SCHOOLS

TWO LEXINGTON TECHNOLOGY CENTER STUDENTS have been recognized for their entries in the S.C Midlands Regional Poster Competition of the National Career Development Poetry and Poster Contest. Natalie Palumbo placed second and Morgan Cato took third place. The regional competition was sponsored by the Midlands Education and Business Alliance.

IRMO HIGH SHOOL’S AIR FORCE JROTC will host the Irmo Invitational Drill Meet 9 a.m.-noon Saturday at the school, 6671 St. Andrews Road. The JROTC Booster Club will sponsor a spring carnival from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. www.irmorotc.com

BATESBURG-LEESVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL has been awarded a $20,000 Arts Curricular Innovation Grant. The grant funded two performances at the school’s fine arts center and will be used to provide teacher training and artist residencies in dance and theater.

GILBERT HIGH SCHOOL’S yearbook staff has been recognized by the S.C. Scholastic Perss Association. The Gilbertine earned the best in class Palmetto Award and an overall superior evaluation for the 2011 volume.

MIDLANDS STUDENTS attending the S.C. Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities have been recognized by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. Emily Nason and Sarah Rhu were $5,000 finalists and candidates for U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts for poetry; Kamry Goodwin was a $3,000 finalist and Presidential Scholar candidate in the short story category; Maya Bradford received a $250 honorable mention award in the short story category.

ROUND TOP ELEMENTARY SCHOOL will receive the Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) designation at the American School Counselor Association’s June conference in Minnesota. Will Moody heads the guidance program at Round Top.

COMMUNITY

BRADFORD T. CUNNINGHAM, attorney for the town of Lexington, has received the S.C. Bar Pro Bono Award. The annual award recognizes attorneys who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to volunteer legal services for the poor and disadvantaged. Lexington town attorney since 2003, he has been a pro bono volunteer since 2004. In addition to the award, Cunningham also received $500, which he presented to the Lexington Police Department’s Adopt-a-Cop program for the purchase of bulletproof vests.

LT. MATT DAVIS, commander of the special operations division of the Lexington Police Department, has been named 2011’s Officer of the Year. Davis joined the department in 1996 as a patrol officer.

PEO INTERNATIONAL continuing education grant recipients for the spring semester are Courtany Evans, Carol Propps-Murphy, Marilyn Washington-Burnett and Crystal Williams. The grants are awarded to women who have returned to college to finish a degree and prepare for employment.

ANTHONY FREDERICK, an eighth-grader at Dent Middle School, has been named South Carolina’s top Middle Level youth volunteer in the 2012 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program. Frederick’s Kids Inspired by Cancer Kampaign has raised more than $19,000 for cancer research. The award includes $1,000 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C.

RICK COUNTS, a teacher at White Knoll High School, has received a Champions of the Environment Merit Award from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. The award comes with a $750 prize that Counts will use to support the WKHS Treescape Project.

BLYTHEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL’S Color Guard won the first place trophy at the S.C. Army JROTC State Drill Team Championship. The Bengal Battalion Drill Team placed second; earning them an invitation to compete in the Brigade Best of the Best Drill Meet in April and qualification for the National Drill Team Competition in May.