events
Feb 6-10 - SMSS Book Drive
Feb 8 - 5th Grade Field Study
Feb 9 - 4th Grade Field Study
Feb 10 - 1st Grade Field Study
Feb 16 - 5th Grade Hoe Down
Feb 16 - 3rd Grade Field Study
Feb 17 - 1/2 Day of School, Parent/Teacher Conferences
Feb 20 - NO SCHOOL, Presidents' Day
Mar 20 - NO SCHOOL, ACT Testing
April 2-6 - Spring Break
April 23-30 - TCAP Testing
May 22 - Last Day of School
Teachers
Thrasher Elementary would like to welcome the newest members of our teaching family!
Left to right: Michelle Bailey (K), Tracy Crosby (5), Danielle Lillie (4), Jennifer Lockwood (3), Hillary Gardner (1), Kathy Guagenti (3)
Michelle Bailey has taught Brain Dance at Thrasher and earned her master's degree in Elementary Education. She taught second grade at Barger Academy of Fine Arts and first grade at St. Peter's School. She is returning "home" to Thrasher to teach children in our community. Her children, Jacob and Sarah Kate, are Thrasher graduates. Caroline is in the third grade at Thrasher.
Tracy Crosby is excited to be at Thrasher Elementary this year. In her thirteenth year of teaching, this is her eighth year teaching fifth grade. She attended Lee University and earned a degree in English/Reading for Elementary Education. She completed her master's degree in Education at the University of Tennessee atChattanooga. Her oldest son started kindergarten at Thrasher, and she couldn't be happier about sharing the experience with this welcoming school community! In her spare time she enjoys photography, do-it-yourself projects, crafting, reading, and theme parties!
Danielle Lillie grew up in a town outside of Tampa, Florida. She attended the University of South Florida where she received a degree in Elementary Education. Her first job in the teaching world was in a third grade classroom. She later moved to be with her same students when they reached the fifth grade. She and her husband moved to the Chattanooga area and fell in love with their surroundings. Mrs. Lillie taught fifth grade at Red Bank Elementary for four years.
This year is Hillary Gardner's first year of teaching, and she is very happy to be at Thrasher with a group of wonderful children, families, and teachers. She attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville for undergraduate and graduate school, and she completed her master's degree in Early Childhood Education in July. Last year, she taught as an intern in kindergarten and first grade classrooms in Knox County and the Maryville City School systems. As a Chattanooga native, she is so happy to be back in Chattanooga, especially atThrasher Elementary!
Jennifer Lockwood is happy to join our school as a third grade teacher this year. She earned a B.A. in Elementary Education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She has taught third grade at Red Bank Elementary School and taught at Highland Plaza United Methodist Preschool. This is her fifth year of teaching and loves the dynamic, child-centered and community-based school environment of Thrasher.When not teaching, Jennifer can be found reading a good book, spending time with her two daughters and husband or squandering her time away outside.
Kathy Guagenti has joined the third grade team. She has over nineyears of experience teaching inHamilton County. She earned her Bachelor's Degree from the University of Cincinnati and her Master's degree from Ohio State University. She has two boys, Dominic, age 11, and Charlie, age 9, who attend Nolan. The Guagentis and have lived on Signal Mountain for fourteen years.
President's Corner
Patti Marsden
Have you been in the halls of Thrasher lately? If not, you won’t be surprised to learn that Thrasher teachers, students, and parents have not slowed down this fall! Just to get an idea of many of the activities, this newsletter is full of exciting information about all of the latest and greatest developments at Thrasher! Thrasher students proudly knocked on doors and made phone calls to sell 4,000 Hamilton County coupon books. Sales proceeds are used to purchase and update our technology equipment, leveled text books, and other much needed learning tools for our students and teachers. Thrasher fifth graders participated in the MEF Homecoming parade. The children had fun making signs, throwing candy, and showing their true Panther Pride.
We are very proud of our computer lab which was transformed into our up and running Apple Mac lab over the summer. Our students are on the cutting edge of technology as they are not only learning to keyboard but they are able to make films, PowerPoint presentations, and many other programs that will better prepare them for their middle and high school years and even years beyond them. Our technology teacher, Ricky McEvoy, is doing an incredible job teaching and getting our students excited about our fast paced world of technology.
In typical Thrasher tradition, we are proud to once again have 100% PTA membership of our parents and teachers! Not all Hamilton County Schools can make that claim! Thanks so much for your support and interest in our PTA!
Our teachers and parents are always striving to maintain high learning standards for our children. We are very proud of all our accomplishments this fall.
Notes from the Principal
Our school year is in full gear, and things are going very well for our Thrasher students and teachers. I need to remind you of some very important safety issues. Kim Fookes, a Thrasher parent, has so graciously worked on our new staff and faculty parking area in the front of school. She has spent many hours spreading gravel, planting monkey grass and shrubbery, and laying a walking a path.
This new staff and faculty parking lot is not a drop-off or pick-up area for Thrasher children. We have several walkers who walk through this parking area in the mornings and afternoons. For their safety and the safety of your own children, please drop off and pick up your children at the designated back entrance of school. While it may take a few minutes longer, our children's safety is assured as we have teachers appointed for the car line in the mornings and afternoons.
The back entrance doors are opened at 7:45AM every morning. Please have your child ready to exit your car as soon as you pull up to the designated drop off area of the car line. Make sure that agenda mates are signed, checks are written, field trip slips are completed, and all other items are competed before you drop off. This preparedness insures that the car line wait will be minimized. Children will remain in the dining hall until they are dismissed to their classrooms at 8:05AM by our two designated Thrasher staff members.
After you drop off your children and when exiting the car line in the mornings and afternoons, please do not use your cell phones until you are out of the Thrasher school zone. Please adhere to the 5 MPH while in the school drive and the 15 MPH while still in the school zone.
Thank you for abiding by these safety rules. Our children deserve to arrive and leave school every day in the safest of environments.
important info
Thrasher eNewsletter
Thrasher PTA will be sending an eNewsletter out each month. Be sure to check your email.
Parents may not be receiving our e-newsletter sent out on August 1 due to SPAM issues. If you didn't receive the e-newsletter, please check your SPAM.
eNewsletter Archives:
August 2011
October 2011
Thrasher Has a New Bell Time
Hamilton County has established a new bell time for Thrasher Elementary for the 2011-2012 school year. Students will have an official start time of 8:10am and their day will end at 3:10pm. If your student rides the bus please be sure to check for new times.
Please send student and school photos to Berna Slabber at bpslabber@gmail.com for possible publication in the newspaper.
The most current bus status/route info can be found by contacting HCDE Transportation @ 209-5555 or checking the www.HCDE.org website.
REMINDER: Car line students can be dropped off only between 7:45-8:00AM. The school doors for car riders will not be unlocked until 7:45AM.
Volunteers
It takes lots of volunteers working alongside teachers and staff to make Thrasher a top notch school. Whether you can help during school hours, after school hours or can help out from home, there are plenty volunteer opportunities available. Contact Heather Wilson at 886-9186 or bhwilsonfamily@gmail.com to get involved.
We are working diligently this year to make sure all our volunteer hours are documented. When you come to the school to volunteer be sure to log your time in the volunteer notebook in the lobby. Thanks to everyone for donating their time and talents to our school!
A Note from the Levelled Text Committee...
Our PTA book collection was such a success. Thanks to all of your efforts and contributions! We have sorted the books and sent a great number of board and picture books to Signal Mountain Social Services. They had a need for books, so your generous donations will be helping lots of young readers. The books deemed appropriate for our Thrasher students will be offered to teachers during this week so they may choose some books to enhance their classroom libraries. The rest of the books are going to McKays to be traded for more K-5 reading material.
We are so grateful for all of the books we received. Thank you so much for your participation and for making a difference for so many children!
Schoolkidz Comes to Thrasher
We are excited to announce that all parents and students will have an opportunity to get their 2012-2013 school supply shopping done this spring! For those families interested, Mountain Education Foundation and Thrasher parents, Stacey Fraker and Jill Kadrie, will be coordinating school supply orders with Schoolkidz, a Staples subsidiary, for each grade level. More news will be coming after the first of the year!