Middle School

LIBERTY - The chorus of Fun.'s current hit song “We Are Young” could have been custom written for a graduation ceremony.   Tonight We are young So let's set the world on fire We can burn brighter Than the sun   Some of the song's other lyrics, however, are a bit too party-centric to pass muster with the decorum council, so senior Derrick Wesley did a little customization of...

Football Clark Middle splits with Bourbon County The Clark Middle seventh- and eighth-grade football teams split a pair of games against Bourbon County last week. In the seventh-grade contest, Elijah Farris ran for 42 yards, and threw a touchdown pass to Shawn Wilhite in a 20-8 win. Wilhite rushed for 81 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns. Farris added a fumble recovery and Malachi Israel ran for 64 yards and added a fumble recovery on defense. Kain Cole had four yards, five solo tackles and a fumble recovery.

The number-one drug-prevention program in the world graduated from elementary school in Jessamine County and moved on to middle school last year, and the police sergeant at the head of the program says he’s continuing to see success in his second year of teaching the D.A.R.E. curriculum to seventh-graders. The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program has been taught to fifth-graders in Jessamine County public schools for the last 23 years, Nicholasville police Sgt. Scott Harvey said.

Parents who fight the morning traffic on U.S. 150 to enter Boyle County Middle School and Woodlawn Elementary schools hopefully will find a reprieve in the next year.  Chris Holderman, director of operations for Boyle County Schools, revealed discussions have been ongoing with individuals in the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and officials at the city and county level for several years, including the past two in which he has been in the position....

Several runners from across Kentucky gathered at Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School for the annual state middle school championship meet during the weekend. The Clark Middle boys team came away as the winners in one event. Clark Middle high jumper Jonathan Hubbard was named state champion with his top jump of 5-8. Hubbard beat out conference foe Dre Goggins of Madison County, who placed second and Dylan Johnson of Fulton County who was third. "As a coach, you dream of having a state champion in your career - it is such an honor for Clark Middle to have a state championship," said Clark Middle coach Marty Frazier.

Starting the day off with a steaming beverage and a newspaper isn't just for grown-ups anymore.This morning, Clark Middle School opened Clark Cafe, a "middle school version of Starbucks," which teachers will use to reward students for good behavior, said Assistant Principal Greg Hollon. "When they see you doing something positive, when they see you helping another student, or you've gone the extra mile in class, let's reward those guys," he said to the students gathered at the door for a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday morning.

The Salt River Conference middle school football playoff game between Garrard Middle and Boyle County Middle Tuesday (Oct. 21) at Dyehouse Stadium in Lancaster will be broadcast on WRNZ-FM 105.1 beginning at 7 p.m. There will be a tailgate party/chili supper beginning at 6 p.m.

Boyle County Schools reached into the classroom to find a new principal for Boyle Middle School, selecting teacher Mike LaFavers Thursday to lead the school. LaFavers, who is from Casey County and has taught in the Boyle system since 1995, was chosen by the school's Site-Based Decision Making Council from among seven finalists who were interviewed for the job. He replaces Frank LaBoone, who resigned after seven years to return to Fayette County. LaFavers is out of town on vacation and could not be reached for comment today but said in a press release issued by the school system, "This is a terrific school with a veteran teaching staff and supportive parents.

Even though Stephon Harris does his coaching on the middle school sidelines, he may be one of the best outside friends the East Jessamine High School football program has. For the third year in a row, Harris has helped his young Jaguars to rack up winning records, and along the way has taught his players about success, hard work and the importance of believing in authority. The seventh grade Jags put together an impressive 11-1 record this year, winning the conference championship last Monday, Oct. 24, against Clark County, 36-12.

Middle school students in Clark County may soon be able to take classes similar to the advance placement classes that have been offered at the high school level for many years. Clark County Schools have applied to be part of the third cohort of schools in AdvanceKentucky, a collaboration between the National Math and Science Initiative and the Kentucky Department of Education to provide pre-advance placement classes to middle school students. The goal of the initiative is to expand access to, participation in and success of underrepresented students in advanced placement classes in math, science and English, which Clark County Superintendent Elaine Farris said is very important.

The commencement ceremony for George Rogers Clark High School students will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The ceremony, which is the final scheduled graduation for high school students at the current building, will take place at Cardinal Stadium. There is a small chance of rain for Tuesday, according to the site, wunderground.com. Should weather be a problem, graduation will be held a day later. Thursday and Friday will also serve as potential backup days in case inclement weather continues through the week.

Winchester Christian Academy has operated since 2001, but reached a milestone Friday when the school announced its accreditation through the ACSI (American Christian Schools International). “We've been working on accreditation for a couple years but did the majority of work this year,” the school's principal Charlotte Jernigan said. It makes the school the only accredited private middle and high school in Clark County. “This is the first year we've been able to have the right climate and right focus to get this accomplished,” she said.

During the East Kentucky United Nations Assembly, Boyle County Middle School's 67-member delegation was selected for the best/most outstanding delegation, the top award of the conference, as well as individual students bringing home various other awards. The best/most outstanding Delegation award is given to one delegation out of the 48 in attendance at the convention based on the quality of their debate, the professionalism in their behavior, the depth of understanding and presentation in their proposals and the accuracy of their portrayal of the native attire of the country they represent.

The Clark County Board of Education has stuck to its guns. What repercussions might come from that remain to be seen. During its regular meeting Tuesday, the board revisited the middle school merger and the renovations to two schools that would help the district remove Category 5 schools, or those deemed to be in a state of urgent need of replacement or repair. After hearing from members of the community and two representatives from the state, the board continued to delay the merged middle school as part of the current facilities plan.

Jodi Gay isn't the same player she used to be, and she's fine with that. Gay started noticing the change in the way she plays tennis last season, and she said it's even more obvious this season. The Danville senior has improved with age and experience, as all players should, but she has also developed a competitive streak that she says is serving her well. “My freshman and sophomore year, it was more about the friendships, and then junior and senior year, as I've improved, it's really become competitive for me,” Gay said.

Drew Welsh officially qualified for the National History Bee's (NHB) national championship last week, but his journey began four years ago with a teacher who got him excited about history. Drew, now an eighth-grader at East Jessamine Middle School, finished in the top 40 percent of the regional NHB competition in Lexington on April 8 to qualify for the national event in Atlanta on June 1. Brookside Elementary teacher Amy Polk taught Drew in fourth and fifth grades. It was in Polk's classes that Drew said he fell in love with history.

Being a good communicator is a skill that can help you open any door, according to Danville native Beth Marlowe, who, among many other things, teaches middle schoolers just that. Marlowe teaches speech at Bate Middle School and also works for the Beacon, the Danville school district's Youth Services Center. “It's so funny that I'm working in education, because I was a terrible student,” she said laughing. Marlowe went on to say she wasn't really a bad student but explained she often just “didn't get it.” She dreamed of being a star, having spent much of her childhood at Pioneer Playhouse and ultimately making theater her chosen career path, with the goal of being a stage actress.

STANFORD - Administrators may have found a solution to leaks that have plagued the Lincoln County Middle School since it was built in the early 1990s. According to an analysis by architectural firm Sherman, Carter and Barnhart, porous bricks on the school building are allowing rainwater to leak into the gymnasium and some classroom areas. "It's been a source (of leaks) for a long time, we just hadn't been able to determine what it was," said Ronnie Deatherage, chief deputy of quality support for Lincoln's school district.

Phil Chalmers pulled no punches when he visited East Jessamine and West Jessamine high schools last week. The juvenile-homicide expert showed photos from school shootings, told stories of how drug use slowly deteriorated criminals and showed the teenagers how to make a scene if a stranger ever tries to grab them. Chalmers spoke to students at East and West for about an hour each on topics ranging from sex to substance abuse to bullying and suicide. He was joined by rapper Double A in the morning at East and in the afternoon at West.

Lincoln County Middle School teachers and staff took advantage of a timeout during a basketball game Friday to surprise students and other staff with a rendition of the popular "Harlem Shake" meme. The basketball game doubled as a fundraiser for the American Heart Association.