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| Important Dates | |
November 6
Schools Closed - Inservice Day
-- November 13 School Board Meeting
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November 19 - 23 Schools Closed
Fall Break & Thanksgiving Break
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| SSHS Teacher Thomas Rutherford Selected as 2012 TAS Distinguished Secondary Science Teacher | 
Tom Rutherford, Science teacher at Sullivan South High School, has been selected by the Tennessee Academy of Science (TAS) as a recipient of the 2012 TAS Distinguished Secondary Science Teacher Award. Mr. Rutherford will be recognized at Vanderbilt University on November 16 during the 2012 Tennessee Academy of Science Annual meeting.
This award is for the many outstanding contributions Mr. Rutherford has made and continues to make in the field of science teaching and learning.
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| STEM Opportunities For Our Students' Futures | |
Sullivan County places an emphasis on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education to help our students be prepared for college and career. Recent studies show that jobs in the STEM fields have grown at three times the rate of other fields from 2000 to 2010 and the projected demand for these jobs is expected to continue increasing. As students consider their future, they may want to consider a position in a STEM field. The education required for STEM positions varies greatly. Electrician positions typically require a high school diploma while engineering managers typically hold PhD degrees. So, every student should consider if a career in STEM may be right for them.
Why Are STEM Jobs So Great?
- The annual STEM employee income is nearly $78,000, far outstripping the average U.S. income of $43,460. More than 47 percent of workers with a STEM bachelor degree earns more than a PhD in another occupation.
- STEM positions are often in the most innovative fields and for some of the most progressive companies.
- STEM jobs aren't all behind a computer screen. STEM careers can be found in everything from animal breeding and dietitians to geneticists and astronauts.
- Technology jobs are often insulated from unemployment woes. While national unemployment remains above 8 percent, tech unemployment is about half that at 4.4 percent.
- From 2009-2011, the growth of self-employed STEM workers (3.1 percent) was more than 5 times greater than overall self-employment, meaning greater employment freedom.
- STEM positions currently account for about 7.3 million jobs, but that number is expected to grow by more than 1 million jobs by 2020.
Read more about the STEM Talent Gap
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| Ketron 5th Graders Build a House as part of the STEM "If i Had a Hammer" Program |
Ketron 5th Grade students in October completed the first of many house builds that will be conducted with Sullivan County fifth graders as part of a collaborative project with Perry Wilson and "If I Had a Hammer". The students experienced STEM education through this hands-on activity by solving real-life problems while demonstrating carpentry skills and team building skills.
The students geared up with nail aprons, safety glasses, nails, hammers, and drills to complete the 8 x 8 house with a 3 x 8 porch. They measured the perimeter and area of the house and then used information from a local real estate website to figure the possible selling price.
Groups of four adults along side Foreman, Mr. Don Salyers, and STEM teacher Sonja Coates supervised the builds.
Ketron fifth grade students and teachers would like to thank the volunteers from the Bloomingdale community, parents, Eastman and Home Depot employees, and our very own Board Member, Mr. Broughton, for being on hand to help our four fifth grade classes during this time. The house will be on display on the stage in the Ketron gym until the end of November.
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Mary Hughes Anthropology Class Learns the History of Their Community
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The Mary Hughes 8th grade Anthropology class recently took a walking tour of the Piney Flats area. The class has been learning about their community with an in depth review of the book "Come See Where I Grew Up, A History of Piney Flats". The author is former Mary Hughes and Sullivan East alumni Andrew Hare. The students enjoyed learning the history of their hometown and actually seeing the historical buildings first hand.
"The study of Piney Flats and the tour we took were one of the most interesting things that I've done in school" -8th grade student MHS.
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| SSHS Food City School Bucks Presentation | |
Sullivan South High School was recently presented with a check from Food City. Food City's School Bucks Program allows parents, students, family and friends to register their individual ValuCards so that a portion of the money spent each time they shop at Food City will benefit the school of their choice. The money Food City provides our schools help purchase needed technology and other resources to benefit our students and make their learning environments the best possible.
For more information on the Food City School Bucks program, please click here.
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| Sullivan North High School PINK Day |
The Sullivan North High School HOSA organization sponsored PINK Day on Friday, October 26th. This event was in conjunction with the Susan B Komen Cancer awareness effort. Every student and faculty member was encouraged to wear Pink on this day to further highlight the cancer issue. It is pleasing to note that almost 75 percent of the student body participated in this event.
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| Mary Hughes "Music and Me" Project and Found Poets Society | |
Exciting learning activities are taking place at Mary Hughes School. Mrs. Graham's eight grade Visual Music and Poetry class students are meeting the common core standards by analyzing music lyrics of selected songs to communicate meaning through visual interpretations through Windows Movie Maker. The project "Music and Me" is designed to challenge students to look deeper into lyrics of songs they listen to everyday to determine meaning, theme, purpose, figurative language, and plot. Students' interpretations are then communicated visually by constructing videos through the movie maker software. Students have embraced the challenge with excitement and determination and they cannot wait to come to class each morning.
In addition to the numerous activities taking place at MHS, the Found Poets Society will be hosting the second annual poetry reading at the Bristol Grind House Coffee shop in December. Students will be presenting the strict poetry forms of ballads, sonnets, and villanelle through original works written by the students. We have implemented a little drama as well with historical monologue constructed by the students to be performed as well.
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| Bluff City Elementary Reading Buddies |
Students at Bluff City Elementary are working together to improve reading through paired reading. Mrs. Greene's first grade class and Mrs. Pridemore's fourth grade class have begun working together every other Friday to promote fluency and practice important reading skills together. This time allows the fourth grade students to take a leadership role in that they are reading aloud to their first grade buddies, teaching them what to do when they come to a word they don't know and discussing important story elements with their buddies. "This has been a very rewarding experience for my students in the past as it builds self-esteem and motivates them to become the best readers they can be," states Mrs. Pridemore. For the first grade student, this allows them to read to an older peer and be able to practice discussing important literary elements. Simply being able to work together is an important aspect of every student's educational experience!
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