Exhibit winners
• Pre-K and kindergarten contest winners: Itzabellah Paz and Grace Bowman, both of Riverview Elementary.
• First and second grades: Stephen Closs, Black’s Mill; Brayden Creel, Robinson; and Hannah Buice and Juan Perez, both of Kilough.
• Third through fifth grades: Erika Gilstrap, Black’s Mill; D.J. Mitchell, Robinson; Ben Beck and Lydia Donaldson, both of Kilough; and Tyler Caldwell and Tyler Lewis, both of Riverview.
• Middle and high schools: Evan Noonan, Riverview Middle; and Dustie Thurmond, Dawson County High.
• Writing contest winners in first through fifth grades: Dylan Dixon, Black’s Mill; Sharie Evans and Bryan Garcia, both of Riverview; and Meghan Disharoon and Jake Williams, both of Robinson.
• Writing contest winners in middle and high schools: Zack Sams, Dawson County Middle; and J.M. Redd, Dawson County High.
The week of March 7-11 was “a thrill” for those involved with special education in Dawson County.
As part of a national effort to celebrate special education, children, teachers and school administrators took part in Exceptional Children’s Week.
The week included an art show and a visit to a Dawsonville City Council meeting.
School officials set up an exhibit at the local library to show the literary and artistic talents of the county’s brightest students involved in special education.
Dawson County resident Lisa McClure stopped by to take a look.
“This stuff is amazing,” McClure said. “There’s so much talent ... with the writing and artwork too.”
The school district’s director of special programs also visited.
“Events like this art contest help our kids to understand that they can succeed,” said Lonnie Trahan-Dikowski. “It’s not an automatic, because success comes at a high price.”
Trahan-Dikowski added that Exceptional Children’s Week brings out the best in those involved.
“I have never seen them so excited,” she said. “This is really a thrill for a lot of them.”
Also exciting, she said, was a visit with the mayor during a city council meeting last week.
Mayor Joe Lane Cox presented a group of students, teachers and volunteers with a proclamation.
“We celebrate Exceptional Children’s Week nationwide, but Dawson County in particular wants to celebrate our kids because we know they’re going to be the adults of our community soon, and we want to prepare them in all ways for that,” Trahan-Dikowski said.
According to the Council for Exceptional Children’s Web site, Exceptional Children’s Week is “a means to educate the public about children with disabilities and garner support for them and special education.”