Sunny Hill Christmas Talent Show
highlights songs of the season

 Before Sunny Hill students left school for their Christmas holidays, many participated in the school’s annual Christmas Talent Show. Physical education teacher Tim Seymour was emcee for the event. The Sunny Choir performed several numbers, and others entertained by singing, playing the drums and dancing.

Sunny Hill Choir performs in the community
Arethria Turner, the music teacher at Sunny Hill School, has created a choir program that is more than 60 students strong. These students practice on their own time – after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays – and perform throughout the community during the school year. Recently they performed at Bluff Creek Baptist Church at a benefit for a Sunny Hill student. Joining the group were teachers Alexandria Seaton and Tracy Evans singing “I Come with Love.” The choir’s rendition of “Share Your Good Will,” won the students a standing ovation.

The choir has also performed for school board members, at the Stanton Christmas parade, at the Multi-Handicapped Center, at community-wide programs and present a Christmas Concert each year. They will also have a concert this spring.

Arethria Turner - Sunny Hill School Choir director.

The Sunny Hill Choir is more than 60 students strong. These dedicated vocalists practice Tuesdays and Thursdays after school and have performed in the community numerous times.

Challenged by math

Sunny Hill math teachers are challenging students to solve problems every week. Bulletin boards around the school display word problems for students to solve. Answers to the problems are turned in to the office and a drawing is held for fifth and sixth grade winners, who receive free snack coupons.

Sunny Hill holds school-wide reading initiative
Students and teachers have finished reading “Holes” which was this year’s school-wide reading selection. Every two weeks students took a test covering several chapters. Those students who scored 100 had their names entered into a drawing for jersey give-a-ways. Movie Day was Thursday, December 15, when the entire student body watched “Holes” and enjoyed snacks. On Friday, December 16, the grand prize, a bicycle donated by Wal-Mart, was awarded to a fifth grader whose name was drawn from all the students who scored 100.

School holds penny drive; pull-tab project
Sunny Hill homerooms are competing this month in a penny drive sponsored by the school’s PTO. The homeroom that collects the most pennies wins a pizza party. The PTO will then use the funds for several projects around the school. Some of the money will be donated to the Marvin Taylor Scholarship Fund that the school started last year after the death of Mr. Taylor who had a been a teacher there for many years. A committee has been formed at the school to establish criteria for awarding the scholarships.

Also, the students at Sunny Hill have started collecting soda can pull-tabs. The Ronald McDonald House in Memphis recycles the tabs and the proceeds are used to provide housing for families who have children in St. Jude Children’s Hospital. According to Mar Austria of the Ronald McDonald House, tabs are sold for 35-45 center per pound. Fifty-one families can stay at the Ronald McDonald House.

Jan McAdams, a Sunny Hill student parent and member of the PTO, is asking for the community’s help with this project. They would like to donate as many pounds of pull tabs as they can, so if you want to donate your pull tabs to the project, please drop them off at Sunny Hill School.

Sunny Hill student has story published
Sunny Hill student Molly McAdams, daughter of Jim and Jan McAdams, is now a published writer. Responding to the prompt: “You are walking along the beach and discover a mermaid. Describe the mermaid and write a story about your adventure.” She wrote a story that was so impressive, that it was submitted to the Jackson Parent Magazine and published in the December 2005 issue. Her teacher is Dorothy Jackson.

Here is her story:

On the 31st of May, my family flew to Florida and stayed in a hotel near the beach. One night, as I was lying on the flat, uncomfortable bed on the 12th floor of the Mosaark Hotel, the warm sea-smelling water eased into the room. I quickly scrambled out of the bed to shut the door, when some strange silhouette gracefully waded in sparkling water.

Realizing that it was 12:25 and all my family was dead asleep, I swooped up my robe and slid into my house shoes. Swiftly but silently, I closed the door. I decided to use the steps so I could go a little faster and ran into the lobby. No one was there except for the clerk, who stared tiredly after me.

My robe touched the sand, and without knowing, my shoes just slipped off my feet. My eyes literally popped out! Inside the water was a mermaid, chasing fish and then releasing them. “What are you doing out of the water?” She looked at me. “Vot do you mean? Aye alvays stay in zee water!” She was beautiful. Her top was made of two large seashells which were tied with green seaweed. Her tail had scales like fish. They were purple and pink, her arms swayed looking for more fish, but she was as graceful as a flamingo with a tail. “Vould you like to swim with me?” I paused then spoke. “I can’t breathe underwater like you can.” Ooooo, I see, a human, aren’t you?” She smiled. “I make human svim with Glacia! That is name, it is!” I swam underwater with her for hours, and her magic let me breathe. I never realized how beautiful the ocean was.

“Annie, Annie!” Someone had shaken me. “Wake up!” I was in the uncomfortable bed again. I sat up in my bed to find all I had just seen was nothing more than a dream. My eyes just couldn’t help but look at the window. There was the mermaid, smiling, and waving.
 

After-school program at Sunny Hill offers computer classes

These students are participating in the After-school program at Sunny Hill School. They take computer classes during the 3 to 5 p.m. program. Any student at the school can participate in the program.