by Max Batchelor

Many exciting things have been happening at MES this week! Our thanks to all of the teachers who sent information for this week's edition. Here goes!

In Miss Amy Roney's Kindergarten class, they are learning about the sound and formation of the letter Rr. They have also reviewed all of their colors and shapes, practiced writing, sequenced events, followed directions, and identified "naming words." As a special treat, Kevin Beck's grandma visited them and brought yummy ice cream!

In Mrs. Carol Nanney's 2nd grade, they have been studying plants. They have taken apart seeds to look at the plant inside. They have found seeds inside sunflowers and watermelon. They also enjoyed a watermelon snack! They will have many more activities and experiments to conduct involving plants.

In Mrs. Marcia Webb's 3rd grade class, they munched away on graham crackers. They nibbled them into the shape of the seven continents and then glued them into construction paper oceans. They had a WORLD of fun with this delicious Social Studies activity!

Mrs. Charlotte Verner's 3rd grade class is preparing a time capsule. They are bringing items that tell something about themselves. They plan to open it at Project Graduation in May of 2011.

Fourth grade students ate their data this week as they used plain M & M's to learn classification and scientific methods. They also made dioramas of the rainforest. The 4th graders have enjoyed Computer Lab and Science lessons about the strata of the rainforest. (Photo)

Speaking of Computer Lab, we have a new face at MES. Ms. Julie Bradfield is our new Lab Assistant. Ms. Julie is from McKenzie and graduated from Union University this spring. She says that she "really enjoys working with the students." It's fun to go to Computer Lab and Ms. Julie makes it even more fun!

In other news, Mrs. Jill Warren asks that you please continue to send Boxtops for Education. They are being collected with proceeds going to the MES Outdoor Classroom.

In closing, Picture Day will be on September 13th. Remember to wear bright colors and bring your nicest smile! Until next time . . .
    

On Monday night, August 27, the PTO sponsored a Womanless Beauty Review. The eighth grade football players were the evening's contestants. A great time was had and proceeds were raised for both the school and football program. Craig Broadbent was crowned queen. His court consisted of Marshall Smith as first maid and Marquice Tharpe as second maid.

We are proud to announce Mrs. Melody McClain as a recent addition to our staff. Melody is a graduate of McKenzie High School and Freed-Hardeman University. We had an unusual number of fifth graders when school opened this fall. In order to meet BEP standards we were required to hire another teacher. The fifth grade returned to a six period schedule. This is an academic blessing as they now have reading and language arts as separate classes. We welcome Mrs. McClain as our fifth grade reading teacher.

Our yearbooks are in. They will be distributed Tuesday afternoon on September 4. Mrs. Walker has a few extra copies that she will sell for $32.00 each. On the same note, the 2001-2002 yearbooks will be sold the week of September 10 through September 14.
On Thursday, August 30, Mrs. Kathy Winchester and Mrs. Linda Dyer, teachers at Bethel College, visited Mrs. Pearson's 6th grade language arts classroom. Mrs. Winchester and Mrs. Dyer teach the elementary language arts and social studies methods course at Bethel. To give their students an authentic experience in beginning to read young students' handwriting, Mrs. Winchester taught the 6th grade students how to write a friendly letter. They wrote these friendly letters to the Bethel students in her class. The Bethel students will in turn read and analyze these letters from the sixth graders and then reply with their own friendly letter.

What a great learning experience for both ages! While sixth graders learn to write a friendly letter and communicate outside the classroom, the college students get the opportunity to learn about handwriting using this authentic experience from sixth graders. These sixth graders will wait impatiently anticipating the day they receive their friendly letters from the Bethel College students.

Hey parents, here is a web site for your seventh and eighth grade math students. Go to phschool.com/math then click on middle grades math. Use Course 2 for seventh grade and Course 3 for eighth grade. In the student section, you will find practice tests for each chapter. After you take the test, explanations of correct and incorrect answers appear. There are also other Internet links for related topics.

The McKenzie Middle School cheerleaders will be sponsoring a cheerleading camp on Saturday, September 8, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the middle school gym. Any girl in grades 1-6 is invited to participate. The cost of the camp is $10.00.

The girls will be instructed on some popular cheers and chants and the correct movements to these cheers and chants. The girls will also be taught a short dance routine. The girls will be provided with a break/snack time.

The cheerleaders would like to invite the girls to "show off" what they have learned at the following game: (1) The McKenzie Middle School football game on Thursday, September 13. McKenzie will be hosting West Carroll.

Here are more important dates to keep in mind. Our Parent-Teacher Conference will be Tuesday, September 11 from 3:30-7:00 p.m. Our first PTO meeting will be Monday night, September 17, at 7:00 p.m.
 

by McKenzie High School Principal, Terry Howell

Last Friday, we distributed envelopes for the school day pictures for students in grades 9 - 11. We will again use the pre-pay method to purchase photographs. Parents should look at the various options and chose the one that best fits their needs. The photographer for McKenzie High School will be here on Wednesday, September 5, to take photographs of our underclassmen. All students in grades 9 - 11 will have their photographs taken for the yearbook. Students may purchase any of the options with the pre-pay plan.

Also, on Wednesday, September 5, we will pass out 874 Forms. These federal forms must be completed for all students. Through this reporting, we are eligible to receive funding for students when parents live on federal property or who work for the federal government. I encourage parents to spend the 2 -3 minutes necessary to complete this form and return it on the next day.

I think that we are in excellent shape to finance the wall units in which to place our class composites. Two separate funding sources have committed to purchasing the equipment to house our composites. As we get closer to this project's completion, I will announce the benefactors to our school. The first McKenzie High School composite that we have on file is the Class of 1938. We are currently missing numerous composites from 1938 to the present. We are missing these class composites: 1939, 1940, 1943, 1944, 1968, 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1977. Anyone with any knowledge of these missing artifacts needs to call me at the office (352-2133). We plan to photograph the composites so that we have a uniform size to put in the viewing panels. We think the composite panels will be an excellent addition to the décor of our building and to the alumni spirit of our school.

On Thursday, September 6, we will have our fall Parent-Teacher Conference at the high school from 3:30 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. following our school day. This day marks the quarter point in the semester. All students will have printed progress reports that parents may get during the conference. Parents are encouraged to discuss student progress and strategies to improve academic shortcomings and other problems that either party may perceive. I would like to have a 75% attendance rate for this fall conference. I can think of no better way to express concern for a child than to be an active participant in his/her education.

This week we received a letter from the TSSAA which applauded the school's positive effort made in sportsmanship for the 2000-01 school year. Last year we had no reported incidents involving unsportsmanlike conduct at any of our athletic events. This distinction recognizes our school in the TSSAA "Just Do What Is Right" program and our school will receive proper notice in the fall issue of the TSSAA News. This award reflects upon our coaches, players, and fans who displayed ethics, integrity, sportsmanship, and citizenship at our athletic contests last year. Our ultimate goal in this regard is to be recognized as a finalist in the A.F. Bridges Award for Sportsmanship. This award marks the highest achievement of a school in interscholastic athletics.

Our golf team played two home matches last week at Carroll Lake Golf Course. Last Tuesday, the girls lost to Gleason and Greenfield. They narrowly missed out on a split by one stroke to Greenfield. The boys lost to a strong Gleason team, but won over Greenfield to even their record to 2-2. John French and Andrew Bateman led the boys with a 42 and 45 respectively.

This week the golf teams play at home on September 4 against Clarksburg and Huntingdon and September 10 against Gleason and Gibson County and at Milan on September 11. District and region competition begins the week of September 24.

The football team travels to Trenton this week for a non-region game against Peabody High School. Trenton always fields a competitive team, and this year's squad is no exception. Kick-off for this game is 7:30 P.M. Next Friday, we will have Homecoming at Rebel Stadium with the crowning of the queen beginning at 7:00 P.M. The Rebels play host to Adamsville on September 14 in another regional contest. Support these young men, the cheerleaders, and the band as they represent our school. Students will receive yearbooks on September 14. Last year's graduates may collect their yearbooks at the front office on this day.

Also, next Wednesday we will pre-sell yearbooks for the 2001-02 school year. Students will see a very brief video from own Jostens' representative. Those who sign up will qualify for a possible $50.00 drawing. Jostens will take the name of those who sign the card to purchase a yearbook and bill the parents for the balance. They also accept installment payments. If a parent decides not to purchase the yearbook, he or she may indicate that on the card provided by the company. We plan to try to maintain the present cost to make our yearbook affordable to all.

Last week we ended our first persuasive writing activity in First Block class. This plan is intended to raise student writing scores on the 11th grade writing assessments. Using the same prompt students addressed the general theme of uniforms in school and had to take a stand on the issue. The next writing activity will be on Friday, September 7 during 2nd Block. Our school has also been chosen to participate in a pilot program for the 11th Grade Writing Assessment. On September 19, junior students will take a simulated writing assessment. We will benefit from the experience in addition to having some scores to predict our assessment results in February prior to the writing initiative test we are now doing.

We now have a new Website thanks to media specialist Diane Anderson and Kim Spears with system technical support. Our address is www.mckenziehighschool.org. Much of the work has been done. We plan to add links and more information in the coming months. The e-mail account of each teacher is listed for the public's convenience.

Many people inquire how to purchase school shirts and spirit items. Our bookstore is currently re-stocking supplies. It does have several nice sweatshirts for the cooler fall weather. The public may come before or after school to purchase items there. Also, the Yearbook Staff is now taking orders for T-shirts. The cost of these shirts is $15.00 for sizes youth small to adult XXL. They will only accept advanced orders. People who choose to order may come to the front desk to get an order form and pay in advance.