Pep Rally to Honor Spring Sports

On Friday, March 20, 2008, SGA held a pep rally to honor spring athletics. Members of the baseball, softball, boys' golf, boys' tennis, girls and boys' soccer, and track were recognized. Students at Seneca High School spent the week raising money for MS. A check for $1500 was presented to Ms. Sue Lord and Mrs. Kelly Holleman on behalf of the MS Foundation. I am proud of our students!

March Rotary Student of the Month

Congratulations to Vicki Roberts for being named Seneca High School's March Rotary student of the month. Vicki is a sophomore at Seneca High School. She has accelerated in art and plans to continue focusing on Graphic Communications at the Hamilton Career Center. In addition to art, Vicki is a writer and plays the guitar.

Congratulations to Vicki!

Zach Bailey Sings the National Anthem at the Clemson Baseball Game Friday Night

Freshman Zach Bailey had the opportunity to sing the National Anthem at Clemson on Friday night. Zach is a member of the choral program at Seneca High School. He has an amazing voice and did a great job! Congratulations to Zach!

Shea Martin Receives Anatomy in Clay Grant

Mrs. Shea Martin was suprised last week by receiving a $3500 Anatomy in Clay Grant. This grant will be used to support our new Biomedical class at Seneca High School. Mrs. Nancy Allen and Mrs. Laura Hewitt visited Seneca High to announce the winning of the grant to us. Mrs. Martin was one of 7 recipients state-wide to receive this award. Mrs. Allen brought refreshments for Mrs. Martin's class. We are proud of Mrs. Martin! (Mrs. Martin also received a grant through the Education Foundation).

CAT Parent/Student Advisory Day- A Huge Success

On Friday, Seneca High School hosted its 2nd CAT Parent/Student Advisory Day. We had many parents and students meet with their CAT Advisor to discuss course selection for next year and Indvidual Graduation Plans. We thank the Hamilton Career Center and Tri County Technical College for being available to answer questions. We hope that parents found this to be a valuable opportunity. We appreciate your involvement on Friday!

Mock Trial Returns From State Competition

Seneca High students traveled to Columbia this past Friday and Saturday for the state competition. While we have not received our scores, we know our students did well. Congratulations to:

Jenna Lay (doctor)- for winning most effective witness

Hunter Jarrett- for winning best attorney

I will post our results once we receive them.

Seneca High Teachers Visit Ron Clark's Academy

On Wednesday, March 5, 2008, 11 teachers, Mrs. Phillips, and I traveled to Atlanta to see award winning teacher Ron Clark. I first saw Ron speak after he had won the Disney Teacher of the Year award. He was one of the most inspiring, enthusiastic teachers I had ever met. This past summer, I had the opportunity to hear him again at a conference. He shared with the audience that he had opened a school in Atlanta, Georgia. At that time I thought how wonderful it would be for new teachers to observe Ron Clark- see his excitement and learn about his different approach to teaching. In August, I made a reservation for our teachers to attend. We began by reading his book, The Essential 55. This book explains 55 expectations teachers and students should demonstrate in the classroom and in life. We watched several clips of Ron as he appeared on Oprah and on nightly news shows. We all anxiously awaited our March 5th trip. I met the teachers at 5 a.m. yesterday morning at SHS to begin our travels. We arrived at the Ron Clark Academy at 8:00 a.m. for one of the best experiences of our lives. There, in one of the toughest parts of town, is the most amazing school I have ever seen. We spent the day observing teachers and students. We ended our day sliding down the slide in the front lobby- we became "slide certified." People magazine was visiting the school today to do a story....

North Carolina Artist Visits Seneca High School

Jeremiah Miller has spent the last two weeks with Mr. Fred Edgerton and his art students as they complete a mural on the 2nd floor. Mr. Miller has worked at Seneca High School in the past to create murals in the front office, main hallway, cafeteria, and in classrooms. It is amazing how much talent he and Mr. Edgerton are able to highlight from our students. Included are clips of the mural students have worked on this week. We thank Mr. Miller for being at Seneca High!

Mary Douglas Sings at Bassmaster Classic

I am so proud of Mary Douglas, Seneca High School senior, who had the opportunity to perform the National Anthem for the 2008 Bassmaster Classic. This event is often described as the SuperBowl of bass fishing since the Bassmaster Classic is the most visible tournament in the world. The 50-angler field competed for a total prize of nearly 1.2 million, and the event was covered by hundreds of journalists from around the world. Mary performed the National Anthem on Saturday, February 23, 2008, and it was broadcasted on ESPN in front of more than 15,000 spectators. Mary has an amazing voice. I am proud she had the opportunity to participate in this event. Congratulations Mary!

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