The GRAD (Get Ready Achieve Dream) Attendance Bowl competition is counting down to its final days.

Schools at every level in the Calhoun City and Gordon County school systems remain in the running to claim the rotating bowls on a permanent basis. It has been an impressive year in school attendance, with schools at all levels, elementary, middle and high, scoring in the 90 percent range.

For example, in the April competition, Calhoun and Red Bud Elementary Schools finished first and second, respectively, with attendance percentages of 98.0 and 97.6, and CES will display the GRAD-Chick-fil-A Bowl in its trophy case. CES, incidentally, has been the yearly attendance winner three consecutive times.

Winners at other levels for April:

High school – Sonoraville edged out Calhoun, 94.1 percent to 93.9 to win the GRAD-Thurston’s Bowl.

Middle – Sonoraville, with an impressive 97.7, squeaked out a win over Calhoun Middle, which scored 97.1 percent, and claims the GRAD-Omnova Bowl.

“And,” pointed out City Schools social worker Amanda Schutz, “CMS had 100 percent attendance on two different days during CRCT week. That was a huge accomplishment.”

County School social worker Whitney Carnes added, “Everyone’s attendance has remained above 90 percent all year. Great job, everybody.”

Both Schutz and Carnes are members of the GRAD committee, a collaborative stay-in-school group with representatives from The Calhoun-Gordon Council For a Literate Community, United Way, Family Connection and the two public school systems.

“It’s going to be a close race, and this final month (May) is going to make a big difference,” said Schutz.

Presentations of permanent bowl selections will be made in formal ceremonies at the close of the schools year.