Oak Ridge Today

Updated: ORHS principal leaving Oak Ridge, going to Greeneville

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Note: This story was updated at 10:20 a.m. Sept. 17.

Oak Ridge High School Principal Martin McDonald announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that he is leaving his job at ORHS and starting a new job at Greeneville High School in East Tennessee.

On Wednesday, Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said McDonald will continue at ORHS through the end of the first term and will transition to his new role in Greeneville during the first weeks of October.

Neither McDonald nor Oak Ridge Schools said why the principal is leaving Oak Ridge.

[Read more…]

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

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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…]

For members: RMS satellite scheduled to launch in September

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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.

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First ORHS Middle College class at Roane State about to graduate

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Oak Ridge High School Roane State Community College Middle College 2020
Pictured is the first class of Roane State Middle College students from Oak Ridge High School. Seated from left are Aamariah Crow, Isabella Kelly, Chloe Mallett, Savannah Shropshire, Selena Sterling, and Christina Thomas. Standing from left are Caroline Webb, Katie Swigert, Haley Snyder, Jacob Wright, Shaelyn Deal, and Cameille Schubert. Not pictured: Cameron Malone and Marissa Colvais. (Photo courtesy Roane State Community College)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

One wants to be a doctor. Another, a lawyer involved in immigration cases. Two plan to become engineers, another wants to be involved in mission work, and one intends to work as an ultrasound technician.

They are among 14 Oak Ridge High School students who are members of the first Roane State Community College Middle College class, and they’re getting ready to graduate this spring, both from high school and college.

Although they have varying career goals, they have several things in common. They all say they have enjoyed their Middle College experiences, they’ve all been accepted to colleges and universities to continue their educations, and they’re fans of their advisor and English instructor, Assistant Roane State Professor Margaret “Maggie” Bouldin.

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Roane State hosts launch of ‘Dream It. Do It.’ competition

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Roane State Dream It Do It Oct. 14 2019
Roane State Community College hosts the 5th annual ‘Dream It. Do It.” competition launch at the Clinton Higher Education and Training facility on Oct. 14, 2019. (Photo courtesy Roane State)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

Roane State hosted the launch of the fifth annual “Dream It. Do It.” competition last week at the community college’s mechatronics campus in Clinton, and it is also providing judges for the months-long events.

Now in its fifth year, the unique student competition highlighting manufacturing careers is sponsored by Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, the contractor that operates the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, and the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce.

The event is held each October as part of the National Manufacturing Day celebration.

Chamber President Rick Meredith during the competition kickoff expressed appreciation for the college’s assistance. Gordon Williams, director of the mechatronics program in the Clinton Higher Education and Training facility, showed the students the various types of equipment used in mechatronics.

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State Building Commission approves design of TCAT campus in Anderson County

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An image shows what the Tennessee College of Applied Technology could look like in Anderson County. (Image courtesy state of Tennessee)

The Tennessee State Building Commission in Nashville on Thursday approved the early design phase of the new TCAT Knoxville Higher Education Center in Anderson County, a press release said.

The 47,603 square-foot technology training facility will be located in the city of Clinton. It will be a shared-use building for TCAT Knoxville and Roane State Community College dedicated to training students for the modern workforce, the press release said.

TCAT is the Tennessee College of Applied Technology.

Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican, presided over the State Building Commission meeting approving the design and was integral in getting the project approved, the press release said.

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ORAU awards $20,000 in education grants to 26 local teachers

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ORAU Grant Awards Ceremony Sept 10 2019

More than 25 teachers from Anderson County schools received new teaching materials and supplies at ORAU’s Education Grants program on Sept. 10, 2019, walking away with a total of $20,000 in grant funds. (Photo by ORAU)

 

More than 25 teachers from Anderson County schools received new teaching materials and supplies at ORAU’s Education Grants program on Sept. 10, walking away with a total of $20,000 in grant funds.

Now in the program’s 18th year, ORAU has awarded more than half a million dollars to Clinton City, Oak Ridge, and Anderson County Schools in its mission to enrich science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs.

And each year, teachers find more creative ways to incorporate STEM learning into their classrooms, a press release said. [Read more…]

School board approves change in residency requirement

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The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday approved, in the first of two votes, a policy change that would require the superintendent and principals to live in Oak Ridge.

Assistant principals, the executive director of school leadership, and the executive director of teaching and learning would be required to live in Oak Ridge if they are relocating to the region after being hired by Oak Ridge Schools. This would not apply to new administrators in those positions who already live in adjacent counties, such as Knox County.

The policy change would reduce the number of administrative positions with a residency requirement. The current policy requires the superintendent, executive director of school leadership, executive director of teaching and learning, director of pupil services, principals, and assistant principals to live in Oak Ridge “to be thoroughly familiar with the community and to be available beyond the regular day.”

But the current policy is suspected of reducing the number of candidates who apply for jobs at Oak Ridge Schools, according to administrators.

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Small RMS satellite to launch into space Oct. 2020

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Robertsville Middle School RamSat CubeSat
The small cube satellite built by Robertsville Middle School students with help from teachers, mentors, and NASA is scheduled to launch in October 2020, and it will be deployed from the International Space Station, Oak Ridge Schools announced Monday, Aug. 29, 2019. (Photo courtesy Todd Livesay)

Note: This story was last updated at 1 p.m. Aug. 20.

The small cube satellite built by Robertsville Middle School students with help from teachers, mentors, and NASA is scheduled to launch in October 2020, and it will be deployed from the International Space Station, Oak Ridge Schools announced Monday.

The school system said it has received notification of the launch date from NASA.

“We received the official word from Scott Higginbotham at Kennedy Space Center,” Oak Ridge Schools said in a press release. “His letter stated, ‘RamSat is currently manifested to fly on the ELaNa-31 mission aboard the NG-14 Commercial Resupply Services mission to the ISS. Launch is currently scheduled for October of 2020. NanoRacks will be facilitating the deployment of your spacecraft from the International Space Station.’”

Students have determined the mission of the cube satellite, or CubeSat, will be to circle the Earth and capture images to help them study the regrowth of vegetation in Gatlinburg, as the city recovers from the forest fires of November 2016, the press release said. The satellite has been named RamSat.

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UCOR contributing $100,000 to new math, science building at Pellissippi State

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Pellissippi State Bill Haslam Center for Science and Math Groundbreaking May 15 2019 Web Cropped
Former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, eighth from left, joins Pellissippi State Community College to break ground on the new Bill Haslam Center for Math and Science on the college’s Hardin Valley Campus on May 15, 2019. The Tennessee Board of Regents approved the name of the building May 14, and the name was announced, to Haslam’s surprise, at the groundbreaking ceremony. (Photo by PSCC)

UCOR, the federal government’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, is contributing $100,000 to the construction of a new math and science building at Pellissippi State Community College, a press release said.

The contribution was announced by UCOR on Thursday.

“Workforce development is at the heart of a new partnership between UCOR, an AECOM-led partnership with Jacobs, and Pellissippi State Community College,” the press release said. “The collaboration is focused on ensuring that Oak Ridge has a continuing pipeline of trained, qualified workers for environmental cleanup and other future industry needs. To launch the partnership, UCOR is contributing $100,000 toward construction of a new math and science building at Tennessee’s largest community college.”

As part of the partnership, other programs are in the works to strengthen small businesses and the broader workforce as part of the partnership, UCOR said. On Tuesday, August 13, UCOR and Pellissippi State sponsored a Small Business Diversity Summit that presented information from global companies about building more diverse and inclusive workforces, the press release said.

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For members: With no increase, AC schools budget could have $1.4 million in cuts

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Without a tax rate increase or other new revenues, the Anderson County Schools budget could include more than $1.4 million in cuts, compared to last year, school officials said during an Anderson County Board of Education meeting on Thursday, May 16, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—Without a tax rate increase or other new revenues, the Anderson County Schools budget could include more than $1.4 million in cuts, compared to last year, school officials said Thursday.

There are already $650,000 in cuts included in the budget, according to information presented by Tim Parrott, director of Anderson County Schools, during an Anderson County Board of Education meeting on Thursday. That budget, which the school board approved last month, would have required about $820,000 in new revenue, said Scott Gillenwaters, chair of the school board’s Budget Committee.

Without a tax rate increase or other new revenues, the Anderson County Schools budget could include more than $1.4 million in cuts, compared to last year, school officials said during an Anderson County Board of Education meeting on Thursday, May 16, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—Without a tax rate increase or other new revenues, the Anderson County Schools budget could include more than $1.4 million in cuts, compared to last year, school officials said Thursday.

The cuts could include reductions in elementary school, middle school, and high school positions, and Central Office, technology, custodial, and maintenance staff; cuts to materials and supplies, and band equipment at the high schools; not finishing the gymnasium at Grand Oaks Elementary School; cutting a full-time nurse, high school coaching supplements, and a school resource officer vehicle; and reductions to transportation safety, special education assistants, and City of Rocky Top field maintenance, among a long list of potential cuts.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today.  Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here. Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

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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…]