Greenville County School News

From press release
Published: August 8, 2008

From July 31 to Aug. 7
Greenville Agricultural Educator Wins State Award
Greenville, SC - Barry Burdette, agriculture teacher at Golden Strip Career Center, has been selected state winner of the SC Agricultural Educators Mentor Award, according to John W. Parris, state director of public affairs with the SC Agricultural Education Association.
“This award recognizes one outstanding agricultural educator in the state each year who works with new teachers to prepare them to become successful in their career,” Parris said. “The experience and guidance provided newer teachers by Burdette is invaluable in helping develop successful Agri-Science and Technology programs,” he added.
Burdette, Horticulture Instructor at the Golden Strip Career Center, will receive the prestigious award during the state conference of Agricultural Educators at Clemson University, July 22-24.
The award is sponsored by CEV Multimedia in concert with the SC Agricultural Educators Association.

High Schools Win National Forensic Team Honors
Greenville, SC—Students from Southside High, Greer High, Riverside High, and Mauldin High earned honors at the Desert Lights National Speech and Debate Tournament in Las Vegas, NV. The Southside High Forensic Team received a Superior Showing with the following awards: Cornesia Jefferson, Semifinalist, (8th Place Overall), Prose Interpretation; Rohan Shilotri, Octafinalist, International Extemporaneous Speaking; and Tyshaun Spencer, Semifinalist (13th Overall), Poetry Interpretation. Also honored was Monica Bracey, Greer High, Octafinalist, Humorous Interpretation; David Lane, Riverside High, Semifinalist, Impromptu Speaking, and Neel Mehta, Mauldin High, Semifinalist, Congressional Debate, Senate.

Hughes PTSA Receives $1,000 Grant
Greenville, SC—The Hughes Academy PTSA was awarded a $1,000 grant from Greenville Federal Credit Uniohn to support a Student of the Month program that recognizes student who exhibit outstanding behavior, academic work, or character traits. Each month, one student from each homeroom was nominated for the honor. The students were honored at a special luncheon and received other recognitions. All monthly winners’ names were placed into a drawing for a Wii Game System, which was awarded to eighth grader Zach Weihrauch.

38 Schools Receive Grants from Picturing America
Greenville, SC – Thirty-eight Greenville County schools received Picturing America grants from the National Endowment of the Humanities. The grant gives schools collections of reproductions of some of America’s most famous artistic pieces as well as teacher guides on integrating the works into the curriculum. More information can be found at http://picturingamerica.neh.gov/about.php.
The following schools received grants:
Armstrong Elementary
Bell’s Crossing Elementary
Berea Middle
Blue Ridge High
Blue Ridge Middle
Blythe Academy
Bryson Elementary
Bryson Middle
Buena Vista Elementary
Eastside High
Ellen Woodside Elementary
Fork Shoals School
Greenville Sr. high Academy
Greer High
Heritage Elementary
Hillcrest High
Hillcrest Middle
Hughes Academy
JL Mann High Academy
Mountain View Elementary
Northwood Middle
Oakview Elementary
Paris Elementary
Pelham Road Elementary
Robert E. Cashion Elementary
Sara Collins Elementary
Sevier Middle
Skyland Elementary
Southside High
Sterling School
Stone Academy
Sue Cleveland Elementary
Tanglewood Middle
Thomas E. Kerns Elementary
Travelers Rest High
Woodland Elementary
Woodmont High
Woodmont Middle

Seven GCS Students Earn College-sponsored Merit Scholarships
(Evanston, Illinois) More than 2,800 winners of National Merit Scholarships, financed by colleges and universities, including seven Greenville County Schools students, were recently announced by National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC).
The following students received the scholarships: Matthew J. Wischhusen, Eastside High; Sarah E. Robinson, Eastside High; Sarah G. Barton, Eastside High; Phillip N. Calvin, J.L. Mann High Academy; Nathan J. Bailey, J. L. Mann High Academy; Richard A. Neese, Riverside High; and Christopher M. West, Riverside High.
Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among Finalists in the 2008 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution.
These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship. Another group of Scholars will be announced in July, bringing the total number of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship recipients in the 2008 competition to about 4,600.
This year 194 higher education institutions are underwriting Merit Scholarship awards through the National Merit Program. Sponsor colleges and universities include 115 private and 79 public institutions located in 43 states and the District of Columbia.
These students are among approximately 8,200 distinguished high school seniors of 2008 who will receive National Merit Scholarships worth $36 million for college undergraduate study. Announced earlier this spring were winners of two other types of National Merit Scholarships—corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards and National Merit $2500 Scholarships.

2008 National Merit Scholarship Competition
More than 1.4 million juniors in over 21,000 high schools entered the 2008 National Merit Scholarship competition when they took the 2006 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, some 16,000 Semifinalists were named on a state representational basis, in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the nation’s high school graduating seniors. Semifinalists were the highest scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than one percent of a state’s seniors.
To advance to the Finalist level of the competition, Semifinalists had to submit a substantial amount of information and fulfill additional requirements. Each Finalist presented an outstanding academic record; was endorsed and recommended by a school official; earned SAT scores that confirmed the qualifying test performance; and provided an essay describing activities, interests, and goals. About 15,000 Semifinalists met requirements for Finalist standing, and more than half of this group will be Merit Scholarship winners in 2008.

Mauldin High Receives $2,500 Grant
Greenville, SC – Mauldin High School Improvement Council (SIC) received a $2,500 grant from State Farm Insurance Company. The counsel’s vision for this year involved creating a spirit of oneness and unity among its students, school, and community. One challenge the school faces by serving students form Mauldin, Simpsonville, and Greenville is establishing a sense of identity, loyalty, and connectivity to their school.
NGS and Beta groups visited local businesses, civic, and faith-based establishments to share the vision and ask them to display a decal to demonstrate support for Mauldin High School. The intent was to “rally the troops” and to encourage them to subscribe to the school’s free weekly e-newsletter.
Each student was also offered a decal to display on vehicles. The decals serve as a visual reminder to everyone to support the local high school, its students, and its faculty.

Blue Ridge High AFJROTC Receives Distinguished Unit Award
Greenville, SC – Air Force JROTC Unit SC-20023 at Blue Ridge High School has been selected as one of the 328 units to receive the 20007-2008 Distinguished Unit Award. The award recognizes Air Force Junior ROTC units that have performed above and bey9ond normal expectations, and that have distinguished themselves through outstanding service to their school and community while meeting the AFJROTC mission of producing better American citizens.
The objectives of the Junior ROTC program are to educate and train high school cadets in citizenship and life skills, promote community service, instill responsibility, character, and self-discipline through character education, and to provide instruction in air and space fundamentals.

League Academy Student Caroline Dillard Earns Honors at National History Day Event
Greenville, SC—After months of intensive research and success at district- and state-level competitions, Caroline Dillard, a student at League Academy, presented her research paper at the annual National History Day competition, held at the University of Maryland campus at College Park in the Washington, D.C. area in June.  Caroline’s historical research paper was chosen Outstanding Junior Entry from the State of South Carolina. 
“I was proud to be one of the South Carolina finalists chosen to attend National History Day,” said Caroline.  “It was a fantastic experience seeing more than 2,000 students from all over the country who had one thing in common:  we had all made it to the National Competition for History Day.  I was proud to represent our state and my school.  My paper was about Wild Horse Annie’s campaign to save the wild mustang.  The topic interested me because I love horses and like to compete in equestrian events.  I picked a topic that interested me and enjoyed doing the research required to write the paper.”
Each fall more than half a million students nationwide begin the year-long National History Day program, competing in a series of history contests in their local districts and states.  The top students in each category are selected for participation in the national contest.  Participating students choose their own topics of study and research them from original sources.  This year’s theme was Conflict and Compromise in History.  National History Day students research historic documents and artifacts, record oral histories, search primary sources for information on their topics, and travel to historic sites.  They present their work in a variety of ways, including creating museum-type exhibits, video documentaries, original performances, or traditional research papers. 
More than 300 historians and other education professionals evaluate the students’ work at the national competition.  A total of $150,000 worth of scholarships are awarded at the national awards ceremony to select students, and approximately 100 students took home cash prizes between $250 and $5,000 for superior work in a particular category of judging.

GCS Class of 2008 Earns Record $84.9 Million in Scholarships
Greenville, SC—The Class of 2008, with 3,513 seniors who graduated in June, earned a record amount of $84,938,627 in college scholarships. This amount was an increase of $8.4 million over last year’s total.
Students in the Class of 2008 are known as the “Echo Boom” generation, the first to grow up with computers at home, and televisions that can tune in more than 500 channels. They are multi-taskers with cell phones, music downloads, and Instant Messaging on the Internet, according to CBS News.
Ninety-percent of the scholarships awarded were given for academic performance. The remaining 10 percent was awarded for athletic, armed service, and other achievements.

Riverside High Raises $4,500 for Invisible Children
Riverside High School’s Invisible Children/Schools4Schools club raised $4,543.90 for the protection and education of child soldiers in Uganda. This amount is equal to building one-fifth of a school in Uganda. This accomplishment was the result of hard work by Riverside’s club members and the community’s support of this cause.