D93's Tony Rose Visits EC 5/6 Center For Pep Rally

D93 Radio DJ Tony Rose fires everyone up at Tuesday's rally.

When you think of pep rallies, you normally think of big rival games or the upcoming district tournament. You think of a Wildcat jumping through a paper banner, shredding it to pieces while the students scream at the top of their lungs. Well, there was plenty of screaming at Tuesday's pep rally at the 5/6 center, but there was no game...it was a pep rally for testing. Wait, what?


According to principal Alan Talley, the school wanted some way to keep the kids relaxed and loose on the day before K-Prep testing, and a pep rally seemed like a fun way to do that. Send the kids to the gym, throw in a few superheros, give D93's Tony Rose a hot mic and some music, and you've got an instant party.

"We felt it was very important to have this assembly the day before K-Prep was set to begin, and scheduling conflicts kept us from bringing in traditional companies to educate and motivate our students," Talley said. "So this was our first year to have a pep rally, and the idea came up after gaining feedback from the faculty and staff."

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Students sing along with "YMCA" at today's rally.

Rose, Edmonson County's favorite radio DJ, kept the kids on their feet for most of the assembly, but he said it's important to keep things in perspective. "It's always an honor to be invited to speak to the kids of EC," he said. "Being able to give back to the community means so much to me and why I do what I do."

Principal Talley said that yearly K-Prep testing is very important to the staff and students of the 5/6 Center. The school is able to track the progress of individual students over a two year period using these results, as well as to evaluate classroom instruction. Talley said they're able to see how changes to this instruction impacts the subgroups of students within the school.

"We were very excited to have Tony as part of our program today," Talley said. "He has been very good to the students of Edmonson County. Most of our kids are familiar with Tony Rose, and were very excited to have him as a special guest today. On behalf of the 5/6 Center, we say 'Thanks' to Tony for his time."

Rose turned the thanks back to the school and the students.  "I admire the hard work and determination of the Youth Resource Center Directors at the 5/6 Center," he said. "All of us at D93 are so proud to be part of Edmonson County communities."

Darren Doyle
Story and photos