We send a huge “Thank You” to First United Bank for including the Hopkins County Schools Family Resource Youth Services Centers in their Giving Tuesday outreach! Bank staff collected donations for Friday jeans days, with the money going to benefit local nonprofits. The $2,000 donation will be divided among the FRYSCs and be used to help meet the needs of students and families. 

We’re so thankful our Family Resource Youth Services Centers have been able to help provide Christmas assistance for 674 of our students! This assistance is provided directly by the centers or through referrals to outside agencies. Thanks go out to everyone who has helped with this project!

Members of Hopkins County Young Professionals recently met at the HCS Central Office to wrap gifts for five students at Jesse Stuart Elementary. That’s just one example of the many people and organizations who have reached out to provide this needed assistance. 

Awesome work by our FRYSCs!

Hopkins County Board of Education member Steve Faulk and his family gave a donation of baby dolls and other toys to the Hopkins County Schools Family Resource Center at West Broadway Elementary School. The donation was in memory of his sister, Karen Wilson, and his wife, Pam Faulk.

The family has made an annual donation for Karen’s Christmas Baby Dolls toy drive for several years, and expanded their efforts this year to honor Pam. These toys will be distributed to children through the FRYSCs. Thanks to Mr. Faulk and his family for this generous donation to benefit our kids!

For the first time EVER, an HCS student made the Winter Break all-call! Hanson Elementary 4th grader Camber Rogers was randomly selected out of all students who had perfect attendance during the first semester. Congratulations, Camber! We’re doing this to draw attention to the importance of school attendance. It impacts student grades, behavior, mental health, and even the likelihood of graduating high school. 

HCS plans to offer students the chance to participate in future all-calls. Please stay tuned for information on how to enter these contests!

Both of our high schools will be well-represented musically in the annual “A Tri-State Christmas” production. The TV special was videoed earlier this month at WEHT Studios in Henderson.

Madisonville North Hopkins HS groups who recorded performances include the Maroon Brass Quintet, Maroon Clarinet Quintet, and MNHHS Saxophone Quartet.

Hopkins County Central Band and Choir have performed for the special all three years and expanded this year by adding a Brass Quartet to their Saxophone Quartet and Chamber Choir performances.  

There are two scheduled airings of “A Tri-State Christmas,” which is a production of CW7, ABC25, and Eyewitness News. They include the following:

We love the annual family holiday meals in our schools! These photos are from the Thanksgiving lunch at Hanson Elementary. Our school chefs do a GREAT job! 

With new teddy bears in tow, HCS kindergartners took part in “Bear Hugs & Band-Aids” on December 5 at Hopkins County Career & Technology Center. The special event was sponsored by HOSA, a club for future health professionals.

“Every kindergartner in Hopkins County receives a new bear,” said HCCTC Principal Alaina Lancaster. “They are taking their teddy bear for a check-up.” Students rotated through stations to check the teddy bear’s vital signs; take weight, length, and temperature; listen for a heart rate, and have an X-ray. The bears were provided through funding from the Community Schools initiative.

“The last station is for First Aid care, where they’ll wrap up any broken bones,” Lancaster said. “I’m already hearing some conversations like, ‘My bear has a tummy ache,’ which I thought was cute.”

“The purpose of this event is to help younger students not have a fear of going to the doctor for a checkup,” she said. “It also gives them a first glance at what a health care field might look like if they think they may want to be a nurse one day.” About 450 kindergarten students went through the program at CTC.

A special collaboration has resulted in a memorable project for a 4th grade class at Grapevine Elementary School.

Visual performing arts teacher Angel Samek got the idea from a TikTok posted by another teacher. Students would design a beanie, which would then be crocheted just as they imagined.

“I thought it was very cool,” Samek said, “and knew that my amazing friend here is very, very talented and loves all these kids here.” That friend is custodian Angela Haire, better known at Grapevine as Ms. Angela. She is also the mother of a student in Patricia Matheny’s 4th grade class, which was selected to receive the hats.

Ms. Angela agreed to donate her time, and helped Ms. Samek decide what yarn to order. Family Resource Center coordinator Tonja Simms ordered the needed supplies.

A display board showed examples of the yarn choices so students would know for sure the color choices that were available. Each student colored the drawing with the shades they selected for their hat.

Ms. Angela really got into crocheting about nine years ago. “My granny taught me the basics of crocheting when I was younger, but I didn’t want to listen to her,” she said. Much of the crocheting took place during Fall Break.

“It took her 25 minutes a hat,” Samek said. “I just love her and everything she did for the kids!” The kids like their new hats. Some even wear them every day!

Each beanie features a patch that reads "Made with love from Ms. Angela."

“I really enjoyed it,” she said, “then to see their faces when they got something that they created, and I just brought it to life. It was special. Their little faces lit up. It was worth every minute of it.”

Students at West Hopkins School worked on being Contributing Citizens for the month of November.  Together, they collected almost 500 boxes of cereal for our local food pantries! The drive culminated in a giant domino chain down the main hallway of the school.

Ben Prevette, agriculture teacher at Hopkins County Central High School,was honored with the Great Futures Award at the Board of Education meeting on December 15. He demonstrates outstanding Student-Centered Impact, Innovation & Creativity, Leadership & Collaboration, Service & Dedication, and Family & Community Engagement.

Prevette goes above and beyond for students and staff at Central. Over the past few years, the school’s ag program has grown tremendously. Starting with growing corn at the high school, their efforts have expanded to miniature greenhouses at elementary schools, growing watermelon that’s served during lunch throughout HCS, and, now, starting a cattle farm program that will eventually provide beef for the district. He has worked closely with HCS Food Service and local farmers to ensure students are provided with quality, student-grown food in our cafeterias.

School Principal Mike Zimmer says that when he sees Mr. Prevette coming, he knows that he wants to spend money. When Mr. Zimmer asks, “How is it going to benefit kids?”, Prevette always has an answer! He is innovative, creative, and student-centered!

Crime Stoppers of Hopkins County has announced the winners of the Hidden Hero Contest. Top honors go to the following students:

Elementary Poster Contest - Rylan Bowman, Jesse Stuart Elementary;

Middle School Poster Contest - Jemma Geary, South Hopkins Middle;

High School Poster Contest - David Carson, Hopkins County Central;

PSA Contest - Brodey Lamar, Aundreias Murphy, DeAreon Duncans, Myles Aune, and Riley Goff of Hopkins County Central.

Two teams from Madisonville North Hopkins HS competed against 12 other schools from western Kentucky and Tennessee in the 55th Murray State University Chemistry Tournament on November 13.

The lower division team was composed of Eduardo Diaz, Bailie Scorsur, Landon Walker, and Brandon Fowler with Maria Bailey as the coach. Eduardo Diaz placed 2nd winning $100 while Brandon Fowler placed 1st and won $150.

The upper division team, composed of Carson Smith, Trey Evans, Duncan Eveland, and Noah Thomas with Maria Bailey as coach, placed 3rd overall and won $100 for MNHHS.

The High School Winter Sports Athletes of the Year were honored at the Board of Education meeting on Monday. Those recognized include the following:

• Athletes of the Year – Kenzleigh Harrison and Markezz Hightower;

• Citizenship Athletes of the Year – Destiny Caudill and Noah Mays;

• Heart of the Team Athletes of the Year – Cadence Curry and Gaige Brasher;

• Sportsmanship Athletes of the Year – Leah Moody and William Clevenger

The Middle School Winter Sports Athletes of the Year were honored at the Board of Education meeting on Monday. Those recognized include the following:

• Athletes of the Year – Amelia Smith and Lucian Laffoon;

• Citizenship Athletes of the Year – Dillon Allnutt and Kynzie White;

• Heart of the Team Athletes of the Year – Parker Baldwin and Carson Glaser;

• Sportsmanship Athletes of the Year – Virginia Garrott and Kipten Wood

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