Macon County elementary schools will be having the kindergarten orientations for next year the first week in April. The schedule is as follows:

Highlands April 3 10 am Cartoogechaye April 5 9 am East Franklin April 5 9 am Iotla April 8 9 am Nantahala April 9 6 pm South Macon April 12 9:15 am

Macon County schools invite parents and children to attend Kindergarten Orientation in your attendance district. Children are eligible if they reach age 5 on or before Aug. 31, 2013.

Starting in the 2013 Fall semester — Aug. 15 - Dec. 13 Southwestern Community College will be offering two complete Health Sciences programs at the Macon campus. Students will be able to complete their Human Services Technology (HST) or Substance Abuse Treatment (SAB) degree entirely in Franklin.

The HST curriculum prepares students for entry-level positions in institutions and agencies that provide social, community and educational services. Along with core courses, students take courses that prepare them for specialization in specific human service areas. Graduates should qualify for positions in mental health, child care, family services, social services, rehabilitation, correction and educational agencies.

Students and faculty at Southwestern Community College (SCC) have officially established the school’s first ever Journalism Club.

The club seeks to practice journalism, raise awareness of its importance as the service of a free society and encourage excellence in its practice. The club will monitor and support all forms of the journalistic media and track its ongoing evolution, particularly how it relates to SCC and the communities it serves. It is the goal of the club to inform the SCC community of the issues, events and changes it faces, as well as give it a voice.

For the second year, sixth grade students from Mountain View Intermediate travelled to Washington, D.C. to learn about the nation's capital. A group of 110 students, and 60 adults left Macon County at 9 p.m. on March 13 and stayed in Washington until 5 a.m. on March 17.

After selling 1,400 donuts, washing 100 cars, and participating in multiple other fundraisers, the sixth graders raised enough money to pay their own way to Washington, D.C..