McKenzie Elementary School deeply appreciates Joe Curtis and the City of McKenzie for the recent work on the school grounds. In the front, they helped fix a drainage ditch and on the playground, they spread gravel under the playground equipment.

The Kiwanis has also helped McKenzie Elementary by contributing toward the Citizen of the Month Program. They are helping to buy pins that each student will be presented at the ceremony.
The first Citizen of the Month Program will be held September 28 at 8:00 a.m. in the school gym. Twenty-seven boys and girls representing a student from each class will be honored. Parents are personally invited to attend. The ceremony is also open to the public. The guest speaker will be Jill Holland. She will present a brief talk on what it means to be a good citizen.
Also, on September 28, around 10:00 a.m., Arthur, a character from a children's book, will be making an appearance at the elementary school. He will be in costume and visit each child's class handing out books and other surprises.

Mrs. Mona Batchelor's last day will be September 28. She has been helping Ms. Beth Wilcoxson in the library. She has read and dramatized stories about dinosaurs, deer, The Three Little Pigs, Where the Wild Things Are, and Horton the Elephant. McKenzie Elementary will miss her greatly and look for opportunities to have her back.

The announcer this past week was Emily Bloodworth from Mrs. Tammy Gordon's third grade class. Emily did a great job.

The Rebel Singers for 2001-2002 are: Megan Hickman, Christa Rimmer, Emily Bloodworth, Laura Warren, Ashlee Hampton, Matt McBride, Conor Scruton, Hunter Smith, Ashley Balius, Simone King, Victoria Motheral, Shane Nunnery, Laura Kay Oakley, Brittany Clark, Crystal Doub, Anna Lee, Rocio Mejorado, Leslie Shell, Hannah Potts, Angelique Teague from third grade and Charles Pate, J. D. Pratt, Kiara Shivers, Andrew Doster, Linley McClain, Max Batchelor, Anna Cary, Thomas Davidson, Cameron Minor, Mary Nethaway, Mark Newman, Brittany Robbins, Gracie Taylor, Kenisha Williams, Joseph Chapman, Bryce Jackson, Kristy Kalinowski, Zach McEwen, Kristen Mitchell, Haylee Snead, Randi Bunyard, Alex Rider, Alex Spencer, and Ceara Pickett from fourth grade. Congratulations to these students. We look forward to hearing them sing at the assembly on November 9 for Veteran's Day.
In other news, Mrs. Malissa Anderson's second grade class has been learning about rocks. The formation of igneous rocks was demonstrated by melting chocolate and then watching it harden as it cooled. The students enjoyed eating this delicious treat right before they went home. Metamorphic rocks were made by mixing a dough and cooking it until it hardened. The children made their own sidewalk chalk with toilet paper tubes, Plaster of Paris, and paint. This was to demonstrate sedimentary rocks. Finally, a rock scavenger hunt was enjoyed by all.

Mrs. Kim's first grade class has been busy learning about apples. They have learned that half of apples grown are eaten fresh while the other half is used to make applesauce, apple juice and other products. They also stamp-painted a tree and used their thumbprints to make the apples on the tree. They will also write and illustrate what they have learned about apple trees and the changes that occur during the seasons in their own apple-shaped books.

In Mrs. Lorrie Brown's class, the theme for the whole week has been apples. On Friday, there was a science lesson on how heat changes matter. The students described apples before cooking and then after cooking. They then enjoyed eating the applesauce.
        

by McKenzie High School Principal, Terry Howell

For the graduating seniors of the Class of 2001, we did issue yearbooks for the 2000-01 school year. We have several that have not been claimed. Please come to the front office to get these keepsakes. Looking ahead, parents of this year's graduating seniors may buy parent ads for the 2002 yearbook. The deadline for purchasing a parent ad with an accompanying baby picture is October 1. Please address this if you are interested.

Last Wednesday, students had the opportunity to listen to Bill Saye at a special assembly program. Mr. Saye talked about peer pressure, drug use, and gangs. Mr. Saye came from an unusual background in which crime and all the previously mentioned factors played a part. His graphic images and presentation captured the attention of all students.

Parents sometimes ask me how to identify when their child is having problems in school. The most important factor for parents to maintain is open lines of communication. Regardless of age, young people have a need to communicate about their lives and how they view their surroundings. I know that many young people are reluctant to discuss matters with their parents but those students do appreciate the concern and inquiry. They will open up in time. If communication falters, parents may use several warning signs. First, a change in grades for the worse is often an indication of a problem. Particularly, a lower grade in a favorite class shows that a deeper problem may exist. Second, a change in behavior may reveal a problem. If a young person does not talk about school or friends when before he had, a closer look may be necessary. Third, students who lose confidence in their strengths may also be experiencing problems. Teens often question and doubt themselves. If this is extensive or crippling, they may have problems that require greater investigation. Three factors that go together to suggest problems are habits, attitudes, and friends. I would especially look at the change in friends when the change is less than beneficial. A change in friends may parallel a change in habits and attitudes. Teens often test the limits and rebel to a certain extent, but parents must be aware of the degree of change. None of these factors nor all of them in a young person is 100% foolproof to spot problems. They do make good benchmarks for parents to use in accessing possible problems.

The band will compete in the W.T.S.B.O.A. Ratings Festival in Jackson on Saturday. Mr. Breeden and his 55-member band have worked since two weeks prior to the start of school to present a field show for football games and competition season. This ratings festival enables Mr. Breeden to identify strengths and weaknesses and get objective scoring from the panel of judges. The band uses this festival as a means of correcting errors in marching and playing. The band has now added all elements of the show including the closer. They will now use the different competitions to fine-tune their show before going to the state level at LaVergne. Good luck to them as they begin this exciting time.

Mr. Jackie Sykes, our School Resource Officer, has recently begun to teach D.A.R.E. at our school. The D.A.R.E. Program at the high school is an extension of the programs at the elementary and middle schools. Students study and discuss topics appropriate to their maturity level. In order to preserve instructional time in D.A.R.E.-related courses such as wellness, we have decided to use the drivers' education class as a vehicle to teach the course. While the drivers' education instructor is on the road with the driver of the day, Officer Sykes teaches the remaining students.

The varsity football team will travel to Parsons to do battle with Decatur County Riverside High School. This game has particular importance in the 6-AA rankings. Both teams are undefeated in region play, and the winner will have the inside track to finishing one or two in the region. The Rebels begin the second half of the season with a series of challenging opponents. The next home game will be October 5 at home against Dyer County, another difficult opponent. The B-Team will play Riverside at home on October 1. Last Thursday the freshman team defeated Jackson Northside 19-0. They raised their record to 2-0. . They will continue their schedule on October 4 when they visit Martin Westview and its freshman team.

Our girls' cross-country team did very well in their meet at Lexington last week. Top runner for the girls was Amber King. Amber ran the 3-mile route in 25:29 to finish in 20th place. Robyn Winkler and Naomi Street knocked nearly five minutes off their previous times to finish 21st and 23rd. Julie Smith ran for 35th place and Lucy Snead finished in 44th place after lowering her time by a phenomenal 13 minutes! Our overall score was 143 helping us place in the top ten in the 20-school field. Their next meet is October 1 at the U.S.J. Meet.

The golf teams completed their regular season last Wednesday. The boys lost to Camden on the road. Medalist for McKenzie was Andrew Bateman with a 44. On Monday, September 24, the boys were scheduled for district competition at Lexington. The girls region is scheduled for October 8. The girls ended on a good note with wins over Clarksburg and Huntingdon to finish the year with 6 wins, 8 losses and 1 tie. Youthful and inexperienced, the girls' team made steady improvement and return all three players for next year. The boys' team went 2-1 the last week of play to finish the regular season at 9 wins and 7 losses. The Rebels competed in the District Tournament at Pine Tree Country Club on Monday. This year's lone senior is Andrew Bateman. Andrew is a two-year member of the Rebel golf team, and continues to make progress each week. Good luck to them as they begin tournament play.