Samantha Gamache Sammons reports on Haywood Elementary School
Improvements during the November School Board meeting.  

• Third-grade teacher Samantha Sammons had a brainchild to have a greenhouse at her school. Helping her make it happen were School Health Coordinator Cindy Smith; the UT Extension Service staff; Clinton Neal, director of the Haywood County Solid Waste Department; David Levy at Willow Oaks; and Sheriff Melvin Bond. The Greenhouse plants are: purple and white petunias, kale, mustard greens – Assistant Principal Ms. Edith Williams cooked – purple top turnips, broccoli, Swiss chard, cabbage.
• Classroom students, Save The Children students, and some afterschool students are able to utilize the greenhouse.
• We received a $500 grant through Farm Bureau to further develop the greenhouse. The grant was brought to my attention by way of Mr. Tim Roberts, a UT Extension Agent.
• Teachers and other community volunteers freshly painted all the bathrooms throughout the school in more cheerful colors. Principal Anna Roberts’ husband, Tim Roberts, painted the teachers’ lounge and other areas over the
• Also a third-grade teacher, Rhonda Jones worked with Samantha to come up with the ideas for the school’s murals and fundraising ideas. New murals for the 3^rd grade hallways will include Science and Social Studies materials such as: the world with the seven continents and five oceans; a map of USA with states color coded by region with their abbreviations; Tennessee with flag, state symbols, grand divisions, and major cities; plant and butterfly life cycles; and possibly planets. Samantha did a multiplication painting in one of the third grade halls. This is also a third-grade skill.
• We have had one load of wood chips from the county’s landfill that we have dumped on the playground, and are in the process of receiving more. They cover the roots of the trees and have cut down on accident reports from recess.
• PEP funded the school art teacher, Roy Hawkins, to paint a mural of the 50 states with the abbreviations on the 3^rd grade playground.
• We are currently looking for grants and opportunities to update and improve our playgrounds. This includes ways to build another playground so that we have one for each grade level.
• T-DOT sponsored Keep Tennessee Beautiful Program and this is more of what Samantha does during the summer in Environmental Education. Provided education for various community groups – furthering student connections and interests and community connections.
• Hopefully we will have a second annual Greenhouse 5K in the spring.
• I am looking into funding for TVs in the cafeteria – four 55-inch smart TVs that will play PBS programs during breakfast, lunch, and after-school snack. Teachers could also use them as a different classroom or as a meeting room and sync their material to the TVs.
• We are working with GCA and the Haywood County Solid Waste Department to renew recycling through all schools, and the central office.
• Haywood Elementary joined other schools in setting up Free Little Libraries at its school.