Gwinnett Daily Post

If some American soldiers don't know how much their bravery is appreciated, letters from students at Chattahoochee Elementary School will soon let them know.

"You are America's hero!" a fifth-grade girl wrote. "You're really helping out in Iraq. You're saving lives of Iraqi people! You're stopping the terrorists and you killed Saddan (sic) Hussein. That was a big accomplishment."

Another fifth-grader wrote, "Our country appreciates your bravery for trying to keep peace in Iraq and to protect the U.S.A. It must be really hard to risk your life for our safety. That is what I call a nice gift!"

The 16 fourth- and fifth-graders in the school's Student Council asked students in each class to write letters or Valentine's Day cards to the soldiers, said Pam Papciak, a fifth-grade teacher and the Student Council coordinator.

More than 1,000 letters and cards, which the school calls "Hearts from Home," were mailed to troops this week, Papciak said.

Georgia Gwinnett

Foundation holds gala

More than 130 people attended the Georgia Gwinnett College Foundation's Inaugural Trustree Gala on Tuesday.

The black-tie soiree held at the college campus included GGC trustees, GGC Foundation board members, elected officials, college administrators and students. It was the first gathering of the trustees since the inception of the foundation.

Those in attendance included financier and developer Wayne Mason, former county commissioner and developer Tommy Hughes, attorney Tom Anderson, former county commissioner and head of the Community Foundation of Northeast Georgia Judy Waters, state Sen. Don Balfour and former director of the Gwinnett University Center Rob Watts.

The GGC Foundation in a nonprofit organization committed to providing, allocating and accounting for contributions, real estate, scholarships and academic support to the college.

Notre Dame Academy

helps cancer patients

Prekindergarten and kindergarten students of the Notre Dame Academy in Duluth recently made 50 blankets for sick children at the AFLAC Cancer Centers at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite and Egleston.

Parents donated fleece to make the blankets, and the Notre Dame students partnered with Angels in Atlanta, an organization that supports cancer patients and their families at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

"It is amazing how a small act of kindness, the offer of a little blanket, can have such a profound affect on a sick child's life," said Kim Dollar, a service learning parent volunteer at Notre Dame Academy.

Some of the patients who received blankets had not been out of bed in days. When the blankets arrived, several of the patients got out of bed to choose their new blanket.

Heather Darenberg is the education reporter for the Gwinnett Daily Post. Good News From Schools appears in the Sunday edition of the Post.