By Sally Absher

Cinco de Mayo Carnival at West View Elementary School

West View Elementary School will host a Cinco de Mayo Carnival on Friday, May 6th from 4:30-7:00 p.m. to raise funds for the school. There will be games, a dunking booth, Safety City, and fun activities for the whole family, along with traditional foods made by many of our Hispanic families. Tickets are 4 for $1.00. WVES is a 100% free breakfast and lunch school, so this celebration helps us raise money for school supplies, field trips and other important school initiatives. Come join us this Friday at 1714 Mingle Avenue, Knoxville. If you have any questions, contact Sue Hamilton at 865-594-4471 or sue.hamilton@knoxschools.org.

Beaumont Magnet Academy Family Superhero Event

This Tuesday, May 3, Beaumont Magnet Academy will host a Family Superhero Event from 5-7 p.m. During the event, students and their families will participate in superhero training that includes ELA and math make-and-take activities to target grade level standards, measurement activities accompanied by a math task, and creating a comic book to encourage imagination and writing. Families will also receive free books to take home to promote literacy.

Following superhero training, families are invited to attend a dinner in BMA’s cafeteria. Pizza, fresh veggies, and ice cream sandwiches will be served.  Title I and community partner Faith Promise helped Beaumont fund the event.

Art Source 2016 Opening Reception Friday, May 6

The annual Art Source Exhibition of Works by Knox County Art Educators will host an opening reception on Friday, May 6, from 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. at the UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay Street, Knoxville. An awards ceremony will be held at 6:30 during the reception.

Art works by Knox County Art teachers will be on display at the Gallery Wednesdays – Fridays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. The exhibition runs from May 6 through May 19th.

Gresham Middle School Festival on the Hill

Gresham Middle is hosting its second annual Festival on the Hill this Friday, May 6, from 4-7 p.m. Events kick off at 4:00 p.m. in the auditorium with a screening of several animated short films. During the festival, the Gresham Chorus will present selections from High School Musical, including some sing along numbers. The Knoxville Jazz Orchestra will perform from 5:3-6:30 p.m. Historical re-enactor, Gordon Sisk, will be there to bring Vintage Baseball to life! Other activities include crafts, lawn games, a GMS Dance team performance, a cakewalk, a photo booth, an art gallery scavenger hunt, concessions and much more.

This is a free family event sponsored by Gresham Middle School, the Gresham PTSA, and City Councilman Nick Della Volpe. Concessions will be sold.

Two More Schools to Join Community Schools Network

KCS and the Great Schools Partnership (GSP) have announced that New Hopewell Elementary and West View Elementary will join the KCS/GSP Community Schools network beginning in the 2016-2017 school year.

Community Schools are a strategy for aligning community resources for student success, family health and neighborhood safety. Community Schools stay open into the evening and offer additional instructional time as well as recreational, arts, mental health, adult education and other services. Each Community School is managed by a site-steering committee composed of school staff, teachers, parents, businesses and other community leaders. Community Schools are funded through a blend of public and private contributions.

“We look forward to partnering with school administrators, staff, students and parents, along with neighborhood leaders, businesses and other stakeholders of New Hopewell and West View Elementary Schools,” said Stephanie Welch, Vice President of Operations at the Great Schools Partnership. “Working together, we will move closer to the vision of healthy communities with schools at the center.”

Knox County 2016-2017 Budget Presentation Monday, May 9

The public is invited to attend the Knox County Annual Budget Presentation on Monday, May 9 at 9 a.m. in the Main Assembly Room, City County Building, 400 Main Street. Included will be information on the proposed budget for Knox County Schools.