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Johnston, SC – National School Counseling Week (NSCW) is held each year during the month of February to highlight and celebrate the many contributions of district-level and school counselors. Earlier in the week, Edgefield County School District (ECSD) Superintendent Dr. Kevin O’Gorman signed a proclamation which signified February 3-7, 2025, as NSCW in ECSD.
As the school district’s counseling leader, ECSD’s Director of Counseling Services, Elesha Ellison, appreciates how many times school staff members, students and parents say “thank you” during this week (and the entire school year). She also appreciates the opportunity school counselors have this time each school year to advocate for their profession.
This year’s NSCW theme is “School Counselors Helping Students Thrive” and Ellison says the ECSD counseling Department does this in many different ways each and every day.
“We work with students on managing their emotions, preparing for college, for a career or the military, and really just trying to build whole humans who are academically gifted and who also have those skills needed to be successful when they leave our schools,” stated Ellison.
She says students tell her all the time how much their school counselors mean to them, and why.
“Our students talk about how funny some of our counselors are because they’re very high energy, and other students talk about how our counselors really help them focus when they need to reset,” commented Ellison. “This is a fun group, but I also love how they challenge me and help me grow. We are very lucky here in Edgefield County.”
Our school district is served by these outstanding counseling professionals: (Strom Thurmond High School) Gail Hicks (Lead Counselor), Kathy McKenzie (School Counselor), Shakenia Carter (School Counselor), Meghan Johnson (Career Counselor), Amber Harmon (Graduation Coach) and Keri Wiemer (Graduation Coach); (Merriwether Middle School) Sharon Corbin (School Counselor); (Johnston-Edgefield-Trenton Middle School) Tara Rutland (School Counselor); (Douglas Elementary School) Shonda Raiford (School Counselor); (Johnston Elementary School) Andra Syms (School Counselor); (Merriwether Elementary School) Meagan Maness (School Counselor) and Desmond Mealing (School Counselor); (W.E. Parker Elementary School) Julie Owens (School Counselor); (District Office) Stephanie Alford (Coordinator of Character and Resiliency Education) Elesha Ellison (Director of Counseling Services).
THANK YOU, counselors!
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Johnston, SC – Playing on home turf for the first time at Strom Thurmond High School Stadium, Team South Carolina managed to get on the scoreboard during Border Bowl XII with a safety and a defensive touchdown in the third quarter but fell again to Team Georgia in a 45-9 rout on Saturday, January 11, 2025.
The loss marked the fourth consecutive setback for the Palmetto State in the series, which matches top high school football players in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) in a ballgame to benefit charity in the Ronald McDonald House of Augusta. The last victory for Team South Carolina came in Border Bowl VII, 23-20 (Border Bowl VIII was not played due to the pandemic).
The game was presented by WJBF NewsChannel 6 with local sponsorship this year from Ole Edgefield Butcher Shop.
Strom Thurmond High School head football coach, Andrew Webb, and Rebels’ assistant coach, Champ Merriwether, served as assistants on the Team South Carolina staff, led by North Augusta High School head coach, Richard Bush. Local players included running back/linebacker Cam Blacks, wide receiver Jay Sewell, offensive lineman Trent Kelly, offensive lineman Tucker Mims and defensive lineman Josh Merriweather, all of Strom Thurmond High School.
Edgefield County was also well represented on the Team South Carolina cheerleading squad, which was voted as the best cheer squad of the game by fans. Former Rebels’ cheer team captain, Laila Lanham, served as an assistant coach alongside head coach, Heather Widener. The cheer roster included Harmony Brown of Strom Thurmond, Riley Brightharp and Hannah Mims of Strom Thurmond alongside Maddie Nichols, Ansley Parrish and Aubree Johnson of Fox Creek High School.
The colors were posted by members of the Strom Thurmond High School NJROTC Color Guard.
The lone touchdown for Team South Carolina came in the third quarter when Blackville-Hilda High School linebacker stepped in front of a pass from Team Georgia quarterback Marc-Owen Chancey of Edmund Burke Academy, taking it down the visitor’s sideline over 60 yards for a long score.
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Johnston, SC – During the December regular meeting of the Edgefield County Board of Education, held Tuesday, December 10, 2024, school board members approved the school district’s 2025-26 academic calendar.
The 2025-26 Edgefield County School District (ECSD) Academic Calendar is available for download on the school district’s website at https://edgefield.k12.sc.us/our-district/calendar or by clicking on “Quick Links” at the top right of the home page and then selecting the “District Calendar” link.
The 2025-26 academic calendar marks the third year of the school district’s modified academic calendar. The modified academic calendar for the 2025-26 school year remains closely aligned with area school district calendars in school year start/end dates as well as holidays.
The new academic calendar features a two-week fall break (Sept. 29, 2025, to Oct. 10, 2025), a three-day break for Thanksgiving (Nov. 26-28, 2025), a two-week spring break (March 30, 2026, to April 10, 2026) and an end to the school year before June.
The first day of school for the 2025-2026 school year will be Wednesday, July 23, 2025. The final day of school will be Thursday, May 28, 2026.
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Edgefield, SC – The Edgefield County Literacy Council (ECLC) recently announced its 2024-25 Distinguished Teachers of Literacy at a reception held at W.E. Parker Elementary School.
During the reception, teacher Mallory Rearden of Johnston Elementary School was named ECLC Elementary School Distinguished Teacher of Literacy.
“My goal as a teacher is to invoke a love of literacy within my classroom,” Mallory wrote in her ECLC application. “It is my hope that by allowing students free choice in reading and writing along with guided practice, students will develop their own unique curiosity about literacy.”
Teacher Kayla Frails of Merriwether Middle School was named ECLC Secondary (Middle/High School) Distinguished Teacher of Literacy.
“I make it a priority to help my students get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable,” Ms. Frails wrote in her ECLC application. “To do this, I allow myself to be vulnerable. I hope I have inspired and modeled the creativity I desire in my students. Literacy really is the passport to future success.”
Additional honorees included Merriwether Elementary School Distinguished Teacher of Literacy, Hannah Kiser; Douglas Elementary School Distinguished Teacher of Literacy, Anna Young; W.E. Parker Elementary School Distinguished Teacher of Literacy, Amy Kelly; and J-E-T Middle School Distinguished Teacher of Literacy, Anne Widell.
These teachers also have the opportunity to pursue a number of grants and scholarships.
Edgefield County Literacy Council school representatives include Jennifer Brucker of Merriwether Elementary School, Brooklyn Johnson of Johnston Elementary School, Melissa Nicholson of W.E. Parker Elementary School, Anna Young of Douglas Elementary School, Kristen Taylor of Merriwether Middle School, Anne Widell of J-E-T Middle School, Marcie Burnip of Strom Thurmond High School and Lucia Moraru of Fox Creek High School.
The ECLC Executive Board members are Angela Fallaw (President), Stephanie Fletcher (Vice President), Tyra Miller (Membership Director), Amy Willhelm (Treasurer) and Brooklyn Johnson (Secretary).
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Columbia, SC – With five regional titles and a state title to its credit over the past five years, the Johnston-Edgefield-Trenton (J-E-T) Middle School returned to the 2024 state championships on Saturday, December 7, 2024, looking for more championship hardware. They did not come away empty-handed, capturing a runner-up gavel and earning the respect of the judges.
The Eagles advanced through the first three rounds of the competition, held at the Richland County Judicial Center, and entered the final rounds with plenty of confidence. The courtroom action was fierce, as both teams made their cases before the judges. In the end, the finals came down to tiebreaker ballots, and the Eagles finished in second place.
“Our mock trial team from JET Middle School had a fantastic season, and we congratulate them on an outstanding performance in the state finals,” stated Edgefield County School District Superintendent, Dr. Kevin O’Gorman.
This year’s team included the following students: Rebecca Carpenter (8th Grade/Prosecution and Defense Attorney); DaNiylah Daniels (6th Grade/Bailiff); Izel Griffin (6th Grade/Bailiff); Luke Hatfield (7th Grade/Prosecution Witness); Colbie Hodson (7th Grade/Prosecution Witness); Ashlyn Legrand (7th Grade/Team Manager); Sa’Mya Lovett (8th Grade/Prosecution Attorney and Defense Witness); Truman Massey (7th Grade/Prosecution and Defense Attorney); Gillian O’Gorman (7th Grade/Prosecution Witness and Defense Attorney); Lindy O’Sullivan (7th Grade/Defense Witness); Justyce Rauch (7th Grade/Timekeeper); Ryan Lacon (7th Grade/Timekeeper); Olivia Stevens (8th Grade/Prosecution and Defense Witness) and Aden Wideman (6th Grade/Bailiff).
Teacher coaches included Ruth Bledsoe and Dr. Patricia Moseley. The team’s attorney coach is Blair Massey.
In each of the first three rounds of competition, teams put forward their choices for the most outstanding individual attorney and witness from the opposing team in that round. Judges also choose their top stars from each round. State finals honorees for the Eagles’ included the following students: (Round One) Sa’Mya Lovett (Outstanding Witness/Peers) and Gillian O’Gorman (Outstanding Attorney/Peers and Outstanding Witness/Judges); (Round Two) Olivia Stevens (Outstanding Witness/Peers) and Rebecca Carpenter (Outstanding Attorney/Peers and Judges); (Round Three) Truman Massey (Outstanding Attorney/Peers) and Gillian O’Gorman (Outstanding Witness/Peers and Outstanding Attorney/Judges). Following the championship rounds, Truman Massey was named as Outstanding Witness by their finals opponents, while Gillian O’Gorman was selected as Outstanding Attorney.
This year’s court case was a criminal case involving the fictitious death of a high school student-athlete who collapsed during the intense heat of a summer workout. Members of the J-E-T team represented both sides of the case and serve as attorneys, witnesses, bailiffs or timekeepers.
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