The Oak Ridge High School Class of 2015 had its commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 28, on Blankenship Field. (Photo by Julio Culiat)
The Oak Ridge High School Class of 2015 had its commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 28, on Blankenship Field. Here are pictures by Julio Culiat, a contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
The Oak Ridge High School Class of 2015 had its commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 28, on Blankenship Field. (Photo by Julio Culiat)
The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously approved a budget that would use $1.75 million from the school system’s fund balance and ask the city for about $650,000. The request for more money still has to be considered by the Oak Ridge City Council.
Note: This story was last updated at 11:12 a.m. May 27.
The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Tuesday approved a budget that would use $1.75 million from the school system’s fund balance and ask the city for about $650,000.
Those two actions would help Oak Ridge Schools cover a deficit of roughly $638,000 and meet a total of $1.75 million in other desired expenses, or “additional investment,” including:
The Oak Ridge Board of Education will consider the proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 during a meeting tonight (Tuesday, May 26). It’s the first of two readings of the budget, and tonight’s meeting will include a public hearing.
Also tonight, the school board will consider balanced calendar options for the 2016-2017 school year. Three options have been presented. See the three options here: Oak Ridge Schools 2016-2017 Balanced Calendar, Oak Ridge Schools 2016-2017 Balanced Calendar B, and Oak Ridge Schools 2016-2017 Balanced Calendar B V2.
In other business tonight, the Board of Education will consider: [Read more…]
The Jefferson Middle School Atomic Eagles, a FIRST LEGO League team, are pictured above at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas, from May 14-17. (Photo by Yvonne Dalschen)
The Atomic Eagles, a FIRST LEGO League (FLL) team from Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge, received the Rising Star award at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on May 14-17.
This competition hosted 72 FLL teams from around the world. Thirteen different nations and 31 different states were represented.
The Rising Star award is given to the team that the judges notice and expect great things from in the future.
Thomas Proffen, the team mentor, received the second-place adult mentor award. This award goes to the mentor whose wisdom, guidance, and devotion are most clearly evident in the team’s discussion with the judges. He has been volunteering with the Atomic Eagles since 2013, when Lego League was restarted at Jefferson Middle School by coaches Janie and Harold Shanafield. Proffen is the director of the Neutron Data Analysis and Visualization Division in the Neutron Sciences Directorate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. [Read more…]
As part of its “Making the Critical Difference” campaign, the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation will award more than $93,000 in grants to Oak Ridge teachers at a ceremony this Wednesday, May 20.
Oak Ridge alumni and WBIR Anchor Moira Kaye will be the featured speaker at the event for what she has described as her career’s “last personal appearance.” The ceremony is open to the public, and it will be held in the Oak Ridge High School cafeteria beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Demonstrations and displays of some of the projects and technology funded by the Foundation will be given after the formal ceremony.
The 2015 grant recipients are as follows: [Read more…]
Eddie Anderson
Note: This story was last updated at 12:05 p.m.
About 200 people turned out at a school board meeting on Wednesday to show support for longtime teacher and track coach Eddie Anderson, who has been suspended without pay pending a police investigation, and to challenge some of the accusations made against him. Some objected to the process used by the school system, saying the reputation of a fantastic teacher has been sullied.
Anderson, an Oak Ridge High School chemistry teacher hired in 1979, was suspended without pay on April 30 while the Oak Ridge Police Department investigates an allegation of inappropriate contact with a former student. In the letter announcing the suspension, Oak Ridge Schools Assistant Superintendent Chris Marczak said the allegation was being turned over to the ORPD as a criminal investigation.
No additional details about that allegation have been released. Anderson’s attorney, Dennis Francis, declined to comment last week, and the Oak Ridge Board of Education and Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent’s Office have been advised to not comment until the investigation is complete. City officials have also not commented on the ongoing investigation by the Police Department.
In the meantime, most of the public discussion has focused on an April 11 track meet, the Taco Bell Invitational in South Carolina. School administrators said, among other things, that Anderson knew ahead of time that a hotel the team was going to stay in was “unacceptable and dangerous,” that he did not inform parents of the specifics of the trip and did not answer the phone when they called, and did not double-check student room assignments, which led to a girl entering a boys’ room through an adjoining door and engaging in “inappropriate contact.” [Read more…]
Students test the icy cold waters as they study the Titanic voyage and the sinking of the ship in a project developed for English language learners. (Submitted photos)
English language learners in Oak Ridge’s four public elementary schools are becoming experts on the Titanic as they conduct science experiments to learn about icebergs, build boats with straws, and explore the historic event as they read history and fiction.
The first- through fourth-graders are taking “A Titanic Voyage for English Language Learners,” a project helping them become more confident in their English skills through a variety of learning experiences. The four English as a second language, or ESL, teachers received a $1,544 grant from the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation last year to buy materials needed for the multi-school project.
The grant will also make possible a field study on May 5 at the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, where students will draw on their studies to have discussions and ask questions as they build on their knowledge of the Titanic and of English.
“They are getting science, social studies, and all the language domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing,” said Cherie Adcock, ESL teacher at Woodland Elementary School. “Their response has been great, and they are excited.” [Read more…]
Maddie Buckner, a member of Team 4265 of Oak Ridge High School, is pictured above with Professor Woodie Flowers at the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday, April 25, 2015. (Photos by Angi Agle)
An alliance that included the Secret City Wildbots of Oak Ridge High School finished second in the final championship round at the FIRST Robotics Competition in St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday.
It’s the highest achievement in the five-year history of Team 4265, Oak Ridge Board of Education member Angi Agle said.
The Secret City Wildbots were picked to join a four-team alliance with the first- and second-place ranked teams and made it into the elimination rounds on Saturday. That alliance won the Hopper Subdivision and advanced to the finals, the Einstein round, which was also on Saturday.
The alliance included: [Read more…]
The main entrance at Oak Ridge High School is pictured above. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Schools)
Oak Ridge High School was ranked number 11 on a list of the most challenging high schools in Tennessee, according to a ranking published by The Washington Post.
Other East Tennessee high schools on the list are West High School in Knoxville (#6), Farragut High School in Knoxville (#7), Morristown West in Morristown (#10), and Dobyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport (#12).
The top five high schools are all in the Nashville area: Hume-Fogg Magnet in Nashville (#1), Martin Luther King Magnet in Nashville (#2), Brentwood in Brentwood (#3), Hillsboro in Nashville (#4), and Ravenwood in Brentwood (#5). [Read more…]
The Secret City Wildbots have been competing at the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in St. Louis, Missouri, this week, April 22-25, 2015. (Photo by Angi Agle)
Note: This story was last updated at 1:37 p.m. April 25.
The Secret City Wildbots made it into the elimination rounds today (Saturday, April 25) at the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in St. Louis, Missouri.
Team 4265 of Oak Ridge High School was picked to join an alliance with the first- and second-place ranked teams. Their first match is this morning.
Updates: The Secret City Wildbots’ alliance won the first quarterfinal round 235-205 and is now ranked number 1. The alliance maintained its number 1 ranking headed to the semifinals and then the semifinals. The alliance won the first round of finals 268-185, Angi Agle reported at 1:07 p.m.
Below are two videos of the Secret City Wildbots competing during qualifying rounds this week. The videos are by Angi Agle. The robotics competition runs from April 22-25.
After all matches, the Secret City Wildbots, an Oak Ridge High School team, were ranked 45 as of Friday evening. [Read more…]
The Secret City Wildbots are pictured above at the 2015 FIRST Robotics Competition Championship on Thursday, April 23, in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photos by Angi Agle)
Note: This story was last updated at 12:45 p.m.
The Secret City Wildbots of Oak Ridge High School are competing this week in the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in St. Louis, Missouri.
Here are pictures from the competition on Thursday by Angi Agle. Oak Ridge won its last round and was ranked #37 as of Thursday evening.
Here is a Friday morning update from Agle: [Read more…]
