Sumner County Schools kicked off its 2009 "Live United" Campaign on Monday, October 19. Sumner County Schools teachers, staff, parents, and volunteers are the largest donors to the United Way of Sumner County and last year contributed over $53,000. This year the goal is to increase that to $60,000.
Volume 15, Issue 1
United Way Campaign Now Underway
October, 2009
Important Dates:
November 25-27: Thanksgiving Break. Schools closed.
December 2-4 : End of Course Testing
December 8-11: Gateway Testing
December 17-18: Exam Days
December 18: Last day prior to Winter Break. Abbreviated day.
Sumner County School News
S U M N E R C O U N T Y B O A R D O F E D U C A T I O N
David O. Woodard
Editor
New Book Published—The First Commandos
Ten members of Hendersonville High School’s first football team reunited on October 9th to serve as honorary captains at Hendersonville’s Friday night football game. It was the first time many of them had seen each other since their last game back in 1942. These men are the subjects of a new book, The First Commandos, 1941-1942: Memories of the First High School Team in Hendersonville. The book was written and compiled for a senior project by seven HHS students. The book is the fifth in a series of local history books published by teacher Jim Lind’s American history students.
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VOLUME 15, ISSUE 1
On Friday, October 30 from 11 AM until 1:30 PM, there will be a lunch-eon benefiting Vena Stuart Elementary on the first floor of the Sumner Regional Medical Center parking garage. The $10 ticket includes a handmade keepsake pottery bowl made by Vena Stuart students, soup, dessert, and drink. Tickets may be purchased at Vena Stuart Elementary, SRMC Administration, or by calling the SRMC Marketing Office at 328-6605. There will also be a silent auction from 11AM until 1 PM
.
Vena Stuart Souper Bowls
Bethpage Elementary has recently formed "The Bethpage Art Club". This club’s goal is to provide extra enrichment opportunities for those fifth grade students who possess a love of art. The art club begins their meetings talk-ing about artists and their different styles of rendering their art. For example, Vincent Van Gogh established a style of art called "Expressionism" since he would use thick lay-ers of paint, with slashing, swirling brush strokes and patterns, which reflected the strong feelings he had about the subjects he painted. And of course, Jackson Pollock who became admired in the art world for his un-conventional methods of painting by splatter-ing paint over large areas of canvas. The stu-dents decided to choose their favorite artwork by the artist they studied and "re-create" it upon a ceiling tile, adding their own touches. The tiles are coming along beautifully and are being placed in the ceiling of the new art room . Bethpage is making plans to have pro-fessional artist, Olan Bryant, to come and share his artwork as well as work with the art club on producing some interesting clay pro-jects. Jennifer Walsh, the art teacher says, "We're off to a really great start, and it's been a truly rewarding venture so far! I hope to expand the club next year to possibly fourth grade as well."
New Art Club at Bethpage Elementary
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SUMNER COUNTY SCHOOL NEWS
Sumner Co. Board of Education
The SCSN is published 4 times a year and is electronically distributed to Sumner County Schools students and staff. Send in your school news to David Woodard, editor.
Phone: 615-451-5412 Fax: 615-206-6894 E-mail:
Check out our website at
www.sumnerschools.org
Today’s Learners—Tomorrow’s Leaders
Benny Bills, Director of Schools
695 East Main Street Gallatin, TN 37066-2472
615-451-5200
Board of Education Members: Tim Brewer, David Brown, Will Duncan, Mike Fussell, Glen Gregory, Danny Hale, Ben Harris, Don Long, Rob Wheeler, Ted Wise & Beth Cox
Written by Lance D. Taylor, Principal of Guild Elem
Mrs. Ashley Ellis Ochs is one of the most gifted and talented classroom teachers that I have ob-served in my 17+ years in education. Mrs. Ochs is a 3
I can think of no educator who de-serves the Nashville Predators‟ "Teacher of the Month" award more than Mrs. Ashley Ochs. She is truly a blessing to our school and deserving children.
rd grade teacher at my school, Guild Ele-mentary, in Gallatin, Tennessee. Mrs. Ochs is a meticulous planner of high-quality lesson plans that meet the varied learning styles – auditory, visual, and tactile/kinesthetic – of each student in her class, thereby truly ensuring that no child is "left behind." She incorporates learning ac-tivities that require students to problem solve and perpetually utilize higher-order thinking, two skills that are crucial to future success in both school and the workplace. Mrs. Ochs makes learning relevant and fun for each student and incorporates technology into her lessons in or-der to provide yet another avenue by which her students may extend their learning and strengthen their understanding of academic content. She motivates her students to learn by incorporating hands-on learning activities in her daily lessons. Mrs. Ochs utilizes research-based assessment tools and methods in order to most accurately and frequently assess stu-dents‟ academic progress . Her students all scored at the proficient or advanced level on the 2008 and 2009 TCAP tests in the areas of Reading/Language Art, Math, Science, and Social Studies. Mrs. Ochs‟s students scored „advanced‟ on 87% of all tests taken, with the remaining test scores falling in the „proficient‟ range. Her 100% marks in each of the four main tests on TCAP are No Child Left Behind expectations that do not go into effect until the year 2013. Mrs. Ochs is not only a great teacher, she is an excellent role model for her students as well. She has a visibly positive and genuinely caring rapport with each of her students whose passion for learning influences her students and significantly raises their own desire to learn. Mrs. Ochs is a highly effective classroom manager and communicator. In addition to her many roles (spoken and unspoken) as a classroom teacher, she also serves as a morning and afternoon tutor to struggling students and as a C.A.R.E. team leader for students who are struggling with personal issues. Mrs. Ochs serves on our school advisory committee, is a mentor to new teachers, and is our School Improvement Chairper-son. She also serves as a presenter of professional development at both the school and county level.
Guild Teacher Wins Predators’ Teacher of the Month Award (2nd consecutive year!)
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SUMNER COUNTY SCHOOL NEWS
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT AT H. B. WILLIAMS
H. B. Williams is participating in the Positive Behavior Support program, and we are extremely happy with its success so far. Our three rules are being reinforced throughout the building: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe. Our teachers have defined, taught and reinforced these rules to create a positive school environment.
To go along with the theme, "Blazing A Trail to Success," we are giving students and teachers "PELTS" that can be traded in at our Traders Post. Every employee has PELTS with them each day and are looking for students that do the right thing, at the right time, at the right place. Our students and teachers are enjoying the benefits of learning and working in an environment where we see positive behaviors happening throughout the building.
The club placed 1
Ren Creasy, T. J. Johnson, Logan Troutt, Austyn Carter, Clint Watson, and Brandon Hudson
The club’s scrapbook placed 2
Westmoreland Middle’s Jr. Beta Club finished the national competition behind Cumberland County, Kentucky High School for capturing the most awards in the competition part of the convention.
Team Members included Ren Creasy,T. J. Johnson, Logan Troutt, Austyn Carter, Clint Watson, Brandon Hudson,
Michael Byrd, Morgan Byrd, and Casey Manning
Sponsors Attending were Tim Copeland and Rhonda Custer
Staffulty who helped coach the team and design and build the set were Tyla Creasy, Susan Raby, and David Custer
st in the nation for the 2nd time in two years in the Living Literature competition. (The Living Litera-ture competition provides an opportunity for students to present their interpretation of a scene from a favorite work of literature.) The team consisted of the following students: nd in the nation (and 2nd in the state). The club’s t-shirt design placed 2nd in the nation (and 3rd in the state). The club’s wreath placed 2nd in the nation (and 3rd in the state). The club’s banner placed 1st in the state. Micheal Byrd finished 5th place in the spelling bee (and 1st place in the state).
Westmoreland Middle’s Jr. Beta Club
Germ City at Clyde Riggs Elementary
With children come germs, and a lot of them! Germ City was part of Clyde Riggs Elemen-tary's Family Fitness Fun Day on Saturday, September 19th, 2009.
How does it work?
* Participants are asked to cover their hands with a non-toxic lotion that glows under black lights.
* After one trip through Germ City, a long black tunnel filled with a glow-in-the-dark city, participants are then asked to wash their hands to see if there is a trace of the germs they may have missed.
* Any places that were not adequately washed appear neon.
* Correct hand washing techniques are also explained. Germ City is an interactive and scientific-based exhibit that is offered by the TNCEP division of the UT Extension Office of Sumner County.
There are 36 partner agencies in Sumner County that receive the funds raised. Some of these include the Jason Foundation, STARS program, Meals on Wheels, 4-H, TRAC, Gallatin/Portland C.A.R.E.S., and HomeSafe.
Every school in Sumner County has students, staff, and parents who benefit from a United Way Agency. The reason that Sumner County Schools is so generous to the United Way is that they see where the money is going every-day.
Each school has a volunteer campaign coordinator who distributes payroll deduction forms to employees and organizes fund-raising events. For information on how to contribute in your school, contact David Woodard (451-5412).
Sumner County Schools
© 2005