While city students wait for next week’s start of the school year, teachers at Elizabethton High School (EHS) had their official first day back on Wednesday with an in-service.
“It’s always an exciting time when start the school year,” Josh Boatman, EHS principal, said. “We have 11 new teachers this year so it’s been great getting a chance to meet and prepare for the upcoming year. It’s always a great feeling to see the new freshmen coming in and seeing all the old faces from last year. We’re all excited as educators, getting a chance to be with the students and prepare them for another year of school.”
Prior to the in-service, EHS received the opportunity to be in the running for funds thanks to the ‘Earning for Learning’ program offered by the Mall of Johnson City.
“The mall really deserves the credit for getting us involved,” Boatman said. “They made the effort to contact each of the local schools. We received an email around two weeks ago. They made a real effort to make sure they were involved with the schools within the region.”
Earning for Learning began July 29 and lasts until Sept. 18 as the mall will being away a total of $25,000 to the top five schools involved, with Elizabethton potentially having an opportunity to receive $10,000.
“Basically, between those dates, anyone that shops at the mall can take their receipts to the Guest Services Center,” Boatman said. “From there, the mall will tally up the points on the amount of items that are sold. At the end of the program, the mall will award the top five schools.”
According to information provided by EHS library media specialist Dustin Hensley, each dollar spent in the mall during the promotional period is worth one point. Receipts are stamped to show redemption and must be turned in the same day of purchase. All points are collected at the mall’s Guest Services Center on the lower-level. Anything below $0.49 will be rounded down; anything above $0.50 will be rounded up to the nearest dollar amount. (Example: $23.30 for 23 points or $23.57 for 24 points). Receipts may only be used once. The receipt must be the original. Duplicate receipts, photo-copies, faxes and internet orders will not be accepted.
The contest will end at Sept. 18 at 6 p.m.
If EHS is able to receive funds from the event, Boatman has already stated the school has plans of using any award toward renovation classrooms and placing any additional funds inside the school’s general fund balance.