Rutherford County Schools will be closed Friday due to weather conditions.

Teacher now considered for national award,
trip to Washington to meet president

By JAMES EVANS
Rutherford County Schools

MURFREESBORO ­­— Gail Schulte, an instructional facilitator for Rutherford County Schools, has been named a 2011 finalist for the prestigious Presidential Award of Excellence in Mathematics and ScienceTeaching. Schulte is the only science teacher from Tennessee selected as a finalist for the award this year.

As an instructional facilitator, Schulte serves in a mentor role for newer teachers to help them build a confident foundation in the classroom. She previously worked as a science teacher at Smyrna Middle School, and a fellow teacher nominated her for the award. She then had to complete a lengthy applicationprocess, which led to being named a state finalist.

“The national committee will not release the national finalists until the end of November,” Schulte said. “There could be one science teacher and one math teacher from each state selected at this level.”

If she is selected as a national finalist, she will travel to Washington D.C. for a four-day stay where she will meet President Obama, participate in several education forums and be awarded $10,000.

She’s not completely sure what made her application stand out from other teachers in the state but does know providing real-life, relevant experiences for students is encouraged. Schulte used the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as an ongoing project throughout the year with her science students.

“Since inquiry and technology are imbedded in our state standards as well as the national standards, this unit was full of strategies to get the students thinking outside of the box as well as to learn/research in-depth and create options on how man-made disasters affect our world,” Schulte said.

Schulte has been a teacher with Rutherford County Schools for the past four years and taught in Hamilton County previously for nine years.

Schulte already has been recognized for the award at the recent Teachers of Year banquet held in Nashville. She’ll also be recognized at the Tennessee Science Teachers Association conference, which will be held in Murfreesboro on Nov. 11.

Attention shoppers! Tennessee's annual sales tax holiday begins Friday, August 5 and runs through Sunday, August 7.  During this time, shoppers can save almost 10 percent on tax-free clothing, school and art supplies, and computer purchases.

During the designated three-day weekend, shoppers may purchase selected clothing with a price of $100 or less per item, school supplies with a price of $100 or less per item and computers with a price of $1,500 or less without paying Tennessee's state and local sales tax.

The supply lists are divided by grade and may be adjusted to reflect personal teaching style, such as specific size crayon box, type scissors, etc. Items may be omitted which will not be used. Additional items may be requested on a "wish list" but may not be added to the core supply list.

Kindergarten

• Pencils
• Crayons
• Colored Pencils
• Scissors
• Tablet
• Spiral Notebook for Journal Writing
• Glue
• Folders with Pockets
• Rest Mat
• Container for Supplies
• Backpack
• Tissues

Grades 1-2

• Pencils
• Crayons
• Folders
• Tablet
• Notebook Paper or Spiral Notebooks
• Composition Book for Journal Writing
• Scissors
• Glue
• Clipboard
• Notebook
• Erasers
• Tissue
• Container for Supplies
• Dry Erase Markers (if used by students on individual dry erase boards)
• Backpack

Grades 3-5

• Pencils
• Notebook
• Notebook Paper
• Notebook and/or Spiral Notebooks or Composition Book for Journals and/or 1 set of Notebook Divider Pages or Pocket Folders
• Glue
• Scissors
• Crayons
• Colored Pencils for Map Skills
• Red Pens (if used by students for proofreading)
• Ruler
• Clipboard
• Dry Erase Markers (if used by students on individual dry erase boards)
• Tissues
• Container for Supplies

Grades 6-8

• Notebook(s)
• A notebook for each class/subject might be required (the type – spiral, 3-ring or pocket folder will be determined by the school, mini-school or teacher)
• Notebook paper – regular lined
• #2 pencils or lead pencils
• Colored Markers and/or Colored Pencils (check for teacher preference)
• 12-inch standard/metric ruler
• Compass
• Graph paper (math teacher preference)
• Glue stick
• Protractor
• Dividers
• Erasable Ink Pens (optional with teacher)
• School Agenda (if applicable)
• Book Covers, if required
• Tissues
• Highlighter Pen

The holiday also includes purchases of qualified items sold via mail, telephone, e-mail or internet if the customer orders and pays for the item and the retailer accepts the order during the holiday for immediate shipment, even if delivery is made after the exemption period.

More information from the Department of Revenue is available from the following sources:

• Website: www.tntaxholiday.com

• E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• Telephone: (800) 342-1003

Murfreesboro, TN - A changing of the guard has occurred at three Rutherford County Schools now that new principals have been named at Smyrna High School, Eagleville School and Rock Springs Middle.

Former principals Robert “Bud” Raikes, Rhonda Holton and Pat Essary all announced their retirements at the end of the 2010-2011 school year. In addition, Daniel-McKee Alternative School principal Jim Christman has announced he will retire Aug. 1 to accept a faculty position at David Lipscomb University in Nashville.

Director of Schools Harry Gill has named Rick Powell the new principal at Smyrna High, Bill Tollett the principal of Eagleville and Chris Treadway the principal of Rock Springs Middle School. A principal has not yet been named for Daniel-McKee Alternative School.

Powell has been an assistant principal at Smyrna High School since 1996 and started at the school in 1985 as a math and science teacher. Prior to coming to Smyrna High School, he taught at Roy Waldron Junior High School. He’s been with the district since 1975.

“Rick Powell has been at Smyrna High School since the 80s, he served as an assistant principal for many years under Mr. Raikes and he has a true love for the school,” Gill said. “It will be a smooth transition and one that will continue the great tradition of Smyrna High.”

Powell said he is grateful for the opportunity to lead the school.

“I want to thank Mr. Gill for giving me the privilege of serving as principal of Smyrna High School,” Powell said. “We have a great school, students, parents, staff and administration. I'd also like to thank Mr. Raikes for allowing me the opportunity to work with him as an assistant principal to further the school's legacy of pride, tradition and excellence.”

Tollett has spent his entire career at Eagleville and has served in a number of roles, including physical education and numerous coaching positions. For the past seven years, he has served as an assistant principal at the school.

"Eagleville is a high performing school and Bill has been a part of it for 22 years," Gill said. "He's bright, articulate and has a love for the Eagleville community. I don't expect any bumps in the road with the transition."

"I want to maintain the performance of our students and teachers and the high level of community involvement, and I look forward to the challenges of the increased standards and rigor," Tollett said, referring to the Tennessee Diploma Project requirements.
Treadway has been with Rutherford County Schools for the past nine years. Most recently he served as an assistant principal at Rockvale Middle School, a position he held since the school opened three years ago. Prior to Rockvale, he taught math at Blackman Middle School and served as the head baseball coach at Blackman High School.

“Chris Treadway is a proven leader, and I feel strongly he can go in and help facilitate some changes at Rock Springs Middle that will assist us in getting it off the state's School Improvement list," Gill said. "We're going to do everything in our power to get the school back into good standing.”

Treadway is eager to take over the reins.

“I'm excited about the opportunity to join the faculty, the students, the parents and the community members to build upon the past successes of Rock Springs Middle School,” Treadway said.

By JAMES EVANS
Rutherford County Schools

The first day of school for all Rutherford County schools will be Wednesday, August 3, 2011 (two-hour day), and the first full day of school will be Monday, August 8, 2011. If you have not registered your child for the new school year, it’s not too late.

Follow the links below for additional information.

For registration information, click HERE.

For a list of school bell times, click HERE.

School zone and bus route information can be found HERE.

For a list of core school supplies, click HERE

For a printable version of the 2011-2012 academic calendar, click HERE.

To apply for free or reduced lunch, click HERE.

For online lunch menus, click HERE.

As part of the annual Summer Feeding program, select Rutherford County Schools will offer free breakfast and lunch for anyone 18 and under May 31 – July 29.

The following schools will offer summer food services:

Cedar Grove
John Colemon
Kittrell
LaVergne High
Roy Waldron
Smyrna Elementary
Smyrna Middle
Stewartsboro
Walter Hill
Whitworth-Buchanan

The federally funded Summer Feeding program is provided each year in high poverty areas to ensure area children have access to a proper nutrition while school is not in session. Meals also are available for adults, who may purchase breakfast for $2 and lunch for $3. The program will run on weekdays from May 31-July 29 (but will be closed on July 4). Parents and students should contact individual sites for serving times.

For additional information, please call the School Nutrition Department at (615) 893-5812.

Murfreesboro, TN - Two Rutherford County students have added an accomplishment to their resumes that places them among the academic elite. Ryan Nichols and John Ash both recently earned perfect scores on their ACT exams.

Only 10 out 50,000 seniors who take the ACT in Tennessee score a perfect 36, according to a recent Tennessean article.

Ash is a junior at Blackman High School who also is earning dual enrollment credits through a program with Middle Tennessee State University. He is the son of Jennifer and John Ash, the principal of Central Magnet School.

“They’ve always been supportive and they congratulated me a lot,” young Ash said of his parents.

It was the third time he had taken the test. Ash took the ACT in seventh grade as part of the Duke University Talent Identification Program. He scored a 25 which earned him Grand Recognition in the program and an invitation to visit the university. When he entered the dual enrollment program at MTSU last summer, he was required to take the test again and scored a 33.

For college, he is considering the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University in California and the California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech).

“I want to thank my teachers and the faculty at Blackman High School for giving me this education,” Ash said.

Nichols graduated from Siegel High School a few weeks ago and has earned a full scholarship to Vanderbilt University along with another $10,000 in additional scholarships, according to The Tennessean. During high school he also was dual-enrolled at Middle Tennessee State University.

His parents, Lorenzo Nichols III and Roseanne Coleman, are both doctors.

By JAMES EVANS
Rutherford County Schools

An abbreviated school day today ends the school year for Rutherford County and Murfreesboro schools.