<b>Local counselors&nbsp;</b><b>honored by district</b>

[caption id="attachment_31485" align="aligncenter" width="2933"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Counselor-of-the-Year-2017.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-31485"><img class="size-full wp-image-31485" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Counselor-of-the-Year-2017.jpg" alt="From left are Kimberly Brown, Suzan Ballard and Jalissa Newton." width="2933" height="1941"></a> From left are Kimberly Brown, Suzan Ballard and Jalissa Newton.[/caption]

Jalissa Newton, of Lady’s Island Elementary, has been named the 2017 Beaufort County School District’s Elementary School Counselor, and Kimberly Brown, of Whale Branch Early College High, was named the High School Counselor of the Year.

Veteran H.E. McCracken Middle School lead counselor Suzan Ballard was named the 2017 School Counselor of the Year.

Superintendent Jeff Moss made the announcements at a recent awards breakfast for the district’s counselors. &nbsp;

“Top-notch schools have top-notch school counselors,” Moss said. “They keep students on track for success, both academically and emotionally. And they also have to be excellent communicators in order to keep parents informed about their children’s progress.”&nbsp;

A three-person panel of district administrators evaluated this year’s candidates and selected the honorees.

More than 20 local businesses and community members sponsored the awards breakfast and donated gifts for the school district’s counselors.

<b>Adult ed program&nbsp;</b><b>earns honors, funds</b>

The Beaufort County School District’s adult education program has received two statewide awards as well as $822,000 in performance-based funding tied to positive academic results.

Although the district’s adult education program serves students of all ages, performance-based funding rewards those that help students ages 17-22 earn their South Carolina high school diplomas, WorkKeys certificates or high school equivalency diplomas (GEDs).&nbsp;

“Our adult education team continues to raise the bar,” said Superintendent Jeff Moss. “These recognitions represent a tremendous amount of time, effort and energy devoted to helping students be successful in school and in life.”

Adult Education Director Juanita Murrell said this is the third year for performance-based funding, which allocates state and federal dollars to local programs based on indicators such as students’ academic improvements as well as the numbers of students earning high school diplomas, WorkKeys certificates or GEDs. &nbsp;

Beaufort County has received $822,000 in performance-based funds based on indicators from the 2015-16 school year.

“Adult education has a tremendous positive impact, not only on the lives of students but also on the economy and business climate of the entire county,” Murrell said. “That’s because we have a singular focus, and that is creating pathways for students to get and keep good jobs. The more gains we make with our students and the more lives we improve, the more funding we’ll receive.”

<b>Vets needed for&nbsp;</b><b>school project</b>

A local teacher is seeking local veterans for a class project.

The Academic Arts class of Laura Richardson, of Beaufort Middle School, will be interviewing local veterans and videotaping or audiotaping the interviews.&nbsp;

“We plan to submit the interviews to the Library of Congress’s Veterans History Project, in hopes that the interviews can be added to their collection,” said Richardson. “We did this last year and the Library of Congress accepted all eight videotaped interviews into their collection.”

The Veteran’s History Project incorporates videos, photographs, letters, diaries, journals, military documents, unpublished memoirs from veterans, who served in the United States military, in any capacity, from World War I through the present and are no longer serving.&nbsp;

Civilians who served in support of a United States war effort in a professional capacity also are welcome to participate.

Call Richardson at 843-322-5679, or e-mail her at laura.richardson@beaufort.k12.sc.us.

<b>Local student named&nbsp;</b><b>to Dean’s List</b>

Tucker Langehans, a sophomore English major at Grove City College, has been named to the Dean's List with Distinction for the Fall 2016 semester. Tucker is a 2015 graduate of Beaufort Academy and is the daughter of Dr. Michael and Sarah Langehans.

<b>Local students named&nbsp;</b><b>to President's List</b>

Michelle Marie Britton, Zachary A. Brown, Kelsey E. Butler, Robert W. Fanning, Michael A. Gulledge, Guy Maximilian Kemmann, Adam E. Lipsitz, Kody L. McHale, Frances Dunbar Myrick, Hannah Jean Raymond, Grace D. Rhodes, Elizabeth C. Rhodes, James M. Rider, Logan A. Riley, Lee A. Samuel, Alexandra A. Sebestyen, Andrew Graham Stoddard and Mary Austen Stoddard, all of Beaufort, have been named to the Clemson University President's List for the fall 2016 semester.

<b>Holy Trinity student&nbsp;</b><b>wins dance competition</b>

<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/howard-e1488461557656.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-31486"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-31486" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/howard-e1488461557656.jpg" alt="howard" width="626" height="1313"></a>

Holy Trinity student Payton Howard took first place in the 2017 South Carolina Independent School Association (SCISA) Dance Competition for her contemporary solo to "Read All About It."&nbsp;

In addition, Howard was named SCISA Middle School State Dance Best Overall Soloist.&nbsp;

Howard has been dancing since the age of 2 and has placed in numerous competitions, her most recent being recognized for first place and the judges' choice award at Dance Makers Inc., where she was also selected by the faculty to receive a National Finals Scholarship.&nbsp;

However, earning SCISA titles for Holy Trinity holds a special significance for the seventh grader.&nbsp;

"I love being able to tell a story through movement and dance,” she said. “It was exciting to watch and cheer on the other dancers at the competition, but what made the SCISA Dance Competition so special for me was the honor of being able to represent my school, Holy Trinity."&nbsp;

To learn more about the classical Christian education offered at Holy Trinity, visit www.htccs.org.&nbsp;