Oak Ridge Today

ORHS Tennis Booster Club hosts ‘Tennis Olympics’ on Saturday, Aug. 27

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

ORHS boys tennis practice

Oak Ridge High School tennis coach David Bowman gives instructions to a few ORHS tennis players. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge High School Tennis Booster Club has invited Oak Ridge Schools students ages 12 to 17 to join high school tennis players on Saturday, August 27, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Oak Ridge Country Club for a morning of fun and games.

It will be an informal and fun time for skilled players or anyone new to the game of tennis, a press release said. The events will level the playing field for those who want to test their hand-eye coordination, as individuals or with a partner. You do not have to bring a tennis racquet. There is no charge to participate.

Events will include: Water Balloon Towel Toss, The Frog Toss, There’s a Hole in My Racquet!, Longest Drive, and Closest to the Pin contests. Want to know how fast your serve is? ORHS Tennis Coach David Bowman will be on hand with his radar gun, the press release said. [Read more…]

Football: Wildcats start season Thursday at Clinton; see ORHS football schedules here

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Wildcats start the regular football season at Clinton at 7 p.m. Thursday August 18.

The first home game is at Blankenship Field at 7:30 p.m. Friday, August 26, against Dobyns Bennett. That’s also Former Wildcat Day, when former players are encouraged to come be recognized on the field prior to kickoff.

Here is the 2016 varsity schedule:

(All games start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise.) [Read more…]

ORHS Cross Country has fundraiser at Which Wich on Aug. 10

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge High School Cross Country team would like to invite the public to their fundraiser at Which Wich restaurant on Wednesday, August 10, from 5-8 p.m.

The team members will be on hand to welcome you to the Which Wich, a press release said. A portion of the restaurant’s sales during that time period will be donated to the booster club that supports the team’s activities.

“Thank you in advance for your support!” the press release said.

ORHS Boys Basketball Boosters have fundraising golf tournament Aug. 13

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge High School Boys Basketball Boosters has a fundraising golf tournament on August 13.

The 19th annual golf tournament is a four-man scramble format that will be held at Centennial Golf Course in Oak Ridge. The tournament will begin at 8 a.m. August 13 with a shotgun start.

The tournament costs just $75 per person. Registration begins at 7 a.m. with breakfast and free range balls for participants. A Mulligan Package is also available for $25, which includes mulligans, a red tee, a door prize ticket, and a putting contest ticket, a press release said. [Read more…]

Thompson named vice principal at ORHS after Scott becomes administrator at Secret City Academy

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Stephanie Thompson

Stephanie Thompson

A new administrator, Stephanie Thompson, has been announced at Oak Ridge High School. Thompson will be an assistant principal, filling the position previously held by Christopher Scott, who is the new administrator at Secret City Academy (the alternative school).

In other recent changes, Lisa Downard is now principal of Oak Ridge Schools Preschool. The position she vacated at Linden Elementary School (assistant principal) is being filled by Heather Jenkins.

Thompson began her career as a substitute teacher in Marion County, Florida, at Lake Weir High School. She served in that position for 18 months until she was hired as a College and Career Lab coach in 1998.

In 2000, Thompson moved to Ocala Christian Academy with her children to serve as a full-time business teacher. There, she was charged with rebuilding the program, aligning the curriculum to the current Sunshine Standards of the public schools, and implementing and supervising a work-based learning program, a press release said. [Read more…]

ORHS Class of 1986 has 30th Reunion on July 22, 23

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge High School Class of 1986 will have its 30th Reunion this summer. It’s scheduled for Friday, July 22, and Saturday, July 23.

“Please come join us!” a press release said.

On Friday, the class will have hors d’oeuvres and music and plenty of time to chat at the Old Towne Inn in Oak Ridge. On Saturday, they will have dinner and dancing at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Oak Ridge. All graduates of 1986 and spouses/dates are invited and encouraged to attend, the press release said.

“We would love to see you and have a chance to visit,” the release said. [Read more…]

After ‘stellar spring,’ Wildcat tennis team honored at banquet

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

2016-ORHS-Boys-Tennis-Team

2016 ORHS Boys Tennis Team (From left: Eric Thorton, Jeremy Simmons, Wilder Dodson, Peter Magill, Joshua Bridges, Viet Quach, Christian Thompson, Trystan Bordeau, Jaipal Narula, Archer Marlow, Stuart Dorman, Ethan Brady, and Arthur Nelson. Not pictured: Oumar Diallo and Curtis Rookard)

 

Oak Ridge High School’s 2015-2016 tennis team was honored at its post-season banquet for players and their families on Wednesday, May 18, at the Comfort Inn in Oak Ridge.

“Both of Oak Ridge High School’s tennis teams had a stellar spring,” said ORHS tennis coach David Bowman.

The Wildcats finished second in District 3 with a regular-season record of 7-1. The Lady Wildcats finished third in the district with a 6-2 record for the regular season.

The doubles team of senior Jaipal Narula and junior Viet Quach led the way for the Wildcats in the post-season, capping off 2016 with a TSSAA berth in the Region 2 semifinals, where they played the eventual 2016 state champion doubles team. [Read more…]

Fifteen students, including one from ORHS, named as Haslam Scholars at UT

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oumar Souleymane Diallo

Oumar Souleymane Diallo

Fifteen students, including one from Oak Ridge High School, have been named to the 2016 cohort of Haslam Scholars at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. There are 14 students from Tennessee and one from North Carolina.

The ORHS student is Oumar Souleymane Diallo.

A student from Hardin Valley Academy, Sophia Cui, is also among the incoming students.

The Haslam Scholars Program is UT’s premier four-year scholarship program. Each year, the program admits 15 first-year students from the university’s Chancellor’s Honors Program and supports them with the university’s most prestigious and generous named scholarships. [Read more…]

Spencer Wilson receives Myrick-sponsored ORPSEF Scholarship

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Spencer Wilson

Oak Ridge High School senior Spencer Wilson, center, is pictured above with Teresa Myrick, right, and ORHS teacher Deni Sobek. (Submitted photo)

 

Spencer Wilson grew up fishing in the lakes and mountain streams of the area, an activity that fostered his interest in the environment. The Oak Ridge High School senior, who plans to pursue his interest in fish and the environment in college, has received the $1,000 Tim and Teresa Myrick Scholarship.

The scholarship is awarded annually to a hard-working student interested in environmental science, a field of study important to Tim Myrick. Spencer plans to major in aquatic biology, continuing to build on his lifelong interest.

“Spencer has an interest in the environment, a desire to work and ‘play’ outside. He is an avid fisherman, which was one of Tim’s favorite pastimes,” said Deni Sobek, Advanced Placement Environmental Science teacher at ORHS, who recommended Spencer for the scholarship. He was a student in Sobek’s class in his junior year.

In 2012, Myrick and his wife Teresa pledged $25,000 to the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation’s “Making the Critical Difference” campaign for grants and scholarships. Their pledge provides an annual scholarship to a top AP Environmental Science student, as well as grant funds to be awarded to ORHS Science Department applicants. [Read more…]

Tonight: ORHS Band concert plus a thank-you for an instrument donation

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

2016 ORHS Band Seniors

The 2016 Oak Ridge High School Band Seniors are pictured above. (Photo by McEachern Photography)

 

The entire Oak Ridge High School Band, and especially the seniors, would like you to attend their final concert today (Thursday, May 26) in the ORHS Performing Arts Auditorium, a press release said.

With the end of class and advanced placement and standardized testing at this time of year, scheduling time with students to prepare a quality concert is always a challenge, the press release said.

“Of course, our seniors have also been making decisions to launch into colleges from California to New York and all over the state of Tennessee—more distraction when it came time to rehearse,” the release said. “But talent will out, and our 28 seniors, the entire band, and band staff are looking forward to entertaining the community with an outstanding and diverse program.”

The evening will open with performances from the Percussion Ensemble, including two senior solos on marimba by Ethan McDaniel and Andrew Gillenwaters. [Read more…]

ORHS student wins first in Chemistry Division of national competition, earns $12,000 scholarship

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Thomas Colburn — Decomposition of Plastics

Thomas Colburn — Decomposition of Plastics (Photo by Oak Ridge Schools)

 

Oak Ridge High School senior Thomas Colburn was a divisional first-place winner in a national science and humanities competition in April. Colburn received a $12,000 academic scholarship.

He was announced as the first place winner of the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium in the Chemistry Division on April 30.

Colburn and Albert Xue, both from Oak Ridge High School, were part of a five-student delegation that traveled from Tennessee to Dayton, Ohio, to showcase their research at the end of April. The Junior Science and Humanities Symposium is a tri-service U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force program designed to encourage student research in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. While more than 7,600 students competed at the regional level, fewer than 100 students were invited to give an oral presentation this year at the 54th National JSHS competition. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge teachers Jane Sasser, Brian Smith receive Outstanding Educator awards

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Jane Sasser, English teacher at Oak Ridge High School, and Brian Smith, history teacher at Jefferson Middle School, were two out of only six recipients from the entire state who received the Outstanding Educator Awards from Humanities Tennessee.

According to the Humanities Tennessee website, these awards were available for up to six full-time, third- to 12th-grade teachers in Tennessee who have demonstrated excellence in teaching the humanities. Since 1985, Humanities Tennessee has awarded almost $400,000 to 169 teachers in Tennessee.

Applicants for this award are expected to be skillful and dedicated teachers who exhibit expansive and in-depth knowledge of the subjects they teach, a press release said. They are to have the respect of students, parents, and co-workers, and have a record of active involvement in community activities and professional organizations, particularly those that promote the humanities.

Sasser and Smith will each receive a $2,000 fellowship to further their professional development in the humanities. Oak Ridge High School and Jefferson Middle School will each receive a $1,500 grant to be used for the purchase of humanities instructional materials or for student humanities projects. [Read more…]