#OneTribe

The KCS Saturday Six – November 7, 2015
  1. There are lots of smart students around here!  At this Thursday’s Board of Education meeting, the BOE recognized a lengthy list of D-B students that have achieved some pretty impressive academic accomplishments.  D-B senior Theresa Cahill was honored for scoring a perfect 36 on the ACT.  Eight D-B students were named as Semi-Finalists in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program (Emily Baker, Samantha Cahill, Theresa Cahill, Alexander Caviness, Jennifer Garland, Sarah Homoky, Kaylie Richard, and Charlotte Schodowski).  And an additional six seniors were recognized as commended students in the National Merit Scholarship Program (Owen Barbour, Taylor Bunch, Hannah Burgess, Katherine Lawrence, Gibson Mills, and Kaylea Brooke Mohr).  The term “world class” springs to mind.
  2. The impressive results at D-B keep on coming!  The Dobyns-Bennett Orchestra is currently preparing for a trip next March to the prestigious Orchestra America National Festival in Indianapolis.  In receiving an invitation to this elite festival, the D-B Orchestra is identified as one of the best high school orchestra’s in America and will have performance and clinic opportunities to reach even higher levels of skill.  A representative from Orchestra America was in Kingsport this week to help students and parents continue their preparations.
  3. And the D-B Band also continues to excel!  Last weekend, the band finished 4th in the Music for All Atlanta Super Regional competition in the Georgia Dome.  This is the highest finish ever for the D-B Band in this competition.  The band will travel to Indianapolis next weekend for the Grand National Championships, where they will look to improve on last year’s impressive finish as the 14th best marching band in America.
  4. Basketball season has begun.  This week marked the beginning of the middle school basketball season, with Sevier and Robinson heating up quickly with an inter-city matchup against each other.  On Thursday evening at Sevier, the two schools split their games, with Sevier winning twice (Varsity Girls & Junior Varsity Boys) and Robinson winning twice (Junior Varsity Girls and Varsity Boys).  If this week is any indication, we are in for a fantastic season! #OneTribe
  5. KCS is blessed to have incredible community partners.  There are so many local community groups and organizations that go the extra mile to make sure our students have every opportunity to succeed, both academically and in many other ways.  The Boy Scouts of America is one such group that supports our children in becoming great students and citizens.  They will be holding a recruitment and registration open house in the KCS Administrative Support Center Tennessee Room (400 Clinchfield Street, 3rd Floor) on Thursday, November 19th from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Students in 1st through 4th grade and their parents/guardians are invited to attend.
  6. Do you have an opinion about what is taught in Tennessee’s public schools?  The Tennessee State Board of Education has launched a review website to collect public feedback on Tennessee’s newly revised grade K-12 math and English language arts (ELA) standards. This is the first time the math and ELA standards (recently revised by Tennessee educators after earlier public input) will be available for public review. The new standards will be available for feedback online through mid-November.  Share your thoughts by clicking here.

The KCS Saturday Six – The Inaugural Edition

Today marks the start of a new communications venture for Kingsport City Schools… the “Saturday Six.”  Each weekend, we’ll highlight six items related to KCS.  It may be current news, recent or upcoming events, teacher or student work and achievements, KCS history, or just interesting tidbits about the district.  We hope you’ll make the Saturday Six a regular part of your weekend!

  1.  The Dobyns-Bennett Hall of Fame has six new members.  This week, D-B honored yet another class of outstanding alumni.  Because of their outstanding achievements and dedication to D-B, the Hall welcomes Michael Ainslie (1961), Robin Jarvis Askew (1974), Dr. Locke Carter (1954), Lois Patrick Young-Dobyns (1954), Anne Pope (1979), and Fred Walton (1963).  Once an Indian, always an Indian!
  2. KCS text messaging… Coming to a cell phone near you.  On Monday, KCS parents and staff with a cell phone listed in PowerSchool will receive a text asking if they want to receive future messages from KCS.  By responding with “Y” or “Yes,” they will opt-in to receive future vital communications straight to their cell phone, related to emergencies, schedule changes, or other important information.  It’s one more example of how KCS is always working to improve communications with our community.
  3. KCS is pretty in pink.  On Friday, staff members throughout KCS took part in a fundraising initiative to support breast cancer research and awareness.  Teachers, staff, and administrators raised funds and donned pink to show solidarity and support for this important cause.  If you were in a KCS school on Friday, you saw LOTS of pink!
  4. Johnson Elementary Math Night adds to learning.  Thursday evening, parents and teachers at Johnson came together to take a hands-on took at mathematics instruction and see how students can best be supported in their learning.  It was a great evening of knowledge, community, and fun!
  5. Insight KCS continues to share the story of KCS.  On Friday of this week, the 2015-16 class of Insight KCS took a deep look at the curriculum and instruction occurring throughout the district.  Participants learned about literacy and math instruction, as well as taking a tour of Robinson Middle School and Johnson Elementary.  Insight KCS is a year-long community initiative to share the complete operations of KCS with interested area residents.
  6. We are #OneTribe, #OneKingsport.  Next week, KCS is excited to participate in the One Kingsport summit, working to bring all facets of our community together to shape the vision of our great city.  We are privileged to live and work in such a special place, and the summit looks to be an exciting opportunity to move Kingsport forward.  Our spirit of unity makes us great!