Anniston Academy

08/27/2026

STEM Super Saturday - Game On (PreK-8th Grades) - September 19, 2026 from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Ready to play? Join us for Game On! STEM Super Saturday, a fun-filled morning where sports and STEM come together! Families will explore how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics help athletes train, compete, and improve performance. Through hands-on activities and exciting demonstrations, participants will discover the STEM behind favorite sports, test their own skills, and tackle engineering challenges.

Designed for children in PreK–8th grade and their families, this free event features engaging stations for everyone. Whether you're shooting hoops, racing a ball down a ramp, exploring reaction time, or designing sports equipment, you'll see that STEM is always in the game!

Registration is free. Bring the whole family and come play, learn, and discover!

Super Saturdays are free, Saturday workshops in hands-on science and math for young learners and their families. These interactive programs are age-appropriate for PreK-8th graders and encourage family participation.

A parent/guardian must remain with the student/students regardless of age. Safari Saturdays are flexible events, come and go as your family’s schedule allows.

This event is FREE and open to the public!

Registration is highly encouraged for planning purposes, but it is not required.

Please register here: https://tf.tntech.edu/view.php?id=1864477

Note: We’re excited to announce a new format for our family STEM events! Beginning with the Fall 2026– Spring 2027 semesters, Fab Fridays for 5th–8th grade and Safari Saturdays for Pre-K–3rd grade will combine into Super Saturday events for students in Pre-K through 8th grade and their families.

08/27/2026

Yesterday, we had some very special visitors from the Cookeville Fire Department! Our students had the opportunity to learn firsthand about the important work firefighters do to keep our community safe.

The firefighters showed our students their equipment, talked about ways they can protect themselves during an emergency, and gave them plenty of time to explore, learn, and ask questions. For many of our students, being able to see the gear up close and interact with firefighters in a comfortable environment is especially valuable because it helps make emergency situations (and the people who respond to them) feel a little more familiar and a lot less scary. 🚒

A huge thank you to the Cookeville Fire Department for taking the time to visit Anniston and give our students such a fun, hands-on learning experience. We are so grateful for our community helpers and everything they do! ❤️

08/27/2026

In honor of the life and legacy of Dolly Parton, Anniston Academy students and staff are invited to show their Dolly spirit tomorrow! 🎀🦋🎸

Wear something that reminds you of Dolly. This could be western wear, a Dollywood shirt, pink, butterflies, bows, denim, musical instrument or anything sparkly!

Dolly has spent her life celebrating children, literacy, creativity, kindness, and being unapologetically yourself (all things we value celebrating at Anniston). 🌟

We can’t wait to see everyone’s Dolly-inspired looks tomorrow! 💗

08/27/2026

Sunglasses 🕶️ really do give you +100 confidence points.

08/26/2026

🔔 Families: our Parent Collective, hosted by Principal Alyssa Harris, BCBA will be starting at 6PM.

Hope to see you there! 💛

08/26/2026

What if the mess feels louder to their brain than it looks to ours?

For some neurodivergent children, a cluttered or visually busy space isn't just "messy." It can mean more sensory information to process, more distractions to filter out, and more demands on executive functioning.

Research has found that visual environments can affect children's attention and learning, and studies involving autistic children and children with ADHD have shown that environmental distractions and visual clutter can matter.

But this isn't a post about having a perfectly clean house. ❤️

It's about understanding why:

🧺 “Clean your room” may actually be a HUGE executive functioning task.
🧸 Too many visible toys can make choosing what to play with harder.
🎨 Visual clutter can compete for attention.
🗂️ Simple, predictable organization can reduce cognitive demands.
🏡 Changing the environment can sometimes be more effective than repeatedly asking a child to change their behavior.

Sometimes the child who is most overwhelmed by the mess is also the child who has the hardest time organizing it. And that's exactly why support matters.

Our newest Anniston Academy blog breaks down what the research says about clutter, attention, sensory processing, autism, ADHD, and executive functioning, and practical ways we can make spaces work WITH neurodivergent brains instead of AGAINST them.

👇 Read the full article:

A messy room might look like a minor inconvenience to an adult. Toys on the floor, papers covering a table, backpacks by the door, laundry waiting to be folded, and yesterday's art project still sitting on the counter are normal parts of living with children. But for some neurodivergent children, a....

08/26/2026

Special shout-out to TennyMade and Budget Sales Incorporated for donating loose parts for our playscape!

We are so appreciative of your donations (and so are the kids!). Thanks for partnering with us to encourage creative, unstructured play. 🪣

08/22/2026

Pass the Phone Challenge: Student Edition.

08/22/2026

The STAR Center currently has two Sleep Safe Beds available through our Tennessee Technology Access Program (TTAP).

Sleep Safe Beds can provide a safer and more supportive sleeping environment for individuals with disabilities and their families.

If you or someone you know may benefit from one of these beds, please contact Lisa Bailey at 731-554-5123 or [email protected] to learn more about availability and eligibility.

Please share this post with someone who may need this resource.

08/20/2026

but make it slightly unhinged.