Several members of the Fannin County School System provided the Board of Education with updates when they met Thursday, December 16.
West Fannin Elementary School (WFES) Principal Alison Danner provided an update on the school’s happenings.
She told the board of the school’s 12 new staff members as well as of the many events they do throughout the year to implement the Fish! Philosophy. The four practices of the philosophy, she said, is to be there, play, make their day and choose your attitude.
She also showed photos of improvements made around the school that were funded with Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax which included counter tops in the teacher’s lounge, an awning outside the building, new gates outside and new floor in bathrooms on the kindergarten hall.
In other reports, high school Athletic Director Shannon York said she is working on updating the athletic department handbook and provided an update on school extracurriculars.
York told of the school’s softball team coming just shy of the state playoffs; the varsity volleyball team coming fourth in the region; the One Act Play team and their All Star Cast; the girl’s cross country team coming tenth in the state and the boys coming in eighth; the cheerleading squad’s second and third places in the Universal Cheerleaders Association’s camp; and, the football team being region champions.
York also recognized the individual players who were named by the region.
In addition, she told of the beginnings of the wrestling and basketball seasons and commended the Blue Crew.
Sarah Rigdon, schools Deputy Superintendent of Administration & Governance, gave the board the Student Governance Team updates for the five county schools.
Director of Transportation Denver Foster told the board that the schools’ Here Comes the Bus app is up and running, and a new traffic pattern for WFES buses has been implemented.
Regarding the state’s annual school bus inspection, he said, 60 buses were inspected, which includes 48 route buses, and 18 defects were noted. He said defects could be something like a tear in the seat. Two additional buses were put out of service while two others had already been out of service.
School system Assistant Superintendent of Facilities and Operations Darren Danner provided updates as well: a tree at Blue Ridge Elementary that was getting into the power lines has been taken care of, a new chemistry cabinet has been installed at the high school, and areas around school facilities have been bush hogged.
Danner said the property manager for the school’s new property beside the high school has begun bailing hay.
As far as the school’s new facilities for the central office and transportation department, Danner said the project “is coming along very nicely” as doors have been installed at transportation and windows were being installed at the Staff Development Center.
“We had an OAC meeting yesterday out of concern about some excess dirt,” Danner said. “We came to a conclusion yesterday evening, and they were moving dirt today.”
Additionally, members of the high school’s band were thanked for providing music prior to the meeting. The students who performed for the board were Lexi McDaris, Hannah Mashburn, Chloe Duerfeldt, Tanner Hamby, Will Watkins, Ethan Jolly and Simone