The month of March is the start of many different sports. Colorguard tryouts are after school and are held by Tara Townsend. Mrs. Townsend is also holding Auxiliary Tryouts on Monday, March 3. Golf starts March 3 as well, and is coached by Coach Eddie Lovvorn and Coach Don Keiser.

On Saturday, March 1, at 2:30, the Washington-Wilkes Middle School baseball team played its first game at Tiger Stadium against Elbert County. They were defeated by a score of 12-2, and they will play their first region home game on March 4 at 4:30.

On Thursday, February 21, Michael Pharr, second chair trumpet, and Brittany Guin, first chair alto saxophone went to Augusta to perform in the 10th District Honor Band. From 6:45 to 7:30 p.m., they listened to a concert performed by the Savannah River Symphony. That night, they practiced for two hours. The following day, they practiced for seven hours with a five-minute break each hour. On Saturday, they practiced for an additional three hours and performed at Fort Gordon in Alexander Hall at 3 p.m. They played "Dance Episode," "Amazing Grace," "Engines of Resistance," two Celtic folk songs, and "Cowboy Rhapsody." The two students received ribbons and a gift certificateto a band summer camp.

The 4-H BB (as in "Ralphy, you'll shoot your eye out!") team went to a match in Walton County on Saturday, February 23. The team won fourth place, but no one placed individually. The next match is on March 15 in Jackson County.

Thursday night, February 28, the Optimist Speech Contest was held at W-WMS. Damon Norman won first Place in the boy's division and Calli Nickels placed first in the girl's division. They will both attend the Washington Optimists' luncheon on March 11 and will compete on the district level March 29 in Augusta. Congratulations and good luck to Calli and Damon.

Congratulations also go out to eighth grader Tyrin Fanning whose art entry has won third place in the grades 4-8 category of the Georgia Department of Agriculture 2008 Annual Agriculture Day contest. Sixth grader Katie Trimm has won an Honorable Mention for her entry, and both students will be recognized in Atlanta at a special ceremony recognizing their achievement.

Mrs. Amethyst Wynn, Graduation Coach at W-WMS, and a group of middle school students recently attended a luncheon with Mayor and Mrs. Burns at the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials held at the newly renovated Pope Convention Center. Students attending were Charles Barksdale, Trey James, Keonna Lewis, Fedarian Tatum, and Victor Tatum. The students and Mrs. Wynn express their appreciation to Mayor Burns for hosting this event.

From now until the end of the CRCT, there will be a new ELT (Extended Learning Time) adjustment. Students will now be going to a different teacher during ELT and learning different forms of math. They will be teaching all of the criteria that the students need to know in order to pass the math portion of the CRCT. Also, report cards will go out on March 17.