Education notes for the week of Feb. 15
Awards/Honors
▪ The Lexington Catholic Academic Team brought home individual and team awards at this year’s District Governor's Cup. The top five students in each individual assessment category and the top two Quick Recall teams will advance to the Regional Competition on Feb. 16 and 20.
▪ Several students from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School brought home first-place honors from the 75th annual Kentucky Beta Club Convention, which was Jan. 24-26 in Louisville. Winners were Cici Mao in Math Division I, Jennifer Lee in Onsite Pencil Drawing, Thirushan Wignakumar in Science Division II, and David Ma in Spanish Division I. Also, the Dunbar team was runner-up in Quiz Bowl with Thirushan, Zsombor Gal, Erin Markel and Zainab Kahloon; and placed third in Sweepstakes. In other results from FCPS, Ashton Brown of Lafayette High School placed third in French.
▪ Maggie Cook-Allen, an MSTC junior at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, is Kentucky’s winner in the eighth annual Doodle 4 Google art contest and advances to the national competition. The eventual winner will receive a $30,000 academic scholarship, a $50,000 technology grant to their current school, a trip to Google headquarters in California with a teacher of their choice, a Chromebook and an Android tablet.
In redesigning Google’s homepage logo, K-12 students worked off the 2016 theme “What makes me ... me?” – illustrating what they are passionate about, what gets them excited, or what they dream about. “This year I really enjoyed calculus and also enjoy art a lot, so I decided to portray math as an amusement park,” said Maggie, who takes Advanced Honors Art and participates in Dunbar’s Math, Science and Technology Center, a gifted-and-talented program.
The Dunbar announcement coincided with the kickoff of nationwide online voting, which runs through Feb. 22. Google, which initially received more than 100,000 entries, will name the winner on March 21 as their artwork goes live on Google.com for a day.
▪ A team from Southside Technical Center was runner-up in the annual Capital City Welding Classic in Frankfort. Avery Collins of Bryan Station, Aubrey Hedges of Tates Creek, and Jesus Rivera of Henry Clay high schools each received a $500 scholarship to Tulsa Welding School in Jacksonville, Fla., along with all the other participants.
Students from nearly 20 schools around the state entered the Jan. 29 competition, which was sponsored by Tulsa, Lincoln Electric, and Scott Gross. “The welding prints and welding requirements are extremely challenging — very similar to what a student will see in the real world,” said Southside instructor Rob Mitchell. Awards went to individual welders and to three-member teams of seniors like Southside’s.
▪ Five students from FCPS earned gold keys in the 2016 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, which qualifies them for the spring’s national competition.
Students recognized were Kayla Beebout of Henry Clay High School, whose “Into the Woods” was saluted in the personal essay/memoir category; Gwendolyn Blair of Lafayette High for “A Song About September” in short story; Serena Dudee of Lafayette for “Dietary Privilege: A Response to Self-Righteous Vegans” in critical essay; and Joanna Slusarewicz of Paul Laurence Dunbar High for “To Sophie” in poetry. In the art division, Lafayette’s Zoe Felice earned a gold key for “Terrain.”
Fayette County art students compete in the Northern Kentucky, Southern Ohio, and Southeast Indiana Region. In other awards, Dunbar’s Jennifer Lee received a silver key for “Wreck” and honorable mention for “ROME.” Honorable mentions also went to Dunbar’s Megan Slusarewicz for “Rotting from the Inside Out” and “Salsa Dancing.”
In additional writing kudos, Kayla received a silver key in poetry for “In Memoriam” and honorable mentions for her poem “The Painter” and writing portfolio “Between Light and Darkness.” Serena earned silver keys for “Wildflowers” in poetry and “The Caribou Cave Creep” in science fiction/fantasy, while her journalism entry “The Bindi Isn’t Indie” got an honorable mention. Joanna’s poems “Dear God or Gods: Who Are You?” and “To Claudia (or Hoping to Find You at Our Joint Destination” both earned silver keys.
Several other young writers from Fayette County Public Schools also earned recognition in the Southeast Region at-large, which covers several states. Claire Kimani of Tates Creek Middle received honorable mention for the short story “Arachnids.” The following students are all from Lafayette High School:
Leila Abou-Jaoude, personal essay/memoir, “Of My Limited Experience with Love,” silver key; Kynnadie Bennett, poetry, “Camp Moments,” silver key; poetry, “Rules to Being a Girl,” honorable mention; Constance Brown, dramatic script, “The Ride,” honorable mention; Karlee Caswell, short story, “Night Terror, Light Terror,” honorable mention; Meredith Cherry, personal essay/memoir, “Cream Soda,” silver key; Katrin Flores, humor, “Dear Mr. Mayor,” silver key; critical essay, “‘Of Mice and Men’ and Life with a Disability during the Great Depression,” honorable mention; Taleah Gipson, poetry, “A Rich Sound: A Collection of Poems,” silver key; Mackenzie Haire, writing portfolio, “Bonds,” silver key; Sarah Hall, science fiction/fantasy, “The Shed,” honorable mention; science fiction/fantasy, “The A.I. Revolution of March 13, 2079,” honorable mention; Avery Logsdon, science fiction/fantasy, “Heaven,” silver key; humor, “Jaguar,” silver key; Jenna Tinnell, flash fiction, “What It Means to Have a Family,” silver key; and Jamin Waite, dramatic script, “Let Me Breathe,” honorable mention
Meetings
The Bluegrass Retired Teachers Association will meet at 11:30 a.m. March 8 at the Paris Christian Church. Clay's Restaurant in Paris will cater the luncheon. Kenney Roseberry will give the devotional. Members of the Paris YMCA staff will talk to the group about the organization's programs, and entertainment will follow. The cost of the luncheon is $16 per person. Reservations and checks are due to Anna Mack, 112 Hamilton Park, Lexington, Ky., 40504, by March 1.
Personnel
▪ Charles Hughes, associate professor in Eastern Kentucky University’s Communication Disorders Program, has been named vice chair of the American Board of Fluency and Fluency Disorders.
Currently the only Board Certified Specialist in Fluency in Kentucky, Hughes was elected in 2015 to a four-year term on the board, and had served as its social media director last year.
The ABFFD reviews and oversees the credentialing process of speech-language pathologists who wish to apply to become a Board Certified Specialist in Fluency, and individuals who wish to maintain the BCS-F credential. The Board also promotes and advocates for high standards related to the clinical treatment of individuals with speech fluency disorders.
Hughes, who joined the EKU faculty in 2011, launched the EKU Stuttering Clinic for Children and Adolescents Who Stutter, one of the few such programs in the Commonwealth.
This story was originally published February 15, 2016 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Education notes for the week of Feb. 15."