segura was first, while "In Flanders Fields," by New Hope Middle School's Roselyn Patino, was runner-up; for eighth grade, "Thoughts in Space," by North Whitfield Middle School's Emma Sucher, was first, while "Rocket in the Sky," by Westside's Addison Manis, was second; for freshmen, "Walk a Mile In My Shoes," a group project by Art 1 students at Coahulla Creek High School, received first, while "Where Did Hugo Go?" by Southeast Whitfield High School's Jennifer Diaz-Gonzalez was second; for sophomores, "Doug the Dino," by Art 2 students at Coahulla Creek, was first, while an untitled piece by Southeast's Janet Hernandez was runner-up; for juniors, "Malnourishment," by Ana Rodriguez, Northwest Whitfield High School, was first, while "Reflection of My Image," by Coahulla Creek's Kelly Coker, was second; for seniors, first place went to "Odin," by Northwest's Makayla Chastain, while second went to "Color Banqueta," by Southeast's Rocio Arredondo.

"There's a good amount of people out here," observed Padron's fellow Leader Academy member Isabela Rodriguez, who was also assisting with the art contest. "It's a nice, welcoming environment."

It is "really nice to get the community together, especially after COVID-19," said Amanda Pritchett, who attended with her husband Jonathan and their four children. "It's good to be back out again."

Their son Landan, a seventh-grader at New Hope Middle School, plays trumpet in the band and performed, while daughter Layla's New Hope Elementary School first-grade class had a project in the art contest, Amanda Pritchett said. Their other two children also "told us about (this event), and they were super excited."

Ryan and Jennifer Waldrop came in part to watch their son Bryson, a student at Westside Middle School, play trumpet as part of the festivities, and they brought along their other son, Tanner, a student at Westside Elementary School, Jennifer said.

"Everyone looks like they're having a blast."

The Fighting Mongooses, the Northwest Georgia College & Career Academy's FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics team, brought their robot to provide information about robotics.

"We try to let them drive the robot — that's the biggest (allure) — (as) we try to get young kids" interested, said junior Jazmine Ayabar, in her second year as a member of the Fighting Mongooses. "We want to share our (program), and we're open to all Whitfield County Schools."

Bryson Waldrop was almost certain to visit the Fighting Mongooses after his band performance, as he "is very into space and that stuff," said his father. "It's nice to be out here tonight with all the kids and everybody."

Benefiting organizations that assist students

Proceeds from commemorative T-shirts and ornaments sold Tuesday will be donated to three local organizations — Georgia HOPE, a community-based provider of mental health, substance use and family preservation services; Highland Rivers Health, a recovery and wellness center/crisis stabilization unit; and Hamilton Health Care System — that meet the mental health needs of Whitfield County Schools students. Vendors like Chick-fil-A and Kona Ice will also donate part of their proceeds to Georgia HOPE, Highland Rivers and Hamilton Health Care System.

"Whitfield County Schools is a phenomenal district to work in," said Christina Goering, a licensed clinical social worker with Highland Rivers. "The teachers and staff are so supportive of us working with students to reach their mental health goals, so five gold stars for Whitfield County Schools."

"There was an uptick in anxiety" among students with the COVID-19 pandemic, as COVID-19 "definitely created a unique strangeness, and mental health is a national issue," Goering said. "The more we can work together to decrease the stigma around mental health, it only helps all of us."

"We're here tonight to spread mental health awareness and tell people getting help is OK," said Benji Parker, a licensed master social worker and community liaison manager for Highland Rivers. "We've been providing school services for five to six years — we started in Gordon County — and we're now in 13 counties total."

"Lots of (students) lost family members to COVID-19 and are grieving," said Sara Bolton, a licensed professional counselor who works with Whitfield County Schools students for Highland Rivers. and now that the nation is seemingly emerging from a pandemic state, students are "dealing with anxiety as they try to readjust to social life after an abnormal couple of years."

'This great idea'

Students are selected by educators at their school to participate in the Chick-fil-A Leader Academy, which is organized by an educator at the school and sponsored by a local Chick-fil-A restaurant operator (Brett Lewis in the case of Southeast's and Coahulla Creek's Leader Academy programs), according to Chick-fil-A.

The program focuses on making an impact through action and training leaders within local communities.

"We wanted to have a kickoff event, but the Leader Academy kids came up with this great idea, and they are amazing," Ewton said. "I couldn't be more pleased."

The Leader Academy has "gotten me more out there," Rodriguez said. "It's changed how I perceive volunteering and impacting the community."

Whitfield County Schools will continue to mark its 150th anniversary throughout the year, including with a podcast that will initially focus on stories of the system's past told by former employees, Ewton said.

The first episode will likely be released in June, "but we want it to live on past that," with future episodes likely spotlighting the present and future of Whitfield County Schools with current students and staff members.