In the News

Gordonsville High School senior Emery Shoemake will take her final walk as Miss Tigerette on Saturday, Nov. 7.

Shoemake was crowned Miss Tigerette in the inaugural pageant presented by GHS HOSA in 2025. Prior to Miss Tigerette, Shoemake also won Miss Golden Spirit and Miss William Walton.

“I prepared for the pageant by practicing my walk and preparing for public speaking by practicing pageant questions,” she recalled.

Shoemake noted that public speaking was the most intimidating part of the pageant. “This has always been a challenge for me, but pageants have given me an opportunity to better my public speaking and I’m so thankful for that,” she shared. She represented the pageant in the Gordonsville Christmas Parade during her reign.

Any students from kindergarten thru high school in Smith County can participate in the 2026 pageant. Registration to participate must be turned in by Wednesday, Oct. 21.

Miss Tigerette was the brainchild of health science teacher Jenna Hackett. “I decided to continue the pageant this year because of the success of our first pageant,” Hackett said. “I got to see girls in this county step out of their comfort zones and try something new.”

Funds raised from the Miss Tigerette Pageant will benefit HOSA, which Hackett sponsors. The group plans to attend the TN HOSA State Leadership Conference in Chattanooga in the spring. “We try to keep costs as low as possible for students to attend, so the funds from the pageant help us bridge the cost for expenses such as travel, hotels, meals, and sub costs,” she said.

Hackett will make a few adjustments to the pageant's second go-round, such as adding judges for a total of five. “Other than that, most everything will be the same,” Hackett said. “I was so happy with last year’s turnout that I didn’t change much.”

“What excites me the most is who the next Miss Tigerette will be,” Shoemake added. “I am so excited to crown the new queen.”

Registration packets can be found at GHS, GES, FRS, NMS, and UHS. Registration must be turned in to the front office at GHS by October 21.

Gordonsville High School students honored bus drivers on Friday, Sept. 11. The Utrust Appreciation Program supplies school partners with tools for eight appreciation days and nine school culture quests, which allow students and staff to recognize the people who serve them.
Faculty advisors include: Creative Crew Advisor and librarian Christy Smith; Paparazzi Crew Advisor and Head Girls Basketball Coach Terri Brock; and Action Crew Advisor and English teacher Sabrina Knowles. Bus driver and teacher, Davy Baker, is pictured with Creative Crew
members, Peyton Pickels, Avery Myers, and Amelia Williams; Action Crew member, Abigail Bush; Paparazzi Crew Member Landon Wallace; and Kayley Campbell.

Students at Gordonsville High School voted seniors William Petty and Lindsay Bell as the 2026-27 Mr. and Ms. GHS.
Petty is a native of Gordonsville, and has attended Smith County Schools throughout his academic career. He has played several sports such as track and field, and has been a member of the Tigers’ football team all four years. In addition to sports, he has participated in various clubs including Beta, FCA, STEM and Student Council. Petty served as Student Council President for the 2025-26 school-year. Petty scored a 33 on the ACT.
Bell has attended GHS since 8th grade. She plays flag football and does cross country. Bell is also in Beta club, FCA, and Student Council.
Both Petty and Bell shared their surprise in being named Mr. and Mrs. GHS. They have both enjoyed going to Gordonsville High School. “The best part of GHS is the environment that the staff, coaches and everyone else works to make so special for us,” Bell said.
After graduating high school, Petty plans to major in aerospace engineering. Bell will also attend college and hopes to get a business degree. She was also in Gordonsville’s ACT Top 10.

Mr. Pat Warren’s Criminal Justice classes at Gordonsville High School helped junior Khloe Lustre decide on an educational and career path after graduation in 2028. Lustre plans to become a K9 officer in the future. She is currently taking Criminal Justice III and Pre-Law elective courses.
“A memory that has really stuck with me was our first end-of-year mock trial. I was picked to be the judge over our classroom,” she said. “I pick real cases - real world, real time cases - that are set for court but have not gone to court yet for the mock trials,” explained Warren, a law enforcement veteran who has spent years working in both Investigations and Court duties. “I divide them into prosecution and defense teams and they try those cases in our mock trials. Students have really bought into it.”
Students, like Lustre, take on different courtroom roles during these learning activities, including attorneys, witnesses, jurors, bailiffs, and judges. The mock trial Lustre referred to was over the Bryan Kohberger case before it reached a verdict in 2025. In actuality, Kohberger pleaded guilty in the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. Mock trials combined with field trips, such as one to the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy, solidified her decision to become an officer.
She and classmate, Sydney Yancy, are currently working on their next trial for class. “The mock trials make me so excited,” Yancy added. “It is by far the highlight of my year.”
The Criminal Justice students are also preparing for a fundraiser, Pancakes with the Police, on October 31 at Gordonsville Elementary from 8 to 10 a.m. Tickets are $5 for children ages 12 and under and $10 for adults. Pancakes are all you can eat and law enforcement agents and representatives from the District Attorney General’s Office will be in attendance. “It gives the public a chance to bond with their local law enforcement,” Yancy said. Ticket sales will benefit students and allow them to participate in competitions and go on field trips. Money raised helps students participate in competitions and take field trips.

In the photos: Khloe Lustre and Sydney Yancy work a “crime scene” in Mr. Warren’s classroom.
Mr. Anthony Geist’s engineering students created customized crime scene evidence markers for criminal justice students to take to competitions.

Two Gordonsville High School students placed ninth in the Vet Science Competition at the Wilson County Fair-State Fair on Monday, Aug. 17.
The school’s agriscience teacher and FFA advisor, Mr. Ryan Rogers, took four students to compete at the fair, including: juniors, Avery Smith and JJ Crawford; sophomore, Rebecca Reed; and freshman, Jackson Dillehay.
Both Smith and Reed competed in veterinary science. In the spring of 2026, they competed on a team and were Middle Tennessee champions and State Runners Up. Crawford and Dillehay competed in Environmental Natural Resources. “We are very excited for our FFA to head to the fair. “It’s going to be a great time,” Rogers shared before their trip. He explained that this particular group of student members had not been to the fair competition before. “This opportunity is exciting because this gives new members an introduction to FFA and it gives our members a chance to interact with other FFA chapters from all over the state of Tennessee,” Rogers said. “Each of these members represented our school and community in a great way. We are looking forward to a great FFA competition season as our members have lofty goals. We also want to say thank you to our school, the Board of Education, and
our community for all of their support.”
“It was a good introduction,” added Dillehay. “It was fun.”

Mrs. Murphy's 5th grade Social Studies class has been studying the Native American Tribes that are represented in Tennessee. Each student had the opportunity to create a diorama to display what they learned! Check out their amazing work below.

Union Heights had 14 eighth grade students along with Ms. Olivia Wills, they attend the career day at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville.  While at Tennessee Tech, the students had the opportunity to explore different careers and businesses.  This allowed students to be inspired for a future they look forward to in the coming years.

We want to thank all the people that participated in setting up a booth, Tennessee Tech, Smith County Board of Education, and Ms. Kittrell for allowing our students to see what the future may hold for them.

When you come into Union Heights Elementary's cafeteria you come into smells of biscuits baking, cinnamon rolls cooking, and friend faces ready to help you get your breakfast.  Of course, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  It gives our students, and staff the energy to start our day ready to learn.  

Tuesday morning breakfast has brought together students, parents, grandparents, and guardians for a dedicated thirty minutes of connection before the school day begins. In a world where weekday mornings are usually spent rushing out the door, this event offers everyone a chance to slow down and enjoy a meal together.  We start our Breakfast Together Tuesday at 7:30 am until 8:00 am on Tuesdays.  It has been a great success and continues to grow.  

We want to thank our parents, grandparents, guardians, etc for coming out and sharing this time with their children and our staff.  We really enjoy seeing all the happy faces.  

Watch your child's backpack for more information on our Breakfast Together Tuesday.  

For the month of September, several Smith County High School students earned perfect attendance during Owl Time and were entered into a drawing for a RokaBilly gift card. Congratulations to our five September Attendance Award winners: Callen Bentley, Dakota Banks, Mallie Whitaker, Kadence Poindexter, and Kyle Small! We are proud of these students for their commitment to being present and making the most of Owl Time. Also, SCHS would like to give a huge "thank you" to RokaBilly Coffee for their generous donation.  SCHS students: be sure to participate in our October Attendance Challenge, where the grade level with the highest attendance rate will win free tickets to an SCHS basketball game!

SCHS HOSA received a generous donation from Ryan and Brandi Hays, given in memory of Charlie Hays and TN Mine Safety Services.  They donated CPR baby and adult trainers, an  AED trainer, and Epi Pen trainers.  These supplies will allow students to get hands-on practice with life-saving skills.

SCHS HOSA members went to MTSU on October 1st. These students visited the Nursing building and toured the facility. These students were able to ask questions and learn about the nursing program and the requirements to apply for the School of Nursing at MTSU. 

The Work-Based Learning (WBL) program at Smith County High School continues to bridge the gap between classroom education and local industry, offering students the unique opportunity to earn academic credit while gaining hands-on professional experience.

This week, the SCHS Work-Based Learning program highlights Smith County Drug Center, a long standing local business currently employing three high school seniors participating in the Work-Based Learning program. The partnership provides students with real-world exposure to healthcare careers while instilling foundational workplace skills.

Senior Catherine McCarter, states "Working at Smith County Drug Center has been very valuable for interacting with the community. My pharmacists and coworkers are all so kind and inspiring, along with allowing me to learn more about my future career. It is an overall amazing place to work!"

The investment in local youth is a focus for the pharmacy's team, emphasizing that partnering with high school students has long-term benefits for both the business and the broader medical field.

"Smith County Drug values our high school students and enjoys investing in their education . We have had many students that go on to have careers in pharmacy , medicine , dentistry and nursing ." -Cozette Manus and Jan Trainham

Betsy Trainham Little, a Smith County High School alum, has first hand knowledge of the benefits of this program. "As a former work study student, I enjoy getting to mentor high school students as they are working toward their future careers. We focus on the foundations of working in healthcare and how to navigate having a job in high school, which helps them gain skills needed for college or careers."

Through partnerships like the one with Smith County Drug Center, the SCHS Work-Based Learning program continues to prepare students for bright futures, equipping them with the confidence and workforce skills necessary for higher education and beyond.