In the Loop

Presidents' Day - February 19, 2024

Remote Learning Day - March 8, 2024

Spring Break - March 25 - 29, 2024

Trussville City Schools Celebrates National School Counseling Week

We are very fortunate to have a wonderful team of school counselors within our system. They work tirelessly to create a positive school environment for our students, build character through programs like Red Ribbon Drug Awareness Week, and provide a safe space for students during challenging times. From impactful conversations to implementing small groups for peer support, school counselors are an integral part to the success of our schools!

A very special thank you to our team of counselors:

HTHS - Amy Cane, Laura Stalls, Heather Winship, and Jessica Morris

HTMS - Krista Dement, Caroline Kidd, and Melanie McGee

Paine Elementary - Christy Naylor, Sara Taylor, and Kelly Bowles

Cahaba Elementary - Mandy McIntosh

Magnolia Elementary - Lauren Blake

Facility Dogs - Bullet, Skye & Blanche

Engineering students started moving into our new lab space. We are so excited for this addition to the Engineering Academy. It will include a welding machine, plasma cutter, small water jet, CNC router, band saw, drill press, and many other fabrication tools. Students will be able to bring their designs alive in this new engineering lab. It will be utilized by our robotics team, rocketry team, electrathon racing team, drone racing team, and senior design.

The Magnolia library recently held a Crane Book Fair. Thank you to everyone who supported our book fair. Your generosity helps grow readers by putting new books into their hands. A total of $2,966.38 was earned to benefit our library.

Mrs. Jenkins’s classes celebrated the upcoming Super Bowl with some football themed activities throughout the day. One activity was a STEM Challenge using the Engineering Design Process to create a goal post and a launcher for their “football” to score.

This week, we highlight HTHS Culinary Arts Academy Instructor, Mrs. Anna Hallman. Mrs. Hallman brings an enormous amount of experience and knowledge to her position in our culinary department. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, and then attended Jefferson State Culinary and Hospitality Institute. She has spent the last 20 years as a chef catering events all over the country for a vast clientele of celebrities and dignitaries including President George W. Bush, Condeleeza Rice, Prince, Queen Latifa, Chris Rock and many others.

Mrs. Hallman has also been a guest chef at the Super Bowl, University of Alabama special events, television programs and at the Alabama State Capitol. She serves as a Board Member of the International Catering Association's Culinary Council, and was the winner of their Best Hors d'oeuvre in 2009.

In her spare time, Mrs. Hallman loves traveling, trying new foods, hiking and enjoying the outdoors. She has a daughter, two cats and two dogs, and a very busy work life!

When asked what her favorite part about teaching at Hewitt-Trussville High School is, Mrs. Hallman said, "I have the unique opportunity to teach my students for three years of their high school career. I love seeing their growth from their sophomore to their senior year. Catering with my students is also one of my favorite things. I see their confidence grow exponentially."

Cahaba Elementary School celebrated its specialists this week with daily tributes. Monday they honored the counselor, Mandy McIntosh. Tuesday they celebrated the library staff, Amy Prickett and Pam Shepard. Wednesday they appreciated the PE coaches, Jake Garrett and Lindsey Faucher. Thursday they honored Tina Fortenberry and Lauren Bone, our music and art teacher, and Friday, our STEM Teacher, April Smith. Students expressed gratitude with cards and posters, while teachers treated specialists to lunch and flowers, showcasing the school's appreciation. We love our specialists!

The Girls in Engineering field trip on Tuesday partnered with the HTHS Engineering Academy and the ICAN program by Alabama Power to focus on environmental engineering. The girls were tasked with building a water filtration system aimed at creating clean filtered water from contaminated water. The filters were tested by pouring dirty water through the filters to see whose design would create the cleanest water. The Girls in Engineering met with female engineers from Alabama Power to work on their projects.

Monthly Board Meeting

The Trussville City Board of Education will hold its February monthly meeting on Monday, February 12, 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 February 12, 2024.

Cole Steuer, 10th grade, placed 6th place at the University of Alabama Hall of Fame Speech and Debate tournament on January 20th! He competed against schools from Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and Mississippi!

Cole also participated at the Betty Gunn Speech and Debate Tournament at Mountain Brook High School this weekend, February 2-3, and placed 2nd overall! He was ranked first in all preliminary rounds and dropped the final round to a speech he had not competed against before.

Our district tournament is in a month and this is our National Qualifying Tournament. Wish Cole luck as he prepares!

The 5th graders at Cahaba just completed a unique reading and writing experience. The big idea of this project was to enhance these skills along with implementing their unique and creative abilities. Each student was tasked with creating their own codex, which is a type of book that was used by the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations to record important information. This codex project allowed students to showcase their understanding of the ancient civilizations of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca. The students used their informative writing skills to write about various aspects of the ancient civilizations, such as their ways life, farming, religion, social classes and architecture.

Throughout the process of creating their project the students developed a deeper understanding of the ancient civilizations. They not only learned about the ways of life, religion, social classes, architecture, and farming of these ancient civilizations, but also gained valuable skills in creating text features and informative writing while expressing their creative brilliance.

Magnolia fifth graders in Mrs. Ryan Hook's Language Arts classes have been learning about informational texts by studying the ancient Aztecs, Mayas, and Incas. Students have been researching their architecture, social classes, and farming methods. During their research, fifth graders learned that the Incas grew quinoa, a food many had never tasted. Students decided to give quinoa a try and accepted the challenge of sampling this ancient food. According to Mrs. Hook, "These photos were highlighted in the fifth-grade newsletter and shared with classmates. We all enjoyed seeing their expressions as the students tried quinoa for the first time."

DATE:

Monday, February 12, 2024

* 5:00 pm Board Meeting

Monday, March 18, 2024

* 5:00 pm Board Meeting

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.

We are TYCA!!

Registration OPEN now and closes February 24, 2024

Open for upcoming 1st - 6th Grade

For more information and questions, please email us directly at trussvillecheer@gmail.com.

Trussville Racquet Club

Spring Tennis Clinics

Clinics run February 19th - April 15th

6-8 years old: Wednesdays 4:00-5:00pm ($125 per participant)

9-11 years old: Tuesday and Thursday 4:00-5:00pm ($240 per participant)

12-15 years old: Monday and Friday 5:00-6:00pm ($240 per participant)

Registration open until February 10

To register: visit www.trussville.org or scan the QR code above

For more information: contact Chris Rogers (Head Tennis professional) at 205-405-1428 or by email at crogerstennis@gmail.com

The Rec Runner program introduces track and field to athletes at an early age. Athletes will have the opportunity to learn several events and participate in track meets throughout the season.

Participants: open to 5 - 15 years of age (age control date: 8/10/24)

Registration: January 1 - March 9, 2024

Parent Interest Meeting will be on February 12, 2024 at 6:00pm (Trussville Civic Center)

Practice Begins - February 26, 2024 (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30 -7:00pm)

For more information: contact Kela Leatherwood (659-444-3928) or by emailing kela.leatherwood@trussville.org

Boys and Girls Spring Flag Football

Youth Ages 6 - 12

$75 per person

Season begins April 6th and concludes on May 30th

Registration closes on March 1st

Games will be in the evening during the week and on Saturday mornings

6U and 12U evaluations - March 11th

8U and 10U evaluations - March 12th

For more information: contact Abbie Vingers (205-508-0354) or email her at abbie.vingers@trussville.org

Spring Archery Instruction

Starting March 2, 2024

Ages 10 and up

Cost: $75

We will be using the original Genesis Compound Bow. We are very excited to have as our instructor, Kristy Montgomery. She is a certified NASP, USA, 4H Archery Instructor and S3DA.

For more information: contact Frederick Wagner (205-508-0347) or email him at fwagner@trussville.org

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!