Seventh-graders at Chestatee Middle School were able to hear about careers of some local professionals during the school's recent Careers in the Classroom day. Volunteers who spoke to students about their professions included state Sen. Lee Hawkins, nurse practitioner Maggie Payne, Beth Baldwin, a financial adviser and Jean Werner, a flight attendant. Other careers represented included a crime scene specialist for the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, a travel agent and a firefighter.

The Gainesville High School varsity rifle team finished seventh in their first meet of the year recently. The top shooter was Bo Bennett, who scored 281. This was Gainesville High School's first rifle team, and members are Chris Hernandez, Kevin Nava, Bennett and Lauren Weaver. The junior varsity team finished ninth overall in the recent meet, and the best individual performance was by Max Alanis, who scored 249. Members of the junior varsity team are Noe Galvan, Alex Uscanga, Max Alanis and Will Coggins. Also, the Gainesville High Navy JROTC Brain Brawl team, which is similar to the school's academic bowl team, recently placed sixth in a state competition held at Luella High School in McDonough.

Gainesville High School senior Claire Kannapel had a drawing accepted into the Savannah College of Art and Design's Georgia High School Drawing Competition. The competition was open to students from across the state, and 50 were juried into the exhibit. Her art teacher is Joe Emery.

AT&T, with a partnership through the Junior Achievement and Aspire programs, recently held a job shadowing event for students at East Hall High School. Paul Chambers, district manager for AT&T, provided an overview of the company to 31 students and three faculty members. Local technicians demonstrated the service van and bucket truck, and everyone was treated with a pizza lunch, T-shirts from Junior Achievement and AT&T bookbags.