Pike County Elementary School

What team are you? Team Early Bird 🤗😁 or Team Procrastinator 🙃😅? Early Birds, here’s your worm! 🪱 Procrastinators, look away for now 👀🫣 because if you saw school supply lists, no you didn’t. Nothing to see here!🫪 *Please keep in mind that these are basic lists to get you started. Students may receive additional, more specific supply lists at Open House.*

Summer is the perfect time to start or renew your volunteer status! Remember, the Mandated Reporter training is required every single year. We would absolutely love and happily welcome more certified volunteers to work alongside us this year! Get a head start and be ready to jump right in come August! 🙂

Our April Student of the Month character trait is trustworthiness. A trustworthy student is honest, responsible, and dependable. They do the right thing even when no one is watching, keep their promises, and earn the respect of their teachers and classmates. These students help create a positive and safe school environment because others know they can be counted on. Congratulations to our Student of the Month recipients for being excellent examples of trustworthiness! 🎉🎉🎉

Each of you will be missed so very much! ♥️♥️♥️

Retirement Video 2026

Our Georgia Farm Bureau Teacher of the Month is Emily Lewis and our Educational Support Professional is Debra Sirmon! Congrats to these ladies for being honorably recognized as outstanding staff members! 🎉

Congratulations to our Teacher of the Year, Amber Dean, and our Educational Support Professional of the Year, Nurse Karen Pate! They each exemplify excellence here at PCES, and we thoroughly enjoyed celebrating them and their well-deserved honor! 🎉🎉

No more early bells, lunch duty, paint clean up, whistle blows, emails, or staff meetings! Our three retirees have over 80 years of combined educational experience. WOW!!! 🎉🎉🎉 Three incredible careers led by three even more incredible people with hearts of gold! 💛💛💛

Ken Smith is a beloved coach, encourager, and is never without a smile on his face! He achieved much success in his many years of coaching Cross Country, and he led the PCES Trailblazers Running Club along with his sweet coaching partner, Ashley O’Steen! He not only taught our students about the importance of physical health, he gave daily motivational advice for them to apply in their lives. He built strong, genuine connections with his students and athletes. He’s full of positivity and possesses a great outlook on life that he so graciously shares with all who were lucky enough to come into his path. He’s great in stature and even greater in character and spirit!

Kathy Harper is the pure embodiment of creativity. She added special touches to every single event at PCES, especially one near and dear to her heart, Veteran’s Day. Throughout her years at PCES, she’s held numerous art shows, sponsored Art Club, and played a major role in our plays by creating beautifully visual sets, handmade costumes, and amazing makeup transformations. She cultivated student talent and confidence by believing in all of them and appreciating everyone’s take on art. Their skills flourished under her direction. She has invested an infinite amount of time into children and has truly changed the world for the better by doing so.

Kathy Zellner is a dedicated librarian whose job entails so much more than most will ever see and she juggles her many responsibilities expertly. From managing the library and its contents to being the go-to person for technology assistance, there’s nothing that she can’t handle and solve. She’s our very own Wonder Woman! She always wishes to make reading fun and rewarding and made the AR program incentives accordingly. She also ran the school store and organized countless book fairs for the enjoyment of our students! Everyone loves the library and her passion fueled their love of reading! That’s a priceless, lifelong gift!

Education is a calling, and these retirees answered the call and served well beyond expectations. Legacies have been left and written lovingly in every child they encountered. We’ll all cherish the memories you sweetly gifted us. We wish you a retirement filled with joy and relaxation!

We end the school year saying goodbye to our Media Specialist team. They have made the library not just a place for books, but a place for people. They don’t just shelve and organize books, they are the hub of PCES! Thank you both for everything you did for our school!

Mrs. Zellner is lovingly called “Z” and has handled every chapter of her career beautifully. She managed to wear all the hats at once: researcher, storyteller, tech support, mentor, and the list continues. Z mastered every role that came her way and the impact she’s made cannot be measured simply in the numerous years of service, but in the memories and gratitude she leaves behind! Congratulations on your retirement, Z! 🎉🎉🎉