Warrior Beat
Student Focused-World Class
Word for the Warrior...
On Friday, I watched our Warrior Tribe gather around one of our own, and I watched our Tribe circle up, as we do best, to protect her.
I sent this story to you this summer, but on Friday, I was reminded that our power and impact are best revealed TOGETHER. We can't do this work or live life most fully in isolation. We were created to live in community.
SO....this week's Word for the Warrior is a repeat...of the importance of each one of us owning our part of our CULTURE....of the importance of each of us working together and supporting each other as we live out each day...
Many of you have likely heard of author and speaker, Jen Hatmaker. This morning, I read the following reflection. The piece below is written to a female audience and speaks to the power of female relationships. While I ALWAYS appreciate a good article about strong women :0) , as I read these words, I actually likened more of the impact of its message to our Sevier family, than I did to female friendships. It made me consider the responsibility that each of us has to our school culture and it made me think about the power of a TRIBE.
As we prepare for a new school year, I encourage all of us to reflect on the words below as we each consider our own individual impact on the Sevier culture. It’s easy to be positive and collaborative in times of rest and celebration. During these times of peace, I often find it helpful to reflect upon and prepare for how I will respond and behave during of higher anxiety and stress. During those times, it’s sometimes easier to play the role of critic, to point fingers or to blame. Funny how things work, but one can’t be negative without feeling negative inside. And negativity cripples our ability to do good work and to be the ambassadors of hope that our students need and that our colleagues need to persevere and to be productive! Negativity and supporting the status quo is actually much easier than being a problem solver. Yet, sometimes and for whatever reason, we find it easier to rally around those who breathe “I told you so’s….” than to stand up and stand by those who are doing the hard work of protecting the weak and supporting what needs to be repaired and healed within a group.
What is powerful to me about the story below, is that it is only through the herd of elephants’ collaborative efforts, only through their fierce loyalty to the group and only through the courage of each elephant to support the TRIBE in times of trouble, that they succeed! What is exciting about the power of collaboration exemplified in the story, is that it breeds LIFE and CELEBRATION and GRATITUDE!
Enjoy the story below! Let’s commit to ourselves and to our TRIBE now…during our summer…during our time of rest…to stand together throughout the upcoming school-year. Let’s commit that when things get tough, that we will circle up and band together to protect our work, protect each other and protect our students in order to produce new life, new growth, new ideas, stronger students and a stronger school!
#proudtobeawarrior
#worldchangingwarriors
#iloveourtribe
A few months ago, my girl Nichole Nordeman sent me a picture and a story.
It's about female elephants. You know, as all good stories begin. See, in the wild, when a mama elephant is giving birth, all the other female elephants in the herd back around her in formation. They close ranks so that the delivering mama cannot even be seen in the middle. They stomp and kick up dirt and soil to throw attackers off the scent and basically act like a pack of badasses.
They surround the mama and incoming baby in protection, sending a clear signal to predators that if they want to attack their friend while she is vulnerable, they'll have to get through 40 tons of female aggression first.
When the baby elephant is delivered, the sister elephants do two things: they kick sand or dirt over the newborn to protect its fragile skin from the sun, and then they all start trumpeting, a female celebration of new life, of sisterhood, of something beautiful being born in a harsh, wild world despite enemies and attackers and predators and odds.
Scientists tell us this: They normally take this formation in only two cases - under attack by predators like lions, or during the birth of a new elephant.
This is what we do, girls. When our sisters are vulnerable, when they are giving birth to new life, new ideas, new ministries, new spaces, when they are under attack, when they need their people to surround them so they can create, deliver, heal, recover...we get in formation. We close ranks and literally have each others' backs. You want to mess with our sis? Come through us first. Good luck.
And when delivery comes, when new life makes its entrance, when healing finally begins, when the night has passed and our sister is ready to rise back up, we sound our trumpets because we saw it through together. We celebrate! We cheer! We raise our glasses and give thanks.
I have this picture saved in three different places and in a frame. (I also have an elephant ring given to me and my girlfriends from Tara Porter Livesay - it tells me: never alone.) Maybe you need this too. If you are closing ranks around a vulnerable sister, or if your girls have you surrounded while you are tender, this is how we do it.
There is no community like a community of women.
(Holly’s rephrasing: There is no TRIBE like the WARRIOR TRIBE )
Week of the Warrior
MONDAY: September 18th
-Science and SS Vertical Meetings-3:15-RNR
- Lady Warrior Volleyball vs. Church Hill @ 5 at Church Hill
- Football Practice 3-5
- Cross Country Meet (City Championships) @ Warriors Path State Park girls at 4 and boys at 4:20
- Cheerleading Practice 3-5
- Wrestling Conditioning form 3-5 in room 226
- Sevier on Stage Rehearsal for Principal Characters from 3-5pm
- There will be an Informational Meeting on Thursday September 21st from 2:50-4:30pm in the Wellness Room for any student interested in joining Natural Helpers.
- Last week for Backpack and Supplies for Texas Middle School.
TUESDAY: September 19th
- Lady Warrior Volleyball vs. TA Dugger @ 5 at Sevier
- Cross Country practice 3-4:00
- Football game vs. Vance at DB @ 6:00 (JV&V)
- Cheerleaders need to be on DB’s Field by 5:30
- Dance Practice/Game 3-7
- Sevier on Stage: Rehearsal for Orphan Ensemble on Tuesday from 3:00-5:00
- There will be an Informational Meeting on Thursday September 21st from 2:50-4:30pm in the Wellness Room for any student interested in joining Natural Helpers.
- Last week for Backpack and Supplies for Texas Middle School.
WEDNESDAY: September 20th
- Lady Warrior Volleyball Practice 3-5
- Cross Country practice 3-4:00
- Cheerleading practice 3-5
- Football practice 3-5
- Wrestling Conditioning from 3-5 in room 226
- Dance Practice 3-5
- “The staff of the Sequoyah Scribe student newspaper will hold a meeting from 2:45 to 3:30 pm in Room 340. Newspaper editors and newscast staff will meet until 5:15 pm.”
- There will be an Informational Meeting on Thursday September 21st from 2:50-4:30pm in the Wellness Room for any student interested in joining Natural Helpers.
- Last week for Backpack and Supplies for Texas Middle School.
THURSDAY: September 21st
- Football practice 3-5
- Cross Country Meet (Middle 6 Conference Championships) 4:30 Girls 5:00 Boys at Warriors Path State Park
- Lady Warrior Volleyball vs. Greeneville @ 5 at Greeneville
- Sevier on Stage: Rehearsal for Servant Ensemble on Thursday from 3:00-4:00
- There will be an Informational Meeting on Thursday September 21st from 2:50-4:30pm in the Wellness Room for any student interested in joining Natural Helpers.
- Last week for Backpack and Supplies for Texas Middle School.
FRIDAY: September 22nd
- Cross Country JV Runners uniforms due after school/ Pizza party
- Lady Warrior Volleyball Practice 3-5
- Football practice 3-5
- Sevier on Stage: Rehearsal for full cast on Friday from 3:00-5:00
- 8th Grade Band joins DB Band at DB’s Home Game
- Last week for Backpack and Supplies for Texas Middle School.
Save the Date:
- Warrior Volleyball Conference Tournament at TNT Sports Complex
-JUNIOR CLINIC AUDITIONS for ORCHESTRA-September 23
KCS New Employee Reception
SMART GOALS
JSMS Basketball Tryouts
Girls Basketball tryouts will begin the week of September 25 with more details to come soon.
Boys Basketball tryouts will be October 4-6 from 3-5 pm in the Sevier Gym.
Each athlete must have a sports physical on file before tryouts in order to try out.
"Pay It Forward" to Dickenson, Texas!
John Sevier Middle School's "Pay it Forward" Club is spearheading a project to adopt McAdams Junior High School, located in Dickinson, TX. Dickenson, Texas was one of the hardest hit areas during Hurricane Harvey. Many of the students there have lost everything. The "Pay it Forward" Club of JSMS will be collecting backpacks and school supplies for the students of McAdams. It's our way of letting them know, "We've got your back!" JSMS has set a HUGE goal of collecting 1,500 backpacks! 1,500 is the number of students enrolled at McAdams Junior High.
Please help us share this information by sharing this effort with your family, friends, churches and civic organizations! We are World-Changing Warriors!
If you would like to help the students of JSMS "Pay it Forward," please drop off your donations of backpacks and school supplies at the Sevier Middle School office. If you (or anyone you know) would like to send money for us to purchase the items for you, checks may be made to the address listed below. Please write "Pay it Forward Club" on the memo line.
JSMS (John Sevier Middle School)
Pay It Forward
1200 Wateree St.
Kingsport, TN 37660
School Supply List
12 #2 Pencils
2 Glue Sticks
1 Bottle of White Glue
1 pair of Scissors
2 Pkgs Lined Notebook Paper
4 Composition Books
JSMS Clothes Closet
From the ASC...
TSBA Seeks Student Talent for Annual Convention's "Special Session"
The Tennessee School Boards Association wants to showcase unique talents from students across the state at the Annual Convention on November 4, 2017 in Nashville. Complete the online application here to enter your name for a chance to be on stage at one of the largest education events in Tennessee! Deadline for submissions is September 22. Acts will be limited to no more than 5 minutes. Notifications and additional details will go out after the September 22 deadline.
Higher-Level Thinking Skills Workshop
A Kagan workshop on Higher-Level Thinking Skills is being offered Thursday, October 26, 2017 in Greeneville, TN. Click here for more information. When three teachers in a school register, their principal will attend for free! This workshop will benefit all K-12 academic and related arts teachers. Registration is easy! Either complete the form (found by clicking here) or register online at www.KaganOnline.com. Click “Find a Workshop,” and you will find it under the list for Tennessee.
Warrior Whoop! (Celebrations and Recognitions)
*Thank you to ALL of you who participated in parent-teacher conferences. Our relationship matters and it is our desire to have an open door policy and a two-way relationship. Please know that you can always call, email or schedule a conference with us! Know that we are always here!
For those of you who don’t know, the “Pacemaker” is the most prestigious award a student newspaper can win; it has been called the Pulitzer Prize of scholastic journalism.
This year, the Scribe is one of only 4 middle school finalists nation-wide. The other finalists are:
· Bak Middle School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida
· Paul Revere Charter Middle School in Los Angeles, California
· The American School in London, England
To see the full list of finalists, you can check out http://studentpress.org/nspa/2017-newspaper-pacemaker-finalists-announced/. Pacemaker finalists will be recognized and the Pacemaker winners will be announced at the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention, November 16-19 in Dallas.
Needless to say, we are incredibly proud of our student journalists!
*Our Boys and Girls Cross Country teams were victorious at North High School in the Raider Run. 12 teams competed in the 3K race.
Top 10 boys from Sevier:
1st - Joe Neglia
3rd - Dane Sullins
8th – Sam Blalock
9th – Grayson Hammond
11th – Jerome Jarjoura
14th – Lucas Johnson
15th – Brogan McGhee
24th – Emmett Carter
25th – Ryan True
38th – Eric McReynolds
Top 10 girls from Sevier:
2nd – Macee Pickup
3rd – Autumn Headrick
7th – Olivia Doran
10th – Hope Fulkerson
11th – Mattie Gamble
24th – Lily Turner
32nd - London Taylor
39th – Samantha Garcia
65th – Addison England
66th – Hope Adkins
The runners in bold scored for the Warriors last night.
Sevier has the City Meet Monday at Warriors and the Conference Meet Thursday at Warriors. Both teams are making strides to peak at Sectionals in hopes of qualifying for another State run.