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The Commerce News Page 8B ^November 14, 2007 School News New High School Construction Set To Begin Late Next Spring Construction of the new Commerce High School is expected to begin next spring or early summer, Superintendent of Schools James E. “Mac” McCoy told the Commerce Kiwanis Club last week. The new facility, which will uti lize the south and east wings of the current CHS, will comprise 125,627 square feet — more than double the current size. It will be built to house 650 students, with common areas to support 1,000. “It is a big building; it will be a grand building,” McCoy prom ised. “We are building for the future.” For the sake of comparison, the existing school is 59,000 square feet and Commerce Middle School is 75,000 square feet. McCoy presented three draw ings depicting the layout of the school, which is to be built on top of the current school footprint — a significant challenge from both design and construction stand points. The proposal is to have two main entrances, one at the loca tion of the current front driveway, and the other in the vicinity of the tennis courts, which will be removed. The project will encroach on the current practice field, but a new field will be built behind the school, McCoy said, along with new tennis courts. It also includes a new concession stand and rest rooms for the football stadium. The east wing of the school will be retained and rehabbed for administrative persons, while the south wing will be remodeled ? Mac McCoy and its seven classrooms retained. Thirty-seven new class rooms will be constructed. The archi tects have created a “box” design, that McCoy said “creates a better envi ronment, and easier flow and a much better way to secure your building.” “The security of the building is much easier in a situation like this than what we now have with build ings spread out over the entire campus,” he explained. McCoy said that after the morning bell, all entrances to the school will lock automatically, forcing people arriving on campus to go through the front office. The school will have a perform ing arts center that can seat 500 people. “It is a good-sized auditorium for a school of our size,” and “will have all the bells and whistles and buzzers our students need ... to host plays and drama produc tions,” McCoy said. The superintendent noted that the school’s literary team had to use the East Jackson Comprehensive High School for its auditorium “because we don’t have a place for them to practice” for the region competition. “Our kids deserve our own audi torium. That will be theirs,” he said. The new “pit-style gym” will feature a below-grade floor, and McCoy said he’s asked the archi tects to include space to stage both wrestling and cheerleading tournaments, neither of which CHS can host at present. “We’re looking at enough seats in the gymnasium to be able to host a double-A basketball tour nament,” he said. The basketball court will be 94 feet long — collegiate regulation — rather than the current 84-foot floor, McCoy noted. The school will feature 46 class rooms, including seven from the current south wing. Asked about the proposed track, McCoy reported that it will be located at Commerce Middle School because of a lack of space on the CHS site. “We’ve still got some tweaking to do” of the overall plan, said McCoy, who predicted that the project will come in for about $15 million, which is what the board of education has budgeted for the facility. McCoy he hopes to put the project out for bid, a 90-day process, in January and break ground sometime between spring break and the end of the school year. “Then we’ll know the exact cost, but our architects are already work ing with the (contractor). Every time there’s a design done with the architect, they send it to the con struction company,” McCoy said. “They’re getting an idea of the cost per square foot. The construction company will have a pretty good idea of what our costs will be, even before bids.” A Lesson In Business Students in the Entrepreneurship class of Commerce High School recently completed their start-up business project, Tiger Tees, Inc. These students were responsible for orga nizing the business, creating a product, and marketing the product in the community to earn dividends and commissions. This year’s product was a Tiger T-shirt featuring a photo graph of Tiger Stadium. Left to right are Drake Bradberry, Adam Tomblin, Zack Purcell, Hunter Ward, Jacob Denton, Katie Kujawa, Jessica Ingram, Katlin Wilson and N’Dra Huff. Katlin Wilson was the top seller. The Entrepreneurship class is taught by Johnnie Blair. Learn About Careers Computer Applications students at Commerce High School have been studying careers recent ly and were able to job shadow area business people to learn about their careers. Left to right are Brandon Romans, Savannah Stancil, Carley Barnett, Addison Davis, Cesar Garcia, Jacki McMahan, Jami Jackson, Nikki Dotson and Luke Hill. Taught by Johnnie Blair, these stu dents are learning about their future careers in the areas of medicine, dentistry, construction, automotives, floral design, law enforcement and banking. Make All A's These Commerce Elementary School students made all A’s for the second six-week grading period. Left to right are (front) Jacob Irvine, Karen Merlos, Morgan Partin, Knox Allen, Ryan McConnell, (second row) Hannah Shearer, Mary Young, Madison Rodriguez, Matthew Hegwood, Anna Caroline Hardy, Alexia Rucker, (third row) Kendell Moon, Holden Herbert, Emily Hill, Elena House, Garrett Ash, (back row) Shelby Crane and Reece Hill. Dalton Flint and Caelon McDonald are not pictured. Make All A's These fourth graders at Commerce Elementary School made all A’s for the second six-week grading period. Left to right are (front) Sydney Massey, Lanna Morris, Trevor Johnson, J’Varius Wood, Donovan Morris, Alex Vickery, (middle row) Brooke Gravitt, Ashlynn Harbin, Kaitlyn McDaniel, Mallory Peek, Ashley Harold, Akyn Trudnak, (back row) Jordyn Smith, Ansley Romans and Ally King. - 5 EjA 9 f V > ■ 'ff. Musical Tribute Over 200 parents and students attended PTO Thursday night, Nov. 8, at Benton Elementary School. Music teacher Michelle Musgrove, along with pre-k and first grad ers, put on a program called “Freedom of Thanks! Proud to be an American" Red In Opposition To Drugs Commerce Primary School celebrated Red Ribbon Week during the week of Oct. 22-26. Students were encouraged to learn a “drug free pledge" and participate in daily activi ties such as wearing specific colors Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, dressing like a friend Monday, and show ing “drug-free spirit" by wearing team spirit attire Friday. Each of these students won a prize for wearing the most red in their homeroom Wednesday, Oct. 24. Left to right are (front) Hannah Lord, Haley Harrison, Blaze Watkins, Amy Wioskowski, Sara Herrin, Savannah Moon, (middle row) Gabi Wilson, T.J. Trudnak, Cade Tootle, Russ Johnson, Hunter Spear, Matthew Collins, Kyle O’Dell, Kobe Usher, (back row) Matthew Balaban, Tatiana Merlos, Haley Williams, Savannah Marion, Kristen Green, Jessi Pritchett, Dylan Morris, Desiree Green and Brandon Veal. Local Students Earn Honors At Athens Christian The following students from Jackson and Banks counties have been recognized recent ly at Athens Christian School for their academic achieve ment during the first quarter of the 2007-2008 school year. Those making the head master’s list (all A’s) are as follows: Clara Heiss, second grade; Marion Mealor and Courtney Trust, both fourth grade; Madison Mealor and Ansley Warnell, both sixth grade; and Caleb Wethington, 10th grade. Those making the honor roll (all A’s and B’s) are as follows: Valeria Heiss, Nicholas Hopper, Jake Long and Drake Vickery, all first grade; Katie Mealor and Carter Phillips, both second grade; Joshua Hutch, Carter Sexton and Kaylee Skelton, all fourth grade; Lucas Reynolds and Salina Shanks, both fifth grade; Lisey Grisel, Zachary Hopper, Emily Horton, Jordan Phillips and Brittany Yeager, all seventh grade; Ted Thurmond, eighth grade; Anthony Cosby, Zach Homontowski and Davis Warnell, all ninth grade; Ben Grisel and Seth Horton, both 10th grade; Samantha Crawford and Larry Thurmond, both 11th grade; and Kari Brust, Stephanie Homontowski, Emily Nash, Kelly Webb and Russell Whitehead, all 12th grade. NEED PRINTING? Visit Pumpkin Farm Students in Robbin Brown’s pre-k class at Commerce Primary School visited the Goldbrook Pumpkin Farm Thursday, Oct. 25, where they learned about how pumpkins are grown. CALL 706-367-5233