Hooray! School’s out!

We hope all students and families, and especially our teachers and administrators, enjoy a restful break - no matter how long (or short)!

Granted, several students at the high school level don’t get much of a break because they’re taking a summer course or attending one of our state’s colleges as a Governor’s Scholar. High school athletes continue working out as fall sports start official practices in July, when approximately 100 band students will also be putting in 12-hour days at band camp.

Our administrators don’t get much time off, and many teachers will participate in workshops or maybe even work a summer job. A few will be learning and/or traveling through grants, such as Thrasher’s Ricky McEvoy and Keely Dunavin, who are traveling to Ireland for an educational conference thanks to a Fund for Teacher Grant.

We just hope all our teachers take time for some “R and R” along the way and come back refreshed for a new school year in August!

The 2022-23 school year ended with lots of celebrations, with perhaps the biggest being the graduation of 171 seniors from Signal Mountain Middle/High School.

THANKS to all the teachers, counselors, staff, administrators, parents, and community for supporting these and all our students through the years!

Academics
Congratulations to our SMMHS Valedictorian Jeffery Lin, who will attend MIT in the fall, and Salutatorian Lydia Miller, who will attend Durham University in England.

Promotions for our fifth-graders at Nolan and Thrasher elementary schools and eighth-graders at SMMHS also were cause for celebrations. Best wishes to them as they transition to middle and high school!

Congrats to two of Signal’s National Merit Finalists, Jeffery Lin and Jack Gibby, for earning more scholarships in the first two rounds announced at time of printing.

And, we have another ACT Ace to celebrate! SMMHS Junior Logan Dapp received a perfect 36 composite score on the college-entrance exam earlier this year to become the school’s 11th student to achieve that.
Winners from a variety of contests were announced as the school year closed as well.

Juniors Jacob Holmes, Ethan Farr, and Logan Dapp were selected to attend the American Legion Boys State.   Lauren Williams, Ellie Donen, and Ashlyn Rock were selected for the American Legion Auxiliary Volunteer Girls State.

Congratulations to Signal’s high school students who qualified for FBLA National Competition Conference in Atlanta with their placements in the state competition: first place for Job Interview, Kathryn Ditmars; second place for Intro to Business Procedures, Hanna Yang; fourth place for Economics, Erik Fowler; and kudos to Cambria Ginther for placing 10th overall in Tennessee in Political Science!

SMMHS had two winners in the fifth annual civics essay contest sponsored by the Chattanooga Federal Bar Association: sophomore Simon Lewis won first place in the high school division, and eighth-grader Seven Dapp placed second in the middle school division.

Kudos to Thrasher third-grader Leela Bell, who was awarded Hamilton County School’s Rock Point Student of the Month for academics!

Congrats to Nolan fourth-grader Cole Petty as a new recipient of the Carson Scholarship!

Congrats also to Nolan student Belou Anderson on being one of two Hamilton County students who were National level PTA winners in the Reflections Arts contest!

Fine Arts
Bravo to student thespians who won awards of excellence for work with SMMHS theatre arts and in particular the senior-directed short scenes at year-end.

Aaron Nielsen was recognized as Best Thespian. Best Director trophies were awarded to Tess Pope for Gold with Nielson and Ethan Bullock in a tie for Silver. Pope’s scene from “Waitress” also captured the Fan Fave award with its main actor Hyrum Gee recognized as Best Actor. Hanna Yang won Best Actress for her role in Bullock’s scene from “Anastasia.”

Congrats to Junior Collin McIntosh, an Art Honor Society student, who won first place in the Art for Pets contest sponsored by the Humane Educational Society and whose work was auctioned off for $3,200 at the Faux Fur Fest event in mid May.

Thrasher Elementary had 14 student recipients this year of the Young Southern Writer awards: Lucas Knowles, Emilia Day, Ella Splawn, Lina Barisik, Ella Silverman, Mason Wall, Hadley Burgess, Xyla Blizzard, Sam Dunkin, Olive Roach, Josiah Mondy, Trillium Lundy, Hannah Bohman, and Violet Bowen.

Athletics
Huge congrats go to the SMHS boys’ lacrosse team for making it to the state championship round for the first time in program history! The state final was scheduled after this column was submitted, so results will be shared next month, but WOW, what a great season!

Kudos also to our high school track and field athletes with both our girls’ and boys’ team as runners up in the TSSAA East Sectionals and prepping for the State championships in late May.

The high school girls’ tennis team reigned as both district and region champs, with the boys’ team as district runner up. Several individual players were competing in the region individual championships as this column was written.

Signal’s high school baseball team made it to a regional semifinal before ending its season.

Our softball team ended its season in district play. Kudos to All-District players Dillia Lowry, Abby Walker, and Carlee Lowry!

Signal’s middle school teams ended their spring seasons on a high note.

The MS girls’ track and field team members were crowned county champs, with Sara Jane Flowers recognized as girls’ Coach of the Year.

The girls’ and boys’ MS golf both finished as District champs! Tucker Cruise finished as district runner up by one stroke after a sudden death hole for first place. May May McGee finished runner up for the girls, with teammates Allison Horsman and Ella Kelley in third and fourth place, respectively.

Our Hamilton County Invitational medalists for middle school golf were May May McGee- second, Allison Horsman- fourth, Ella Kelley fifth for girls, and Tucker Cruise – third, and Robinson McGee - fifth for boys.
Signal’s middle school baseball team had a great season, making it to the third round of the Final Four in the district tournament.

As mentioned, many of our students will be engaged in summer activities at our school campus prepping for fall seasons. We enjoy seeing them working hard year round and look forward to welcoming all students back to school in August.
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Don’t forget to remind students of their summer reading assignments! ​

A sport that sometimes gets shoved to the sidelines amid football, basketball, soccer, and other such programs, Signal Mountain High School’s bowling program proved to be one of only a few thus far this year to make it to State competition … for the first time ever!

This achievement capped a Cinderella season for this program that has existed since the school opened in 2008 but one that doesn’t usually get much notice.

That changed this year when a small group of seniors joined the teams, which already had players working hard to improve their games. All were thrilled to welcome newcomers to the program.

Coach Mark Bracher, who’s been with the program since inception, noted that two prior teams a decade ago averaged higher than this year’s team, but couldn’t get over that hump of winning the first game in the regions. He’s also had four guys advance to individual state competitions.
So what made this year different?

“It’s hard to narrow it down to just one thing,” Bracher said.

The first thing he noted had to do with the eight seniors (four boys and four girls) who decided to bowl this year. “I rarely get seniors who just decide to bowl their senior season,” he said.

Even better, “All eight showed up with a team spirit and a competitive spirit I had not seen before from such a large group of bowlers,” noted Bracher.

“The senior boys started practicing in June, the senior girls started practicing as soon as they joined the team, and Britton Williams joined after volleyball season ended. Britton exemplified the drive of the seniors - as soon as Britton joined, she practiced almost every day for the first two weeks she was on the team - and this was in the middle of our season!”

Bracher and bowling standout Landyn Sanders said it helped that most of the seniors had also played another sport so had some natural athleticism. “Athletes that throw ‘kinda’ normal” is a big advantage.” Landyn noted.

Another factor was overall improvement from veteran players, including those who advanced from middle school.

“This year, our three freshmen stood out,” Bracher said. “Reed Hampton improved his match average by 27 pins, from 105 to 132; Henry Nord improved 33 pins from 134 to 167; and Carson Gayton improved about 54 pins from a 113 average to a 167!”

Matt Sanders, Landyn’s dad, came aboard as a new coach to provide expertise that Bracher said he and assistant coach Gene Nelson didn’t possess.

“Matt was really good at figuring out different bowling balls to try for different styles and lane conditions,” Bracher said. “This helped the brand new seniors and the freshman improve a lot during the course of the season.”

And, Signal Mountain Bowling had a “really big schedule” compared to other teams in the area.
“I scheduled 32 matches, but more importantly we bowled at eight different bowling centers this season,” Bracher said.

“This provided the bowlers experience with several different lane conditions and opponent ability so they were intimidated by neither by the end of the season.  We won our district matches at Dayton, the region championship at Cleveland, the sectional round at Hixson, and then won a State Tournament match at Smyrna.

“This helped me get their attention in the post season and explain they wouldn’t always have to bowl well,” he said, adding, that, “they just had to bowl better than the other team.”

Lastly, a little bit of luck never hurts.

“Landyn got one of the luckiest strikes I’ve ever seen in the 11th frame of the last Baker game against Blackman (in a state sectional) to clinch the victory and send us to State,” Bracher marveled.

Winning the individual game against Blackman in the sectional round was when Bracher finally realized these boys were going to State.

He thought they might have a chance after pre-season practices in mid September when he knew one of the new seniors (Clay Cooper) would be a starter and that another senior (Noah Riley, who hadn’t bowled since eighth grade) would be good enough to replace another bowler lost to transfer. Those two, in addition to veteran players, gave the team a fighting chance against region kingpins Rhea County and Walker Valley, which they beat in district and region tournaments.

Landyn had bowled as an individual at State before but said the entire team was nervous being there for the first time this year.

Cooper agreed it was “exciting” to go to State (which he’d not done in other sports he’d played) and also “very intimidating” to drive up to the State venue and see the parking lot packed … for bowling.

He described Round 1 in the quarterfinal against Sevier County as “a pretty rough game” but one that Signal Mountain ultimately won.

“They seemed a lot more intimidating by [our team] just knowing that we’d never been to State,” said Cooper, “but once we got going, we really rocked it honestly.”

In a semifinal, Signal was pitted against the state titleholder (and eventual state champ again) to whom they lost, but Landyn was proud that “we had them and their coach worried for a while.”
So, can they do it again next year?

Yes, they just need to backfill those seniors to the fairly young team. And keep the momentum going.
Landyn is one of two juniors, with most other returning bowlers as current sophomores or freshmen. He and others have already been recruiting.

Their main points: Bowling is fun and easy to learn.

Those were the main two reasons that attracted Cooper and Eli Herlevic, who said, “It’s a very fun sport to learn.” Cooper added that it also is “very much an independent sport compared to a team sport, so it can be a very competitive and exciting.”

Nord, who also “played up” as an eight-grader, agreed with others that it really helped to have lots more people on the team, which kept the momentum going. He’s hoping others hop on and join the team for summer and fall practices as they prep for their fall season.

Unlike other programs, Coach Bracher is flexible in allowing students to participate in other sports with parallel seasons as long as they practice bowling when they can. He likes getting other athletes because he said they understand “the value of practice, the value of team, and a drive to win.”

“I’m hoping with the success of this year’s teams that bowling will be more popular at the school,” Bracher said. “I don’t have specific examples, but I know the students are always fighting a stigma with being on the bowling team.”

Hopefully, that won’t happen again after this year’s trip to State.

Girls Team
Not only was this an exciting season for the boys’ bowling team, but also for the girls, who ended their season as district champs for the first time ever!

Signal Mountain’s bowling team didn’t have a female bowler until its third season, when Cayla Knight had to bowl with the boys until she recruited others to help organize the first full girls’ team in 2011-12. That rush lasted until 2016. A couple of girls bowled for the 2018-2019 season, but it wasn’t fun for the two-person team because it meant they had to score zeroes for the missing players.

Georgia Bartlett was one of four freshmen to join last year for the core of this year’s team. She selected bowling as a completely random choice when looking at a list of sports on the school website soon after moving from Baltimore and has never regretted it.

“Bowling is such an easy sport to pick up,” she said, “and the coaches taught me to bowl pretty well. If you just put some effort into it, you’ll learn.” Bartlett improved her average from 100 to 148 in a year.

Bartlett loves the “family atmosphere” among bowlers and their families and said it was so much more fun this year with extra players. She feels confident that the five or six underclass players will return and is confident the team will improve and could go beyond district next year.

Special Olympics
This year also was the first time Signal Mountain had a Special Olympics team to compete in that division at State. Sam Goff and David Heinichen were the main two players supported by top members of both our boys and girls teams in various contests. This unified team earned third place at State in its inaugural run.

While all teams were bowling to win, having fun seemed to be the underlying theme at practices and matches and was reflected in recaps and photos.

“This was a fantastic season, and I had a lot of fun,” said Bracher, who noted that SMMHS Principal Michael Carson “makes fun of me for my rousing pre-match speeches, but the message is ALWAYS ‘Have fun’ and all I want for these kids is to HAVE FUN!”

So, if you’ve got a SMMHS student looking for something to do and just wanting to have fun, tell him or her to contact a member of the bowling teams or email Bracher at smmhsbowl@gmail.com.
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by Melissa Barrett

Spring is just around the corner, with students eager to get outside for recess and classroom instruction (when allowed) and spring sports just starting the last athletic seasons for this school year.

Elementary News
Congratulations to Marah Smith, a first grade teacher at Nolan Elementary, for being selected as one of three grade-level Teachers of the Year for Hamilton County Schools! Best wishes in your nomination for regional award consideration!

Kudos also to Leslie MacPike, a fifth grade teacher recognized as Nolan’s Teacher of the Year for grades 3-5, and Courtney Johnson, a fourth grade math and science teacher recognized as Thrasher Elementary’s Teacher of the Year! We are grateful for all our teachers for their daily dedication to making a positive difference for our students!

Kudos to all spelling bee participants at Nolan and Thrasher elementary schools! Thrasher’s fourth grade winners are Sawyer Kennedy, first place; Devlin Davis, second place; and Phin Walker, third place. Fifth grade winners are Hutton Whatley, first; John McCarthy, second; and Bijal Patel, third.

Nolan’s fourth grade winners are Jace Long, Barrett West, and Arthur Alexander. Fifth grade winners were Emmy Pittman, Joy Wang and Ally Melhorn. Fifth-grade winners were Emmy Pittman, Joy Wang and Ally Melhorn.

Nolan was awarded the Governor’s Civic Seal for schools that prioritize teaching our nation’s history and civic values. Implementing high-quality civic education programs result in readiness for college, career, and civic life.


Middle and High School News
Congratulations to some Signal Mountain High School students on regional awards that qualified them for the FBLA State Leadership Competition! Hanna Yang, Erick Fowler, Cambria Ginther, Mason Howell, and Sophie Jackson will compete at the state event this month.


SMMHS Art Recognitions
Bravo to all involved in the Signal Mountain Middle School production of “The Music Man Jr.” Don’t miss the high school musical “Newsies,” with performances scheduled March 23-26.

Applause is extended to several SMMHS band and strings students for earning a place (from more than 2,000 who auditioned) in an honor band at the All East Tennessee State Band and Orchestra Association regional clinic and concerts in Gatlinburg. Congrats to Alexia Apablaza, Joshua Dulin, Rylan Stone, Carter Downs, Everett Paulson, Carter Livingood, Vivian Miller, Ellie Bielcik, Emily Campbell, Fin Dodson, Lee Greeson, Jason Sepulveda, Carter Alley, Weston Livingood, Gina Shome, Autumn Cadieux, Jake Stubblefield, Andrew Milz, Lindsey Coppel, JJ Massey, Wes Graybeal, Brenden Skinner, and Kaitlyn Castellanet.

Rylan Stone, JJ Massey, Lindsey Coppel, and Emily Campbell also earned the coveted All State recognition, which earns them attendance at a state level clinic and concert in April.

Congratulations to Leah Davis, whose art earned her third place in the 2022 Skate Graphics Contest!
Congratulations to Liv Hamilton, Grayson Holiday, Harrison Ogden, Frankie Millsaps, Hailey Kimsey, Olivia Glover, and Abbey Bevans for their art being selected for display at the Hunter Museum Teen Art Show!

SMMHS Athletic Achievements
Congratulations to the Signal Mountain boys’ bowling team for winning a regional championship for the first time ever, as well as winning the Sectionals, which advanced these guys to State competition!

There, our boys won their quarterfinal match before losing in a semifinal to the state title-holder and eventual state champ. This was a Cinderella season for this group of boys and girls, who had a full team for the first time in a few years and ended their season as district champs.

Congratulations to Landyn Sanders, Georgia Bartlett, and Siara Ellis for recognition as Bowlers of the Year at the program’s awards party! Sawyer Guffey, Henry Nord, and Sanders were on the All-District team, while Sanders, Clay Cooper, Stewart Thibault and Carson Gayton made the All-Region team.
The icing on the cake came when Signal’s Special Olympics bowling team placed third at the TSSAA competition. Kudos to Sam Goff and David Heinichen and their teammates!

Wrestling
Congratulations to Signal Mountain wrestling for being crowned district and regional champs again, and for winning the sectional for a chance to to defend the team’s state title. Unfortunately, a one-point difference in the final match designated them as state runner-up, a great honor despite the boys’ disappointment.

This team finished its year with a 21-3 record, and in a historic two-year run, this program amassed a 42-3 record over the past two years, and made back-to-back state championship appearances. What an incredible run!

At the time this column was being written, several of our bowlers were preparing to compete in individual contests with the goal of returning to State in that category.


Basketball
Congrats to Signal Mountain’s girls’ basketball team for securing 22 wins and receiving recognition as regular-season district champs as the gals prepared for the district tournament!

Golf
Congratulations to Peyton Ogle and Maxine Richards for being named to all-state golf and cross country teams by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association!

Swimming
Signal Mountain brings home a state champion in swimming, from the recent TISCA State Championships! Congratulations to sophomore Avery May for taking the state title and winning 1st place the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:58.67. She also placed 4th overall in the 100-yard breaststroke. May, teamed up with Hannah Laramore, Ella Obringer and Ada Boyd to place 16th in the 200-yard medley relay. Other state qualifiers were Jake Holmes, Maddox May and Madeline Daverson. On the diving side, freshman Valerie Roslin placed 4th overall in the 1-meter diving competition!

Congratulations to eighth-grader Hayden Vicknair for breaking the 100 Butterfly and 200 Individual Medley swimming records at the recent Northwest Georgia Middle School Championships!

As I write this column in early January, students are returning to school to start both a new semester and the countdown to summer break (yes, already!). Learning and extracurricular activities abound to fill in the time between now and then … along with some celebrations. Speaking of celebrations …

Congratulations to Erno Linder and Olivia Chemin as Signal Mountain’s High School and Middle School nominees for the Carson Scholars Program! They were selected from students who submitted essays in the local school competition.

The Carson Scholars Program recognizes and rewards outstanding students in the United States who exemplify academic excellence and humanitarian qualities. Notification letters will be mailed to applicants in March.

Scholarship winners named “Carson Scholars” will receive a $1,000 scholarship invested towards a four-year college or university. Good luck to both Erno and Olivia!

Thrasher Elementary
Next time you’re at an event at Thrasher Elementary School, check out those beautiful new stage curtains! Those were updated in December for the first time since 1961! Third-grader Lucy Benefield won an opportunity through the MEF Auction to serve as guest host and cut the ribbon at a special ceremony to present the new curtains.

While “new” is wonderful, Thrasher’s PTA also wanted to honor the past so it had the ‘WTT’ letters from the school’s original curtains preserved and framed. PTA co-presidents Jessica McCarthy and Caroline Wilson presented those to Principal Jeff Paulson to be displayed at the school.

MEF Celebration
We hope you were able to secure a ticket to the “Starry Night on Signal” at the Signal Mountain Golf and Country Club on February 4. So many folks were thrilled the Mountain Education Foundation brought its MEF Celebration for Education event back to the mountain! This is such a wonderful event to both celebrate and raise more money for our local schools.

SMMHS Academics
Congrats to these Signal Mountain Middle School students on qualifying for Regionals in the International Academic Competition!

Eighth grade place winners were Connor Pogue, first; Ben Marsden, second; and Seven Dapp, third. Seventh grade winners were Olivia Chemin, first; Ethan Bhosale and Ryder Ratliff tied for second; and Ben Sapp, third. Sixth grade winners were Russell Green, first; Klien Boyd, second; and Robert Summerlin, third.

With so many students qualifying for state and national IAC events, SMMHS was selected to host the 2023 Tennessee Winter History Bee and Bowl in late January.

SMMHS Athletics
Just before winter break ended, Signal Mountain’s high school bowling teams competed in district tournaments where both boys and girls finished as runners up. Teams were preparing for regional competition as this column was being written.

Kudos to these bowlers for the following recognitions. All District regular season: Carson Gayton; Clay Cooper; Landyn Sanders; Georgia Bartlett; Siara Ellis; and Britton Williams. All District tournament team: Henry Nord; Sawyer Guffey; Georgia Bartlett; Siara Ellis; Landyn Sanders; and Britton Williams.
Our high school basketball teams competed in various tournaments over winter break, while our wrestling team had a couple of regular-season matches.

Congratulations to two of the Uhorchuk brothers for earning extra recognitions at a prestigious national tournament.

Freshman Joseph “JoJo” Uhorchuk (107 pounds) put together an incredible run, defeating multiple nationally ranked wrestlers en route to a second place finish at the Powerade Invitational in Pittsburgh. His lone loss came in a hard-fought match 5-3 in overtime to the No. 9 ranked wrestler in the country.

Senior Caleb Uhorchuk finished in fourth place in the 127-pound weight class at the same tournament. Caleb went an impressive 6-2 and wrestled seven matches that were decided by three points or less. Caleb, a three-time state champ and West Point commit, was also honored in December for becoming the all-time career wins leader for Signal Mountain wrestling. (He surpassed the record held by his older brother, Daniel, who is now wrestling for West Point.)

Congratulations to Emily Redman and Carlee Lowry, who were named to the 2022 All-State volleyball teams by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association.

Congrats to the Signal Mountain Middle School’s boys’ and girls’ soccer teams, which had advanced to the district championship matches before those were cancelled by weather. With winter break just a day away and students moving on to other sports afterward, the final round was never played.

Kudos also to the Signal Mountain Middle School basketball teams; both finished in third place in a district tournament! Earning a place on the All-County team were Nick Harwood, Colton Johnston, Wil Flenniken for boys and Callie Cooper and Tess Roberson for girls. Roberson and Johnston also made the District All Tournament team.

Several SMMHS students continue to participate in climbing and robotics meets through interscholastic leagues. Lacrosse will kick off its season soon, followed by the spring sports of baseball, softball, track, boys’ soccer, and tennis for high school with middle school athletes competing in wrestling, volleyball, baseball, track, and golf.
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February brings the Signal Mountain Middle School drama club’s presentation of “The Music Man Jr.” that first weekend of the month, the Youth in Government high school conference in Nashville mid-month, and more intense Mock Trial rehearsals. These are just a few of a myriad of activities going on in all our schools. Be sure your school reps contact me with news and photos!

​Hope everyone enjoyed winter break!

Students return to Hamilton County Schools on Wednesday, January 4, with faculty attending the prior two days for professional development.

Hopefully you were able to enjoy at least one of the many holiday events sponsored by our schools.

The SMMHS Theatre Arts Boosters helped kick off the holiday season with its annual Mountain Madrigal Feast, where guests joined a Royal Court for an evening of great food and holiday entertainment. Concerts and other fun events were also enjoyed by students from all our schools.

Fall and spring are full of activities for our students in both academics and athletics.

Students at SMMHS were excited to return to an in-person Model UN conference. Although the huge regional event held in prior years went under during COVID-19, alumni in various colleges banded together to create an “AltMUN” to give high school students a similar experience.

Senior Kaitlyn Castellanet and junior Mark Nashi were among high school students in our region who served as vice chairs working with the collegiate group. Nearly 60 SMMHS students were among the approximate 800 attending the event at Chattanooga State.

Signal’s USA team was recognized for distinction in rhetoric. team Members were Adrian Andreescu, Jack Gibby, Josh Dulin, Jake Stubblefield, and Weston Livingood. Jeffery Lin, Adrian Andreescu, Jack Gibby, Josh Dulin won individual awards.

A small group from SMMHS also attended the state Beta Club convention in Nashville. Four students placed in the top five of their categories: Riley Goff, French; Ava Sabatini, poetry; Abbie Dungan, language arts; and Lydia Miller, math.

Signal Mountain had the most qualifiers of any high school in East Tennessee for the All East Jazz Clinic that will occur in late January. Congrats to Luke Robertson, first chair Red Band; JJ Massey, fourth chair Red Band; Nicholas Barrett, first chair White Band; Andrew Milz, first chair White Band; Wesley Graybeal, second chair White Band; and Fin Dodson, third chair White Band. These guys play saxophones, trumpets, and trombones.

Come hear our school’s own jazz band at the annual “Swing, Swang, Swung” event on Saturday evening, April 29.

Congrats also to Signal’s seventh through ninth grade band students who qualified to perform in the All Region Honor Band concerts in early December! Signal had seven Region Champs, four runners up, and several students who earned a chair in one of the four honor bands.

Recognized as champs on their instruments were seventh-graders Caroline Stone, Paul Corcoran, Hannah Harris, Ethan Bhosale; and eighth- and ninth-graders Ella Wu, Emily Campbell, and Carter Kent.

Kudos also to our runners up: seventh-graders Mason Edwards and Grayson Rock, as well as Ellie Bielcik and Barrett Cloud in the eighth/ninth grade category.

Eleven of Signal’s Strings students in grades seven through nine also earned the honor to participate in a junior orchestra clinic and concert in mid November. Seven were in the (Top) Blue Orchestra at the event sponsored by the East Tennessee School Band and Orchestra Association. Signal Mountain was honored to have more musicians in that top group than any other school other than Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts.

Congrats to Mia Sabatini, Ben Marsden, Zara Hossain, Naomi Hays, Billy Wooden, Hyrum Gree, and Finley Holmes for being in Blue Orchestra! Kudos also to Violet Garney, Mason Cabell, Emma Elser, and Seven Dapp for being in the Red Orchestra!


Sports News
Signal’s high school basketball teams opened their seasons with some wins to get that program off to a great start.

Defending state champs, the Signal Mountain wrestling team also opened its season with a double victory and was just starting its road to State as this issue was going to press.

High school bowling was entering the district tournament at press time, with our boys’ team seeded No. 2.
Our football Eagles continued to be recognized in post season. Congratulations to senior Ripley Hutcherson for being named Region 3-3A Defensive MVP and sophomore Cash Keene for being named Region 3-3A Newcomer of the Year!    
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Congrats also to these football players for being named to the Region 3-3A All-Region Team: Luke Alexander, Malik Aljack, Daniel Odom, Chance Townson, and Collins Payne.

Wow, what a busy and fun fall it’s been for students in our public schools!
Recognitions, sports both ending and kicking off, a high school homecoming complete with a parade and many other traditional activities were welcomed by students, families and faculty.

Nolan Elementary
Nolan Elementary students enjoyed activities related to its annual Arbor Day celebration. Poetry winners included Grace Haddock, Jack Sokohl, Indigo Harrison, and Gray Bearden. Poster winners were Sara Dowd, Gilley Jones, Elliana Wilke, and Madelyne Cronk.

Special thanks go to the Signal Mountain Tree Board and these sponsors who purchased trees for school playgrounds: Enterprise Holdings; Bussey Financial Group; and Southern Star Restaurant.

SMMHS
Congratulations go to Grace Williams as homecoming queen and Ajay Patel as the first homecoming king recognized at Signal Mountain Middle/High School.

Athletics
Congrats to Signal’s boys’ and girls’ high school cross country teams for both finishing as runners up at State! After winning state titles for several years, this was still a great feat because their division was reorganized to include some of the larger schools.

Kudos to our high school volleyball team, which won its region championship and sectional match to advance to the state tournament!

Hats off to the high school girls’ soccer team on a great season, finishing as region runner up, and winning the sectional tournament in a new, harder class this year before losing its quarterfinal game.

Kudos to our football team for making the playoffs at State, where it narrowly lost to Cannon County. This team had a winning record overall, and we look forward to a new season next fall.

Congratulations to our middle school tennis teams on their performances during the county tournament! Kudos to Brooke Martin, who placed first in singles; Savannah Cummins and Allie Smith who placed first in doubles; and Kate Gilbert, who placed second in singles!

As early fall sports programs ended, others started, including high school bowling and basketball, as well as middle school soccer and basketball, with wrestling just around the corner. Best wishes to all as they participate in holiday tournaments and resume regular season matches after the holidays.

Signal Mountain Band
Congratulations to the Signal Corps Marching Band on winning the Tennessee Division II State Marching Band Championship for the first time in school history!  It swept all categories in an incredible fashion, and Jake Stubblefield was also recognized as Best Soloist.
Merry Christmas, everyone!

by Melissa Barrett

Signal Mountain High School’s marching band introduced a musical train to football crowds this fall and kept chugging along, picking up more passengers (fans) as it added cars (props), and proudly pulled into the state roundhouse to prove one doesn’t have to be the biggest engine (aka band) to be the best.
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Signal Corps Marching Band captured the Governor’s Challenge Cup in early November to win the Tennessee Division II High School Marching Band State Championship for the first time ever in school history!

Our band has consistently placed among the top five teams at State in recent years and was ranked third two years ago in a tight finish where only a few points separated the top three bands. COVID-19 prevented the event from being held last year.

Head Director Drew Buckner noted that not only was this our first State championship in program history but also the first from any school in the Chattanooga area since the state competition was introduced 40 years ago.

“We try to never talk with our kids about accomplishments, trophies or winning, because of how negative pride can be to the fun of marching band and the family it creates,” he said. “That makes it even sweeter that these students got to experience a reward for their hard work.”

He reminded band members after the state trophy presentation that they stand on the shoulders of 13 years of hard work by their predecessors to build the legacy of our program that brought them to that moment.

“I know the many years of Signal Mountain Band alumni are smiling at this year’s students being able to take those many years of hard work to a climax,” Buckner said.

Several of those former band families, and a few alumni, were in the crowd that came out to see the show and help send off Signal Corps to the prestigious Bands of America Grand Nationals Championship in Indianapolis.

Few bands of our size, 104 total with instrumentalists and color guard, enter a BOA regional competition, much less the Grand Nationals. Signal was among only 27 from across the country in its class.

Buckner knew this was the year for Signal Corps, with its blend of musicians and staff, which included the return of visual designer Jordan Pitner.

“I left Signal Mountain (a few years earlier) because life called me in a different direction,” Pitner said. “But my heart stayed here the whole time I was gone. Being back has been a dream.

“In some ways, it’s like I never left: The staff and students still work relentlessly; there’s still that selfless attitude and teamwork everywhere you look. But the team got even better in the years since I left. That’s what I love about being here: Everyone is a student of the game, and we never settle for ‘good enough.’”

Pitner noted that band students sacrifice much for the chance to chase greatness. Their spare time is filled with practices, football games, and 18- to 20-hour show days spent on buses and in stadium parking lots. They stay up late finishing homework and are asked to practice extra on their own.

“It’s a tremendous demand for anybody,” he said, “but they trust in the process and give it their all week in and week out.”

Buckner noted that while many things fell apart with COVID-19 last year, band members kept a “somewhat normal season,” just without competitions.

“That helped put them in such a great place to start this year,” he said, “without skills and motivation lost. The students this year took that to the next level, with such a unique fervor for excellence and family.”

They were thrilled to be recognized for the first time ever as champion of A Bradley Classic regional competition, beating larger bands early in the season. That gave them momentum to keep chugging along, even better and faster.

Many have referred to this year’s group of students, parent volunteers, and staff as a “dream team,” which Buckner and Pitner embrace. Mr. Pitner said, “We have a big vision for the future of Signal Corps, and I’m so glad we could start it off with a state title.”

That team also includes Matt Broom, percussion director, who’s been with the program since inception; Cody Thompson, color guard director; Holly Paxton, color guard instructor; Ian McNeese, front ensemble instructor; Alfredo Smith, battery instructor; Tyler Edrington, show designer and coordinator; and Shelby Walker, associate band director.

Edrington came up with the train show theme of “Crossing Signal,” which evolved to include two tunnels, a train track tarp, several crossing signals that light up, and simulated steam from an engine. The fast-paced show also includes a train whistle, conductor yelling “All Aboard,” synthesized train sounds, and drills that have musicians simulating train wheels and gears, as well as show tops, drum wraps, and flags that provide a steam punk look of gears and smoke.

“As a native of Chattanooga, I thought there was no other appropriate way to represent our city on the national stage than to create a train-themed show concept that highlights the history of our community,” said Edrington, who also is color guard caption supervisor for the prestigious Carolina Crown in the Drum Corps International circuit.

It was obvious the band kids had fun doing the show, and our football game crowds looked forward each game to seeing what new had been added to the halftime show.

Buckner credits student captains Will Marsden, Emma Wu, Trevor McGhie, Kolsten Keene, Claire Smiley, Jake Stubblefield and Kalissa Luttrell, as well as great section leaders and seniors as being instrumental in creating “an amazing family this year, as well as being an inspiration for excellence to those around them.”

He also praised an extraordinary music booster board for being “such positive problem solvers the entire season. They have truly made this operation happen for our students this year.”

This year’s booster executive board consists of Melissa Barrett, Christine Stubblefield, Kate Campbell, Allison Gord, and Kristin Robertson with bookkeeper (and former band parent) Sue Menke and current band parents Katrina Keene, Mitch Stubblefield, Mika Dapp, Kitty Castellanet, Jackie Benkert, and Jennifer Innes providing additional support in lead positions.

The band appreciates the Mountain Education Foundation providing scholarships to assist several of our students in making the trip to Indianapolis. The group also appreciates what Buckner described as “a unique support for the arts” from our principal, Dr. Shane Harwood, and two fellow band dads, Dr. Robert Sharpe and Marco Perez, who also are a learning community superintendent and school board member, respectively.

“It’s so great to have these three men in our students’ lane,” he said.
“I’m so proud of our kids and leaders and so thankful for all of our parents and others who support them,” Harwood said.

Sharpe had the pleasure of transporting the band’s 13 state trophies, which included a large division cup and 5-foot tall championship trophy, in his car from Smryna to the school.

That trip home in the wee morning hours culminated with an escort from the Signal Mountain police that excited the kids, since they’d never experienced that recognition that our police so graciously provide our state champions.

Author’s Note: As president of this year’s music boosters board, I can attest to the hard work and dedication given by this group of students and staff. It has been AMAZING to watch this show evolve and students mature and achieve excellence. Thanks to all those in our community who support the Signal Corps Marching Band.

by Melissa Barrett

Huge congratulations go to Thrasher Elementary for being recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School for 2021 by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona! Thrasher is one of the nation’s Exemplary High Performing Schools and one of only six schools in Tennessee to earn 2021 National Blue Ribbon status.
“This is a testament to the good work our teachers do, the involvement, trust, and dedication from our parents, and especially to how your children, our students, do their best work at school and at play,” said Principal Jeff Paulson.

Thrasher and Nolan Elementary
Kudos also are extended to both Thrasher and Nolan elementary staff and students on earning a Level 5 Reward status from the Tennessee Department of Education for the 2020-21 school year! Level 5 is the highest level of academic growth a school can earn. Level 5 schools are those with significant evidence that their students exceeded the state growth standard. Reward schools are those that receive an overall high rating when measuring multiple areas, including student achievement and growth, across all students and student groups. Reward designation is the highest honor for school accountability measures in Tennessee.

SMMHS
Hats off to Signal Mountain Middle/High School seniors Rainey Campbell, Seth Fisher, Grace Elliott, and Cade Miller as commended students in the National Merit Scholarship Program! They are among the top 2.5 percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the competition by taking the College Board’s PSAT/NMSQT in the 2020-21 academic year. These students are being recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation for potential of exceptional academic promise demonstrated by their performance on this standardized test.

Cheers to the Signal Mountain High School Theatre Arts students for their amazing production of Thorton Wilder’s “Our Town” earlier this fall. Everyone is so glad to have live theatre back at school, even if it’s outside! The new stage in the school’s quad amphitheater provides a lovely setting.

Middle School Athletics
Congratulations to the Signal Mountain Middle School cross country teams on taking back the title of All County Champions.Kudos are also extended to our students who earned All County recognition among 18 teams composed of approximate 150 total students. These students claimed 11 of the top 15 places for boys and eight of the top 15 places for girls, including overall champions in both groups. Here’s the list of our medalists with their place listed first:

Boys Cross Country: Overall Champion, Murphy Self; third place, Luke Smiley; fourth place, Mitch Simmons; fifth place, Gavin McKenzie; sixth place, Dane McMillan; seventh place, Christian Davis; eighth place, Aaron Paul; ninth place, Will Campbell; 12th place, Reed Hampton; 14th place, David Glover; and 15th place, Sudan Rock.

Girls Cross Country: Overall Champion, Lilly Paxson; fourth place, Bess Innes; fifth place, Eliza Baker; seventh place, Naomi Malone; eighth place, Gillette Fisher; ninth place, Katie Brennan; 12th place, Marlo McMillan; and 13th place, Paige Hilvers.

Kudos also extended to the Signal Mountain Middle School boys tennis team, which placed first in its division and to the SMMS girls tennis team for being runner-up in its division! Our top players were scheduled to play in the county tournament as this column was submitted.

High School Athletics
Congrats to our Signal Mountain High School golf boys and girls team, which, after being recognized as District and Regional Champions, placed in the top five at State.

Our boys’ team came in third at State, while our girls’ team was fourth.

Cheers to Junior Peyton Ogle, who also placed third individually at State. In region play, Ogle was the top boys medalist, shooting a 5-under par (67) to tie the school record set by Ben Seay a few years ago. Kudos also got to Graham Barrett as regional runner up!

Cheers to Sally Hogue as top girls region medalist, Caroline Burns as regional runner up, and Lyla Adkins for placing third. Burns also was the top local girls golfer at State, placing 15th with Hogue close behind in 17th place.

Signal Mountain’s volleyball team was district runner up heading into regionals at press time.

The Signal Mountain girls’ soccer team went undefeated in the district and was hosting district games at press time in its quest to snag another state title.

Our Signal Mountain Eagles football team was enjoying an overall successful season by mid October and was eager to return to the field after fall break. Its last two games at home also celebrated Homecoming and Senior Night.

Thanks to our Signal Mountain community for helping making the Homecoming parade possible again this year!

SMMHS Band
Hats off to the Signal Mountain High School marching band, which scored a first when it defeated other larger bands to be recognized as Overall Champion at the regional Bradley Classic competition in September!
Directors were tweaking the “Crossing Signal” show to make it even more competitive participating in a big regional Bands of America contest at East Tennessee State University in late October. Hopefully the team will shine at the Grand Nationals competition in Indianapolis in early November. Good Luck, Signal Corps!

by Melissa Barrett

​We made it to winter break! Yay! Hopefully, our students were able to participate in some fun holiday activities, as well as takesemester exams!
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COVID-19 has definitely dampened the holidays, but gratitude and generosity have been plentiful.
A huge thanks to all families that donated items during various drives at our schools to fill Christmas baskets for families assisted by Signal Mountain Social Services!

Thanks to our Thrasher Elementary School students who made fall placemats again for Alexian Village residents! COVID-19 prevented hand-delivery this year, but residents appreciated those mats in their dining rooms.

Hats off to the 40-plus volunteers who came to Thrasher on a Saturday morning over Thanksgiving break to work on the school grounds! They finished the work on the outdoor tree stump classrooms by spreading mulch and adding landscape timbers as a boundary. These hardworking volunteers also repaired a gravel path near the vegetable garden by adding new landscape timbers and new gravel, built white boards in two outdoor pavilion classrooms, and cleaned the Rain Garden.

Thanks also to our parents and local businesses that provided outdoor holiday decorations at our public schools! We have a great community!

Academic Recognitions
Several Signal Mountain High School students participated in a virtual Model UN conference with a different group of schools than normal since the big regional conference that is usually held downtown was postponed until spring.

Congratulations to Kaitlyn Castellanet for recognition as Outstanding Security Council Member. Kudos also go to Cambria Ginther, Emma Wu, Grace Elliott, Grace Farrimond, and Mark Nashi as Outstanding Delegates; Emma Wu, Hannah Morton, and Grace Elliott for Outstanding Resolution; and to Will Crowder, who was elected as the 2021 Digital Press Social Media Director for this conference.

Hats off to SMMHS eighth-grader Aoife Davis, who competed and earned top awards in the National Science Bee and the U.S. Academic Bee! She finished first in Tennessee and in the top 13 in the Eastern Region, qualifying her for the National Science Bee to be held in December. Aoife finished second in Tennessee and also qualified for the National U.S. Academic Bee in December.

Kudos to SMMHS seventh-graders Reed Hampton and Lee Greeson for their accomplishments in the National History Bee, for which they qualified in February! Reed was the top finisher from Tennessee in their age group and placed in the Top 50 nationally. Lee was second in Tennessee and placed 55th overall in their age group.

Athletics
Congrats to Signal Mountain’s Middle School soccer boys’ and girls’ teams as regular season and district champions!

Signal Mountain’s high school basketball season kicked off with pre-season games during Thanksgiving week, with both our boys’ and girls’ teams scoring wins. Our boys’ team was sidelined due to COVID-19 at the time, but it was looking forward to more games at press time.

Signal Mountain’s high school wrestling season experienced a delayed start due to COVID-19 on opponents’ teams, and most competitions were cancelled starting out. The boys appreciated finally hitting the mats and won their first matches, and hope to complete the season.

Congrats to Signal’s high school bowling team, which finished the season as District Champs!  This is the first time since the 2013-2014 season that Signal Mountain Bowlers finished with an undefeated regular season district record, 10-0, and only the second time in the school’s bowling history to be undefeated in the district schedule.

Hats off to all who assisted with the installation of Pixellot cameras in the high school gym and football stadium so that home games can now be streamed on the NFHS network. This is especially helpful during the pandemic when attendance has been restricted, and some people prefer not to join crowds of any size.
Looking forward to a new year in so many ways! Enjoy the holidays and stay safe!

by Melissa Barrett