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From the Desk of Mike Gilbert:
The school year continues to move forward, and so do all the activities at the high school. I would like to use this space to focus on two things that are happening at the high school and in the district that are very exciting for all stakeholders.
The GradeSpeed attendance and gradebook system, which is in place for grades 3 - 12, is a great tool for both teachers and administrators. The good news is that we are ready to expand that system to include parental access to your child's grades and attendance. We will have a link to GradeSpeed on the high school Web site that will allow you to register. We will include instructions on our Web site that will make the process easy to follow. This is a big step in the high school's plan to make information available to the parents of our students. With this link you will be able to see up-to-date grades and attendance on your student. As our teachers record grades, averages are automatically updated and absences/tardies are recorded each class period. I hope this will be a tool that parents use to keep up with their child's progress through out the school year.
The Spring Hill ISD Education Foundation had its fund raising dinner last week, and it was a great success. Randy Akin and all the people involved with the foundation have done a tremendous job of getting this project off the ground. If you are not familiar with the Education Foundation, it is a non-profit organization that is raising money to supplement the educational goals of Spring Hill ISD. They have a goal of raising $250.000 to establish a perpetual fund, from which teacher educational grants and special projects will be paid, to enhance the education of our students. To date, the foundation has raised over $170,000 and is in the planning phase of the first round of awards to schools. If you would like more information about the Education Foundation please contact the Spring Hill ISD Administration Building at 903-323-7700.
There are many people in the Spring Hill Community that are working very hard to support the efforts of our students. Thank you for your efforts in all the areas that make our students and teachers feel appreciated, and keep up the good work.
Go Panthers!
Mike Gilbert, Principal
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NHS Holds First Fall Induction
submitted by Mary Lou Berlin
 Twenty-two Spring Hill High School students were inducted into the Alpha Centauri Chapter of the National Honor Society on Sunday afternoon, October 1 in the high school's Little Theatre. Established in 1921, the National Honor Society honors students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Character.
Chapter President Melissa Collier opened the first fall ceremony with information regarding our local chapter's charter in October of 1974 with the first induction ceremony of 12 members being held in April 1975.
Other chapter officers, Shana Boyd, Britni Whittington, Alyssa Baxley and senior member Cole Tomberlain presented speeches on the four areas of NHS. All senior members assisted inductees during the candlelit ceremony.
Following the ceremony, a reception honoring our new members was held in the high school library.
SHHS Band to be featured on CD
submitted by Mike Barnes
On Friday, September 15 the Spring Hill Band received a letter announcing their award in the National Wind Band Honors competition. This organization receives entries from across the United States. The recordings are then adjudicated by nationally recognized composers and conductors. The top 25% in each classification advance to a second round. Of the bands advancing, only the best 60 minutes of music submitted are selected for a compilation CD. The CD will be distributed to all participants and available nation wide as "a sign post for the standard of the wind band in the schools of the United States." Last summer the Spring Hill Band entered recordings of Salvation is Created and Armenian Dances. Both of these selections will be appearing on the CD along with selections from some of the best Junior High and High School Bands from across the Nation.
English Classes Take Field Trip to Caldwell Auditorium
submitted by Debbie Carter
 Advanced Placement and Pre-AP English classes attended productions of five classic stories October 6 at Caldwell Auditorium in Tyler.
Chamber Theatre Productions of Boston presented "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," "The Tell Tale Heart," "The Monkey's Paw," "The Necklace," and "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County."
CRT is a nationally acclaimed professional touring company whose productions are fully staged with sets, costumes, lighting, and sound effects and are performed by a cast of professional actors.
According to sophomore Aaron Moore, "The plays were awesome!" He said, "They were funny and suspenseful. It was definitely the best field trip I've been on. Getting out of school made it even better."
"I really enjoyed watching the plays," said junior Aubrey Worlow. "It was fun to get away from the usual atmosphere of school, but still learn something."
"I really liked going to Tyler to see the plays," said sophomore Jeni Reigstad. "It gave me a better idea of the emotion in the stories and allowed me to not only learn about English literature, but also gave me a theatre experience. Plus, missing a whole day of school made it a great time!"
Junior Corey Pleasant said, "I thought that the plays were well-constructed and performed."
Forty-eight sophomores and juniors from SHHS attended the productions. AP English teacher Nancy Green and Pre-AP English teacher Debbie Carter accompanied them.
Yoders Place at All-Region Choir Competition
submitted by Debbie Carter
Congratulations to Courtney Yoder and Cami Yoder on their success at this past weekend's All-Region Choir Competition in Mr. Pleasant. They represented Spring Hill and competed against 22 other 3-A and 4-A school districts for a place in the All-Region Choir. Cami Yoder placed first and Courtney Yoder placed third. They will be singing at the All-Region Concert on November 4th and advancing to the pre-area competition in November.
YBA Sweatshirt Sales
submitted by Alisha Koonce and Vicky Duckworth
 Young Business Associates is an organization with the goal to provide service opportunities and help working students reach their goals. This club is made up of full-time students who also work part-time jobs. It is the club for members of Diversified Career Preparation - the work program. Fund-raisers help raise money for activities and service projects for the community, local businesses, and school. For the fourth consecutive year YBA has sold Spring Hill sweatshirts. Every year sweatshirts change in style, design, and colors, with the students running the project as a business and creating the original designs. This particular year the students decided to go for something much different and offer non-traditional colors as well as traditional colors. The buyers are able to choose from royal blue, medium gray, charcoal gray, and pink. The past few weeks this years YBA has worked hard and done well raising money to help fund numerous activities throughout the year as well as raise money for individual scholarships.
Boasting, Beowulf Style
submitted by Karen Yoder
In Ms. Yoder's AP English IV class last six weeks, after reading the Anglo-Saxon epic, Beowulf, students were assigned several unique activities to prepare them for the upcoming "mead-hall celebration." At the celebration, as did the Anglo-Saxons, we gathered in a circle and began the festivities "wassailing," drinking this holiday concoction and singing the "Wassail Song" in perfect pitch:
 Here we Come A-Wassailing
Among the leaves so green,
Here we come a wand'ring
So fair to be seen.
In the spirit of festivity and friendship, these "college-bound comrades" then recited their favorite passages from the epic, using expression and gestures to capture the character's emotion. Naturally, as in Anglo-Saxon times, the fellow warriors would then boast of their lineage, their past accomplishments, and their future exploits. Our 21st century warriors boasted of many impressive feats: being the greatest cook alive, the most heroic soccer champion in the state, the most superb vocalist who can shatter glass, the all-around musician who can play fugues and sonatas with her hands tied behind her back, the most graceful ballet performer in the world, the spiritual icon ready to destroy apathy, the quickest hand at slaying college-entrance exams, and even the basketball all-star who can shoot a three pointer from "downtown." Of course, this "bragging session" was accompanied by steaming-hot wassail and homemade chocolate sugar cookies, a version of the Anglo-Saxon mead and pastry! Overall, all left the celebration inspired by each other's successes and ready to conquer more challenges in their senior year mission.
For the Love of Music
submitted by The Panther's Paw
 Self-proclaimed "inspirational" band Hartlyn has just hit the spotlight in Spring Hill. Vocalist/song writer Josh Trammel, base player Scott Carter, guitarists Derrick Sechrist and Drew Airhart, keyboardist Chris Johnston, and drummer Ryan Muller each put in their talents to create what many people have called a truly original band. Scott Carter, Derrick Sechrist, and Josh Tramel came from a recently split-up band called "Myrona" and joined Ryan Muller, Chris Johnston, and Drew Airhart with the common goal of fulfilling their love of music.
Hartyln has been together for merely two months but sounds as if its members have been playing together for a lifetime. The band practices every Saturday in Derrick's garage, and they try to get together in their free time. Since Hartlyn is newer, they don't really perform as often as they would like, but they are always up for a show.
"We play the music we like and try to be different with it, and it seems like most people enjoy it." Sechrist said.
Many bands today such as Greenday, Fallout Boy, Motion City Soundtrack, and Underoath have all gone big and signed contracts to make millions.
"Too many bands today focus on money and fame," Carter said. "They have no meaning behind the music and the lyrics. We are trying to show people that we are not about all those other things. We're just doing what we love to do and having fun."
While those big names have good music, small town bands such as Hartlyn seem to relate easier to teenagers.
"Hartlyn is the first local band besides Hello Samuel that I really like," senior Britni Whittington said. "The guys are so talented and they're each cute in their own ways. They are definitely unique and original."
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