Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 10A
i FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, March 28,1999
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Above, FCHS junior Nick Gray is the school’s own web site guru.
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seen web whiz starts up ‘5WIRE.com’
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High schooler Nick Gray’s computer skills have
landed him much more than simple recognition.
During the 1997-1998 school year, the Fofsyth
Central junior showcased his talents for the school
as he designed the award-winning web page for
Forsyth Central High School. Gray’s page earned
the title for “Best High School
Web Page in Georgia” and a col
lege scholarship from
Intellimedia and Microsoft.
Gray’s talent, however, does not
stop there. His current project,
SWIRE.com, has landed him
much recognition with its imme
diate success among his peers.
“What makes this site unique is
the original content and the fact that it was 100
percent made by teenagers. All of the HTML cod
ing, graphic design and articles were produced by
Students. It’s a fun page with interesting topics,”
Gray said. “I honestly believe SWIRE is the best
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. Photo/submitted
ÜBS week
Water bottles at the ready, second grade students at Sawnee Primary School prepared to take the
Jowa Test of Basic Skills last week. ITBS is a standardized test used all over the United States.
Research has shown that children perform better in school if they are provided with plenty of
to drink, so teachers at Sawnee placed water bottles on each desk. Other strategies that
|Wp improve test performance include softer lighting and less distracting decdrations on the class
rtxyn walls. These ideas are part of a brain-based approach, seeking to improve the function of
the brain through interventions in the environment.
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I' Coal Mountain science class
pt Fourth grade students at Coal Mountain Elementary School watch closely as Dr. Jim
I? I Kinsey dissects a pig's heart, lungs and trachea. Students have been studying respiratory
p| and circulatory systems. The hands-on demonstration was a valuable learning tool.
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site made by teens on the Internet today.”
The teen-focused site contains six title chapters
containing jokes, dating advice, student-produced
poetry and a mailroom to connect to others with
similar interests. “Subsequent pings” takes viewers
further into areas of interest, such as cars, fashion,
sports, computers or games. Each topic is geared
toward teens.
Though Gray’s newest project may be his most
I honestly believe
SWIRE is the best
site made by teens
on the Internet
today.
ations. When he’s not at the com-
I puter for fun, Gray works part-time in the
Information Services Department at Siemens
’ Energy and Automation. The position was
’ arranged through the internship program between
t FCHS and Siemens.
involved to date, it is certainly not
his only achievement. In 1997,
Gray created the page “Techno
Teen,” one that was quite popular,
averaging about 1,200 hits per
day. After more than 300,000
total hits on Techno Teen, Gray
sold the page to a company spe
cializing in marketing youth ere-
EDUCATION
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Little friends make a big difference
Nearly 70 students in Carolyn
Caldwell’s Horizons class at Daves
Creek Elementary School packed a
miniature stuffed animal or crea
ture into a zipper lock bag with a
journal, wrote a farewell letter and
sent their travel buddy into the
world to parts unknown to be
returned before school was out.
Postcards came in from New
Zealand, Australia, China, Japan,
Brazil, Aruba, England, France,
Greece, Macedonia and nearly 25
states and a dozen other countries.
Travel Buddies explored the desert
regions, animals and flowers of the
Southwest, and Stonehenge by
going home with school children in
Texas and in England. Some went
snorkeling in Hawaii, Cajun danc
ing in New Orleans, piloting with
the military, hiking in Germany and
flying over China to get a peak at the Great Wall. One
travel buddy even attended surgery with a world
renowned brain surgeon, Dr. Nettingham at
Vanderbilt.
The most unusual of all experiences was Reply’s
travels to Sarajevo and beyond (Austin Gaal’s buddy).
Austin caught a trip to Germany for Repty through
Linda Beck, Daves Creek Elementary’s technology
specialist, whose brother, Mr. Snyder, was a pilot for
the military.
Snyder and his pilot friends took great pride in intro-
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ducing Repty to the world of jets and their varied des
tinations around the world. Repty landed in Budapest
on his first outing and sent back a postcard. Ironically,
Austin realized an instant connection - his grandpar
ents had emigrated from Hungary during wartime
with many stories about their experiences.
Reply’s travels took him to Krakow, Greec'e’,
Yugoslavia, Bosnia and elsewhere. During the school
year, Snyder traveled to Atlanta on business ahd
wished to meet Austin. Not only did they get to meet,
but also the fourth and fifth graders in Caldwdl’k
class spent nearly a day with him learning about whdt
life is like for children around the world - particularly
in war-tom countries. In particular, Snyder described
the destitute conditions of orphanages and schools it)
Sarajevo, ravaged by four years of fighting and gurt
fire. ’’
As a class project during the winter, students began
collecting clothing, shoes and coats. Nearly seven
boxes filled with clothing were collected.
Students sold mugs to cover the cost of shipping the
clothing to Sarajevo. Snyder recently wrote to the
class to say that they were able to deliver a wheelchair
to a little girl in Sarajevo. This was possible because
of the connection that Austin’s travel buddy Repty
had provided. The students are waiting to hear if The
clothes have made it. Next year, the class hopes to
correspond with some of the children in Sarajevo and
exchange stories of their own life experiences. Little
did they realize that their little travel buddies would
become miniature ambassadors.
Photos/submitted
Carolyn Caldwell’s Horizons
class at Daves Creek
Elementary, above, is making
a difference in the lives of
Sarajevo children. Through
an exploration project to learn
about cultures throughout
the world, the students
organized a clothing and
toy drive and raised the
money necessary to ship
the donations to Europe.