1.  It is going to be a VERY busy week around here!  In addition to wrapping up the first semester on Friday, if you are interested in holiday concerts and events, this week will be right up your alley.  Monday will feature concerts at Johnson (6 p.m.) and Adams (6:30 p.m.).  The largest concert of the week will take place on Tuesday, as the annual Dobyns-Bennett Band, Orchestra, and Choral Holiday Concert will fill the Eastman Chemical Company Toy Reid Auditorium, beginning at 7 p.m.  The 7th and 8th graders at Sevier Middle School will wrap up the festivities with their holiday concert on Thursday at 7 p.m., also at Toy Reid.  We invite you to come out and enjoy the sounds of the season!
2. Speaking of schedules… Don’t forget that next Friday (12/18) marks the end of the KCS first semester and the beginning of the Winter Holiday Break.  Secondary schools will dismiss at 11:40 a.m., with elementary schools releasing at 12:15 p.m.  All school offices, as well as the KCS Administrative Support Center, will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day.  The first day back for students in 2016 is Tuesday, January 5th.
3. In case you missed it, these kids are FAST!  Congratulations are in order for several D-B swimmers who set personal or team school records this week.  The girls 200 medley relay team of Rachel Summers, Hayley Kirk, Kaylie Richard, and Hannah Love swam the fastest time in school history.  Kaylie (100 Fly) and Rachel (100 Breast Stroke) also set individual school records, as did Tyler Bourgeois in the 400 Free.  World Class!
4. This guy is also pretty fast.  We send special thanks to Blake Leeper, who took time out of his busy Olympic training schedule to spend some quality time sharing with and motivating KCS students this week.  Blake is a constant positive presence in our community, and he is always so willing to come back to Kingsport and make personal connections with our students and staff.  It has been so exciting to see this tremendous person and athlete grow and achieve such great things.  We can’t thank Blake enough for giving back to KCS and for being such a great role model for our students!
5. It’s exciting to see KCS graduates doing great things, and there are also future grads accomplishing big things, as well.  D-B senior Morgan Hudson was recently recognized by Berea College (KY) as a 2015 Pinnacle Scholar Award of Excellence winner.  The award program annually recognizes high school seniors for their work in science, music, or service.  Selected from a pool of hundreds representing ten states, Morgan was honored for outstanding accomplishments in the field of music.  Congratulations, Morgan!
6. We close the Saturday Six this week with yet another shameless plug for the We Are KCS Video Blog.  This week, we launched the video portion of the blog, highlighting innovative literacy work occurring in Ami Frye’s classroom at Jefferson Elementary (click here to view).  In the coming months, we’ll be highlighting a wide variety of activities and programs throughout KCS.  Is there something you are curious about that you would like to see featured in the video blog?  Send your ideas or suggestions to blog host Andy True at atrue@k12k.com.  Your idea just might be featured on an upcoming video blog!

Do you like the Saturday Six or KCS Video Blog?  If so, please help us share this with others!  We love to spread the word regarding the people and programs of Kingsport City Schools.