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Bell Elementary 5th Graders Moving Up
Bell Elementary School said goodbye to its graduating 5th-grade class during its Moving Up Ceremony Thursday, June 15.

Students won awards for outstanding work in a number of categories, including art, music, engineering and math. The school also honored outstanding academic excellence and achievement. The Elk's Club honored Dakota Payne for having the highest GPA while Amariah Argro and Ashley Whritenour won the Triple C Award for commitment, character and courage.

"I'm excited to move on as much as I will Miss my teachers. I've been here for a while. It's going to be hard to move but I'm looking forward to it," said Whritenour.

Student Council president Shelby Goodwin reviewed highlights from the year. These included a field trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and the class' efforts to raise $700 to buy a water buffalo, llama, sheep, goat, and flock of chickens through Heifer International. The donation helped bring agriculture and commerce to an impoverished area.

"They're a great group of kids. I was only able to work with them for a year but I'd want to work with them for ten," said first-year Bell Elementary principal Lorraine Hulbert.

"I'm thankful for the teachers who supported me to get to this point," said fifth-grader Dominick Weaver, who said gym and math were his favorite classes. He also had a favorite memory. "I was big into Student Council. I'm glad I ran."

The students also put on a musical performance for parents and teachers as part if its "You Inspire Me" ceremony. The 5th graders then walked down the halls of the school as younger students lined the hallway holding signs and cheering them on to middle school.

"My fifth-grade team did a great job getting the kids ready. I can honestly say this was the most phenomenal Moving Up ceremony I've ever seen," said Hulbert.

You can find a photo gallery of the ceremony here.