Oak Ridge Today

Ten COVID cases reported among students since Friday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

A graph shows the number of COVID-19 cases in Oak Ridge Schools reported by school week since Wednesday, July 29, 2020. We have defined weeks as Wednesday-Tuesday. Students were on fall break for parts of weeks nine and 11, and for all of week 10. Note: Week 14 started Wednesday, Oct. 28, so it’s a partial week. (Graph by Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 10 a.m. Oct. 29.

Ten COVID-19 cases have been reported among students in Oak Ridge Schools since Friday. That’s the highest number of cases reported in any seven-day period so far this school year.

The 10 new student cases were reported between Friday and Wednesday. Six of the cases were reported among students at Oak Ridge High School. It’s not clear yet if the surge is an anomaly or part of a trend.

There are currently 46 students and five staff members who are not allowed to attend school because they have been in close contact with someone at school who has been confirmed to have COVID-19, Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in response to questions Wednesday.

The surge in new cases has occurred as middle schools prepare to return to classes five days per week starting Monday.

Borchers has said about 80 percent of COVID-19 cases in the schools were due to activities outside of school. On Wednesday, he said 85.2 percent of the student cases in Oak Ridge Schools have been confirmed to be non-school related.

Borchers said the schools are not aware of any cases in which students or staff members have developed COVID-19 because they were in close contact with a person at school who was confirmed to be COVID-positive.

[Read more…]

Updated: Twenty-eight COVID-19 cases reported among students, schools staff

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Twenty-seven cases of COVID-19 have been reported among Oak Ridge Schools student and staff members, according to data posted by the school system. Note: One new case affecting an ORHS student was reported Monday afternoon, Oct. 26, 2020, bringing the total to 28. (Chart by Oak Ridge Schools)

Note: This story was updated with a new case at ORHS at 5:15 p.m.

Twenty-eight cases of COVID-19 have been reported among students and staff members in Oak Ridge Schools this school year, and six of those are current cases, according to data published by the school system.

The majority of the cases, 23 of the 28, have been among students. The most cases have been reported at Oak Ridge High School, with nine student cases and two staff cases, or 11 total.

Jefferson Middle School has had the second-highest total of cases, with five student cases and two staff cases, or seven total.

No cases have been reported at Linden Elementary School, Secret City Academy, and Willow Brook Elementary School.

[Read more…]

COVID cases reported at Woodland, Jefferson

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

COVID-19 cases have been reported at Woodland Elementary School and Jefferson Middle School, school officials said this week.

The COVID-19 case at Woodland Elementary School was reported Thursday morning, and the case at Jefferson Middle School was reported Friday morning.

They are the seventh and eighth overall COVID-19 cases in Oak Ridge Schools and the sixth and seventh since July 15.

Oak Ridge Schools learned Thursday that a person at Woodland Elementary School had tested positive for COVID-19, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a letter to families on Thursday. The person has not been at Woodland since Friday, July 31, because he or she quarantined after a possible non-school exposure, Borchers said.

The potential exposure to students or staff was “extremely low,” the superintendent said.

[Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools staff member tests positive for COVID-19

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge High School
The main entrance at Oak Ridge High School is pictured above.

Note: This story was updated at 5 p.m.

An Oak Ridge Schools staff member who has been at Jefferson Middle School and Oak Ridge High School has tested positive for COVID-19, the school system said Wednesday.

It’s the fifth overall COVID-19 case in Oak Ridge Schools and the fourth in the past two weeks, since July 15.

The schools learned of the positive test result for the staff member on Wednesday. The staff member, who has not been publicly identified, had been at JMS and ORHS last Friday.

[Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools announce third COVID-19 case

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Schools on Tuesday announced a third COVID-19 case as schools prepare to resume this week.

A staff member at Jefferson Middle School has tested positive for the new disease, Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a letter to families and staff members.

The staff member, who will not be publicly identified, took a precautionary test, immediately started a voluntary quarantine, and learned of the positive test result Tuesday morning, Borchers said.

The superintendent’s letter did not say whether the staff member has had symptoms of COVID-19.

It’s the third COVID-19 case at Oak Ridge Schools in the past two weeks. The other two cases were of an instructor and student at Oak Ridge High School band camp.

[Read more…]

Education Foundation to award grants April 24

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

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…]

Oak Ridge Schools names Phil Cox principal of the year

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Phil Cox

Phil Cox

 

Phil Cox, principal of Jefferson Middle School, has been named principal of the year, Oak Ridge Schools said.

Cox began his career in education in 1986 as a graduate coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Later in 1986, and for the next five years, he served as head basketball coach and coordinator of athletic funds at Lincoln Memorial University, a press release said.

After leaving LMU, Cox taught a year at the Anderson County Alternative Learning Center. In 1992, he began his teaching/coaching career at Norris Middle School and, in 2003, was named assistant principal and athletic director. In 2005, he was selected principal at Lake City Elementary. [Read more…]

Three ORHS students qualify for state chess championship

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge High School freshman Henri Scott was one of three state championship qualifiers from the high school for the state chess championship at Tennessee Tech on Feb. 16, 2019. (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge High School freshman Henri Scott is one of three state championship qualifiers from the high school for the state chess championship at Tennessee Tech on Feb. 16, 2019. (Submitted photo)

 

Note: This story was updated at 6:05 p.m.

Three Oak Ridge High School students have qualified for the state chess championship on February 16 at Tennessee Tech University.

The three ORHS students took home trophies and qualified for the state championship during the Region 1 scholastic at Oak Ridge High School on Saturday, January 26, a press release said. More than 109 students from across East Tennessee attended that event.

ORHS juniors Justin Blanchard and Bear Moran took third and seventh, respectively, in the high school division, the press release said. Freshman Henri Scott also qualified for the K-9 championship by taking sixth in that division. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools names nine teachers of the year

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Teachers of the Year in 2019 at Oak Ridge Schools are pictured above. (Image by Oak Ridge Schools)

Teachers of the Year in 2019 at Oak Ridge Schools are pictured above. (Image by Oak Ridge Schools)

 

Oak Ridge Schools has named its teachers of the year at its nine schools.

The teachers of the year are:

  • Preschool—Melissa McMurry
  • Glenwood Elementary School—Amanda Fitch
  • Linden Elementary School—Steffanie Smith Greer
  • Willow Brook Elementary School—Melanie Bloomer
  • Woodland Elementary School—Inger Scudder
  • Jefferson Middle School—Michael Murphy
  • Robertsville Middle School—Michael Mott
  • Oak Ridge High School—Kayla Gass
  • Secret City Academy—Tobran Tillman

The school winners were nominated by their principals and peers for this 2018-2019 application.

The district winner will be announced today (Wednesday, February 6). [Read more…]

Information about Oak Ridge Schools registration, orientation

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

All students new to Oak Ridge Schools need to register at their respective schools from Monday, July 9, to Wednesday, July 20, from 9 a.m. to noon. Parents who pre-registered kindergartners in May also need to complete the registration process on those dates, a press release said.

Registration for new students in grades 9-12 will be made by appointment only, the press release said. For more information regarding high school registration, contact the registrar at (865) 425-9524. Information necessary for new student registration includes the following:

  1. Child’s birth certificate (a certified copy for school records, not the hospital copy or mother’s copy)
  2. Child’s Social Security number (optional)
  3. Health insurance provider
  4. The Tennessee Department of Health Certificate of Immunization available from your doctor or Health Department consisting of two parts:
    • Immunizations — A Tennessee Department of Health Certificate of Immunization form showing the complete dates (month, day, and year) immunizations were administered.
    • Health Examination — A physical examination is required for all children entering Tennessee schools (K-12). Oak Ridge Schools require a physical examination current since January 1 of the year the student will enter kindergarten. Students entering the seventh grade will also need to provide proof of the T-dap immunization.
  5. Grades 1-12 only — Provide the name, address, and phone number of the school(s) where your child previously attended or provide report cards or withdrawal forms.

[Read more…]

JMS robotics team headed to world competition

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Three robotics teams from Jefferson Middle School competed in the FIRST Lego League East Tennessee State Championship at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville on February 10. The Atomic Eagles qualified to represent Jefferson Middle School and Tennessee at the FIRST LEGO World Championships in Houston this month. (Submitted photo)

Three robotics teams from Jefferson Middle School competed in the FIRST Lego League East Tennessee State Championship at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville on February 10. The Atomic Eagles qualified to represent Jefferson Middle School and Tennessee at the FIRST LEGO World Championships in Houston this month. (Submitted photo)

 

Three robotics teams from Jefferson Middle School competed in the FIRST Lego League East Tennessee State Championship at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville on February 10. The Atomic Eagles qualified to represent Jefferson Middle School and Tennessee at the FIRST LEGO World Championships in Houston this month.

To compete in the state championship, teams must first qualify at either the Knoxville, Nashville, Tullahoma, Bristol, or Johnson City competitions. The Atomic Eagles, JMS Master Builders, and Radioactive Brix all qualified in Knoxville on December 10, 2017, at Hardin Valley Academy.

At the East Tennessee Championship, the Radioactive Brix (team # 3131), including members Johnny Clark, Abby Ellis, Christopher Gorsuch, Roxanne Farahi, Eden Hatmaker, Wesley Hixson, Henry Landau, and Colby Lawson, finished the robot challenge game with a high score of 135. The team coach is Norma Franco and the team mentor is Justin Lawson. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge teams excel at state chess team championships

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge High School Freshmen Chess Team in March 2018: Levi Parish, Adam Herron, Kenny Adams, and Dan Joy (Photo courtesy Esther Parish)

Oak Ridge High School Freshmen Chess Team: Levi Parish, Adam Herron, Kenny Adams, and Dan Joy (Photo courtesy Esther Parish)

 

Every year, the top four scholastic chess teams in each of the four grade divisions qualify to join teams from the other three regions to compete for the Tennessee Chess Association scholastic team championships, which were held March 24 at Tennessee Tech University.

Four Oak Ridge schools—Linden Elementary School, Robertsville Middle School, Jefferson Middle School, and Oak Ridge High School—qualified a total of six teams for this year’s event. That meant that about 1/10th of the players were Oak Ridge students (Oak Ridge has about 0.4 percent of the state’s population).

In the Primary (K-3) section, the Linden team of Ricardo Smith, William Hetrick, Quinn Richardson, and Kaylee Tress finished 11th overall.

In the Elementary (K-6) section, Jefferson (Brian Qu, Isaak Nussbaum, Gavin Koentop, and Toby Croft) finished fifth, while Robertsville (Leo Ehlers, Patrick Wurm, Daisy Kercher, Brandon Bonamarte, and Zachary Williamson) took 10th. [Read more…]