​Hundreds of Cheatham County Central High School students signed pledge cards this week, promising to move over when they see emergency and service personnel working along Tennessee roadways.
 
CCCHS hosted a special pep rally on Friday to stress the importance of the state’s Move Over Law and to remember beloved assistant football coach JR Rogers.
 
Rogers, who also worked as a Tennessee Department of Transportation Help Truck driver, died in December after being hit by a motorist on Interstate 40 in Nashville while he helped a driver change a flat tire.
 
During the pep rally, Cheatham County School Resource Officer Tony Pierce discussed the Move Over Law.
 
A change in the state law went into effect in July as all motorists have to move over for anyone with their hazard lights on, including civilian drivers.

At the end of the pep rally, a drawing was held from all the signed pledge cards. The winner was Tyler Rich, who won a free pass to all home sporting events this season.
 
For each home game this season, one CCCHS player has been chosen to wear No. 31, Rogers’ number from his playing days with the Cubs.
 
The schedule includes: Ray Ray Sweat, Aug. 18, Hunters Lane; Landon Barnes, Aug. 25, Creek Wood; Walker Bunce, Sept. 15, Harpeth; Jorden Hoffman, Oct. 6, Greenbrier; and Shawn Singleton, Oct. 20, Stewart County.

Even though Cheatham County Schools will not be in session on Aug. 21 for the once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse, the district is embracing this science phenomenon with excitement in the classroom leading up to the big event.

During the morning meeting at East Cheatham Elementary School on Monday, fourth-graders gave an overview of the eclipse.
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In the classrooms, various activities highlighting the eclipse took place.

During the first week of school, ECES teachers participated in a contest. They were asked to submit a quote about the eclipse and tie in the fact that ECES is a Leader in Me school. 

The winning quote came from fourth-grade language arts teacher Melissa Adams Jones, who received a gift basket filled with moon pies and Sundrop. The quote is on the school’s marquee.

Students will be participating in a contest this week.

Students in grades 2-4 will create an acrostic poem using the words solar eclipse.

Students in grades Pre-K-1 will write a sentence or draw a picture telling about someone they think shines as bright as the sun and why.

The student winners will be announced on Friday, which is a Black Out Day. All students and teachers will wear black in preparation for Monday’s eclipse.

​Cheatham County students … we are looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday, Aug. 8 for the first day of school.
 
Our new Director of Schools, Dr. Cathy Beck, and staff members have been working all summer and are ready for a great academic year.
 
Students in grades 1-9 will report on Tuesday, Aug. 8 and the dismissal time is 10:45 a.m.
 
Students in grades 1-12 will report on Wednesday, Aug. 9 for a full day.
 
The first full day for our Pre-K and kindergarten students is Tuesday, Aug. 15.
 
We want to remind our families that all students will receive free breakfast and lunch during the first week of school from Tuesday, Aug. 8 through Friday, Aug. 11.
 
We also want everyone to be aware of traffic safety as the new year begins.
 
Please pay attention to school zones, the added pedestrian traffic and those big yellow buses transporting the children.
 
Also, law enforcement will be out in full force to ensure motorists are following the rules of the road in school zones and along the bus route paths.
 
We are committed to providing five-star quality service, and we hope that all our students have a successful year.

​The Cheatham County School District has named Brian Black as the new dean of students at East Cheatham Elementary School.
 
Black, who most recently taught at Harpeth High School, is a 2006 graduate of Millikin University in Decatur, Ill., where he earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education-social sciences.
 
He began his teaching career as a special-needs paraprofessional at Attea Middle School in 2006 and gained a full-time teaching position at Springstead High School in Spring Hill, Fla., in 2007. 
 
He has taught high school in Tennessee for the last seven years, including the past four at HHS.
 
Black said, “I am really excited to begin this new adventure at East Cheatham Elementary School. I will miss the day-to-day interactions with the faculty and students at Harpeth High School. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to build new relationships with the students and staff at East Cheatham Elementary, and I'm ready to begin this new adventure.”
 
Black lives in Nashville with wife, Janna, daughter, Addison, and their four-year-old dog, Stella.

The Cheatham County School District will continue to offer its successful Cheatham Achievers after-school program during the 2017-2018 school year.
 
The district offers the program in the three middle schools through a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant. 
 
In 2014, the district was awarded the three-year, $600,000 grant to implement the program at Cheatham, Harpeth and Sycamore middle schools.
 
The district was recently notified that it has received a grant extension of $202,000 to continue the program in the new school year.
 
Emily Staggs, who supervises the program, said, “We are looking forward to another productive and exciting year with this great program. The district has enjoyed much success since we started the program, and many students have benefitted from the academic, artistic and cultural enrichment activities that are provided.”
 
The program offers opportunities for students to explore, develop and strengthen their academic skills.
 
In addition, students participate in art, music and recreation programs, character education programs and field trips to reinforce and complement the regular academic program. Guest speakers are also invited to speak to the students on a wide range of subjects.
 
Students receive a daily snack and are provided with transportation home each day. 
 
The district is working on the details for the new year and plans to start the program in September.
 
Families who are interested in participating in the program can contact your zoned middle school (CMS at 792-2334; HMS at 952-2293 and SMS at 746-8852). Applications will also be available at each school’s open house.

The Cheatham County School District has named Amy Castleberry as the new academic specialist at Pegram Elementary School.
 
Castleberry, a longtime Pleasant View Elementary School teacher, replaces Dawn Wenning, who is the new principal at Kingston Springs Elementary School.
 
Castleberry is a 1997 graduate of Cheatham County Central High School and a 2002 graduate of Austin Peay State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in education.
 
She began her teaching career in 2003 at PVES. She taught second grade for eight years and first grade for six years.
 
Castleberry was a member of the school district’s Aspiring Administrator’s Academy in 2016.
 
In 2017, she graduated from Capella University with her master's degree in Educational Leadership.
 
“I am very excited to begin this journey and developing new relationship at Pegram. I will deeply miss Pleasant View Elementary School because it has been my home since 1986, but I am thankful for the opportunity to become the academic specialist at Pegram,” she said.
 
Castleberry lives in Chapmansboro with her husband, Jeff, and two sons, Dillon and Preston.