Caption:

(1) by SPECIAL TO THE STATE – [ WATEREE ELEMENTARY ] Melissa Smith’s second-grade class at Wateree Elementary had a pajama party and family movie night to kick off their studies of Christmas traditions around the world. Those who watched ‘The Polar Express’ included students Chloe Horton, Kaitlyn Salvage and Brenna Branham and family members Dewitt Peake, Steve Branham and Herbert Branham.

(2) by SPECIAL TO THE STATE – [ LUGOFF-ELGIN ELEMENTARY ] Students in a hearing-impaired class at Lugoff Elementary signed two Christmas songs, ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’ and ‘Silent Night,’ during a Dec. 13 school choral program. Shown are Emani Gardner, Madison Thompson, Keon Johnson, Marina Wolfe, Savannah Almand, teacher Debbie Sheppard and interpreter Charlette Vasques.

(3) by SPECIAL TO THE STATE – [ LUGOFF-ELGIN MIDDLE SCHOOL ]Brittany Sherman and Joy Hill remove skin tissue from a chicken wing in Paula Costello’s eventh-grade science class at Lugoff- Elgin Middle School. Students were studying how skeletal muscles work in pairs to allow animals to move.

(4) by SPECIAL TO THE STATE – [ BLANEY ELEMENTARY ] Francis Marion University student Tom Kaiser and USC student Zach Woodard took time from their Christmas break to help deliver Angel Tree gifts to needy children. Helping them unload gifts at Blaney Elementary are students Madelyn Jackson, Nathan Peterson, Alyssa Weems, Shymiek Dennis, Dylan Rogers and Blake Williams.

(5) by SPECIAL TO THE STATE – [ RED CARPET SCHOOLS ] North Central Middle and Wateree Elementary schools received red carpets from the State Department of Education for having excellent customer service. Kershaw County School Board members Kim Durant, Carol Thompson, Joey Dorton and Mara Jones congratulate North Central Middle principal Burch Richardson, third from left, and Wateree Elementary assistant principal Lindsay Christofaro, fifth from left.