By Ramsey Nix
Photos by Kathryn Schiliro

The 11 Alive news team traveled to Morgan County High School last Thursday morning to host The Great Hang Up pledge drive to combat distracted driving. The MCHS program was spearheaded by sophomore Alex Sorohan, whose brother, Caleb, was killed in a car accident last December. It is believed that he was texting while driving.

Working with his cameraman to prepare for the event, 11 Alive news reporter Marc Pickard explained why his news team had landed in the MCHS gym. “Our station management was greatly touched by this story. If we’re going to be responsible members of our community, we have to commit to not only reporting on problems but also offering possible solutions,” he said.

Reporter John Gerard (a.k.a. “Commuter Dude”) was also on hand. He explained that the Atlanta news station had covered too many accidents involving drivers using cell phones to ignore the dangerous trend any longer, hence the Great Hang Up drive, which asks motorists to pledge to stop using their cell phones while driving.

MCHS football coach Bill Malone kicked off the program by explaining the meaning of a pledge to the entire student body, before 2007 graduate Emily Holloway took the podium. Holloway recalled the car accident she caused during her senior year while she was talking on her cell phone to her sister. While they argued over directions to Wal-Mart, she absent-mindedly took a left turn into a no-turn lane, colliding with an 18-wheeler. “The last words my sister heard were, ‘Oh God,’” Holloway said.

Three Morgan County natives have traded in the Georgia humidity for a northern chill, given up the “sweet” part of their tea, and gone from kudzu to ivy, the Ivy League that is.
Meet Sarah, Amanda and Grant, our local representation at UPenn, Brown and Yale, respectively.

School system invites community to Technology Showcase Tuesday, Jan. 19

Want proof chalkboards, filmstrips, even TVs have gone the way of the dinosaur when it comes to education in the county?
Visit Morgan County Elementary School Tuesday night.

School system administration and teachers are set to host a “Technology Showcase” on Tuesday, Jan. 19 at MCES. Four teachers from each of the schools will be holding 15-minute demonstrations on “how they’re integrating technology into their classroom and how it‘s helping them teach,” school system Director of Technology Jay Cawley said.
An hour-long session for teachers will begin around 4 p.m., while the session for parents and the community will begin at 5:30 p.m.

It’s 2:15 on a Friday afternoon, a time of day when most students have begun to anxiously watch the clock in anticipation of the 3:15 bell, yet in Kathleen Bryant’s classroom all eyes are on the center of the room.

But this is nothing new for Morgan County’s System Wide Teacher of the Year. For five years, Bryant has been capturing the attention of students at Morgan County Middle School. As the resident drama and theatre teacher for all grade levels at MCMS, being a self-described “natural born performer” has come in handy.

At this particular moment, her students are Late for Work, or at least they’re pretending they are. Late for Work, along with Snapshot, Dating Service, and the Question Game, is just one of the improv games Bryant uses to sharpen students’ abilities to react when performing.

Seated in a small circle in the center of the room, they’re eagerly watching and waiting to see what quips and one-liners each other has come up with. Occasionally Bryant offers direction as she walks around the circle, attentive and making sure every student is involved.

The bell rings signaling a class change. Seventh and eighth grade students in Bryant’s Pro-Time class, an advisement-like period, file into the room. Lacking normal end of the week weariness, they bustle around the room, grabbing scripts to run lines with.

“Can I see page 48?” one student calls out. “What script are we doing?” asks another.

A small chorus of giggles can be heard from the back of the room, students just coming in toss their book bags aside and grab a script, and a set of boys in the front are playfully joking around.

“Ok, Callie, go! Read!” Bryant beckons a girl towards the front of what has now become a semi-circle.