The City of Oak Ridge Wellness Committee and Oak Ridge Schools Coordinated School Health are teaming up to host a Community Wellness Fair on Wednesday, April 5, in the Oak Ridge Civic Center. Admission is free and everyone is invited, a press release said.
The fair is set to begin at noon and will run until 5 p.m. A variety of health screenings will be offered. Topics to be covered include: [Read more…]
About 100 people turned out for a community meeting on selecting Scarboro Park for the new Oak Ridge Preschool on Thursday, March 23, 2017. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)
Residents and former residents of the Scarboro neighborhood are divided over whether to build the Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. While some support the project, others are skeptical of the city’s motives and have signed a petition opposing the site. One resident asked for more time for discussion, at least a few more meetings, during a special meeting on Monday.
But the City Council voted 5-1 to select Scarboro Park as the site for the new Oak Ridge Preschool. That vote had been postponed during a regular City Council meeting two weeks ago in order to allow city and school officials to meet with Scarboro residents this past Thursday.
Council members and other officials have portrayed the preschool project as an opportunity, a $10 million investment in the community. City officials have said the site is centrally located, the land is flat and city-owned, and its crime statistics are a bit better than those at the first preferred site, Elm Grove Park.
They have pointed out that Scarboro Park is only a half-mile from the nearest fire station, and most of the park—about 85 percent of it—would still be a park. They said the park is large enough that the 40,000-square-foot preschool could be expanded and could include 20 classrooms. The park could still include the recreational amenities—basketball courts, tennis courts, and a youth-size baseball field—although they might be moved within the park, officials said. [Read more…]
Top row from left above are Kate Hausladen, Michael Ma, and Rachel Barton Pine; and bottom row from left are Sidney Matlock and Hannah Shipstad. (Submitted photos)
Four East Tennessee students have been selected to participate in a special master class with celebrated concert violinist Rachel Barton Pine on Friday.
The master class is from 3-5 p.m. Friday, March 31, at the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center. It’s part of a series of concerts and outreach activities featuring Pine and presented by the Oak Ridge Civic Music Association.
Kate Hausladen is a 15-year-old sophomore at Oak Ridge High School. She began playing violin at the age of four, studying with Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra violist Susan Shor, and has been studying with Karen Kartal for the past six years. She has been a member of the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra Association since 2010, and she has played in the Youth Orchestra for the past two years. She has been chosen to play in the Youth Aliyah annual concert in Oak Ridge several times and was selected to the All East and All State orchestras in 2016.
Hausladen is also a competitive soccer player and was All State for the 300-meter hurdles in 2016.
She will perform “Rondo,” the last movement in “Symphonie Espagnole” by Edouard Lalo.
Michael Ma is a senior at Oak Ridge High School. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge High School Robotics Team, the Secret City Wildbots Team 4265, competed at the FIRST Robotics Smoky Mountain Regional March 23-25 at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. The Wildbots were named captain of a finalist team, and they won the Engineering Inspiration Award sponsored by NASA and an invitation to the National Championships in Houston, Texas, with the $5,000 entry fee being paid for by NASA. (Photo by Angi Agle)
The Oak Ridge High School Robotics Team, the Secret City Wildbots Team 4265, competed at the FIRST Robotics Smoky Mountain Regional March 23-25 with 47 other teams at the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.
After 10 qualification matches, they ranked third with a record of 7-2-1. As the third-seated alliance captain, they chose to ally with Category 5 Team 3489, from Charleston, South Carolina, and Sigmac@t Robotics Team 108, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Together, this three-team alliance moved through the eliminations, earning the top three total match scores for the entire competition. These scores were: 445, 450, 455. In the finals, they succumbed to the impressive defensive measures of the sixth-seated alliance comprised of Delphi E.L.I.T.E. Team 48 from Warren, Ohio; Flagship Team 3140 from Farragut High School; and Shark Attack Team 744 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
In addition to being named the captain of the finalist team, the Secret City Wildbots Team 4265 won the Engineering Inspiration Award sponsored by NASA and an invitation to the National Championships in Houston, Texas, with the $5,000 entry fee being paid for by NASA. This is the second time the team has won this prestigious award, a press release said. [Read more…]
The St. Mary’s 2017 Middle School Science Fair was held on February 9, 2017. A total of 57 projects were entered for judging. The projects were divided into two categories, physical and biological sciences, and the judges awarded a first through fifth place in each category. (Submitted photo)
The St. Mary’s 2017 Middle School Science Fair was held on February 9, 2017. A total of 57 projects were entered for judging. The projects were divided into two categories, physical and biological sciences, and the judges awarded a first through fifth place in each category. (Submitted photo)
The St. Mary’s 2017 Middle School Science Fair was held on February 9. A total of 57 projects were entered for judging. The projects were divided into two categories, physical and biological sciences, and the judges awarded a first through fifth place in each category. In addition, two honorable mentions were awarded in biological sciences and seven in physical sciences.
Information from WYSH Radio
According to our partners at BBB-TV, the Roane County Board of Education met Thursday night and after several people in the near-capacity crowd addressed the panel, voted to revisit its previously announced decision to consolidate all five of the county’s high schools into one large school.
Last month, the Board had voted 7-3 to move forward on consolidating the schools, but following last week’s meeting where several people voiced opposition to the plan, including many from the Oliver Springs area, the Board decided to review its decision.
The Board now says it will meet in a work session on April 6 at 6:30 pm at the Central Municipal Building in Kingston to further discuss the school consolidation plan and see if any changes can be made. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge City Council is scheduled to vote on whether to build a new preschool at Scarboro Park during a special meeting on Monday, March 27, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The Oak Ridge City Council is scheduled to vote on selecting Scarboro Park for the new preschool during a special meeting on Monday.
The special meeting starts at 7 p.m. Monday, March 27, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom at 200 South Tulane Avenue.
The Oak Ridge Board of Education selected Scarboro Park in February. [Read more…]
The Secret City Wildbots, Team 4265 of Oak Ridge, celebrate their second semifinals win to advance to the finals at the Smoky Mountain Regional in Knoxville on Saturday, March 25, 2017. (Photo by Angi Agle)
The Secret City Wildbots won the Engineering Inspiration Award in the Smoky Mountain Regional on Saturday, and the Wildbots, Team 4265 of Oak Ridge, will advance to the FIRST Robotics Championship in Houston on April 19.
The Wildbots had advanced throughout the day on Saturday, said Angi Agle, an Oak Ridge Board of Education member who attended this week’s robotics competition at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.
The team finished qualifying in third place, so it advanced to the quarterfinals. They won the first quarterfinal 455-273.
They tied the first semifinal round against a Hardin Valley-led alliance and then won the second semifinal against Hardin Valley, Agle said. [Read more…]
Members of the Secret City Wildbots crew work on Luna, the 2017 robot, during the opening practice matches on Thursday, March 23, 2017. At left (in black long sleeves) is Eric Thornton; center (also in black) is Jacob LaRose, Luke Buckner (next in yellow) as a graduate adviser, Caden Webb (in pink), mentor Chuck Agle (in black, back to camera), and Olivia Mahathy (in black, back to camera). (Photo by Angi Agle)
The Secret City Wildbots finished qualifying in third place, so they will compete in the quarterfinals in the Smoky Mountain Regional in Knoxville on Saturday.
The qualification rounds started Friday and continued Saturday. Alliance selections were scheduled to take place at noon on Saturday, with the final rounds from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
The Secret City Wildbots, Team 4265 from Oak Ridge, are competing in the FIRST Robotics “FIRST Steamworks” challenge at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. Their 2017 robot is named Luna. [Read more…]
The Tennessee Geographic Alliance has chosen Jefferson Middle School teachers Brian Smith and John Beard of Oak Ridge Schools to represent Tennessee at a special training session at the headquarters of the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C., from June 24-28.
The purpose of the Summer Institute is to train educators on the Geo-Inquiry Process, which involves the following phases:
Members of the Secret City Wildbots crew work on Luna, the 2017 robot, during the opening practice matches on Thursday, March 23, 2017. At left (in black long sleeves) is Eric Thornton; center (also in black) is Jacob LaRose, Luke Buckner (next in yellow) as a graduate advisor, Caden Webb (in pink), mentor Chuck Agle (in black, back to camera), and Olivia Mahathy (in black, back to camera). (Photo by Angi Agle)
The Secret City Wildbots start qualifications rounds Friday morning at the Smoky Mountain Regional in Knoxville.
The first match for the Wildbots, Team 4265 from Oak Ridge, is scheduled at about 9:45 a.m. Friday. It’s Match Number 7 at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Wildbots are competing in the FIRST Robotics “FIRST Steamworks” challenge, which is scheduled from Thursday, March 23, to Saturday, March 25. Their 2017 robot is named Luna.
There were practice matches on Thursday. [Read more…]
Garry Kreis
By J. Brad Jones
COALFIELD—The people of Coalfield and Oliver Springs have put aside their sports rivalry to come together to honor one of their own.
Garry Kreis, also known as “High Pockets,” played his high school football in Oliver Springs and at the University of Tennessee before becoming a teacher at Norwood Middle School in Anderson County.
In 1979, he became the assistant football coach at Coalfield High School, as well as the head basketball coach and teacher. For the next 28 years, Coach Garry Kreis was Coalfield football. Garry was assistant coach until 1987, when he became the head coach. He continued that role through 2007.
Recently, Garry Kreis was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and was doing very well with that until he received the bad news that the cancer had spread to his brain. Coach Kreis was placed in hospice care on March 14, 2017, where he remains now. However, Garry’s health has been deteriorating rapidly.
The community has begun several projects to honor the memory of Coach Garry Kreis for his continued dedication and support of the Coalfield community. [Read more…]
