<em>Photo above: Michelle Dixon, Kimberly Brown, Lori Howell and Jennifer Rook.</em>
<h2>Beaufort High education veteran named as district’s School Counselor of the Year</h2>
Veteran Beaufort High School lead counselor Michelle Dixon is the Beaufort County School District’s 2016 School Counselor of the Year. Superintendent Jeff Moss made the announcement today at a gathering of the district’s counselors. A four-person panel of district administrators evaluated this year’s counselor candidates and selected the honorees.

Moss also recognized three grade-level honorees:
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">·   High School Counselor of the Year: Kimberly Brown, Whale Branch Early College High
·   Middle School Counselor of the Year: Lori Howell, Lady’s Island Middle
·   Elementary School Counselor of the Year: Jennifer Rook, Pritchardville Elementary</p>
“School counselors are critical components of successful schools,” Moss said. “They play vital roles in keeping students on track for success, serving as liaisons with classroom teachers and also keeping parents informed about their children’s progress.”

In her three years as Beaufort High’s lead counselor, Dixon has reorganized the school’s guidance program. As a result, Beaufort High is undergoing Recognized ASCA Model Program certification through the American School Counseling Association. RAMP certification recognizes model comprehensive, data-drivencounseling programs.

Prior to her 16 years as a school counselor, Dixon worked as an advocate for victims of sexual assault. She is National Board Certified, and her professional credentials also include a national certification to conduct investigative interviews for law enforcement; membership in the Palmetto State School Counselor Association and American School Counselor Association; and service as a career development facilitator.

At Beaufort High, Dixon hosted evening workshops for parents; instituted the advisory/advisee program “Working to Inspire, Nurture and Guide Students (WINGS); and coordinated an advisory council that included students, parents, teachers, a military representative and an administrator.
<h2>Weber joins Weichert as sales manager in Beaufort Office</h2>
[caption id="attachment_27495" align="alignright" width="150"]<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-27495" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/WHOS-NEWS-Kelly-Weber-WEB-2-e1455899811599-150x150.jpg" alt="Kelly Weber" width="150" height="150" /> Kelly Weber[/caption]

Weichert, Realtors® - Coastal Properties Owners/Brokers-in-Charge, Joe and Karen Ryan, welcome Kelly Weber as Sales Manager to the Beaufort Office. Weber has been a Lowcountry resident for over thirty years after her move in 1982 to Ridgeland, South Carolina from Lum, Michigan. Kelly has been selling new homes from Brunswick to Beaufort for national and local production builders in traditional and active adult communities over the last thirteen years.

Weber is a graduate of Thomas Heyward Academy in Ridgeland, SC. She attended Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communications. In 2014 Kelly received a Master’s Degree in Business with a concentration in commercial real estate, from Marylhurst University in Portland, Oregon.

Kelly is a member of the National Association of Realtors®, the Beaufort Association of Realtors® and the Hilton Head Island Association of Realtors®. She is sales manager of the Beaufort office and can be reached at 843-290-2609.
<h2>Bridges Prep names new Head of School for 2016-2017</h2>
Primed to launch its high school program next school year with the ninth grade, Bridges Preparatory School is bringing aboard a Head of School with a decade of experience leading a high-performing high school in Maine and 20 years with a large private school in New Hampshire.

[caption id="attachment_27493" align="alignright" width="150"]<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-27493" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/WHOS-NEWS-Dr-Nick-Ithomitis-2-e1455899888451-150x150.jpg" alt="Dr. Nick Ithomitis" width="150" height="150" /> Dr. Nick Ithomitis[/caption]

Dr. Nick Ithomitis will serve as Bridges Prep’s new Head of School effective July 1 – but he’ll be spending time at the Beaufort-based state charter school this spring to become familiar with the school and its staff.

Ithomitis, currently principal at Camden Hills Regional High School in Rockport, Maine, said his varied experiences in education have prepared him well to take Bridges Prep to the next level of achievement.

“I believe that the fundamental purpose of education is to help prepare students for success as productive adults,” he said. “As part of this purpose, it is the school’s responsibility to pass on the cultural capital of America. It is also the school’s responsibility to help students acquire the skills, knowledge and habits of mind to succeed in an increasingly complex and constantly changing world.”

He has been principal at Camden Hill Regional High since 2005. Prior to that, he was principal and an assistant headmaster at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, New Hampshire, a private high school serving 3,300 students where he oversaw eight assistant principals and 15 department heads.

Dee Matthews, chair of the Bridges Prep Board of Directors said, “We are thrilled that Dr. Ithomitis will be our new Head of School at Bridges Prep. He is exactly what we need to build upon our recent successes and help us grow into the high school program.”

“We couldn’t have gotten here without our interim Head of School, Dr. Bohnstengel whose dedication and drive has been a stabilizing influence and helped all of us truly understand what a great school we have here at Bridges.”

Ithomitis earned his doctorate in educational leadership in curriculum and instruction from the University of Massachusetts; his Master’s degree in education with an emphasis in school administration from Rivier College in Nashua, NH; and his bachelor’s degree in history with minors in education and sociology from Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado.

To learn more about Bridges Preparatory School, call 843-982-7737 or visit www.bridgesprep.org.