Terry Howell, Principal of McKenzie High School
Mr. Howell's Notes from the High School
The band held its annual banquet and awards presentation last Monday at the high school. Mr. Breeden recognized and thanked the Band Boosters for their continued support of the band program. He then awarded certificates of participation to all of our band students grades 7-12 that marched with the band for 2007-2008. Special awards went to these students: Heather Manley – Most Improved Guard; Cameron Minor – Most Improved Percussion; Breanna Bradley – Most Improved Woodwind; and John Ward – Most Improved Brass. Outstanding classmen for this year’s band went to Tyler Cary and Breonna Oglesby – 9th grade; Tommy Sam and Alex Spenser – 10th grade; Aaron Hoskins and Shakeeya Long – 11th grade; and John Clark – 12th grade. The Bandsman of the Year went to senior Dallas Baker. The band completes its award-winning year with a trip to the West Tennessee Strawberry Festival on Friday.
We will be taking our Gateway and End-of-Course exams this week at the high school. The test schedule is as follows:
Gateway Math (Algebra I) Tuesday, May 6
Foundations II End of Course Tuesday, May 6
Language Arts Gateway (English II) Wed., May 7
U.S. History End of Course Wed., May 7
Science Gateway (Biology I) Thurs., May 8
Physical Science End of Course Thurs., May 8
English I End of course Monday, May 11
Successfully passing the Gateway tests is a requirement for a student to receive a regular high school diploma. The State has established cut-off scores to show proficiency in each test area. The end-of-course exams also have benchmark scores to show mastery. Both the Gateway and End-of-course tests count 15% of the second semester grades so that they carry an academic grade to factor in a student’s overall grade. Parents need to insure that students come to school rested, well fed, and mentally and emotionally prepared to take these state-mandated tests.
The last day for seniors exempt from tests will be Thursday, May 8. Students who are exempt may leave at 12:00 P.M. provided they have a note from their parents. We plan to have a senior cookout that day so all seniors are encouraged to stay. On Friday, we will go to Bethel College at 10:30 P.M. for Baccalaureate practice for those who choose to participate. Students will return at 1:30 P.M. for their afternoon exams. Seniors will have graduation practice on Tuesday, May 13, and Thursday, May 15.
Baccalaureate for the Class of 2008 will be Sunday, May 11, at 8:00 P.M. at Bethel College. This event is sponsored by the McKenzie Ministerial Association and is not a requisite for our seniors to attend. It is a formal church service that serves a religious blessing for our graduates. We appreciate Bethel College for allowing the ministerial association to conduct this meaningful event.
The softball team played three games last week to close out the regular season. On Monday they traveled to Bruceton to face the Lady Tigers who had soundly thrashed them the week before. The Lady Rebels gave a valiant effort but fell 6-4. The team out hit the Lady Tigers eight to six, but committed three errors. On Tuesday the Lady Rebels defeated Big Sandy 17-2 in a mercy-rule game. The win resulted in a tie for second place in the district with Bruceton, but Bruceton will get the higher seed in the tournament because they swept the Lady Rebels during the regular season. On Wednesday the Lady Rebels closed the season at home against the Camden Lady Lions. The always powerful Lady Lions had enough punch to defeat the home squad 7-2. The Lady Rebels end the regular season at 10-15 going into the district tournament.
The baseball team also traveled to Bruceton on Monday, but with different results from the softball team. Parker Jones pitched well and the bats responded with a 14-4 Rebel win. On Tuesday the Rebels won a doubleheader against Big Sandy 15-0, 10-0. The two wins sealed the top-record in the upcoming district tournament. The Rebel closed out the regular season with a 22-7 record and the chance to do well in the district tournament in Huntingdon. On Saturday the Rebels defeated Clarksburg behind the pitching and hitting of Nick Chappell. The Rebels staked Chappell with a 9-0 lead going into the last inning as they ended the game with a 9-4 win. Chappell had two hits and 3 rbi’s to lead the team. Tyler Reeder, Derek Carr, Rusty Chapman, Tyler Holt, and Drew Brown also had strong offensive performances to lead the team. The Rebels faced Huntingdon Monday with a chance to advance in the winners’ bracket (No results available).
The soccer team had a road game on Tuesday against Scott Hill. The improving Rebels managed two goals but still lost to the Lions 3-2. Joel Oyebi and Alex Rider scored goals, but the defense yielded three for the final margin of victory. On Thursday the team closed out the regular season with a home game against powerful Northside. The day before Northside had defeated Scotts Hill, a team that had earlier beat the Rebels, by a score of 13-0. The Rebels played well defensively and trailed 2-0 at halftime. The Lions managed three more goals, but the Rebels played valiantly to the end. On Saturday the Rebels traveled to Scotts Hill in the First Round of the district. They soundly defeated the Lions 5-0. Scoring for the Rebels was Brandon Tyler, Alex Rider, Ryan Ferrell (2), Joel Oyebi, and Neal McCann. Damon Hardy earned the shut-out as goalie. On Monday, the Rebels played USJ (results unavailable).
The track team competed in the 2nd annual McKenzie Invitational Meet at U.S.J. on Thursday. The girls and boys both finished in 4th place out of 14 teams competing. John Campbell won the Field Events High-point Trophy and Mark Cole won the Running Events High-point Trophy. Medalists for the girls were Kenisha Williams – 2nd place discus; Christine Mason – 3rd place 400 meters; Wynter Strayhorn – 3rd place 300 meter hurdles; Hannah Scruton – 3rd place 800 meters; and the 4 x 400 relay team of Abby Carlton, Becky Jones, Christine Mason, and Hannah Scruton – 3rd place. For the boys John Campbell earned 1st in the discus; Mark Cole – 1st in 3200 meters and 1600 meters; Harris Laughrey – 2nd place 400 meters; Evan Rogers – 3rd place triple jump; the relay team of Andrew Semirosum, Jake Johnson, Hunter Herrin, and Connor Scruton – 2nd place 4 x 800 meter; and the relay team of Jake Johnson, Harris Laughrey, John Johnson, and Mark Cole – 2nd place 4 x 400 meters. Congratulations to these students. See the Banner for complete results.
Last week our homerooms participated in the Coins for a Cure as a fundraiser for Relay for Life. Sponsored by the Student Council, the fundraiser gave students the opportunity to donate their change for the Relay for Life program. Students donated over $325.00 to Relay for Life. Leading homerooms were Ms. Cole in 3rd –place with $40.00, Ms. McKennie in 2nd place with $89.99; and Mr. Gallimore in 1st place with $95.90. Mr. Gallimore’s homeroom will receive an ice cream sundae party to celebrate their generosity. A special thanks to the Student Council and Ms. Yates, their sponsor, for overseeing this project.
Last Friday Lifeline Bloodmobile visited our school to get donations from students, faculty, and staff. We had approximately 40 people to donate blood out of the 50 who were screened to give. Many of our students had low iron counts which contributed to their inability to donate. Ms. Anderson and the Leo Club helped with the blood drive which we now do twice a year.
We will have school this Friday. We will make up the date that we missed in December for the State Championship game.
As always, I hope everyone has a great week.
