By Mary Nethaway

In Music classes this week, Mrs. Pat Forgy, McKenzie Elementary School Music teacher, is having tryouts for the third and fourth grade Little Rebel Singers. Mrs. Forgy says this year the theme will be Disney.

The first PTO meeting was held Monday, September 10. Officer Sykes presented a program on DARE Parenting.

School Pictures will be made Wednesday, September 12. The first six weeks ends September 17 with report cards going out on September 20. Parent Teacher Conference will be held September 24 from 12- 6:00 P.M.

Linley McClain was the announcer for the week of August 27th and Brittany Clark was the announcer for the week of September 4th. Both girls did a great job. K-Kids sponsored by the Kiwanis will hold their first meeting September 12 at 7:30 A.M.

McKenzie Elementary welcomes Emily Doss and Sylvia Hodge. Mrs.Doss will be doing her student teaching in P.E. with Darlene Bowlin and Matt McCaleb. Sylvia Hodge will be working with Mrs. Beth Sisson as a teaching assistant this year.
      

Brice Priestley opened the meeting with a prayer. The FCA will be meeting the first Wednesday of each month. The National Day of Prayer Around the Flagpole was discussed at the meeting. The FCA will be putting signs around our building to let all students and faculty know that we will be observing "See Ya at the Pole" Day on Wednesday, September 19 at 7:00 p.m. Churches in our community will provide refreshments for students. Parents and visitors are welcome to come and pray for our schools. The FCA officers will be making plans for speakers, programs, and service projects for this school year. Students are also invited to meet around the flag pole each Wednesday morning at 7:30 throughout the year for prayer. All sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students are invited to join the FCA. Sponsors of the FCA are Carol Barker, George Ognibene and Josh Kee.

Homework Club is available for students in the seventh and eighth grades on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 3:00-4:15 p.m. in Mrs. Peters' room. This program provides a quiet place for study and an opportunity for students to get needed help with their classes. Fifth grade Homework Club meets in Mrs. Donna Walker's room on Monday and Thursday, beginning Thursday, September 13. On the same date, the sixth grade will meet in Mr. Hardy's room. The time for both of these is 3:00-4:00 p.m.

Mrs. Roxie Walker has a limited number of extra yearbooks on sale at $32.00 each. These will be available through the week of September 14. After that date, all remaining copies will be sent back to the plant.

On September 17, all of our parents are invited to our first PTO meeting. Mr. Jim Ward will be our featured speaker. The meeting will begin at 7:00 in the library.
  

by McKenzie High School Principal, Terry Howell

This year we have begun a girls' cross country team. Team members include Michelle Chandel, Savanna Cooper, Sarah Hartz, Amber King, Julie Smith, Lucy Snead, Naomi Street, Brittany Wallace, and Robyn Winkler. Last Wednesday, the squad competed in a meet at Jackson. The cross county track is a three-mile length laid out in a natural terrain. Our girls finished 9th out of 19 teams competing. The top McKenzie finisher was sophomore Amber King. The cross country team began under the guidance of Coach David Duncan with assistance from Tenia King. Ms. King serves in her capacity as a volunteer coach, giving freely of her time as does Coach Duncan who is busy primarily with the football team.

We are always grateful for those people who donate money or useful items to our school. Last week Carol Haldeman, a former librarian who lives in Henry, donated plants to the library to improve the aethetics of the Media Center. Two weeks ago, two alumni of McKenzie High School, George Abernathy and Jim Alexander, committed to purchase one of the wall units to house our class composites. The Class of 1971 has also committed to purchase the other unit. There is a chance for everyone to contribute to completion of this project. The cost of reprinting the previous composites will be approximately $100.00 per composite. If you would like to contribute this amount on behalf of your class, I would more than welcome this act of generosity. Call me at school if you are interested (731-352-2133).

The girls' golf team split in its match against Huntingdon and Clarksburg last Tuesday, losing to Huntingdon and winning against Clarksburg. Rachel Pruiett led the girls with a season low of 52. The boys' team improved to 5-3 with wins over Clarksburg and Huntingdon. Sophomore John French continued to lead the team with a low round of 39. On Thursday, the teams traveled to Sharon. The girls only played six holes because of night fall. The boys defeated Greenfield, but lost to Dresden. This week the teams are scheduled to have home matches against Clarksburg and Gibson County, at Milan on Tuesday, and at home against Clarksburg, Camden, and Huntingdon.

On Wednesday, September 12, students may order their yearbook for the 2001-02 school year. We will watch a brief video that details how students can purchase and customize their yearbook. Our Jostens representative will be here to promote yearbook sales. Although students may commit initially to this, parents will receive a letter to give final approval. All those who sign up for the yearbook will be eligible for $50.00 drawing. Last year's yearbook will be issued on Friday, September 14, beginning at 10:00 A.M. for those who have graduated. We will only issue yearbooks to those persons who ordered or those who have a note allowing a specified yearbook pick up. Anyone who did not order last year's yearbook, may purchase one for $40.00 after all other yearbooks have been issued. These people may get on a waiting list to purchase a yearbook.

This week is Homecoming Week at the high school. Ms. Paula Doster and Ms. Sheila Ridley, our Student Council sponsors, along with Student Council president, Brandon Trull, and his officers, have planned a full week. Each day this week we will have themes for Dress-up Days. Classes will compete in intramural athletics during homeroom. They will also try to best each other in decorating the building with signs and posters and by designing door decorations for each homeroom. On Friday, we will have a game based on the television show, "The Weakest Link", and our annual Talent Contest. The day will end with a field show by the band on the practice field and a pep rally. The pre-game crowning of the queen will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Rebel Stadium. We will have a homecoming dance for our students and their registered guests from 10:00 P.M. - 12:00 A.M. at the high school.

Last week we selected our football Homecoming Royalty. Students in each homeroom selected two junior and/or senior girls on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the M-Club picked the top five candidates. Chosen as the royalty are Angie Birdwell, Meagan Bowlin, Valarie Flippin, Tia Sneed, and Jill Stambaugh. From this list the football team will choose the queen for the Homecoming game against Adamsville. Come out early for the pre-game fanfare.

Last week we issued progressive reports on Thursday to parents who attended the Parent-Teacher Conference. On Friday, we issued the remaining progress reports to students whose parents were unable to attend. I encourage all parents who were not present on Thursday to review progress reports and make appointments with teachers as needed. Since we have only completed the first 25 days of this semester, now would be an excellent time to make connections with classroom teachers to check progress. I especially ask freshmen parents to make that effort to steer their children in the right direction to insure that high school is a positive and rewarding experience. We had approximately 40-50% of our parents in attendance. It would be beneficial for everyone if the rest could make the connection to our classroom teachers.

The band under the direction of Keith Breeden has begun preparation for its field competition season. They started this summer with a two-week band camp and have added to their field show with each football game. The band has several paid instructors who assist Mr. Breeden. Also, helping with the band are our student section leaders.

The first field show judging will be the W.T.S.B.O.A. Rating Festival in Jackson on September 29, followed by the Union City Competition on October 6. Two other competitions will precede the Division I State Competion in LaVernge on October 27. Good luck to them as they begin their season.

The football team kept its record unblemished with a 28-20 against a powerful Trenton-Peabody team. Tied at 14-14 at halftime, the Rebels played hard in tacking on two touchdowns
the second half before allowing a score late in the game for the eventual margin of victory. This week the Rebels return to Region 6-AA action with the Homecoming game against Adamsville. Kick-off is at 7:30 P.M. at Rebel Stadium. Thanks to the patronage of Coca Cola Bottling Company, we have a new scoreboard which has been repositioned for the benefit of the home stands. Carroll County Electric and T.M.B. Controls coordinated the installation so that we had our clock and scoreboard ready without lose of service for any games. We also appreciate their service to the school.