November 21, 2008
In this edition:
MNPS Website Upgrade
SLC Late Arrival Day
Hume-Fogg Students Shine at Model United Nations Conference
West End Middle School Celebrates “GIS DAY”
Kiwanis Club donates flags to Ewing Park
All Together Kids grant helps disabled MNPS students and their families
School Board Chair David Fox Serves as Principal for a Day at Percy Priest
H. G. Hill grows crops to help others
Mt. View Elementary celebrates Thanksgiving
Mayor plants daffodil bulbs with Crieve Hall students
Lottery School Application Deadline Dec. 5
New Student Assignment Plan Takes Effect 2009-2010
Other Upcoming Events
MNPS Website Upgrade
The Metro Schools' websites, including the main district website and related school sites, will be down for maintenance Monday, Nov. 24 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
SLC Late Arrival Day
Monday, Dec. 1, students attending the 12 MNPS high schools implementing Smaller Learning Communities will have an SLC late arrival day. The high schools affected are: Antioch, Cane Ridge, Glencliff, Hillsboro, Hillwood, Hunters Lane, Maplewood, McGavock, Overton, Pearl-Cohn, Stratford and Whites Creek. Students enrolled in these 12 high schools will report to school 2 ½ hours late, with the school day beginning at 9:40 a.m. Buses will still run for all students; they will simply run the routes 2 ½ hours later than normal school days. Therefore, if a student normally catches the bus at 6:30 a.m., he or she should expect to catch it on an SLC late arrival day at 9 a.m.
Hume-Fogg Students Shine at Model United Nations Conference
The Model United Nations conference, a YMCA program that helps students learn about world politics and the interdependence of nations, was held Nov. 7-8 at the Embassy Suites hotel in Cool Springs. Hume-Fogg Academic High School had 88 students to participate, the largest delegation in attendance. Hume –Fogg took home several awards and leadership positions. Forty resolutions made it out of the committee onto the General Assembly schedule, five of which were Hume-Fogg’s countries. Committee Kyrgyzstan placed fourth, Latvia committee place eighth, Ethiopia placed eleventh. Kelia Franks, Ian Boothby and Dillion Frazier won Best Delegate Awards. Hume-Fogg competed against seven teams to win the World Cup Quiz Bowl and the General Assembly elected Hume-Fogg student Sam Blumenthal for the 2009 Model United Nations.
West End Middle School Celebrates ‘GIS DAY’
Seventh graders at West End Middle School partnered with experts from Metro Planning Department to map out their neighborhoods as part of Geographic Information Systems Day, known as “GIS Day.” GIS Day was held to celebrate geography awareness and to help the students understand that GIS is an essential component of the state-mandated core curriculum. The students also analyzed environmental data about the Richland Creek watershed.
GIS Day provides an international forum for users of geographic information systems (GIS) technology to demonstrate real-world applications that are making a difference in our society.
Kiwanis Club donates flags to Ewing Park
Kiwanis Club of Madison recently donated 20 United States flags to Ewing Park Middle School. W. Beck, president of Kiwanis Club along with other Kiwanis members unanimously passed the motion to purchase flags for the middle school. The flags will be placed in classrooms throughout the school. Thank you, Kiwanis Club of Madison TN!
All Together Kids grant helps MNPS students and their families
United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee has announced the All Together Kids inclusion grant for children with disabilities in Davidson County. The All Together Kids grant is for children with disabilities who are enrolled in the Metropolitan Nashville Public School system and who are enrolled or will be enrolled during the period of the grant, in an inclusive community-based after-school, recreational, extracurricular or other community program in the Nashville community.
The program will supply grants up to $1,000 to families for direct assistance for their child to participate in after-school programs. Funds can be used for specialized accessible transportation, supplies, uniforms and other items specific to the child’s needs. Specific therapies and services that are targeted toward development of communication, socialization, or other skills that may be necessary for children with disabilities to integrate effectively with their peers can be accessible with the grant funds as well.
Families can apply at any time. To download an application for the grant visit www.ucpnashville.organd click Davidson County All Together Kids Inclusion Programor http://www.ucpnashville.org/AllTogetherKids/ATKIndex.htm.
School Board Chair David Fox Serves as Principal for a Day at Percy Priest
Metro Nashville School Board Chair David Fox served as Principal for a Day at Percy Priest Elementary School. Mr. Fox’s visit was part of “Principal for a Day,” an annual event sponsored by Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools and the PENCIL Foundation. This year’s event was held. Nov. 12.
Mr. Fox arrived at Percy Priest at the beginning of the school day and participated in several activities with Principal Melinda Williams. Mr. Fox and Mrs. Williams visited each classroom, where they talked with teachers and students. They also visited special area classrooms, including art, P.E., music, and Spanish. The visit concluded with a luncheon for principals and their guests at the Martin Professional Development Center. Fox, who was elected as School Board Chair in September, represents Percy Priest Elementary, along with other schools in the Hillsboro Cluster.
Principal for a Day allows business and community leaders to step into the role of principal at a Metro school, learn more about public education and interact with students at the school. The goal of the program is to allow community leaders, area businesses, and other organizations to continue their support of and involvement in Metro schools throughout the school year. The PENCIL Foundation links community resources with Nashville public schools to help young people achieve academic success and prepare for life.
H. G. Hill grows crops to help others
Dr. Elvis Cherry and his seventh grade class have been tending to their crops and have grown six heads of cabbage. Three cabbages went home with students and the other three were donated to Room in the Inn, to add to its Sunday night meal that feeds the homeless.
Mt. View Elementary celebrates Thanksgiving
Nov. 19, more than 80 parents attended Mt. View Elementary School’s Thanksgiving Dinner. Dianne Carney, food service manager, and the cafeteria staff dressed in Pilgrim and Native American attire and served dinner to the students and their parents. Also during the day, Mrs. Carney visited with classrooms and talked with students about the Native American heritage and culture.
Mayor plants daffodil bulbs with Crieve Hall students
Mayor Karl Dean joined 100 Crieve Hall Elementary students to plant 50 daffodils on the campus as a part of Metro’s campus beautification and landscaping project. Each fall, Metro Beautification and Environment gives away daffodil bulbs to schools and community centers to use in landscaping and learning projects all across Nashville.
More than 80 schools participated in the landscaping project. The daffodil bulb give away is an annual activity to involve children in beautifying Nashville by planting 6,000 bulbs at Davidson County schools, community centers, community gardens, day care centers, and other community locations. Children plant the bulbs in November and watch the yellow blossoms appear in early spring, making a personal connection to their community, nature and the cycle of seasons.
Lottery School Application Deadline Dec. 5
The deadline to apply for a seat in one of Metro's magnet or lottery schools for the 2009-2010 school year is Friday, Dec. 5. No applications from current MNPS students will be accepted after this deadline. The lottery is scheduled Jan. 10, 2009. Information and applications can be found at http://www.mnps.org/Page51.aspx
New Student Assignment Plan Takes Effect 2009-2010
The New Student Assignment Plan, approved by the Metro Nashville Board of Education in July 2008, is scheduled to take effect for the 2009-2010 school year. New cluster maps to assist families with finding where their child will be attending school next year can be found at Nashville Public Libraries, affected schools or online at http://www.mnps.org/Page2786.aspx.
Other Upcoming Events
Nov. 24-28 MNPS Fall Break
Nov. 28 No Children First
