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By Terry Howell
McKenzie High School Principal |
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This Thursday we will have our annual Veterans Day
Program at 10:00 a.m. in the high school gym. We will
recognize and honor our veterans and also those members
of the McKenzie National Guard who will be our other
special guests. With the McKenzie unit leaving around
November 18, this program promises to be especially
topical and poignant. The program itself will include
student recitations, music by the band, guest speaker
Dan Baker, and the Veterans Memorial Service featuring
members of the local V.F.W. The public is invited to
attend this very special occasion.
The Key Club, the student affiliation of the Kiwanis
Club, has two noteworthy projects that it is conducting
or will soon be conducting. One educational project is
the collection of children's books for the Northwest
Tennessee Head Start Reading Program. Each member of the
35-member club is expected to bring two children's books
per month. So far the club has donated 60-70 books in
less than a month and expects to continue this project
for the rest of the year. The other project will begin
next month. The club each year participants in the Angel
Tree Program by sponsoring two children for clothes and
toys at Christmas. The Key Club, like its parent
organization, is a service-oriented club that attempts
to do community service for the betterment of others.
The Key Club sponsor is Mrs. Jennifer Champion.
Progress reports will be issued on Thursday, November
11, for the 131/2 week period. We have about 22-23 days
to the end of the first semester. These progress reports
should be brought home, signed, and returned to school.
This report is a fairly good indicator about how well
the student has done and will do for the first semester.
Parents may call or meet with teachers during planning
blocks to discuss the reasons behind a student's grade.
This Saturday, November 13, Ms. Herrin will administer
the PLAN test to all sophomores interested in taking it.
The PLAN is a pre-ACT exam that is a fairly accurate
predictor of how a student will do on the ACT. The PLAN
also points out areas of strength and weakness for each
student and reveals the areas that students must improve
to score well on the ACT. PLAN also features an interest
inventory so that students can objectively see how their
scores on the PLAN match their interests. The cost of
the test if $8.75 and must be paid to Ms. Herrin by
Friday, November 12. The test will begin at 9:00 A.M. in
the library on Saturday. Students need to be there at
least 15 minutes before the start of the test.
The McKenzie High School chapter of the Fellowship of
Christian Athletes has partnered with the Make-a-Wish
Foundation to fill at least one child's wish. The
chapter will receive the name of a specific child that
members will meet and present the fulfilled wish. Sally
Whitehorn, Make-a-Wish's development coordinator, met
with our students on Monday of last week to discuss the
process and plan fundraising. All of the funds raised
will go toward meeting the wish of the seriously ill
child assigned to the chapter. FCA is currently selling
Make-a-Wish donation cards which will line the walls of
our hallways with the names of contributing patrons.
Anyone interested in purchasing an honor card may call
Dan Ridley at the school. FCA sponsors are Kevin
Gallimore and Dan Ridley.
Time -for-Time will begin this Saturday, November 13 for
students who have missed more than six times in a class.
The program will begin at 7:00 a.m. and run through 1:00
p.m. On Saturday, students will have the opportunity to
make-up four sessions. This is a mandatory session for
students owing Time for Time. With only four Saturdays,
students can only make-up a maximum of 16 sessions.
Our football team completed its season last Friday
against the Cubs of Cheatham County. The Cubs were
looking for revenge after last year's First Round loss
to the Rebels. They began the game with a bang
completing a 65-yard touchdown pass on the first play
from scrimmage to make the score 7-0. The Rebels nearly
matched that effort by throwing a 62-yard pass, but a
fumble in our end zone recovered by the Cubs resulted in
a touchback and no score. This play epitomized the night
as the Rebels had numerous chances to seize the momentum
only to make a mistake. The Cubs' second score after the
Rebels knotted the score at 7-7 was also a long passing
strike which again wrestled the momentum away from the
visiting team. The Rebels managed to tie the score at
14-14 only to see Cheatham County kick a 38-yard field
goal to take a 17-14 halftime lead. The Rebels drove the
ball deep into Cub territory only to have errant snap
for a field goal attempt result in no points. After an
exchange of touchdowns to make the score 23-21, the
Rebels forced the Cubs to punt early in the 4th quarter.
A blocked punt apparently was going to set the stage for
a Rebel come back, but an alert Cub picked up the live
ball behind the line of scrimmage and scooted up the
side line to set up another score. This radical
backbreaker crushed the Rebels' spirit. Cheatham County
tacked on 27 4th quarter points to win the game 50-28.
The Rebels end their season at 5-6, but will return many
experienced players, including several skilled position
players. They will look to advance deeply in the
playoffs next year as they return to single A football.
Many thanks to our seniors who played their last game
for the Red and Gray: Clint Anderson, Ben Boyd, Cody
Cook, Paul Edwards, Mark Ghyers, Jay Gilbert, Jonathan
Harris, Randy Lacey, and Shawn Luna. Also many thanks to
our coaching staff who worked many long hours in the
summer and during the season to prepare these players
week in and week out: head coach Wade Comer, assistant
head coach David Duncan, assistant coach Randy Thomas,
assistant coach Bert Snow.
Several of our Student Council officers will attend the
fall leadership conference for Student Council officers
on Tuesday, November 9. This conference in Ripley will
focus on developing leadership skills and getting ideas
as to great activities for the student body during the
year. Those attending are: Heidi Thomas, president;
Randy Lacey, vice-president; Kelly Fowler, secretary;
Rachel Chandler, reporter; Samantha Doster, treasurer;
and Renee Crawley, parliamentarian. The sponsor of the
Student Council is Paula Doster.
As always, I hope everyone has a great week.
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