The seventh graders are buzzing like busy bees during the STEM Agriculture Unit.  In the science classroom, students learned about plant cells, asexual reproduction, and sexual reproduction as they created various 3-D models in order to better understand the parts and functions of cells.  As they made these models in science, students practiced ratios, proportions, and scale factor.  In the theme of agriculture, the doors were open for students to investigate topics such as deforestation and urbanization and the effects of these processes on people, animals, and the community.  After studying these social studies topics, students effectively create via presentations.  Students also learned how to professionally present in front of a distinguished crowd.  A guest speaker from Northeast State spent the day, evaluated our 7th graders, and provided feedback on their presentation.  They also learned how to work in cooperative groups more effectively in order to complete a common task.  Public speaking and collaboration will serve students well in their everyday life, in high school, and in their future careers as they prepare to be working citizens in our community. 

 The eighth grade students at Innovation Academy, as part of their Agriculture Unit, constructed and filled raised beds last week.  With the help of a few of the UT Agriculture Extension office personnel, the students were taught how to construct the beds and what mixture of sand and compost to use to fill them.  The eighth graders also designed experiments that will be used with the plants within the beds.  This interdisciplinary Agriculture Unit incorporates science with their experiments toward greater food production, math with the bed design and dimensions, social studies with the background on agriculture and farming, and English/Language Arts complimented the study with reading a novel the centered around growing cotton. 

Miller Perry 5th grade students have been hard at work on Common Core Math Tasks!  They have enjoyed working on a math project called "Splitting the Bill" which had the students adding and dividing decimals.  They have also completed a task called "Lots and Lots of Chocolate".  This task was used as an introduction to fractions and it was great to see what they could recall from 4th grade!  The task covered MANY fraction concepts - adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators, finding equivalent fractions, and changing improper fractions to mixed numbers.  The students were surprised and pleased with how much they remembered and most importantly, they had fun doing math! 

The 2nd grade classes at Ketron Elementary were very fortunate to have a visit from Mark Reynolds, Chief Meteorologist at WJHL Newschannel 11.  He told the students about tornadoes, hurricanes, and may other aspects of weather.  The students in class were also on the news that night....very exciting!  A big "THANKS" to Mark Reynolds for his very informative visit.

Sullivan 4-H Members Learn Livestock Evaluation

Miller Perry Elementary had Rebel Pride Day on Friday, November 1st for the big conference football championship game!  They also wanted to celebrate ALL of South's recent accomplishments in academics, athletics, band, ROTC, etc. by dressing in their favorite Rebel T-shirts and show how much they support their high school!  In this picture, some 4th and 5th graders are showing their Rebel Pride.

Congratulations to all 4 Sullivan County Bands this last Saturday at the Inaugural Science Hill Invitational Marching Band Competition. Each band had a strong showing at this competition and came home with some great trophies.

The Sullivan North Band was in class 1A and won best percussion in their class and placed 2nd in class 1A.

The Sullivan East Band was in class 2A and won best percussion, guard, and was 3rd in class 2A.

The Sullivan Central Band was in class 3A and won best percussion, guard, and was 1st in class 3A. The percussion section was the high scoring percussion for the day! The band was also the 3rd overall highest scoring band of the day!

The Sullivan South Band was in class 4A (competing against the Dobyns-Bennett Band for the first time in school history) and placed 2nd in their class. The band had the 2nd highest score in the Music Caption for the day and was also the 2nd overall highest scoring band for the day!

The Sullivan North, East, and Central Bands have all completed their competitive marching band seasons with this last competition and they all finished their seasons in style. The Sullivan South Band has one final competition this next Saturday in Chattanooga. They compete in the UsBands Southern States Championships with 30 other marching bands and they are the final performing band of the day at 8:50pm. Good luck to the Rebel Band!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR SULLIVAN COUNTY BANDS ON THEIR FINE ACHIEVEMENTS THIS YEAR!!!

Cadet Chief Petty Office McKenzie Keeton has been named Cadet of the Month for November.  McKenzie is the son of Mr. And Mrs. Chris Hawk and is a junior at Sullivan North.  He is an active member of the unit color guard, drill team and rifle team.  McKenzie has recently been promoted to the rank of Chief Petty Officer and is making great strides in his new responsibilities.  McKenzie has only a short period of time to make a decision regarding his future but is evaluating all options.

Weaver Elementary Teachers Complete Year-Long STEM Professional Development Class

Rhonda Fields and Lori Rosenbaum, both teachers at Weaver Elementary School, recently completed a year-long STEM Professional Development Class through East Tennessee State University.  This class was funded by a grant through the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and Race to the Top.  The main emphasis of the class was about integrating STEM hands-on activities with Math and Reading Common Core Standards.

In addition to the 3 hours graduate class credit each teacher received, they also were awarded a stipend for their time and approximately $2400 worth of materials for their classroom.  During the last class session, Mrs. Rosenbaum was surprised to learn that she was the winner of the First Grade Lesson Unit contest.  Her unit, Habitat Huddle, earned her another $1400 worth of books for her classroom.