History

Sardis-Girard-Alexander Elementary School was established in the fall of 1988 and the students attended school in the building that once served as S.G.A. High School (pictured above). Mr. John MacDonald was the principal of S.G.A. Elementary until the fall of 1990 when Mrs. Linda Murray accepted the position.

Under the direction of Mrs. Murray, the faculty and staff accepted their pledge to be a school of "Unity and Excellence". The school housed
in grades three through six, but soon the six grades student were transported to the newly built Burke County Middle School in
Waynesboro.

Once the bear was chosen as the mascot, the color of the bear had to be decided. Mrs. Murray chose the color brown because it is a blend that represents all of the children in the school (Murray 1998). The bear wore an SGA shirt that was blue and gold. (The same school colors used by SGA High School). The bear signified children who were excited about learning (Murray 1998). To enhance the bear's arms Mrs. Murray redrew the arms and she drew a bell in one of its hands. This drawing was submitted to a printing shop to create the school's shirt which was worn every Friday. The shirts were worn to depict school spirit, school pride, and B.E.A.R. time. The acronym B.E.A.R. meant Be Excited About Reading. Each Friday morning from 8:15 - 8:25 was B.E.A.R. time. At this time everyone in the building was reading.

Mrs. Murray also originated the bell as being a part of the faculty and staff's daily attire. She obtained this idea of the bell to symbolize the school when she saw an old, broken bell in the school's show case. The bell was used to bring students and employees together for events like recess, lunch, assemblies, fire and tornado drills, etc. In the years before when there were no telephones or televisions, the bells in church towers were rung to warn the residents of invasion, fire, storm, etc. Thus, Mrs. Murray stated that the bell represented "unity" - a coming togetherness. The bell also symbolized excellence by this excellence meant being the best student, teacher, principal, secretary, custodian, and lunchroom attendant a person could possibly be. In other words, doing and being the best that self can be each and every day based on individuality without comparing oneself to others. When each school year began, during pre-planning, everyone committed themselves to unity and excellence by signing an agreement to perform with unity and excellence and receiving a bell.