Savannah River Mission Completion, the Savannah River Site liquid waste contractor, has awarded 17 college scholarships to students who are children of SRMC employees.

USC Aiken held its spring commencement ceremony on May 1 at the college’s convocation center, celebrating over 400 graduates.

An Aiken County woman joined her daughter as a graduate of Aiken Technical College Tuesday evening. Amy Prosser was one of over 400 students eligible to walk across the stage in a ceremony held at the USC Aiken Convocation Center. 

Prosser received an associate degree in nursing. She added her daughter, Ansley, graduated from Aiken Tech's early college program in 2021. Prosser also said Ansley would graduate from Anderson University with a bachelors degree in nursing on Saturday. 

Aiken’s Center for Lifelong Learning, a partnership organization with USC Aiken, held its annual Recognition Day on Wednesday afternoon.

Aiken High School held a ceremony Wednesday continuing its Hallways of Fame recognition series by honoring two individuals with signs inside the school.

Students at St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic School were able to sign two steel beams that will be used in the construction of the school’s new STEM center.

During Tuesday night’s Aiken County Board of Education meeting, SRP Federal Credit Union presented the Affinity Debit Card Program earnings for 2023 to the district with an honorary check.

Keyana Hatton, an art teacher at South Aiken Baptist Christian School, has made it to the top 10 in Reader’s Digest’s America’s Favorite Teacher competition — an accomplishment that she said she “can’t believe.”

On Thursday afternoon, a road at the front of Midland Valley High School’s campus was dedicated to Sarah Johnson, who has dedicated many years of her life to the public schools of the Midland Valley area.

Mead Hall Episcopal School held its its annual Strawberry Festival on Saturday, a beloved fundraiser that supports the school. The festival is centered around the sale of fresh strawberries, along with treats like strawberry ice cream.

Camp Invention, a nationally recognized, nonprofit summer enrichment program, is coming to Ruth Patrick Science Education Center the week of June 10-14.

USC Aiken’s College of Sciences and Engineering held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday, April 16, for its new Pacer Makerspace and Machine Shop.

The Aiken County Public School District held a special called Board of Education meeting on Tuesday night to discuss the budget for the 2024-25 school year, along with the One Cent Sales Tax.

Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning. — William Arthur Ward

South Aiken Baptist Christian School held its second talent show. This year's event included student comedy skits, karate demonstrations and science experiments.

Parker’s Kitchen, a convenience store and food chain in Georgia and South Carolina, held a ribbon-cutting on Tuesday at its first Aiken store. This new store is located at 140 Jefferson Davis Highway.

University Theatre Players to present "Clue: On Stage!" by Sandy Rustin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 11-13, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 14, on the mainstage in the Etherredge Center on the campus of USC Aiken.

Aiken Technical College hosted its third annual Sustainability Expo on Wednesday morning, an event started by the school’s ATC Green Team to promote sustainability and recycling on campus and beyond.

The 2024 NCAA Women’s Final Four in Cleveland, Ohio, begins Friday, April 5, with a basketball game between N.C. State and USC Columbia, followed by a matchup between the University of Connecticut and University of Iowa.

Senator Shane Massey, who represents S.C. District 25, will be the featured speaker for USC Aiken’s commencement ceremony at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 1, at the USC Aiken Convocation Center.

In anticipation for the solar eclipse on April 8, The Aiken County Public Library held an Eclipse Program which featured an educational presentation and guided crafts including handmade eclipse viewing boxes.

Dr. Ronald L. Rhames, president of Midlands Technical College, will be the keynote speaker for the 2024 Aiken Technical College Commencement Ceremony.

Midland Valley High School completed a renovation project on its Stomping Grounds Cafe in February. The student-led snack and drink shop which was established in 2022.

Aiken Technical College will receive $1 million in federal funding to support new equipment for its School of Nursing, thanks to support from U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham.

Standing poised and calm in a noisy hallway beneath a picture of famed poet Maya Angelou, Johnston Elementary School fifth-grade student Ta’niylah Jeffery focused instead on her written words.

Trinity United Methodist Church’s Trinity Preschool celebrated its new Little Free Library on Tuesday morning. The Little Free Library is located next to the campus Blessing Box.

Medical professionals spoke at an Aiken County Board of Education meeting Tuesday night on the topic of high school sports safety, specifically to encourage board members to consider the need for athletic trainers during upcoming conversations about budget priorities.

A check for $30,912 from proceeds of the SRP High School Affinity Debit Card Program was presented to Strom Thurmond High School Principal Fran Altringer on Thursday, March 14, by representatives of SRP Federal Credit Union.

Strom Thurmond High School recently held its National Beta club induction ceremony.

The Aiken County Public School District held its annual Stars of Public Education Banquet on Thursday night.

Erik Anderson is a ninth grader at North Augusta High School. Like many of his peers, he enjoys playing video games and listening to music. Most people he passes in the hallway don’t know that he can only see out of his right eye due to glaucoma, retina detachment and Stickler syndrome, or t…

Mead Hall Episcopal School Sophomore Russell McLaren said that he was “speechless” when he recently learned that he’d been accepted into two prestigious rival boarding schools in the northeast: Phillips Academy Andover in Massachusetts and Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire.

JOHNSTON — Prior to the winter break, the J-E-T Middle School Chorus was treated to a special meeting with gospel recording artist Rudy Currence.

Horse Creek Academy (HCA) students have been announced as winners in C-SPAN’s 20th annual StudentCam competition, a documentary film contest in which students across the nation have the chance to explore complex topics through the video camera lens.

USC Aiken’s Spring 2024 Oswald Distinguished Writers Series featured award-winning novelist Karen Russell, who spent Tuesday speaking to students in writing classes before a book reading and signing event.

The Center for Lifelong Learning is an outreach program of the University of South Carolina. It is designed to offer mature adults living in the CSRA the opportunity to continue to learn throughout their lives. USC Aiken hosts the classes, and provides the necessary oversight and administrat…

The University of South Carolina Aiken is closed for in-person operations today as teams work to restore water service to the main campus, including operability of restrooms and on-campus water sources. After a main domestic water pipe on campus broke, the main water line was shut off to mak…

Local elementary school students learned the importance of hand washing with a demo from Aiken Regional Medical Centers during Patient Safety week. 

On Tuesday night Aiken County Public School District board members had their first open discussion around the budget for the 2024-25 school year.

Mossy Creek Elementary School celebrated Read Across America Week by inviting Aiken County Public School District personnel, pastors and community members to read books to its students. On Tuesday morning, current ACPSD Superintendent, King Laurence visited the school to read from several books.

Former Gamecocks football players Langston Moore and Preston Thorne brought the children's book they co-wrote in 2015 to Redcliffe Elementary School to encourage literacy. 

Aiken Technical College held its annual Scholarship Breakfast on Feb. 27 on behalf of the Aiken Technical College Foundation. The annual event honors donors who help provide scholarships to the school's students.

SALLEY — Community members gathered Feb. 29 to discuss their thoughts relating to the proposed sale of the town’s historic Sardis School after a Salley Town Hall open forum meeting was canceled. 

Recipients of Public Education Partners Fall 2023 Classroom Innovation Grants were recognized Tuesday night at an Aiken County Public School District Board of Education meeting.

For Aiken County residents curious about homeschooling, the Sweetwater Homeschool Expo on March 2 might be able to answer your questions. This event will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sweetwater Baptist Church in North Augusta and is free to the public.

A town hall meeting will be held at the Sardis School to address the proposed sale of the former school with significant cultural and educational history, established in 1925 by the Rosenwald Fund.

JACKSON — The community gathered at Jackson’s Town Hall for a public forum Monday night regarding a discussion about the consolidation of Jackson STEM Magnet Middle School and New Ellenton Middle STEAM Magnet School. 

Aiken Technical College employees recently were recognized as Educators of the Year during the 2024 South Carolina Technical Education Association conference in Myrtle Beach, held Feb. 15-17.

After Aiken County Public School District Superintendent King Laurence announced his pending retirement in August, the Board of Education was on the hunt for someone who could fill his shoes. After a monthslong search , Corey Murphy was selected as the incoming superintendent.

Literacy Quest, a fair-style family literacy event, was hosted by Kennedy Middle School on Thursday night. The middle school welcomed parents and students from five additional schools: Chukker Creek Elementary, Millbrook Elementary, East Aiken School of the Arts, Oakwood-Windsor Elementary a…

Learning doesn’t just happen in classrooms. The Center for Lifelong Learning sometimes offers field trips to visit historic sites or other places of interest to our members, and we plan to keep on doing such outings.