    | Students at each elementary school in the district will receive a visit from Ollie Otter on April 14, 16, and 17. Ollie is Tennessee's booster seat and seat belt safety mascot, which visits schools to promote the use of booster seats. Ollie's program also encourages students to wear their seat belts and raise awareness about roadway construction site safety. Ollie's slogan for our students is, "Under 4'9"- it's Booster Time!" Ollie was joined by several volunteers working to increase booster seat and seat belt usage among Tennessee's elementary school children. The program is sponsored by several organizations, including the Tennessee Transportation Development Foundation (TTDF) - a non-profit group established by the Tennessee Road Builders Association- and the TRBA Ladies Auxiliary. The statewide safety education program has made presentations in all 95 counties in Tennessee and is now crossing state borders. "Our goal is to try to educate children through the Ollie Otter program about Tennessee's child restraint law," said Carol Coleman, chairperson of the TTDF. "Hopefully, children will encourage their caregivers, or whoever is driving them around, to make better safety decisions. Ollie needs help from everyone to make a difference to save children's lives on our Tennessee highways. It is up to us all." The Ollie Otter program communicates that Tennessee state law requires the use of a booster seat until a child is 4-feet-9 inches tall or nine years old. An orange and white construction barrel, representing Ollie's home, is on display to teach the children the importance of roadway safety near construction work zones. The children were told to ask their parents to "Please slow down!" when they see construction barrels or road builders on the roads. With the help of the Tennessee Highway Patrol and local law enforcement, the children were also taught about "Belts to Bones,” and what parts of the body the seat belt should hit when properly buckled up- the collarbone, the sternum, and the hipbone. The fully costumed Ollie Otter character encourages children to wear their seat belts and educates them about Tennessee's booster seat law. Volunteers from the crowd were also measured to show the students the height differences between those who need to be in a booster seat and those who don't. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2008, the use of seat belts in passenger vehicles saved an estimated 13,250 lives. The use of booster seats compared to the use of adult seat belts alone lowers the risk of injury to children in crashes by fifty-nine percent. The Ollie Otter program is implemented by a network of statewide volunteers who work through the Tennessee Technological University BusinessMedia Center in Cookeville to coordinate the presentations. The unprecedented educational safety campaign was launched in December of 2006, and continues to grow daily. "The program is growing strong and we are all very excited about its expansion. Moving into the other states, such as Mississippi, creates more opportunities for Ollie to spread his message about booster seat and seat belt safety. Statistics show that booster seat usage is improving, which is what our goal is," said Julie Brewer, program coordinator with the TTU BusinessMedia Center. "The familiarity of the program has grown so that children and the community recognize Ollie and his message when he goes to a school or community event." To prepare volunteers to conduct the in-school presentations and perform as the costumed Ollie Otter, an online training course has been developed by the TTU BusinessMedia Center through the Tennessee Board of Regents Online Continuing Education program. ROCE hosts the user-friendly online course and certifies the completion of the class. The Ollie Otter program uses educational materials, such as measuring posters, bookmarks, and an interactive website, to inform children and their caregivers nationwide about seat belt and booster seat safety. To sign up as a volunteer, to schedule a visit from Ollie, or to learn more about Tennessee's booster seat and seat belt safety program, visit www.seatbeltvolunteer.org. |
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Sycamore High School's Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) competed at the District Students Taking Action for Recognition (STAR) events at Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville on March 10. Lacon Hudgins, Kelsey Huguley and Brandi Davis received a bronze medal for their Environmental Ambassador project. Sandy Angeles and Emma Biggs received a silver medal for their project in Sports Nutrition. These students will also compete at the state level competition at Opryland Hotel this month (April). According to event organizers, these Sycamore High School students put great effort into their projects and represented Sycamore High School well.
 Front Row: Ethan Nobes (athlete). Girls in middle row (L - R): Jennifer Copeland (assistant coach), Calli Copeland (cheerleader partner), Caroline Sasse (cheerleader partner), Riley Odom (cheerleader athlete). Boys in back row (L - R): Matthew Groves (coach), Justin Sartain (partner), Devin Copeland (parnter), Landon Fowler (partner), Daniel Harrison (athlete), Jordan Hogan (athlete), Cannon Johnson (athlete), Shane McCreary (athlete). At its Monday, April 6 meeting, the Cheatham County Board of Education recognized members of the Harpeth High School Special Olympics basketball team.
According to assistant coach, Jennifer Copeland, "Harpeth High promotes unity within our Cheatham County Special Olympic program. We have participated in flag football, soccer, volleyball and of course basketball." Copeland added that all sports in Special Olympics are unified, which means that students with disabilities play beside their typical peers. "The team works together to support each other as well as encourage the strengths of each player. At many of the events, the athletes and partners not only play on the court or field together, they travel together as well as bunk together either in hotel or dorm rooms. This enhances our unified experience," Copeland said. This year, the Harpeth High School unified basketball team won the gold at the state tournament at Lipscomb University. The team is now preparing for the county track and field games held at Harpeth Middle School. Students from all the life skills classes from across the county will compete in a variety of events such as the 50, 100, and 200 yard dash as well as standing/long jump and softball throw. Bocce and weightlifting are also competitions at this event. Copeland said unity is an important concept to Harpeth High School. "We are trying something new this year: unified 4X100 relay race. This should be a great time. This event is scheduled to be held on April 17 with opening ceremonies starting at 9:00 a.m." From the county games, the team will travel to Lipscomb University for the state tournament on May 15 and 16. Copeland said Harpeth plans to take track and field athletes, a unified volleyball team, weightlifting team, tennis team, and bocce team.  Cheatham County School District will host its annual Pre-K Carnival on Saturday, April 11 from 8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. in the Cheatham Middle School multipurpose room, which will kick-off enrollment in the voluntary Pre-K program for the upcoming school year
The event will feature games, activities, and free refreshments while potential Pre-K candidates apply for the program. Your child must be 4 years old on or before August 15, 2015. Please bring proof of income. During this event, the district will also celebrate “Ages to Stages,” which will feature various community resource agencies to provide information about children from birth to 5 years old. While you’re onsite, your child can also visit our speech pathologist for a free speech and language screening. If you are unable to attend this kick-off event, applications will be available on Monday, April 13 at Ashland City Elementary, East Cheatham Elementary, Pegram Elementary, and West Cheatham Elementary. For more information, please contact Pre-K Supervisor, Emily Staggs, at 615-746-1433.  Children turning five years old on or before August 15, 2015 may enroll in kindergarten for the 2015–2016 school year during the week of April 13 - April 17 at their zoned elementary school.
Each elementary school will also host a "Kindergarten Roundup" on Saturday, April 18 from 9 AM to 11 AM. During the roundup, families can enroll their child, tour the elementary school, and meet the principal and kindergarten teachers. When registering for kindergarten, please bring the following items:
The Cheatham County School District recognized the March 2015 Employees of the Month at its monthly school board meeting on Monday, April 6, 2015. The district's employee recognition program is made possible by A.O. Smith and the Cheatham County Chamber of Commerce. Not Pictured: Pegram Elementary: Maria Bobo  Cheatham County Central High School is proud to announce that Jacob Bumpus is one of 12 Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation (CEMC) scholarship winners.
According to CEMC, the scholarship program is designed for students who will be graduating from high school this spring. Twelve students were chosen to receive a one-time award of $1,000, which can be used toward their freshman year expenses such as tuition, textbooks, lab fees or other required classroom materials. The program is coordinated through each school’s senior counselor. To be eligible for the award, students are required to complete an application that includes two letters of recommendation as well as a 300-word essay describing what they look forward to most about attending college and how a scholarship, in terms of financial assistance, will aid in completing their education. For more information on the youth programs sponsored by CEMC, please visit: http://www.cemc.org/youthprograms.asp |
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