Registered and ready

With classes starting Monday, the doors at Columbia County schools remain open for pupils needing to register for the upcoming school year.

//

Many elementary schools in the county are buzzing with activity as pupils file in for registration, which started July 26.

About 50 pupils signed up at Lewiston Elementary School during the first week of registration.

"We have been a growing school since we came here in 2003," said Principal Mike Doolittle. "We average around 80, 90 to 100 students every year."

The county's newest elementary school -- Cedar Ridge Elementary, near Grovetown -- has recorded about 60 new pupils, and Principal Sarah Wall estimates that number will continue to grow during the first two weeks of school.

"We've grown by 100 students each year," she said. "We're a growing school, that's for sure."

Pupils need to register at the school in which they are zoned. The documents needed for registration include proof of residency; a certified copy of a birth certificate; Social Security card; and immunization and three-point screening records, which can be acquired from a private physician or the Columbia County Health Department.

"We just have to have that proof of residency to make sure they're in the right zone," Hall said. "That's the main thing we need right off the bat."

Pupils new to the Columbia County school system will also need a copy of their most recent report card.

To be eligible for kindergarten registration, children must turn 5 years old on or before Sept. 1.

Parents and guardians are urged to register pupils before each school's open house.

"If we had as many folks registered before that happens, it just helps that night go better," Doolittle said. "It helps the first day of school go better as well."

Thursday, open house will be held from 3:30-6:30 p.m. for sixth-graders and from 6-8 p.m. for high schools. Open house will also take place Friday from 3:30 -6:30 p.m. for seventh- and eighth-graders and 5-7 p.m. for elementary schools.