If history

is any indication, more than 18,000 students will be in Coweta County

classrooms when school starts Aug. 12.

Coweta County

Schools Public Information Officer Dean Jackson said the school system

believes the system's attendance will grow by the historic 5 percent level

of the past few years.

On opening

day last year, the system had 17,500 students. If the system grows by

5 percent, 18,375 students will show up on opening day.

Families who

have just moved into the county should register their students in August.

Registration will be held at individual schools.

Elementary

schools will hold registration Aug. 5-7, from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and

from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Pre-K students

must be 4 years old by Sept. 1; kindergarten students must be 5 years

old by Sept. 1; and first-grade students must be 6 years old by Sept.

1.

Middle schools

(grades 6-8) and high schools (grades 9-12) will hold registration on

Aug. 5-7, from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

If registering

a child in Coweta County schools for the first time, parents should bring

the following:

Proof of residency

(lease, mortgage, power bill, etc.).

Birth certificate.

Social Security

card.

Previous school

records, such as transcripts and last report card from previous school.

Georgia Immunization

Certificate, including Hepatitis B inoculations.

Vision/Hearing,

Dental Screening certificates.

Sixth-graders

need proof of MMR and booster, and proof of chicken pox (varicella) immunization.

Immunization

and health screenings can be obtained from private physicians and from

the Coweta County Health Department at 770-254-7400.

Georgia children

attending day care or registering in Georgia schools for the first time

have to show proof that they have been immunized against chickenpox, also

known as varicella.

The Coweta

County school system urges parents to vaccinate ­ or arrange for

proof of vaccination or immunity (Department of Human Resources form 3132)

­ as early as possible, and to contact their child's new school to

get all the details.

Proof of chicken

pox immunization and proof of MMR and booster are required of sixth graders,

along with the Georgia Immunization Certificate (including Hepatitis B

inoculations) and vision/hearing, dental screening certificates for newly

registering students.

Immunization

and health screenings can be obtained from private physicians and from

the Coweta County Health Department, at 137 Jackson Street in Newnan.

The county health department gives immunizations and screenings Monday

through Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., and 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., with no

appointment necessary at its Newnan office. The department will also have

extra staff on hand for immunizations July 29-31.

For more efficient

service, bring copies of former immunization records with you, and bring

all pertinent Medicaid information if applicable.

The costs are

$14 per shot plus $3 for the certificate at the health department. The

vision/hearing/dental screening is $18 plus $3 for the certificate.

For more information,

call the health department at 770-254-7400, or contact your child's health

care provider.