Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge Schools only need to make up two snow days

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Oak Ridge Schools used nine snow days this year but only needs to make up two, an official said Thursday.

“As we have gone through the process of examining our snow day allocation, we discovered that, in addition to the three extra student instructional days we had built into our calendar, we were also entitled to three stockpiled snow days because of our longer school days as compared to state minimum requirements,” said Chris Marczak, assistant superintendent of Oak Ridge Schools. “The state acknowledged on March 9 that these three stockpiled snow days were due to Oak Ridge Schools for this school year and for future school years. We therefore have six total possible snow days, rather than three.” [Read more…]

Glenwood librarian named Teacher of the Year by Oak Ridge Schools

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Amelia Bell

Amelia Bell

Amelia Bell, a librarian at Glenwood Elementary School, has been named Teacher of the Year for the Oak Ridge school system.

Oak Ridge Schools announced their pick on Tuesday.

Bell is a librarian with 20 years of teaching experience, a press release said. She is a member of the Glenwood Leadership Team and has presented at several conferences, including the Tennessee Afterschool Summer Symposium and the American Association of School Librarians National Conference. She has also served as a lecturer in the School of Information Science at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools announces three teachers of the year

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Oak Ridge Schools has announced three teachers of the year.

The three building-wide teachers of the year are:

  • Amelia Bell, Glenwood Elementary School;
  • Amy Fuqua, Linden Elementary School; and
  • Lisa Meidl, Willow Brook Elementary School.

In a press release, school officials said they will soon announce the selection of the system-wide Teacher of the Year, selected from one of these three candidates. [Read more…]

Technology Town Hall at Glenwood Elementary on Tuesday

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Glenwood Elementary School

Glenwood Elementary School in east Oak Ridge is pictured above.

Glenwood Elementary will host the next Oak Ridge Schools Technology Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, January 27, at 6 p.m. in the library.

“Come learn why computer skills are important in our schools,” a press release said. “Learn about Hour of Code and how Glenwood has started to incorporate coding into the school day. Community members will be invited to the computer lab to try your hands at coding skills.”

Oak Ridge elementary schools’ Hour of Code blends learning, mentorship

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Hour of Code

Roane State webmaster Jeremy Pulcifer mentors second-graders during Hour of Code at Glenwood Elementary School. (Photo by Roane State)

 

Learning to code teaches students more than they realize, and they have fun at the same time.

That is why the week-long Hour of Code campaign last month was a valuable experience for elementary school students in Oak Ridge.

“Kids learn best with games,” said Aleshia Wensell, K-4 technology teacher at Glenwood Elementary School. “When they can have fun with learning, they learn faster and have a deeper understanding. That’s what code does. Students are doing a process of elimination. They are doing higher thinking skills. All of this is important for their math or reading comprehension. Code helps in all aspects of their education.”

Glenwood, Linden Elementary School, Willow Brook Elementary School and Woodland Elementary School hosted activities for Hour of Code, a nationwide initiative to excite children about computer science. Code.org, a nonprofit organization that promotes computer science education, provided Hour of Code resources for educators. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge elementary schools participate in ‘Foodie Fridays’

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Adrianna King and Abbie Cary

Linden Elementary School second-grader Adrianna King and University of Tennessee Extension Outreach Coordinator Abbie Cary pose for a picture in front of a broccoli poster on Foodie Friday. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Schools)

This year, each elementary school throughout the Oak Ridge Schools district will participate in Foodie Friday. Foodie Friday is made available through a partnership between Oak Ridge Schools Coordinated School Health, food service provider Aramark, and the University of Tennessee Extension Office, a press release said.

Each Friday, volunteers from the UT Extension Office and the Anderson County Health Department prepare healthy samples, provided by Aramark, to sample during elementary school lunch periods. The students talk about the foods, see how it is prepared, and share their thoughts on how they taste, the Oak Ridge Schools release said.

Linden Elementary School is the first school of the year to participate in the program. The students have sampled red peppers, grapes, broccoli, green peppers, cherry tomatoes, and apples. Educational nutritional information is also provided to the teachers and students through the UT Extension office.

Foodie Friday will return after winter break at Glenwood Elementary School starting January 16, Woodland Elementary School on March 6, and Willow Brook Elementary School on April 10. [Read more…]

Glenwood Elementary wins $10,000 for teaching kids how to code

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Oak Ridge Schools LogoAll 368 students at Glenwood Elementary will participate in one of the largest CODE education events in history. The Hour of Code will be held December 8-14, and Glenwood Elementary is the only school chosen in Tennessee to receive $10,000 from Code.org to buy technology for bringing these critical skills to students.

Google, Microsoft, Apple, President Obama, Bill Gates, Shakira, and Ashton Kutcher have all backed the Hour of Code, an Oak Ridge Schools press release said. More than 100 partners are coming together to support this global movement. So far, 47 million students have tried the Hour of Code. The Hour of Code movement is aiming for 100 million students.

On Tuesday, December 9, at 2:30 p.m. Oak Ridge Schools Assistant Superintendent Christopher Marczak will present the $10,000 prize and speak on the importance of bringing computer science into the schools. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge resident Don Bell running for Anderson school board

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Don Bell

Don Bell

Oak Ridge resident Don A. Bell is running for the District 7 seat on the Anderson County Board of Education. District 7 includes Highland View, Glenwood, and Pine Valley in Oak Ridge.

Bell is a longtime Oak Ridger and a 1974 graduate of Oak Ridge High School, the candidate said in a press release. He retired from the Oak Ridge school system in 2013. He had worked in the maintenance and operations division at Glenwood Elementary School.

Bell served on the board of directors of Oak Ridge Schools Federal Cedit Union for seven years and as vice chairman for three years. He also served on the Superintendent’s Search Committee to appoint the principal for Glenwood Elementary and was on the supervisory committee of the Tennessee Members First Federal Credit Union.

In the press release, Bell said he looks forward to meeting his constituents and hopes to use his experience to serve the Anderson County school system.

Oak Ridge school bus routes announced

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Oak Ridge High School

Oak Ridge Schools have announced the bus routes for the 2013-2014 school year, including at Oak Ridge High School, pictured above.

Oak Ridge Schools have announced the 2013-2014 bus routes for Glenwood Elementary School, Jefferson Middle School, Linden Elementary School, Oak Ridge High School, Robertsville Middle School, and Woodland Elementary School.

The routes have been uploaded to Oak Ridge Today.

The links to the routes are below. The Oak Ridge Schools’ Preschool and Willow Brook Elementary School are on separate calendars. [Read more…]

Glenwood, Clinton elementary schools among state’s best-performing

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Two schools in Anderson County were recognized as reward schools by Tennessee officials on Monday, meaning they are among the best-performing in the state.

The two schools are Glenwood Elementary School in Oak Ridge and Clinton Elementary School in Clinton. They are among a group of 169 reward schools that rank in the top 5 percent of schools in Tennessee for annual growth and academic achievement.

[Read more…]