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Students and staff honored: Malcolm Bridge’s Bridge Buddies and multiple athletic, arts recognitions at Oconee County Schools meeting
Summary
At the March 9 Oconee County Schools board meeting, students and staff were recognized for athletics, music and a new mentoring program; FCCLA students presented the Bridge Buddies initiative connecting middle-school volunteers with first graders.
The Oconee County Board of Education used part of its March 9 meeting to recognize students, coaches and staff across athletics, music and instructional programs and to hear a student-led presentation about a mentoring partnership.
District staff announced that the monthly art display at the Instructional Support Center features student work from Malcolm Bridge Middle School, instructed by Jessica Johnston, and noted March as School Board Appreciation Month. The board presented tokens of appreciation to members for their service.
Hillary Sanders, identified as a coach at North Oconee, was recognized for leading her gymnastics team to six consecutive state championships and was noted as the NFHS Coaches Association 2025 National Coach of the Year. The board also honored the March Pursuit of Excellence winner, Aaron Copelan, a school nurse at Colum Ferry Elementary, who received a $50 Visa gift card and other donated items for outstanding service.
Students from North Oconee were recognized for all-state music honors and for individual state championships and relay medals in swimming and diving; the board read a list of named students and credited band directors Scott Smith and Renee Jackson.
Members of FCCLA at Malcolm Bridge Middle—student presenters Sydney Stradlin and JP Porter—explained Bridge Buddies, a mentoring program that began in 2025. The program pairs middle-school FCCLA volunteers with Malcolm Bridge Elementary first graders for weekly Tuesday morning mentoring sessions where older students read with, tutor, and support younger students. First-grade teacher Jenny Quaddlebomb described how volunteers help across kindergarten and first-grade classrooms and noted many students volunteered even on a two-hour snow-delay day. FCCLA adviser Jana Hester highlighted the leadership development and pathway into North Oconee’s early childhood education program.
Kristen Harrison, principal of Malcolm Bridge Middle, thanked staff and parents for supporting the program and praised participating students for their leadership.
Board members scheduled time for photos and moved on to the business portion of the agenda without public comment on the recognitions.
