GEMS Middle School Students Keep Moving!

Georgia Middle Schools are always looking for ways to stay physically healthy and keep moving. Midday opportunities including offerings like Team Games or Gaga Ball at recess continue to be popular ways many of our students maintain their physical wellness. Physical Education classes are always filled with music, fun, and laughter whether kids are learning to play badminton or enjoying games of “6 Base” or speedball.

However, one area that we are most excited about is the return to full extracurricular activities for our students and the increased opportunities for our students to participate in Georgia Middle School Athletics.

The Georgia School Board approved the expansion of Middle School sports in the last two years giving greater access to students to wear the Georgia Charger Red and Black. The board approved to include 5th and 6th-grade soccer last year. This past fall, 49% of our middle school students were participating in our soccer and/or cross country program! That’s an amazing number of student participants!

This winter, while we didn’t have enough interest to have a cheerleading team, we did 65 students that joined our basketball team, approximately 25% of our school student population. Our several basketball teams in grades 5/6 and 7/8 were both fun and competitive with other schools throughout the winter. It was a joy to see and hear parents and community members back in the gym to support our student-athletes this winter as the restrictions lifted.

Our Ski and Snowboard program also remains extremely popular within our school community. Even with early cancellations and the loss of Smuggler’s Notch lessons, we have about 100 students (39%) that signed up to participate in the program this year. They are looking forward to finishing their last turns on the mountain next week.

This spring, we look forward to offering 7th & 8th-grade baseball and softball for our students. In addition, the School Board’s approval to add a Track and Field program to the middle school again provides an increased opportunity for our students to feel a sense of pride to represent their school and community while they work to better themselves through sport.

None of this would be possible without the amazing work and support of our AMAZING Athletic Director, Mike Tuttle. Since this fall, Mike has taken over the work of scheduling and overseeing all our interscholastic sports programs and supervising our coaches. He has worked tirelessly to support our student-athletes have great opportunities and increase our communications with players, parents, and coaches. Georgia is so lucky to have Mike leading our Charger programs!

Likewise, our Ski and Snowboard Coordinators: Sara Wolfson, Patrick Clow, and John Rowell are invaluable in ensuring this enriching experience is available for all our Georgia Students.

Go Chargers!