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ASAP Youth Ambassadors encourage peers to be safe, sober on Prom Night

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This time of year, high school students are looking forward to those wonderful milestone moments like prom and graduation. Regrettably, these milestones can sometimes go hand in hand with tragedy when mixed with drugs or alcohol, a press release said.

ASAP of Anderson Youth Ambassadors Coalition (YAC) are encouraging their peers to be safe and sober on prom night, the press release said. The ASAP YAC is made up of students from Anderson County, Clinton, and Oak Ridge high schools. Students designed posters that will hang throughout their schools in the coming weeks before prom to remind students they can “choose their fate.” This message corresponds with ASAP’s #IAMONE campaign. The campaign encourages youth to declare #IAMONE who will not use drugs or alcohol, the press release said.

[Read more…]

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Education Foundation to award grants April 24

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Woodland Elementary School teacher Megan Sauer is pictured above with one of her students demonstrating her 2018 grant “Communication for All.” (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation)

The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation will award more than $99,000 in grants to Oak Ridge teachers at a ceremony on Wednesday, April 24.

Oak Ridge High School’s retired math teacher and former department head Benita Albert will be the featured speaker at the event, sharing her talk titled “We’ve Come a Long Way Teachers.”

The ceremony is open to the public, and it will be held in the Pollard Auditorium at ORAU beginning at 2:30 p.m. Demonstrations and displays of some of the projects and technology funded by the Foundation will be given in the lobby after the formal ceremony. Light refreshments will be provided courtesy of Oak Ridge Utility District, a press release said.

The 2019 grant recipients are as follows: [Read more…]

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Ellen Reid, who grew up in Oak Ridge, wins Pulitzer Prize in music

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Ellen Reid (Photo by James Matthew Daniel)

Ellen Reid, who grew up in Oak Ridge, has won the Pulitzer Prize in music.

Reid, 36, won the prize for her debut opera, titled “p r i s m,” which features a libretto by Roxie Perkins.

The Pulitzer Prize Board described “p r i s m” as “a bold new operatic work that uses sophisticated vocal writing and striking instrumental timbres to confront difficult subject matter: the effects of sexual and emotional abuse.”

The Pulitzer Prizes were announced Monday.

“I am blown away and incredibly honored to receive this year’s Pulitzer Prize in music,” Reid said on her Facebook page. “Composing p r i s m was a challenging, rewarding, and deeply personal experience, and I hope this opera will help shed light on the experience of surviving sexual assault.”

[Read more…]
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Sign up for summer term at ORICL

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Catalogs are now available for the summer term at ORICL (Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning). Online registration opens on April 23, and the summer term runs from June 3 through August 2. Registrations may be submitted in paper format as well. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to select from almost 70 interesting, informative, and/or entertaining classes and three special activities.

To take advantage of these outstanding offerings, one must join ORICL as a dues-paying member. The fee for membership is $100 for a full year of fall, winter/spring, and summer terms beginning in September; $80 for two terms beginning in January; and $45 for the summer term only. If you are already a member of ORICL for the 2018-19 session, there are no fees due. If you are new to ORICL, the fee will be $45 for the summer term.

What is ORICL? ORICL is a continuing education opportunity for seniors, retirees, and anyone else who is able to fit the classes into his/her schedule of activities. ORICL is sponsored by Roane State Community College, and most classes are held at the Oak Ridge campus of RSCC. The courses offer varying content and appeal to people from all backgrounds and educational levels. ORICL is learning, for the fun of learning, taught by people who love to teach to people who appreciate gaining new information, a press release said.

“There is no pressure; there are no tests,” the press release said.

[Read more…]

Big Ed’s Memorial Golf Tournament is April 26

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Oak Ridge Country Club Golf Course

The 18th Annual Big Ed’s Memorial Golf Tournament on Friday, April 26, will benefit Community Mediation Services of Anderson Country.

It will provide participants a great way to give back to the youth and families in our community while having a great day of golf, a press release said.

You can join Big Ed’s Pizza and Community Mediation Services for the golf tournament on Friday, April 26, at the beautiful and challenging Oak Ridge Country Club, the press release said.

The tournament will start at 8:30 a.m. April 26 in a scramble format. Golfers will get a complimentary breakfast, beverage carts, and a smoked barbecue lunch provided by Big Ed’s. Prize contests for participants will be awarded along with a hole-in-one grand prize. Free Big Ed’s shirts and golf towels for all golfers are included, the press release said. An on-site silent auction will be available.

[Read more…]

ORHS Class of 1969 Plans 50th reunion

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The Oak Ridge High School Class of 1969 is gearing up for their 50th Reunion. A reunion committee is planning a celebration for Sept. 27-28, 2019. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge High School Class of 1969 is gearing up for their 50th Reunion. A reunion committee is planning a celebration for Sept. 27-28, 2019. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge High School Class of 1969 is planning their 50th year reunion.

A Reunion Committee is planning a celebration for September 27-28, 2019. You will not want to miss it, a press release said.

There will be more details available later, but first the Reunion Committee needs to find all missing classmates so they can share the weekend events, the press release said. [Read more…]

ORAU, Thurgood Marshall College Fund expand STEM opportunities for HBCU students, faculty

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ORAU and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund have joined forces to expand STEM research opportunities for students and faculty at historically black colleges and universities. On hand to sign a memorandum of understanding on March 29, 2019, were, left to right, Harry Williams, president of TMCF; Joyce Payne, founder; Andy Page, ORAU president and CEO; Desmond Stubbs, ORAU director of diversity initiatives; and Michael Stubblefield, vice chancellor for research and strategic initiatives at Southern University and A&M College, an ORAU consortium member institution. (Photo by ORAU)

ORAU and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund have joined forces to expand STEM research opportunities for students and faculty at historically black colleges and universities. On hand to sign a memorandum of understanding on March 29, 2019, were, left to right, Harry Williams, president of TMCF; Joyce Payne, founder; Andy Page, ORAU president and CEO; Desmond Stubbs, ORAU director of diversity initiatives; and Michael Stubblefield, vice chancellor for research and strategic initiatives at Southern University and A&M College, an ORAU consortium member institution. (Photo by ORAU)

 

The nation’s historically black colleges and universities and minority-serving educational institutions are often untapped resources abounding in talent, ingenuity, and expertise, but lacking in the material resources necessary for scientific research, a press release said.

Tapping into those resources is a big part of the reason ORAU and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund officially began a working relationship with the signing of a memorandum of understanding in Oak Ridge on Friday, March 29, the press release said.

The Thurgood Marshall College Fund is the nation’s largest organization exclusively supporting all 47 public historically black colleges and universities.

ORAU is a national leader in connecting the best and most diverse students, recent graduates, faculty members, and professionals with meaningful mentored research experiences at national labs and other federal research facilities around the country, the press release said. [Read more…]

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…]

Design forum for Pennsylvania-North Tulane intersection is Wednesday

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UT Intersection Project Open Forum April 3 2019

Students from the University of Tennessee are planning to host a virtual open forum as they continue to explore alternative designs for the intersection at Pennsylvania and North Tulane Avenues in Oak Ridge, a press release said. The event will be accessible via Facebook Live on Wednesday, April 3, from 5 p.m. until 6 p.m.

The effort is part of a senior project for the students from UT’s College of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the press release said. The Oak Ridge Public Works Department teamed up with the group to evaluate designs that would potentially realign the intersections of North Tulane Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, Providence Road, and East Pasadena Road.

The students held their first open forum in early March at Oak Ridge Public Library, where they introduced themselves and gathered public opinions and concerns. In the upcoming open forum, students will build on the feedback received so far and present conceptual drawings of alternatives that are under consideration, the press release said. [Read more…]

Thanks to Tennessee Reconnect grant, school bus driver pursuing her dream to become a teacher

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Gioconda "Gio" Duran

Gioconda “Gio” Duran

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

This school bus driver is hitting the books in between routes in her quest to become a teacher.

Gioconda “Gio” Duran, 44, is a Tennessee Reconnect student at Roane State Community College. Thanks to the Tennessee Reconnect grant, eligible adults can now attend Roane State tuition-free.

Duran said Tennessee Reconnect “is a big reason why I wanted to go back to school.”

Her 19-year-old son, John Duran Jr., is also enrolled with scholarships at the college’s Roane County campus. [Read more…]

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