The fall 2013 was a season of transition for Hartselle City Schools. The new high school had been completed the previous spring, Hartselle Middle School moved to the former high school location and Hartselle Intermediate School opened its doors. To commimerate its tenth anniversary, HIS began 10 Days of Celebration Sept. 1. The celebration will span two school weeks, ending Sept. 15. The themed days incorporate ways to celebrate with students, teachers and with past faculty that have invested in the school.  

 “One of the big things we’re going to do is host a luncheon for all the teachers of the past and the teachers of the present,” Principal Earon Sheats said. “Our PTO is going to cater a lunch for us. A lot of the past teachers have called and reserved a lunch and they will get to have lunch and tour the school and see what it looks like now.” 

In addition to the other themed days and events, HIS will also be making a time capsule for students to contribute to. “The kids are going to write what life is like at HIS in 2023 and then we’re going to fill them up and maybe years to come let the next students read about 2023,” Sheats said.  

Sheats says since the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been hard to stay connected to the community and open the school up to those that have contributed to the success of HIS, and she looks forward to this opportunity to get back to having Hartselle be a part of seeing what is happening in the school.  

Discussing the history and development of HIS, Sheats says they have spent the last few years focusing in on what the school stands for and what their culture is going to be.  

“You had teachers from three elementary’s and the sixth grades left behind and so you had a lot of teachers that didn’t really know what we were about. What’s our purpose and common vision for the school?” Sheats said. “I came in 2019 we just built on what my predecessors had done and we settled on character as our common thread to bring everybody together.”  

Sheats says that while everyone may not always agree on what’s important to each school and class, and there may be differing opinions on education philosophies, she feels everyone can agree on character.  

“Before I got there they had landed on what is called the Pyramid of Success, which is eleven traits that we want our students to walk away from our building with. So for the last five years we’ve really been honing in on who we are and what our culture is and what we want our students to walk aways with,” she said.