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SCHOOL NEWS FOR
WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2002
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Elementary School News |
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By Mary Nethaway and Max
Batchelor |
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McKenzie Elementary School educators traveled to
Nashville Wednesday, May 1st to rally on the Capitol
steps for education funding. Between 2000-4000 teachers,
parents, students, administrators, and board members
from across the state gathered. Speakers voiced concerns
regarding the lack of definite action taken by
legislators to form a budget for next year. Travelling
to Nashville were teachers Dalea Perkins, Amy Wilkes,
Charlotte Verner, Darlene Bowlin, and principal,
Charlene Alsup.
Fourth Graders and Rebel Singers will present their
annual musical production on Thursday, May 9th at 7:00
P. M. in the Bouldin Auditorium on the Bethel College
campus. ...On the rooftops of London, coo! What a sight!
Mary Poppins, Bert, and the chimneysweeps will be only a
part of the wonderful world of Disney as MES presents
"Disney Magic." "The show celebrates the 100th
anniversary of Disney", remarked Mrs. Pat Forgy, MES
music director. You won't want to miss the costumed
Disney characters as they sing, dance, and act the night
away; creating a memory that will last forever. Family
members, talented townspeople, students, and teachers
have worked very hard to present this show. A special
thanks to Mrs. Sandy McMahen for accompanying us this
year. Come and bring your friends. All ages will enjoy
Mickey and Minnie and the unforgettable Donald and Daisy
Duck!
Rebel Singers performed for the Kiwanis Club on
Wednesday, May 1st at the Smokehouse Restaurant. They
performed musical selections from their upcoming
musical.
The annual Honors Reception sponsored by the McKenzie
Rotary Club was held at MES Tuesday evening, April 30th.
Third and Fourth grade students with a yearly average of
95 and above were recognized. Third grade students are
Casey Gunter, Lacey Hunt, Breonna Oglesby, Conor Scruton,
Johnathan Curtis, Laura Warren, Emily Bloodworth, Jordan
Pressley, Kelsie Poore, Codi Ellis, Hannah Potts,
Nicholas Tucker, Brittany Clark, Rocio Mejorodo, Leslie
Shell, Ashley Bailus, Cody Hoffman, Laura Kay Oakley,
Joseph Hampton, Matt Thomas, Kelsie Carr, Christa Rimmer,
and Mallory Dunavant. The third grade student with the
highest average was Johnathan Curtis, son of Mr. And
Mrs. Joe Curtis.
Fourth grade honor students are Randi Bunyard, Janna
Pratt, Stephen Davis, Alex Rider, Max Batchelor, Derek
Hopper, Mary Nethaway, Allan Akin, Wendi Cude, Charles
Pate, Loghan Berry, Amber Anderson, Zachary Jones, John
David Russell, LeAnn Ventura, Linley McClain, Evan
Hudgins, and Andrew Doster. The fourth grade student
with the highest average was Wendi Cude, daughter of
Mrs. And Mrs. Steve Cude.
On Thursday, May 2nd, second grade students enjoyed a
cookout at the National Guard Armory to celebrate their
efforts on the recent TCAP examinations. The Drill Hall
echoed with happy voices of children as parents grilled
hot dogs and hamburgers. Special thanks to First
Sergeant Johnny Walker and Sergeant Spiro Roditas for
arranging the use of the armory due to inclement
weather.
The annual Special Events day celebration was held on
Friday, May 3rd. This is always an exciting day when
students are encouraged by community leaders to lead a
character-filled, drug-free life. The speaker was Mrs.
Jill Holland, MSSD board member. Students enjoyed
touring local rescue vehicles as well as the Screamin'
Eagles helicopter from the 101st Airborne Division our
of Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. Please let your
favorite teacher know how much he or she means to you.
Hats off to all of the teachers who have made a
difference in the lives of so many people.
Last week's announcer was Kevashia Robinson from Mrs.
Carol Nanney's class. Thanks Kevashia for a great job!
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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This Friday, May 17, at 8:00 P.M., we will conduct
graduation exercises at McKenzie High School for
approximately 85 graduating seniors in the high school
gymnasium. Of these seniors, 26 will graduate as honor
students having earned a 92 or above average for all
four years of their high school careers. Twenty-seven
(27) students belong to the prestigious Beta Club, a
national academic and service organization. Thirty-two
(32) will receive the Honors Diploma for completing
specified courses approved by the state and earning a
3.0 G.P.A. or higher. The Class of 2002 will hear from
class president Ben Martin, Salutatorian Robyn Winkler,
and Valedictorian Jadrea Allen. The program will
announce senior scholarships and future plans of seniors
along with the highlight of the program -- the awarding
of diplomas by board chair Ruth Carroll, Superintendent
Jim Ward, and Principal Terry Howell. The class will
sing its class song - "Forever Young" -- and they will
sing our alma mater for the first time as graduates of
our school. Graduation is a ceremony that stretches back
in time hundreds of years. We realize that it is a time
of joy and celebration, but ask that the audience be
respectful of the ceremony and our graduates by
refraining from inappropriate, untimely applause or
distracting sounds. We want each graduate's name to be
heard clearly by his/her family. This becomes difficult
when people violate the dignity of the program.
The baseball team ended its season losing to Milan and
Lexington in District 11-AA action. Playing a solid game
except for a single inning against Lexington, the Rebels
lost 6-1. Against Camden in the double elimination
tournament, the Rebels lost 16-6 to end their season at
9-14. Named to the All District 11-AA Team were Mitchell
Hall, Taylor Holland, Jay Taylor, and Chris Wall. Jay
Taylor and Matt Hutchison made the All-Tournament team.
The softball team also ended its season with two losses
in district tournament action this week. The Lady Rebels
lost to Camden 4-1 last Tuesday to set up an elimination
game with Milan. Although the Lady Rebels had defeated
the Lady Bulldogs twice during the regular season, they
fell short in the tournament by a 6-5 score. The Lady
Rebels end a highly successful year at 25-9 with the
loss of only one senior. The All-District team has not
been selected. Those on the All-Tournament team were
Kristin Wiggins and Angie Birdwell.
Last Thursday, our track team competed in the regional
track meet at U.S.J. This Region 7A-AA meet pits
approximately 18 schools for the opportunity to advance
to the sectional meet at the Memphis Fairgrounds on
Thursday, May 16. Our girls' team did well in finishing
4th in the meet. A few more points would have qualified
the entire team for the sectional meet. Junior Julie
Smith won the discus event with a toss over 92 feet.
Sarah Hartz ran one of her stronger races of the year in
winning the 800-meter event. Amber King will advance to
the sectional with the 3rd place final in the 3200-meter
run and a third place finish in the 1600-meter. The team
of Sarah Hartz, Mary Holland, Amber King, and Mallory
Brandon placed third in the 1600-meter relay. Although
the boys did not qualify anyone for the sectional, they
did manage to place 10th out of the 18 teams present.
The teams have done well for a second-year program.
Congratulations to the Marching Rebels for bringing home
the following trophies from the Strawberry Festival: 2nd
Place Band Class AA; 2nd Place Drum Major Overall out of
23 bands and 3rd Place Guard Overall out of 23 as well.
The band ends another highly successful parade season.
Next week our undergraduates will take their final
exams. On Tuesday, May 21, we will have our 1st and 4th
Block exams during their scheduled class times.
Wednesday, May 22 will be a half-day with students
taking their 2nd and 3rd Block tests. Since these tests
count 20%, they constitute a major grade and should
receive proper preparation and study. Students will be
dismissed on Wednesday, May 22 at 11:05 for the summer
break. Students or parents may get report cards on May
24 from 12:00 - 2:30. Those who cannot come may leave a
stamped, self-addressed envelope for the school to send
the report card. All obligations, fines, and fees must
be cleared before taking the final exam.
The Writing Assessment for our 11th grade students came
to the school last week with better results than last
year's scores. The test is scored on a rubric of one to
six with six being the highest. In the areas of
competent writing our scores improved from 44% to 50% of
the 96 students earning this grade. In the area of
strong writing (level 5), we had an increase from 7% to
9% from last year to this year. Last year we had no
student score at the outstanding level. This year we had
4 students achieve this level. Overall the number of
students showing proficiency went from 51% to 61% with
4% of the tests not being scored for technical reasons.
I am pleased with the improved scores, but not
satisfied. The writing emphasis that we did this year I
think helped a great deal. I think that as these
students go through this activity for 2-3 years our
scores will continue to improve. Our goal is that all
students achieve competency in writing a 5-paragraph
persuasive paper. Thanks to the work of all of our
teachers in each department we made strides in
addressing this goal.
One of the more enjoyable labors I have done this year
is with the Class Composite Project. I have worked with
people from so many different classes and from so many
different places that I have seen the broad spectrum of
alumni of McKenzie High School. The Class of 1971 and
George Abernathy and Jim Alexander paid for the lion's
share of the display units. Many classes and individuals
have donated healthy amounts to go toward the expensive
re-photography process. Dianne Anderson has worked
countless hours in preparing a CD for the photographer
to use to transfer the composites. She has improved the
writing, removed the water stains, and touched up the
aging creases on the composites by the use of a computer
program. I hope to have this completely finished within
the next two weeks.
I want to thank the McKenzie Banner, Joel Washburn, and
the staff of the paper for all the support and coverage
they have given McKenzie High School this year. I think
that our communication with parents and community
stockholders is excellent largely because the Banner
allows me to print this article and for covering our
academic, athletic, and extracurricular programs. I
appreciate the efforts of this paper and look forward to
another productive year with one of our outstanding
Partners in Education, the McKenzie Banner. I plan to
resume these Notes in the fall. Thanks to everyone who
supports our students and the activities at McKenzie
High School. |
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Phone (731) 352-3323 or
Fax (731) 352-3322
washburn@mckenziebanner.com
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