In the Loop

Spring Break - March 25 - 29, 2024

Remote Learning Day - April 26, 2024

Two HT Engineering Academy teams have been working hard to solve problems for NASA, and they recently presented their solutions. Sam Brooks, Jacob Mullinax, and Elliott Greene are trying to solve the problem of how to provide medical care in space. Their project concentrates on how IVs would work in space in micro gravity. Their design is a centrifuge to separate the air and saline along with a piston pump that controls the flow rate of the saline. Garrett Reese is investigating how bamboo could be grown in space to filter out carbon dioxide and also be harvested to produce furniture and other building materials. His design includes a dome that would house the bamboo. His investigation included growing bamboo in a soil that resembled the regolith on the moon. We are so proud of the amount of time and work these students have put in on solving their problems from NASA.

We are happy to announce that the team of Sam Brooks, Jacob Mullinax, and Elliott Greene was chosen from teams across the nation to present their project at the Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston, Texas. Our students will join with other finalists to meet with NASA engineers and personnel as they share their winning project. To make it to the finals, they had to pass both preliminary and critical design reviews through Zoom interviews with NASA representatives. Sam, Jacob, and Elliott impressed the judges with their project, a device that allows IVs to work in the micro gravity of space. Congratulations on this outstanding achievement!

According to the Down Syndrome Alabama website, "Chromosomes look like pairs of socks! So, on World Down Syndrome Day, we celebrate by wearing silly, mismatched socks in honor of someone who has Down syndrome." Magnolia rocked their socks in support of Zac and for World Down Syndrome Day, March 21st! Thank you to Zac for giving everyone stickers to wear in support of Down syndrome awareness on this special day.

Mrs. O'Dell's Kindergarten class at Paine Elementary has been utilizing a vending machine as a behavior management system as well as a learning tool. Students receive fake pennies and dimes for making good choices, being a good friend, helping others, etc. After a couple of weeks, students will count their money and decide if they want to spend it and get a prize. If students choose to spend their money, they will exchange their fake coins for real quarters, and buy an item from the vending machine. Some students choose to save their money, so they can buy higher priced items the next time they go to the machine. The prizes consist of snacks, candy and toys. Through this experience, not only are students learning about good behavior and making good choices, but they are learning the value of money, saving versus spending, patience, counting by 1’s and 10’s, addition, subtraction and number sense.

Congratulations to February's Students of the Month! These students were nominated for their exemplary behavior, dedication to academics, demonstrating leadership qualities, and having a positive attitude.

Congratulations to the following students:

Selah Jones

Keller Boone

Chloe Williams

Arkeem Marshall

Clayton Howell

Kendall Powe

The Cahaba’s musical theater group delighted audiences with three nightly performances of "Finding Nemo Kids," transporting viewers into the depths of the ocean with their enchanting rendition. The stage design, crafted with care by a dedicated group of students from the enrichment program "Set Design," created a stunning underwater scene that brought the story to life. Teachers Tina Fortenberry, Tessa Mann, and Lauren Bone provided guidance with the music, choreography, and artwork. A special thank you goes to assistant director Sherrie Forehand for her help in this underwater adventure. Together, these teachers and students’ collective dedication and creativity made the production of "Finding Nemo" a truly unforgettable experience.

Save the Date!!

Hewitt-Trussville High School

Class of 2025 Parent Night

April 2

5:30 - 7:30PM

10 Breakout Sessions + HTHS Career Fair

Experts will demystify topics that cause stress for senior and their parents. So, please make plans to join us! Feel confident and "pawsitive" about your student's senior year and beyond!

Under the direction of Mrs. Lauren Blake, school counselor and Leadership Team sponsor, and Dr. Phyllis Faust, Magnolia principal, Magnolia’s Student Leadership Team recently visited their grandpals at the Peachtree Senior Living Community. Students and their grandpals played Easter-themed Bingo, created puzzle pictures, and enjoyed talking together. Then, students gave their grandpals spring gift bags and cards they made during Leadership Team meetings with Mrs. Blake. Thank you to Dr. Stephen Shelton, transportation specialist, who drove the bus and helped serve the Peachtree residents.

The HTHS Indoor Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of AJ Adair, has had a fantastic season so far! Indoor Percussion is a type of marching ensemble consisting of drumline and front ensemble instruments. There are 29 HTHS Band members in this group. They have competed at several competitions in the SCGC Circuit, earning 2nd Place at Mt. Juliet, 1st Place at Wilson Central, and 1st Place at Thompson High School.

Last weekend, the ensemble competed in a WGI Atlanta Regional. WGI is a national marching arts circuit, and Atlanta is one of the most competitive regionals in the circuit. The HTHS Indoor Percussion Ensemble received 3rd place in Prelims, earning a spot in Finals competition where they had their best performance so far this season.

On Sunday, April 7th, the students will travel to Kentucky to compete in the SCGC Championships. We wish these fantastic members the best of luck in their final weeks of this competitive marching season!

Paine Elementary Choir & Musical Theater students enjoyed a Broadway workshop with actress & Broadway star, Marla Louissaint! Marla is a cast member in the Broadway Tour of “Hadestown!”

First, six students were chosen to perform for the artist & receive feedback on their performance. Congrats to Camille Swann, Brantley Adams, Olivia Cates, Kate Cantwell, Walker Jones, & Maggie Kate Riley! These students were exceptional performers during the workshop.

Then, all students had the opportunity to ask Marla questions about her experiences & her life as a Broadway actress!

Thank you to Broadway Plus for organizing this wonderful workshop for our students!

During Read Across America Week, our school community was enriched by the generosity of several individuals who dedicated their time to read aloud books to our students. We extend our sincerest gratitude to each community member who participated in this special event, sharing their love of literature. Thank you to the following people for your contribution to nurturing a culture of literacy and lifelong learning in our school: Sandra Vernon, Mayor Buddy Choat, Councilman Ben Short, Kelly McGough, Lance Pate, Niki Lincoln, Melissa Donaldson, Missy Logan, Molly Hatcher, Coach Tonya Hunter, Dale Posey, Michael Davis, Coach Floyd, Scott Buttram, Coach Taylor Burt, Dr. Drew Smith, Kim DeShazo, Jenn Ellis, Rachel Brockman, Marla Graves, Marcia Segers, Matt Dickey, Alan Taylor and Matthew O’Brien, Garry Wilder, Drew McDonald, Corey Hall, Dr. Martin, Dr. Poovey, Mrs. Nancy, Allison Smalley, and Jana Wood.

HTHS Calculus students participated in a Free Response Question practice outside using sidewalk chalk. This practice allowed them to graph two functions and find their intersections. They were able to find the area, volume when rotated, and volume by various cross sections. Students enjoyed practice with this concept in preparation for their Mock AP exam this week!

Monthly Board Meeting

The Trussville City Board of Education will hold its March monthly meeting on Monday, April 15, 2024 at 5:00 pm. The livestream link to the meeting will be published on the TCS website (www.trussvillecityschools.com) at 4:45 pm April 15, 2024.

Trussville City Schools Foundation is excited to once again offer a unique and lasting opportunity to leave your mark with a personalized brick to be installed in the walkways near the concession stands at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium.

Individuals, families, and businesses can show their school pride by purchasing an engraved brick. This is also a great way to honor graduating seniors, new kindergarten students, and special teachers or staff members! Bricks can be personalized with names, dates, or special messages.

You can view past donors as well as samples of the pavers at the entrance of the stadium just inside the front gates.

Each brick represents a student, family, or a business and together these bricks represent a community of Hewitt-Trussville Huskies! Pavers ordered are $60 each for a 4” x 8” brick with 1-3 lines of engraving with 18 to 20 characters per line, including spaces.

**Order before May 31, 2024 to be included in early Fall install.

The Trussville Rotary Daybreak Club announced their March 2024 Don Haisten Student of the Month and Teacher of the Month at the March 30, 2024 Rotary Meeting.

The Student of the Month is 9th grade student Elizabeth Schroeder from Hewitt-Trussville High School.

Elizabeth selected as her Teacher of the Month Mrs. Miriam Vinson, her 7th English teacher from Hewitt-Trussville Middle School.

Congratulations Elizabeth and Mrs. Vinson!

Pictured L – R are: Rotary Club President Kristi Bradford, Retired HTMS Teacher Miriam Vinson, student Elizabeth Schroeder, and Rotary Youth Chairman Fran Aldridge.

Trussville Daybreak Rotary Club sponsored several Hewitt-Trussville High School students to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) Program in February 2024. The students who were selected to attend were: Alex Davis, Cameron Vines, Carter Lybrand, Julie Long, Kaylee Routh and Lillianne Campbell.

The students visited with Trussville Daybreak Rotary Club Wednesday, March 20, 2024 to share about the weekend and the leadership activities they participated in at Space Camp. Congratulations to the HTHS students chosen for this event! They represented HTHS and TCS well!

Kelly McGough, our very own Accountability and Literacy Specialist, took the stage at the Literacy Reimagined Conference at the University of South Alabama, March 6-8! In her session, "The Positive Impacts of the Alabama Literacy Act in Trussville City Schools," Kelly shared insights and successes with a national audience of administrators, teachers, reading coaches, and literacy experts. This is a testament to the incredible work being done in our schools to empower and enrich our students' literacy journey. Two members of the Alabama School Board of Education attended Kelly’s session: Dr. Jackie Zeiger and Dr. Tonya Chestnut. They were quite impressed with the laser-focused work being done in Trussville City Schools as a result of the implementation of the law. Kelly was also joined by her team of academic coaches, Jennifer Peters, Angie Seeley and Christi Watts. A few of the sessions that they were able to learn more about were meeting the needs of English learners, data analysis, and the importance of teaching morphology in all grades. Cheers to Kelly for elevating our literacy efforts on the national and state stage!

The Hewitt Trussville Mountain Bike team will compete in Race #2 this weekend at Fort McClellan Trails in Anniston. The middle school team competes on Saturday with the first wave beginning at 12:30 pm. High school races on Sunday with the first wave beginning at 9:30 am. Both teams finished in first place at Race #1. For more details on the race, visit the Alabama Cycling Association website at acamtb.org. Follow our team on social media. Look for Hewitt Trussville MTB.

DATE:

Monday, April 15, 2024

* 5:00 pm Board Meeting

Monday, May 20, 2024

* 5:00 pm Board Meeting

Monday, June 10, 2024

* 5:00 pm Board Meeting

All Meetings will be held in the Boardroom of Central Office.

The Board Meeting livestream link will be posted on the TCS Website (www.trussvillecityschools.com) 15 minutes before the meeting start time

on the day of the meeting.

Huskies Together

Vaping Among Teens

Speaker: Stephanie Galbreath, UAB Department of Psychiatry and Neurobiology

Monday, April 22, 2024

6:00PM

Trussville Public Library

201 Parkway Drive, Trussville, AL

Dinner will be served.

The Trussville Area Chamber of Commerce annually awards scholarships to graduating high school seniors to help them further their education. The 2024 application period opened January 24 and closes April 3. Submit your application today!

Trussville Area Chamber of Commerce

Spring Carnival

April 4 - 7

90 Parkway Drive (across from Veteran's Park)

For more information: visit trussvillechamber.com

Shortcuts to important resources listed on the TCS District website:

• TCS Bullying Reporting Form
• Special Education - Parent Rights (Section 504)
• BE READY, BE RESPECTFUL, BE RESPONSIBLE EVERYDAY!