Oak Ridge Today

Education Foundation awards more than $100,000 in grants to Oak Ridge educators

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Pictured above is a 2020 grant ceremony for Oak Ridge High School Spanish teacher Abigail Hoshall, “Improving Language Reading Comprehension Skills Through Engagement.” (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation awarded more than $101,000 in grants to Oak Ridge teachers on Wednesday, during teacher appreciation week.

“Regrettably, due to COVID-19 concerns, there will not be an awards ceremony again this year,” a press release said.

However, the Education Foundation partnered with Oak Ridge Utility District and Millborne Bakery to deliver cookies for all staff in each school during Teacher Appreciation Week. The Foundation said it wants to honor and recognize the 2021 grant recipients in Oak Ridge Schools as follows: [Read more…]

Education Foundation to award grants April 24

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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…]

MCLinc gives OR schools history book to assisted living facilities, nursing homes

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Pictured above at the Alexander Guest House are, from left, LuAnn Hanchett, community relations and activity director; MCLinc President Barry Stephenson; resident Muriel Bogardus; and Executive Director Amy Duncan. (Submitted photo)

Pictured above at the Alexander Guest House are, from left, LuAnn Hanchett, community relations and activity director; MCLinc President Barry Stephenson; resident Muriel Bogardus; and Executive Director Amy Duncan. (Submitted photo)

 

This holiday season, Oak Ridge’s assisted living facilities and nursing homes received a special gift to help residents remember the history of Oak Ridge schools, a press release said. Materials and Chemistry Laboratory Inc. (MCLinc) provided the facilities with collector’s edition copies of the book “Celebrating 75 Years of Excellence in the Oak Ridge Schools 1944-2018,” which includes the history of the Oak Ridge school system, photographs, and memories from 1944 through the present.

The book was developed by the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, and it includes anchor authors from each of the 75 classes who shared their memories and helped collect those of their classmates.

MCLinc donated more than 20 books to six facilities in Oak Ridge, including Brookdale, Canterfield, Alexander Guest House, Greenfield, The Courtyards, and NHC, the press release said.

“Each year MCLinc looks for ways that we can give back to the community where we live and work, and what better way to support our schools and provide cherished memories to residents than to make these books available,” said Barry Stephenson, president and chief executive officer of MCLinc. [Read more…]

Students from 75 years of Oak Ridge Schools share memories in new book

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Students from each of the 75 classes of Oak Ridge Schools have shared their school memories in a new book. There is a "reveal party" for the book, "Celebrating 75 Years of Excellence in Education: Oak Ridge Schools, 1944-2018," on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018, at Oak Ridge High School. (Submitted photo)

Students from each of the 75 classes of Oak Ridge Schools have shared their school memories in a new book. There is a “reveal party” for the book, “Celebrating 75 Years of Excellence in Education: Oak Ridge Schools, 1944-2018,” on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018, at Oak Ridge High School. (Submitted photo)

 

Students from each of the 75 classes of Oak Ridge Schools have shared their school memories in a new book.

There is a “reveal party” for the book, “Celebrating 75 Years of Excellence in Education: Oak Ridge Schools, 1944-2018,” on Wednesday at Oak Ridge High School. The celebration is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 26, in the Oak Ridge High School Amphitheater.

The celebration is being hosted by the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation.

Moira Kaye—ORHS graduate, former local television news anchor, and Miss Tennessee 1983—will lead a panel discussion with ORHS alumni across the decades from the 1940s to the 1980s, a press release said. The panelists and Kaye are book anchor authors for their ORHS graduation classes. Their stories and other reminiscing will be further highlighted by an ORHS choral presentation of the ORHS Alma Mater and the ORHS Fight Song and the presentation of colors by the ORHS JROTC Flag Corps. Also, volunteers who served on the book project will be recognized. [Read more…]

ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia to present community lecture Thursday

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Thomas Zacharia

Thomas Zacharia

Thomas Zacharia, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will give a community lecture on Thursday. It’s the 21st season of the Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series.

Besides being ORNL director, Zacharia is also president and chief executive officer of UT-Battelle LLC, which operates ORNL for the U. S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

On Thursday, Zacharia will talk about the scientific agenda at ORNL in a presentation titled “Science and the State of the Lab,” a press release said. The event is co-sponsored by Friends of ORNL (FORNL) and the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation (ORPSEF). It is free of charge, and it will be held at the Pollard Technology Conference Center at 210 Badger Avenue in Oak Ridge. A reception will be held in the auditorium lobby starting at 5:30 p.m. (snacks will be served), and the lecture starts at 6 p.m. in the auditorium, the press release said.

“The talk will be of interest to students and the general public,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Education Foundation book project will celebrate 75th anniversary of Oak Ridge Schools

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Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation has a kick-off meeting with Anchor Authors in April 2017. Pictured above is Jessica Steed, standing, and ORPSEF Board Member Benita Albert. (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation has a kick-off meeting with Anchor Authors in April 2017. Pictured above is Jessica Steed, standing, and ORPSEF Board Member Benita Albert. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation is planning a special book project to celebrate the upcoming 75th anniversary of the Oak Ridge Schools. The book will be a collection of memories as told by teachers and alumni across all classes from 1944-2018. The Foundation has identified people to serve as anchor authors for each of the 75 classes. Anchor authors have the option to share their memories, and they will help collect memories from classmates. Each class will submit two to three pages for publication in the book.

“This is a timely project to still be able to tell first-hand stories from the early beginnings and to cross-pollinate and historically savor and preserve the collected experiences from the first 75 years,” said Benita Albert, Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation board member.

Albert, a retired math teacher, has found the project to be very rewarding while interviewing alumni and researching stories from the earliest years, a press release said.

The Foundation’s Board approved the special project at its March board meeting. A kickoff meeting was hosted by the Foundation for all anchor authors in April. A few stories have already been submitted and many others are in the works. It is anticipated that the book will be about 250 pages long. In an effort to conserve any unpublished stories, the Foundation will offer a virtual archive where those stories can be accessed. [Read more…]

Education Foundation awarded more than $90,000 in grants in April

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Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation board members who were present with a big check at an grant awards ceremony at Oak Ridge High School on Wednesday, April 26, 2017. (Photo courtesy ORPSEF)

Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation board members who were present with a big check at an grant awards ceremony at Oak Ridge High School on Wednesday, April 26, 2017. (Photo courtesy ORPSEF)

 

In the final year of its “Making the Critical Difference” campaign, the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation awarded more than $90,000 in grants to Oak Ridge teachers. The grants were awarded during a ceremony at Oak Ridge High School on Wednesday, April 26.

Shirley Raines, president emeritus of the University of Memphis, was the featured speaker. Her talk was titled “Dreamers, Thinkers, Doers.” During her talk, Raines exhibited great appreciation and provided inspiration for teachers, a press release said.

“She asked teachers to think of the person who moved them to pursue their dreams, to be innovative thinkers, and to share their success stories which result from their grant awards in order to encourage their peers,” the release said.

The April 26 ceremony was open to the public with demonstrations of some of the projects and technology funded by the Foundation on display.

The 2017 grant recipients were: [Read more…]

Education Foundation to award more than $90,000 in grants in April 26 ceremony

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A photo from a grant award last year for a 3D printer for Robertsville Middle School. (Submitted photo)

A photo from a grant award last year for a 3D printer for Robertsville Middle School. (Submitted photo)

 

In the final year of its “Making the Critical Difference” campaign, the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation will award more than $90,000 in grants to Oak Ridge teachers at a ceremony on Wednesday, April 26, a press release said.

Shirley Raines, president emeritus of the University of Memphis, will be the featured speaker, the press release said. She will give a talk titled, “Dreamers, Thinkers, Doers.”

The grants ceremony is open to the public, and it will be held in the Oak Ridge High School cafeteria beginning at 4 p.m. April 26.

Demonstrations and displays of some of the projects and technology funded by the Foundation will be given after the formal ceremony, the press release said. Light refreshments will be provided courtesy of Oak Ridge Utility District.

The 2017 grant recipients are as follows: [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools receives $15K grant to implement Naval National Defense Cadet Corp

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Oak Ridge Schools Naval National Defense Cadet Corp Check

Oak Ridge Schools recently received a $15,000 check to implement a new Naval National Defense Cadet Corp program at Oak Ridge High School.
The check was presented by Jessica Steed, third from right, executive director of Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, or ORPSEF, and Kristin Waldschlager and Gene Sievers, both of CNS Y-12. Also pictured, at left, is Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers. (Submitted photo)

 

Oak Ridge Schools recently received a $15,000 check to implement a new Naval National Defense Cadet Corp program at Oak Ridge High School.

The check was presented by Jessica Steed, executive director of Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, or ORPSEF, and Kristin Waldschlager and Gene Sievers, both of CNS Y-12.

The check was presented at a December 9 meeting of the Oak Ridge Schools Advisory Board. [Read more…]

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

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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…]

ORPSEF partners UT-Battelle, ORAU, UCOR fund $30,636 literacy grant

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Bookmobile

Ginger Adams, teacher at Linden Elementary School, is pictured above with participants in last summer’s bookmobile program. (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation partners UT-Battelle, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, and URS|CH2M Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR) joined to fund Oak Ridge School’s $30,636 “Oak Ridge Reads” literacy grant.

The Oak Ridge Reads initiative supports Oak Ridge Schools’ efforts to improve literacy by extending services beyond the classroom. The Oak Ridge Reads grant will address summer learning, family literacy support, and high quality reading opportunities in home and after-school settings.

With support from the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, the Literacy Department of Oak Ridge Schools will provide a summer community bookmobile reading program to benefit families in Oak Ridge. Additionally, each preschool and kindergarten student will receive a library of books that they can keep, and after-school book clubs will begin for elementary and middle school students during the 2016-17 school year. [Read more…]

Applications for Lawler Scholarship due Oct. 31

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The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2014 fall Dr. Adrian R. Lawler Exchange Scholarship, and they are due by October 31.

Applications are available through the Foundation’s website at www.orpsef.org under the Lawler Scholarship tab. They should be returned to the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, P.O. Box 117 MS-22, Oak Ridge, TN 37831. [Read more…]