Happy Thanksgiving!  We hope you had a restful holiday of thanks and enjoyed sharing a long weekend with family and friends.  As we turn our sights toward the holiday season, the schedule will turn busy with concerts and celebrations featuring our fantastic students and staff.

This week in the Saturday Six, let’s review the schedule of holiday happenings that will take place in the coming weeks across Kingsport City Schools.  It will certainly be a festive December!

1. We hit the ground running next week with three events, involving students from elementary through high school.
   • Tuesday, Nov.  28 @ 7:30 p.m. – Robinson Band Holiday Concert (at RNR)
   • Thursday, Nov. 30 @ 2:30/5:30 p.m. – Roosevelt 4th & 5th Grades Winter and Holiday Performance (at Roosevelt)
   • Thursday, Nov. 30 @ 7 p.m. – Dobyns-Bennett Orchestra Small Ensemble Dessert Concert (at D-B Instrumental Music Building) *Please note that this is a ticketed event.
2. The first weekend of December also features a special event by the D-B Orchestra.  Again, please note that this is a ticketed event.
   • Saturday, Dec. 2 @ 7 p.m. – Dobyns-Bennett Orchestra Small Ensemble Dessert Concert (at D-B Instrumental Music Building)
3. The first full week of December will again highlight students ranging from elementary through high school.  It will be an incredible display of musical talent!
   • Sunday, Dec. 3 @ 6 p.m. – Kennedy Chorus Hanging the Greens (at Lynn Garden Baptist Church)
   • Thursday, Dec. 7 @ 6 p.m. – Jackson Music Program & Art Show (at Jackson)
   • Thursday, Dec. 7 @ 7:30 p.m. – Robinson Chorus Holiday Concert (at RNR)
   • Friday, Dec. 8 @ 7 p.m. – D-B Varsity Choirs Concert (at First Broad Street United Methodist Church)
4. The week of December 10th-16th will feature five events over four nights of holiday spirit!
   • Monday, Dec. 11 @ 7 p.m. – Sevier Band, Orchestra, and Chorus 6^th Grade Holiday Concert (at Sevier)
   • Tuesday, Dec. 12 @ 7 p.m. – D-B Band, Orchestra, and Chorus Holiday Concert (at Eastman Employee Center)
   • Thursday, Dec. 14 @ 9 a.m./7 p.m. – Sevier Band, Orchestra, and Chorus 7^th & 8^th Grade Holiday Concert (at Eastman Employee Center)
   • Thursday, Dec. 14 @ 6 p.m. – Johnson 4^th Grade Winter Concert (at Johnson)
   • Friday, Dec. 15 @ 6:30 p.m. – Lincoln Christmas Gala: Pre-K – 2^nd Grade Art & Music Showcase (at Lincoln)
5. The final week of the school semester wraps up with a whopping seven student events.  It will be a busy and festive final week of the season!
   • Monday, Dec. 18 @ 6 p.m. – Adams Headliner Choir Winter Concert (at Adams)
   • Tuesday, Dec. 19 @ 6 p.m. – Washington 3^rd Grade Concert/Learning Center F (at Washington)
   • Tuesday, Dec. 19 @ 6:30 p.m. – Lincoln Carolers (at Mafair United Methodist Church)
   • Tuesday, Dec. 19 @ 7 p.m. – Robinson Orchestra Holiday Concert (at RNR)
   • Thursday, Dec. 21 @ 8:30 a.m. – Adams Choir Family Christmas (at Adams)
   • Thursday, Dec. 21 @ 9 a.m. – Kennedy Choir Festival of Carols (at Kennedy)
   • Thursday, Dec. 21 @9 a.m. – Lincoln School-wide Christmas Carol Sing-a-long, 9 a.m. (at Lincoln)
6. Stay up to speed on the full slate of winter activities across KCS by accessing our online activities calendar.  Click here to view the full calendar.

Next Week in the Saturday Six:  The mission of Kingsport City Schools is to provide a student-focused and world-class education that ensures college and career students for all students.  We’ll take a look at the wide scope of special education services that are in place to help KCS fulfill its mission.

Each year in November, the educational community stops to give special recognition and say “thank you” to educators of all types during American Education Week.  Kingsport is blessed to have over 1,200 educators that give so much of themselves, both professionally and personally, so that all children can succeed.  Thank you to these women and men that are so dedicated to the success of our students!

This week in the Saturday Six, we pause to celebrate these educators.  Let’s look at a few images (admittedly more than six this week) that capture some of these great Kingsport City Schools employees.

Next week in the Saturday Six:  Can you believe it’s almost holiday concert season?  We’ll take a look at the full schedule of KCS holiday programs so that you can plan accordingly!

A key component of the Kingsport City Schools Guiding Tenets is to develop a community that is fully engaged, while supporting students in their academic, physical, and emotional development.  As a part of that effort, students and staff continually seek service opportunities and ways to positively impact our community, both local and beyond.  It’s a focus that helps us all see how our collective talents and gifts can better our world.

November has been designated as “KCS Charity Month.”  It’s a time dedicated to joining together in service to others by recognizing the needs in our community and empowering students to find solutions.  Lives can be changed through this collective effort, as over 7,000 individuals from KCS strive to make a difference.

This week in the Saturday Six, let’s take a look at some of the ways KCS students and staff are impacting our community.  We are #OneTribe!

1. A focus across the district is on meeting needs related to hunger in our community.  Students seek how they can F.E.E.D. (Feel, Engage, Empower, Do it!) others, not looking at the initiative as an “extra” project, but creating an ongoing attitude that strives to nourish the hunger of others, be it for food, resources, or nourishment of the heart!
2. The KCS middle schools have taken the F.E.E.D. concept to heart!  Robinson Middle School and Sevier Middle School are both actively pursing ways to gather resources to support those in need.  Robinson is in the middle of a Thanksgiving food drive for students and families, and Sevier is supporting Operation Christmas Child and continuing to provide donations to those effected by flooding in Texas.
3. The students and staff at Dobyns-Bennett are incredibly active in service both at school and throughout the community.  Student clubs and organizations that meet both during and after school work with local organizations to provide resources and services to make Kingsport a better place.  You’ll find D-B students volunteering in our local hospitals, churches, and community organizations.  Some students even volunteer in our own KCS schools.  The D-B YES! Club provides valuable mentoring and support to elementary students throughout KCS.
4. Service projects are also in full swing at all KCS elementary schools.  Students and staff are hard at work collecting food for holiday food baskets, supplies for agencies such as the SBK animal shelter, and holiday cards for veterans.  For instance, 100 handmade or store-bought cards will be delivered to veterans at the VA nursing home and VA domiciliary for homeless veterans through the efforts of KCS students, and holiday cards will also be sent to soldiers deployed around the globe.
5. Food drives are taking place at all elementary schools, supporting agencies such as Second Harvest Food Bank and the KCS Family Resource Center. Students and staff are also helping children have a brighter holiday through the Adopt-a-Student program with Angel Tree, providing warm items such as gloves and mittens to those in need, and helping those effected by fires in California.
6. And as a school system, the KCS Family Resource Center also continually provides items such as food, clothes, and backpacks to KCS families.  As the colder holiday season approaches, many students in Kingsport will have the opportunity to have a new warm coat and a great holiday meal thanks to the efforts of all involved with the Kingsport City Schools FRC.

November is a great time to focus on how we can support others!  Thanks to initiatives such as Charity Month, the students and staff of KCS can continue to seek ways to improve the lives of all around us.

Next week in the Saturday Six:  November 13-17, 2017 is American Education Week in the U.S.  We’ll take a look at some of the phenomenal educators making a difference in the lives of KCS students, and celebrate the women and men that give so much to make Kingsport City Schools a world-class school system!

Each and every day, the women and men of the Kingsport Police Department go the extra mile to serve and protect the children and staff of Kingsport City Schools.  Whether on the streets, patrolling the exterior of our school campuses, or walking through our school buildings on a daily basis, these officers are a key supportive resource that help ensure the safest possible school environment.

On Wednesday, November 1^st, KCS paused to celebrate these heroes during the 2^nd annual “KCS Back the Blue” day.  Special recognitions took place throughout the day as the officers and staff of the KPD took a much deserved turn in the spotlight.  While all are greatly appreciated, four officers in particular hold a special place in the hearts of KCS students and staff.  The KCS School Resource Officers serve full-time in KCS schools, adding a vital layer of safety and security to the learning environment.

In this week’s Saturday Six, let’s take a look at the four KCS School Resource Officers and highlight the great work they do for KCS!

1. Through a partnership with the Kingsport Police Department, four SROs serve in KCS schools.  Two officers work at Dobyns-Bennett High School, with an additional officer placed at both Sevier and Robinson Middle Schools.  All four of these officers also support other KCS schools as needed.  Let’s meet the great team that serves as the KCS School Resource Officers!
2. John Sevier Middle School SRO Brad Conkin is a 31 year-old Kingsport native, graduating from Sullivan South High School in 2005 and then attending Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville. He graduated from Tennessee Tech in 2009 with a Bachelors of Science in Wildlife and Fisheries.  After college, he worked for the Tennessee State Parks before joining the police force in 2010.  He first worked as a patrolman with the Kingsport Police Department and was chosen to become the School Resource Officer at John Sevier Middle School in 2014.While working as a patrolman, Conkin began to be drawn to the schools through walk-through patrols.  Once experiencing those walk-throughs, he felt strongly that service inside of a school is what he was meant to do. When chosen for the role as SRO at Sevier, he states that, “I truly knew then why I became a police officer… It is the most rewarding job because I go from leaving my house in the mornings as a farther of two to walking in the school and becoming a father of 850​+ for the day.  We can smile, laugh, cry and dance together while still learning.  I know that when parents drop off their kids every morning, they expect a great education and safety.  If I instill a little comfort in parents’ minds for the eight hours a day their kids are here, I feel my job is complete.”
3. Dobyns-Bennett SRO Sean Cornett was born and raised in Kingsport, graduating from D-B in 1991.  Following graduation, Officer Cornett worked at Eastman as a chemical operator until 2004.  He then started his tenure with KPD, shifting to the role of an SRO in 2008.  After a short transition to other roles with the KPD, he returned to SRO duties in 2015. 

   Officer Cornett also serves as a Field Training Officer and an Advanced Collision Investigator, holding numerous certifications with KPD.  He has twin sons that attended KCS and are now in college.  When not serving the students and staff at D-B, he enjoys working on vehicles, computers, and weight lifting.

4. Officer Rick Marshall has served as a School Resource Officer for 12 years and is a vital component of the safety team at Ross N. Robinson Middle School. He takes an active role in developing relationships with students and staff, focusing on both safety and doing whatever possible to help each child succeed.  This individualized approach to students has become a hallmark of Officer Marshall’s work and is widely recognized as one of his strengths as a leader and an officer. 

   Officer Marshall has often commented how humbling it is to know that students, staff, parents and community rely on the School Resource Officer to provide a safe and positive learning environment. He is willing to do whatever is needed to make sure every student returns home safely at the end of each day.  He places emphasis on helping children accomplish their goals and watching them progress in life and in their education.  Through his actions, Officer Marshall has helped many students move forward positively in their lives!

5. Officer Mark Smelser is the newest KCS School Resource Officer, beginning his tenure at Dobyns-Bennett in 2017. Another former KCS graduate, his personality and connection with students have made an instant positive impact on the culture and security of D-B.  While a student at D-B, Officer Smelser was a varsity soccer player and continued to develop those skills while attending Maryville College, where he graduated in 1991. 

   Officer Smelser has served with the Kingsport Police Department for five years and brings a high level of energy and enthusiasm to his work each day.  Knowing he wanted to be a police officer since the age of 5, he is fulfilling his lifelong dream by interacting with students at his alma mater and doing all he can to ensure their well-being.  He has three children, ranging in age from 11 to 20.  An accomplished athlete, Officer Smelser runs an average of 40+ miles per week, having completed eight marathons, participating in the prestigious Boston Marathon three times.

6. Have you seen the WeAreKCS Video Blog highlighting the KCS SRO program and officers? It’s a great review of the program and provides insight on the purpose and benefits to having such qualified safety officers in our schools each day.

Next week in the Saturday Six:  We’ll take a look at an innovative program designed to support and encourage community service.  It’s “Charity Month” throughout KCS and we’ll learn more about it next week!

Kingsport City Schools is fortunate to have an exceptional group of School Resource Officers (SROs) working every day to keep our schools safe and secure.  These four Kingsport Police Department officers work full-time in our schools, ensuring that students and teachers have the best possible learning environment.

In honor of this week’s “KCS Back the Blue” day, the WeAreKCS Video Blog highlights these fantastic officers and the KCS School Resource Officer program!