Sullivan County's Middle School Choral programs have been hard at work since the beginning of the school year. Middle School students started off the year by auditioning for the Sullivan All-County Middle School Chorus. Each school brought approximately 15-30 students depending on the size of their school adding up to 150 students. After two months of rehearsals and learning eight pieces of music, these students came together on the morning of October 3rd for a rehearsal and a concert that evening. The concert took place at the Wellmont Regional Center for the Performing Arts at Northeast State Community College under the direction of guest conductor, Kathryn May, the choral director at Greeneville High School.

Now that the concert is over, the Sullivan County Choirs have been preparing and rehearsing for their winter and holiday concerts. Below is a list of dates and performances.

*Blountville Middle-Concert on Monday December 15 at 6:30 p.m.

Students will also sing for the Blountville Tree Lighting on Thursday December 11 at 6:00 p.m.

*Bluff City Middle-Concert on Thursday December 11 at 7:00 p.m.

*Colonial Heights Middle-Concert on Tuesday December 9 at 7:00 p.m.

*Holston Middle-Concert on Tuesday November 18 at 7:00 p.m. at Northeast State

*Holston Valley Middle-Concert on Sunday December 7 at Chinquapin Grove Baptist Church at 11:00 a.m.

Concert on Tuesday December 9 at HVMS at 7:00 p.m.

The students will also be singing at Cambridge House Nursing Home on Wednesday December 10.

*Mary Hughes Middle-Concert on Monday December 8 at 7:00 p.m.

*North Middle-Concert on Tuesday December 16 at 7:00 p.m.

*Sullivan Gardens Middle-Concert on Tuesday December 16 at 6:30 p.m.

Sullivan County Middle School Choirs and Choral Directors would like to thank the county leadership, their communities, school faculty and staff, and student families for their encouragement and support throughout this Fall/Winter 2014. We look forward to growing and thriving throughout the rest of this year.

The student leadership team at Mary Hughes Middle School came up with the idea to dress up like the students did when they attended Mary Hughes from 1897 to the 1950s.

The history of the school and its alumni is a part of the Piney Flats Community.  Students have seen the pictures that represent many eras of the school history in the hallways.  The students on the leadership team thought that it was time to bring history to life.

Many students wore original Mary Hughes clothing from the 1950s.  Clothing varied from prairie dresses, suspenders and overalls to letter jackets, letter sweaters, and poodle skirts.

Students may have found old clothes to wear at their grandparents house, but they also had the opportunity to hear stories about their family and the school. Students were sharing their families history and stories about Mary Hughes throughout the day.  There is a strong sense of school pride from the past and current students of Mary Hughes.

One of the many highlights of the day was when Mason Johnson and Leah Elsea rode their horses to school as they did in 1897.  Mason shared the story that his grandfather told him that long ago there was a barn behind the school for the horses and buggies to be at while the kids were in school.  

This will now be an annual event at Mary Hughes.