W-WMS would like to present to you the new school group for Paw Print news. This group consists of gifted language arts students in the eighth grade, meeting during the school's extended learning time and directed by Holly Ferguson with the assistance of Lise Kalla.

These students work on three different news areas: The Tiger Paw, which is the WWMS school newspaper; the W-WMS website; and The News-Reporter's "Tiger Corner." The students are Erika Scott, Amber Ellis, Whitney Branham, Joel Fair, Nick Reville, David Martin, Jared Wilson, Hannah McTier, Jordan Echols, Brittany Guin, Adam Hackney, Laura Heard, and Jonathan Winkle. We will be providing the school news for the duration of the school year.

Washington-Wilkes Middle School has received recognition by the State of Georgia as a 2007 Title I Distinguished School for its high academic achievement. Last year marked our third consecutive year for meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), one of the cornerstones of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. All of us at W-WMS are very proud of this special award.

The W-WMS Paw Print staff responsible for the weekly "Tiger Corner" column are (clockwise beginning on top of stone) Laura Heard, Adam Hackney, Erika Scott, Brittany Guin, Nick Reville, Jonathan Winkle, Jared Wilson, David Martin, Jordan Echols, Hannah McTier, Whitney Branham, Joel Fair and Amber Ellis. Starting off the school year fresh, W-WMS has acquired some new faculty and staff. New teachers for special education are Laurie Dehil, Cory Evans, and Sandra Standard. Terri Hammond is coaching girls physical and health education. We also have a new graduation coach, Amethyst Wynn.

On August 20 the entire school participated in a writing assessment in which students wrote a persuasive or expository essay on the same topic. Washington-Wilkes Middle School performs a writing assessment every year. Teachers use the data from the assessment to design instructional plans for writing throughout the year.

We are looking forward to another great year for middle school Tiger football. We have a Jamboree on Saturday, August 25, at 6 p.m. against Warrenton and Thomson. Our football team is looking strong on offense and defense. Come out and support our football team!

W-WMS Cheerleader Captain Brittany Guin (left) and Cocaptain NaTasia Fanning. W-WMS cheerleaders are ready to start the new football season. The new squad members are Captain Brittany Guin and Co-Captain NaTasia Fanning, Chelsea Burse, Kelsey Brooke, Sarah Echols, Ashley Hearst, DeBriah Lee, Paige McAvoy, and Amber Warren. The team participated in Cheerleading Camp on July 30 through August 1, where they were taught by a professional cheerleading company, Empire Cheerleading.

As a fundraiser, the cheerleaders are selling Washington-Wilkes flipflops by Toe-Goz through August. August 14 was Sign Painting Day, when they painted run-through banners and field signs. Beginning in September, the cheerleaders will be selling Tiger spirit ribbons and tattoos every Friday during football season to middle school and elementary school students. The first pep rally and game is on September 5 against the Wilkinson County Warriors.