This winter, Tusculum Elementary and Warner Enhanced Option Elementary split a donation of 2,800 books and $14,000 in money thanks to Barnes & Noble and City National Bank. The donations were the result of the Holiday Book Drive at Barnes & Noble. Read the full release below.

NSA senior Maya A. has spent the past two weeks sharing the stage with no other than Eddie George! Maya is wrapping up her role of conspirator, citizen, soldier and Octavius' servant in the Nashville Shakespeare Festival's production of Julius Ceasar. And this isn't her first run with the production company. This past summer, Maya served as stage manager's intern for the production of Romeo & Juliet.



Maya and her cast mates will make their final curtain call this weekend. Performances are at 7:30 p.m., Thursdays - Saturdays; 2:30 p.m. on Sundays; and a special encore performance has been added for Sunday, Jan. 29, at 7:30 p.m. Click here for more details.

Friday, Jan. 20, a select group of Head Middle Magnet School students from Mr. Paul Sparks' fifth grade math class participated in the Block Kids Building Program. Individual students were given 40 minutes to construct a building with Lego blocks. The structure that was created by each student was judged on design, rationale, and practical use. Students had to explain their design and any other feature they built within the design under the rationale category. Quinn T. was the winner of this building contest. In addition to a cash award, his design will now advance to the regional competition.

The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, a national nonprofit organization, was established in 1994 to provide guidance and support for the next generation. The Alliance fosters the creative development of youth across the country through the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards program, involving over 75,000 students in grades 7 – 12 each year.

The process begins as young artists and writers submit more than 100,000 creative works to a network of Regional Affiliates that locally administer the awards. The most outstanding works from each of the regions are then sent to New York to be judged on a national level. Since 1923, The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have encouraged more than 13 million students, recognized more than 2.5 million young artists and writers, and distributed more than $25 million in awards and scholarships.

For the 21st consecutive year, Cheekwood partnered with the Alliance to host the regional competition and exhibition for Middle Tennessee. Regional winners are eligible for scholarships and cash prizes, are part of the exhibition at Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art, and have their work sent to New York City for national judging.

The awards reception was held at Cheekwood on January 28th.

It's that time again! And Metro Schools' families may be eligible to receive free help filing their taxes. Check out the flyer below.

The Metro Beautification and Environment Commission (MBEC) recently honored student members of the Whites Creek High School Academy of Public Service Program for their efforts to promote sustainability and environmental stewardship.

MBEC and Whites Creek High School planted an American Baldcypress tree in honor of Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, who initiated a nationwide program to plant trees in her native Kenya. Last month, Whites Creek students and other members of Sierra SCENE (Student Coalition Empowering Nashville Environmentalists) participated in a sustainability fair that also featured the Nashville screening of a documentary film honoring Maathai’s legacy. MBEC gave away Baldcypress tree seedlings at the screening and announced plans to plant a tree in Nashville to honor Maathai.

The students have also been awarded numerous honors from the Sierra Club of Middle Tennessee for their science and environmental research.

The Metropolitan Nashville Board of Public Education will join school districts throughout the state to salute their local education leaders during Tennessee’s annual School Board Appreciation Week January 22-28, 2012.

The commemorative week is designed to recognize the contributions made by Tennessee’s school board members, including the Metropolitan Nashville Board of Education, who are charged with governing public education under state law.

Tennessee school board members are chosen by their communities through election or appointment to manage local schools. They oversee multimillion dollar budges which fund education programs for more than 934,000 students in approximately 1,736 schools. Their personnel decisions affect more than 69,500 teachers, administrators and support workers.

These volunteer leaders also are responsible for formulating school district policy, approving curricula, maintaining school facilities, and adhering to state and federal education law. Legal concerns and the complexities of school finance, including budgeting and taxation, require them to spend many hours in board training programs and personal study to enhance their understanding of these issues.

Our deepest appreciation is extended to the dedicated men and women who make it possible for local citizens to participate in education in our community. We salute our school board whose commitment and civic responsibility make local control of public schools in our community possible:

Gracie Porter, Chair, Mark North, Vice Chair, Dr. JoAnn Brannon, Anna Shepherd, Sharon Gentry, Ed.D., Cheryl D. Mayes, Ed Kindall, Kay Simmons, and Michael W. Hayes.

Please join us by saying thank you to our school board members during Tennessee’s School Board Appreciation Week!

Apollo Middle School is doing something right in the math department! For the second year in a row, the 5th grade intervention class has won Apangea's Tennessee Volunteer Math Cup. The students will keep the highly coveted Volunteer Cup Trophy, they will be the beneficiaries of an Apangea Math sponsored pizza party, and every student in the class will receive an Apangea Sport-Pak and t-shirt.



Several students at other schools were also awarded for outstanding individual success. Divya D., a student at Rose Park Magnet Middle, won the individual portion of the contest by correctly completing more questions than any other student in Tennessee! She passed 154 lessons between Dec. 5 and Jan. 8. For her hard work, Divya received an iPod Nano.



Meanwhile, Lu Z., a student at J.T. Moore, was also a winner in the individual contest. He was awarded an iPod Shuffle. And Michael A., at JFK Middle, was awarded a $25 Best Buy gift card for his excellent performance.



Congrats to all of the winners!

Just think: this time last year we'd already had a full week's worth of snow days. This year we're all pleased that it hasn't been that bad yet. But it's always good to remind ourselves why we make the decision to close schools.



Here's an old post from January of 2011 that explains the process and gives us all a reason to be thankful that 2011-12 is not a repeat of the 2010-11 Snowpocalypse.

Originally published in January of 2011 Many people are curious about how the district makes the decision to close schools. So here goes. It starts with the same first step as everyone else: looking at the forecast. MNPS officials closely examine what is expected and work with local meteorologists to get a frank and honest assessment of the chances for significant precipitation. Once the snow or ice has fallen, a group of dedicated employees within the Transportation Department fan out across the city to examine the road conditions. They drive on snow and ice covered roads, looking at potential trouble spots, which include difficult hills, winding back roads, heavily shaded areas and every other factor that could affect bus and car travel on the way to or from school. It is important to note that this group examines the city's roads as a whole. The decision is not based on a single street or a single neighborhood, but rather the 500+ square miles that constitute Davidson County. Members of this "snow patrol" then meet to discuss their assessments. In some cases they take photographs of what they found in the areas that they examined. You can see this morning's photos by clicking on the picture at the bottom of this story. The team may repeat this process 2-3 times per day, to see if road conditions have improved or worsened as the day goes on. Once all reports have been made, all areas of town have been accounted for and all voices have been heard, the decision is made. As soon as that happens, the Communications Department makes a district-wide callout, alerts the media, and posts the information online. We know our families have decisions to make regarding childcare, work and other arrangements, so there is no delay or dawdling in between making the decision and announcing it. We hope that this gives you a better understanding of just how much goes into making the decision to close schools. Losing an instructional day is not something to be taken lightly. If students and teachers are able to get to school safely, we want them there. But safety has always and will always come first. We appreciate the patience that everyone shows in waiting for a decision to be made, and thank you for supporting Metro Schools! Click here for photos taken by the "snow patrol" on Wednesday, January 26, 2011 Click here for photos taken by the "snow patrol" on Thursday, January 20, 2011 Click here for photos taken on Thursday, January 13, 2011. Click here for photos taken on Wednesday, January 12, 2011. Click here for photos taken on the morning of January 11, 2011.

Three MNPS students are gaining national attention for their mad science skills! Emily Alsentzer, a student at Hume-Fogg, and Jasmine Kelly and Ben Gu, students at MLK, entered the competition through their enrollment with the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt. All are now seniors in the four-year research-based program. Check out the news release below.

Team of the Week: Two Rivers Middle School Cheerleading

Board Member & Sports Fan Mark North

Update from the Alley

Encounter with a Champion

See pictures of Tyesha and Stratford's State Championship Track & Field Team

Middle School Wrestling – Save the Date

MNPS: The First Choice for Flawless Performances

We're proud to announce the winners of this year's Metro Kathryn C. Mitchell Spelling Bee!

• First Place—Curren Neenan from Meigs Magnet


• Runner-Up—Gary Johnson from McKissack Middle

Now that you've turned in your Fall Application, what next? Selection Cards were mailed on January 3, 2012. Selection Day is Jan. 7, starting at 9 a.m., at the Martin Center Professional Development Center. Families are welcome to attend the event, watch it live on NewsChannel 5+ or check the district website for a full list of selections. more

Tuesday, Jan. 10, 56 Metro Schools 5th and 6th graders will vie for the title of district spelling champ. The students have qualified for the Metro-Kathryn C. Mitchell Spelling Bee. The competition begins at 9 am, and will be held at Meharry Medical College in Kresge Resources Center.

Trophies and prizes will be awarded to the first and second place winners. The winning schools will also receive trophies. The two top spellers will advance to the Davidson County Spelling Bee, Feb. 7.

Students in the Academies of Nashville, smaller learning communities within Metro's 12 zoned high schools, will be showing off their skills this semester! Students, staff and business partners will host Showcase Nights, one at each high school, for interested students, parents and community members. Guests will learn what academies are offered at each high school, how to enroll, and the benefits of learning in an academy. These events come as the district prepares for Spring Application period, March 1 - 31, during which time families can apply to attend schools with open seats.

It's not every day high school students get to study at Vanderbilt University, alongside some of the nation's top researchers and scientists. Now through Feb. 10, Metro Schools' current 8th graders can vie for a spot in The School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt's Class of 2016.



Students enrolled in the school will attend their regular high school four days of the week. The fifth day, they will study at Vanderbilt. Students who complete the four-year program will graduate high school with an additional seven honors science elective credits.



SSMV offers high school students an interdisciplinary, research-centered learning experience. For more information or to apply, visit the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt here.