The Bridge 2012 Apr

MAY 2012 [THE LARUE COUNTY BRIDGE]


The BridgeThe BridgeThe BridgeThe Bridge May 2012

Graduating Class of 2012

Graduation is at 8:00 pm on Friday, May 18th in the high school gymnasium. Doors to the gym

will open at 6:30 p.m.


Valedictorian –

Zachary Jordan Lee

Zachary is the son of Marty and Teresa Lee. He is

Captain of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes,

President of the BETA club, and a member of the

Varsity Tennis Team, LaRue County Rocket Corps,

school bank, and yearbook staff. His hobbies

include playing tennis, working on his family’s

pumpkin farm, and being active in his church

youth group. He will be attending John Brown

University where he plans to study Electrical Engineering with a minor in Aviation. Zachary’s

future plans are to attend graduate school where he will pursue a PhD in Electrical Engineering.

He plans to use this degree to become a college professor and develop technologies to bring

clean water and power to developing countries.

Salutatorian – John Ross Slack

John Slack is the Salutatorian for the Class of 2012. He has

been a part of numerous clubs, including Y Club, Student

Council, National Honor Society, and more. He is vice

president of Student Council, co-president of Beta Club, and

was voted Best All Around by his peers. He has also become

the manager to the speech team and a member on the

Senior Class Committee. His future plans include attending

the University of Louisville and majoring in history for his

undergraduate studies before moving on to law school. His

hobbies include video games, reading, and hanging out with

friends, helping to form a club called BWC for that purpose.


Twelve Years Perfect Attendance Four Years Perfect Attendance Ethan Ryan Hedgespeth Walter Slade Owens and Benjamin Matthew Tucker

Seniors Visit New York

The students and parents that went on the Senior Class Trip to New York City had an amazing

time. Activities included going to the Natural History Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of

Art, and a Broadway

play. The group

picture was taken on

Times Square.

Photo by

www.groupphotos.com


LCHS Students Chosen for Governor’s Scholars Program

Back Row L-R Marshall Metcalf, Tyler Skaggs, Ryan Hornback, Caleb Canter Front Row L-R Kayla Skaggs, Cole Hughes, Ashley Cottrell

The Governor's Scholars Program has enlisted 7 of LaRue County's brightest. Congratulations to

Marshall Metcalf, Tyler Skaggs, Ryan Hornback, Caleb Canter, Kayla Skaggs, Cole Hughes, and

Ashley Cottrell.

To be eligible for nomination and selection, a student must:

*Be in the 11th grade at the time of selection and intend to return to a Kentucky school

district for the next school term

*Be a current resident of KY

*Have taken the ACT, PSAT or SAT in the 9th, 10th, or 11th grades

Students must be nominated by their school districts or private schools to be considered for

admission. They attend free of charge, needing only "pocket" money for personal and

incidental expenses. The 2012 program will be held on the Bellarmine University campus in

Louisville, the Centre College campus in Danville, and the Morehead State University campus in

Morehead.

To learn more about the Governor's Scholars Program visit http://gsp.ky.gov/


Ethan Hedgespeth, Chelsea Blair, Sydney Holt, Lauren Meredith, Haley

Holt & Zach Lee

FBLA State Competition

The Larue County Chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America had six students attend

the FBLA State Competition in Louisville on April 23-25. The students won at the Regional FBLA

Competition held at Western

Kentucky University in

March. Students had to place

in the top three for them to

qualify for the state

competition. The competition

consisted of different Business

and Marketing events. Ethan

Hedgespeth and Zach Lee

placed 4th in Banking and

Financial Systems, Sydney Holt

placed 5th in Word Processing

II and Chelsea Blair placed 2nd in Public Speaking. Chelsea will go on to the FBLA National

Competition held in San Antonio, Texas June 29-July 2. Also in attendance were Lauren

Meredith and Haley Holt. Lauren had placed 3rd at the regional competition and Haley was

LaRue County’s voting delegate.

Zach Lee & Ethan Hedgespeth – 4th Place

Banking & Financial Systems

Chelsea Blair – 2nd Place Public Speaking II

Sydney Holt – 5th Place Word Processing II


Rocket Team Qualifies for National Rocket Competition

Congratulations to the LCHS Rocket Team who qualified for the National Rocket

Competition. The team includes:

Team Leader: Ryan Hornback, Brandon Henning, Caleb Canter, Tyler Skaggs, Zach Lee,

Jon Firquin, Nate Schaefer, Shan Lin and Tyler Higginson

The team had to build a 3 foot rocket that was to be launched to an altitude of 800 feet in 43 –

47 seconds. The team traveled to Washington DC for the national competition. Be sure to

congratulate each of these team members.


The Community Based Work Transition Program

The goal of the CBWTP is for seniors to obtain permanent employment before graduating. This

year not only is our senior, Justin Brackett, employed but three juniors participating in the

program are employed as well. Other juniors participating in the program have been busy

exploring various career options and have chosen their vocational goal.

Justin Brackett worked hard his junior year training at Moore Electronics and at State Farm

Insurance. His hard work and training paid off; Justin is employed at not one but three different

businesses. On Mondays, Justin works at Sonora Farm Supply loading feed for customers,

stocking the shelves, and sweeping the feed room. Justin works on Tuesdays at Jones Home

Center, keeping the shelves and products clean. Justin works his third job on Fridays at Upton

Video where he keeps the sidewalk swept, the tanning beds sanitary, DVD’s dusted, and pizza

boxes folded. Justin likes working at the different places and says that he never gets bored.

Ted Jones explains the importance Justin works hard keeping the pizza Justin has no problem lifting the

of keeping the products and boxes folded at Upton Video. bags of feed thanks to his weight

shelves clean and neat. training in Team Sports.

Juniors participating in the CBWTP learned details about the responsibilities and skills required

in several different vocational areas. Students interested in animal care visited LaRue Co.

Animal Clinic, Tandy’s Pet Salon, Vickery Mini Horse Farm, Heartland Veterinary Clinic, Sam

Russell’s Pet Provisions, and The Shaggy Dog. Sonburst Kennels and Best Friends Puppies.Com

provided hands on training to students (e.g., bathing, brushing, clipping) Students, interested in

childcare, job shadowed at Laugh N Learn, Bullfrogs and Butterflies Child Development,

Brightside Childcare and Learning Center, Ms. Smith’s and Ms. Anderson’s KERA Preschool

rooms, KY Central Head Start, and Little People’s Child Development Center. Kid’s Crew and

The Learning Tree gave Lindsey Gibson and Michelle Hornback the opportunity to gain

experience working in a childcare. Lindsey Gibson’s volunteer efforts landed her a paid summer

position at the Learning Tree. Lindsey works with both two/three year olds and with the after


school children! Lindsey commented that she love teaching the children their shapes and

colors.

Josh Lawes began the program later in the year but was still able to job shadow at several local

businesses: Southeast DME, RC Automotive, Lee’s Garden Center, Plug N Play, and DWE

Electrical. When Josh job shadowed at McDonalds, he was offered a position and is “lovin it”!

Josh’s supervisor commented that Josh receives compliments from customers on his hard work.

Another junior who obtained employment this year is Denzell Lewis. Denzell began his junior

year exploring various vocations in the area of his interest, law enforcement and art. He job

shadowed at the LaRue Co. Sherriff’s Office, Elizabethtown State Police, and met with an artist,

Karen Weaver. While job shadowing at Art Smart, Denzell was offered the opportunity to

participate in an internship where he gained skills and work experience. Realizing that a career

in either profession would be further in the future, Denzell applied at every store in

Hodgenville. Through Denzell’s persistence, he obtained employment at Pamida. Ryan Miller,

store manager, is pleased with Denzell’s work ethic and customer service.

Josh’s work at McDonalds is never done! Denzell excels at customer Lindsey Gibson has a gift for working

service. (pictured at Pamida) with children. (The Learning Tree)

LaRue County is fortunate to have a community and school that work together to provide

opportunities for students to succeed. Business owners and managers take time out of their

busy day to give tours of their facilities and share details of the responsibilities performed and

the skills needed. Students would not have these wonderful opportunities without support

from Board members, administrative staff, and teachers. The students and I greatly appreciate

each and every one.

You can view more pictures of students job shadowing on the LCHS Facebook. Any business

interested in participating with the CBWTP as an employer or training site, can contact Sue

Hines, Student Employment Coordinator at (270) 765-9728.


Batter, Batter, Swing at ALES

Batter, Batter, Swing! Abraham Lincoln Elementary School recently kicked off their state

testing emphasis in conjunction with their quarterly

Hawk Rally. Senior members of the LCHS baseball and

softball team joined in the rally fun and the HAWK

mascot and senior cheerleaders pepped up the

students as they entered the gym. Two students from

each classroom were chosen at the rally for being

responsible, trustworthy, and fair. Each received a

ticket for either cotton candy or popcorn, and a

baseball treat bag.

Mrs. Reed, interim principal, led a student team and teacher

team in some test taking trivia as each team worked their way

around the bases for a HOME RUN! Mrs. Reed also shared the

ALES Good Faith Effort for the upcoming testing.

To cap off the event, the school enjoyed singing, playing some

ball, and celebrating good behavior. ALES plans to “HIT A HOME

RUN” with the testing and BE BLUE IN ALL THEY DO!

A big thank you goes to Mr. Paul Mullins, LCHS principal, for allowing the high school

students to visit the rally.

Beta Members Assist With Relay for Life Dinner

Members of the ALES Jr. Beta and one member of the LCMS

Beta Club recently served at the Relay for Life Survivor Dinner.

Community service is a vital part of Beta Club membership.

Pictured here are (front row): Jake Taylor, Kristen Williams

and Haley McDowell. (Back row) Clay Cecil, Maddie Helm,

Marissa Marr, Bailey Rogers and Clay Rogers. Club sponsors

are Allison McDowell and Teresa Lee. The Rogers children and

McDowell are also members of the Living Strong Team of First Baptist Church.


Intermediate Students Honored at District Science Fair

The 2011-2012 Elementary District Science fair was held April 5 at Abraham Lincoln

Elementary School. Penny Cecil, LaRue County Elementary Curriculum Specialist, led the event

where third through fifth grade student finalists

advanced from Hodgenville Elementary and Abraham

Lincoln Elementary.

Third grade winners: Tanner Williams (HES)-3rd;

Madison Wilmoth (ALES)-2nd; Biven Turner (ALES)-1st;

Makayla Lewis (ALES) finalist

Fourth grade winners: Alex Rutledge (ALES)- 3rd;

Samantha Martin (ALES)-2nd; Chloe Sisneros

(HES)- 1st; Grace Ramey (HES)-finalist; Ryan Ford

(HES)- finalist

Fifth grade winners: Kayla Aubrey (HES)- 3rd;

Mallary Skaggs (HES)-2nd; Bridget Southwood

(ALES)-1st; Joanie Druen (HES)-finalist; Katie Puckett

(ALES)- finalist; Morgan Holcomb (ALES)- finalist

Judges for the event were Doris Jean Holleran

and Andrea Greene of LaRue County Middle School

and Elaine Mink, Missie Taylor, and Jessica Smith

who are Dow Corning Quality Engineers.


Mad Scientist Day

On Friday, April 6th, students and staff at ALES celebrated Mad Scientist Day. Teachers

were encouraged to teach students science all

day, all the time. Students were encouraged to

read about science, do math with it, study

history with famous scientists and their time

periods, incorporate science into the arts, and

of course DO SCIENCE!!! As a special treat for

Mad Scientist Day, the Nolin RECC trailer was

here. Employees from Nolin went over

important science safety issues and taught

students important electrical safety procedures,

including why you should never touch a downed power line. ALES would like to say thank you

to all who were involved in making this day a huge success.

ALES Students Complete Dance Residency

Fourth and fifth grade students and

LaRue County alumnus, Jeshua Logsdon,

recently teamed with ALES related arts

teachers, Penny Akers, Verda Hacker, Pam

Glaab, and Cynthia Patterson, for a week

long dance residency. Trevor Ervin, a

student teacher from Campbellsville

University, also assisted in the residency.

The purpose of the residency was to

expose the students to the music and dance of the four

cultures: Native America, Colonial America, African, and

Appalachian. Students were involved in daily sessions and

presented a short performance for the entire school at

the end of the residency. The residency was funded

through the school’s Wonderful Wednesday program.

Logsdon, a 2011 graduate, in now a student at

Savannah School of Art and Design.


ALES Honors Distinguished and Proficient Students

Abraham Lincoln

Elementary faculty and staff

recently honored 205 students

for their outstanding

achievement on the 2010-2011

Kentucky Core Content Test.

Former fifth, fourth, and third

grade students who scored

distinguished in at least one

category were awarded gold

medals while proficient

students were recognized with

silver medals. In addition,

three students, Jake Walters,

Mary Gearon, and Skyler

Hornback were awarded

trophies for distinguished

scores in all testing categories.

Interim ALES Principal Amanda

Reed presided at the ceremony.

The culminating event was

the traditional 100 money

drawing where students

selected various bags for 100

dollars, 100 quarters, 100 dimes,

100 nickels, and 100 pennies.

Students with all distinguished

scores were entered in the

drawing three times, at least one

distinguished category- two

times, and proficient- one time.

This year’s winners were Breea

Kirkpatrick- $100 and 100

pennies; Kassidy Jarboe- 100

quarters; Zachary Duvall- 100

dimes; Evin Carter- 100 nickels.


Dwayne Bell …..Playing the Waiting Game

Volunteering is a way of life for 40 year old Dwayne Bell of Buffalo. Everyone at Abraham

Lincoln Elementary knows Mr. Bell. Whether he is helping Cynthia Patterson, ALES librarian,

organize and work the two annual Book Fairs or reading with one of the many children assigned

to him for LaRue County Reads, he is considered to be a regular at the school. But now Mr. Bell

needs a volunteer. He needs a bone marrow transplant donor.

His journey began in May of 1998 when he

was 26 years old. He was originally diagnosed

with aplastic anemia, a condition where bone

marrow does not produce sufficient new cells

to replenish new cells. After several rounds of

chemotherapy, Dwayne considered himself

healthy and all was well until another relapse

in 2004 when he was officially diagnosed with

leukemia. He persevered with more

chemotherapy and then went on with his life

with wife, Amy, and sons Damon and Dalton.

Unable to be in the regular workforce, Dwayne found his calling by volunteering at the school

several days a week. His tall, lanky figure and good nature made him an instant hit with the

children. Second grade teacher, Heather Hynes, says her class has pretty much adopted Dwayne.

He even has a “cubbie” for storing his jacket. She fondly remembers a story from a few years

ago when the class size grew to the point of no additional cubbies and one student, Victor Helm,

readily volunteered to share his space with him. A regular reader in the class with several of Mrs.

Hynes’ students, Dwayne even stops by for the 100 Day party or other holiday celebrations.

Then in August of last year, while having one of his regular checkups at James Graham

Brown Cancer Center, his doctors told him his body was no longer making the cells he needed

for a quality life. As Dwayne puts it, “This time it’s all or nothing. I am out of options.” Dwayne

must have a bone marrow transplant.

Since the school received the news, Family Resource Coordinator, Machelle Durham, has

been searching for ways to assist Dwayne. Her first step was to send an email to the entire school

district explaining Dwayne’s circumstances and encouraging them to visit the website

www.bethematch.org . where they could find out about being a bone marrow donor. Several

staff members including Allison McDowell, former teacher of Bell’s son, Dalton, applied for a

donor kit. She received her packet last week where she swabbed her mouth and sent the sample

back to be a part of the donor registry. McDowell, who knows first-hand about the importance


of donation as her father needed a heart transplant in 1990, knew this was something she could

do. “I may not be a match for Dwayne, but I have to try. If not him, maybe someone else.”

Family members have already been tested for Dwayne, but according to the website,

approximately 70% of the bone marrow recipients do not have relative donor and if donors are

between the ages of 18 and 44 they are ten times more likely to be called to donate.

Bone marrow transplants are thought to be a painful process, but the website notes the

opposite. It is a surgical procedure, but a general anesthesia is used and donors feel no pain

during the needle injection or extraction with the special hollow needle. Donors may feel some

pain in the lower back for a few days after the extraction, but those who have donated say it is a

small price to pay for giving another person a chance at life.

Dwayne has been on the National Donor Registry for about six weeks and is still waiting for

his life changing phone call saying he has a match. He says his strong faith and belief that he will

get the call any day now keeps him going. Could his match be right here in LaRue County?

Check out www.bethematch.org or call 1-800-marrow2 (1-800-627-7692).

HES Jump Rope for Heart

Hodgenville Elementary 2nd-5th graders

recently completed their Jump Rope for

Heart activities. As a school, HES raised

over $2,300 for the American Heart

Association. Students participated in a

Jump Rope for Heart event day during

which music and PE classes were

combined and students competed in

individual and group competitions.

All students who raised at least $1 were

able to decorate a heart and place it on a

wall for being a “Heart Hero”. One

student from each grade level was

chosen for having the best decorated heart. Winners were: Rachel Hawkins (2nd grade), Olivia

Hazelwood (3rd grade), Alex French (4th grade), and Malerie Skaggs (5th grade). Honorable mention went

to Sydney Word, Rebekah Keith, Ashlyn Toher, Kaylee Harris, Stephani Giles, Lexi Hodges, Mercy

Williams, Victor Burton, and Allison Bauer.


Jacob McAdams and Rebekah Keith tied as the

top two fundraisers for the school and Bryson

Arnette was third. Those three plus 18 other

students collected at least $40 or more and are

pictured below. Three who were absent are not

pictured. Close to 70 students collected money

for this event and those who earned “thank

you” prizes from the American Heart

Association.

Geocaching Adventure

The Geocaching Club led by Mrs. Holt and

sponsored by Melissa Pearman and the HES

Family Resource Center, used their decoding

and map skills to find geocaches hidden

throughout Pearman Forest, aka the LaRue

County Environmental Education & Research

Center. Students first found the geocache

information on www.geocaching.com then

decoded clues, and hiked and searched using a

handheld gps to find geocaches on the 225 acre

farm. While it was a cold, rainy day the fifteen

who attended trudged through the mud and

muck and came out victorious and were treated

to a cookout afterward. Pictured are members

of the 4th and 5th grade Geocaching Club.


Award Winner

LaRue County Board of Education

Superintendent - Sam Sanders

Board Members

Price Smith - Board Chairman

Ronnie Chelf - Vice Chairman

Norbert Skees - Member

Joanna Hinton- Member

Michael Hornback – Member

Tell your friends about The Bridge. To view the Bridge Newsletter archives visit http://www.larue.kyschools.us Subscribing to

The Bridge is simple. Go to the LaRue County Schools website and click on “The Bridge” located just below the banner. The link

to sign up is just below the image of The Bridge.

If you have questions, comments or suggestions about The Bridge, please direct them to the LaRue County Chief Information

Officer at [email protected]

The Bridge 2012 Apr

Documents

Transcript of The Bridge 2012 Apr