Hunter's Highlights

Activities are beginning to pick up at Ardmore High School. Teachers are busy making a difference in the lives of our students and making sure our students have outstanding educational opportunities.

One of our new teachers is Mrs. Lacy Williams who teaches Family and Consumer Sciences. We are very fortunate to have Mrs. Williams here to help our students and are extremely excited about the direction our FACS program is heading. Working with Mrs. Graham, our Agriculture teacher, we know our vocational department will soar to new heights.

Our Yearbook Staff is encouraging our students and faculty to “Dress for Success” this year in our school pictures. They have begun a clever marketing plan and have posters all over campus. They thought it would be good for students to dress up and make Picture Day a special occasion. We are excited to see how great our students look when they dress for success on September 4.

Our new gym is coming along very nicely and we will be announcing the grand opening in a matter of days. We are currently thinking that it will be toward the end of September, but we anticipate a specific date to be announced very soon. I believe the gym will be something the community of Ardmore will be proud to call their own.

Our fall sports teams are in full swing. We have teams playing multiple times during the week and we invite you to come out and support our band and athletes as they compete this fall. We are very proud of our students and the things they are able to accomplish. Students who participate in extracurricular activities typically perform better in school and have a more positive school experience. They need our help and support in order to achieve their goals.

Picture Day

Picture Day is September 4, 2014. No parent's scrapbook would be complete without a school picture from each year.

Do Not Publish List

In order to establish your child as a student that cannot be published in any capacity, the procedure has changed from last year. A parent/guardian must send an email to ferpa@lcsk12.org to make this request. The deadline is end of day August 26, 2014 to be added to this list.

Want to be An EMT?

In partnership with Calhoun Community College, Limestone County is planning to offer the EMT program at the Limestone County Career Technical Center beginning in November. Classes will meet twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Classes will conclude in May.

Calhoun Community College will pay approximately $1,800 of the cost for each student. Students will be responsible for a small portion of the entire cost, approximately $200 to cover the cost of background check, drug screening, and online testing.

Students will need to meet dual enrollment requirements and have no history of attendance or discipline problems. Also, it is recommended that students be enrolled in no more than one AP course during the duration of this program as the EMT program is 12 hours of college credit.

 Those interested in any type of public safety or medical field would be perfect candidates. Emphasizing the cost will certainly interest parents. We want to ensure that we have enough students for the program to make so our students can take advantage of this amazing opportunity while still in high school!

Any student interested needs to see Mrs. Rowe ASAP. A parent meeting is tentatively scheduled for Monday night, October 27th, at the CTC beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Strategic Planning Survey

Parents,

The district has been charged with updating our Strategic Plan. Strategic planning is used to set priorities in order to focus energy and resources and to strengthen operations.

The goals of a strategic plan are gathered from the thoughts of the staff and parents in the district via surveys. Your answers will allow us to gather valuable information concerning the district's accomplishments and challenges.

Below is the parent survey that we are asking each of you to take. Please make every effort to take this survey today. We can't do this without you and we value your opinion.

http://www.advanc-ed.org/survey/public/7186458

FFA State Officer

Ardmore High School student Kelsey Faulkner is a state FFA officer. We are very proud of the leadership exhibited by Kelsey in our school and state. The officers made a trip to Montgomery this summer where they met the governor and other state leaders. The magazine "Cooperative Farming News" recently had an article featuring the trip.

Future Farmers of America (FFA) offers our students excellent leadership opportunities. We are very fortunate to have a strong FFA program at Ardmore lead by Mrs. Lauren Graham. We are very proud of our students, especially when they are recognized at the state and national levels.

Welcome Back

New School Year

Back to school commercials fill the airways, excited teachers prepare for the return of energetic students. These events signal the beginning of a new school year. Some students will be more excited than others to welcome a new school year but most of them will be excited even if they do not want to admit it. Some teachers will also have a little apprehension about the new school year but the majority welcomes the challenge to make a difference in the lives of students.

The great thing about a new school year is the feeling of a fresh start. Each year brings anticipation that this year will be even better than the previous years. For those of us who have been in schools the majority of our lives we are renewed by the possibilities a new year brings. One pleasure veteran teachers have is to see new teachers come into the profession. New teachers typically have tons of energy and excitement about the task they are about to undertake. Statistically, and sadly, many teachers leave the profession in the first three years but most will continue to serve students for years to come. The idealistic views of many new years are an encouragement to those who have been working in the field for many years.

Students view the new school year in a multitude of ways shaped by many factors in their lives. Some love the interaction with their friends and are excited to see them for the first time in a couple of months. They want to share stories about their summer and while social media has allowed many of them to stay in touch it is still better to see them in person. Sadly, some students are glad to be back because they will have two meals a day and friendly faces to greet them each day. Some students will not be excited about the school year because they have had unpleasant school years in the past and do not have the expectation that this school year will be different. Hopefully, somewhere deep down in these students there is a ray of hope that this year will be a little different.

One never knows what a new year has in store, but a positive attitude and hopeful anticipation can help when facing inevitable challenges. In some ways school has changed dramatically over the last twenty years while remaining unchanged in others. The challenge for school leaders is to make the changes necessary to fit the needs of our new society while holding fast to the ideals of providing an education that equips students to face the challenges of their lives. Some exciting things are taking place locally and across the state of Alabama with respect to public education. We look forward to serving your students this year and in the years to come.