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SCHOOL NEWS FOR
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2003
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Notes From the High School |
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By MHS Principal Terry Howell |
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The cross country team competed in the Best of the West
meet at Dyer County High School last Thursday. The
course proved to be a difficult one with runners' times
increasing. Sarah Hartz and Amber King again led the
girls' squad with times under 25 minutes. They finished
10th and 11th respectively. Freshmen Katya Kesterson,
Samantha Doster, and Caitlin Blackwell all competed and
finished in the middle of the pack. For the boys, Caleb
Owen ran a team best of 20:20 for 26th place. He had a
strong supporting cast of Brice Priestley, Matt
Blaylock, Holland Hames, Chase Mitchell, Lee Barham, and
James Lee - all of whom ran under the 24 minute mark.
The boys' team has mostly freshman and sophomore
participants. Their future looks promising. The girls
and boys listed above will represent our school in the
regional meet on Thursday at Dyer County High School.
The top ten finishers will qualify for the state meet in
Nashville in several weeks. Good luck to them as they
challenge for a state qualification.
This week the band will travel to Murfreesboro to
compete in the Division I State Competition. The band
has practiced many hours and has competed in several
contests in preparation for this year-end contest to
battle other schools across the state. This past weekend
the band had a mini-camp at Rebel Stadium to fine tune
their show and to perfect their music for this
Saturday's event. It takes an active Band Booster
organization to fund the band program and to do the
behind the scenes work such as manning the concession
stand for home games, transporting equipment to away
football games and contests, fundraising for needed
money, assisting with the different band sections, and
other activities too numerous to mention. McKenzie High
School does appreciate the Band Booster organization,
its officers, and the active members who help to enrich
the lives of our band students.
On Tuesday, October 28, the Band Boosters will have a
barbeque plate supper at E.W. James. Band members are
selling tickets to this at a cost of $5.00 for a
barbeque plate with all the trimmings and a drink. The
Band Boosters is in the process of raising money for
their spring trip to Florida. Their goal is to raise
approximately $20,000 to cover the expense of the trip.
E.W. James has long supported the efforts of the band.
This yearly fundraiser has become a staple of the Band
Boosters in raising money for the band. Anyone needing a
ticket may call the high school for information in
getting one. The supper will be from 4:00 to 6:30 P.M.
on October 28. I encourage you to support the 50+
members of the 2003-04 band.
On Monday of this week, we began our Time-for-Time
Program. This program allows those with excessive
absences to make-up all classes they have missed over
six during this semester. Failure to do so will result
in a student's not earning credit in a class. I have
mailed letters to parents whose child has missed days
beyond six. I have also met with each student to inform
him/her of Time for Time. These sessions will take place
from 3:15 to 4:45 on Mondays through Thursdays. Each
session will clear a class block missed. Any students
may come to TFT if he/she wants to study, use the
computers, or take advantage of library services.
Students needing tutorial help may use the library as
well. They would need to see me to match them with a
tutor. The library has many connections to information
as well as help on standardized tests. Students should
take advantage of this open facility.
Ms. Jo Elam, sophomore advanced English II teacher, and
I have selected our entrants for the Voice of Democracy
Script Writing Contest. Those competing are Mallory
Brandon, Hunter Downing, Mary Holland, Brian Huffman,
Elizabeth Johnsonius, John Kermit Laughrey, Caleb Owen,
Brook Ridley, Nicole West, and Jonathan Wood. These ten
students will represent McKenzie High School in this
year's contest that has as its theme "My Commitment to
America's Future." They all have prepared a 3-5 minutes
scripted speech on this topic and have submitted their
own individual interpretation. The next step will be for
these ten to tape their speeches and then have them
judged later by an independent panel selected by the
local Veterans of Foreign Wars. This year marks over 35
years of our school's participation in the V.O.D.
Students learn how to organize and present their
thoughts, but as important, they learn to appreciate the
civic qualities of patriotism, service, and tradition.
We are always indebted to the V.F.W. for sponsoring this
worthwhile project.
This week our seniors who are scheduled must take the
state-mandated Competency Test. We will offer the Math
test on Wednesday and the language test on Thursday. All
seniors must pass this exam to be eligible to receive a
regular diploma.
The Balfour representative will meet with our seniors on
Tuesday, October 28, regarding graduation supplies and
materials. The officers will choose 2 or 3 invitation
styles and the class will select the one to be ordered.
The representative will return on November 4 to accept
orders during lunch. Students will need a deposit of $60
on November 4 if they are purchasing more than that
amount. The only graduation materials needed are
diploma/diploma cover and cap and gown. The rest is the
discretion of the parents and students. These two
necessities total about $40. Students often run the
total much beyond the minimum. When students bring the
order form home on October 28, parents need to review
the form and make a judgment as to what they would like
to purchase. All checks need to be made payable to
Balfour. For this deposit, they will accept checks,
money orders, cash, or credit cards. Balances are paid
with cash or money order.
Friday night our football team rebounded from their
first loss of the season with a convincing 32-6 victory
over Chester County. The Rebels quickly fell behind
after an impressive 88-yard drive by the home team. The
home team's next drive was impressive but yielded no
results. After that, the Rebel offense and defense took
charge of the game and raced to a 22-6 halftime lead.
The third quarter produced no points, but the Rebels
tacked on a touchdown and field goal in the fourth
quarter for the final score. The win assured the team of
home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
It also set up the region championship game against
Huntingdon on October 31 at Rebel Stadium. Both teams
are undefeated in the region with 4-0 records; both have
one loss to Region 7-AA opponents. This week the Rebels
face a formidable foe in Martin Westview. Their 1-7
record does not address the difficult schedule that they
have played nor the progress that they have made in the
course of the season. It has been many years since a
McKenzie team has beaten Westview. The last meeting in
the state semifinals in 2001 produced a 35-0 Westview
victory. The Rebels will travel to Martin and play at
Skyhawk Stadium at 7:30 this Friday. Support our Rebels
as they continue a successful season. |
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Phone (731) 352-3323 or
Fax (731) 352-3322
washburn@mckenziebanner.com
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