We are proud to announce the valedictorians and salutatorians for the Class of 2022! Congratulations to the following students for their hard work and dedication in the classroom to achieve this huge honor:

Cheatham County Central High School

Valedictorian: Kendall Odom

Salutatorian: Cooper Owen

Harpeth High School

Valedictorian: Cheyenne Higgs

Salutatorian: Mallary McKaskle

Sycamore High School

Valedictorian: Ranya Moreland

Salutatorian: Keegan Bilodeau

There will be no school on Friday, April 15 in observance of Good Friday. Additionally, there is an early dismissal day on Thursday, April 14. Schools will dismiss at 11:45 a.m. and lunch will be served. Teachers will participate in professional development in the afternoon.

A reminder that Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) testing for grades 2-8 and high school classes with an End of Course (EOC) testing exam will take place April 18-May 6. Tests in grades 2-8 will be paper-based, while EOC exams will be computer-based. Scores for students in grades 3-8 will count as 10 percent of their grade, and EOC scores will be used as 20 percent of a high school student's grade. Schools will communicate testing schedules with their families. Also, here’s some helpful testing tips for our families:

The night before

Help your child get to bed on time. Research shows that being well-rested helps students do better. Plan ahead to avoid conflicts on the morning of the test.

The morning of the test

Get up early to avoid rushing. Be sure to have your child at school on time. Get your child to school in plenty of time to eat breakfast. Have your child dress in something comfortable.

After the test

Talk to your child about his or her feelings about the test, making sure you acknowledge the effort such a task requires. Discuss what was easy and what was hard; discuss what your child learned from the test. Discuss what changes your child would make if he or she were to retake the test.

We are excited to announce plans for our 2022 summer learning camps. Starting Monday, June 6, we will offer the no-cost camps for current K-12 students. Invitations to attend the camps are being sent by each school. Priority is being given to students in need of additional learning support prior to the 2022-2023 school year. Transportation, breakfast and lunch are being provided at no charge. Complete details can be found on our website by clicking here.

Cheatham County Central High School will host its annual steak dinner on Saturday, April 30. The event will feature a steak dinner, silent auction, and live entertainment. Doors will open at 4 p.m., and the dinner will start being served at 5 p.m. The silent auction will end promptly at 6:30 p.m. New this year is a variety show, featuring theatre students in Lauren Street’s class, and it will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 for a single and $50 for two. They can be purchased from any CCCHS staff member, at the school’s front office or by contacting Jimmy Harden or Kim Caldwell. The funds raised will directly benefit CCCHS students and teachers. For more information, call CCCHS at 615-792-5641.

Teacher Appreciation Week is May 2-6! Teachers have such a great impact on the lives of our students. We hope that our families can find a special way to say “thank you” to the wonderful teachers in our district.

Please remember that we will be closed on Tuesday, May 3 for the Cheatham County primary election. Several of our schools are used as polling sites for this election. We will be using one of our stockpile days for this closure. Our daycares will be open on regular hours. The Board of Education office will be open.

We will host a job fair for high school seniors on Friday, May 6 at Cheatham County Central High School. Select seniors from CCCHS, Harpeth High School and Sycamore High School that plan on entering the workforce after graduation are being invited to attend. About 30 Middle Tennessee businesses will be participating in the Job Fair. CCCHS academic specialist David Hooper is organizing the event.

Our first-ever Civics Bee will be held Tuesday, May 10 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Cheatham Middle School multi-purpose room. One team from each middle school and one team from each high school will participate. Members of the winning teams will receive gift cards. Longtime Sycamore Middle School U.S. history teacher Billie McBride is coordinating the event. Students who will participate in the bee are studying facts they have learned from the U.S. Citizenship Test, and government and U.S. history standards from the class courses.

After a two-year hiatus, the Area 29 Special Olympics will return on Friday, May 13. The event will be held at the Harpeth High School-Harpeth Middle School football field. Our students, staff members and parents are so excited to see the Special Olympics return. We want to wish all of our student-athletes who will be participating in this year’s games the very best!

Auditions for our first all-county mid-summer musical, “Mamma Mia!,” will take place on Monday, May 16 and Tuesday, May 17 from 4-7 p.m. at Cheatham County Central High School in Ashland City. Anyone who was enrolled as a high school or college student in the spring 2022 semester is welcome to audition. To read more about this fun opportunity, please click here.

Congratulations to the following students, who were awarded for their work at the third annual Art League of Cheatham County juried art show:

• Elizabeth (Lizzie) Ufnar, Country Garden, Best of Show, Harpeth Middle School, seventh grade (pictured)

• Victoria O’Neill, Enchanted Blossoms, Sycamore Middle School, sixth grade

• Haley Tenpenny, Persephone, Harpeth High School senior

• Nicole McCarver, Little Lady, Sycamore High School senior

• Bryson Perry, Sherlock, Jack the Ripper, Dweller, honorable mention, Sycamore Middle School, eighth grade

• Blakely Teal, Just Another Day, honorable mention, Harpeth High School sophomore

We are excited to begin prototyping with the new Snapmaker machines in our three high schools. Pictured are Sycamore High School students in Johnny Staggs’ STEM-Engineering classes starting the first 3D print. We want to thank the A.O. Smith Foundation for providing these devices for our manufacturing, engineering and STEM students.

We are thrilled about our new mobile book and STEAM bus! As you might recall, we received a grant from the Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation to launch the bus this year. We are busy retrofitting the bus in order to have it rolling on Monday, June 6. The bus will be visiting parks and businesses as well as our schools during summer school, and we are currently working on the schedule. We are also working with several community organizations, who will provide learning activities for students. Stay tuned as we will be sharing additional information.

Ashland City Elementary STEM Academy installed an outdoor classroom in the spring of 2021 thanks to grants the school received in partnership with the Whole Kids Foundation, Tennessee Valley Authority, Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation and Tennessee STEM Innovation Network. Among its many offerings, it includes eight raised garden beds, a weather station, sound station, a composting area, and more. Students are provided with opportunities to connect what they are learning in the classroom to hands-on outdoor experiences as well as engage in meaningful exploration of our environment.