Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
The Braselton News
Page 5B
Legion offers scholarship contest
for local high school students
Students at Jefferson,
Commerce and Jackson County
High Schools have been invited
by the Albert Gordon Post 56
of the American Legion to com
pete in the First Annual American
Legion High School Oratorical
Scholarship Program.
The invitation to enter the com
petition was extended by Post
Commander Harvie Lance and
Post Oratorical Chairman Robert
Bradberry.
The contest for Jackson County
students, scheduled for 10 a.m.
Saturday, Jan. 19, has been
arranged with the full coopera
tion of school officials, principals
and faculties of Jefferson High
School, both Jackson County
high schools and Commerce High
School.
The subject in the prepared
oration portion of the contest
must be about some phase of the
Constitution of the United States,
emphasizing the duties and obli
gations of a citizen to the United
States government. The prepared
oration must be the original effort
of each contestant and must be at
least eight but no more than 10
minutes in length.
Also, competing students will
be required to speak for three to
five minutes on one of four pos
sible assigned topics. The specific
topic will be determined by a ran
dom drawing the morning of the
competition.
The possible topics include:
•Art 1 Sec 3 clause 6: The
Senate shall have the sole Power
to try all Impeachments. When
sitting for that Purpose, they
shall be on Oath or Affirmation.
When the President of the United
States is tried, the Chief Justice
shall preside: And no Person
shall be convicted without the
Concurrence of two thirds of the
Members present.
•Art 1 Sec 6 clause 1: The
Senators and Representatives shall
receive a Compensation for their
Services, to be ascertained by
Law, and paid out of the Treasury
of the United States. They shall in
all Cases, except Treason, Felony
and Breach of the Peace, be privi
leged from Arrest during their
Attendance at the Session of their
respective Houses, and in going
to and returning from the same;
and for any Speech or Debate in
either House, they shall not be
questioned in any other Place.
•Art 2 Sec 4: The President,
Vice President and all civil
Officers of the United States,
shall be removed from Office on
Impeachment for, and Conviction
of, Treason, Bribery, or other high
Crimes and Misdemeanors.
•Amendment 14 Section 1: All
persons born or naturalized in the
United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens
of the United States and of the
State wherein they reside. No
State shall make or enforce any
law which shall abridge the privi
leges or immunities of citizens of
the United States; nor shall any
State deprive any person of life,
liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor deny to any
person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws.
The Jefferson American Legion
post will award $300 for first
place, $200 for second and $100
for third place. The winner will
go on to the Legion 10th District
competition Feb. 17, where cash
prizes will be awarded in the
amount of $300 for first place,
$200 for second and $100 for
third place.
The district winner will com
pete in the Legion’s Area III con
test Feb. 24. Cash prizes will be
$350 for first place, $250 for sec
ond and $175 for third place. The
state competition will be held on
March 1. Area winners will com
pete for cash prizes of $1,300 first
place, $900 for second, $650 for
third and $450 fourth place.
In addition to the awards by
winners of the various elimina
tion rounds of competition, uni
versity scholarships of $18,000,
$16,000, and $14,000 will be
awarded to the first through third
places in the national finals. Each
state winner who competes in the
first round of the national contest
will receive a $1,500 scholar
ship. Participants in the second
round who do not advance to the
national final round will receive
an additional $1,500 scholarship.
The top three youth orators who
have won all previous elimination
rounds of the contest will vie for
top honors in the national contest
on April 4-6, 2008, at the IUPUI
Conference Center and Hotel,
Indianapolis, Ind. The American
Legion will pay the expenses of
state winners at the national con
test.
High school students in Jackson
County who are interested in
entering the competition should
check with their principal’s office
for rules and contest information.
Local students honored at
Union University in TN
Two area students were recent- full-time students who achieve
ly honored at Union University
in Jackson, Tenn.
Mary Holliday, Winder, was
named to the dean’s list, while
Chelsea Freemon, Gainesville,
was named the president’s list for
the 2007 fall semester.
The dean’s list includes full
time students who achieve a 3.5
grade point average on a four-
point scale.
The president’s list includes
a 4.0 grade point average on a
four-point scale.
Founded in 1823 and affili
ated with the Tennessee Baptist
Convention, Union University is
characterized by Christ-centered
teaching and learning. Union
offers liberal arts training in more
than 100 majors and programs
of study along with professional
programs in business, education
and nursing.
Student financial aid meeting
to be held Feb. 12 at JCCHS
The counseling departments
of East Jackson Comprehensive
High School and Jackson County
Comprehensive High School will
host a meeting to help students
complete the Free Application
for Federal Student Aid, or the
FAFSA, Tuesday, Feb, 12, from
6:30-7:45 p.m. at the Jackson
County Comprehensive High
School auditorium. This meeting
is for students at both Jackson
County high schools.
The FAFSA is one option for
students and parents to complete
in order to receive Georgia’s
HOPE scholarship. It is also
required in order to receive fed
eral aid, student loans, and many
other scholarships.
While only seniors will be com
pleting the FAFSA, all parents
and students are encouraged to
attend in order to become famil
iar with the process. Planning for
life after high school should begin
well before the senior year.
Hal Wilkinson of the Georgia
Student Finance Commission
will be the presenter.
For more information, contact
Dr. Ed Wyrick at 706-367-5003,
extension 256. Jackson County
Comprehensive High School is
located at 1668 Winder Highway,
Jefferson.
Wins add up for Mill Creek High School’s math team
BY KRISTI REED
If you think bitter school rival
ries are reserved for sporting
events, think again. Mill Creek
High School teachers Eric Sever
and Teresa Romeo have a com
mon objective for this year’s math
team - beat North Gwinnett. The
Bulldogs have proven themselves
formidable mathematic opponents
and the Hawks are calculating
ways to upset the reigning cham
pions.
Romeo said North Gwinnett has
a well established team. Mill
Creek’s program is still relatively
young. Romeo and Sever hope to
see the team grow and eventually
become as strong as the North
Gwinnett program.
While the Mill Creek team is
off to a strong start this season,
Sever and Romeo are working to
help their students improve with
each competition. So far, the stu
dents have done just that.
In October, the sophomores,
juniors and seniors placed second
in the year’s first math team com
petition. In November, the sopho
mores and seniors placed second
and the juniors placed first.
The math team is divided by
grade levels. Students from each
grade level take two 30 minute,
five question exams during each
competition. Students take the
exam for his or her grade level
as well as the exam for the next
grade level.
The exam questions vary in
degree of difficulty and are
weighted accordingly. Sever said
it is extremely rare for a student
to make a perfect score on the
exam.
“There are probably only one or
two students per tournament that
get all five right,” he said.
Sever explained that the ques
tions are not routine math prob
lems and that each requires sev
eral steps in order to reach the
correct answer.
For example, juniors at a recent
competition were asked the ques
tion: “A circle is centered at the
origin with a radius of 10. A line
is drawn through the top of the
circle at (0,10) and the point (2,0).
Find the point in the fourth quad
rant where the line intersects the
circle. Express your answer using
simplified improper fractions.”
The answer: (50/13, -120/13).
The top three scores from each
grade level are counted towards
the team’s total score along with
the score of a designated oralist.
The oralist, usually a volunteer,
is given a topic in advance of the
competition. The oralist must
then teach the topic to a panel of
judges. Past topics have included
game theory, transformations, and
perfect numbers.
Sever said the topics are very
unusual and occasionally involve
subjects not covered in the stu
dent’s regular math classes. Sever
said game theory, for example,
may include problems such as
designing a game that is fair, a
game that provides a 30 percent
chance of the house winning, or
a game that allows a player to
win the first two games but then
decreases the odds of winning
thereafter.
The oralist must research the
designated topic, learn the mate
rial and then prepare a presenta
tion demonstrating the student’s
mastery of the subject.
Despite the demanding nature
of the material, Sever and Romeo
said the ultimate goal is for the
students to learn and to enjoy the
experience.
“It’s not structured. It’s really
laid back and it’s fun. They’re
allowed to be competitive. They
really get to be praised as an indi
vidual,” Romeo said.
Sever said: “It’s extracurricular.
I don’t want the kids to feel like
it’s a job, so we practice the week
before a tournament. It’s a social
group for a lot of these kids.”
As for the future of the math
team, Romeo and Sever said they
hope to see new students join the
math team as freshmen and con
tinue through their senior year.
“I’d like to have them compet
ing year after year. I’d like to see
that growth,” Romeo said.
Sever added: “I’d love to see
them improve every time. I would
love to come in first place. If we
could improve every time and,
if the kids, when they leave, say
it was a worthwhile experience,
then those are the two immediate
goals. But then, of course, I’d
like to beat North Gwinnett.”
The math team’s next competi
tion is January 28. The team will
square off against region oppo
nents Dacula, Shiloh, Central
Gwinnett and, of course, North
Gwinnett.
MCHS, Osborne MS students honored for accomplishments
Tabitha Birau, Carol Choe,
Melanie Borig and Lauren
Grainger were recently selected
as four of only 50 high school art
ists statewide eligible to partici
pate in the Georgia High School
Drawing Competition.
The competition, held at The
Savannah College of Art and
Design in Atlanta, is a juried exhi
bition. Hundreds of artists from
across the state submitted entries.
Mill Creek High School’s four
entrants were the most selected
from any one school.
STUDENTS RECEIVE ART
AWARD
Six Mill Creek High School stu
dents have been awarded region
al Scholastic Art Awards. The
Scholastic Art Award is a national
program offering recognition and
scholarship opportunities for high
school seniors.
Entries are judged by profes
sional artists. The most outstand
ing works of art are awarded a
Gold Key. These entries advance
to the national competition. Three
MCHS students were awarded a
Gold Key: Tabita Birau, Carol
Choe and Amanda Towslee.
Emily Beck and Sue Kim were
awarded Silver Keys for their
entries. Beck also received an
honorable mention for another
entry.
STUDENTS PASS FIRST
ALL STATE CHORUS
AUDITION
Seventeen Mill Creek High
School students passed the first
audition for the All-State Chorus.
While the state wide pass rate
for the first audition is 16 percent,
MCHS students had a 50 percent
success rate.
Kaitlin Adams, Sun Ban, Karen
Bone, Jaysly George, Clara Hong,
Tyler Krug, Garren McCloud,
Jason Melin, Steven Melin, Matt
Mills, Joanna Ressman, Alex
Ubiera, Lindsay Ullrick, Riannon
Webb, Paige Williams, Brittany
Wilson and Erica Wright will
audition for the second time in
January.
Students passing the January
audition will perform as part of
the All-State Chorus in February.
ACCIPITER RECEIVES
GOLD MEDAL
The 2007 Mill Creek High
School yearbook, Accipiter, was
awarded a gold medalist rating
by the Columbia Scholastic Press
Association. This is the second
consecutive year the yearbook has
received this award.
The yearbook staff was also
awarded “All Columbian Honors”
in the concept and coverage cat
egory.
OMS QUIZ BOWL TEAM
ADVANCES TO COUNTY
Osborne Middle School held its
first reading quiz bowl this past
month.
The 10 winners will advance
to represent OMS at a county
wide competition to be held in
February.
The winners are: Kristen
Duncan, Carrie Moll, Grace
Vicars, Jessica Moskowitz,
Megan Leahy, Alyssa Burton,
Britt Hatcher, Brad Williamson,
Erin Martz and Danish Singh.
T(|is> lltayTo
Showroom Samples Close Outs Scratch-N-Dent Warranty Claims
premium furniture
outlet prices
,vres e
(706) 335-4944
O'
321 Pottery Factory Prive, Commerce -- across from OUT3ACK STEAK House
JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL FFA
CHICKEN MULL
Saturday, January 26 • 5PM - 7PM
Jefferson High School Cafeteria
Dine in: $6.00/all-you-can-eat • Carryout: $6/quart
Tickets available at
Jefferson High School
and Jefferson Tire Co.
All proceeds benefit Jefferson High School FFA Chapter