Mock Trial Goes to State Competition

This past Saturday, Mock Trial students competed in Greenville. On Wednesday, we learned that our students had qualified to participate in the state competition on March 7th and 8th. The state competition will be at the Matthew J. Perry Federal Courthouse in Columbia. Fourteen teams out of 46 teams were selected to participate at the state level. Congratulations and good luck to our students!!
Mock Trial is sponsored by Nan Jones, Cynthia Carlisle, and Amy Livingston. Attorney coaches are Kim Welchel and Delane Rosemond.

Region Band

Congratulations to Matthew Dunlap, Warren Evans, Kate Faires, and Allison Pursley for auditioning for and making Region Band. Region Band will be held at Furman University in Greenville on February 29 and March 1.
Congratulations students!

Seneca High Donates 107 Pints of Blood

On Tuesday, February 26, 2008, students and teachers participated in our annual blood drive. Eleven teachers and over 120 students donated blood. A huge thank you to Mrs. Cynthia Carlisle for organizing the blood drive. We would also like to thank our parents: Thwanda Davidson, Wendy Evans, Anita Fredman, Sandi Garland, Sandy Perry, Terri Smith, Kari Walker, and Kay Wilson for their help. A big thank you to Mrs. Barnes, Mr. Turner, Connor Hawkins and the Senior Class SGA members for their help.

Hardees dontated bisucits and Trehel donated pizza.

We appreciate all of the support Seneca High received for this wonderful cause.

Mock Trial

This past Saturday I had the privilege of watching Seneca High School students compete in Mock Trial at the Greenville County Courthouse. The SC Bar prepares a case each year- either civil or criminal- for students to use for the mock trial. This year's case was a civil case that was modeled after the McDonald's hot coffee case. There were 13 teams competing in the Piedmont Region. Chase Huston and Cooper Littlejohn were recognized as outstanding attorneys in their respective rounds.

The following students participated:

Defense Attorneys- Cooper Littlejohn, Lauren Moore, and Zach Al Nasser

Witnesses for the Defense- Brittany Buchanan, Laura Klukkert, and Devan Williams

Plaintiff Attorneys- Alondara Guerra, Hunter Jarrett, and Chase Huston

Witnesses for the Plaintiff- Kelly Vicario, Jenna Lay, and Morgan Roper

Baliff- Claire Yuda

Timekeeper- Paige Blackmon

I was so impressed with our students!

A huge thank you to Mock Trial Advisors- Mrs. Nan Jones, Mrs. Amy Livingston, and Mrs. Cynthia Carlisle.

I would also like to thank our attorney coaches Delane Rosemond and Kim Welchel.

February Rotary Student of the Month

Congratultions to Ms. Keyona Woods for being named Seneca High School's Rotary Student of the Month for February. Keyona was honored last Thursday during a luncheon at the Seneca Rotary Club. Keyona is currently a junior at Seneca High School. She is also a student at the Hamilton Career Center. I am proud of Keyona's accomplishments.

Seneca High Announces Teacher of the Year, Support Person of the Year, and Volunteer of the Year

The faculty and staff recently nominated and voted for this year's Teacher of the Year, Support Person of the Year, and Volunteer of the Year. I would like to congratulate the following people:

TEACHER OF THE YEAR- MRS. NANELLE COOK

This is Mrs. Cook's fourth year teaching at Seneca High School. She also substituted for a year and did three long term subs before she became full time. This is her second time to teach at SHS. She is actively involved in the Freshmen Academy and has enjoyed working with all of the faculty members who are diligently working to make the academy a tremendous success. She is co- advisor to the Student Government Association at Seneca High School, along with Kelly Crowe. Mrs. Cook stated, "It is an honor to be a faculty member of this high school. After having been away from the area for thirteen years, it was my desire to return to the halls of Seneca High School and once again be a part of this faculty."

SUPPORT PERSON OF THE YEAR- MRS. SANDY BARNES

Mrs. Barnes is our receptionist and attendance secretary. In addition, she is proud to support Seneca High School athletics as she transports our student athletes to games. I am proud of Mrs. Barnes and appreciate her dedication to Seneca High School.

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR- MR. DANA MOORE

Seneca High School Chorus Awards

Seneca High School's chorus students participated in a Chorus Solo and Ensemble competition at Converse College on Saturday, February 23rd. Congratulations to the following students:

Superior Plus Rating- Solo Category
Tess Krabbe
Adrienne Pitre

Superior Rating- Solo Category
Emmy Williams

Superior Plus Rating- Advanced Solo Category
Jeremy Peirce
Rashad Roberson

South Carolina Music Educator's Scholarship
First Place- Jeremy Peirce
Second Place- Rashad Roberson

Women's Ensemble- Excellent Plus
Gracie Campbell
Hali Cannon
Erin Cartmell
Angela Collins
Shirlandria Dixon
Fredeica Henderson
Morgan Jones
Natasha Lyle
Lavika McKey
Nicole Regeness
Jaleesa Skelton
Brittni Stevens
Aliecia Washington
Christy Watters

Men's Chorus- Superior Rating
Levandrick Bacote
Cody Crooks
Shakeyon Evett
Paul Fort
Lance Glenn
Randy Marchbanks
Stephen Nicholson
William Rathbone
Spencer Rogers
Wynton Stephens
Lucas White
Andrew Willard

Madrigal Ensemble- Superior Plus Rating
Michele Burton
Christina Cleveland
Mary Douglas
James Jernigan
Tess Krabbe
Kendall Leslie
Michael Mendes
Michael Peckham
Jere,y Peirce
Adrienne Pitre
Jordan Ross
Joel Smith

Congratulations to students and to Mrs. Diane McFarlane and Ms. Melissa McClain!

January Rotary Student of the Month

Congratulations to Jalessa Skelton for being named Seneca High School's Rotary Student of the Month. She was honored today during a luncheon at the Seneca Rotary Club. Jalessa is a senior at Seneca High School and will be attending Converse College in August. She plans to pursue a degree in education and will minor in music. I am very proud of Jalessa. She is an excellent student and is a positive role model for all of our students. Congratulations to Jalessa.

Governor's Citizenship Award

Congratulations to Emily Holleman for receiving the Governor's Citizenship Award. The Governor's Citizenship Award honors one student from each participating school for outstanding service, leadership, responsibility, character, and discipline. Each winner receives a Governor's Citizenship Award certificate and a Governor's Medal of Citizenship. Emily will be recognized at the State House this spring.

2007-2008 The Investment Center Character Awards

Congratulations to the following students for receiving The Investment Center Character Award:

Seniors (1st Quarter)
Emily Holleman and Cody Burkett

Juniors (2nd Quarter)
Anna Williams and Kevin Egan

Sophomores (3rd Quarter)
Kalyn Guill and Hunter Jarrett

Freshman students will be selected for 4th Quarter.

Congratulations Students!

Students Watch Clemson vs. Duke

This past Wednesday night, Mrs. Brewer took her students to Littlejohn Coliseum to watch the Lady Tigers play Duke. Students enjoyed watching the game, cheering with the cheerleaders, taking pictures with the Tiger, and spending time with their classmates. While we did not get to see the Lady Tigers win (Duke 83 Clemson 54), we certainly enjoyed the game. Having the opportunity to spend time with our students is one of my favorite activities as Principal at Seneca High. I truly enjoyed my evening at the game with the TTI class.

Seneca High School's First Book Club

I was very excited to participate in our Media Center's first book club. Mrs. Chrissy Robinson and Mrs. Cheryl Cook have done an outstanding job creating an environment that both students and teachers can enjoy. Please read below to find out more about the first book club.

On Friday, February 8th, and Monday, February 11th, the Seneca High School Media Center came alive with 78 students and staff members discussing the characters and plots of books they had voluntarily read for the school’s first book club meetings. Using recommendations for young adult literature from the American Library Association and VOYA magazine, Seneca High School’s media center staff (media specialists Chrissy Robinson and Cheryl Cook, and media center clerk Betty Gamble) selected the following books for student reading: the light-hearted young adult mystery Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe , Copper Sun from the genre of historical fiction by award winning young adult fiction author Sharon Draper, and the science fiction/fantasy selection of Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by best selling young adult and adult fiction author, James Patterson.

In January with the announcement of the SHS book club, the media center staff was met with an enthusiastic response by students and staff members with all 60 book copies being circulated within the first week. To the surprise of the media center staff, many students quickly read their first selection, returned their books, and then began reading a second selection for the book club meeting to be held in February. Seneca High School media specialist Chrissy Robinson stated, “We were thrilled to find that so many students and staff members responded with such enthusiasm to the book clubs. Due to the limited number of copies of books that we had, students started sharing books with one another in order to give others the chance to participate in the book club.” Media specialist Cheryl Cook added, “As librarians, it was very encouraging to see young adults so excited about recreational reading; but it was equally exciting to see the students’ demonstration of the Seneca High community spirit.”

The Seneca High School media center provided a total of 60 copies of the books for students and staff members wishing to participate in the book clubs. Over a three week period, participating students and staff members read the books at their own pace, then in February met in the media center to enjoy a lunch and to participate in discussion groups. Student feedback and participation indicate that the book clubs were a success and that students hope for more meetings and books in the future. SHS media specialists are currently exploring funding options for more book clubs in the future, including state and federal grants.

Working Opportunity

Mrs. Brewer's Transition to Independence class spent today working at Goodwill of Seneca. Students sized, tagged, received, and stocked donations. One student sorted donated items and placed the items in designated containers. Another student stocked the shelves and racks with priced merchandise, and another tagged and sized the merchandise. All students were able to stay alert for the entire work shift, meet production standards, perform repetitive tasks, stay focused on the task, and practice and maintain good health standards. I am proud of our students!

Students Sign Athletic Scholarships

I am proud that we had two students sign athletic scholarships today. Chantelle Davidson signed a track scholarship with Winthrop University, and Conner Hawkins signed a football scholarship with Furman University. These two student athletes have done an excellent job in the classroom and in their sport. I congratulate them both and wish them much success!

Jesse A. Pearce- National Merit Finalist

Seneca High School congratulates senior Jesse A. Pearce!! Jesse has advanced to Finalist standing in the National Merit Scholarship Program of 2008. He has high potential for future academic accomplishment.


Only 15,000 students nationwide have advanced to the Finalist stage of the competition. Of the 15,000 approximately 8200 will be named Merit Scholarship winners in March. Congratulations Jesse!