Sumner County Schools

SCHS Student Needs Your Vote

Station Camp High School student, Lamara AlNadi, is one of 13 nation-wide finalists for the American Kidney Fund Kids Calendar Contest. Now, she needs our help to win first place. Let's help one of our own by visiting, https://www.kidneyfund.org/get.../calendar-kids-art-contest, and vote for Lamara! Her work is the elf on the shelf hanging onto the Christmas ornament. You can only vote once; multiple votes will be decertified.

The artist with the most votes by July 31st will have their artwork published on the cover of the 2023 calendar and will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC to be honored at the American Kidney Fund's annual national gala

The Shelby Foundation Helps SCS Student Find His Voice

A Portland East Middle School student will be receiving a communication device thanks to a generous donation from The Shelby Foundation. Joey and Susan Hickman are the founders of the charity named after their daughter who passed away in January. Shelby was non-verbal and non-ambulatory but was a social child with a contagious smile and a sweet spirit. The foundation started in 2009 to help other children with special needs.

The Hickman's met PEMS student, Ian Minor, today. The Hickman's paid more than $4,000 for a Nova Chat 5 device that will help Ian communicate with words. The donation came from memorial contributions given in Shelby's memory.

"We are very excited to do this and know the challenges these families face," The Shelby Foundation Founder, Joey Hickman said. "This is a lasting legacy for Shelby's memory, but it gets to help Ian and others like Ian, and we are grateful for that."

The Hickman's saw a story by Nickelle Smith on News 2 regarding another Sumner County student in need of a device, which led them to Ian.

"As a parent you don't realize all the needs your child will have but with the gracious hearts of the Hickman's, it's amazing. There are no words to describe it," Ian's mother, Kathy Minor said.

The Shelby Foundation is a non-profit organization that raises money through different events including The Shelby Hickman Memorial Celebrity Golf Scramble which will be held Monday, August 29, 2022 at Old Hickory Country Club. Events like the golf tournament help the foundation meet the needs of children and young adults with disabilities.

For more information about The Shelby Foundation, go to https://shelbyfoundation.org/

Station Camp Elementary Opens Pollinator Garden

Station Camp Elementary was abuzz as community partners along with staff and students hosted a ribbon cutting for their new pollinator garden. The greenhouse and garden were built to allow students to impact their local and global community. Students have been working on a special project they titled, "Taking Monarchs under our Wing." They are working to help save the monarch species which are endangered due to the lack of their food source. Students will plant and maintain milkweed along with other plants that attract monarch butterflies. Students already have one monarch caterpillar they have named Chris and are excited to watch him transform into a butterfly.

In addition to the monarch butterfly project, each grade level is growing something different from vegetables to flowers to herbs and all students have been composting.

The garden is a culmination of several people including the STEM leadership team, PTO, community partners, two grants and a donation.

Sumner County Schools Leads the state in STEM Education with 4 more Schools Earning Special Designation

The Tennessee Department of Education in conjunction with the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network announced that Portland Gateview, Howard Elementary, Millersville Elementary and White House High School have received Tennessee STEM / STEAM School Designation. The honor recognizes schools for their commitment to promoting and integrating science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics learning for all students that ultimately prepares them for post-secondary college and career success in the 21st century.

“We work hard to equip our kids for the world they will meet 10, 20, 50 years down the road and we want them to use the real-world lessons, curiosity and creativity they are learning now to be productive and successful citizens,” Howard Elementary Principal, Cindy Swafford said. “Receiving STEM Designation is the result of a lot of hard but fruitful work and was the result of a team effort including Dr. Louise Griffith (STEAM Committee Chair), devoted members of our STEAM committee, teachers, students, community partners, and our parents who have worked tirelessly to achieve this goal.”

Since the designation program launched in 2018, 88 schools have earned the Tennessee STEM / STEAM Designation, which the department developed in partnership with the STEM Leadership Council to provide a “roadmap” for schools to successfully implement a STEM and/or STEAM education plan at the local level. Schools that receive this honor also serve as models to inspire and teach others. All K-12 public and private schools serving students in Tennessee are eligible. Of the 88 designated schools across the state, 11 are home to Sumner County Schools. They include Jack Anderson Elementary, Union Elementary, Station Camp Elementary, Oakmont Elementary, Dr. William Burrus Elementary, Indian Lake Elementary, Portland East Middle, Portland Gateview Elementary, Howard Elementary, Millersville Elementary and White House High School.

Each school that received the Tennessee STEM/STEAM School Designation underwent a rigorous application process, including completing a self-evaluation, participating in interviews, and hosting site visits with the Tennessee STEM/STEAM Designation review team. The designation rubric included five focus areas: infrastructure, curriculum and instruction, professional development, achievement, and community and postsecondary partnerships. As a part of the process, schools were also required to submit a plan of action for implementing and sustaining STEM and/or STEAM education for the next five years.

"Portland Gateview is excited to be awarded STEAM designation from the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network (TSIN) and the Tennessee Department of Education. At PGE, we are focused on providing hands-on learning and ensuring our students receive the foundational skills to be successful learners," Portland Gateview Principal Dr. Karen Jarrett said. "Our students are exposed to community project-based learning and are building skills to be college and career ready. We want to thank all of our community partners for helping us achieve this goal of becoming STEAM designated!"

Starting this school year, schools could either apply for a STEM or STEAM Designation through the designation rubric. Schools that sought to apply for the STEAM Designation emphasized the integration of the arts in their STEM application.

"Schools that earn STEM Designation incorporate strong STEM teaching and learning experiences that rest on inquiry, technology integration, work-based learning, and project/problem-based learning strategies tied to the world around us,” said Brandi Stroecker, Tennessee STEM Innovation Network Director. “Each school has a unique STEM program yet incorporates a similar approach by providing cross-curricular teaching practices where students apply the concepts they are learning. The network appreciates these schools as they are providing students with learning experiences that shape their aspirations for the future.”

STEM/STEAM education is an interdisciplinary curriculum in which activities in one class complement those in other classes. It also offers teaching and learning opportunities focused on inquiry, technology, and project-based learning activities and lessons connected to the real world.