Candler County School District

Candler County Schools Update: Schools will be closed on Thursday, October 3. However, staff volunteers will provide meals by buses to our students in the community. Between 11am-Noon on Thursday, buses will run their regular routes. Whether your child rides a bus or not, a bus should pass your house. Please be out in the yard and we'll stop to give you a meal. This is just a small gesture to let you, our students and their families, know that we care about you. If you do not see a bus on your road, you can come to the Elementary School (Pond side) and we'll get you a meal. If you are unable to come to the school, reach out to your teacher or contact us on social media, and we will do our best to come to you if possible. Actualización de las escuelas del condado de Candler: Las escuelas estarán cerradas el jueves 3 de octubre. Sin embargo, los voluntarios del personal proporcionarán comidas en autobuses a nuestros estudiantes en la comunidad. Entre las 11 a. m. y el mediodía del jueves, los autobuses realizarán sus rutas habituales. Ya sea que su hijo viaje en autobús o no, el autobús debe pasar por su casa. Por favor sal al patio y nos detendremos para darte una comida. Este es sólo un pequeño gesto para que ustedes, nuestros estudiantes y sus familias, sepan que nos preocupamos por ustedes. Si no ve un autobús en su camino, puede venir a la escuela primaria (al lado del estanque) y le conseguiremos una comida. Si no puede venir a la escuela, comuníquese con su maestro o contáctenos en las redes sociales, y haremos todo lo posible para acudir a usted si es posible.

Candler County Schools: We hope everyone is safe and has what they need during this storm recovery. We are in regular contact with EMC and GA Power for updates. Please note that school will be closed on Monday, 9/30, and Tuesday, 10/1. We will provide updates as power restoration progresses. A special thank you to the linemen and first responders working tirelessly to restore power. In the meantime, we encourage you to read, spend time with family, and enjoy life. We will continue to share daily updates and keep you in our thoughts and prayers.

Due to the strong recommendation from the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) for all schools to close on Friday, September 27, the Candler County School District will be closed for both staff and students. Forecasts indicate that our most severe weather will occur between Thursday evening and early Friday morning. Please prioritize your safety and remain vigilant during this time. With the speed of this storm, we expect that the storm's effects will diminish by mid-morning Friday. If conditions allow and there are no significant power outages or damage, the Metter vs. ECI football game is still scheduled for Friday at 7:30 PM at Tiger Stadium. We will provide updates should anything change. We plan to resume regular school operations on Monday, September 30. We hope that each of you stay safe as we weather this storm. As always, any updates will be communicated through our website, www.metter.org, our CCSD app, and social media, along with a notification through Infinite Campus. Debido a la fuerte recomendación de la Agencia de Manejo de Emergencias de Georgia (GEMA) para que todas las escuelas cierren el viernes 27 de septiembre, el Distrito Escolar del Condado de Candler estará cerrado tanto para el personal como para los estudiantes. Las predicciones indican que nuestro clima más severo se producirá entre el jueves por la tarde y el viernes temprano por la mañana. Por favor, dé prioridad a su seguridad y permanezca vigilante durante este tiempo. Con la velocidad de esta tormenta, esperamos que los efectos de la tormenta disminuyan a media mañana del viernes. Si las condiciones lo permiten y no hay cortes de energía o daños significativos, el Metter vs. El partido de fútbol ECI todavía está programado para el viernes a las 7:30 p. m. en el Tiger Stadium. Proporcionaremos actualizaciones en caso de que algo cambie. Planeamos reanudar las operaciones escolares regulares el lunes, 30 de septiembre. Esperamos que cada uno de ustedes se mantenga a salvo mientras aguantamos esta tormenta. Como siempre, cualquier actualización se comunicará a través de nuestro sitio web, www.metter.org nuestra aplicación CCSD y redes sociales, junto con una notificación a través de Infinite Campus.

CCSD Announcement: Monitoring Helene Helene will impact Georgia overnight Thursday into Friday. Candler County Schools, along with Emergency Management personnel, are monitoring this storm that is expected to be a fast-moving hurricane and will make landfall on the coast of Florida Thursday evening. We will make any decisions about school operations as we know more accurate local weather forecasts for our area. This may be as late as Thursday evening. While we respect the choices of other school districts, our decisions will be made independently, with careful thought given to what’s best for our students and community. If we have school operation changes, we will send out an alert through our website and CCSD app, which also links to Infinite Campus (our registration software, so please make sure you have completed that online at www.metter.org). We will also send an alert to the Metter Advertiser, post on our website, www.metter.org, as well as, post on all social media outlets controlled by the school district. We ask you to make tentative plans in the event that there are changes in school operations. As always, we also we urge you to prepare for a storm's effects such as power outages, etc. Remain alert and be sure to monitor communications from the school district and local media.

The MMS Football Team would like to thank Mr. Doug James at Metter High School / Metter College & Career Academy and his construction class for the awesome job they did on the team's shoulder pad rack. This allows the team more storage in the equipment room and it also allows separation of the shoulder pads in the offseason to properly clean and store them.

#MondayMotivation Something really cool happened this past Friday. Our Superintendent, Dr. Bubba Longgrear, noticed a young man cleaning up the front of the school before opening Friday morning. Impressed with his initiative and effort to keep our campus clean, Dr. Longgrear awarded Mrs. Lacey Henneman’s class a hard hat for Aiden Odom’s effort. Students, you never know who is watching or when. Always remember to do the right thing and show your team effort! Let’s start this week strong! #WINatEVERYTHING

The MMS Lady Tigers Softball Team will host the first round of Playoffs for the Southeast Georgia Middle School Softball League. The Lady Tigers' game will be held Tuesday, September 24 at 4 pm at the MHS Softball field against N. Tattnall. Cash admission is $5. No Metter Booster passes will be accepted because this is a playoff game.

The Candler County Board of Education approved the 2025-2026 School Calendar at the Sept 19 Board Meeting. To view the calendar, visit https://5il.co/2x5zm.

The Candler County School District (CCSD) and the Candler County Sheriff’s Office continue to collaborate for the safety of our community’s students, teachers and staff through trainings and drills. Sheriff’s Office personnel, School Resource Officers, Metter Fire Department and the Candler County Emergency Management Agency have been working with the school administrators on planning important safety drills, which include Fire Drills, Weather Drills, and Intruder Drills. Fire Drills are planned once a month, while Weather Drills are scheduled depending on the season. An Intruder Drill will be conducted prior to October 1 as required by House Bill 147, which also requires that school systems conduct at least one each school year. “While these types of events are extremely rare nationwide, our focus remains on the safety of our children and staff and we want to be prepared in the best way possible for any event that might occur,” says CCSD Superintendent Bubba Longgrear. Fire and EMA, along with School Resource Officers, will conduct the Fire and Weather Drills. The Candler County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting the Intruder Drill and have trained school staff on best practices in order to keep themselves and their students safe. “We want to inform the community that this is a drill and there is no reason to be alarmed,” says Sheriff John Miles. “Our deputies will be on campus to conduct the drill and to evaluate procedures so we know we are prepared for any emergency.” Candler County School District works daily to ensure a safe and secure learning environment for all students and staff. In the event of an actual emergency, school administrators will work in collaboration with the Candler County Emergency Management Agency, the Candler County Sheriff’s Office and other emergency management personnel. In the event of an actual emergency, parents can obtain information about their child’s school by downloading the Candler County School District app on cell phones to receive notifications from the school, checking the school website, following the school on social media, as well as, accepting phone calls from the school’s automated phone system. “When the actual drill takes place, our communications team will send alerts through the website, the app, and social media, just as they would in a true emergency,” says Longgrear. “We ask parents to avoid coming to the school to ‘check on your child’ in this drill or in a real emergency. One concern noted by professionals with an event like this is that when people start racing to the school it interferes with the number of officers who can deal with the actual situation because officers are then needed to manage crowd control and secure the building from visitors." The Candler County School District would like to thank all of the local emergency agencies for their proactive approach to school and community safety.

ESOL Parent Night! Thursday, September 19 at 6 pm at the K8 Complex Noche para padres de alumnos de ESOL: jueves 19 de septiembre a las 6:00 p. m. en el complejo K8 Learn what it means to be an English learner and how you can support your child (children who are learning English at school. Videos and resources will be available in English and Spanish. Información Sobre lo que Significa ser un estudiante de inglés y cómo puede apoyar a sus hijos que están aprendiendo inglés en la escuela. Los videos y recursos estarán disponibles en inglés y español.

MHS JV Football will play Thursday, September 12 at 5 pm at Southeast Bulloch High School. Tickets are available on GoFan only, or credit cards will be taken at the gate.

The deadline for the required online registration for your child is quickly approaching (this is the typical "first day of school packet" but all rolled up into one electronic file, which can include siblings as well)! Online Registration Link for Returning Students is https://candlerga.infinitecampus.org/campus/K12_Custom/cParent/index.jsp?appName=candler&fbclid=IwY2xjawETtIdleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHbD6xgsR5nQnxsQ8MZjHC-wsRTg8ngChW1rO3Tk5bOek5Ow6W2Kh6X2z-w_aem_vo5FnyRMOCVK8Z8clvzAwg If you need support, please email icsupport@metter.org.

Each year, the Candler County Education Foundation makes a tremendous impact by awarding grants to our dedicated teachers and staff. These grants, totaling over $38,000 for the 2023-2024 academic year, empower our educators to create innovative learning opportunities or strengthen academic programs that enrich the lives of our students. Here are just a few examples of the grants awarded: MES for the Lego Robotics Competition MES for the Math Mania Competition MMS for the Robotics set, Engage Club, and Jr. Beta Club MMS for the Amazing Shake Competition MHS for the Science Olympiad MHS for the Performing Arts Conference MCCA for Forklift Training These initiatives are made possible through contributions from our own staff via monthly payroll deductions and generous donations from our community members. Learn more about grants or how to donate here: https://www.metter.org/page/candler-county-ed-foundation

This morning, a post on a popular social media platform mentioned a "targeted" list of schools, which led to some confusion among students at the high school. A student then "googled" a "List of targeted schools" found a Title 1 Targeted Schools list, which included Candler County because it is a Title 1 school system. Unfortunately, the student misunderstood the information and shared it, causing unnecessary concern at the school. Candler County Sheriff Office deputies arrived quickly and confirmed that there was no cause for alarm. We urge you to talk with your children about the potential consequences of spreading unverified information. Such rumors can cause undue panic and disrupt our learning environment. We appreciate your support in helping to maintain a safe and focused school atmosphere.

Our Elementary and Middle School students recently participated in a valuable Bus Evacuation Training led by Ms. T Collins and Mr. Lake Blackburn from the Transportation Department. This training equipped students with essential skills for quickly boarding the bus in case of an off-campus evacuation and safely evacuating the bus during an emergency. At Candler County Schools, we are committed to providing a safe and secure learning environment for all students and staff. Regular trainings and drills play a crucial role in our preparedness for any potential emergency. Throughout the school year, we will conduct several drills, including fire drills, weather drills, and an Intruder Drill, which is mandated by House Bill 147 and must be completed by October 1. We encourage parents to discuss these drills with their children to help them understand their importance and to alleviate any concerns. Thank you for your support as we work together to ensure the safety and well-being of our school community.

Metter Elementary School will host a 2024-2025 Parent Meeting & Showcase on Thursday, September 12. The Annual Title 1 Meeting will begin at 5 pm and the showcase at 5:30 pm. Come hear what we have planned for a great school year and see the work our students have done so far this year!

Metter Middle School will host its 2024-2025 Parent Meeting on Thursday, September 12 at 5 pm. Please join us at this annual Title 1 Meeting to hear what we have planned for a great school year!

CHANGE OF GAME TIMES: The entire Town of Portal is experiencing electrical issues. The Portal High Athletic Director has asked us to move the high school Varsity softball game to 4 pm and to play the JV softball game immediately following in the event that darkness impedes the game from finishing. Admission is $7.

🚩No active shooter situation in Candler County!🚩 Early this morning, there was a potential active shooter situation reported in Barrow County. One of our students mistakenly saw the Barrow County Tiger mascot and thought it was the Metter High School Tiger and contacted the school administrators, prompting Candler County Schools to go on a "soft lockdown" while we confirmed the situation. We want to reassure everyone that our priority is the safety and security of our students and staff. We take these situations very seriously and are committed to keeping our community informed. Candler County Sheriff's Office was on school property and verified that the situation was not in our county and we appreciate their swift response. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation and we will keep Barrow County Schools in our thoughts.

Candler County Schools name Mrs. Ashlee Lott as the District Teacher of the Year! Mrs. Ashlee is a PIP teacher at Metter Elementary School! Congratulations!