Information from WYSH Radio
The Oak Ridge Board of Education approved a resolution on Monday that says the board is committed to providing school resource officers at all eight of the schools that make up the system, from preschool all the way to high school.
The resolution passed last night directs Interim Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bob Smallridge to work with City Manager Mark Watson to find a way to make that happen.
Oak Ridge High School football coach Scott Blade has resigned and is moving back to Middle Tennessee, where he will coach at Independence High School south of Nashville.
Blade has coached the Oak Ridge Wildcats since 2009, compiling a 35-15 record. He resigned Thursday, ORHS Athletic Director Mike Mullins said.
Mullins said Blade’s parents live in Franklin in Middle Tennessee, and Blade came to Oak Ridge from Hillsboro High School in Nashville. In addition, his wife received a job promotion in the medical field, and Independence quickly hired Blade.
“It was a job opportunity that he just couldn’t turn down,” Mullins said.
An Oak Ridge High School student allegedly threatened a teacher and punched a police officer trying to escort him out of the cafeteria on Thursday, authorities said.
The student, Christopher Lee Arwood, 18, had allegedly “become disorderly in the school cafeteria and threatened a teacher with violence” at about 11:05 a.m. Thursday, court records said.
Oak Ridge Police Officer Sherrill Selby, who is the school resource officer, tried to intervene and escort Arwood from the cafeteria, which was full of students, an affidavit said.
Oak Ridge Today has added a YouTube channel. It’s available at www.youtube.com/oakridgetoday.
Our first video features the Oak Ridge High School marching band at the Dec. 8 Christmas parade. Enjoy.
Cheerleaders from Oak Ridge High School helped to decorate the Hospitality Houses of Methodist Medical Center for Christmas. The houses offer temporary lodging to patients and families who must travel for extended care at Methodist, even during the holidays. (Submitted photo)
Oak Ridge High School cheerleaders recently decorated two hospitality homes at Methodist Medical Center for Christmas.
The Hospitality Houses provide a home away from home for cancer patients and families receiving extended medical care at Methodist Medical Center.
“But just because some guests can’t be home during the holiday season doesn’t mean they have to miss the festive feel of garland-draped porches and trees glittering with lights,” a press release said.
Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation Executive Director Lila Metcalf presents a $402,611 check to Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson to help pay the debt on the renovation of the Oak Ridge High School. (Submitted photo)
The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation recently made its eighth annual contribution for the rebuilding and renovation of Oak Ridge High School, a project that was completed in 2008.
In November, Lila Metcalf, the foundation’s executive director, presented a check for $402,611 to Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson to assist in the high school debt repayment. Since the payments began in 2005, the Education Foundation has presented the city with more than $3.5 million for the high school.
The Education Foundation raised $8 million in private funds for the high school, and that money provided the leverage for special bonds available for public schools. Together, the private funds and bonds provided the final piece of funding that made the renovation of Oak Ridge High School possible.
Note: This story was updated, and a video of Andress and Toth added, at 1:59 p.m. Dec. 5.
They made it to the national finals in a prestigious competition for teen researchers, and on Tuesday, Oak Ridge High School seniors James Andress and A.J. Toth won a $30,000 team scholarship for their work.
Andress and Toth were one of six teams from across the country that made it to the national finals of the 2012 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology in Washington, D.C. this past weekend. Their research could help in the development of anticancer drugs, a press release said.
Oak Ridge High School boys soccer team (Submitted photo)
The Oak Ridge High School Boys Soccer Booster Club is sponsoring a pancake breakfast on Saturday, Dec. 1, from 8 to 9:45 a.m. at Applebee’s in Oak Ridge.
Tickets are $5 each and can be obtained from boys soccer players and parents. Tickets also are available at the door on the day of the pancake breakfast. Proceeds support the ORHS boys soccer team.
For more information, contact Michelle Ward by phone at (865) 850-2921 or by e-mail at airnurse@gmail.com.
Applebee’s is at 1213 Oak Ridge Turnpike.
To the Editor:
The Math Thesis program is one of the above and beyond programs offered at Oak Ridge High School. Aimed at providing research opportunities for high school students, the program pairs students with a mentor at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, either as individuals or as teams. The students define a project with their mentor and conduct research over the summer. Then the students write a paper about their results.
One of the places they submit their results is the Siemens National Math and Science Competition. This year, a total of 2,255 students participated in the Siemens Competition, with a total of 1,504 submitted projects.
Of the 1,504 projects submitted, 30 teams and 30 individuals have been selected as regional finalists across the country. That’s right, a total of 60 projects out of more than 1,500, split evenly between teams and individuals.
This year, two of the 30 finalist teams are from Oak Ridge High School. Three other ORHS students were recognized as semifinalists. Wow.
Oak Ridge High School’s record at the Siemens Competition is nothing short of incredible. Six teams advance from the regional competitions each year. ORHS teams have advanced to the national level competition four times and have won the national competition twice. No other high school in the country has as many students recognized by the Siemens Foundation as Oak Ridge.
Most importantly, this is a story about the village. The individual students work hard, no doubt, but they didn’t get there by themselves. The thesis program was dreamed of, designed, and built by a teacher, a teacher who was empowered and backed by the school system. Other teachers have and are carrying the program forward. Even more teachers are responsible for preparing the students over time to be in a position to compete.
ORNL supports the program with workspace and resources. Each mentor contributes expertise and guidance, and each is actively engaged with the students, a task that is not part of their regular work. Whether students advance in the competition or not, this opportunity is priceless!
So, gratitude to: Benita Albert for conceiving of and implementing the program; Karl Flatau, Tammy Carneim, and Jessica Williams for carrying it forward; the Board of Education for supporting the program; ORNL for generously providing mentoring staff and research opportunities; each mentor for investing time and energy; and the countless individuals who contribute to the opportunity for the students, regardless of the outcomes. It matters.
Finally, congratulations to regional finalists Kyoung-A Cho, Yu (Samantha) Wang, Jim Andress, and A.J. Toth, and to regional semifinalists Neall Caughman, Megan Kelly, and Patrick Williams.
Cathy Toth
Oak Ridge
Two student teams from Oak Ridge High School will compete this week in the regional finals for the prestigious Siemens Competition in Math, Science, and Technology.
The two teams include James Andress and A.J. Toth, and Kyoung-A Cho and Samantha Wang. The students worked with mentors at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop computer programs to help find protein mutations that suppress cancer and evaluate rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.
“We were excited by the potential for machine learning to advance pharmaceutical development,” Andress said in a press release.
“My favorite part of working on this project was realizing that I could program, which I didn’t think I could do,” Wang said.
The two teams will compete in the regional finals at Georgia Institute of Technology on Friday and Saturday. A total of 93 students from 25 states are competing in six regional finals from California to Massachusetts this month.
The Siemens Competition is considered the nation’s premier research competition for high school students.
“These students have invested time, energy, and talent in tackling challenging scientific research at a young age,” Jeniffer Harper-Taylor, Siemens Foundation president, said in a recent press release. “The recognition they have won today demonstrates that engagement in STEM is an investment well worth making.”
The Siemens Competition awards one $3,000 prize to an individual and one $6,000 prize to a team at each regional competition. Winners of the regional events advance to the national finals at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., from Dec. 1-4, when $500,000 in scholarships will be awarded, including two top prizes of $100,000.
The Siemens Foundation said there were also 322 semifinalists announced this year. Local regional semifinalists included John Caughman III, Megan Kelly, and Patrick Williams.
The Siemens Foundation said 2,255 students from across the country participated in this year’s competition with a total of 1,504 projects.
Cathy Toth, mother of A.J. Toth, said Oak Ridge has won at nationals twice since 2008.
James Andress of Oak Ridge High School was one of 10 students who won a $4,000 annual scholarship to the University of Tennessee in an Oct. 25 math contest.
The UT-Pro2Serve Math Contest featured almost 600 students from 47 high schools.
Other scholarship winners included three students from Farragut High School in Knoxville—Melissa Yu, Alexander Selwitz, and Hyungdon Joo—and students in Brentwood, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Hendersonville, and Memphis.
The press release said the contest had two parts. All participants took a multiple-choice test on algebra and geometry called the Fundamental Exams of Remarkable Mathematical Ability and Talent (FERMAT I).
The five top scorers received a plaque. Andress was one of the top scorers. Lam Tran of Farragut High School was also a winner.
Students with the top 50 scores on the FERMAT I moved on to the FERMAT II, which included eight essay questions requiring creative and original thinking. All exams were hand-graded by faculty members from UT’s Department of Mathematics.
The second part of the contest was the Math Bowl, a double-elimination team competition. Sixty-four high school teams competed head-to-head to be the fastest to answer 10 math questions correctly, the press release said.
The contest was presented by the UT College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Mathematics and UT alumnus Barry Goss and his technical and engineering company Professional Project Services Inc., more commonly known as Pro2Serve.
The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats lost an exciting, hard-fought regional tournament soccer match to Knoxville Catholic at Oak Ridge High School on Tuesday night.
The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats lost in a penalty kick shootout during a regional tournament soccer match with Knoxville Catholic on Tuesday night.
The game was tied 1-1 after 80 minutes of regular time and 30 minutes of extra time at Oak Ridge High School. Knoxville Catholic beat Oak Ridge 4-2 in the best-of-five shootout that followed, coming up with two crucial saves.
Both teams had missed opportunities to score during the game, and Oak Ridge had several shots bounce off the crossbar and posts.
“You’ve got to finish those,” Lady Wildcats soccer coach Tom Gorman said. “Close doesn’t cut it.”
It was a disappointing finish to an exciting, hard-fought game for the Lady Wildcats.
Oak Ridge beat Hardin Valley in the district tournament game last week and finished the season 17-1-3, Gorman said.
Knoxville Catholic goes on to play Farragut on Thursday.
