Henry Daily Herald

Special Photo Luella High School student Terry Alexander is shown testing a water sample under the guidance of Jack Huang, an agronomist with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences campus in Griffin.

Four Henry County students were selected as summer interns by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. They are McDonough residents Terry Alexander, Jayesh Chokshi, and Grace Devine, and Stockbridge resident Latrice Burguess.

Alexander and Devine attend Luella High School in Locust Grove. Burguess attends Dutchtown High School in Hampton. Chokshi attends Woodward Academy in College Park.

Students selected for the Young Scholar Program must show a high aptitude in math- and science-related subjects and complete an interview process. The goal of the internship is to encourage students to pursue careers in science.

Pupils work side by side with UGA researchers on the campus in Griffin. The students are paired with a mentor-scientist working in a field of their interest. They present a report on a science project they have developed over the course of the program and write essays detailing their summer internship experience.

For more on the UGA CAES Young Scholar Program visit the web site www.caes.uga.edu/academics/internships/youngscholars/.

Ferst Henry awarded $10,000 CDBG funds from Henry

Ferst Foundation of Henry County recently announced it was awarded $10,000 from Henry County’s allotment of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds by the Henry County Board of Commissioners.

The organization’s mission is to improve childhood literacy in Henry County by providing free books to preschool children. Itsends a book each month to more than 900 children in the county, and has sent roughly 72,000 free books since 2007.

The books, which come from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, cost the local group $36 per child per year to send out the 12 age-appropriate children books and reading guides to parents and their children. It means Ferst Henry has to raise about $2,700 a month to keep the books flowing with its current clientele.

Officials with the non-profit said the funds will help send free books to 357 more children next year. The money, they said, will help fund the organization’s planned expansion with a new referral program being developed through five Title I elementary schools. To learn more, visit www.henryferst.org.

Path2College 529 Plan partners with Public Library Service  

For the third year, Georgia’s Path2College 529 Plan has partnered with the Georgia Public Library Service to offer the Summer Reading Program sweepstakes — Think BIG! Save for College!  Parents of children 16 and younger who participate in the Summer Reading Program can enter for a chance to win $5,529 toward a Path2College 529 Plan account. 

Officials reported that more than 445,000 Georgia children and teens participated in the public library’s summer reading program last year, and hope to see those numbers increase this year.   

Families have until July 31 to enter the Summer Reading Program Sweepstakes. Details about the sweepstakes, including the official rules and the online entry form, can be found at www.Path2College529.com. 

In addition to the $5,529 that will be awarded to the winning participant, Georgia public libraries have a chance to win a monetary gift for their participation in the Summer Reading Program sweepstakes. The library of the sweepstakes winner will receive $1,529. The library with the greatest number of sweepstakes entries and the library system with the greatest percentage of registered users entering will each win $1,529.

To learn more about Path2College 529 Plan, or to open a Path2College 529 college savings account, call (877) 424-4377 or visit www.path2college529.com.

School Notebook publishes on Wednesdays. Make submissions to Johnny Jackson via e-mail at jjackson@henryherald.com, or call (770) 957-9161.