Oak Ridge Today

Secret City Wildbots alliance wins Smoky Mountains Regionals robotics tournament

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The Secret City Wildbots, Team 4265, won the Smoky Mountains Regionals robotics tournament on Saturday, March 30, 2019, as captains of the fourth-seeded alliance, along with alliance partners 2614 Mars of Morgantown, W.V., and 2556 RadioActive Roaches of Niceville, Fla. The win secures a place in the World Championship at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, from April 17-20. (Photo by Angi Agle)

The Secret City Wildbots, Team 4265, won the Smoky Mountains Regionals robotics tournament on Saturday, March 30, 2019, as captains of the fourth-seeded alliance, along with alliance partners 2614 Mars of Morgantown, W.V., and 2556 RadioActive Roaches of Niceville, Fla. The win secures a place in the World Championship at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, from April 17-20. (Photo by Angi Agle)

 

Photos, video, and information submitted by Angi Agle

The Secret City Wildbots, Team 4265, won the Smoky Mountains Regionals robotics tournament on Saturday as captains of the fourth-seeded alliance. Their alliance partners were 2614 Mars of Morgantown, West Virginia, and 2556 RadioActive Roaches of Niceville, Florida.

The win secures a place in the World Championship at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, from April 17-20.

The Wildbots’ alliance remained undefeated until the second match of the finals, racking up two matches with the event high score of 95 in the elimination rounds. The tiebreaker match was won 90-83. [Read more…]

Challenges in public education to be discussed Tuesday

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The next Lunch with the League program will be held on Tuesday, April 2. The speaker will be Benita Albert, author and long-time educator in Oak Ridge.

Albert will discuss “Challenges in Public Education: Present and Future,” a press release said. She taught mathematics at Oak Ridge High School for 44 years, retiring in 2012. She has served as a college board consultant in Advanced Placement Calculus, conducting training programs for teachers across the country, since 1975.

Albert has authored or co-authored for many textbook publishers and mathematics ancillaries. Her honors include Presidential Awardee for Mathematics in 1991 and selection to the USA Today All-American Teacher Team in 2007.

As a member of the board of the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, Albert has served as co-editor-in-chief of the book “Celebrating 75 Years of Excellence in the Oak Ridge Schools, 1944-2018.” [Read more…]

ASAP of Anderson, Oak Ridge Schools, ORPD collaborate to launch new school safety app

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Oak Ridge Schools is collaborating with Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson County and the Oak Ridge Police Department to launch a new monitoring program that will allow parents and students to anonymously report concerns about student safety 24 hours a day, seven days per week.

The program includes an anonymous tip reporting application, which is part of the P3 Campus family of apps designed specifically for use in schools as part of student safety and mental health, a press release said. The local version app will be branded AlertORS, and will be available to all students in the Oak Ridge School district on Tuesday, April 2. Reports can be made through the P3 Campus mobile app or through any web browser at P3Campus.com.

“AlertORS will help students and community members be proactive in the emotional and physical well-being of their peers by giving them a tool to make anonymous reports quickly, easily, and interactively,” the press release said. “Users can report a wide range of concerns from mental health issues to threats of violence. ORS has designated team members for two-way communication when a tip is reported so that staff members are able to respond to students directly through the P3 Campus app and keep the conversation completely anonymous.” [Read more…]

Beckendorf-Edou of OR Schools selected as superintendent of Washington district

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Tracey Beckendorf-Edou

Tracey Beckendorf-Edou

 

Tracey Beckendorf-Edou of Oak Ridge Schools has accepted the position of superintendent of Cascade School District in Washington state, pending successful contract negotiations, starting in the 2019-2020 school year, a press release said.

Beckendorf-Edou is currently the executive director of teaching and learning for Oak Ridge Schools. She has worked for Oak Ridge Schools since the 2012-2013 school year, the press release said.

Beckendorf-Edou and her husband Kirk have been residents of Oak Ridge since 2010. Before she worked for Oak Ridge Schools, Beckendorf-Edou worked for ORAU, the press release said.

“Tracey thanks Bruce Borchers, the School Board, the entire staff of Oak Ridge Schools, and the Oak Ridge community for their support and friendship,” the press release said. [Read more…]

ORCSGirls joins attempt to set world record for number of girls coding

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Oak Ridge Computer Science Girls, or ORCSGirls, is on a mission to inspire girls in the community to explore the possibilities of technology and computer science. After reaching more than 500 girls in 2017, the organization is ready to do it again, covering topics from Python and virtual reality to information graphics, robots, cyber security, and much more. (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge Computer Science Girls, or ORCSGirls, is on a mission to inspire girls in the community to explore the possibilities of technology and computer science. (Submitted photo)

 

Oak Ridge Computer Science Girls (ORCSGirls) is joining the TechGirlz code breakers event on March 30 to set the world record for the number of girls coding.

ORCSGirls will be running events on March 30 from noon to 3 p.m. at two locations: Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge and at the Blount County Public Library in Maryville. Both workshops will teach participating middle school girls the basics of website development, a press release said.

During the workshop, girls from around the country will be connected through video chat to set this world record. [Read more…]

UT Arboretum Society presents history of CRESO on March 28

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John Byrd of CRESO (Submitted photo)

John Byrd of CRESO (Submitted photo)

 

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society will sponsor a talk by the Clinch River Environmental Studies Organization, or CRESO, on Thursday, March 28, at the UT Arboretum Auditorium.

The talk is scheduled from 7 to 8 p.m. March 28. The UT Arboretum is at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

John Byrd, principal investigator with CRESO, and Fred Holtzclaw are retired high school biology teachers, a press release said. [Read more…]

Y-12 hosts eighth annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering

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Photo by Y-12 National Security Complex

Photo by Y-12 National Security Complex

 

The Y-12 National Security Complex says it is helping to open doors and close the gender gap in engineering fields.

In February, Y-12 hosted its eighth annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering at the site’s New Hope Center. The one-day event, held in conjunction with Engineers Week, gave young female students an opportunity to discover and explore science, technology, engineering, and math (or STEM) careers alongside Y-12 and Uranium Processing Facility Project scientists and engineers, a press release said.

More than 300 middle- and high-school students from seven area counties attended this year’s event. About 100 engineers, scientists, and other volunteers—most from Y-12, the Uranium Processing Facility Project, and the Oak Ridge chapter of Women in Nuclear—supported the event, which encouraged students to connect their math and science skills to careers in STEM fields, the press release said. [Read more…]

Eby elected vice chair of state school board

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Bob Eby

Bob Eby

Bob Eby, who has served on the Oak Ridge Board of Education, has been selected as vice chair of the State Board of Education. Eby will serve a two-year term.

Eby was selected by board members during the first quarterly meeting of 2019, a press release said. During that meeting, members of the State Board of Education re-elected Lillian Hartgrove as board chair.

Eby first joined the State Board of Education in April 2018 following his appointment to the board by Governor Bill Haslam in February. He brings with him a 43-year career, including 16 years of experience on the Oak Ridge Board of Education, where he has served as chairman and vice chairman, the press release said.

While serving on the Oak Ridge Board of Education, Eby spearheaded several major activities for the Oak Ridge Schools, most notably, championing the recent school’s strategic plan, Oak Ridge 2020, which has become a model for school systems in the state, the press release said.

“In the time he has served on our board, Bob has demonstrated a keen interest in the purpose of this board and has been able to devote a great amount of time as a volunteer to understand the challenges and opportunities we have to positively impact the quality of education provided to the students of the great state of Tennessee,” Gordon Ferguson, the previous vice chair of the state school board, said in nominating Eby to become vice chair. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge High School wins Department of Energy Tennessee Science Bowl

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Winning first place in the 2019 Tennessee Science Bowl is Oak Ridge High School, pictured left to right with their trophy, David Joy, Henry Shen, George Wang, Steven Qu, and Melody Guo. Their coach is Sharon Thomas. (Submitted photo)

Winning first place in the 2019 Tennessee Science Bowl is Oak Ridge High School, pictured left to right with their trophy, David Joy, Henry Shen, George Wang, Steven Qu, and Melody Guo. Their coach is Sharon Thomas. (Submitted photo)

 

Team heads to National Science Bowl after third straight state win

After months of training, studying, and improving their competition skills, 55 high school teams from across the state of Tennessee gathered recently to test their knowledge in broad science disciplines including chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics, and energy.

Oak Ridge High School placed first in the annual competition and received an all-expenses-paid trip to the U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C., held April 25-29, as well as a $1,000 cash prize and a first-place trophy.

The Tennessee Science Bowl is the nation’s third-largest regional competition, a press release said. Held at Pellissippi State Community College’s Blount County Campus, the regional bowl prepares students to compete nationally with other exceptional students from schools across the country. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools names Phil Cox principal of the year

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Phil Cox

Phil Cox

 

Phil Cox, principal of Jefferson Middle School, has been named principal of the year, Oak Ridge Schools said.

Cox began his career in education in 1986 as a graduate coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Later in 1986, and for the next five years, he served as head basketball coach and coordinator of athletic funds at Lincoln Memorial University, a press release said.

After leaving LMU, Cox taught a year at the Anderson County Alternative Learning Center. In 1992, he began his teaching/coaching career at Norris Middle School and, in 2003, was named assistant principal and athletic director. In 2005, he was selected principal at Lake City Elementary. [Read more…]

A former Oak Ridge student, artificial intelligence expert to visit city, talk at evening ceremony

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The cover of Kai-Fu Lee's book, "AI Superpowers." (Submitted)

The cover of Kai-Fu Lee’s book, “AI Superpowers.” (Submitted)

 

Kai-Fu Lee—a world-leading artificial intelligence expert, venture capitalist, writer, and former president of Google China—is planning a visit to Oak Ridge on May 6, a press release said.

Lee, a 1979 Oak Ridge High School graduate, will visit his former schools, St. Mary’s Catholic School and Oak Ridge Schools, meeting with students and teachers during the day, the press release said.

The public is invited to an evening ceremony at Pollard Auditorium including a reception beginning at 5:30 p.m. and Lee’s talk at 6:30. This community event will be hosted by the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, UT-Battelle, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, and Friends of ORNL. Lee will be available to sign his most recent best-selling book, “AI Super-Powers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order.” Copies of the book will be available for purchase, the press release said. [Read more…]

ORHS Masquers present ‘Annie’ this weekend

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Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program, will present "Annie," the classic musical, for four performances in March 2019—March 1, March 2, and March 3—at the Oak Ridge Performing Arts Center at Oak Ridge High School. (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program, will present “Annie,” the classic musical, for four performances in March 2019—March 1, March 2, and March 3—at the Oak Ridge Performing Arts Center at Oak Ridge High School. (Submitted photo)

 

Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program, will present “Annie,” the classic musical, for four performances this weekend.

Here are the scheduled performances at the Oak Ridge Performing Arts Center at Oak Ridge High School:

  • Friday, March 1, at 7 p.m.,
  • Saturday, March 2, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and
  • Sunday, March 3, at 2 p.m.

Advanced tickets are $8, and they are available at the ORHS office and The Ferrell Shop. At the door, tickets will be $9 for students and $10 for adults. [Read more…]