Oak Ridge Today

Four Oak Ridge students sing in Bijou Awards competition

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Four Oak Ridge students sang in the Bijou Awards competition at the Bijou Theatre in Knoxville on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016. They are, clockwise from top left, Oak Ridge High School seniors Jacob Moreno and Treston Henderson; Marian Vacaliuc, a 7th-grader at Jefferson Middle School; and Sarah Hepler, an 8th-grader at Robertsville Middle School. (Photos by Savanna Schubert)

 

KNOXVILLE—On Saturday night, students from all over East Tennessee gathered for a night of competition at the Bijou Theatre. Students from across the region had the chance to audition to win a spot to perform on stage at the historic location.

The Fourth Annual Bijou Awards was a competition to showcase students and their performing arts talents, such as singing and acting. The competition had five different categories, and five students were selected for each category. The categories were: Rising Star, Male Acting, Female Acting, Male Singing, and Female Singing.

Four Oak Ridge Schools students were chosen to compete in this year’s awards. Sarah Hepler, an eighth-grader from Robertsville Middle School, and Marian Vacaliuc, a seventh-grader from Jefferson Middle School, sang in the Rising Star competition. Treston Henderson and Jacob Moreno, seniors from Oak Ridge High School, competed in the Male Singing category. [Read more…]

Video: Four Oak Ridge students compete in Bijou Awards

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Four Oak Ridge students competed in the Bijou Awards at the Bijou Theatre in Knoxville on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016. (Photo by Savanna Schubert)

 

KNOXVILLE—Four Oak Ridge students competed in the Bijou Awards in Knoxville on Saturday.

Freelance contributor Savanna Schubert interviewed the four students and organizer Jay Apking at the Bijou Theatre. The four students are Jacob Moreno and Treston Henderson of Oak Ridge High School, Sarah Hepler of Robertsville Middle School, and Marian Vacaliuc of Jefferson Middle School.

See the video by Schubert here:

See this story for more information about the Saturday night Bijou Awards.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Council agenda: Preschool report, Waste Connections contract extension

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Elm Grove Park Oct. 21, 2015

Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge has been proposed as a site for a new preschool, and it’s considered the best potential location. The Oak Ridge City Council will consider accepting a report recommending that site during a 7 p.m. meeting on Monday, Jan. 11, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Other items on the Oak Ridge City Council agenda tonight include possible acceptance of a report that recommends building a new preschool at Elm Grove Park and a five-year contract extension for Waste Connections of Tennessee, the city’s garbage and recyclables contractor.

As previously reported, tonight’s meeting (Monday, January 11) will also include a report on city manager evaluations, with possible discussion of a one-year contract extension and 2 percent pay raise, and a brief update on Main Street Oak Ridge, the $80 million project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.

The preschool report was presented to Oak Ridge City Council and Oak Ridge Board of Education in October. It came from the Joint City/Schools Preschool Planning Committee, which determined whether to remodel the 70-year-old Preschool building on New York Avenue, lease and renovate a building, or build a new one. [Read more…]

OR Schools asks for state help with military program, consistency for teachers

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Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen, center, visited Oak Ridge High School on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Also pictured are ORHS Principal Martin McDonald, left, and Tennessee Rep. John Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge Schools could use help with a military program, one of the so-called “seven keys” to college and career readiness, education officials told a state official on Thursday.

State officials can also help by “keeping teachers on the same path for more than one year,” Oak Ridge Board of Education Chair Keys Fillauer told Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen during a Thursday afternoon tour of Oak Ridge High School.

“Let’s give them (teachers) some consistency,” Fillauer said. McQueen’s path is called TNReady, Fillauer said. That’s described as a “new and improved” TCAP (Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program), which students have taken since 1988.

McQueen is visiting all districts as part of a statewide tour. On Thursday, it was Oak Ridge’s turn. In addition to Oak Ridge High School, McQueen toured Glenwood Elementary School and Robertsville Middle School. [Read more…]

Tennessee education commissioner to visit Oak Ridge Schools on Thursday

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Candice McQueen

Candice McQueen

Candice McQueen, Tennessee’s education commissioner, will visit Oak Ridge Schools on Thursday, January 7.

During her visit, McQueen will tour Glenwood Elementary School, Robertsville Middle School, and Oak Ridge High School. She will also take part in an afternoon roundtable discussion that will feature about 30 administrators and teachers across a wide cross-section of grade levels, subject areas, and schools. They will discuss successes and challenges that educators are facing in their jobs, Oak Ridge Schools said.

Included in the discussion will be the Tennessee Department of Education’s “New Goals to Measure Education Progress,” which align with Oak Ridge Schools’ Seven Keys to College and Career Readiness. [Read more…]

ORHS senior a national winner of Aspirations in Computing Award

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Melissa Yuan

Melissa Yuan

Oak Ridge High School senior Melissa Yuan was chosen as a national winner for the 2016 Aspirations in Computing Award from NCWIT, or National Center for Women and IT.

Yuan was among 35 girls chosen from more than 3,100 applicants nationwide, Oak Ridge Schools said in a press release. She is only the third girl from Tennessee to ever win this award. The second was Patricia Edou from ORHS in 2015.

Yuan will receive an all-expenses paid trip, provided by Bank of America, to the National Award weekend, which includes the Award ceremony and showcase, March 4-6, 2016 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. She will also receive $1,000 and a new laptop.

Yuan is a senior at Oak Ridge High School who is passionate about research and music. [Read more…]

School board extends superintendent’s contract to 2020

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Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers

Note: This story was updated at 3:15 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday unanimously extended the contract of Superintendent Bruce Borchers by one year to 2020.

The extended contract, which was approved 5-0, will take effect June 18, 2016, and continue through June 17, 2020.

The board can have a maximum of a four-year contract with Borchers, BOE Chair Keys Fillauer said.

Board member Angi Agle said she would have added more than a year to Borchers’ contract if she could. [Read more…]

School board to consider extending superintendent’s contract to 2020

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Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers

The Oak Ridge Board of Education will consider extending Superintendent Bruce Borchers’ contract through 2020 during a Monday evening meeting.

If approved, the contract extension would take effect June 18, 2016, and continue through June 17, 2020.

Borchers was hired in April 2013, and he started two months later, on June 18. He was previously superintendent of the Rockwood School District in Eureka, Missouri. [Read more…]

Four Oak Ridge students competing in Bijou Awards in January

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Jacob Moreno

Jacob Moreno

Four Oak Ridge students will compete in the Bijou Awards in January.

The Fourth Annual Bijou Awards will showcase the talent of high school students in and around Knoxville. The 2016 Bijou Awards Gala is on January 16 at the Bijou Theatre in downtown Knoxville.

Oak Ridge High School seniors Treston Henderson and Jacob Moreno will both compete in the male singing category.

Sarah Hepler, an eight-grader at Robertsville Middle School, and Marian Vacaliuc, a seventh-grader at Jefferson Middle School, will compete in the rising star category. [Read more…]

Senter, ORHS history teacher, named Star 102.1 Educator of the Month

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Oak Ridge High School student Becky Hanaver, left, nominated Ken Senter, an Advanced Placement U.S. history teacher, for Star 102.1 Educator of the Month. (Photo by Oak Ridge Schools)

 

Ken Senter, an Advanced Placement United States history teacher at Oak Ridge High School, has been named Star 102.1 Educator of the Month. The award was announced December 2.

Here is more information from an Oak Ridge Schools press release:

Ken Senter has been an Advanced Placement United States History teacher at Oak Ridge High School for the past two decades. He is known for the rigorous preparation he gives to students for the AP exam, even writing and publishing his own work to help students make meaningful connections to their nation and its history. [Read more…]

Sunset Rotary expands Da Vinci Arts, Science Fair to include middle school grades

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In 2016, the Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary Club will expand its annual Da Vinci Arts and Science Fair to include middle school grades.

Previously, the fair has been limited to third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students.

The middle-school fair will be held January 23-24, 2016, at the New Hope Center in Oak Ridge. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in the New Hope Center auditorium at 4 p.m. on Sunday, January 24, preceded at 3 p.m. by an open house when entries will be available for viewing, a press release said. All participants, parents, teachers, and the public are invited to attend.

Complete information about both fairs and registration forms for the middle school fair are available on the website www.davincifair.org. [Read more…]

New ORHS traffic signal starts operating Wednesday

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The new stoplight on Oak Ridge Turnpike between Oak Ridge High School and the Oak Ridge Civic Center will start operating on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The new traffic light in front of Oak Ridge High School on Oak Ridge Turnpike will start operating on Wednesday, December 30.

The stoplight has been operating in a temporary, flashing mode since the week of December 14.

City officials want to start operating the stoplight while school is out, said Roger Flynn, director of the Oak Ridge Public Works Department.

The Oak Ridge City Council approved a contract to install the stoplight in a 4-3 vote in April. [Read more…]