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SCHOOL NEWS FOR
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2002
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Elementary School News |
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By Mary Nethaway and Max
Batchelor |
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K-Kids collected 1,536 cans of food in November and
December during their canned food drive. The cans were
all distributed in the McKenzie area.
Many classes did activities last week that revolved
around the number 100. Students celebrated the 100th day
of the school year. Mrs. Carol Nanney's class had a 100
piece puzzle race, found items in the newspaper that
were less than 100 cents, made a 100th day quilt, and
ate 100th day cupcakes. Some classes wrote stories about
what they would do if they had $100 to spend. Others
wrote 100 words that they knew how to spell.
Mrs. Lorey Basford's class read Ananse's Feast, an
African folktale. They did reports on different nations
in Africa and learned many interesting facts. On Friday,
they made spider treats to eat.
Yearbooks are on sale. They are the same price as last
year, $20.
The Citizen of the Month program will be January 25 at
8:10 A.M. The speaker will be Rev. Dennis Trull.
The announcer for last week was Kaitlyn Haywood. She did
a great job with the morning Pledge of Allegiance and
Citizenship pledge.
Until next time . . .
Compiled by Max Batchelor |
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Middle School News |
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No Middle School news this week. |
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Notes from the High School |
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By McKenzie High School Principal, Terry Howell |
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On February 26 and 27, we will administer the Competency
Test to those students who have not passed the language
or math test. A score of 70 is required to exhibit
competency. Students must pass both portions of the test
to earn the opportunity to get a regular high school
diploma. The test is given two times during the school
year and once in the summer. Students can take the test
as many times as it is available to try to master the
test. To assist students, Ms. Dianne Anderson will keep
the library open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays
to 4:45 P.M. to let students work on tutorial programs
in math and language. We do have a number of software
programs designed to assist students in passing this
state-mandated test. We have written to parents and met
with those students who could benefit from the program.
Ms. Anderson began the tutorials this week and will
continue to meet until the Competency Tests are given.
Also, the Writing Assessment will be given on Tuesday,
February 5 to our junior class. The Writing Assessment
is graded by the State Department of Education with
students having the opportunity to earn grades on a
scale of 1 to 6 with 6 being the highest. To show
competency, students must write on a scale of 4
according to the rubrics or grading description of the
state. We have made a commitment to writing this year.
All classes have participated in a writing across the
discipline activity in which students write on a prompt
or cue from the teacher. Teachers have graded student
papers using the rubric of the state. The intent is to
increase test scores, but also to make students more
capable communicators in each class. Our school average
has stood at 3.6 or 3.7 for the past several years and
we as a school would like to increase the overall
average to above the proficient level. Plans are to have
two more opportunities of schoolwide writing before the
February assessment.
Ms. Dawn Clubb has initiated a new program to teach
English grammar and composition in a non-traditional
way. Ms. Clubb teaches our English Grammar and
Composition class, one of the two required English
classes that our freshman must pass upon entering high
school. Students have had the traditional method of
teaching English for several years prior to getting to
high school and are often disaffected by the same
strategies and methodologists. During the fall of this
year, Ms. Clubb taught Unit One in grammar using the
traditional approach. The results of this were as
follows for Unit One: three students made A's, one made
a B, eight made C's, two made D's, and twenty-two failed
to show mastery. Only 14 of 36 made a passing mark on
the first test of last semester. Using the new Automated
English Program, Ms. Clubb observed different results.
After the first unit this semester covering the same
objectives with a different group of students, the class
earned these grades on the first test: 8 A's, 18 B's, 3
C's, 4 D's, and 8 F's. Using the Automated English
Program, 33 of 41 students passed the first unit. This
program introduces grammar concepts from a questioning
approach. It includes a great deal of practice both in
class orally and individually. Students are taught at
the earliest point to recognize that adjectives,
adverbs, nouns, and verbs can be found in single words,
phrases, and clauses. The first foundation unit deals
with verbs -- their agreement, tense, and usage. It
looks at grammar as the building blocks of language, and
it works sequentially to build a student's language.
Throughout the course, students study usage rules that
directly affect their writing. Students learn, memorize,
and practice grammar rules both in editing exercises and
in writing. The program segways into composition writing
which is the focus of any grammar/composition class. Ms.
Clubb feels that the Automated English Program augments
our attempt to prepare students for the Gateway English
II assessment that will be fully implemented next year.
Mr. Ridley's journalism/mass communication class has
posted its debut edition of the on-line magazine, the
Rebel Weekly, last week. I encourage you to visit our
school website at www.mckenziehighschool.org and follow
the links to get to this newspaper. Approximately 17
students have contributed to this project which features
headers in which you can read articles about News,
Editorials, Sports, Senior Spotlight, Student Issues,
and Entertainment. The page also has some great graphics
and links. Those of you who have computers and are on
the internet should visit our website and see everything
that it has to offer. As with any newspaper, students
have to meet deadlines and create articles of interest
for their readers. The on-line newspaper offers a
wonderful learning opportunity for our students in which
they combine traditional writing skills with a
technological vehicle.
On Thursday, January 24, twelve members of our Business
Professionals of America will travel to the University
of Tennessee at Martin to compete with other schools in
our area. The B.P.A. is a new club at our school.
Students enrolled in business or computer classes that
offer a vocational credit are eligible for membership in
this club. Club sponsor is Mrs. Sheila Ridley. Mrs.
Ridley has already made the club an active organization
through the competition and by having students compete
locally to enter the regional competition. The B.P.A.
complements our DECA organization in addressing students
with a business and/or vocational interest.
Homecoming will be this Friday night with the crowning
of the queen at 5:45. With input from the student body
and from the M-club, these students have been selected
to the Homecoming royalty: Michelle Chandel, Jennifer
Johnson, Lindsey Jones, Emily Kee, Kaci Mebane, and
Becky Toombs. The two basketball teams will choose the
queen from these six court members. Come out and enjoy
the festivities.
In basketball action last week, both teams played well
and with determination in district losses to Lexington
on the road. The girls' district record fell to 1-3 and
6-7 overall. The boys playing for second place in the
district fell to 2-2 with the loss and 9-6 overall. On
Thursday, the Lady Rebels defeated Stewart County in a
closely contested game. Junior forward Kristin Wiggins
made a jump shot with time expiring to give the Lady
Rebels the home win. The Lady Rebels evened their record
at 7-7. The boys' game was cancelled because of the
threatening weather. Stewart county requested to return
early fearing slick highways in Middle Tennessee. Next
week the teams play at Gleason (Tuesday) and at
Huntingdon (Thursday). On Friday, we will have our
annual homecoming game against Riverside High School.
This week marks National School Board Week. We celebrate
and applaud the work of these elected officials who make
decisions regarding the policies of our district and the
financial direction this district needs to take. It is
often a thankless job in that any decision is met with
resistance and disagreement. However, these public
servants must make these decisions which they feel is in
the system's best interest. The guiding principle of the
school board is student-driven and is reflected in the
idea of providing a safe, quality environment where
students can grow and develop skills to become
productive citizens in a changing society. Board members
include Ruth Carroll, Bob Cassidy, Jack Hall, Jill
Holland, Clay Kirk, Van Ramsey, and Mildred Sneed.
On January 28 at 9:00 A.M. our school will attend an
assembly program sponsored by the Mothers Against Drunk
Drivers. This assembly is to remind students of the
often lethal consequences of mixing alcohol and driving.
Statistics certainly verify this fact. SRO Jackie Sykes
has arranged the assembly. Our hope is that it will
bring the issue of drunk driving and its consequences to
a heightened level of awareness. |
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Phone (731) 352-3323 or
Fax (731) 352-3322
washburn@mckenziebanner.com
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