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Author: Anna Whitford

State takeover unlikely for Gaines Elementary

March 28, 2019 Anna Whitford 4 min read

BluePrints Magazine – Volume XXVI, Issue 2 – March 2026

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Official Instagram account of Cedar BluePrints Magazine at Cedar Shoals High School in Athens, GA

The West Broad School, originally built during the

The West Broad School, originally built during the Jim Crow era as an exclusively African-American school, has sat unused and deteriorating since 2011. After considering demolition for years, the Clarke County School District presented a plan to renovate the buildings for use yesterday at an information session. The property will be turned into an extension of the Athens Community Career Academy, housing a new construction pathway. The final campus will include multiple classrooms, meeting spaces, a construction lab, community spaces and displays informing visitors about the building’s history. The next step is a public building planning session to be held on March 31 at the CCSD district office.

“This will be an authentic, hands-on planning experience as we plan for the future of the West Broad campus. CCSD remains committed to transparency about building conditions, community engagement at every step, honoring the history of this important campus and ensuring a safe, high quality learning environment for all students,” interim Superintendent Jennifer Scott said during the session.

Photos and caption by Lilly Cohen.

In celebration of Black History Month, the Junior

In celebration of Black History Month, the Junior ROTC classes split into multiple groups to present slideshows on historical black figures as part of a program from Feb. 10-13. Cadets were also encouraged to bring food to share. Sophomore Stephanie Hernandez-Vasquez joined with other classmates to share an informational slideshow about Olympic medalist Wilma Rudolph, as well as bringing churro cheesecake to share.

“It was nice to come together to celebrate such an important month with my classmates. We did our presentation on Olympic medalist Wilma Rudolph. We didn't know much about her story previously, and it felt important to share that part of history,” Hernandez-Vasquez said.

Photos and story by Julianna Robledo-Briseno.

The varsity Lady Jags soccer team showed out durin

The varsity Lady Jags soccer team showed out during their game against Oglethorpe County on Feb. 12, winning 7-0. Six of the goals came from senior forward and striker Zulma Valdivieso-Gutierrez.

Following the Lady Jags, the varsity boys soccer team mercy ruled Oglethorpe 10-0 with about 20 minutes left on the clock. Head coach Conor Naughton is confident in what the team will accomplish this year.

“We take a lot of pride in not losing at home and turning this place into a fortress. Beyond the excitement of getting to play at home in front of our fans and our community, the boys played well on the field. This team has the ability and potential to do some special things this year,” Naughton said.

Photos and caption by Katie Kulik.

The Stem Club at Cedar Shoals High School hosted a

The Stem Club at Cedar Shoals High School hosted a post-competition celebration following the team’s participation in the Regional Tournament for Science Olympiad at the University of Georgia (UGA), with the Director of Marine Science Instructional Laboratory at UGA Austin Heil and his two outreach interns attending.

Dr. Heil brought various marine animals, including a hermit crab, a starfish and a much smaller crab. The event aimed to provide fun and educational opportunities for students to learn about marine life and answer questions students may have had about post-secondary education such as volunteering and Advanced Placement (AP) courses, in which his interns shared their own experiences in high school.

The team participated in competitions similar to a quiz bowl-style competition with various science-themed events such as water quality and astronomy.

Juniors Catlin Smith and Savannah Rawls placed 3rd in Designer Genes, sophomore Cora Osurn and Savannah Rawls placed 4th in experimental design and freshman Jessie Salas Estrada and sophomore Anahi Aguilar-Rodriguez placed 3rd in Water Quality.

Smith, the club’s founder, shared her enthusiasm for science, mentioning that she has participated in similar events since elementary school.

“It’s fun science. I was really excited because I like science a lot, and we actually did Science Olympiad in elementary school but Cedar hasn’t been doing it for a while. I think it’s good to get (Cedar’s) name out there and spread science,” Smith said.

Story and photos by Kenia Gonzalez-Chavez.

Candidates for Athens mayor reconvened this past S

Candidates for Athens mayor reconvened this past Saturday, Feb. 7, for another debate hosted by Drew Abney and Russell Edwards of the AthChat Podcast. The candidates present included Clarke County School Board member Tim Denson (District 5), Athens-Clarke County Commissioner Dexter Fisher (District 5), CCSD School Board member LaKeisha Gantt and businesswoman Mara Zúñiga. Over the two-hour debate, candidates discussed a wide variety of issues, including housing availability, partnership with UGA and addressing ICE.

Caption and Photos by Eli Stone. Graphic by Sophie Meile.

Governors Honors Program (GHP) is a four week inte

Governors Honors Program (GHP) is a four week intensive program for rising high school juniors and seniors that focuses on indulging the students in their major academic interests. Attendees also have the opportunity to meet like minded students and experience a college lifestyle. This year, Cedar Shoals will send 10 semifinalists to interview or audition for a coveted spot in the summer program.

Sophomore John Driscoll was nominated for GHP by Social Studies teacher Robert Olin. On Friday Feb. 6, the semifinalists were announced, and Driscoll was excited to hear he had made it.

“I was with my friends for the announcement and I was happy I made it through. Some of my other friends did too, so I was really happy about that as well,” Driscoll said.

Senior Ella Conway attended the program in 2024 at Georgia Southern University studying visual arts and experiencing a different day to day life than what high school offers.

“If you don’t have a subject that you really like doing and you would like spending hours on every day, I don’t think it’s for you, but for the students that have a passion and want to try and go as far as they can, I feel this is absolutely a good pursuit. This experience gives you opportunities to meet like-minded people, learn what college life is going to be like, and learn lots of skills in your specific major area,” Conway said.

Swipe through the graphics to see each Cedar Shoals semifinalist and their nomination information. Story by Jillian Stirn. Photos and graphics by Katie Kulik, Sophie Meile and Lilly Cohen.

Both the Cedar Shoals girls and boys varsity baske

Both the Cedar Shoals girls and boys varsity basketball teams reigned supreme in the Classic City Championship once again, sweeping the home and away games this season with wins last Saturday.

The Lady Jags won 43-27 on Feb 7, with the boys winning 61-40.

Sophomore point guard Riley Freeman thinks the team desired to win again to prove that it wasn’t a one time thing.

“The atmosphere of it being a rivalry game made us as a team hungry to win and prove that the first win wasn’t a coincidence. For me personally, the atmosphere made me want to prove myself to people in my hometown,” Freeman said. “I wasn’t having the best game but my teammates were hot, so to secure the win I relied more on playing my role as a point guard to make sure my team put points on the board.”

Photos by Katie Kulik, Aiden Brown and Keiwon Metcalf.

Athens residents gathered downtown on Feb. 8 to pr

Athens residents gathered downtown on Feb. 8 to protest the expansion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The protest was organized in cooperation between the Athens-Clarke County Democratic Party, Athens Immigrant Rights Coalition, Athens Party for Socialism and Liberation and other groups. It took place at city hall, where protesters marched through downtown and finished at the postal building. Ella Blakely is a member of the AIRC and helped organize the event.

“I think we had a great turnout. It was really great to see how the energy shifted, from people being timid at the start of the march to really getting loud and strong, and feeling their collective power,” Blakely said.

Junior Jordy Garfias, attended the protest to show support for his parents.

“I showed out because they couldn’t. I needed to be there because they would want me to, and I know they couldn’t. Right now they’re scared just to drive or to go to work. I had the opportunity, so I went, I took it, I spoke out,” Garfias said.

Caption by Eli Stone. Photos by Julianna Robledo-Briseno and Eli Stone.

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Official Instagram account of Cedar BluePrints Magazine at Cedar Shoals High School in Athens, GA

As graduation gets closer each day, journalism sen

As graduation gets closer each day, journalism seniors start experiencing their lasts. One last being this past weekend when seniors, alongside other journalism member’s, attended the SIPA (Southern Interscholastic Press Association) convention that took place in South Carolina.

Reel and caption by Wendy Flores-Vazquez.

This season the Cedar Shoals tennis team has broug

This season the Cedar Shoals tennis team has brought in new players and is only hoping to grow even more. Broadcast reporter Olivia Brown interviews players and coach Chris Bartlett about their hopes for the future of the team.

The first ever Jag Fest was held on Saturday, with

The first ever Jag Fest was held on Saturday, with students, parents and organizations such as the Cedar Shoals Alumni Association, Drug Free Athens and Teen Matters in attendance. The event, largely organized by the counseling and administrative staff, was intended to teach students about topics they may not discuss in regular class and to give students a forum to connect outside of school, according to mental health counselor Kennedi Goodwin.

“The idea was to bring teens together in a real life format where they can talk about real topics like sexual health, substances and college and career readiness, while connecting to community resources and allowing parents to have a space to be invited into the school and see where our community partners are and how they can help them. It was also in a fun environment that was light hearted. We had fun stations and giveaway prizes. Students could bring friends, and we had a lot of student volunteers. So it was about bringing the community together with the school and showing that we’re a team, and trying to bring the East side of Athens together at Cedar Shoals,” Goodwin said.

Photos by Wendy Flores-Vazquez, Aislynn Chau, and Lilly Cohen. Caption by Lilly Cohen.

As Black History Month comes to an end, Cedar Shoa

As Black History Month comes to an end, Cedar Shoals High School arranged one last celebration by hosting a program on Feb. 26 featuring groups including Cedar Jazz Band, Dance team and Cedar Theatre.

“I thought it was a beautiful program. And then it was student led, which was awesome. We had some people from the community, so that was phenomenal. Because sometimes people don’t realize what a great place Cedar is, but it has all this incredible talent. It was wonderful to see the students perform, and see the engagement between the community and the school,” mathematics teacher Flodine Kialeuka said.

Photo by Wendy Flores-Vazquez. Caption by Sophie-Claire Meile and Wendy Flores-Vazquez

The West Broad School, originally built during the

The West Broad School, originally built during the Jim Crow era as an exclusively African-American school, has sat unused and deteriorating since 2011. After considering demolition for years, the Clarke County School District presented a plan to renovate the buildings for use yesterday at an information session. The property will be turned into an extension of the Athens Community Career Academy, housing a new construction pathway. The final campus will include multiple classrooms, meeting spaces, a construction lab, community spaces and displays informing visitors about the building’s history. The next step is a public building planning session to be held on March 31 at the CCSD district office.

“This will be an authentic, hands-on planning experience as we plan for the future of the West Broad campus. CCSD remains committed to transparency about building conditions, community engagement at every step, honoring the history of this important campus and ensuring a safe, high quality learning environment for all students,” interim Superintendent Jennifer Scott said during the session.

Photos and caption by Lilly Cohen.

In celebration of Black History Month, the Junior

In celebration of Black History Month, the Junior ROTC classes split into multiple groups to present slideshows on historical black figures as part of a program from Feb. 10-13. Cadets were also encouraged to bring food to share. Sophomore Stephanie Hernandez-Vasquez joined with other classmates to share an informational slideshow about Olympic medalist Wilma Rudolph, as well as bringing churro cheesecake to share.

“It was nice to come together to celebrate such an important month with my classmates. We did our presentation on Olympic medalist Wilma Rudolph. We didn't know much about her story previously, and it felt important to share that part of history,” Hernandez-Vasquez said.

Photos and story by Julianna Robledo-Briseno.

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