Last weekend, students at Ross R. Robinson flexed their mathematical muscles competing in the state-level MATHCOUNTS competition.  What a successful competition it was!  Due to much hard work and practice, the Robinson team placed third in Tennessee… quite an accomplishment that places these KCS students among the best of the best!

This week, the Saturday Six takes a look at the MATHCOUNTS program and highlights the exceptional accomplishments of our world-class students!

1. The MATHCOUNTS competition is a national program that provides students the opportunity to compete in live, in-person math contests against and alongside their peers. It was created in 1983 and is open to all 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grade students in both public and private schools.
2. The MATHCOUNTS competition has four levels of competition… school, chapter, state and national.  Schools register in the fall and RNR had their school competition in December, where 10 students advanced to the Upper East Chapter competition in February.  The students practiced after school with their coach, Lisa Bratton, and their assistant coach, Cameron Buck,  as well as volunteer and community member, Dr. Greg Rasmussen. The students also put in many hours on their own through online and print resources provided by MATHCOUNTS.  The top eight individual scoring students from the Chapter competed in the state competition in March.  The top four individuals from the state will represent Tennessee at the National Competition in May.  Only 224 students from across the nation will compete in this top level of the competition.
3. Each MATHCOUNTS competition consists of four rounds:  Sprint (30 problems in 40 minutes with no calculator), Target (eight calculator problems presented in pairs with six minutes for each pair),  Team (10 calculator problems in 20 minutes taken by the top four students from the school competition), and Countdown (Top 8-12 individual scoring students compete head-to-head with no calculator.  This round focuses on speed and accuracy).
4. This year’s Robinson team was comprised of Sahil Gaba (captain), Chandni Bhat, Ryan Herzog and Neekon Nejad.  They earned the right to compete in the state competition after placing 1^st at the Chapter level.    Individuals who also qualified to compete in the state competition were Marcus Espeland, Caleb Buell and Emily Cai.  Other students that participated at the chapter level were Noah Lee, Melody Yuan and Ria Kothan. RNR took 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th place in the individual rounds of the chapter competition. The Robinson MATHCOUNTS team placed 3^rd in the state competition. Sahil Gaba placed 1^st in the oral countdown round and 2^nd in the written round of the competition.  He earned a spot on the Tennessee team and will be competing in the national MATHCOUNTS competition May 13-15 in Orlando, Florida with three other students from across the state.
5. RNR has had 16 consecutive 1^st place wins since 2002 at the chapter level team competition.  They have had 10 top-four finishes as a team at the state level and have sent eight students to the national level since 1994.
6. All of this year’s participants in RNR MATHCOUNTS also participate in the school band or orchestra.  Music and math really do have a connection here at RNR!

Congratulations to the students and coaches of the Robinson MATHCOUNTS team!  You are truly world-class!!

Please note that just like the rest of KCS, the Saturday Six will be on Spring Break next week.  Look for the next Saturday Six on April 8, 2017!

With the arrival of Spring just around the corner, there is so much going on throughout Kingsport City Schools!  To help keep you fully informed, this week the Saturday Six is taking a look at six things that have happened, or are about to happen, around KCS.  What a busy time!

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   This week, students at Lincoln Elementary School took part in a unique math and team-building activity, constructing a house through the “If I Had a Hammer” program.  This cooperative hands-on activity, sponsored by community partners such as Eastman and RCAM, provided 5th graders the chance to work together and support each other to achieve a completed build.  What a great opportunity!

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   This past Tuesday, over 100 retired KCS teachers gathered in the Administrative Support Center Tennessee Room for the annual Retired Teachers Association Brunch.  This celebration of our former teachers honors the legacy of Kingsport education.  In addition to recognizing our former educators, special thanks also goes to the D-B Culinary Arts program for providing and serving the meal, as well as the D-B Air Force Junior ROTC unit for preseting the colors and helping welcome our guests.

3. On Thursday, March 16, students from across Kingsport came together for the annual City-Wide Choral Festival.  This event highlights the musical talents of many KCS students, and is a wonderful example of the commitment to the arts exhibited by our entire community.  Want to hear more?  Click here to hear a reply of the concert, courtesy of WCSK Radio, 90.3 FM. the Voice of Kingsport City Schools!
4. Speaking of musical commitment, the next generation of KCS band members is ready to launch!  Instrument placement days for 5th graders attending Robinson and Sevier Middle Schools are upon us.  Students attending Robinson will have their instrument placement day today, Saturday, March 18 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. at RNR.  Student attending Sevier will select their instruments on Monday, March 20 from 4 – 7 p.m. at JSMS.
5. This coming Thursday, March 23, 2017, KCS will hold a special kindergarten registration event and pre-k screenings (not registrations).  Kindergarten registration will take place from 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. at all KCS elementary schools for Kingsport residents with children five years of age on or before August 15, 2017.  Pre-kindergarten screenings for the 2017-18 school year will take place at the Kingsport Civic Auditorium (1550 Ft. Henry Drive) from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.  Only Kingsport residents with children four years of age on or before August 15, 2017 are eligible for pre-k screenings.  Click here for additional information related to kindergarten registration and pre-k screenings.
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   Photo courtesy Allen Greene Photography

   And finally, spring sports are underway all across KCS!  Student athletes at D-B, Robinson, and Sevier are all hard at work.  Come out and support the Tribe this week!.

   1. Click here to view the complete D-B athletic schedule.
   2. Click here to view the Robinson Middle School athletic schedule.
   3. Click here to view the Sevier Middle School athletic schedule.

The Insight KCS Class of 2017 – April Banks, Lisa Norman, Joy Spruell, Nathan Flora, Melissa Dixon, Lora Barnett, Lindsay Powers, Amanda Bowman (Not pictured: Dawn Blake)

On Friday, March 10, the 2017 Class of Insight KCS wrapped up their year-long exploration of all things-KCS, completing a six-session program that explored all aspects of education and operations of Kingsport City Schools.  The community outreach and engagement program is available each year to interested stakeholders of KCS, starting in the fall and taking place once each month through the month of March.  This year’s class marks the third year that KCS has offered this award winning program, with year four scheduled to begin in September of 2017.

What does KCS have to offer?  This week, the Saturday Six looks at the wide variety of information and experiences explored during the Insight KCS program.  With multiple school and facility visits taking place during the program year, it a wonderful opportunity to learn about the inner workings of all KCS educational and functional operations, while empowering  advocates for KCS throughout the Kingsport community.  It’s not too early to start considering how you might be involved during the 2017-18 school year!

1. Session 1 – KCS Overview, Leadership, and Organization:  A review of the KCS organizational structure, history, people, strategic plan, and Guiding Tenets.
2. Session 2 – Teaching and Learning:  An exploration of all KCS curriculum and instructional services, including school tours, classroom observations, sessions with instructional leadership, and professional learning structures.
3. Session 3 – KCS Vision:  A look at major KCS instructional initiatives and visioning process, including current projects such as D-B EXCEL, the Regional Science and Technology Center, and the KCS STREAM and Technology visions.
4. Session 4 – School Facilities and Organization:  A deep review of how KCS maintains and services school facilities and operational management, as well as exploring school nutrition services, transportation, and communications efforts.
5. Session 5 – Human Resources and Finance:  Seeing how an organization of over 1,200 employees recruits, hires, retains, and compensates its workforce, as well as reviewing the KCS budgeting process.
6. Session 6 – Student Services and Community Engagement:  Exploring the many ways KCS supports students and engages with the Kingsport community, through programs such as KCS Student Services, the Homeless Education Program, and the KCS Family Liaison initiative.

Sound interesting?  To learn more about how you can participate next year, view the Insight KCS webpage by clicking here!

This Friday, the Kingsport Aquatic Center hosted one of the most unique and absolutely fantastic events on the Kingsport City Schools event calendar, the D-B Tribe Games.  Held throughout the year and also featuring athletic events such as bowling and track & field, the swimming portion of the competition gave KCS students of all abilities the opportunity to hit the water and display awesome athletic talents in a fun and supportive atmosphere.  The program was developed by D-B Special Education Teacher Jimmy Burleson and is supported by a great team of D-B and KCS staff members.  The day was filled with laughter, excitement, and spirited competition!

The Tribe Games would also not be possible without an incredible group of sponsors that share their time, talents, and resources to make the event such a success.  Thanks so much to:

• Texas Roadhouse, for providing lunch free of charge for all of the athletes, coaches, BUDS, and volunteers at each Tribe Games events this year.  Thank you Texas Roadhouse of Kingsport!
• Daniel Kilgore, D-B grad and member of the San Francisco 49ers.  Daniel has been a consistent sponsor and supporter of the Tribe Games and finds time in his busy schedule to be a part of event days.  Thank you Daniel, for giving back so generously to your community!
• The Palmer Foundation and Kingsport Aquatic Center, for providing the swimming pool and facility for Friday’s event.  We are fortunate to have such a world-class facility in our community and are so grateful for the hospitality!
• Food City, for providing bottled water for our athletes.  Food City is a wonderful example of a local business that gives back to its community, and we appreciate your sponsorship and support!
• Allen Greene, for donating his photography talents to help record and share images from the event.  Allen does such fantastic work… Thank you for providing your professional photographs of the Tribe Games to our teachers and school!
• Varsity Trophies, for helping support the production of t-shirts and medals for participants.  These items were very proudly worn by our students today, and serve as a lasting reminder of a wonderful day in the pool.  Thank you Varsity Trophies!
• The Kingsport Chamber, for their generous sponsorship of the event.  Time and time again, the Chamber steps forward to support worthwhile programs throughout our community, and we greatly appreciate their partnership in so many ways!

This week, the Saturday Six features some of the fantastic images captured during the event by Allen Greene.  Many thanks to Allen for his talents for allowing us to share these photos here in the Saturday Six!