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Band camp student tests positive for COVID-19

Posted at 2:36 pm July 25, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A student at the Oak Ridge High School band camp last week tested positive for COVID-19 this week, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a letter to community members Wednesday.

The student learned of the positive test result Tuesday night. The student did not report any symptoms before learning of the diagnosis, Borchers said. But before learning of the positive test result this week, the student had been in contact with other students and staff members during band camp through Tuesday of last week, Borchers said.

The student’s positive test result this week follows a positive test result of a band camp instructor last week. Neither the student nor the instructor are being publicly identified.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Front Page News, Health, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: band camp, Bruce Borchers, COVID-19, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Schools

Updated: Oak Ridge Schools will have staggered classes at middle schools, high school

Posted at 3:19 pm July 23, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Note: This story was updated at 2 p.m. July 24.

Oak Ridge Schools will now have staggered classes for students at its two middle schools and one high school. Those students will now attend classes two days per week and then have online classes the other three days.

Elementary school students will attend classes five days per week.

The new plan was unanimously approved by the Oak Ridge Board of Education during a 45-minute special meeting Thursday afternoon.

The plan had been presented to the school board by Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Education, Front Page News, Health, K-12, Slider Tagged With: Bruce Borchers, COVID-19, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge Schools, school board

School board has special meeting Thursday to discuss re-opening plan

Posted at 9:55 am July 23, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Board of Education will have a special meeting this afternoon to discuss the plan to re-open schools next week.

The meeting to discuss schools re-opening is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Thursday, July 23. The school board will meet electronically under an executive order signed by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee. The order relates to protecting public health, safety, and welfare in response to COVID-19.

Oak Ridge Schools are scheduled to start July 29 with two options for students and families: 1) attending classes at school with new safety measures and contingency plans, and 2) online instruction through ConnectOR.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Health, K-12 Tagged With: COVID-19, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge Schools, re-opening, schools re-opening, special meeting

Tennessee Valley Corridor Virtual Summit starts Thursday

Posted at 8:35 pm July 15, 2020
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Pictured above are Congressman Phil Roe (TN-1) and Tim Thomas, Appalachian Regional Commission federal co-chair.

JOHNSON CITY—On Thursday, July 16, the Tennessee Valley Corridor will be celebrating its 25th anniversary and kicking off this summer’s Virtual Summit series.

During the Summit, you can learn more about the Appalachian Highlands’ most important assets and plans within the region to achieve greater economic growth.

Tune in to the Tennessee Valley Corridor Virtual Summit at 1 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, July 16.

Twenty-Five Years of Innovation Transforming the Region

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Education, Front Page News, Government, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Phil Roe, Tennessee Valley Corridor, Tim Thomas, Virtual Summit

ORHS band camp instructor tests positive for COVID-19

Posted at 5:28 pm July 15, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Note: This story was updated at 5:45 p.m.

An instructor at the Oak Ridge High School band camp has tested positive for COVID-19, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a letter to parents on Wednesday.

The band camp instructor, who worked with multiple students and staff members, had no symptoms before learning of the positive test result Wednesday morning, Borchers said.

The instructor, who isn’t being publicly identified, was immediately separated from the band camp and told to contact the appropriate county health department to report the diagnosis and ask for guidance, Borchers said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Front Page News, Health, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: band camp, Bruce Borchers, COVID-19, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Schools

Oak Ridge Schools will now require masks when distance not possible

Posted at 3:57 am July 10, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

After initially “strongly recommending” masks, students and staff members will now be required to wear face coverings in Oak Ridge Schools when physical distancing is not possible, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said Thursday.

A school re-opening plan published Monday, after families and staff members were surveyed, said masks would be strongly recommended, but not required, when students can’t stay six feet apart to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Students in regular classroom settings probably can’t stay six feet apart, the plan said.

Parents objected. Many said the mask recommendation wasn’t enough. They said they would contact school administrators to ask for mandatory face masks.

On Thursday, Borchers said the change to mandatory masks was made after a review of the “current situation.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Front Page News, Health, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: Bruce Borchers, COVID-19, face coverings, face masks, Oak Ridge Schools, school re-opening

Oak Ridge Schools to re-open July 29 with in-person, online options

Posted at 9:21 am July 7, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Schools will re-open July 29 with in-person and online options.

The re-opening plan was announced Monday by Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers.

The July 29 re-opening date is part of the 2020-2021 district calendar.

The re-opening plan was announced as the number of total and active COVID-19 cases has surged in Anderson County. The county added 39 new cases between Thursday and Monday, pushing the total to 144, and the number of active cases about doubled from 32 on Thursday to 63 on Monday.

In a recent survey, conducted before the surge in cases during the past four days, most Oak Ridge families—85 percent of those who responded—said they want the school system to return to “some semblance of normalcy with students participating in face-to-face instruction,” Borchers said.

Those who responded to the survey said their highest priorities while trying to bring students back to school safely are 1) regularly disinfecting common areas, 2) practicing social distancing, 3) providing temperature checks, 4) reducing non-essential visitors in the school, and 5) wearing masks as needed.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Front Page News, Health, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County, Bruce Borchers, COVID-19, Oak Ridge Schools, re-open, re-opening

Roane State plans to re-open in phases with COVID precautions

Posted at 2:08 pm June 26, 2020
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Roane State Community College plans to re-open in phases with COVID-19 precautions, allowing students to access many of the services they need on campus before the fall semester, a press release said.

For the remainder of June, the following offices will operate from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the designated locations:

  • Bookstore (Roane County and Oak Ridge campuses)
  • Bursar/Business Office (Roane County and Oak Ridge campuses)
  • One Stop (all campus sites)

Beginning Monday, July 6, the offices listed above will transition to a Monday through Thursday schedule on the Roane County and Oak Ridge campuses from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., the press release said. Success coaches will also begin a return to campus for in-person appointments. All campus sites will begin offering One Stop services on the four-day summer schedule. This schedule will continue for the remainder of July, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: College, COVID-19, Education, Front Page News, Health, Top Stories Tagged With: Chris Whaley, COVID-19, Roane State Community College

ORISE launches new app, redesigned website

Posted at 1:00 pm June 23, 2020
By Amy Schwinge Leave a Comment

Part of the ORAU campus in central Oak Ridge is pictured above on May 29, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education has unveiled its redesigned ORISE website and new ORISE GO app, providing a wide range of resources on the go, a press release said.

The all-new ORISE GO mobile app offers college students, recent graduates, and postdoctoral students a mobile tool to search and apply for hundreds of science, technology, engineering, and math internships, fellowships, and research opportunities at national laboratories and facilities across the United States, the press release said.

The ORISE GO app also provides a platform to remain engaged, connected, and informed during the ORISE experience—from application, to offer, through the appointment, and even as an ORISE alumni, the press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: College, Education, Front Page News, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: fellowships, internships, national laboratories, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, ORISE, ORISE GO app, ORISE website, research opportunities

Roane State reports first confirmed case of COVID-19

Posted at 12:41 pm June 23, 2020
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

RSCC Coffey McNally Building Oak Ridge
The Coffey/McNally Building is pictured at the Oak Ridge campus of Roane State Community College. (Photo by Roane State)

On Thursday, June 18, a Roane State Community College student reported a positive COVID-19 test result to the college. The student has not shown any symptoms and is now quarantining at home, a press release said.

This is the first confirmed case of the virus on any of Roane State’s campuses, the press release said.

The positive case was found during a precautionary health screening required by a state licensing board and was conducted at a local health department, the press release said.

The student was reported to have been inside the Coffey-McNally Building of the Oak Ridge Branch Campus (ORBC) on Tuesday, June 16. Upon learning of the positive test result, the college began the process of closing the building and notifying each person who had been in direct contact with the student.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: College, COVID-19, Education, Front Page News, Health, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Health Department, COVID-19, Roane State Community College

For members: RMS satellite scheduled to launch in September

Posted at 12:37 pm June 3, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Peter Thornton, a researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, holds the cube satellite, or CubeSat, that will be completely built soon and was developed by Robertsville Middle School students with help from teachers and mentors. Named RamSat, the cube satellite is scheduled to launch from Virginia on a space station resupply mission on Sept. 7, 2020. Thornton is pictured above during a mentors meeting at RMS on Thursday, May 28. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The small cube satellite built by Robertsville Middle School students with help from teachers, mentors, and NASA is scheduled to launch on a resupply rocket to the International Space Station in September, and it could be deployed into orbit a few hundred miles above Earth in October.

Testing of the satellite and its components, including a battery test and vibration tests, was scheduled to start this week. A battery test was scheduled to start at Global Testing Laboratories in Knoxville on Tuesday this week and continue Wednesday.

 

Peter Thornton, a researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, holds the cube satellite, or CubeSat, that will be completely built soon and was developed by Robertsville Middle School students with help from teachers and mentors. Named RamSat, the cube satellite is scheduled to launch from Virginia on a space station resupply mission on Sept. 7, 2020. Thornton is pictured above during a mentors meeting at RMS on Thursday, May 28. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The small cube satellite built by Robertsville Middle School students with help from teachers, mentors, and NASA is scheduled to launch on a resupply rocket to the International Space Station in September, and it could be deployed into orbit a few hundred miles above Earth in October.

Testing of the satellite and its components, including a battery test and vibration tests, was scheduled to start this week.

The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: an advertiser, sponsor, or subscriber to Oak Ridge Today.

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Note: Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. Some are considered premium content. This story is premium content. Premium content can include in-depth, investigative, and exclusive stories. These stories generally take more than four hours to report, write, and publish.

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Filed Under: Education, Education, Federal, Front Page News, Government, K-12, Premium Content, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: cube satellite, CubeSat, Eli Manning, Global Testing Laboratories, Holly Cross, Ian Goethert, International Space Station, Melissa Allen-Dumas, NanoRacks, NASA, NG-14, Oak Ridge Amateur Radio Club, Patrick Hull, Peter Thornton, RamSat, RMS, Robertsville Middle School, STEM, Todd Livesay, Wallops Flight Facility

Roane State has virtual information sessions for students and parents

Posted at 9:29 am May 28, 2020
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

RSCC Coffey McNally Building Oak Ridge
The Coffey/McNally Building is pictured at the Oak Ridge campus of Roane State Community College. (Photo by Roane State)

Roane State Community College is having two virtual information sessions this week that are focused on addressing questions from students and their parents during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first session, for current and prospective students, was from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 26.

The second session, for parents and caregivers, is from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 28.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: College, Education, Front Page News Tagged With: Chris Whaley, COVID-19, information sessions, Roane State Community College

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