Rosa Parks chess team places third in national tournament

Awards/honors

▪ A chess team from Rosa Parks Elementary took third place in the K-3 division of the Super Nationals, held May 12-14 in Nashville. Oliver Houchin’s 5.5 points, an individual record, was good for 11th place overall.

Rounding out the four counting scores were Ahaan Thomas, Elise Trimble and Kyle Yang, adding four points each for a 17.5-point team total. These players were supported by Ramond Yu, Sandyha Karthick, Saikrish Kolli, Rohan Shah and Samuel Prickett.

The school’s 16 players averaged 3.5 wins apiece, scoring a collective 55.5 points.

“One player breaking even against the level of competition at nationals is really good. A team averaging that kind of production is simply incredible,” coach Alan Trimble said. “A third-place finish was not a possibility on my radar, but it shows the unpredictable nature of determined, focused, hardworking, chess-storming players.”

The school’s K-3 under 700 team, the K-6 under 1,000 team, and the K-3 under 1,000 team also set records for Rosa Parks chess players.

▪ Seven students will represent Fayette County Public Schools in the Future Problem Solving Program’s international competition, after strong showings at the state level this spring.

Winburn Middle School’s state-winning junior division team includes Ana Despa, Dorottya Gal, Halie Boyer and Katie Yang. Since Ana was the individual champion, alternate Chakri Gudlavalleti of Rosa Parks Elementary will also make the June 7-11 trip to the University of Wisconsin. Also competing are Kashvi Chatterjee of Rosa Parks as the alternate junior team champion, and Paul Laurence Dunbar High School’s Jennifer Lee, who placed first in the state in scenario writing.

Winburn’s Zoe Jenkins qualified as state runner-up in the middle division but will not travel.

▪ The Learning Center in Fayette County Public Schools has been named an Alternative Program of Distinction for 2016-17 by the Kentucky Department of Education.

“We’re so proud of our kids and teachers for winning this honor three years in a row, and grateful for district support to continue this important work,” said Chris Salyers, principal/program director at TLC.

TLC, which serves students in grades 8-12 who thrive in a nontraditional school setting, receives $2,000 from the education department and $1,000 from the Kentucky Center for School Safety for instructional support.

▪ More than 9,000 students from across Kentucky attended the 10th annual Student Technology Leadership Program’s State Championship this spring at Rupp Arena. They represented 502 schools and 129 districts, a 20 percent increase from last year. The K-12 students showed what they know and can do with technology in the arts, STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), and marketable career areas by competing in more than four dozen categories with projects, products, services and live demonstrations.

Showcase projects, Best in State/Technical Division champions: “Phones Down” by Drake Witt, Jaiven Smith, Isaiah Obgulu and Dontae Moore of Bryan Station High School. This is the third straight year a Fayette County public school has won this top award. “Phones Down” is one of four projects that received first-place honors out of more than 550 entries.

Best in State runner-up: “PLD Lamplighter” by Sharon Chen, Rohan Palla, Arunmani Phravorachith and Arya Shoa of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. This project is one of seven in second-place position out of the more than 550 projects.

Best in Showcase Group: “NTI (Non-Traditional Instruction)” by Bradon Coate, Chase Myers, Jackson Smoroske and James Young of Jessie Clark Middle School; and “BSTA” by Peter Regard, Arthur Hall and Mack Cason of Bryan Station High School.

Live competitions

Certipalooza/Excel certification, first place: Noah Gann of Henry Clay High School

Cinemania, first place: “Telling Stories” by Southern Films of Southern Middle School (Allyson Van Haaren, Ben Brewer, Brandy Bruner, Cayden Bradshaw, Grace Patrick, Isabella Perkins, Bethany Ryan, Madison Arnett, Peyton Twerdi, Chen Chen Zheng, Jonesia Logan, Lainey Wedding, Shea McCray, TaQuay’za Johnson, Lotus Hildebrand, Kiley Reynolds, Lucas Poynter and Audrey Clemmens)

Robot Use, runner-up: Adil Moula and Jake Evans of Athens-Chilesburg Elementary

Newscast Challenge, runner-up: “PLD Lamplighter” by Sharon Chen, Rohan Palla, Arunmani Phravorachith and Arya Shoa of Dunbar

Presenter, first place: “Sway” by Narmin Ibrahim of Julius Marks Elementary; first place: “The World of Film Editing” by Rohan Palla and Lalith Manukonda of Dunbar

Proven Learning Quick Tech Recall, first place: Drake Witt of Bryan Station High School

Racing to the Future: Build and Design Challenge, first place: Sydney Shelby of Morton Middle; runner-up: Ty Clark of Cassidy Elementary

Racing to the Future: Race Time Championship, first place: Sydney Shelby of Morton Middle; runner-up: Stan Shelby Jr. of Tates Creek High School

University of Kentucky Engineering: Minds on Innovation, runner-up: “Vations by Station” by Drake Witt of Bryan Station High School

Product Awards Digital Art, first place: “Purple Rain” by Isabelle Swisher of Morton Middle; first place: “Dia de los Muertos” by Emma Guinnup of Lafayette High School

Documentary Video, first place: “Closing the Golden Door” by Jake Alford, Daniel Baesler and Karson Caswell of SCAPA at Bluegrass

Feature Video, first place: “Underneath” by Southern Films of Southern Middle School

Graphic Design, first place: “Open Your World with Books” by Halie Patrick of Harrison Elementary; runner-up: “No Detail Too Small” by Yousef Agoub of Dunbar

Infographic, first place: “FCPS” by Elizabeth Curry of Julius Marks Elementary; runner-up: “Gopher Tortoise” by Luke Scorsone-Stoval of Julius Marks

Kate Product: Be a Hero, runner-up: “Cyber Bully” by Connor McNee of Glendover Elementary

Manipulated Photo, first place: “Double Exposure” by Cameron Morrison of Lafayette High

Multimedia Content, first place: “K-9 Kevlar” by Noah Jones of Julius Marks Elementary

PSA Video, first place: “The Positive Impact of Sports” by Rohan Palla of Dunbar; runner-up: “Out of Body Experience” by Willis Quinn and Gabby Rodgers of STEAM Academy

For complete results, go to Stlp.fcps.net/news2016/2017-state-champions.

Miscellaneous

▪ Children’s Montessori School of Georgetown is hosting a Family Fun Day from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Georgetown College Athletic Complex. The theme is Transportation Exploration. Guests can see a helicopter, police Humvee, airplane, fire truck, bookmobile, farrier truck, concrete truck, school bus and more. Tickets are $5 each, or $20 per family. For more information, go to Fb.me//cmsofgeorgetownky. To purchase advance tickets, go to Georgetownmontessori.org.

This story was originally published June 20, 2017 at 6:20 AM with the headline "Rosa Parks chess team places third in national tournament."