The vision of the Collegiate Academy at Blackman High School is to create a challenging learning environment with a rigorous course of study where students can become well-rounded scholars who fulfill their potential as they transition from high school to post-secondary opportunities.

On Tuesday, April 12, Blackman High School’s Blackman Collegiate Academy seniors participated in the first annual Academic Signing Day. Sixty-three seniors acknowledged their college choices and committed to continued academic excellence in college (see copy of commitment attached). Students committed to MTSU, University of Tennessee, Belmont, UT Chattanooga, Tennessee Tech, Howard, Berklee College of Music, Brigham Young, Carson-Newman, Chattanooga State, Covenant, Harding, Lipscomb, Martin Methodist, Savannah College of Art and Design, Trevecca, Alabama State, UC San Diego, Tulane, University of Mississippi, University of Central Florida, Washington University in St. Louis, Vanderbilt and the Air Force Academy.

Families and friends participated in this academic celebration that included refreshments and time for pictures.

All colleges were invited to the signing day, and MTSU, UT Chattanooga, and Martin Methodist personnel attended with special backdrops and brought college merchandise. Some other colleges sent students memorabilia to commemorate the day.

Blackman High School values academic commitments, and next year’s event is already planned to take place on April 11, 2018.

• Freshmen: Honors English I, Honors Biology, and Honors World History or AP Human Geography (must be enrolled in at least 2)

• Sophomores: Honors English II, Honors Integrated Math II or Advanced Honors Geometry, and Honors Chemistry (must be enrolled in at least 2)

• Juniors: Honors English III or AP English III, Honors U.S. History, AP U.S. History or Dual Enrollment U.S. History, and Speech or Critical Thinking (must be enrolled in BCA English III and U.S. History)

• Seniors: Speech or Critical Thinking (if not already taken) and Capstone

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Dual Enrollment program, students must:
1. be a junior or senior in high school;
2. have a minimum 3.0 high school GPA; or
3. have a minimum composite of 22 ACT (SAT composite of 1020)

**Admission to MTSU and the Dual Enrollment program does not guarantee eligibility for all courses. Some courses require prerequisites and/or certain test subscores, including Math and English courses.

Cost

The tuition cost of a Dual Enrollment class is $166.00 per credit hour. This cost can be offset by the Dual Enrollment Grant, if the student applies and is ruled eligible. Click here for more information about the grant. Students must maintain a 2.75 GPA for dual enrollment courses taken to stay eligible for the grant. The student should be prepared to pay the tuition cost in advance and then be reimbursed. Other anticipated costs include textbooks, $25 application fee, online course fees, and any applicable lab fees.

The 2016-17 Blackman High Speaker Series was a great success this year! We had the following speakers:

September: Mr. Shannon Eskinde, U.S. Marine and realtor

October: Mr. Walter Tiek, Businessman

November: Ms. Candy Carter, director of Last Call for Grace

January: Mr. Pete Pitts, actor from The Walking Dead

February: Mr. Kevin Anderson, Director of Sales at 94FM The Fish

March: Mr. Mike Hicks, Nashville Musician

We are excited for our slate of speakers for next year!

Rutherford Works Code Camps are educational, five day programs for middle and high school students that strive to create a fun, engaging, and immersive environment in which they are challenged to think about technology. The program teaches students to create with code. By giving students the resources needed for success, they can become leaders of the high-tech Tennessee workforce.

The week-long day camp will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. At the end of the camp, the students will host parents for a “Demo Day” where they will exhibit the skills they have learned. With over 1,000 tech jobs going unfilled in Middle Tennessee every year, your student can get a jump start toward a high wage, high demand career. Click here for more information.

• Elementary (Grades 3-5): June 12-16, Barfield Elementary
• Middle (Grades 6-8): June 12-16, Blackman High
• Middle/High (Grades 7-12): June 26-30, Stewarts Creek Middle School
• High (Grades 9-12): June 26 - 30, MTSU - KOM Building

High school students can apply to be leadership interns at Camp Invention at Barfield Elementary. Leadership interns will:

1.) Earn 40 volunteer hours which help strengthen college, scholarship,

or job applications.

2.) Inspire elementary school children's creativity and perseverance.

3.) Gain valuable knowledge about Intellectual Property Literacy™.

4.) Receive a letter of recognition from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Click here to apply.

MTSU's Summer Experiences range from learning a new language, aviation science, and a variety of sports camps to storytelling, the prestigious Governor’s School for the Arts, and many more. Click here for a list of all events.

Innovation J-Camp is a five-day workshop held at the Center for Innovation in Media in partnership with the College of Media and Entertainment at Middle Tennessee State University. Innovation J-Camp is perfect for high school students interested in telling stories for mobile, social, digital and video audiences. There are only 25 spots in this year’s camp. Cost is $150, which includes lunches and all materials. Camp runs from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. July 10-14, 2017. Register online at www.innovationjcamp.org.

The Tickle College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN will host a series of summer engineering programs for rising ninth to twelfth grade students during the summer of 2017. For program information, dates, and deadlines visit: http://www.engr.utk.edu/diversity/pre-college/.

Each program is a one-week residential program for rising high school students except eVOL9. All students are encouraged to apply. All eVOL10 applicants must have taken a standard test, such as the ACT Aspire, ACT Residual, ACT, PSAT, or SAT. All HITES applicants must have a minimum ACT math score: 25 (SAT math score: 590). Our mission is to provide students who show an interest in engineering studies an early exposure to and preparation for scientific study and research. All applications must be received by their deadlines listed on the website above.

The Blackman Voice is hosting a four day journalism camp to teach students the basics of journalism on June 6-9 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at BHS. You will take large group classes, participate in smaller lab classes, and attend seminars by one or more guest speakers. Our goal is for you to leave camp with one or more publication ready items. If you are interested in photography, please bring your own digital camera, preferably a DSLR. If you own a tablet or laptop you would like to use, you may bring it. You need to be able to log into Office 365.

Students must complete 40 hours of real-life experience in the area of his/her major. The experience must be approved by the faculty board. This experience can be completed any year but must be completed by April of the senior year. The experience may or may not be a part of the student’s senior research project. The experience should be meaningful and provide insight into the field of study the student is interested in.

Click here to visit the BCA website and find the application located on the right-hand side. If you have any questions please email Ms. Cook at cookg@rcschools.net

You can now report your extra-curricular hours online instead of using a paper form by clicking here. The link can also be found on the Collegiate Academy website. Fill out the form for each separate activity you complete and click submit. We will verify the hours each nine weeks with the club sponsor or coach. We will post the names of those that have completed their 20 hours of required extra-curricular hours on the BCA bulletin board after each nine weeks. If you have any questions please email Mr. Pedigo at pedigot@rcschools.net.

You can now check how many hours you have submitted for extracurricular activities by clicking the link below the online form on the BCA webpage. It will update every morning from now through May 19th. If you do not see your hours listed, please enter them in the online form.

**These hours are due by May 19th.

• Free tutoring is available by phone
  
• Monday - Thursday from 4 - 8 p.m.
  
• Call 615-298-6636 or 1-888-868-5777

You can now support Blackman High School when shopping for groceries!

Kroger: Log in to krogercommunityrewards.com and link your Kroger plus card to Blackman High School.

Publix: Pick up a BHS Publix partner keychain card in the BHS front office.

Thanks to Rutherford County Schools, you now have access to Shmoop's premium resources. HERE'S HOW TO GET STARTED:

• Go to http://schools.shmoop.com/login/rutherford-county/
  
• Log in OR Create New Student Account
  
• Enter Magic Word: NAVIGATE (all caps)
• Choose either ACT Exam Prep (under the Test Prep section) or ACT Crash Course (under the Courses section)
  

Need help? Contact Holly Hunter hunterh@rcschools.net.

Junior Mary Grace Mancuso has been selected to participate in the 17-18 Youth Leadership Rutherford Program. She has also been selected as a delegate to attend the Tennessee's Girls State Program at Lipscomb University. Way to go!

Senior Kayla Berry was awarded the TSSAA Academic Achievement Award for her GPA above a 3.5 during the bowling season. Kayla kept a 3.6 GPA for the first semester of her senior year while captaining the Lady Blaze bowling to a 5th place finish in the state tournament. Kayla was also rewarded with a 2nd team honor for District 7 and signed a four year scholarship to Martin Methodist in Pulaski, TN.

Senior Jeremy Puhr received a $2400 scholarship to sing in the Tennessee Tech Choir. Way to go Jeremy!

Congratulations to the following BCA students on being selected:

Richard Arning: City of Eagleville - Administrative Intern

Griffin Collins: Schwan Cosmetics - Product Development Lab Tech Intern

Timothy Gardner: Nissan Purchasing Intern

Katie Hartman: Murfreesboro Medical Clinic - Marketing

Luke Porter: Murfreesboro Electric - Engineering Intern

Congratulations to the following seniors on their college acceptance!

• Nathaniel Bryan – University of Tennessee, Christian Brothers University, MTSU, UTC
  
• Jasmyn Bunch – University of Tennessee
  
• Dominique Diallo – MTSU, Carson-Newman, TN Wesleyan, Austin Peay
  
• Marion Farrar – University of Alabama
  
• Madison Flannery – Savannah College of Art and Design, Full Sail University, University of Central Florida, ETSU
  
• Evan Foulks – MTSU
  
• Mary Goodnight – University of Tennessee, MTSU
  
• Megan Grimes – Trevecca Nazarene, Belmont
  
• Katie Hart – University of Tennessee, UTC, Oral Roberts University
  
• Trey Harvie – Auburn, Mississippi State, University of Mississippi
  
• Haley Kyle – Carson-Newman
  
• Maya Paliaro – University of Tennessee, ETSU, Austin Peay, MTSU
  
• Dominic Perratta – Belmont and MTSU
  
• Jeremy Puhr – Tennessee Tech
  
• Kayla Reed – Harding, University of Alabama, Freed-Hardman
  
• Taylin Spurlock – University of Tennessee, MTSU, University of Kentucky, Belmont, University of the South
  
• Colton Tincher – University of Colorado-Denver, Belmont, MTSU, University of Tennessee, West Virginia
  
• Tyler Trent – University of Tennessee
  
• Samantha Udell – University of Tennessee, Loyola, Tulane
  
• Megan Uhls – Lee University
  
• Daylia Wallace – UTC
  
• Cierra Williams – Western Kentucky, University of Tennessee, Tulane
  

Jostens will be back on May 10th.

• BCA Tassel: $13
• Honor Cord: $9
• Distinction Stole: $13

All seniors should have completed their FAFSA. If you still need to file, visit fafsa.gov. The FAFSA qualifies students for the HOPE Scholarship if they have a 3.0 GPA or 21 ACT score.

The state of Tennessee is offering two years of tuition-free community or technical college through the TN Promise. If your student applied by Nov. 1st, filed their FAFSA by Jan. 17th, and attended a second mandatory meeting, they need to complete their 8 hours of community service.

Click here to visit the scholarship section on the BHS Counseling Website.

Be sure to send any scholarships or college acceptance letters that you receive to Mrs. DeGeorge so we can celebrate your accomplishments! They can be emailed to degeorgea@rcschools.net or placed in her box.

We want to know about your accomplishments! If you want to be featured in the BCA Newsletter, send information and pictures to Mrs. Clawson at clawsons@rcschools.net.

Principal - Dr. Leisa Justus, justusl@rcschools.net, ext. 22901

Assistant Principal - Ken Reed, reedk@rcschools.net, ext. 22973

School Counselor - Christine Bryan, bryanc@rcschools.net. ext. 22906

Academics - Amber DeGeorge, degeorgea@rcschools.net, ext. 22909

Communications - Sara Lynn Clawson, clawsons@rcschools.net, ext. 22908

Grants - Andrea Holder, holdera@rcschools.net, ext. 22960

Extracurricular - Tim Pedigo, pedigot@rcschools.net, ext. 22720

Events - Hollye Dabney, dabneyh@rcschools.net, ext. 22738

Life Experience - Geneva Cook, cookg@rcschools.net, ext. 22942

Speaker Series - Brian Seadorf, seadorfb@rcschools.net, ext. 23036

Research - Rebecca Jones, jonesre@rcschools.net, ext. 22993