On February 11, from 4:30 until 6:00, students, parents, and family members were invited to CRCS for a Chili Supper. Parents and teach-ers discussed students’ aca-demic and behavioral pro-gress while enjoying free food and refreshments. The event featured a chili cook-off by staff, face-painting, and a student selfie project. Win-ners of the chili cook-off in-clude 1st place winner, Ted Phillips, 2nd place winner, Lisa Halcomb, and 3rd place winner, Jerry Huckaby.

Successful Chili Supper at CRCS

Clinch River Community School 3/7/14 Volume 2, Issue 3

Chili Supper 1

CUB Visit 2

Teacher of the Year 3

New Staff 3

Calendar 3

100 Days of School 1

Inside this issue:

CRCS Student Creed

I am AMAZING!

I was CREATED to do great things!

I will not let my

CIRCUMSTANCES at this moment define who I am!

I am IMPORTANT!

I am POWERFUL BEYOND

MEASURE so I will do my best today!

100 Days of School!

Students in elementary school at CRCS celebrated the 100th day of school. Teachers provided a variety of

activities for the occasion as well as a party at the end of the day.

“I like the truck. It’s a diesel. Diesels are good. They run; they

go up in the moun-tains.”

- Willie Fritts

C.U.B. Visits CRCS Elementary School Students!

Page 2 C l inch River Current Volume 2, Issue 3

On Friday, February 21, 2014, two men from Clinton Utility Board brought a work truck to Clinch River Community School. Ken Waggoner and Rodney Quarles allowed our young & bright elementary students to explore the vehicle. The young students were more then eager to hop inside the truck and ex-plore. With laughter & joy all around, the morning turned out to be quite a blast!

-Justice Maloney

Mrs. Sherri Dickens was cho-sen by staff to represent CRCS for the Teacher of the Year for the 2013-2014 school year. Mrs. Dickens taught 11th and 12th grade English at Oliver Springs High School for many years before coming to Clinch River Community School, where she currently teaches 9th grade English and World Geography.

She has a Bachelor’s from the University of Tennessee in English Education and a Mas-ter’s from the University of Tennessee in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Elementary Education. Not only does she teach at Clinch River Community School, she also teaches Developmental Reading and Developmental Writing at Roane State Com-munity College.

Outside of school, Mrs. Dick-ens loves spending time with

her family, reading, and shoe shopping, which is obvious. She has an extensive collec-tion of shoes and snow globes.

Digital arts students Robert Blankenship and Justice Malo-ney interviewed Mrs. Dickens about teaching at CRCS.

JM: Do you enjoy working at CRCS?

SD: Absolutely.

JM: Are you happy with the grade you are teaching right now?

SD: Yes. It’s a new experience because I had never taught 9th grade until I came here.

JM: Is there a specific grade you would rather teach?

SD: I think I’m happy teaching ninth grade. I am certified K-12 and would eventually try

some other grades.

JM: Has teaching been a dream for you?

SD: For the most part, yes, especially since I began work-ing here.

JM: How is it teaching here at CRCS compared to other schools?

SD: I taught at Oliver Springs High School for many years and being at CRCS is a won-derful experience. Everything is different. Each day brings new and unique experiences. The support I receive in this building is amazing.

JM: What’s your favorite sub-ject?

SD: English, of course, is my favorite subject. However, I really enjoy World Geography too. I am always excited to learn new concepts and ideas.

Teacher of the Year Interview: Mrs. Dickens

Mrs. Swisher teaches the kindergarten and first grade classroom at CRCS. Previous-ly, she spent 11 years at An-dersonville Elementary teach-ing kindergarten, first grade, and second grade and 6 years at Grand Oaks Elemen-tary teaching kindergarten and second grade. She also mentored K-2 grade teachers as a literacy coach and assist-ed with the county-wide K-2 literacy program.

Outside of school, Mrs. Swish-er spends time with her loving family and dog, Fergie the Duchess of Yorkies. She en-joys reading, boating on Nor-ris Lake, and cheering the Tennessee Volunteers. She also supports the Boys and Girls Club of North Anderson County.

Mr. Stooksbury is the new assistant in Mrs. Dickens’s 9th grade classroom. He

previously worked as a substi-tute teacher at ACHS and was a baseball instructor at RBI in Knoxville. He received a Bachelor’s of Science in Health and Human Perfor-mance from the University of Tennessee at Martin. He is currently working as an assis-tant baseball coach at ACHS.

Mrs. Weldon assists Mr. Phil-lips in the CDC classroom at CRCS. She graduated from

New Staff at CRCS

Page 3 C l inch River Current Volume 2, Issue 3

Calendar March 14 3rd Grading Ends

March 17-21 Spring Break

April 18 Good Friday (No School)

May 16 Graduation for CRCS

May 26 Memorial Day (Schools Closed)

May 27 Last Day for Students (TBA)

Roane State Community College where she studied K-6 Educa-tion. Mrs. Weldon has her CNA license and worked at the UT Medical Center in the Trauma Unit. She has also worked with children in day cares.

Mrs. Weldon has been married for seven years and has a two-year-old little boy.

JM: Is there any particular rea-son you like English?

SD: I like teaching English be-cause it was a difficult subject in high school and I want to provide a better experience for my stu-dents. And I love to read.

RB: What is your favorite thing about CRCS?

SD: My favorite things about CRCS are the people, including the students, staff, and admin-istration. Everybody supports one another.

RB: During your time here, have you completed any personal goals?

SD: One goal is to return to school and continue my educa-tion. I have applied to a school for my Ed.S. in Administration. Another goal is to have a posi-tive attitude about my job, which I was losing. I have been happy since I walked in the front door.

Our Mission is to prepare students to SOAR in a global society. This will be accomplished by the creation of a learning environment which incorporates:

Superior teachers

Outstanding leadership

Accountable fiscal stewardship

Resounding community acceptance

Clinch River Community School 160 Maverick Circle Clinton, TN 37716

Mission Statement

Phone: 865-457-7462 Fax: 865-457-6546 Website: www.tlc.acs.ac

Clinch River Community School

Vision

Clinch River Community School will be recognized by students, parents, guardians, teachers, professional educators, and community members as a school of choice by: Publicizing and adhering to its belief statements Fulfilling its mission statement Employing teachers who love to teach and inspire

all students to learn Adopting and implementing best practices based on

the idea of continuous improvement as validated by statistical data

Utilizing clear, timely and persuasive communica-tion to unite government, business and industry, local citizenry, and the educational community to achieve the goal of excellence in education

Updating and maintaining regularly the operating policies, procedures, and business rules in order to optimize student growth and performance

Goals

To provide a challenging learning environment where students can and will achieve

To provide a safe, nurturing environment that en-courages students to develop and interact

To provide an environment where students develop confidence to take risks and set goals To provide a commitment to the professional devel-

opment of teachers, staff, and administrators To provide a standard where students act responsibly and have respect for themselves, their school, and their community

Darren Leach

Principal

Nate Stecker

Assistant Principal