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School Snippets – January 16, 2015

Published January 16, 2015

The information below is provided by each school. Schools are listed in alphabetical order according to grade level.

Elementary Schools

Allendale Elementary

Art students at Allendale are working hard on creating amazing artwork for our 3rd Allendale Art Show in April. After school on Thursday, April 9, every Allendale student will have one work of art framed and displayed for their family and friends to see! It’s a fun evening featuring the ever-so-talented students at Allendale Elementary School.

Bethesda Elementary

Students in Ryan Linton’s second grade class at Bethesda Elementary are using a fulcrum, lever and force to learn math.

Chapman’s Retreat Elementary

This week at Chapman’s Retreat Elementary it was all about math and science. Amy Griffin’s fourth grade science class has been learning about force and motion. On January 13, Chapman’s Retreat hosted a Parent University. During this event, math teachers presented to parents lessons being taught to their children and ideas how parents can best help students at home.

College Grove Elementary

Third grade students from College Grove recently visited Nissan North America Manufacturing plant in Smyrna on a field trip. The students thoroughly enjoyed watching the steps of building a car and seeing the enormous machines that enable workers to move large amounts of material and do their jobs. This field trip was a great culmination to the third grade social studies unit over economics, goods/services and imports/exports.

Crockett Elementary

This month during Crockett Elementary School’s classroom guidance time with each grade, we have the privilege of bringing in a guest speaker from Mental Health America. Mrs. Bane is a licensed social worker who travels all over middle Tennessee from elementary to high schools to bring awareness and empowerment to challenges that we all face in one way or another, such as worry and anxiety, self-esteem, bullying, understanding feelings, managing anger and working through grief. The topics she will address with our students are worry, self-esteem, understanding feelings and bullying. The mascot for MHA is I.C. Hope, a super cute duck with a band aid on his head to remind us the importance of positive self-talk to keep our mental health strong and support healthy decision making. A great time of year to remind ourselves that healthy input = healthy output! Meanwhile, Crockett Elementary has a mentoring program for students who could benefit from additional academic encouragement. These mentors (Crockett staff) meet once a month for a cookie social with their students, give motivational notes and stickers periodically, share stories of challenges and how to overcome them, and listen to support and help each child reach their academic goals. Our first cookie social was held January 13 and was a huge success.

Edmondson Elementary

Edmondson Elementary fifth grader Lyndsey Johnson was chosen to be the school’s Academic All-Star for the 2014-15 school year. Lyndsey’s teachers, Laura Brady and Lyndsey Peterman, describe her as dedicated, patient and selfless. The award was presented to Lyndsey during a school-wide assembly. Edmondson congratulates this hard working student.

Fairview Elementary

Fairview Elementary students are Star testing this week to see much they have grown in both math and reading. First graders are going to be reading some nonfiction animal books and writing reports about what they learned. FES is also gearing up for the annual school spelling bee happening on January 22. Third, fourth and fifth grade classes will hold classroom bees to determine who goes on to the school wide competition. Our winner from last year, Aaron Hamlett, is looking forward to defending his title. The bee is lots of fun to watch!

Grassland Elementary

Musician Roger Day returns to Grassland Elementary with his informative, energetic and exciting program on Friday, January 23. The Eagles Nest opens the week of January 26-30. A huge thanks to Paula Adams and Tara Owen for all their hard work keeping our store stocked with wonderful items to redeem your child’s hard earned feathers for excellent behavior!

Heritage Elementary

Heritage Elementary kindergarten student Sophie Torres is helping the Nashville Humane Association. Sophie saved up her allowance for several months to buy food and treats for the animals. She spent the day volunteering her time playing with the animals who do not have homes.

Hunters Bend Elementary

Kindergarten students had a visit from Snowbird this week. He talked with students about the weather and about penguins! First grade is learning to write “How To” books. We are choosing something we know a lot about and teaching our friends how to do it through a series of sequential steps and illustrations! Second grade just wrapped up our study on sound. We had lots of fun learning about how sound waves travel. Also, thank you to Ms. Smallwood for helping reinforce these skills in music as well. Third grade is starting a unit on chemical testing that will allow the students to investigate the properties of unknown household chemicals. Students are looking forward to testing each to discover their reactions. We are doing a lot of hands-on learning to practice our geometry. We are making marshmallow and toothpick models, geometry monster glyphs and geo-boards. Fourth graders are reading and discussing stories about people who make a difference; people who speak up and take a stand against injustice and those who run for office hoping to make a difference. The fourth grade students are also experimenting with electricity and how to make a circuit work. Fifth grade had a visit from Vanderbilt University students to talk about the science of motion. Students enjoyed doing hands on experiments with Vanderbilt students.

Kenrose Elementary

Fourth and fifth graders at Kenrose Elementary participated in the school’s 2015 spelling bee. Congratulations to the winner Harinshree Sathu and runner up Esha Reddy.

Oak View Elementary

The Oak View PTA had a full agenda at their first meeting of the second semester. They are busy planning upcoming events such as Teacher Appreciation Week, the first-ever Father/Daughter Dance, and the second annual “Give a Hoot” Race! The PTA meets the second Tuesday of every month at 3:45 p.m. Oak View appreciates our wonderful PTA and thanks them for all they do for our school!

Pearre Creek Elementary

Congratulations to the Spelling Bee Winners at Pearre Creek. Frederick Rudolph in 4th grade won first place in the 4th and 5th grade division and will advance to the Regional Spelling Bee Tournament. Kindergarten-first gradewinners: Hailey Johnson (1st place), Jackson Harlan (2nd place) and Analise Rudolph (3rd place). Second-third grade winners: Jack Rimel (1st place), Mia Siebert (2nd place) and Sylvie Brekke (3rd place). Fourth-fifth grade winners: Frederick Rudolph (1st place), Ella Gardner (2nd place) and Mary Kate Story (3rd place).

Scales Elementary

The spelling bee was held at Scales Elementary on January 9 and the winter was 4th grade student Louisa Hart and the runner up was 5th grade student Nolan Griggs. Louisa will advance to the district spelling bee.

Walnut Grove Elementary

Family Fun Night at Walnut Grove was a mathematical success. Parents and children participated in many math games and activities designed to have fun and to strengthen their number skills, thinking skills and problem-solving skills. The premise behind Family Math Night is that math is something that you can do with your whole family on a regular and ongoing basis. By doing this, math is seen as useful and relevant to their daily lives and not something that is difficult or scary. Parents were able to see firsthand their students’ incredible mathematical prowess.

Westwood Elementary

In kindergarten, students are exploring number lines and 100 charts. They are also creating their own number lines and 100 charts to use as a tool. First graders are learning to name the defining attributes of plane shapes, while second grade is learning how to record temperatures and make a graph with that information.

Winstead Elementary

The first graders at Winstead are busy learning about timelines in social studies. They talked to family members and wrote down important events in their past. Students used those events and created their life timelines. Now they are proudly displayed in the hallway, and the students enjoy looking at each other’s life events. Students are looking at timelines of important people in Tennessee’s history and learning about how life was different long ago.

Middle Schools

Brentwood Middle

Brentwood Middle Studio8 artists received both Gold and Silver medals, as well as three Honorable Mentions, in the recent Scholastic Regional Art Competition. Studio8 artist Polly Bailey won a Gold medal for her drawing “Winter’s Coming.” It will be exhibited at Cheekwood during February and March, and then will be entered in the national competition in New York in May. Studio8 artist Elizabeth Qiao won a Silver Medal for her painting “The Road to the Future.” Studio8 artists Grace Gibbs (drawing, “The Test Taker”), Rachel Mayhugh (drawing, “Leaf of the Wind”) and Megan Young (graphic design, “Hit the Books” album cover design) placed with honorable mentions.

Fairview Middle

Congratulations to Fairview Middle School 7th graders Ashleigh McKinney, Victoria Pierce and Daisy Gonzalez. These students won a Scholastic Silver Award for their stop-motion animation film “The Museum,” which included clay-mation, use of perspective and watercolor painting techniques.

Grassland Middle

Grassland Middle School students have completed the preliminary test for the National Geo Bee Competition. The official school bee will take place this Friday, January 16. In other news, GMS girls and their influential adult females are invited to attend a special event February 20 from 6-8 p.m. for a fun-filled night of team building activities, creating new friendships, reaffirming healthy images, empowering positive thinking, redefining beauty, strengthening inner resolve, and inspiring visions and future aspirations. More details will soon be released. Meanwhile, GMS has a new opportunity for student involvement. If your child is interested in being a part of the new GMS Color Guard please stop by the office for additional information.

Heritage Middle

Do you remember playing dodge ball on the playground growing up? Well, on Saturday January 24, the Heritage Middle School PTO and Chick-fil-A will be hosting the DODGE FOR “COWS” Dodge Ball Tournament in the HMS Gym and you can be a part of it! Awards will be given for the first place team, the most spirited team and the best team uniform! All the proceeds go toward the purchase of “COWS,” Computers on Wheels Portable Classroom Laptop Sets, for Heritage Middle. Visit www.HeritageMiddlePTO.org for more info and come on out and be a part of the fun!

Hillsboro K-8

The best way to remember a fantastic year at Hillsboro is by purchasing your 2014-15 Hillsboro Yearbook! The yearbook is 96 pages of full-color design, featuring both elementary and middle
school classes, elementary and middle school student life, school-wide events, athletic teams and Hillsboro extracurricular activities. Order now to receive your yearbook at the discounted price of
$50! This pricing window won’t last forever, so order your yearbook today! To purchase your yearbook, visit ybpay.lifetouch.com and enter our school’s Yearbook ID Code – 11459815. You may also add personalization (foil names, icons, etc.) when ordering online. If necessary, you can purchase your yearbook through the school, but personalization can only be added online. Please make all checks payable to HEMS.

Sunset Middle

Congratulations to the following students who were selected to participate in the mid-state honor band: Kelly Bork, Connor Rigsby, Joshua Poston, Kajal Patel, Luis Abud, Kayla Richardson, Diya Mitra and Darsani Patel (alternate). A large number of Sunset Middle Students were also selected to participate in the mid-state honor orchestra: Brendan Goodbred, Matthew Goodbred, Sean Whelan, Andrea Huang, Diya Mitra, Elyse Bartleson, Hailey Kim and Anna Touchstone.

Woodland Middle

The Woodland Middle School Science Olympiad team competed in the Friendship Christian Invitational Science Olympiad Tournament at Friendship Christian School in Lebanon. This tournament involved participation in 23 various science events. Some of the events were Bottle Rockets, Bridge Building, Entomology, Anatomy and Physiology and Experimental Design. This tournament included 18 middle schools from Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. Several Olympians from Woodland Middle School placed in the following events: Ankush Dhar, 3rd in Crave the Wave; Mithul Nallaka, 6th in Meteorology and 3rd in Green Generation; Sarah Preston, 2nd in Bio Process Lab and Solar System and 6th in Meteorology; Nathan Bigham, 2nd in Bio Process Lab and 3rd in Crave the Wave; and Justin Cartailler, 2nd in Solar System. Woodland’s team will compete again in the Regional Science Olympiad Tournament at Tennessee State University on March 7.

High Schools

Brentwood High

The BHS Forensic Team competed in two different tournaments the weekend of January 9-11. Varsity team members competed in the Laird Lewis Invitational tournament in Charlotte, NC. Ayesha Ahmad advanced to the quarterfinals in Original Oratory. In Public Forum Debate, Rebekah Ninan and Sarath Pavuluri advanced to the semifinals, and Shreyas Kumar and Harry Westbrook advanced to Octafinals. At Samford University in Birmingham, some of the novice debate teams competed in the Bishop Guild Debates. Huzyfa Fazili and Aditya Pillai advanced to the semifinals. The teams of Connor Carroll and Sam Dowd as well as Riya Jain and Naba Wahid advanced to the quarterfinals.

Centennial High

Congratulations to CHS band members Gabriel Collins and Chase Miller on making All-State Band. The CHS Habitat for Humanity will be doing their “Knock and Deliver” campaign on Saturday January 24. Students will go door to door leaving an envelope addressed to the school and asking residents to make a donation to Habitat. Funds raised will go towards their spring build coming up in March. Congrats to this year’s Coming Home Court. Representing the senior class will be Josh Colson, Deon Sanders, Ian Seal and Michael Wellman. Representing the junior class will be Jonathan Helton, Noah Jacobs and Richard Kidd. The sophomore class will be represented by Lester Awuah, Hunter Metts and Nickell Whitson and the freshman class’s representatives will be Syncerer Jefferson, Justin Kievet and Hayden Pearson. The Coming Home Court will be presented between the girls’ and boys’ basketball games on Friday Night. A dance will follow the game in the cafeteria.

Fairview High

Students in the Transition Department are learning vocational, interpersonal and finance skills with a new Coffee Kart sales program. They are selling a variety of K-cup cappuccino flavors, coffee and hot chocolate. Transition students are selling to students and staff before school and between classes. Fairview High School JROTC will be hosting a Zombie run on May 2nd 2015. The run will be approximately 2-3 miles long. Participants may participate as a human or a zombie. The idea is to promote physical fitness, have fun, and raise money for Habitat for Humanity. Sign up information will be published soon. Saturday, January 10 was a very successful day for Fairview High Schools. Six high school students were competed at the annual Technology Student Association Middle TN Regional Conference. This is a technology oriented event which also helps students learn leadership skills. Awards received include:

  • First Place Engineering Design – Team of Isabella Hendrickson & Logan Johnson
  • Second Place Tech Bowl- Team of Isabella Hendrickson, Joe Reed, and Logan Johnson
  • Second Place Extemporaneous Presentation – Joe Reed
  • First Place Prepared Presentation – Shelby Carroll
  • First Place Promotional Graphics – Carly Rocco

Franklin High

Please congratulate Josh Johnian for making the All-Midstate Silver Jazz Band. He will be performing this weekend at Blackman High School with the best Jazz students in Middle Tennessee who also auditioned and were placed in this ensemble. The FHS Swim Teams defeated Oakland this week. The girls won 89-81 led by wins from Allie McCain, Megan Todd and Phoebe Brown. Our ladies 200 Free Relay (Allie McCain, Natalie Phillips, Gabby Brewster and Millie Taylor were also victorious). The boys won 110-60 with wins by Trevor Robbins, Evan Gobel, Cole Fisher and Ethan Brown. The men also won all relay events. The swim team will compete in their final regular season meet this Saturday vs. Brentwood, Harpeth Hall and MBA.

Ravenwood High

Yearbooks have completely sold out for the past three years, so it is important not to forget to order your 2015 RHS Yearbook today before you miss your chance! The deadline to order a yearbook is January 19. There is no guarantee your student will be able to purchase a yearbook on distribution day, so it is important to order now. Visit the Quick Links tab at old.wcs.edu/rhs home page to download the order form. All orders are submitted online or mailed in to Herff Jones.

Summit High

The following students placed at the TSA (Technology Student Association) regional competition on Saturday, January 10:

  • Zach McKerrow – 3rd Place, Career Preparation
  • Ethan Gerstein – 3rd Place, Essays on Technology
  • Josh Sadler – 3rd Place, Extemporaneous Presentation
  • Allison Baldwin – 1st Place, Technical Sketching and Application
  • Camden McNeely, Dylan Settlemire, Josh Sadler – 1st Place, Technology Bowl
  • Billy Baumgart, Emma Rash, Kayla Rash, Anna Rash, Andrew Braisted, Brandon Simmons – 1st Place, Chapter Team
  • Allison Baldwin, Camden McNeely, Sam Perry, Josh Sadler, Dylan Settlemire, Jon Svestka – 2nd Place, Chapter Team