|
It’s back-to-school day for Jackson County students
By Derek Hodges
Jackson County school children return to classes today (Thursday) to start the 2005-06 school year.
“I love opening the schools. The kids come back and it’s a new beginning. I love that new opportunity,” Superintendent Sue Nations said. “I think this will be a wonderful year for us. We have some obstacles to overcome, but we will overcome them.”
Students in grades 1-12 are returning to classes today, while the county’s kindergarten programs will hold staggered enrollment.
Neil Ketting of H & M Constructors installs a temporary barrier to keep students away from electrical equipment outside Smoky Mountain High School’s new science building. Work is not completed on the new facility that was scheduled to be open by today (Thursday). When the facility is complete Ketting’s plywood perimeter will be replaced by a metal gate. Jackson County students return to the classroom today. – Herald photo by Derek Hodges
As children fill their desks, new administrators are also taking their places at the helms of four county schools.
Cullowhee Valley has two new leaders. Principal Nathan Frizzell, who had been serving as an assistant principal at Fairview School, and Assistant Principal Elizabeth Younce, formerly a counselor and teacher in Franklin.
The School of Alternatives is now led by former Smoky Mountain High School Assistant Principal Jay Grissom. Grissom took over the role after the School of Alternative’s former principal, Lynn Dillard, also the county’s exceptional children’s director, was returned to the Central Office.
Two other schools also have new assistant principals. Carolyn Pannell, who taught at Fairview and was an assistant principal at Scotts Creek Elementary, is filling the number two spot at Fairview. A former administrator at a school in Florida, Joe Mills, is the SMHS assistant.
The prices students pay for meals has increased. Lunch for elementary students will now cost $1.75, while the mid-day meal will now set high-schoolers back $2. Reduced-rate lunches are 40 cents for all students. Adult lunches now cost $2.50.
School breakfasts are now 90 cents, with a reduced rate of 30 cents.
All students will receive an application for free/reduced lunches at the beginning of the school year.
School officials report no major changes in bus routes from the end of the last school year.
Within the first few days of school, students will receive updated handbooks that include dress codes and a strict policy concerning school safety. The safety policy addresses teasing, bullying and harassment, among other things.
Students at SMHS will have to wait at least another few weeks before they can move into the school’s new science building.
Several minor problems have delayed construction, as has a problem with flooring, said county Manager Ken Westmoreland, who is overseeing the project.
“The big issue is the floor – the tile,” Westmoreland said. “The air conditioning needs to run for a considerable amount of time to get the moisture out of the concrete, and that has not happened yet.”
|
