On September 1, 1965, Mark Smith & Lasseter High Schools opened their doors for the first day of school! Students arrived by foot, by bus and by car to fill the classrooms for the very first time. The older students were, perhaps, a bit sad at leaving their friends behind at Miller & Lanier High Schools. But the 8^th graders were thrilled to be going to high school and even more excited to be a part of this brand new school!

Behind the scene preparations had been made for many months. So on this first day, we had new buildings, teachers and books all waiting for the students to arrive! And when we arrived, we were here to make our mark on history!

Lasseter opened with 28 teachers while Mark Smith began with 24 teachers. 4 of the Lasseter teachers also taught classes at both schools. Many of these teachers were "hand-picked" by Miss Ann Henry and Mr. Ed Cagle.

Within weeks, Mark Smith High School elected Donnie Wayne Churchwell as Student Council president and the Lasseter girls elected Teresa Adams for their president.

Both schools immediately went to work on our separate newspapers. 8^th grader Linda Lester named "The Lasseter Lantern" and the new editor was Valeria Murphey. At Mark Smith, Raymond Kelly was selected as editor of the "Telstar."

Click on the images below to read the first edition of each newspaper!

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