May 16, 2023 Points of Pride

May 24, 2023

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Please note: This article was originally posted during a previous school year. Information and/or dates from past events
may be not be relevant for the current school year.

On May 16, 2023, the CMCSS School Board honored the following students, faculty, and staff with Point of Pride awards.

Vals/Sals
The following names are the valedictorians and salutatorians from each of our seven traditional high schools.
Clarksville High School
Valedictorian Madelyn Holt
Salutatorian Parker Wilkinson

Kenwood High School
Valedictorian Isaiah Mimms
Salutatorian Joshua Tworoger

Montgomery Central High School
Valedictorian Olivia Davis
Salutatorian Madelyn Coleson

Northeast High School
Valedictorian Thomas Mann
Salutatorian Carter Sierawski

Northwest High School
Valedictorian Joanna Jernigan
Salutatorian Kylie Yun

Rossview High School
Valedictorian Vivian Ma
Salutatorian Logan Graff

West Creek High School
Valedictorian Lorraine Cutting
Salutatorian Julianne Hook

Perfect Score on the ACT
Justin Zheng is a Rossview High School student who made perfect score on his ACT exam. The perfect composite score is 36. This score is an average of the four section scores for English, Math, Reading, and Science. Getting a perfect score on the ACT is very rare. Out of the nearly 2 million students who take the ACT across America, only around 0.3% of students earn a perfect ACT score. Congratulations, Justin!

Mock Trial State Competition
Ava Heuston and Sara Haake are from Clarksville High School. The recently competed in the Mock Trial State Competition. Mock trial is a competitive opportunity for high school students where they prepare and present all parts of a fictional case – opening statements, direct examinations, cross examinations, closing statements, objections, and witness testimony. As you can imagine, the participants put in a significant amount of time preparing for the competition. We are proud to announce that Sara won 1st Place Best Defense Witness and Ava won 2nd Place Best Defense Attorney.

Future Business Leaders of America State Leadership Conference
Several CMCSS students participated in the Future Business Leaders of America State Leadership conference. From Clarksville High and Montgomery Central High, we had several top 3 winners, with many of those qualifying to compete at the National Leadership Conference in Atlanta.

Clarksville High School
Rhett McClurg, Dev Shah, and Preciosa Stowell – 1st Place – Data Analysis – 1st
Cameron Hoskins and Parker Susong – 1st Place Website Design
Jericah Guillermo and David Salyer – 3rd Place – Hospitality and Event Management

Montgomery Central High School
Davin Mayfield – 1st Place for Spreadsheet Applications AND the Future Business Leaders of America Andy Vanosdale Technology Scholarship
Audrey Batson – 1st Place – Word Processing
Joseph Reece – 1st Place – Database Applications
Benjamin Bull – 2nd Place – Computer Applications
Noah Davis – 2nd Place – Database Applications
Matthew Pentlicki – 2nd Place – Spreadsheet Applications
Addyson Jurecki – 2nd Place – Word Processing
Peyton Ybanez – 3rd Place – Word Processing
Daniel Budde – 3rd Place – Spreadsheet Applications
Ryanne Hawkins – 3rd Place – Impromptu Speaking

TN Technology Student Association State Conference
Several Northeast High School students placed in the top 3 at the Tennessee Technology Student Association State Conference.
2nd Place: Coding
• Ethan Weller
• Noelle Whidden

2nd place: VEX Robotics (Co-Tournament Champions with 1st place Team)
• Aleksandre Barnuevo
• Marcus Kinch
• Carter Sierawski

3rd Place: Geospatial Technology
• Piper Hewett
• Joy Lee
• Brooke Rasnick

3rd Place: Data Science and Analytics
• Daniel Sousa-Moore
• Ethan Weller

TSBA Student Congress on Policies in Education (SCOPE)
Annually, the Tennessee School Board Association hosts the Student Congress on Policies in Education (SCOPE) conference, which brings together 9th-12th grade students from across the state to discuss current topics in education. Participants explore education issues through mock school board meetings, group discussions, and debates with their peers. These events are designed to give students an understanding of how school boards operate. The following students from CMCSS were selected by TSBA to serve during the 22-23 school year.

Kenwood High School
Gabriel Bracey
Rebakah Hall

Middle College at APSU
Katie Li
Arianna Smith-Forte’

Montgomery Central High School
Olivia Davis
Vriya Patel

Northeast High School
Rayna Barnes
Phoenix Love

Rossview High School
Ja’Kyah Montgomery
Elizabeth Stevens

CMCSS K-12 Virtual School
Sofia Sumauang

National History Day Teacher of the Year
Ms. Aimee Hoffman has been selected for the Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year award on behalf of National History Day to represent Tennessee. This award recognizes the very best educators from across the nation and beyond. The national winner will be selected on June 15, and we are all cheering you on, Ms. Hoffman!

National History Day State Championship
The following students placed in the top 3 at the National History Day State Championship, many of these students will go on to compete at the National History Day Championship.

Kirkwood Middle School

• Anna Claire Averitt, Alanna Mays, Lainey McQuade and their sponsor Mrs. Whitney Joyner won First Place for their work titled Courage, Conviction, Commitment: The Incredible Flying Fort
• Jaylene Park won Third Place for her work Cracking the Code: The Wrens of Bletchley Park
• Madisen Walters and Emily Weston and sponsor Mrs. Hoffman won Third Place for their work Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend: Frontiers In Women’s Sports.

Northeast Middle School

• Phasia Karyeah won 2nd Place for her work on Shattering the Glass Ceiling.
• Rafeif Abdelhalim won 2nd place for their work One Man’s Dream: Robert Hutchings Goddard and his Liquid-Fueled Rocket.

Richview Middle School,

• Evens Donard and Gavin O’Bryant won 2nd Place for their work on The Invention of the World Wide Web.

National Wrestling Hall of Fame – Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award
Ella-Lina Gonzalez from Clarksville High won the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award for the entire state of Tennessee. The award recognizes and celebrates the nation’s most outstanding high school senior female wrestlers for their excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship, and community service. Congratulations, Ella-Lina and thank you for well-representing our community and the state of Tennessee.

Tennessee High School Speech and Drama League State One-Act Play Championship
The Rossview High School One-Act Play championship students and Theatre Director LuEllyn Boyer Wilcox won First Place in the Tennessee High School Speech and Drama League State One-Act Play Championship for the third year in a row. The Cast and Crew includes:

• Josh Cooper
•  Mallory Skernivitz
• Jaden Edwards
• Allie Wells
• Dilynn Riddle
• Riley Weeks
• Kainoa Lucas
• Elena Zimmerman
• Anna Hepperman
• Akira Curry
• T.J. Grier
• Grace Keyt
• Dakotah Duty
• Dillon Thomas
• Raine Rasnic
• Carolyn Menees

Additionally, there were individual honors at the championship. Jaden Edwards won best actor out of the whole competition.

And finally, Mallory Skernivitz, Allie Wells, Dilynn Riddle, and Elena Zimmerman were selected for the All-Star Cast.

Congratulations, Rossview High thespians!

All State Musicians
All state musicians from CMCSS auditioned and were selected to perform in an all-state ensemble or serve as a runner up alternate.

Clarksville High School

• Lydia Lewis
• Benjamin Robles-Nieles

Montgomery Central High School

• Maggie McNeeley
• Mia Webster

Rossview High School

• Jimin Noland
• Grace Allensworth
• Janey Stevens

Congratulations to our outstanding musicians!

National Association of Music Merchants Foundation Best Communities for Music Education – 8th Consecutive Year

Related Arts Coordinator Kara Kindall and lead music teachers Mrs. Gaskill, Mrs. Cobb, and Mrs. Waugh received this honor on behalf of our over 50 outstanding music educators in CMCSS. For the eighth year in a row, CMCSS has been honored with the “Best Communities for Music Education” designation from The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM). The Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students. Congratulations to our music educators, and we appreciate the support of the School Board and District leadership to ensure we have music programs in every school.

CMA Foundation Music Teacher of Excellence

Thirty music teachers from across the country have been announced as 2023 Music Teachers of Excellence by the Country Music Association Foundation. Now in its seventh year, the program was created to recognize educators who are having the greatest impact on their students, using the power of music as an avenue for change. We are proud to announce that Mrs. Kristina Waugh, vocal music educator at Rossview High, has been selected as a CMA Music Teacher of Excellence. Congratulations, Mrs. Waugh!

Grammy Music Educator Award Quarterfinalist

A total of 207 music teachers from 180 cities across the nation have been announced as quarterfinalists for the 2023 Music Educator Award, presented by the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum. The Music Educator Award was established to recognize current educators who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools. Mrs. Cobb, instrumental music teacher at Montgomery Central High, has been selected as a quarterfinalist and is in the running to be a top 10 finalist. Congratulations, Mrs. Cobb, and we are all cheering for you during the finalist selection!

Rocky Mountain National Drill Competition
First Sargeant Darall Luckett and the cadets from West Creek High School competed in Denver at the Rocky Mountain Nationals against 27 other schools and military academies. The cadets include:

• Rachel Arnette
• Kralyn Barnes
• Bradyn Vest
• Joseph Newton
• Serenity Johnson
• Hailey Ryan
• Christopher Michaelis
• Alarus Clayborn
• Imani Conner-Cato
• Avionna Copeland
• Kallie Fields
• Shariscird Holt
• Kaleb Scott
• Brianna Maerki (Graham)
• D’Asia McQueen
• Michael Card
• Josephine Morrison
• Cloe Robinson
• Kylee Langa

These cadets swept the competition and were named the First Place Overall Unarmed Champions. Additionally, cadets earned 1st Place Unarmed Drill Regulation Platoon, 1st Place Unarmed Drill Inspection Team, and 2nd Place Color Guard. Additionally, there were several individual honors:

• Imani Conner-Cato won 1st Place Best Cadet Drill Commander Unarmed Team
• Christopher Michaelis and Brayden Vest won 1st Place Armed Duo Exhibition Team
• Out of nearly 300 cadets, Kaleb Scott placed in the top ranks for his Individual Drill Performance – Unarmed Knockout

National Army and All Service Drill Championship

Two CMCSS JROTC teams competed in the National Army and All Service Drill Championship in Daytona Beach, FL earlier this month.

West Creek High School

1st Place – Division Two All Service – Armed Color Guard

• Bradyn Vest
• Michael Card
• Christopher Card
• Kaleb Scott
• 3rd Place – All Army – Armed Inspection
• Bradyn Vest
• Michael Card
• Samuel Salsedo
• Kaleb Scott
• Jesse Ortiz
• Cass Ruiz
• Jayceon Rock
• Joseph Newton
• Christopher Michaelis
• Hector Hale

4th Place – Division Two All Service – Unarmed Inspection

• Imani Conner-Cato
• Kallie Fields
• Serenity Johnson
• D’Asia McQueen
• Kralyn Barnes
• Josephine Morrison
• Alarus Clayborn
• Brianna Maerki (Graham)
• Shariscid Holt
• Avionna Copeland
• Rachel Arnette
• Kylee Langa
• Cloe Robinson

Montgomery Central High School

Command Sergeant Major James Manning and the cadets from Montgomery Central High School earned the following awards at the National Army and All Service Drill Championship.

1st Place Division Three All Service – Armed Color Guard,

Ethan Herring

Shaun DeBien

Daniel Budde

Kyle Heath

3rd Place in the Division Three All Service – Unarmed Color Guard

Kalena Towe

Carmella Vittetoe

Myla Smith

Alaiha-Victoria Santana Rivera

Purple Star School Awards
City Councilman and Tennessee Commissioner of the Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission Deanna McLaughlin and Deb Munis from TN MIC3 assisted with presenting the Tennessee Purple Star School Award designed to highlight military-friendly schools that show a major commitment to serving students and families connected to our nation’s military. Awardees receive a banner to display in their buildings. A school must reapply every two years to maintain the recognition status. Schools are eligible for the award if they have a point of contact within the school that has completed a professional development component specific to the needs of military-connected students. The school website must contain a page that provides resources for military families. The school then chooses an additional activity that aligns with the school’s population and goals. For families, the designation will help guide them to schools that have supports in place. Eight schools renewed and three are first-time applicants.

• Glenellen Elementary (Renewing)
• Hazelwood Elementary (Renewing)
• Oakland Elementary (Renewing
• Pisgah Elementary (First-Time Applicant)
• Sango Elementary (First-Time Applicant)
• West Creek Elementary (Renewing)
• Woodlawn Elementary (Renewing)
• Kenwood Middle School (Renewing)
• Kirkwood Middle School (First-Time Applicant)
• West Creek Middle School (Renewing)
• West Creek High School (Renewing)