Oak Ridge Today

Photo: ORHS National Merit finalists

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge High School National Merit Finalists

The 2014 Oak Ridge High School National Merit finalists are pictured above. From left to right in the front row are Aram Bejnood, Stephanie Andress, Emily Cheng, and Gaibo Zhang. From left to right in the back row are Liam Schramm, Josiah Chan, ORHS Principal David Bryant, William Mason, and Jaspreet Singh. (Submitted photo)

 

Oak Ridge High School principal David Bryant has announced the 2014 Oak Ridge High School National Merit finalists. They are pictured above.

In the front row, from left to right, are: [Read more…]

ORHS again ranked sixth-best in state

Posted at
By 15 Comments

Oak Ridge High School

Oak Ridge High School is pictured above.

Oak Ridge High School has again been ranked sixth in Tennessee in an annual ranking of the best high schools in the state.

The ranking by U.S. News and World Report said ORHS is among the Top 1,000 high schools in the nation, ranking No. 894.

At 13:1, Oak Ridge High School has a smaller-than-average student-to-teacher ratio, and it is above the state average in college readiness and student proficiency in algebra and English. [Read more…]

Register now for Graduation Celebration on May 29

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Graduation Celebration 2013

Plans for the 17th annual Graduation Celebration on May 29 are well under way.

Graduation Celebration is an all-night, safe party for our city’s graduates from Oak Ridge High School, homeschool, or private schools.

The party began in 1997, after several tragic deaths during the graduation season, and today about 90 percent of ORHS graduates attend each year. [Read more…]

Several hundred compete in Ben Martin Middle School track meet

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Ben Martin Invitational

Several hundred students from five regional middle schools, including Jefferson and Robertsville, competed in the Ben Martin Middle School Invitational track meet in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

Several hundred students from five middle schools competed in the first-ever Ben Martin Middle School Invitational track meet in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

The meet was named after Ben Martin, a legendary Sports Hall of Fame coach who won seven state championships as track coach at Oak Ridge High School. Thursday’s meet was at Ben Martin Track at the high school.

Martin was the first ORHS track and football coach, and he won championships in both sports and began the entire athletic program at the high school, ORHS Cross Country Coach Allen Etheridge said.

“I talked with longtime Oak Ridge coach Winston Russell today, who told me that he remembered coach Martin as the guy who was always there, the guy who would coach anyone at any time,” Etheridge said Monday. “(Martin) was an assistant football coach and was head basketball coach.”

Athletes from Cherokee, Jefferson, Karns, Rhea County, and Robertsville middle schools competed in Thursday’s meet, which included events ranging from relays and hurdles to long jumps and high jumps. [Read more…]

ORHS students work on branding, design ideas with mall redevelopment company

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

ORHS Students Work on Mall Redevelopment

Standing from left to right are Buddy McWilliams, Payne Adkins, Abigail Clanton, and Chris Giese. Seated from left to right are Wesley Robinson and Alex Tavangaran. (Photo courtesy J. Clint LaFollette)

Submitted

For three classes at Oak Ridge High School, the future of the old Oak Ridge Mall property is something the students are taking personally. Nearly 60 students in the Digital Arts and Design and Virtual Enterprise classes have been working on a branding strategy for the once-thriving retail site, and their top ideas will be presented to Crosland Southeast, the Charlotte-based firm that has been working with the City of Oak Ridge to develop a plan to establish a multi-use work-live-play-shop destination.

“It has been an exciting project to work on, because there have been several attempts to revitalize this property, and all have failed due to, among other things, the lack of focus on the specific interest of Oak Ridge residents,” said Buddy McWilliams, an ORHS senior who is working on the project. “Crosland Southeast has shown that they want to be successful by looking at the interest of students and others who will be using the property.”

Crosland Southeast approached Oak Ridge School Board Chairman Keys Fillauer with the idea to work with the students, and an enthusiastic Fillauer discussed it with ORHS Principal David Bryant and teachers Linda Ousley and Clint Lafollette, and the project was off and running.

Ousley is the facilitator of the school’s Virtual Enterprise program. Ousley said that Crosland Southeast will get a good cross-section of Oak Ridge opinion by talking with the students, and the students are getting excellent experience they can use on their future resumes. [Read more…]

ORHS cross country hosts middle school track meets named for legendary coaches

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

On Thursday, the Oak Ridge High School cross country teams will host the first ever Ben Martin Middle School Invitational track meet at the Ben Martin Track at ORHS. The meet will include eight teams. Each event will contain two heats, and a new FinishLynx fully automatic timing system will be used to time them. Field events start at 4:30 p.m., and the meet begins at about 5:45 p.m.

“This is a great step for ORHS middle school track,” Coach Allen Etheridge said.

The teams will do the same on Thursday, April 10, at the Jim McNamee Middle School Invitational.

“We named these meets after two legendary Sports Hall of Fame coaches because they are important to the history of athletics at Oak Ridge High School,” Etheridge said. “Coach Martin was the first ORHS track and football coach who won championships in both sports and began the entire athletic program at ORHS. Coach Mac won eight state titles in cross country and one in girls track before retiring in 2004. We aim to do both coaches proud by hosting a top-quality track and field meet.”

ORHS Class of 1984 has 30th reunion in July

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge High School Class of 1984 has scheduled a 30th Reunion Celebration for July 18-20. All 1984 ORHS graduates are asked to save these dates on their calendar and help spread the word to others, a press release said.

Class members who have not already received e-mail notification should contact Lynda Van Winkle at [email protected] to be added to the distribution list.

An evening event will take place at the Doubletree Hotel on Saturday, July 19.

Additional activities, including a tour of the renovated ORHS campus and a family picnic are currently being planned. All 1984 graduates are encouraged to participate in a weekend of great fun catching up with old classmates, a press release said.

Guest column: The Oak Ridge High School debt chronicles

Posted at
By 9 Comments

Trina Baughn

Trina Baughn

The Oak Ridge High School Debt Chronicles—How a $40 Million Project Will Cost Taxpayers Over $126 Million (So Far) 

It appears that the nearly three-year long debate between the Oak Ridge City Council and the Board of Education (BOE) over who owes what on the high school renovation project—the single largest financial expenditure that this city has ever made—is about to be resolved once and for all (or so some hope). To many, this will provide a welcomed relief. For all, it will once again extend and increase a debt obligation far beyond what anyone ever imagined.

Just over one week after the initial public revealing, council will vote on a resolution to end the debate on the high school mortgage issue. The root problem that this resolution will address is not ambiguity in the 2004 referendum or in any “gentlemen’s agreements.” No, the reason that this resolution is necessary, according to the fifth “Whereas,” is “changing community economics and increasing educational needs.”  The need for this resolution, which will violate the original understanding and intent of the 2004 referendum, boils down to an implied need by the Oak Ridge schools for more money.

If passed, this resolution will allow the BOE to retain the portion of the half-cent sales tax revenues collected outside of the City of Oak Ridge and will accomplish the following: [Read more…]

Oak Ridge High first in Tennessee Science Bowl, headed to D.C. in April

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge High School Tennessee Science Bowl Winners

From left to right are members of Oak Ridge High School’s Team 1:  Tina Wang, Albert Xue, Gaibo Zhang, Aram Bejnood, Bo Hyun Moon, and Coach Sharon Thomas. (Photo courtesy DOE)

ORHS team will compete in National Science Bowl

High school students from across Tennessee competed on Saturday, Feb. 22, at Pellissippi State Community College’s Blount County Campus, in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Tennessee Science Bowl competition. Fifty-five high school teams comprised of four students, and one alternate student, answered challenging mathematical problems and tested their knowledge in broad disciplines including chemistry, biology, earth and space science, physics, and energy.

Training for months after school, the student competitors committed hours of study to expanding and honing their mathematics and science knowledge and competition skills. And, all their work showed. Many of the competition rounds came down to the last nail-biting seconds before a winner emerged. However, in the end, Oak Ridge High’s Team 1 edged out their competitors, placing first.

Oak Ridge High School received a $1,000 cash prize, a first-place trophy, and an all-expenses-paid trip to the DOE National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C., from April 24-28, when they will compete against other winning teams from around the nation. [Read more…]

Education Foundation accepting applications for international study scholarship

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation is accepting applications now from students for the Dr. Adrian R. Lawler Exchange Student Scholarship, offering students attending Oak Ridge public schools or recent graduates support for participating in international study programs.

Lawler, an Oak Ridge High School graduate who was the second student here to participate in an American Field Service international exchange program, established the scholarship to offer students opportunities to gain tolerance and understanding of people from other cultures through international study programs.

Lawler, who died more than a year ago, was a retired marine scientist living in Mississippi when he designated the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation to administer the scholarship with a five-member scholarship committee. The foundation awarded the first two Lawler scholarships in 2008 to college students who were participating in international study programs.

The deadline for submitting the application is March 7, 2014. Applications may be picked up at the Oak Ridge High School counseling office. Applicants may also call Jenna Whitney, executive director of the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, at (865) 241-3667, or e-mail her at [email protected] to request an application. [Read more…]

ORHS staff seizes electronic stun device from 15-year-old student

Posted at
By 4 Comments

Oak Ridge High School

Oak Ridge High School is pictured above.

Note: This story was updated at 8:18 p.m. to correct the age of the student.

Oak Ridge High School staff members seized an electronic stun device from an 15-year-old student in the cafeteria on Tuesday, authorities said.

The ORHS staff notified the Oak Ridge Police Department, which responded, took possession of the device, and interviewed the suspect, a press release said. The student was later released to a guardian.

The student did not threaten anyone with the device, and no injuries were reported, the release said. ORPD is investigating the incident, and charges are pending for the possession of a prohibited weapon on school grounds.

The incident occurred at lunchtime Tuesday.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

ORHS Madrigal Singers at library at lunchtime Friday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Shepards Pipes

The Oak Ridge High School Madrigal Singers will perform at the Public Library at noon Friday.

“These students sing routinely in many languages and perform music from many time periods, Renaissance to modern,” a press release said. “Several participate in All East and All State choirs, and many receive college scholarships to help them pursue their music studies.”

Choir director Amanda Ragan is a graduate of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and has a bachelor’s degree in music education, and she has her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. She has been teaching at ORHS for the past 15 years, and her choirs are well-known and consistently earn superior ratings at local, state, and national competitions, the press release said. [Read more…]