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School news
1203SchoolBackpacks
First-grade students Samantha Velasquez, 6, and Cesar Martinez, 7, show off some of the more than 500 backpacks made from recycled plastic that Fair Street Elementary received.

Eighth-grader Justin Blalock, seventh-grader Ashley Brock and sixth-grader Erika Alcantar are the winners of the recent spelling bee at Chestatee Middle School. The students will represent the school in the Hall County Fair.

Laura Brown, director of the North Georgia Learning Resources System, is the 2007 National Dropout Prevention Network Crystal Star Awards of Excellence Students with Disabilities individual award winner. The NDPN, located at Clemson University, announced winners of the 2007 Crystal Star Awards of Excellence in Dropout Prevention, Intervention and Recovery at the 19th annual National Dropout Prevention Network Conference in Louisville, Ky. The awards are given to recognize outstanding programs and individuals that have made significant contributions to the advancement of the mission of NDPN. Brown is a 28-year education veteran, working in schools at every level, and began her career as a special education resource teacher.

During lunch, fifth-grader Morgan Trigg noticed classmate Timothy Folsom’s face turning red. Trigg immediately began performing the Heimlich maneuver on Folsom, who was choking on a chicken nugget. She was able to dislodge the nugget and Folsom was able to return to class. "We were all astonished by her quick assertive action to save her classmate," said Wiggins, in a press release. He went on to describe Trigg as a quiet, shy, "tiny wisp of a girl who is very popular with her classmates."

West Hall High School student Brent Cantrell has won third place for his photograph, "This Great Nation Will Endure," in a statewide photography contest held by The National Archives and Records Administration, Southeast Region. The contest, which was in conjunction with a recent exhibit, "Photographs of the Great Depression," aimed to introduce more students to photography as an archival medium. After approval, Cantrell’s picture will be placed in The National Archives on their Web site. Cantrell also won $50.

Fair Street Elementary School recently received more than 500 backpacks made from recycled plastic. The backpacks were rewards from Keep America Beautiful for the school's recycling efforts, which put them among the top 100 nationally for recycling during the 2006-2007 school year.

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