EDUCATION
Jones County Family Connection sponsored its annual Back to School Bash at Gray Station Middle School last week, giving away backpacks and school supplies to Jones County students, so they can start the school year off prepared.
Joy Carr, Jones County Family Connection coordinator, said she was excited for the event and happy to see so many families out at Gray Station Middle School.
“We had a great turnout with the Back to School Bash, and people plugged into the different resources,” she said. “People had a good time. There were lots of parents and students who seemed very excited to get this school year going. It was great.”
She said the Back to School Bash in Jones County was important, because it was a way to help get students ready for the upcoming school year and give them a starter kit with school supplies. She said she wanted guardians and students to have information about the various things going on during the school year, too.
“People with children in Jones County should have come out to this, so they could get information and resources for their child on what is going on in the community and in the schools. There is a lot available. We wanted to provide all of it in one location,” Carr said.
The coordinator said the school supplies the students received will help them on the first day of school to hit the ground running and lead to success. She said it may not have been everything on their list of needed school supplies for the year, but it was a starting point.
“The community supports education. There are lots of vendors and volunteers who put value in education,” she said. “It’s good for the students to see that everyone cares about their education and wants to send them back to school ready to go.”
Carr said the students at the event looked excited, and now they can have everything ready to go before open house. She said they may not be excited to start back to school, but they will be ready with school supplies.
She said if people want to donate school supplies or money for school supplies they can do so by sending it to Jones County Family Connection. She said to send donations marked for school supplies to P.O. Box 733, which will go directly to helping with school supplies in Jones County.
The coordinator said open house for Jones County schools grades six through twelve will be July 27 from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., and grades pre-k through fifth will be held on July 28 from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. She said the first day of school is August 1 for the 2023-2024 school year, and she hopes everyone has a great year.
“I liked seeing all of the people come out and interact with different members of the community,” Carr said. “It’s a great event to showcase education and literacy. We plan all year for the Back to School Bash, so we’re glad to see how successful it is.”
