School Snippets – October 2, 2015

Published October 2, 2015

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

Elementary Schools

Allendale Elementary

Second graders have been studying about the life cycles of different animals. The caterpillars arrived a couple of weeks ago, and the students have watched their caterpillars grow and turn into a chrysalis. This week the caterpillars have begun emerging from their chrysalis’ and everyone is excited about the Butterfly Release Parties this week and next week. The second graders have really enjoyed watching them grow and change over the last couple of weeks. Along with learning the lifecycle of a butterfly, we will study the life cycles of chickens, frogs and even mealworms.

Bethesda Elementary

Johnny Appleseed came to visit all the kindergarten classes at Bethesda Elementary on September 25. All the kindergarten students loved Johnny Appleseed reading them a book and telling them his life story.

Clovercroft Elementary

Clovercroft’s third grade students will visit the Nashville Zoo next week as a culminating event of their study of animals. The second grade students will travel to the Discovery Center as a celebration of their study of life cycles. The students will participate in the Animals All Around tour where they will see, discuss and touch animals, covering the topics of adaptations, life cycles, food as energy and family characteristics. Discovery Center reptiles, amphibians, mammals and birds are used during this tour.

College Grove Elementary

Second grade classes at College Grove have been studying the life cycle of a butterfly, from a tiny caterpillar and them emerging as a beautiful Painted Lady Butterfly. This week they released the adult butterfly outside.

Crockett Elementary

This week in second grade at Crockett Elementary, a parent volunteer introduced our class to a wonderful website to explore the migration of monarch butterflies. In a unique partnership, our second grade classes are joining students and scientists across North America to track the monarch butterfly’s migration to Mexico. As the migration progresses, from September to November, students will learn about migration mysteries. They’ll discover that a fragile butterfly can travel hundreds of miles to find its winter home deep in central Mexico. Students will witness how monarchs connect people across North America as they migrate across international borders. In other news, the PTO Welcome Committee hosted a Meet and Greet to welcome new families to the Crockett community.

Edmonsdon Elementary

Laura Pullen’s kindergarten class at Edmondson Elementary learned about the parts of an apple, the parts of a tree and how an apple tree changes during the seasons. At the end of the unit, the students made applesauce. Yum!

Fairview Elementary

Lots of excitement of at FES lately. We are gearing up for Hawk Walk which will be October 15, weather permitting. We had a kickoff event on September 25, where the Fairview High band came over and played for us. Also on September 25, students who completed a special summer work packet and turned it in enjoyed an extra special recess with both of our principals! Mr. Oakley and Dr. Bullard got to play soccer and basketball with these students who worked extra hard to be prepared for this school year.

Grassland Elementary

Second grade is studying the life cycle of the Painted Lady butterfly. They will watch the caterpillars grow, shed their skin, transform into a chrysalis, then emerge as black and orange butterflies. Grandparents Day is Friday, October 2. Grandparents are invited to visit their grandchild’s classroom and then eat lunch together. We’re looking forward to having our grandparents (or special guests) visit from near and far. Thanks so much to co-chairs Alissa Sipple and Libby Achee for organizing this wonderful event. And thank you to all the parents who attended the Math Lunch and Learn program on September 29. The event was a huge success.

Heritage Elementary

Heritage Elementary PTO hosted the third annual Donuts with Dads on September 30. Over 400 hundred Dads, Grandpas or special guests were in attendance. Students and guests enjoyed donuts, coffee and juice. Guests had the opportunity to escort their students to their classrooms. HES would like to thank Kroger Marketplace in Thompson Station, TN for donating the donuts for this event.

Kenrose Elementary

Kenrose PTO recently hosted an appreciation breakfast for our bus drivers and cafeteria workers. We “wheelie” appreciate their service. Thank you for all you do!

Longview Elementary

First graders at Longview Elementary learned how to begin a research project with the help of a local community group. Students were able to design questions for our very own Spring Hill Fire Department as they visited two first grade classrooms September 21. The firefighters explained their jobs and responsibilities as they put on their gear, describing each piece to the students.

Nolensville Elementary

Students at Nolensville Elementary have been very busy this week. Kindergartners have been busy studying apples. Parent volunteers made several hands-on activities possible. Students were able to taste, graph and sort apples. They also made applesauce, peeled apples, wrote about apples and made apple crafts. In third grade, students brought in landform projects. Students either made salt dough maps or used modeling clay to create their landforms. Projects were three dimensional, colored appropriately and labeled. In fifth grade, students investigated changing the states of matter by making ice cream. Observations were made and recorded as students changed a liquid to a solid. In some cases, if the ice cream wasn’t consumed quickly, they observed the ice cream changing from a solid back to a liquid as it melted.

Pearre Creek Elementary

The following students at PCES placed first in their division for the 2015 Punt, Pass and Kick Contest. These students will advance to the sectional contest that is held in late October. Congratulations to Lea Adams, Ava Allan, Ella Bobbitt, Carter McAdams, Taylor Tisdale, Lucas Heifner and Tucker Rector. In other news, the Nashville Ballet performed the Carnival of the Animals at Pearre Creek. Several students volunteered to take part in this performance that explored the value of diversity through the perspective of the mighty lion. The king of the jungle would not understand why everyone was not exactly like him, but a wise and patient bird introduced the lion to a host of creatures including an elephant, swan and fish to teach him that we are all unique. This engaging performance was a treat for all.

Scales Elementary

Renee Hall’s second grade class has been preparing for the release of their butterflies by studying the life cycles of butterflies. In other news, fifth grade teacher Melody Scott faced the crowds in the dunk tank at Scales’ recent Invest Fest Celebration.

Sunset Elementary

Mrs. Dickall’s third grade class enjoyed participating in their small reading groups this week.

Trinity Elementary

This week at Trinity, we are having our annual Parents in PE. Parents are invited to come to their students’ PE classes and experience a day in PE.

Walnut Grove Elementary

This week at Walnut Grove we are celebrating 25 years of educating students in Williamson County! We are grateful for the leadership and dedication of past principals, faculty and staff for fostering a love of learning in student where all were valued, nurtured and challenges. On Friday, October 2 our student ambassadors will hose a school-wide birthday party they helped plan to commemorate the legacy of Walnut Grove. They will greet and welcome former teachers and administrators back to school and give school tours. The celebration will also be extended to the community as we host our second annual Groovin’ at the Grove” concert after school from 5:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. All are welcome!

Winstead Elementary

Fourth grade social students classes are becoming historians by researching famous explorers such as Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, Hernando De Soto, Henry Hudson, Jacques Carter and Ferdinand Magellan. Their research will include where the explorer lived, who sponsored their journey, discoveries they made and implications for their discoveries. Students will also investigate the motivation driving these brave explorers to risk their lives. In other news, Save the Date Sunday, October 11 from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. for an Old Fashioned Bucket Brigade at Winstead. Everyone will come together for a community clean up to beautify the school grounds.

Middle Schools

Brentwood Middle

The BMS Lady Vikings won the Brentwood Volleyball Invitational hosted by Brentwood High School. Team members include Bella Blanchett, Karaley Carmichael, Morgan Carter, Ellabeth Chawan, Shaye Eggleston, Sydney Hammond, Oakley Martin, Carmen Schmittou, Kira Scott and Phoebe Young. In other news, Beth Johnson’s sixth grade science class is learning how energy works through movement using basketballs and solar hot air balloons.

Fairview Middle

Fairview Middle had a very successful family night at the book fair. Students and parents were able to shop the fair on September 29. Family Night alone sold over $1000. The book fair runs through October 2.

Grassland Middle

Mr. Koehler’s and Mrs. Wayman’s sixth grade students have been studying ancient Mesopotamia. One of the greatest inventions that originated in that region was writing. Cuneiform is the name of the writing system used in ancient Mesopotamia. The students practiced writing cuneiform on clay tablets as a way to better understand the written language used 5,000 years ago.

Hillsboro School

The Lady Indians basketball will be in full swing starting October 21. Open gym for the Lady Indians basketball team will begin October 21 from 3:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. The first round of tryouts will be held the last weekend in October. Former players will begin fundraising before fall break. In other news, kindergarten and seventh grade students learned about and played Spanish instruments together.

Spring Station Middle

Spring Station Middle was excited to welcome Snia Gensler, author of The Revenant, The Dark Between and Ghostlight. The students were thrilled to learn about the process she uses as well as the inspiration she draws from in order to write her creepy, ghost stories. Mrs. Gensler showed many pictures of places that her stories are set in and was able to to share many tales of events that occurred in these locations that helped her weave mystery, intrigue and fright into her books. At the end of the presentation, students peppered her with questions were disappointed when the bell rang dismissing them to their next class.

Woodland Middle

Author Sonia Gensler visited WMS and spoke to the Book Club. She presented Five Tips for Those Who Dream of Being Published One Day. Sonia grew up in Tennessee and now writes full time in Oklahoma.

High Schools

Brentwood High

The BHS Marching Band heads to the Bands of America Powder Springs Regional Championships in Georgia, where they will perform at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, October 3.

Centennial High

October is domestic violence awareness month. In order to help shine the light on this subject, the CHS varsity basketball cheerleaders are partnering with Bridges Domestic Violence Center with two projects in October. First, the team is conducting an items drive that runs October 1 through October 12 collecting requested items for the Bridges’ local shelter. In addition, the team has joined forces with STARS in helping to promote a Lunch and Learn scheduled for Monday, October 5. The Lunch and Learn is open to all female Centennial students and is designed to address healthy teen relationships/domestic abuse. In other news, congratulations to four Centennial Seniors on being awarded a Letter of Commendation from the National Merit Scholarship Program. Brenten Arnold, Brady Bove, Zebulun Morgan and Sarah Wiggers received the commendation for their excellent performance on the PSAT/NMSQT.

Franklin High

Here they are, the September Rebel Reward Winners! Prizes this go-around included Titans game tickets (2 games), autographed Titans game ball, Cheaper by the Dozen passes, Franklin Theater passes, Sweet CeCe’s vouchers, Sonic card, iTunes card, pizza party with pals, Franklin spirit apparel, athletic season passes Sonic/Chick-Fil-A freebies, sushies, etc. Winners include Claire Terrell (Barker), Emma Hembree (Snider), Sophie Neihoff (Flood), Sara Davis (Bechtel), Billy Grant (Harrison), Jack Ray (Bechtel), William Salhany (Mills) and Aidan Kelly (Beasley). Winners for reserved parking for a month are: Natalie Phillips (Snider), Jackson Motley (Snider), Michael Muir (Radin) and Ethan Raynaud (Cathey). Teacher appreciation (please know that we appreciate you all!): Emily Snider, Ashley Flood and Kelly Bechtel. Emily will be attending the October 25 Titans game, Ashley will be shopping at Target and Kelly will have having dinner at O’Charley’s.

Independence High

October 14 is Universal Day at IHS. Students at each grade level will have a different schedule and program on that day. The PSAT will be given to those underclassman who registered for the test. Freshmen will participate in Project Graduation breakout sessions. Sophomores will take the PLAN test (the makeup PLAN test will be October 15 for sophomores who are absent or take the PSAT). Juniors will take the practice ACT test. Seniors will choose from one of four activities: College Visit Day, Job Shadowing Project, Day of Community Service or reporting to school to complete a writing project in the morning and will report to regular classes in the afternoon. Materials for the first three activities will be distributed by and returned to English teachers on their due dates. Seniors in Dual Enrollment English classes will pick up and return their materials in the Counseling Office.

Page High

Mark your calendars for Monday, October 5 for Financial Aid Night at the Page High Auditorium beginning at 6 p.m. Annie Trout of the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation will present a program that deals with all aspects of applying for financial aid including TN State Lottery Scholarships, TN Promise, filling out FAFSA, qualifying for need based and non-need based grants and loans, work study opportunities and family responsibilities as it applies to contributions for college education. Wednesday, October 7 marks the end of the first quarter grading period, Thursday, October 8 is the last day for Senior pictures by appointment and also the National Honor Society Induction in the Auditorium at 6:30 p.m. and Wednesday, October 14 will be testing for the PLAN and PSAT for sophomore and juniors. Seniors will be job shadowing or college visits and freshman may take the PSAT or will remain in class.

Ravenwood High

Congratulations are in order for 15 seniors Ravenwood students who just completed their CPR Certification for BLS for the Healthcare Provider this week and will begin clinicals in October at Somerfield Health Center at The Hermitage, and at Williamson Medical Center in January. The seniors are: Andrew Fahim, Douglas Gaittens, Megan Hawken, Meredith Holmes, Sydney Jackson, Madison keller, Megan Kim, Alyssa Madden, Hannah Ratterman, Emma Rucker, Lauren Schreur, Lauren Shrader, Hannah Standford, Morgan Walden and Sammy Wu.

Summit High

Summit has been celebrating Homecoming Week this week with dress-up days, door decorating contests and powder puff games. Summit’s football team will be playing LaVergne on Friday night and will be looking forward to its next win. The game starts at 7 p.m. and admission is $6.