Jemison Elementary School had breakfast with Santa last Saturday. The students and parents enjoyed breakfast, pictures with Santa Claus, crafts, and they could even sign up for a phone call from Santa. Around 200 people attended the event. Pictured with Santa are Dallas Sadler, Reed Brown, John Russell Brown and reindeer Taylon Simpson and Corey Short.

By Louise Pitts | Jemison Elementary School

In October, schools around the nation celebrated Bus Safety Week. During that week, most schools emphasized that cars need to stop as students load and unload buses and emphasized student safety while riding and loading buses.
Chilton County schools also stressed these precautions during that designated week. However, employees of all Chilton County schools know the importance of bus safety not only for that one week but for all 36 weeks that students are in school. Two young Jemison Elementary School students realized last week that their safety is important to all school employees who touch their lives.
A 6-year-old boy and his 5-year-old sister rode the bus home. Upon arriving at their destination, their bus driver, Misty Smith, realized no one was home. The boy told Smith they were to crawl through the bedroom window and wait for their parents to come home.
Smith told them to remain on the bus. When she finished her route, Smith went back to these students’ home. After turning off the bus and securing it, she went to the door of the trailer and tried to get someone to answer. With no success, she loaded the students back on the bus and radioed the bus shop to talk with Chilton County Bus Supervisor Joe Dennis, who then called Jemison Elementary School.
Sherry Fancher, Jemison Elementary School assistant principal, and I usually stay at school until 4:30 p.m., when all Jemison Elementary School buses have completed their routes. On this particular day, Ms. Fancher and I were traveling back from a conference in South Alabama.  In our absence, math coach Cheryl Thompson was graciously covering the phones in the office after school was out.
Dennis reached Thompson, and she called my cell phone. I told her to tell Dennis to have Smith bring the students back to school. Thompson informed me that she had an appointment and would have to leave at 4:30. Therefore, I called school secretary Marilyn Scoggins and asked her if she could go back to school, wait for the students and try to reach their parents. Scoggins agreed to do this.
I spoke to Dennis by phone and told him that Fancher and I were well south of Montgomery on Interstate 65 but that Scoggins would meet the students at the school and wait with them until their parents arrived. Dennis took it upon himself to head to the school and to wait with Scoggins and the students so they would not be alone at the school.
The mother finally arrived at 5:45 p.m. Scoggins and Dennis made it clear to the mother that someone needed to be at home when the children arrived or that she needed to make arrangements for them to go to a relative’s or friend’s home in the afternoon. After the students and their mother left, Dennis and Scoggins phoned Ms. Fancher and I to let us know the students had been safely returned to their mother.
The thoughts of what could have happened to two young children left unattended are a frightening topic to be pondered. Without the bus driver, Misty Smith, being concerned for her passengers, these two young students would have been home alone for a couple of hours.
Smith, Thompson, Scoggins, and Dennis went beyond the call of duty to ensure the two young children were safe. None of these four people were paid extra for their extended work hours. None of these people did what they did for pay. They did it for the safety of students and without complaint.
This is what education is: caring for the whole child. The Chilton County school system is blessed to have such concerned and caring employees, and these two students are blessed to have crossed paths with these employees.
Bus safety is more than just making sure cars stop for the bus flag or that students safely load and unload the bus. Bus safety is about delivering the children safely to school and safely back home.
Misty Smith, Cheryl Thompson, Marilyn Scoggins, and Joe Dennis fully believe this. They not only talk the talk but they walk the walk.

– Louise Pitts is the principal at Jemison Elementary School.

1st Grade
“A” Honor Roll
Ricky Absher, Naohmi Andrade, Nathan Bailey, Hunter Baker, Adriane Beavers, Austin Black, Kinley Bolton, Luke Brasfield, Cameron Broadhead, Austin Brown, Carson Brown, Taylor Carden, Noah Carroll, Makaylah Champion, Macaleb Collum, Braden Compton, Cameron Crabb, Kameron Dawson, Zully Del Valle, Harmony Demissie, Bronson Dufrene, Allison Edge, Hannah Ellison, Maria Flores, Ivonne Garcia, Patrick Garrett, Jailyn Giddens, Riley Giles, Humberto Guajardo, Jocelyn Guizar, Caitlyn Harris, Ryan Harris, Jackson Hayes, Brianna Headley, Caleb Hobbs, Sarah Hubbard, Kylie Hutton, Nathan Johns, Anna Kendrick, Logan Kiefer, Karla Mancilla, Gabriela Marquez, Jase Marshall, Adia Martin, Rilee Martin, Hayden McCullough, Colin Meeks, Yanet Melchor, Rebeca Mendoza, Luke Mitchell, Courtney Moore, Deven Moore, John Moore, Madeline Morris, Phenix Patton, Addyson Plier, Brianna Poe, Cody Posey, Audrey Price, Isaac Ramirez, Ethel Rico, Jason Rico, Dallas Sadler, Ryan Scales, Austin Scott, Christian Simpson, Clara Smith, Sammi Snipes, Christopher Tolbert, Alex Torres, Bladimir Torres, Logan Toth, Abigail Vansant, Tarun Varner, Angela Vazquez, Cole Wilson, Timothy Wyatt, Kaitlyn Zanella-Roberts

“A-B” Honor Roll
Carla Alcantara, Terra Anderson, Bryan Angel, Samantha Baker, Georgia Belligan, Eli Brasher, Robin Burnette, Yahir Cabrera, Emily Castro-Romero, Ben Champagne, Kaden Childress, Jacob Cleckler, Emilee Culver, Amberly Davenport, John Doaks, Ashley Drinkard, Jose Flores, Joshua Gilliland, Lane Golden, Katie Haggard, Zyon Hardnett, Angie Hernandez, Ashlee Hilyer, Evelyn Jacobo, Drew Johns, Morgan Johnson, Sarah Jones, Gema Juarez, Jacob Lane, Derick Lowery, Arturo Malpica, Joshua Martin, David Martinez, Brenda Mendoza, Conner Miracle, Oscar Mondragon, Marcos Navarro Valtiera, Lynealya Nunn, Laisiia Pinon, Tres Price, Kody Robinson, Brandon Robinson, Jewelianna Rodriguez, Adriana Santos, John Lewis Smith, Brooke Smith, Logan Snipes, Erica Swinea, Timothy St. John, Michael Taylor, Blaze Thompson, Marifer Valencia, Carlos Villeda, Paisley Walker, Daniel Walker, Madison White, Keeli Wilson

2nd Grade
“A” Honor Roll
Elijah Bittle, Leah Brackin, Tosha Burnett, Jackson Burnette, Savannah Busby, Mckenzie Cleckley, Mckinnley Collum, Bentley Cross, Shelby Crowson, Isabel Cruz, Logan Dalton, Cassidy Dansby, Leiah Davison, Savannah Dutton, Chloe Eddins, Hannah Ellison, Caroline Foote, Colton Forester, Morgan Fowler, Emily Fricke, Emmanuel Garcia, Sara George, Autumn Gilreath, Grayson Graves, London Grinstead, Tucker Hilyer, Jasmine Ingram, Taylor Lane, Chase Lang, Tiffany Lemley, Jonathan Lowery, Damion Martin, Daniel Martin, Bree Morris, Mattie Pace, Shakyia Pierce, Kelsey Porter, Nicolas Ray, Courtney Rogers, Alex Schrader, Gentry Scott, Ty Scott, Jordan Smith, Jaclyn Smith, Morgan Smitherman, Emily Smitherman, Colin Tillery, Austin Tolbert, Tori Tucker, Anna Walling, Briana Watson, Emma Weaver, Michelle Williams, Braylen Woodruff, Tyler Wright

“A-B” Honor Roll
Keith Adams, Brittany Alonso, Michelle Alstott, Alana Alverson, Dylan Benton, Elizabeth Bice, Bryanna Blackmon, Caroline Braddock, Conner Bullock, Austin Byars, Tyler Chapman, Hannah Grace Childress, Ja’lessia Childs, Zac Clark, Payge Davis, Ty Fenske, Jared Fisher, Sendy Flores, Asia Flores, Grayson Gann, Jesus Garcia, Noah Gilliland, Dulce Gonzalez, Danny Hafer, Jacob Harris, Jadelyn Hatch, Bradley Headrick, Eyshala Jones, Dawson Jones, Autumn Kendrick, Julia Kiefer, Braden Lawley, Jacob Littleton, Clyde Mathis, Junithan McCall, Monse Olarte, Kenneth Orozco, John Tyler Orth, Anna Patterson, Bryanna Phillips, Jordan Rape, Tyler Ray, Madeline Rhudy, Kamron Simmons, Gracie Smith, Stormy Smitherman, Anna Speakman, Reace Thompson, Ethan Thrash, Antonio Verastegui, Alexis Vernon, Kalyb Williams, Savanna Woods

3rd Grade
“A” Honor Roll
Christopher Aldana, Jacob Anderson, Hailey Bice, Cassie Black, Ashlyn Blankenship, Tyra Brown, Jose Campos, Shianne Conn, Hope Creamer, Tanna Curtis, Kinsley Davison, Megan Deavers, Brynn Elliott, Mya Ellis, Wesley Gore, Jordan Hallmark, James Jurgens, Garrett Ledbetter, Hunter Lowery, Maria Maldonado, Haley Moore, Callie Morris, Alexis Murphy, Madison Nemec, Melaney Pope, Ashley Porter, Taleshia Ramsey, Bella Rowland, Blake Smith, Margaret Torres, Lauren Tucker, Gabe Wilson, Kathy Yaras

“A-B” Honor Roll
Marissa Adams, Elian Alvarez, Brian Amador, Jacob Beal, Ethan Bingham, Suzie Blue, Hannah Bright, Tyler Burnett, Chance Caraway, Andrew Carlisle, Shilah Conn, Brody Conway, Jacob Crabb, Akilah Davis, Peirston Dixon, Johniya Doaks, Sarah Dover, Caleb Driskell, Christie Dutton, A.J. Eaves, Heath Edge, Brianna Edwards, Daylan Edwards, Joseph Edwards, David Edwards, Erristen Evans, Felix Flores, Christopher Fuentes, Juan Garcia, Abraham Garcia, Patrick Gentry, Jasleigh Glass, Daniel Green, Cindy Guajardo, Blanca Guzman, Haley Haggard, Dalton Harris, Colin Hayes, Dylan Hill, Ashton Hobbs, A.J. Jackson, Gannon Jackson, Shawn Johnson, Casey Jones, Dylan Knight, Hunter Knight, Braden Larocca, Adan Lowery, Madeline Manning, Sean Martin, Dylan McCombs, Braden McDaniel, Chance Merrell, Mechelle Miller, Gracie Mims, Mackenzie Mizzell, Madyson Mizzell, Kayla Moore, Sergio Nava, Cruz Navarro, Kaleb Nemec, Tanisha Nunn, Abigael Perales, Jason Perez, James Peters, Patrick Pickett, Yoeth Pinon, Preston Porter, Tanner Porter, Camryn Pritchard, Nephtally Rangel, Grayson Ray, Jose Salazar, Ashley Sanders, Kamie Schmidt, Hannah Belle Seagle, Joshua Singletary, Katelin Small, Samantha Smith, Anyah Smith, Lane Smith, Jaray Smitherman, Kiara Steele, Jaren Swindle, Jarred Taylor, Jake Thrash, Laurin Tillery, Kyla Wilson, Makenna Wiseman, Brianna Woodall, Logan Woodley, Kaytlen Woodruff, Kasey Zell

4th Grade
“A” Honor Roll
Josh Bice, Aaron Blankenship, Kennise Bolton, Chyenne Boykin, Fletcher Brantley, Lauren Broussard, Zack Burnett, Aryn Caputo, Dylan Carden, Katelyn Chapman, Maleah Collum, Jayda Emfinger, Eric Evans, Noah Glenn, Alyssa Keller, Dylan Levering, Kelsey Lowery, Brady Mathews, Chase Merrell, Karmen Mims, Briana Moody, Charlsie Murphy, Hannah Northcutt, Averie Porter, Koby Posey, Danielle Sadler, Ryan Smith, Sawyer Smith, Lesli Thrash

“A-B” Honor Roll
Lane Adams, Isaiah Absher, Samuel Alstott, Dalton Anderson, Austin Argo, Dakota Arnold, Vaden Arnold, Blake Ash, Shyanne Bailey, Alyssa Benton, Gingeng Blanco, Carla Brantley, Ricky Brown, Andrew Byars, Oscar Carillo, Clint Carlee, Austin Chapman, Zacoya Childs, Jordan Cleckler, Brandon Crabb, Dillon Cunningham, Austin Davis, Hannah Dutton, J.T. Ellison, Cassie Emfinger, Monserrat Flores, Amaya Freeman, Michael Garcia, Kasey Garrett, Madison Gay, Elijah Gilliland, Tremayne Green, Noah Henry, Cody Hilyer, Tyler Huff, Justin Ingram, Haley Jaimeson, Makenzie Johnson, Ashley Joiner, Madelynn Kendrick, Trinity Kendrick, Kevin Lucas, Tyler Lutz, Justin Macks, Morgan Mahaffey, Shanda Manasco, Cheyenne Martin, Ashley Martinez-Moreno, Garrett McWhorter, Tyler Means, Gavin Miller, Drue Moore, Andre’ Nix, Blake Padgett, Lawson Payton, Brady Peoples, Dalton Phillips, Jessica Phillips, Landen Posey, Courtney Ray, Chara Rogers, Luke Roper, Abrianna Rutherford, Heidi Salazar, Jose Sanchez, Annie Smith, Joshua Smitherman, Ryan Spigener, Patrick Storey, Lucia Tapia, Alan Villeda, Zachary Vowell, Samantha Wyatt, Noah Young

By Louise Pitts

November is a busy holiday month. Students will not attend school on Nov. 11 due to it being Veteran’s Day. Also, Thanksgiving holidays will be observed Nov. 25-27.
With all these vacations from school, we need to remember that students are here for student achievement. As a benchmark of material learned, Progress Reports will be sent home on Nov. 16. Parents need to remember to read with their child each night and practice math facts each night.
Parents can turn learning activities into games for the whole family. Time each other on fluency, how many words can be read in a minute minus the errors. Also, time each other on how many correct addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts each other can get in a minute. Parents can purchase flash cards from the Dollar Tree or Wal-Mart and have a family night of fun.
Next week will be a busy week at Jemison Elementary School. On Thursday, Nov. 12, Kindergarten will be sponsoring the Miss JES Pageant, and on Friday, Nov. 13, Santa pictures will be taken. What an exciting week this will be.
Further, students are bringing in cans for the food drive. This is a competition between Auburn and Alabama fans. Boxes are labeled, and students are putting their food items in their favorite school’s box.
As an Auburn University graduate, this is a costly time of year for me because I like to see my team win, while teachers and students who are Alabama fans try to outdo me and the other Auburn fans. Of course, with the spirit of giving and being thankful upon us, this friendly competition benefits those in our county who need food assistance, and JES is glad to contribute to the cause.
When thinking of all we are grateful for this year, remember our dedicated teachers as we remember our wonderful parents and talented students. This is a month for praise and thankfulness. In these trying economic times, our school, as well as many of our school’s families, needs your prayers and thoughts as we all work together as a team to raise and educate positive, productive young people.
Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year for promoting family and friends. Remember Jemison Elementary School also during this festive and grateful time.

– Louise Pitts is the principal at Jemison Elementary School.

By Louise Pitts

Lynn Price is a fourth grade teacher at Jemison Elementary School who loves children, the community, and her job.

In the 2008-09 school year, Ms. Price was selected by her peers to be the Teacher of the Year.  Among the several nominations she received, her peers had several positive things to say about her. These teachers mentioned how Ms. Price was always ready to assist the students but also that she was always ready to assist other teachers. In fact, Ms. Price spent some of her personal money to purchase needed items for a new teacher that she was mentoring and then spent hours of personal time assisting the teacher in preparing her room for students.

Every year, Ms. Price is asked to go into different classrooms and demonstrate to students how to achieve a Level III or IV on the Alabama Reading and Math Test. She was selected because she has a proven record of conveying this information to her students.  This past year, Ms. Price had 10 students out of 20 who were first-year dyslexic students.  When the test results in reading came back, three students made a Level III, and the other 17 made a Level IV. In math, one student made a Level III, and 19 made a Level IV.

Academically, Ms. Price is a model teacher from whom others can learn. Also, Ms. Price has served on numerous school committees and served as PTO President. With all her obligations, Ms. Price still spends numerous hours in the summer at school—for which she is not paid. Also, during the summer, she is a lifeguard and manager of the Hoover Birchtree Swim and Racquet Club.

Even though she is a busy person, Ms. Price always is thinking of new strategies to assist her students and to make learning fun. As a result, her students love her, and so do the parents because she is great at communication and makes it clear what is expected of their children. Jemison Elementary School is blessed to have Lynn Price as a teacher, and the community is blessed to have her among them.

Students are out of school on Monday, Oct. 12 for Fall Break. On Tuesday, Oct. 13, students will not come to school, but parents will be expected to attend our annual Fall Parent-Conference Day. Teachers are scheduling conferences from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.

On this day, parents will also receive their child’s report card. Staying at school until 7 p.m. is tough on teachers because they have to be back at school early the next morning 

But at Jemison Elementary School, teachers are committed to doing “Whatever It Takes” to make a difference in a child’s life.

—Louise Pitts is the principal of Jemison Elementary School.

By Louise Pitts | Jemison Elementary School

Jemison Elementary School has several wonderful, research-based computer programs. When teachers are instructing small groups, other students are allowed to work with these computer programs to increase student achievement.

Students are excited about having the opportunity to work independently to improve skills being taught and about being allowed to progress ahead of their peers if they have already mastered a skill.

Jemison has the Accelerated Reading computer program, where students will read a book and then take an exam on the computer that tests the student’s comprehension of the book read.

Once a student successfully scores an 80-100 on five tests, the student is allowed to move up a book level. The AR program calculates points for each book read. A small book may only be worth half a point while larger chapter books are worth 10 or more points.

Students gain points based on how well they answer the questions on the book. We have a 100-point club where students are recognized in an assembly program and receive a T-shirt. Students who earn 250 points are also recognized in an assembly program and get a $10 gift card to Wal-mart. Students who hit the 500-point mark are recognized in an assembly program and get to be Principal of the Day, receiving a Starbucks coffee mug and a $20 gift card.

Students loved this program so much that many students, after reaching the 500-point mark, continued to read. Therefore, a 750-point mark was developed, which allowed students to be the Librarian for the Day and received a $25 gift card.

Jemison also has an Accelerated Math program, which allows students to work at their own pace for grade level objectives. As soon as a student masters an objective, he or she is able to work on another skill.

Last year, several students completed the objectives for their grade and moved on to the next grade’s objectives. In fact, our school had to purchase the fifth grade objectives even though we are a K-4 school. Students love this program and are so pleased with themselves when they do well on the AM tests.

Jemison also has purchased a Study Island Reading and Math program.  This research-based computer program is aligned with the Alabama Reading and Math Test objectives. This program allows students to move at their own pace instead of waiting on others. When a student masters an objective, the student earns blue ribbons on the computer, which thrills the students and the teachers.

All our students love these computer programs because they are not bored waiting on others, they can practice skills with which they struggle, and they receive instant rewards, since the computer immediately provides them with their scores. Further, they receive recognition for their successes in assembly programs, on their weekly newsletters, and over the intercom system during morning announcements.

– Louise Pitts is the principal of Jemison Elementary School.

By Louise Pitts | Jemison Elementary School

Living in Alabama, where tornadoes and hurricanes affect our weather, it is important to have a school crisis communication plan. Recently, the Chilton County Board of Education entered into a contract with a company to provide immediate notification of emergency situations, such as early dismissal from school, to parents.

This will be a wonderful program and will be very beneficial to parents. However, parents need to make sure that the school has correct, working phone numbers for them.  The communication calling system will use a computer to deliver the message. It will not realize that an answering machine has answered and not a person. Therefore, answering machine messages need to be short.

Jemison Elementary School will also be able to use this program to inform parents of special events taking place at the school. We are excited about this new communication program and believe the benefits will far outweigh the expense.

Communication between the school and parents is a major key in providing a safe and appropriate education for the students at Jemison Elementary School. For that reason, all 54 homeroom teachers send newsletters home each Monday. The newsletters are excellent tools in providing much needed information to parents. The newsletters contain homework assignments, important dates to remember, notes of praise and other important information, which enlightens parents for the week. I am very proud of these teachers, who take the time each week to turn out colorful and interesting newsletters as an informative tool for our parents.

Educating children is a team effort. Bus drivers are an indispensible part of the team.   I often say that bus drivers have the toughest job in education. They have 72 students on their bus with the bus driver’s back to the students. I am not allowed to put 72 students in a classroom with the teacher standing still looking at them. However, people expect bus drivers to see and hear everything that is happening on the bus while driving 55 miles per hour down the highway, safely delivering students to school or to home. Jemison Elementary School is fortunate to have 24 dedicated and caring bus drivers on staff.

On another grateful note, our coupon book fundraiser was a huge success. We thank everyone who purchased books or who sold them. With the cuts in the education budget, the profits from the sale will be beneficial in financing many school programs, which enhance the academic instruction at Jemison Elementary School.

– Louise Pitts is the principal of Jemison Elementary.

By Louise Pitts

We have now completed four weeks of school. It is amazing how quickly this month has passed.

It is also amazing how well our students are doing, even our kindergarten students. These small and sweet 5-year-olds are like sponges, absorbing all the knowledge presented to them. The kindergarten students have sight word lists they are learning.

With almost 900 students at Jemison Elementary School, morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up is a busy time. We are fortunate to have parent volunteers, including city councilman George Brasher, who assist us in the morning by opening doors and helping small children out of their parents’ cars. 

Being greeted by friendly, smiling faces starts the day off on a positive note for these young, impressionable students. With these valuable volunteers, morning traffic flows smoothly.

Due to the assistance of all fourth grade teachers, the reading and math coaches, and some of the special education teachers, afternoon pick-up flows just as smoothly. All other teachers assist with the loading of the buses, come rain or shine.  

Jemison Elementary School is privileged to have dedicated teachers. Not only do our teachers assist with the dismissal of students in the afternoon, all teachers participate in early morning duties, beginning at 7 a.m.

Each week, teachers are assigned to hall, bus, and gym duty because some students arrive early on campus due to their parents having to get to work.

With three different duties, teachers graciously partake in four weeks of duties, without complaints. Our teachers understand that the safety and well being of our students are priorities at Jemison Elementary School.

– Louise Pitts is principal of Jemison Elementary School.

By Justin Averette

Jemison and Thorsby elementary students will have new school supplies thanks to a donation from community members and Regions Bank.

Regions Bank in Jemison hosted a “Tools for Schools” supply drive in partnership with the two schools.

Jemison Elementary Principal Louise Pitts and Thorsby Assistant Principal Roger Sheffield accepted donated school supplies Thursday at Regions Bank in Jemison. Both principals said the supplies will make a big difference for students at their schools.

Regions employees and local residents collected supplies and cash donations.

“We know that times are tight for parents, teachers and our public schools,” said Sonya Robinson, branch manager. “The supply drive was an easy way for our customers and associates to show support for local students and our hard-working educators.

School administrators were appreciative of the supplies.

“The Tools for Schools supply drive helped to provide much needed items for many children whose families can’t afford to purchase them,” said Louise Pitts, principal of Jemison Elementary School. “Every donation large or small will make a difference, and we appreciate Regions providing a convenient way for the public to support out students and teachers.”

Thorsby Assistant Principal Roger Sheffield said his school’s enrollment continues to rise, making it harder to keep supplies.

“We are very grateful for this donation,” said Sheffield. “This will come in handy.”

The donations were presented to Regions during a presentation Thursday at the bank in Jemison.