GHS announces STAR Student Kinsleigh Purvis
Bobcat's Corner, News February 2, 2022
ELLIJAY, Ga. – Gilmer High School has announced the 2022 PAGE STAR Student as Senior Kinsleigh Elizabeth Purvis who, in turn, selected former Mathematics teacher Ashley Stover as her STAR teacher.
Kinsleigh Purvis is the daughter of Steven and Kara Purvis of Talking Rock, Georgia. She has earned this recognition due to hard work, academic achievement, and SAT scores. In addition to being named STAR Student, she stated that she has also been accepted to attend the University of Georgia and its honors program. Purvis plans to pursue an Environmental Health Science degree that fulfills Pre-Med needs to go into Medical School.
The Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program is sponsored, administered, and promoted by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) and the PAGE Foundation. The STAR Student must be a senior with the highest score on a single test date on the SAT and be in the top 10 percent or top 10 students of their class based on grade point average to qualify. The STAR program has honored nearly 28,500 students and the teachers selected as the most influential to their academic achievement over the years. There are competitions that continue in the STAR program at the region and state level.
Purvis told FYN that the award was not something she was directly looking to achieve. While she did know about the STAR student program, she said she has been working hard towards the highest SAT score she could get for herself and not towards the STAR program specifically.
STAR Teacher Ashley Stover taught Purvis in ninth grade Geometry before stepping out of the classroom to become the Dual Enrollment Coordinator for two years. A program that Purvis has utilized to attend Dalton State College where she has been taking classes for core credits to add to her AP classes in high school.
Now, Stover is with Ellijay Elementary School.
Purvis chose Stover as her STAR Teacher because, as she states, “In the classroom, she is always very encouraging to everyone, including myself, and always pushed me to do my best. Then, as dual-enrollment coordinator, she helped me a lot with scheduling and doing what’s best for my future career and what’s best for me now.”
When asked about how surprising it was to hear the Purvis had been named STAR student, Stover said, “She’s always been at the top.”
She went on to add the Purvis was “the whole package.” She explained that the desire is there to fuel her. And while Purvis has always understood and gotten concepts quickly, she has stayed humble enough to realize the need is still there to work hard for what she wants. In addition to her drive and academics, Stover said she is kind and helpful to anyone.
That drive reaches out from school and academics as well. Purvis attends dance classes, teachers younger dancers from first and second grade, is a part of Girl Scouts, she is also very involved in her youth group that meets on Wednesday and Sunday nights.
Having gone through AP classes during the virtual academy and at-home days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Purvis still maintained her efforts and did “very well” on her AP tests according to Stover.
GHS Principal Carla Foley also lauded Purvis’ achievements saying, “We are very proud of Miss Purvis and Mrs. Stover and the academic excellence they have exemplified at Gilmer High.”
Speaking specifically about Purvis both as a past student and looking to the future, Stover said, “She’s going to do great things. I’ve known that since I met her, but she is. She is going to change the world.”
Fire Department called to Gilmer High Gym
News March 11, 2021
ELLIJAY, Ga. – Parents are receiving messages from Gilmer High School today informing them that the Fire Department had to be called to the school.
According to those messages, due to smoke coming from the mechanical room in the gym, school officials called the Fire Department to investigate. Immediately removing all students from the facility, they were taken to the Band Practice Field for safety.
According to a statement from Superintendent Dr. Shanna Downs, no students were harmed and the fire was quite small.
She added that as of 10:30 a.m, the Fire Department has extinguished the fire and cleared the area for students to return.
While authorities are still looking into the situation, preliminary information from the Fire Department said that the fire could have been electrical in nature. However, this was speculative as they were still looking into it. Reports indicate that only minor damage has been caused to the mechanical room of the gym.
School responds to argument with sports coach
News November 18, 2020ELLIJAY, Ga. – With social media abuzz and questions coming forth about a recent argument with a Gilmer Athletics Coach at Gilmer High School, FYN has reached out to Gilmer Schools Superintendent Dr. Shanna Downs for comment and answers on the path forward.
Many have already seen the video on Facebook involving the coach and a student resulting in a verbal argument. According to both Dr. Downs and those in the video, the argument arose when a child struck the coaches vehicle at the Larry Walker Center below the high school on Bobcat Trail.
FYN’s current understanding is that this coach told the child that he shouldn’t be hitting his car, that it was a rental, and he could have damaged it. Apparently, the child said that he thought it was his family’s car and left. However, the child’s older brother returned with another person, who was filming when they returned, and began asking the coach what he said to the child. While details are unclear, it appears the argument escalated from there.
Superintendent Dr. Shanna Downs did confirm that Gilmer High School Principal Carla Foley would be speaking with the coach and that the school is already amidst investigating the incident. She also confirmed that she was in meetings today as the child’s parent reached out to speak, but has scheduled a meeting to speak with her as well.
Downs said, “I am disappointed at any time that one of our staff members has a negative interaction with a student or with a family.”
The school system is pulling videos from the facility and looking into the incident as Dr. Downs said that the school principal would be handling the issue moving forward as a personnel issue. The Larry Walker Center is considered a part of the High School campus.
Sports talk Thursday with Lauren Hunter-For love of the game
Sports May 30, 2019
Recently I’ve started watching the show Friday Night Lights again. Let me just say- this is partially important because I’m not a big TV show person. I don’t have the patience to sit through an hour-long episode nor do I usually have the time to keep up with a series. But I figure with pre-season football kicking in and the fall season quickly approaching, revisiting a show that revolves around high school football is one of the best ways to get me hyped up for what’s to come.
Watching this series has also made me think about a couple of things. For one, why do we as a society rally so much around a sport that’s played by boys no older than 18-years-old? Second, do we put too much pressure on athletes who play the game? And finally, is the hype and the pressure truly worth it?
I think the answer can be summed up pretty easily- yes. And why? For love of the game.
But the love of the game is different for each of us. We’re not all going to attend every single football game or spend thousands of dollars to sit in Sanford every Saturday. We all have our limits, and in my opinion that’s perfectly okay.

Why else would my friend Erin and I bundle up in the freezing cold for playoffs? Because we love football!
I like to say that there’s something about having a team that you love that will get inside of you and never leave. I find it fascinating that there are towns across America like Dillon, Texas that will show up in the thousands to support their Panthers. Coaches and players are local celebrities, and you get your butt in the stands every Friday night just as religiously as a pew on Sunday morning. I came from a high school of nearly 4,000 students and a county of almost one million people, but the same spirit that rallies much smaller towns across the country still pulses through mine.
Yes, oftentimes I’m afraid that means we put too much pressure on the athletes who play the game. In my own personal experience, at the high school level we had so many students that it was nearly impossible to know the daily goings-on at the field house. But it was that age-old cycle of that when we would win, the coaches and players would be praised. One loss and the attitude switched faster than the direction of a twister.
But one of the many great things about this country is we have the freedom of choice in many of our decisions. Even though the athletes and coaches who play these games catch a lot of grief, they still have the choice to walk away. Some do. But for those who don’t? I’d venture to say it’s for love of the game.
When it comes to putting pressure on athletes, especially young ones, I believe the relationship is a two-way street. They should know what they’re doing, but despite all the love we have for the game, we need to understand when enough is enough. I’ve heard the term “daddy ball” thrown around a lot before, and it makes me sad to think that there are parents out there who try to live through their children. It’s important to love and support them, but even more important to let them develop their own love for their game.
Finally, like I mentioned earlier, everyone’s love for the game is different. My Papa Skip, who I probably talk to the most about sports, has a different appreciation for them than I do. I’ll use UGA football as an example. He attended classes at UGA- I never have. He still goes every year to the UGA/Florida game in Jacksonville- I’ve only gone once. He pays each year to have season tickets for the home games- I CERTAINLY don’t do that, although when he doesn’t want them I get first dibs (thanks Papa!)
The point I’m trying to make is while we all may say we love sports, we each love them differently. We each have a certain line we’re willing to cross. But at the same time, come Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday or playoffs, we rally behind our team. And we each get our butts in the stands. Why? For love of the game.
Shooting at Dalton High School
News February 28, 2018
Dalton, Ga. – The Dalton Police Department is on scene at Dalton High School where shots have been fired.
Dalton Police report that no student was injured by the shooting and all students are out of harm’s way. They also report the subject, a teacher, has been taken into custody.
The subject had barricaded themselves into a classroom earlier today before firing a weapon. Local Police and Georgia State Patrol responded to the initial call. Those reports have come about a student injured during the evacuation, the Dalton Police were adamant that no student was injured by the shooting.
Police are also asking parents to NOT go to Dalton High School as they say, “The area inside the school has been evacuated and there are no students believed to be in the school at this time.”
The evacuated students have been taken to the Northwest Georgia Trade Center where police report parents should go for their children.
The Pride of North Georgia: Pride of Pickens Band and Fannin County High School Band Unforgettable Trip
Community, Featured December 3, 2016
November the 20th, both the Pride of Pickens Band and the Fannin County High School Band traveled to perform in the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day parade. The two bands came together to perform as one~ THE PRIDE OF NORTH GEORGIA.
Please help show pride in our schools. Share with your friends and family. Anyone who has ever played in a high school marching band knows the camaraderie of the band family. Those are bonds these band kids will share in common, even though they attend two different high schools.
Enjoy a glimpse into the band trip below:
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Two of our local bands, Fannin County High School Band and Pride of Pickens Band took the opportunity to travel and perform in Philadelphia, PA. They also visited New York on this trip. This trip forged friendships and created memories which will surely remain a distinct experience for these young band members. FetchYourNews spoke with a Fannin County Band member, Ashley Fields, and asked her what the trip was like for her.
Ashley told us, “It was amazing, after going once I feel like I want to go again. Just because everything’s so huge and there was so much I didn’t see. But everything I did see was was amazing!”
Congratulations to these young men and women we are all proud of them and their excellent performance!