2016

May 17—CCHS FFA Banquet
May 25—WBRY Spotlight—Bonnie Patterson, Coordinated School Health and Attendance
May 26—Teacher Work Day—no students
May 27—Report Cards, 7:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
May 27—CCHS Graduation, 7:00 p.m., CCHS Football Field
May 31—School System mowing bids are due to the Central Office by 10:00 a.m.

Education Commissioner Candice McQueen announced Friday the recipients of the 2016 Read to be Ready Summer Grant. Earlier this year, in conjunction with the launch of the statewide Read to be Ready Campaign, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation gave a $1 million gift to the department to award for summer reading programs over the next three years. This spring, the department received over two hundred proposals and has selected 12 summer programs from across the state to receive funding.  One of those programs was the Cannon County  who received the grant as part of the Upper Cumberland region with local teachers MaryBeth Young and Melisha Simmons as directors of the program.

“With less than half of the state’s third graders currently reading on grade level, we must approach reading in new and innovative ways,” Commissioner McQueen said. “Read to be Ready summer grants will support individual communities as they tailor their approach to reading to meet the needs of the families they serve.”

Read to be Ready is a coordinated approach to move third grade reading proficiency in Tennessee to 75 percent by 2025. The campaign seeks to raise awareness about the importance of reading, unite efforts to address the reading gap, highlight best practices, and build partnerships. Read to be Ready summer grants are designed to support students even after the last day of school.

To find out more about the grant requirements, visit the Read to be Ready website. To learn more about our Read to be Ready trainers, read their blog on Classroom Chronicles.

From executive amnesty, to unilateral gun control, the Obama Administration has never been one to let the Constitutional separation of powers stand in the way from pursuing a liberal agenda, but its latest directive is truly beyond the pale and, ultimately, dangerous.
This morning, officials at the Department of Justice and the Department of Education sent a letter to school districts across the country outlining new steps that schools must take in order to accommodate transgender students. Under this sweeping directive, all it would require is a simple note from a parent or guardian in order for a student to be granted access to the bathroom that corresponds with their gender “identity” rather than the gender indicated on their birth certificate. Worse, the Obama Administration is threatening to withhold federal funding from schools that don’t comply.
We all agree on the right of every student to be treated with dignity and respect, but that right must also exist alongside students’ rights to privacy and safety in their own schools. By forcing students to potentially share a restroom with someone who is biologically of the opposite sex, this directive fails to strike that balance. As a grandmother of young girls, I believe the Obama Administration is now directly responsible for endangering our students.
It is worth noting that this letter does not carry the force of law. In my view, the Obama Administration lacks the authority to carry out this directive and Tennesseans should not feel compelled to comply. I encourage Tennessee school officials to continue following their consciences. Our principals, superintendents, and state administrators know better than President Obama or any Washington bureaucrat what it takes to serve the needs of their specific student population.
Going forward, we have to protect the rights of states like ours to make our own choices when it comes to how to best provide for our students. That is why, later this year when appropriations bills come to the House floor to fund each area of government for the next fiscal year, I plan to introduce an amendmentbanning the Department of Education from penalizing states that take action to protect students from this dangerous and illogical decree.
We can’t let the Obama Administration bully our schools into conforming to a political agenda. It’s time this President realized that one student’s comfort does not trump another student’s right to personal safety.

The United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties’ Community Celebration will be held on Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 11:30 a.m. at Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro.

The Community Celebration will serve as an annual meeting, recognizing the organization’s accomplishments and impact on Rutherford and Cannon counties through programs and services, corporate and community partners and volunteers of United Way.  

Recognition will include Volunteer of the Year, new leadership investors, community partner award winners and an up close look at United Way’s impact in the community.

Tickets are $10 per person or $150 for a reserved table of ten. Reservations may be made online at www.yourlocaluw.org/communitycelebration or by contacting Lisbeth Couser at Lisbeth.Couser@yourlocaluw.org. Reservations are required by June 10, 2016.

Event Sponsors include Publix Super Markets Charities, City Auto and Regions Bank.

The National Theatre’s adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s The Cat In The Hat is a lively, engaging “play with sound effects” for performance by adults for young children.   It will take place at the Arts Center of Cannon County Saturday afternoon starting at 2:00  Not a word has been touched or added to Dr. Seuss’s classic, ensuring anyone who’s read the story will find themselves transported into the world they’ve always imagined.
From the moment his tall, red-and-white-striped hat appears around the door, Sally and her brother know that The Cat In The Hat is the funniest, most mischievous cat they have ever met. With the trickiest of tricks and craziest of ideas, he is certainly fun to play with. And he turns a rainy afternoon into an amazing adventure. But what will mum find when she gets home…?  There will be a special pre-show performance by Christopher L Sullivan, former clown for Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus.  Tickets are available by calling the Arts Center at 615-563-2787

There is an alumni football game featuring former high school football players from Cannon County High School.  They will be playing former high school football players from Dekalb County High School Saturday night.   Both schools high school football programs have tickets to this game.  In order to support Cannon County’s football program if you are going to this game, you’ll want to purchase your tickets before Saturday night as any ticket purchased at the gate will go to the organization that has coordinated the event.  Tickets are $10 each.  Call Mandy Litchford for more information at 615-714-9092.  The game will take place at Fred Schwartz Field with the kickoff set for 7:00.
 

The Middle Tennessee Mule Skinners Association presents “Mule Day” in Cannon County Saturday.  Gates open Saturday morning at 11:00 at the Horse Show arena located on Lehman Street in Woodbury.  Contact Andy Duggin at 615-624-1708 for more information.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Youngbloods music band age age 70 Lowell Levinger aka Banana from the Youngbloods will make a rare appearance in Woodbury on Saturday to kick off Bird Song Studio’s 2016 Roots Music Series.  Currently on tour in support of his new album “Get Together: Banana Recalls Youngblood Classics” Banana will perform his new version of the Youngbloods 1967 hit “Get Together” as well as his own original tunes while finger picking his unique five string tenor guitar, breaking out a banjo for occasional accompaniment or tickling the ivories for just the right mood.  For more information www.birdsongstudio.com.  Tickets are $15 online or at the door.  Bird Song Studio is located at 213 West High Street.  The concert will start at 7:30pm
 

Authorities in Tennessee say a girl who had gone missing a week ago has been found safe.  The Hawkins County Sheriff says nine-year-old Carlie Trent was found this afternoon and her uncle, Gary Simpson, has been taken into custody.  A statewide AMBER alert had been issued for the girl, who was taken from her school in Rogersville last Wednesday. 

The final Cannon County Board of Education meeting before graduation and the summer break takes place tonight at the Woodbury Grammar School Cafeteria.  In addition to regular items on the agenda, teachers who have tenured will be recognized, also any teachers and staff who have planned to retire after the current school year is finished will be honored.
Items on the agenda include.  The board will be looking into a special course application for the ACT prep,.  Approve final grades with or without tests.  Two grants will be up for approval.  The grants are the Read to be Ready Grant which is $30,000 and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Grant for Woodbury Grammar School in the amount of $10,000.  Budgets and Applications to be voted on for approval include the CTE Budget, Food Service budget and bids, Coordinated School Health, Federal Grant, IDEA Grant and the Pre-K Grant.  
Cannon County High School Principal Mike Jones will address the board concerning changing math courses to Algebra I and II and also Geometry.
Bruce Daniel will address the board concerning the update on a drainage ditch issue at Woodland and safety procedures.
The meeting starts tonight at 6:30.