The Newton County School System Office of Public Relations has received national recognition for publications produced during the 2012-2013 school year.

The National School Public Relations Association awarded the district three awards of merit.

Items submitted for consideration included two new electronic publications — Board Notes, a monthly recap of school board meetings, and Thursday Folder, a weekly compilation of NCSS news stories — as well as a brochure about the Newton County Board of Education.

Each publication received an Award of Merit, the second-highest award in the program.

School public relations departments throughout the nation were eligible to participate in the awards program, and this year, 679 publication entries were submitted. Publications were judged on design, skill and meeting their overall PR goals/objectives.

"Our goal is to keep our stakeholders continually informed of important information regarding our school district," said Sherri Davis-Viniard, director of public relations for Newton County Schools. "It’s an honor to have three of our newest publications, which were just launched last school year, receive national awards."