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Awards and Accolades-5673

Published April 25, 2014

Below is a list of recent accomplishments by Williamson County students and staff in the areas of academics, athletics and the arts. They are listed in alphabetical order according to school.

Student Artwork to be Displayed in 2014-15 School Calendar

Artwork by ten Williamson County students will be featured in the 2014-15 school calendar presented by the Williamson Medical Center. Their artwork will also be displayed at Williamson Medical Center over the next year. Those students are listed below:

  • Lisa Qu - Brentwood High (Best in Show)
  • Alec Dyer - Page High (1st Place)
  • Celestrial Jacobsen - Fairview High (2nd Place)
  • Tyler Shannon - Ravenwood High (3rd Place)
  • Sylvia Schlunk - Brentwood High
  • Olivia Meza - Centennial High
  • Sofi Goodwin - Franklin High
  • Evan Genter - Independence High
  • Sam Starr - Middle College High
  • Nicki DiCicco - Summit High

Additionally, the Williamson County Association of Realtors Good Works Foundation awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Brentwood High School’s Lisa Qu for her Best in Show. Her teacher, Emily Martinez, also received a $500 donation to the art program at Brentwood High.

 

Science Olympiad Teams Compete at State Tournament

Congratulations to the Brentwood and Ravenwood high school Science Olympiad teams for their performance at this year's State Tournament. Ravenwood placed third and Brentwood finished fourth. The top six teams are recognized at the competition as well as the top six within each event.

Brentwood Middle and Woodland Middle also competed. They had team members on both teams who placed in the top six in seven individual competitions.

 

WCS Students Receive Scholarships from Retired Teachers Association

Three Williamson County students were recently awarded scholarships by the Williamson County Retired Teachers Association. Independence High School senior Mary Kristin Green, Independence High School senior Ben Jacobs and Franklin High School senior Mandy Tennille were named recipients of the Miller-Peterson Scholarships which are given to graduating high school seniors in Williamson County who plan to become teachers. Each student will receive a scholarship in the amount of $3,000.

The three scholarship winners are pictured with their parents and Williamson County Retired Teachers Association President Bob Simmons (far right). Pictured from left to right: Jill Green, Mary Kristin Green, Kevin Green, Sara Jacobs, Ben Jacobs, Christopher Jacobs, Robert Tennille, Mandy Tennille and Ruth Tennille.

 

Brentwood High Student Receives National Merit Scholarship

Brentwood High School Senior Spencer Franklin was recently named a winner of the National Merit Walgreens Scholarship. Approximately 1,000 distinguished high school seniors have won corporate-sponsored National
Merit Scholarship awards financed by about 200 corporations, company foundations and other
business organizations.

Scholars were selected from students who advanced to the Finalist level in the National Merit Scholarship competition and met criteria of their scholarship sponsors. Corporate sponsors provide National Merit Scholarships for Finalists who are children of their employees, who are residents of communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage.

Most of these awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study and provide annual stipends that range from $500 to $10,000 per year. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice.

 

Brentwood High Coach Receives Special Honor

Congratulations to Brentwood High School's Bette Lordeman for being presented with the Tennessee High School Speech and Drama League State Educator of the Year Krider Award. Lordeman (right) is pictured below receiving the award from BHS Teacher Harriet Medlin.

 

Centennial Junior Wins Youth Volunteer Award

Centennial High School Junior Elise Hirt has been named the winner of the 2014 Strobel Youth Volunteer Award. As president and founding member of Centennial High School’s Best Buddies Tennessee Chapter, Elise is the force behind a culture shift for Centennial students with special needs. With Elise’s leadership, Best Buddies fosters relationships between students with and without special needs.

The Youth Volunteer Award recognizes youth, teens and young adults ages 5 to 22 who serve as an inspiration to others through significant volunteerism. Elise was presented with the award during a special luncheon and ceremony April 22. As the winner of the Youth Volunteer Award, Elise also became Hands On Nashville’s nominee for The Governor's Volunteer Stars Awards, an initiative from Volunteer Tennessee that seeks to recognize outstanding volunteers from each of Tennessee's 95 counties.

 

Fairview Middle Students Win Poetry Contest

Congratulations to the winners of this year's Poetry Contest at Fairview Middle School. Maggie McGowan won first place for her poem entitled Seeds and Stones; Bridgett Geier won second place for her poem Just a Shadow; and Daisy Gonzalez came in third place for her poem Through the Sky.

 

Heritage Middle Student Chosen for Youth Exchange Program

Heritage Middle School student Connor Pratt has been selected to travel to Germany this summer with the Sister Cities of Franklin and Williamson County’s new youth exchange program. Although he is in eighth grade, Connor has been studying German at Independence High.

Connor will be staying with a German host family in Bad Soden, a suburb of Frankfurt, for approximately two weeks. While there, he will attend a German high school and have the opportunity to travel around Germany.

Selection for the program is based on essay questions, community involvement and a personal interview. Students and their families will then host the German students in Franklin this fall.

 

Hillsboro Band Director Earns Prestigious Honor

Hillsboro School Band Director Cameron Gish has been chosen to be a Director’s Track assistant at the 2014 Music for All Summer Symposium at Ball State University in Indiana. This is a week-long national conference for high school band and orchestra students, as well as band directors. There are over 1,000 high school students in attendance, who can specialize in concert band, marching band, percussion, color guard or leadership tracks.

The Director’s Track includes some of the most renowned music educators in the country, who present professional development clinics in instrument pedagogy, rehearsal skills, technology, and other related topics. As a Director’s Track assistant, Gish will be working with the clinicians and facilitators throughout the conference and will have the opportunity to interact with the most notable teachers in the field of music education.

The Summer Symposium is considered by most to be the best professional development experience for band directors in the United States.

 

Franklin High Student to Attend Summer Camp in China

Franklin High School student Tori Dong received a $1,000 scholarship from the Confucius Institute at Western Kentucky University to travel to China this summer and participate in the Chinese Bridge Summer Camp. During the camp, students will be engaged in numerous activities including Chinese language and culture classes, sightseeing and interactions with their Chinese peers.

 

Page High Students Compete in State Math Contest

Several Page High School students competed at the State Math Competition April 15 at Lipscomb University. Team members Alex Boulay, Ashley Chen, Charlie Cummings, Dhruv Devdhara, Colin Lamb, Dillon Purdue, Hunter Spivey and Sydney Strock. Freshman Hunter Spivey placed third out of 67 in the Algebra II category. He is pictured below with team sponsor and Page High teacher Emily Veloz.

 

Ravenwood Students Win First Place Honors at DECA Conference

Several Ravenwood High School students competed at this year's International Career Development Conference in Atlanta. Below is a list of this year's first place winners:

  • Niko Szellan - 1st place in Sports and Entertainment Marketing test (National Qualifier)
  • Joseph Parks - 1st place in Principles of Business Administration test and Role Play (National Qualifier)
  • Kelly Rains - 1st place Human Resources Management Role Play (National Qualifier)
  • Julia Keefe and Kenzie Butera - 1st place in Hospitality Services Team Decision Making (National Qualifiers)

 

Summit High Teacher Receives Special Honor

Several Summit High School teacher Christina Isong was named the Tennessee State HOSA Advisor of the Year. HOSA is a national student organization with a mission to promote career opportunities in the health care industry and to enhance the delivery of quality health care to all people.

 

Summit High HOSA Students Attend State Leadership Conference

Summit High School HOSA students attended the State Leadership Conference March 31-April 2 and represented Summit in both recognition and competition events. Summit students placed among the top five in 12 of the categories entered.

A total of seven students qualified for the National HOSA Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida, in June. In addition, Hayden Hughes was elected as Middle Tennessee Vice-President, making him the first state officer in the history of Summit HOSA.

  • Medical Reserve Corp Partnership - Mary Margaret Richards, Kelly Meade and Annaka Baxter placed 3rd
  • Biotechnology - Ayden Salmons placed 4th
  • CPR/First Aid - Halie Zelaya and Faith Montgomery placed 5th
  • Dental Science - Hayden Hughes placed 5th
  • Interviewing Skills - Kinsley Johnson placed 1st
  • Job Seeking Skills - Ben Leach placed 3rd
  • Personal Care - Maria Vera placed 4th
  • Health Career Display - Ryann Gardner and Riley Monigan placed 4th
  • Home Health Aide - Jayden Cartelli placed 3rd
  • Life Support Skills - Josh Mason placed 2nd
  • Physical Therapy - Seivyn Phagan placed 3rd
  • Medical Terminology - Faith Holmes placed 2nd