News

Our students had an amazing time at the Rebel Run last Friday. THANK YOU for your support in this fundraiser. This event raised $27,000.00 to go to our Annual Fund that provides so much to our school. 

We ALL had the best time viewing the eclipse on Monday. Our PreK-4 students through 5th grade went outside with glasses to view this rare event. We had moon pies, star crunch, capri suns, and sun chips for snacks! I am sure this is a day they will all remember forever. 

Our PreK-3 classes had a great time celebrating the letter “V”. Mary Leslie Cranford visited their classes to have a “V” for volleyball lesson; they made an erupting volcano, and they had vet day to end the celebration.  Students brought in their stuffed animals to the vet clinic to get shots, bandaids, and check ups. They absolutely loved playing vet! 

Our 4th and 5th graders had an AMAZING time with our upper school science club doing great experiments. They loved the ping pong cannon,  potato launcher, strawberry DNA extractor, laser blast, and the snow fluff!  We love science, and we love our upper school / lower school crossover events. They had such a great time experiencing this! 

Our kindergarten classes have worked hard on their creative writing. They recently completed an opinion writing piece that included their favorite household chore, and they presented their work to the class. These were great! 

PE classes have had a ball playing four-square with hula hoops and bean bags. Our 2nd and 3rd graders have loved learning about circuit boards in STEAM.  Library classes have read great books, and our music students are singing like angels each day. We love our “special” classes each week! 

Lower school chapel this week was led by Mr. Tanner Arrowood from First Baptist Millington. He did a great job teaching us about the 23rd Psalm. We are so thankful for Mr. Tanner at FBC because he is their athletic outreach minister and helps us with our Little Rebel sports programs. 

Good luck to our lower school Treble Honor Choir students! Devee Lowe, Sloane Kemp, Hazel Shell, Allie Boaz, Aaron Harvey, and Molly Kate Phelps will be traveling to Nashville tomorrow for this special performance. We are so thankful for Mrs. Dawn Gregory and all the ways that she leads our music so well. 

*******Cold mornings are still upon us occasionally. HOODIES ARE NOT ALLOWED, except on Friday for spirit wear. The ONLY APPROVED sweatshirt for daily wear Monday - Thursday is the plain sweatshirt with the small TR logo on the top left area.  Other shirts bought here may be worn every Friday for spirit wear. Also, as warm weather approaches, CROCS ARE NOT allowed.  Thank you for making sure you follow these guidelines. 

We will celebrate our baseball and softball buddies on Tuesday night (4/16) at the sportsplex. Be here at 5:30 for a 5:40 line up. See you there! GO REBELS!!

 

Rebel Color Run

Our middle school students had a wonderful time at the Rebel Color Run on Friday. Special thanks to all of our students and families that participated. All the money that was raised will go to the Annual Fund to help with improvements and projects on our campus. Our middle school raised over $3000. Next year, we hope to raise even more! 

Into the Woods

Our high school students performed their Spring musical Into the Woods last weekend. Our students at TRA are exceptionally talented, and this show highlighted their vocal and performing abilities. Three middle school students were part of the show, Zoe Meredith (8th) played the role of Milky White, Angelo Khattar (8th) and Vander Burchett (7th) helped with the backstage crew.

 

Probability 

Our 7th grade math students moved to the connector to roll some giant dice as they worked on probability. The students recorded how many times the dice landed on each number based on the number of rolls to determine its probability.

 

Greek Olympics 

Our 6th grade history students have been studying Ancient Greece. Students participated this week in Olympic Games representing various city-states in Ancient Greece. Events included tongue twisters, target practice, a “boxing” event, and art recognition. City-states competed against each other and the champion teams were awarded a gold medal. The students had lots of fun! 

Eclipse

On Monday, our students were able to go outside to witness the eclipse. Coach Dean and Mrs. Gezley presented lessons for the students about the eclipse in science class before going outside. What a special event that we were able to experience together as a community! 

 

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March Madness Bracket Winner

Congratulations to Sydney Gaterell (7th), our middle school men’s basketball bracket champion! Sydney ended up with 1170 points. Her prize was $30 giftcard to the TRA cafe! Winning can be sweet! 

Spring Sports

Our middle school teams are continuing to represent our school well! Our MS softball team and baseball team have only lost one game! Many of our MS track students have placed in the top 3 in recent meets and also continue to set personal records! Our MS soccer team has worked hard on the field as they have continued to grow in their skill and knowledge of the game. We are proud of all of our Rebels! 

 

 

End of the Year Awards

Please mark your calendars for our Honor Program on Wednesday, May 8 at 1:30p.m. in the PAC and for our 8th grade parents and guests the Bridge Ceremony on Tuesday, May 14 at 8:00a.m. in the PAC. We hope you will be able to attend!

 

Looking Ahead:

• Friday, April 12 - Dress Down Day for Charity -Bring $2 

• Monday, April 15 - 8th Grade Washington DC Trip Meeting 6:30 in the library

• Friday, April 19 - Middle School & High School Choir Concert @7:00 in the PAC

• April  23 - Pre-ACT testing for 8th Grade Students 

• April 29-May 1 - ERB testing for 6th/7th Grade Students 

• Thursday, May 2 - 7th Grade Field Trip to the Memphis Zoo

• April 30-May 4 - 8th Grade Washington D.C. Trip

• Wednesday, May 8 - Middle School Awards Ceremony 

• Tuesday, May 13 - 8th Grade Bridge Ceremony 8:00 in the PAC

TRA’s Fine Arts program closed out their Spring musical Into the Woods on Sunday. There were so many notable things added to make this performance a success, including an incredible set design as well as the LED wall. I am so proud of these students as well as their leaders and directors within the program. They work so hard, and the product always reflects that. Well done!

Tuesday, TRA sophomores and juniors took the ACT test on campus. Everything went well, and we cannot wait to begin seeing these results coming back in!

That same day, TRA freshmen visited the University of Memphis campus for a tour and lunch in their dining hall. Despite the less than ideal weather conditions, this was a great trip and opportunity for our students. 

Monday, TRA students throughout the whole campus experienced the solar eclipse. Each division had designated locations on campus to view the eclipse with their classes. The upper school even shared some high school students with a few of our lower school friends, to be available for helping their teachers with making sure they kept their eclipse glasses on while they waited!

Family Science Night hosted by TRA’s upper school Science Club, was a big success last night! There were so many demonstration tables, from the popular ping pong cannon and potato cannon, to Strawberry DNA extraction and Elephant Toothpaste. I want to extend a big thank you to Mrs. Watson and Coach Stevenson, along with the members of the Science Club for their hard work and for making this a great event for our school community. As a former science teacher, I love to see all students become excited about all things science!

On Friday, students participated in TRA’s annual fundraiser. This year, the event was a Rebel Run, which included  a color war for the older students. The staff and students who participated really had a lot of fun. I wanted to thank Mrs. Brette Pinner for her hard work in organizing and bringing this event to our school, all for the continued support of our students.

Finally, I am sure you have received some communication about an upcoming research study that I am designing and conducting for our school, as part of my doctoral program. The study will examine student perceptions of the learning environment, but more specifically the aspects they consider ideal or that they prefer for the type of classroom environment they feel is the most supportive for successful learning. Coach McLemore is helping me with obtaining participant consent from parents, so that it can remain as anonymous as possible and that I may not even know who does or does not participate. This will ensure that nobody feels compelled to participate if they do not feel comfortable doing so. Even the students who do participate will submit their survey responses anonymously. So, the study has several layers of anonymity built into it so that students can feel safe to provide honest feedback. If you have already submitted your signed consent for your child to participate, it has been documented already. If you have not already done so, I would encourage you to consider allowing your child to participate in the survey. The university’s review board requires that researchers have a specific number of participants, so I would be grateful for as much student participation as possible. To be eligible to participate, students must be in any grade from 5th to 12th, and have been enrolled at TRA all year. Thank you for your consideration!

Upcoming Events & Reminders:

• Monday, April 15th - **RESCHEDULED College Group Tour to Ole Miss

• Tuesday, April 16th - Baseball Buddy & Softball Slugger Night

• Wednesday, April 17th - Alumni Legacy Breakfast in the PAC

• Thursday, April 18th - College Group Tour to Rhodes & CBU

• Monday, April 22nd & Tuesday, April 23rd - PreACT Testing for 9th grade students

Dear Parents,

I am thrilled this week to announce the resounding success of our Family Science Night! It was truly heartwarming to see the enthusiasm and curiosity on the faces of our students and their families as they engaged in various hands-on science experiments and activities. Your participation and support made the event truly unforgettable, and I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you.

Family Science Night not only provided a fun-filled evening of exploration and discovery but also reinforced the importance of STEM education in our community. By fostering a love for science at home, we are empowering our children to become lifelong learners and problem solvers.

I would like to thank Mrs. Watson, Mr. Stevenson, our science department, and our students for making this such a fun night for our families. I encourage you to continue nurturing your child's curiosity and creativity. Whether it's through simple science experiments at home or exploring nature in your neighborhood, there are countless opportunities to keep the spirit of learning alive.

Thank you once again for your unwavering support and commitment to your child's education. I am truly grateful to be part of such a wonderful community, and I look forward to celebrating even more successes in the future. As always, thanks for sharing these wonderful students with us!

 

Warm regards,

Dr. Graham

 

On Saturday, Josh Gardner held the second of three ACT Workshop sessions, where students learned strategies and practiced for the Math subtest. He will be back in the TRA library this Saturday as well, working with students to cover the Reading and Science subtests. 

Last Thursday TRA Juniors hosted Prom for the Senior class at Bellamia Manor in Galloway. Prom is always a fun event, but I have to say that this year’s group seemed to genuinely enjoy the night where nearly everyone danced throughout the evening. I am so grateful for a student body who can get together for social events, and have good fun to make memories they will always remember!

The Spring Musical, Into the Woods, being presented by TRA’s Fine Arts department opens tonight at 7:00 PM. I know it is going to be a phenomenal show, because I know the amount of time and hard work the cast and crew have put into it. If you haven’t gotten your tickets yet you need to, you won’t want to miss out on seeing it!

On Tuesday, April 2nd, twenty-eight students from the upper school attended the 66th Annual Mathematics Contest sponsored by TMTA (Tennessee Mathematics Teachers’ Association) at Dyersburg State Community College in Dyersburg, Tennessee. Students competed against nine other area schools. We particularly want to recognize and congratulate the following students for placing in the top 10 for their respective categories:

12th Grade:

Cameron Long - 3rd Place in Statistics

Kade Allen - 4th Place in Statistics

Luke Grissom - 7th Place in Statistics

 

11th Grade:

William Goudy - 4th Place in Precalculus

Olivia McCalla - 6th Place in Precalculus

Dillon Butler - 10th Place in Precalculus

 

9th Grade:

Grace Tyler - 10th Place in Geometry

Tomorrow is TRA’s Annual Fund fundraiser, the Rebel Run! This fundraiser is taking the place of the Bike-A-Thon, and offers an opportunity for our middle and upper school students to get involved with helping to contribute to the fundraising efforts that benefit the entire school. Each grade or division has been given a time to report outside and complete the course. There has been a great deal of hard work put into preparing for this event, and the funds raised through it will be used to directly impact the school community and programs provided for our students. I hope that each of the upper school students and their families will keep that in mind as they are preparing to participate in the event tomorrow.

**Students will have the opportunity to change clothes prior to going outside for 

the Rebel Run. Homecoming Activity Apparel (soccer or basketball length shorts, or joggers for tomorrow since it could be cooler) per the previous guidelines will be allowed. 

Monday, April 8th, students will have the opportunity to view the solar eclipse that will occur during the school day. Approved eyewear has been purchased for the whole school, and designated locations for each division will be provided for students to experience this rare event!

Next Tuesday, April 9th, students in the sophomore and junior classes will be taking the ACT during the school day. Testing will begin promptly at 8:00 am, and students arriving after that time will not be permitted into a testing room. Please be sure that your student gets a good night of rest, eats a wholesome breakfast, and arrives on time, prepared to perform to the best of their ability. I am excited and looking forward to seeing their results very soon! On the same day, freshmen students will be going to the University of Memphis campus to take a group tour with Mrs. Suzanne Davidson and a few upper school teachers.

Finally, I want to congratulate the Top Ten students from the Class of 2024! This announcement was just made today to the senior class following chapel, and I am so incredibly proud of their hard work. Well done, students!

1. Jaycie Carroll - Valedictorian

2. Haley Blevins - Salutatorian

3. Rylee Ford - Historian

4. Lily Dischner

5. Kade Allen

6. Cameron Long

7. Luke Grissom

8. Hyatt Williams

9. Noah Christian

10. Shasta Slayman

 

Upcoming Events & Reminders:

• Into the Woods - Fine Arts Show - Thursday, April 4th - Sunday, April 7th

• ACT Prep Workshop Series with Josh Gardner:

  • Saturday, April 6th, 9:00-11:30                      

• Tuesday, April 9th - ACT Testing Date for 10th & 11th grade students

        9th Grade Field Trip to University of Memphis

        Science Club Demonstrations for Elementary School Students

• Wednesday, April 10th - Family Science Night

• Monday, April 22nd & Tuesday, April 23rd - PreACT Testing for 9th grade students