Happy Friday, Wildcat Families!

We are so excited to see our students on Monday. We will start the day with our annual Back-to-School pep rally. Upon arrival at school, students will report to the large gym.

On Monday, students and staff can wear burgundy and gold in remembrance of our beloved Chef Chris Gaines, who passed away early this week. We have counselors on hand to support students. The memorial service will be held at Neuble Funeral Home in Lebanon, TN on August 8th at 4 pm.

Chef Gaines was a bright light in our school. He had a smile that could light up a room and a contagious joyful spirit. He genuinely loved our students and found purpose in teaching them. He worked hard, welcomed feedback, and was always looking for ways to grow. He loved talking with people, could always be counted on to hit "Reply All," never complained or spoke poorly of others, and, of course, was an incredible cook. Whether it was cheering at Friday night football games or simply sharing a conversation in the hallway, Chef made people feel seen, valued, and welcomed. Let's continue to honor his memory by showing one another the same kindness, joy, and compassion that he shared with all of us every day.

August 6
There is no school on Thursday, August 6. It is election day and stockpile day for our teachers.

Weapons Detection
We will start the year with metal detectors. Upon arrival in the small cafeteria, students will walk through the detectors. Please watch this video in its entirety to see what this process looks like. I highly recommend that our students do not use three-ring binders. They will set off the alarm and delay your child getting through smoothly. Weapons Detection

Traffic Pattern
Our traffic pattern will be the same as last year. Here is a helpful video. Traffic Pattern

Please be kind to our am and pm crossing guards- they are Wilson Central faculty and have offered to take this on to make sure our traffic flows smoothly. Also, remember that the speed limit on campus is 10 MPH.

Student Behavior
Before the new school year gets going, families, we kindly ask that you please remind your students about using responsible words and actions while on school grounds, either inside our buildings or outside. Should any verbiage indicate a threat to our schools, then it will be investigated thoroughly. District leadership, school administrators, and local law enforcement handle any threats very seriously. Having those conversations now could minimize any disruptions to a school day in the future. We greatly appreciate your help with this!

TN TAX-FREE HOLIDAY WEEKEND
It starts just after midnight tonight and runs through late Sunday night. It's a great chance to save on many back-to-school items. Complete details on that can be found at this link: https://link.zixcentral.com/u/37d4a236/4FTBTHSM8RGk9a3chnsoMg?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tn.gov%2Frevenue%2Fnews%2F2026%2F7%2F17%2Ftennessee-s-sales-tax-holiday-continues-two-decades-of-savings.html

NEED THE 2026-2027 DISTRICT CALENDAR? 
Here it is, ready to be printed and placed proudly on your fridge: https://link.zixcentral.com/u/22502bd4/YnjBTHSM8RGoUK3chnsoMg?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wcschools.com%2Fcalendar%23docaccess-31b3ad362aa71877e59dbb04698fe2fa

Class Fees
To pay the class fees, go to https://link.zixcentral.com/u/52a9baa8/fqFsCiCN8RGVGNQVh3soMg?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwilsoncounty.schoolcashonline.com%2F and register.

Parking Passes
All students who park on campus need to purchase a parking pass. Those are $10 and can be purchased in the front office. After paying, students will receive a pass to hang in their vehicle.

AP (Advanced Placement) Celebration!
Congratulations to WCHS for having the highest number of test takers (813) and overall pass rate (82.5%) in the district. Our district pass rate is 76.5%.  Wildcats are leading the way in Advanced Placement, above all other high schools in the county! This attests to the dedication of our teachers and students and the support of our families! I want to shout out Mr. Cabassa, our AP coordinator, for ensuring AP success, and Mrs. Harrington, our testing coordinator.

Mainstreet Media Awards
A community member let me know that we have several nominations for these awards. If you want to vote, go for it. I love recognizing our faculty for their hard work! We are nominated for best high school, principal (thank you!), several teachers are nominated, and multiple coaches. We are so grateful for our community! https://link.zixcentral.com/u/1f8471c4/nDDnjJ6H8RGE71LqhnsoMg?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwilsonpost.secondstreetapp.com%2F2026-Wilson-County-Main-Street- Awards%2Fgallery%3Fgroup%3D534513

Stay Informed
I want you to know what to expect regarding communication from WCHS.

1. I send out a weekly email during the school year. “The Community Update,” as it’s called, will keep you up to date on what’s going on in our school. Please take 5-10 minutes each week to read it so you can be informed and involved in our school. This year, I plan on sending these out on Friday afternoon.
2. We push out a lot of information on social media. Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @wilsoncentralhighschool.
3. I will post the Wildcat Walk on our socials. This is a short(ish) video I like to do, with important announcements and great things happening at The Rock.
4. You can access our website here: https://link.zixcentral.com/u/991a0cc6/pl5FOtRC7xG-XKW1O49hPQ?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwchs.wcschools.com Our website contains important information about our school, including our counseling department, library, clubs, and sports teams.

Why is Wilson Central called “The Rock”?

• Building a high school on this site was challenging from the beginning. The earth at the intersection of Highway 109, Central Pike, and Interstate 840 was hard limestone. Limestone, the Official State Rock of Tennessee, had to be blasted away to prepare the ground for where Wilson Central High School was to be built. From surveying the school, you can see evidence of the abundance of limestone left behind after our school’s inaugural year of 2001. Here at “The Rock,” you get what you earn, nothing more and nothing less. It takes GRIT to succeed here, an unwavering commitment to the process, and a resolve deep in the limestone to win here. This makes “The Rock” different from all other high schools.

School Hours & Bell Schedule
Our school hours are 8:30-3:30. Students may enter the building at 8 am. The bell schedule is attached.

Student Registration and Schedules
Parents will complete the registration process by logging into their Skyward account. Please review the attached photo for extra guidance. Once registration is completed, you will be able to see your child’s schedule for next year. Registration is not complete until you have uploaded two proofs of residency!

Here are some notes on scheduling:

• Things are still being adjusted
  • Class sizes are being balanced
  • Teachers and rooms may be adjusted too.
  • Please check back on your schedule before the first day of classes.  
• 1st Block
  • 1st block is our advisory/skinny block.
  • These are not set yet and should be set in the next couple of weeks.
• Schedule Changes
  • All Schedule changes must be submitted using this form.
  • Students must be logged into their Wilsonk12 account when completing this form.

Please read all of this information before submitting a schedule change.

Student Schedules will become available after student registration is completed on Skyward. Please note that some schedules are still being adjusted; please do not email counselors about scheduling. They do not return until later in July. If you need to make a schedule change, please read the following to make sure it is a valid schedule change request.

Only certain types of schedule changes are approved per district policy. Completing the form does not guarantee a schedule change. Counselors may move other classes around to meet your request. Please check your school Google email (wilsonk12) account for approval/denial information. Counselors will send questions to your Wilsonk12 email.

Students will not be seen in person by their counselors UNLESS they are missing a class or have an empty block.

• Schedule change requests MUST be made via the Google form, NOT email.
• Your request will not be completed if you email, as counselors work from the Google form.

Reasons to request a change:

• Missing a core academic class
• Change level from Honors to AP 
• Empty block on the schedule
• Have not taken OR passed the prerequisites for a class
• Need to fulfill a graduation requirement
• Have already taken and passed this class

Your request will be denied if:

• Move the class to a different block
• You want a different teacher
• No friends in that class 
• Someone you don't like is in that class
• You want to be with your friends
• The requested class is already full

Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Withdrawals
If your child will not be returning to WCHS for the 2026-2027 school year, please reach out to our registrar, Angela Vastola, to inform her. She can provide you with the withdrawal steps. Her email address is vastoang100@wcschools.com.

Parent & Student Handbook (Code of Conduct / Dress Code) Parent and Student Handbook 2026-2027
All parents must sign off on receipt of the WCS Parent & Student Handbook during registration. Parents, please review the handbook before the start of school, especially the dress code, code of conduct, and attendance policies & procedures. Our school attendance secretary is Ashlee Milan. Her email address is milana@wcschools.com. 

Tardy Discipline Procedures

• After the 2nd tardy, students will serve one lunch detention per tardy.
• On the 8th tardy, the student will serve a full day of ISS.
• On the 13th tardy, student discipline will be at the discretion of the grade-level administrator. 
• Student tardy count will reset at the start of the second semester.

*Students with 10 unexcused absences or more than 15 tardies will not be permitted to attend prom in April.

Attendance
In 2025-2026, we had 300 students who missed at least 18 days of the school year and were considered Chronically Absent. Both excused and unexcused absences count towards Chronic Absenteeism.

The Chronic Absentee metric is a major piece of the puzzle that kept us from being an “A” level school and Reward School in the past. We need your help to meet this goal! These are two metrics that families and our community use to judge the effectiveness of our school.

Any time your student is not in the building, we need you as the parent to turn in a Doctor’s note or Parent note. You can turn notes in through Skyward, in the main office, or by the QR Code attached. You have 5 Parent Notes per semester to use when your child is absent. We encourage you to schedule appointments where your student will miss less than half of the school day so that it does not count as a full day’s absence and will not impact Chronic Absenteeism or truancy.

You can find the full Wilson County Schools’ Attendance Policy here.

College and Career Ready
WCHS has a goal this year of having our Senior class 100% College and Career Ready (CCR) and TISA Compliant according to the State of TN criteria. CCR is another metric that factors into our school being an “A” level school and Reward School. These are two metrics that families and our community use to judge the effectiveness of our school. Additionally, students who are fully TISA compliant result in increased funding for our school. We will be speaking with your child about these two metrics as the year progresses. 

CCR Completion Criteria- *must achieve only one

* 21+ on ACT or 1060 on SAT

* 31+ on ASVAB

* Tier 3 Industry Certification (IC) OR Tier 2 IC & 1 other IC (any Tier)

*EPSO-earning score on AP/CLEP/LDC/SDC/IB OR a DE credit

TISA Completion Criteria- *must achieve only one

* 21+ on ACT AND 2 EPSOs

* Increases ACT composite by 4 points (Junior year and up) AND 2 EPSO's

* 3 EPSOs

* 31+ on ASVAB & Complete 2 EPSOs

Classroom Cell Phone Policy
All teachers are required to have a classroom cell phone holding area that keeps devices out of students' hands during instructional time. This is a dedicated space within your classroom for students to place their phones out of their reach. Electronic devices will not be used in the classroom except for educational purposes as directed by the teacher. 

If a student uses their electronic device during class time, the teacher will confiscate it. For the first offense, it will be returned to the student at the end of class, and the teacher will notify the parent. For offenses beyond the first, the grade-level administrator will be contacted to retrieve the device, and the student will receive disciplinary action. For administrators to take disciplinary action on a student's cell phone, the parent must have first been contacted by the teacher unless it is an extreme case.

Students will be permitted to use cell phones before and after school, during class changes, and at lunch. Students will not be permitted to take cell phones with them to the restroom during class. Teachers are required to have a policy in place to keep students from taking their cell phones to the restroom.

In the event of a school-wide emergency, students should be able to access their phones.

Save the Date! WCHS Homecoming Dance
Saturday, September 12
7:00–10:00 PM
Capitol Theatre
Tickets available for purchase on GoFan beginning August 16 at 6 pm!

Tickets will be limited, so get yours early!

Thank you to the Wilson Central Dance Team for hosting and sponsoring this event for our students for the third consecutive year! Follow @wilsoncentraldance on Instagram for updates, ticket giveaways, and more information.

Girls Soccer
There will be supplemental girls’ soccer tryouts upon request. Please email Coach John for details. cjs4soccer@gmail.com

Fall Media Picture Days
August 1^st
Football (football field)- 8 am
Cheer (football field)- 9:45 am
Girls Soccer (soccer field)- 9:45 am
Golf (same grassy area as last year)- 8 am
Cross Country (same grassy area as last year)- 8:20 am

August 6^th 

Band (seniors only, band room)- 2:30 pm

Dance (main gym)- 1 pm

Volleyball (main gym)- 2 pm

Step Team (main gym)- 3 pm

Registering your student for a Saturday ACT?
The State of TN holds schools accountable in a variety of ways, one of which is College and Career Readiness. The ACT is one of the criteria that can award your student the title of “College and Career Ready,” but only if the scores include Science. While many colleges do not require the Science portion, our school still needs all students to register and take the Science portion on the ACT. If you are planning to register for a Saturday testing session of the ACT, please have your student opt IN for Science. Any student taking the ACT during the school day as a Junior or Senior will automatically receive the Science portion of the test.

Dr. Ankney’s Discretionary and Non-Educational Fundraiser Account
If you would like to donate to teacher incentives, use this link: https://link.zixcentral.com/u/e099b66a/ZtTsjJ6H8RGRS1LqhnsoMg?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwilsoncounty.schoolcashonline.com%2FFee%2FDetails%2F38369%2F252%2FFalse%2FTrue

• Bereavement support
• Award recognition
• Employee morale
• Banquets
• Other situations at the principal’s discretion

Donations are tax-deductible! “The IRS allows you to claim a deduction for donations you make to qualified organizations, including school district programs that are not operated for profit and are solely supported by state and local governments.”

If you have any questions, please contact Kathey Koudelka at koudelkak@wcschools.com.

AP & Counselor Assignment

9th Grade AP: Sydney Seat (seatsl@wcschools.com)

9th Grade Counselor: Heather Poland (polanhea101@wcschools.com)

10th Grade AP: Jason Franklin (franklinj@wcschools.com)

10th Grade Counselor: Laura Pavelski (pavellau100@wcschools.com)

11th Grade AP: Audrey Harrington (harringtona@wcschools.com)

11th Grade Counselor: Dustin Cabassa (cabasdus100@wcschools.com)

12th Grade AP: Patrick Nash (nashp@wcschools.com)

12th Grade Counselor: Lauren Fung (funglau100@wcschools.com)

Graduation Coach: Lori Shelton (sheltonl@wcschools.com)
 

We can’t wait to have our students back on campus Monday! It’s a great day to be a Wildcat!

Sincerely,
Dr. Ankney

Attachments:
 2026_Bell_Schedule_%281%29.pdf (76.2 KB)
 Wilson_Central_High_School_SROs_Need_Your_Help.pdf (4.5 MB)
 Registration.jpg (148.9 KB)