>>> SCHOOLS

Charity drives wrapping up

All four Richland 2 high schools are hosting annual student-led, schoolwide service projects designed to encourage students to explore, understand and address community needs.

Friday: H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Everywhere) 365 at Richland Northeast High, 7500 Brookfield Road. Set for 1 p.m.

Monday: Winter Dreams at Blythewood High, 10901 Wilson Blvd. in Blythewood. Time to be announced.

Wednesday: Winter Wishes at Ridge View High, located at 4801 Hard Scrabble Road. Set for 8:30 a.m.

Friday, Dec. 17: Winter Days at Spring Valley High School, located at 120 Sparkleberry Lane. Set for at 9 a.m.

Reading Teachers

of the Year named

The Kershaw County Reading Association recently held its annual Reading Teacher of the Year banquet at Lugoff-Elgin Middle School.

Named Kershaw County Reading Association’s Reading Teachers of the Year at a banquet were Mary Crayne, Camden Elementary School; Janice Kline, Leslie M. Stover Middle School; Wendy Campbell, Lugoff-Elgin High School. Gerald Gary was honored as the association’s Administrator of the Year.

Congratulations to all school reading teachers of the year: Baron DeKalb Elementary, Darlene Platte; Midway Elementary, Molly Lane; Doby’s Mill Elementary, Abby Anthony; Blaney Elementary, Adele Dixon; Jackson School, Kate Paull; Bethune Elementary, Jana Vincent; Mount Pisgah Elementary, Amy Catoe; Lugoff Elementary, Jackie Norton; Wateree Elementary, Melisa Blankenship; Camden Elementary, Mary Crayne; Pine Tree Hill Elementary, Octavia Jackson; Camden Middle, Gail West; Leslie M. Stover Middle, Janice Kline; Lugoff-Elgin Middle, Alison Barr; North Central Middle, Sherry Hunter; Lugoff-Elgin High, Wendy Campbell; Camden High, (Nancy) Lynn Crolley; North Central High, Shannon McGee; and CLC, Erin Thompson.

>>> WANTED: READER SUBMISSIONS

Send us kids’ hopes for 2011

We’re also inviting K-12 students from Richland, Lexington and Kershaw counties to tell us about their hopes for 2011.

These writings can be anything from a sentence to a poem.

We’ll highlight some of our favorites in Dec. 30 Neighbors editions.

Deadline for submissions is Wednesday, Dec. 15.

Requirements:

• Original writings should be 100 words or less. Longer submissions will be edited for space.

• Include student’s name, grade and school.

• E-mail submissions are preferred; send to dkujawa@thestate.com. But, we’ll also accept handwritten submissions, sent to Neighbors New Year, Attn. Dawn Kujawa, The State, 1401 Shop Road, Columbia, SC 29201.