| Magee Courier-Simpson County News

Secretary Michael Watson poses for a picture with winners of the 2021 Promote the Vote essay contest during an awards ceremony at the Two Mississippi Museums.

Secretary Watson Honors K-12 Students and Teachers in Promote the Vote Awards Ceremony

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Fri, 04/01/2022 - 03:34 PM

Below is a press release from the office of the Mississippi Secretary of State:

Secretary Michael Watson honored K-12 students and teachers during a special awards ceremony at the Two Mississippi Museums Thursday. The event marked the conclusion of the 2021 Promote the Vote program, a longstanding voter education effort consisting of mock elections, contests, and elections curriculum. The 2021 "Vote Local" theme encouraged students to learn about Mississippi's municipal elections process.

Citizens Vote Against School Bond Issue

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Thu, 03/31/2022 - 10:22 AM

The $39 million dollar Simpson County School bond failed to pass last Tuesday after 57 percent of the total ballots cast were against the bond issue. Unofficial results reflected a total of 3,824 votes were cast with 1,631 for the bond issue and 2,193 against. For the bond issue to have passed, 60 percent of those casting ballots would have had to vote for it. Only 22 percent of Simpson County

Sheila Watson and Maple Smith pose for a picture with Greenville Councilwoman Lois Hawkins and interns Oniyah Robinson and Fredrick Williams at a mixer for volunteers. Credit: Maple Smith

‘From the ground up’: How one community-run program is getting more kids to college

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Wed, 03/30/2022 - 02:56 PM

Maple Smith has lived all her adult life in Greenville, save for the four years she spent in undergrad at Mississippi State University. A secretary in the city clerk’s office, she looks for ways to, as she puts it, “sow seeds” in Greenville in her free time — which she has a lot more of, now that her three kids have gone to college.

Students in the Jefferson County School District prepare for the third grade reading assessment in June 2019. Credit: Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today/Report For America

Schools will receive grades this year, prompting mixed reactions from administrators

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Wed, 03/30/2022 - 02:12 PM

For the first time in two years, public schools will be graded on student performance, prompting excitement from some school leaders and frustration from others who are concerned about how COVID learning loss will be represented in the data.

Public schools in the state receive A-F letter grades through what MDE calls its accountability model. It measures elementary, middle and high schools on a variety of factors including student performance and improvement in tested subjects like math and reading, as well as growth during the school year, and graduation rates.

UPDATED EARLY DISMISSAL 12PM

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Wed, 03/30/2022 - 08:49 AM

Dear SCSD Community:

Due to high winds arriving earlier than expected, ahead of the severe thunderstorms, all Simpson County School District schools will dismiss at 12 p.m. today.

-- Simpson County School District

Animal lovers often wonder if their pets will be with them in heaven. Janice Brien has no doubt she will see her precious Kettle again after hearing an on-air answer by Billy Graham while she listened to American Family Radio. Graham stated that according to Scripture the lion shall lie down with the lamb. If there are lions and lambs in heaven then surely our special pets will be there too. "That settled it for me," Janice said.

Kettle’s service made life better for MS patient

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Tue, 03/29/2022 - 03:41 PM

According to the website www.nationalmssociety.org “Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body.”
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society initiated March as MS Awareness Month in 2003 to bring attention to MS and assist with fundraising activities.

Magee High School News

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sfairchild

Tue, 03/29/2022 - 02:58 PM

Magee Trojan student Edmya Turner recently represented the school as a participant in the Lions Club Girls’ Leadership Conference in Morton.

Magee High School News

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sfairchild

Tue, 03/29/2022 - 02:56 PM

Magee High National Honor Society and FCCLA recently participated in a joint community service project for Angel Wings Outreach Center in Mendenhall. Students donated household items to the center for use by the families helped there.

MDE: 70 Mississippi high schools receive national 2021 College Success Award

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Tue, 03/29/2022 - 10:34 AM

Below is a press release from the Mississippi Department of Education:

The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) announces that 70 Mississippi high schools received a prestigious 2021 College Success Award recognition from GreatSchools.org for excelling at preparing students to enroll and succeed in college as determined by available data in each state.

GreatSchools.org is the nation’s leading nonprofit providing school information to parents and families and has conducted the College Success Award annually since 2018.

William Pittman enjoys a spring afternoon in the wooded property of his home in Columbia, Miss., on March 14, 2022. Pittman hopes the limited scope of use and practice in Mississippi for newly legalised medical marijuana will be expanded. Sarah Warnock/MCIR

Medical marijuana offered promise of relief. But not for him.

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Thu, 03/24/2022 - 03:24 PM

William Pittman eagerly lent his signature to legalize medical marijuana, something his psychiatrist thought could help treat his borderline personality disorder, binge eating disorder and ADHD.

But even as he signed his name, “I told my husband, ‘You know I’m going to get screwed out of this. Some way, somehow, I’m not going to get any.’ ”

He was right.

MDE announces 2022 Parent of the Year

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Thu, 03/24/2022 - 03:12 PM

Below is a press release from the Mississippi Department of Education:

Tara Denevan

Tara Denevan, 2022 Mississippi Parent of the Year

Faculty say Alcorn’s new strategic plan does little to address their ongoing concerns

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Thu, 03/24/2022 - 01:26 PM

Alcorn State University has released a strategic plan that aims to help the historically Black land grant university “achieve preeminence through transformative teaching and research excellence.” Some faculty and alumni say they wish the plan contained more specific, measurable goals.

The plan identifies several goals the university would like to accomplish by 2026, such as increasing enrollment and making the U.S. News and World Report’s list of top 20 historically Black colleges and universities.

Commissioner Andy Gipson joined Governor Tate Reeves as he signed a proclamation declaring March 22, 2022, as Agriculture Day in the state of Mississippi to coincide with National Ag Day.

MDAC Announces Funding Availability for School and Community Gardens

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Thu, 03/24/2022 - 01:04 PM

Below is a press release from the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce:

In conjunction with funding, Tuesday, March 22, proclaimed as Agriculture Day in state of Mississippi.

Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson joined Governor Tate Reeves as he signed a proclamation declaring March 22, 2022, as Agriculture Day in the state of Mississippi.

MDE extends deadline to Mississippi Teacher Residency program

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Thu, 03/24/2022 - 12:42 PM

Below is a press release from the Mississippi Department of Education:

The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) Mississippi Teacher Residency (MTR) program has extended the program’s application deadline past March 15.

Talyr Hall, a resident physician at Wesley Medical Center, looks for instructions from her physical therapist as she stretches during her therapy session at Wesley Medical Center in Hattiesburg, Miss., Wednesday, March 16, 2022. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

This Mississippi doctor could use medical marijuana. So could many of her patients.

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Thu, 03/24/2022 - 12:22 PM

After Mississippi lawmakers legalized medical marijuana in February, resident physician Taylr Hall sees some promise both for herself and for many of her patients. There’s room in Mississippi for both pharmaceutical drugs and medical marijuana, she says.

Talyr Hall, a 30-year-old Brookhaven native and resident physician at Wesley Medical Center in Hattiesburg, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2016 while she was in medical school.

MDE: 12 students named semifinalists for 2022-23 State Board of Education junior representative position

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Thu, 03/24/2022 - 12:14 PM

Below is a press release from the Mississippi Department of Education:

The Mississippi State Board of Education (SBE) has selected 12 high school sophomores/rising juniors as semifinalists for the 2022-23 SBE junior representative position.

MDE: New School of Innovation, two new Districts of Innovation for 2022-23

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Thu, 03/24/2022 - 11:16 AM

Below is a press release from the Mississippi Department of Education:

The Mississippi State Board of Education (SBE) has approved plans for Mannsdale Upper Elementary in the Madison County School District to be Mississippi’s newest School of Innovation and for Pascagoula-Gautier School District and Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District to be Mississippi’s newest Districts of Innovation for 2022-23.

The SBE also renewed District of Innovation status for Booneville School District and Grenada School District, which both received the status in 2016.

SOS: Secretary Watson Launches Student Ambassador Program

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Thu, 03/24/2022 - 07:54 AM

Below is a press release from the Mississippi Secretary of State:

The Mississippi Secretary of State's Office is seeking high school seniors with a passion for leadership and state government to apply for the agency's newly-created Student Ambassador Program. The program aims to increase voter education and registration among youth and encourages students to engage in Mississippi civics.

Components of the program include:

- A fall summit in Jackson focused on the state's elections process.

State Board invites public comment on temporary accountability adjustment to determine new A-F grades for districts, schools and federally required school improvement designations

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Thu, 03/24/2022 - 07:46 AM

Below is a press release from the Mississippi Department of Education:

The Mississippi State Board of Education (SBE) voted today to invite public comment on a temporary adjustment to the statewide accountability system so A-F grades for districts and schools and federally required school improvement designations can be determined for the 2021-22 school year.

JSU president calls for more HBCU funding in testimony about bomb threats

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Thu, 03/24/2022 - 07:42 AM

Jackson State President Thomas Hudson asked the congressional committee: “What will it take for us to ensure the long-term protection of not only our students, faculty, staff and stakeholders, but the historical assets that are HBCUs?”

Thomas Hudson, Jackson State University’s president, called for greater funding for historically Black colleges and universities during a congressional hearing examining violence against Black institutions, including recent bomb threats.

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