Courtesy 'In Focus'

Students, staff and schools were honored by the Williamson County Board of Education during its last meeting of the school year May 21.

Academic achievement was a main focus. Ravenwood’s Frances Ding was honored for earning a Perfect ACT score.   Page High’s Jared Schaumann won first place in the Tennessee Math Teachers Association Calculus Contest. His teacher is Peter Wade. Brentwood High’s Joyce Kang, Philip Ooi, Austin Southard-Smith, Lisa Qu, Kimberly Eddleman, Akash Oza, Nisha Bhuva and James Dai won first place in the National Stem Competition. Their teacher is Ashley Seth.

Two groups of Ravenwood students won first place at the State Science Olympiad competition. Frances Ding and Eric Yang won in Chemistry Lab and Gene Li and Ashwin Sundaram won in Remote Sensing. Their teacher is Avrill Buerstetta.

Centennial High’s Morgan Pitts won first place in Program Cover Design by the Jobs for Tennessee Graduates. Her teacher is Debra Odom.

Two Walnut Grove Elementary students won Tennessee PTA Student Awards. Cooper Derryberry won for Literature Primary Award of Merit, and Faith Bolt won an Intermediate Award of Excellence.

Williamson County high schools brought home eight awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Student Awards. Brentwood High’s Josh Jirjis won for Animation/Graphics Special Effects while Grayson Propst, Danielle Wilson, Zach Madell and Josh Jirjis won for Public Affairs/Community Service. Their teacher is Ronnie Adcock. Independence High’s Melitta Markey and Alex Basso won for Serious News Package. Their teacher is Matt Balzer. Page High’s Jonathan Curtis, Christian Sadler, Taylor Elliott and Taylor Wallace won for Light News Package while Jonathan Curtis and Christian Sadler won for Public Service Announcement. Their teacher is Terry Flowers. Ravenwood High’s Aaron Mirtes won for Photographer; Nelson Pamplona won for Long Form Fiction; and Jonathan Rankin and Dalton Ross won for Editing. Their teacher is Laura Faber.

At the State DECA competition, Franklin High’s Anna Laws won first place in Food Marketing. Her teacher is Tunisha Hobson. Two Page High students won first place at the State Family, Career, Community Leaders of America competiton. Molly Hinesley won for Recycle and Redesign, and Makenna Hart won for Fashion Design. Their teacher is Amy Hart.

Summit High’s Justin Marsee earned the school’s first ever Student Spotlight. Justin won first place at the Tennessee State HOSA competition in Job Seeking Skills. His teacher is Christina Isong. Centennial’s Meredith Seymour won first place at Tennessee Skills USA for Advertising Design. Her teacher is Debbie Chessor.

Brentwood High has two State Champions in the Tennessee National Forensic League.  McKenzie Carmody won Congressional Debate House,  and Michael Zoorob won Congressional Debate Senate. Their teacher is Harriet Medlin.

In the Tennessee High School Speech and Drama League competition, Brentwood’s Will Doran won first place for Outstanding Speaker in the Senate. His teacher is Harriet Medlin. Ravenwood’s Tiana Castillo and Alyssa Miller won first place in Duo Interpretation.  Their teacher is Kelly Duyn.

The school district had 10 first place State winners in Destination Imagination. At Chapman's Retreat Elementary, Analiese Wooldridge, Hayden Guthrie, Ella Tubbs, Kendall Markesi, Aldyn Mathis, Cole Gershkovich won for Coming Attractions.  Their coaches are Trish Fowler, Phil Willoughby, Rebecca Wooldridge and Christy Guthrie. From Edmondson Elementary, Mike Dillender, Mac Gould, David Brantley, Ethan Douglas, Yashraj Bhatt, Matthew D’Eredita and Seth Smartt won for News to Me. Jane Hartman is the team manager, and Melanie Dillender is the coach. From Heritage Elementary, Zach Smith, Madison Staffen, Madison Kalb, Vivian Gust, Nicholas Ashton, Avery Powell and Caden Bunch won for Hold It.  Their coach is Debbie Smith. Pearre Creek Elementary’s Anna Cella, Jade Jenkins, Emily Kollenborn, Hayden Lacy, Emma Regala, Sara Solan and Hailey White won for World Canvas. Team managers are Judy Solan, Rhonda Kollenborn and Shari Lacy.  Their teacher sponsor is Emily Garstin.

The Trinity and Clovercroft elementary team of Austin King, Mare Fiscus, Karina Rovey, Ian Segard, Cameron Skillen, Michael Keefer and Cole Coughran won in Solar Stage.  Their coaches are Dr. Shelley Fiscus and Sara Skillen.

Two teams from Spring Station Middle won including Andrew Braisted, Isaac Shirk, Sam Lyons, Lauren Hudelson, Hannah Waymaster and Emma Walraven (Heritage) in Coming Attractions and Justin Woosley, Sean Smith (Heritage), Josh Miclette, Jared Schmidt, Joe Nichols, Emily Hudelson and Ivy Tubbs won in Hold It.  The coach is Kari Lyons.

Woodland Middle’s Carleigh Moseley, Mary Kate Rooke, Alex Wiekert and Sydney Shotts  won in  Solar Stage. Kelley Loveless and Lora Westlund are the coaches. Brentwood High’s Hanna Baughn, Sylvia Shipman, Amanda Hackett, Sami Edgerton, Will Lifferth and Matt Graham won in Coming Attractions. Emily Sherman is the coach. Franklin High’s Ben Bergman, Jake Helton, Grayson Huber, Jared Shaffer and Sam Albert won in News to Me.  Alyson Justus and Carol Huber are the coaches.

In Staff Spotlights, Matt Dye of Kenrose Elementary was awarded the The Arc of Tennessee Exemplary Educator Award. In School Spotlights, Fairview Middle was awarded the Education Consumers Foundation's Value-Added Achievement Award.

In the Superintendent’s Report, Dr. Mike Looney announced that four high schools have been named to the Newsweek Best Public High Schools in America list including Brentwood, Ravenwood, Franklin and Page. Those schools represent four of 11 Tennessee schools on the list. Brentwood, Page and Middle College were also named as top schools on the U.S. News and World Report list.

Dr. Looney told the Board that Assessment Analyst Kevin Deck was busy evaluating TCAP and EOC results. He reported that report cards will be sent home on time as scores have been received from the State. In addition, Dr. Looney recognized and thanked bus driver Emily Britton and all bus drivers for going above and beyond the call of duty.

Instructional Technology Coordinator Belinda Moss shared information about the BYOT partnership with local vendors. Many local businesses have participated in district training and are now official partners in providing appropriate devices. Official vendors will display the BYOT logo in their stores.  For more information on BYOT and partners go to http://www.wcs.edu/byot/vendor.htm.

In another effort to partner with local businesses, Communications Director Carol Birdsong shared a summer jobs program with the Board aimed at connecting students and 10-month staff with job opportunities. The partnership stemmed from a meeting with business leaders last week. Recruitment Coordinator Eugene Wade will help match the candidate with the employer and prepare potential workers for the job interview.  If you are seeking a job or have a job opening, go to http://summerjobs.wcs.edu/default.aspx.

In her report, Board Chairman Pat Anderson reminded Board members of high school graduations that will begin Friday and continue through Sunday. She also thanked BlueGrace and director Susan Underwood for their performance prior to the Board meeting. BlueGrace is made up of students from Page Middle and Page High.

In New Business, the Board:

• Approved two policies on first reading including Discipline Procedures for Classified Personnel and Dismissal of Employees.

• Approved budget amendments for the 2011-12 General Purpose School Fund for workers compensation insurance, special education legal expense and SRO officers and for the Central Cafeteria Fund for food costs and commodities.

• Approved an intent to fund for $1,000,000 to purchase additional acreage needed for a future middle or elementary school in the Nolensville area.

• Approved the installation of flag poles and flags at various high schools.

• Delayed review of the code of ethics.

In other business, the Board:

· Approved Federal Projects applications and budgets.

· Approved the high school course list for 2012-13.

· Approved the high school summer school fee of $250 per half credit for 2012. There will be no charge for students who qualify for free and reduced lunch. Classes will be held at Centennial High.

· Approved the credit recovery fee of $50 per half credit for students who fail one or more courses. The credit recovery site is the student’s home school.

· Approved a fee waiver for ENCORE summer enrichment program instructors’ children to participate in the program.

· Approved a one year agreement with the YMCA of Middle Tennessee for the Fun Company program.

· Removed the designation of nontraditional revenue to projects from the agenda and sent it to the policy committee.

· Approved hiring rates for classified employees for 2012-13.

· Approved renovations to the Page High baseball locker room to be paid for by boosters.

· Approved Clovercroft Elementary playground enhancements to be paid for by the PTO.

· Approved recommended field trip fee requests.

Each school principal has a copy of the Board packet information.

The next regular meeting of the WCBE will be Monday, June 18, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. in the Auditorium of the Administrative Complex.

Six Williamson County teachers are among those selected by the Tennessee Department of Education to be core coaches.

Karen Bailey, systemwide; Donna Gallagher, Longview Elementary; Linda Kirby, Clovercroft Elementary; Rena Malkofsky-Berger, Kenrose Elementary; Carol Pisha, Edmondson Elementary; and Allyson Whitley, Clovercroft Elementary are among 205 educators statewide who've been chosen to work with their colleagues and help them navigate the transition to Common Core State Standards in grades three through eight.

The Common Core State Standards are a set of standards for math and English-Language Arts that were developed by state leaders to ensure that every student graduates high school prepared for college or the workforce.  The standards are designed to set clear expectations of what students should know in each grade and subject.

The core coaches will spend the spring training to lead sessions this summer for more than 11,000 teachers across the state. Tennessee plans to implement the Common Core State Standards in grades 3-8 math next school year and English-language arts standards in 2013-14.  Students will take new assessments reflecting the Common Core standards in both math and English in 2014-15.

AWARDS & ACCOLADES

Award winners are listed alphabetically according to school

BETHESDA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Morgan Amond	Congratulations to Bethesda Elementary School second grader Morgan Amond.  She won a role as a third class passenger in the Circle Players performance of Titanic The Musical.

CENTENNIAL HIGH SCHOOL

Congratulations to the Centennial High School JROTC Raider Team for finishing first among Williamson County Schools in the spring Commando Challenge at Boxwell Scout Reservation.  The Commando Challenge tested both team and individual performances.  Events included a physical fitness test, one-rope bridge, cross country rescue, obstacle course, land navigation, rappelling and knot tying.

Pictured above from left to right, front row: Anna Lacy, Dylan Bristol and Christian Bortz.  Back row: Noah Shirley, Tyler Lewis, Shawn Mercer, Thad Strunce and Austin Fite.

CENTENNIAL HIGH SCHOOL

Congratulations to Centennial High School students Amy Armendariz,  Elizabeth Chyke, Spencer Jones, Brennan Langenbach and Brandon Vowell for qualifying for the 2012 National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association Academic All American Award.  These five seniors maintained a greater than 3.75 average through their entire high school years and all were members of the CHS swim team for four years.

Pictured above from left to right: Brandon Vowell, Amy Armendariz, Brennan Langenbach, Elizabeth Chyke and Spencer Jones.

FAIRVIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL
Congratulations to the following Fairview Middle School students who recently won awards in a schoolwide poetry contest.
1st Place Ethan Adams	2nd Place Savannah Blankenship	3rd Place (tie) Shirley Ni & John Welch

FAIRVIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL

Congratulations to the Fairview Middle School Recycling Team for winning first place in the Recycling Bin Makeover Contest sponsored by Williamson Recycles.  The school received a check for $200, which they will use to make donations to two student memorial projects.

FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL
Gabriela Preda	Congratulations to Franklin High School student Gabriela Preda for winning a scholarship from the Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica, also known as the Spanish Honor Society.  Gabriela received the scholarship after completing an essay in Spanish and a video-recorded interview in Spanish with her Spanish teacher.

FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL
Nancy Smith	Congratulations to Franklin High School student Nancy Smith.  She was named to the 2011 USA Swimming Scholastic All American Team.

FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL
Hannah White	Congratulations to Franklin High School student Hannah White for winning a scholarship from the Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica, also known as the Spanish Honor Society.  Hannah received the scholarship after completing an essay in Spanish and a video-recorded interview in Spanish with her Spanish teacher.

HERITAGE MIDDLE SCHOOL
Patrick Meadows	Congratulations to Heritage Middle School seventh grader Patrick Meadows.  Meadows competed in the National Geographic Geography Bee State Championship on March 30 at Fisk University.  He made it to the top 30 in the state.

PAGE HIGH SCHOOL
Congratulations to the following Page High School students for their performance on the National Latin Exam.
Jordan Flowers Gold Medal	Caroline Hill Gold Medal	Alaina Krakowiak Silver Medal	Raven Laravea Magna Cum Laude
Jillian McComiskey Gold Medal	Lindsey Minor Gold Medal	Matt O'Quinn Magna Cum Laude	Brady White Latin II Silver Medal

PAGE HIGH SCHOOL

Congratulations to the Page High School students who attended the 34th Annual Tennessee Technology Student Association State Conference in Chattanooga.  More than 800 students and teachers from across the state gathered at the conference to compete in a variety of technology oriented competitions.  Below is a list of the Page High students who placed at this year's competition.

Architectural Model Alec Persch, Austin Kiger, Grant Santilli, Jacob Albert, Wilson Cochrane, Patrick Rybak - 3rd Biotechnology Caroline Hill, Jamie Pilgrim, Chase Moon, Grant Santilli, Wilson Cochrane, Zach Albert - 2nd CAD 2D Architectural Alec Persch - 1st Construction Renovation Patrick Rybak, Carson Stafford, Chase Moon, Alec Persch, Brock Bolton - 2nd Dragster Design Austin Keiger - 1st Flight Endurance Chase Moon - 1st Manufacturing Prototype Grant Santilli, Brock Bolton, Wilson Cochrane, Carson Stafford, Jacob Albert, Zach Albert - 1st Technology Problem Solving Jacob Albert, Chase Moon - 2nd Transportation Modeling Caroline Hill - 1st

PAGE HIGH SCHOOL

Congratulations to the Page High School Rifle Team for winning the WCS League Championship.  Nicole Dyjasek came in first place individually and first in the new shooter category. Their sponsor is Gary Ray.

RAVENWOOD HIGH SCHOOL
Cameron Brown	Congratulations to Ravenwood High School student Cameron Brown for placing first in the hammer throw competition at the Vol Classic in Knoxville.  Brown broke his own record with a throw of 195' 6".  He also qualified for Junior Nationals.

RAVENWOOD HIGH SCHOOL

Congratulations to Ravenwood High School students Lauren Duvall, Lilly Reynolds and Caitlin Boone for their performance at the FCCLA Convention.  Duvall placed third in the Promote and Publicize FCCLA category, Reynolds placed third in the Fashion Design competition and Boone finished fourth in the Recycle and Redesign category.  Their teacher is Sabrina Maggert.

Pictured above from left to right: Ravenwood High students Lauren Duvall, Lilly Reynolds and Caitlin Boone.

RAVENWOOD HIGH SCHOOL

Congratulations to Ravenwood High School Science Olympiad team.  They competed in 23 STEM events over the course of seven hours and finished in sixth place at the state competition.  The following students received medals: Astronomy, 2nd place: Gabby Dent and Gene Li Chemistry Lab, 1st place: Frances Ding and Eric Yang Disease Detectives, 3rd place: Niman Mann and Eric Yang Fermi Questions, 4th place: Drew Martin and Nishant Subramani Gravity Vehicle, 6th place: Jordan Widjaja, Kevin Okseniuk, and Austin Hetherington Remote Sensing, 1st place: Gene Li and Ashwin Sundaram Rocks and Minerals, 6th place: Niman Mann and Veronica Go Technical Problem Solving, 3rd place: Frances Ding and Kevin Okseniuk Thermodynamics, 5th place: John Asirvatham and Ryan McGinnity Water Quality, 5th place: Ashwin Sundaram and Gene Li

Pictured above are members of the Ravenwood High School Science Olympiad team.

RAVENWOOD HIGH SCHOOL
Gene Li	Congratulations to Ravenwood High School student Gene Li for getting a perfect score and receiving a Gold Medal on the National Latin Exam.

SPRING STATION MIDDLE SCHOOL
Heaven Aleghne	Congratulations to Spring Station Middle School sixth grade student Heaven Aleghne for receiving the Mustang Award.  Heaven moved to Spring Hill from Africa last year without knowing the English language. Heaven's teachers say she has come a long way in the past year and that her courage and confidence serve as an inspiration to everyone she meets.

SUMMIT HIGH SCHOOL
Justin Marsee	Congratulations to Summit High School sophomore Justin Marsee for placing first at the 2012 Tennessee HOSA State Leadership Conference in the Job Seeking Skills category.  Justin will represent Summit at the National Conference this summer.

SUMMIT HIGH SCHOOL
Patrick Sonnenberg	Congratulations to Summit High School student Patrick Sonnenberg for scoring in the 97th percentile nationwide on the National Spanish Exam.  Patrick earned a gold medal for his performance.

WESTWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Congratulations to Westwood Elementary School fifth grader Kianne Giminez for winning third place in a contest sponsored by the law firm Kinnard, Clayton and Beveridge.  The contest asked students to explain what respect means to them.  For finishing third, Giminez received a savings bond and a check for $450 was given to Westwood Elementary.  In addition, a check for $450 was given to the charity of Kianne's choice.

Pictured above from left to right:  Contest organizer Randy Kinnard, fifth grader Kianne Giminez, Principal Nancy Simpkins and fifth grade teacher Melissa Poloskey.

Performances are listed according to date

Williamson County Schools top volunteers were honored April 24 at the sixteenth annual Shining Apple Awards ceremony in Franklin.  Honorees from each school in the district were recognized for their service to the students of Williamson County during the event, which was sponsored by the Williamson County YMCA Fun Company and the Williamson County Board of Education.

Review teams selected the honorees. Members include Pat Anderson, Susan Graham, Rebecca Hagan, Merilee Heidrich, Cyndy Howes, Renee King, Pam Lankford, Barb Mayo, Janice Mills, Janine Moore and Vicki Vogt.  Congratulations to this year's recipients.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Gina Fancher Allendale Elementary	Debbie King Bethesda Elementary	Jeanette Arnold Chapman's Retreat Elementary	Brenda Campbell Clovercroft Elementary
Beverly Collins United Methodist Church College Grove Elementary	Debbie Roth Crockett Elementary	Brenda Scott Swiftwick Edmondson Elementary	Missy Kozin Fairview Elementary
Gale Hinton Grassland Elementary	Val Paulsen Heritage Elementary	Rhonda Kollenborn Hillsboro Tomorrow Hillsboro School	Jennifer Sigler Hunters Bend Elementary
Denise Leckner Kenrose Elementary	Jennifer Matthews Lipscomb Elementary	Lynn Croft Longview Elementary	Melissa Hall Mama's Java Nolensville Elementary
Trent Johnson Cub Scout Pack 135 Oak View Elementary	Shannon Nizzardo Pearre Creek Elementary	Susan Day Scales Elementary	Leslie Murray Sunset Elementary
Aimee Lawson Trinity Elementary	Lisha Pope Walnut Grove Elementary	Toni Reinfelder Westwood Elementary	Margaret Thessin Winstead Elementary

MIDDLE SCHOOLS

Robin Oquindo Brentwood Middle	Gina Wood Emmauel Presbyterian Church Fairview Middle	Bob Mullin Sun Trust Bank Grassland Middle	Susan Conley Heritage Middle
Rick Kerrigan Page Middle	Shelby Waymaster Spring Station Middle	Shana Purkey Martin's Bar-B-Que Sunset Middle	Lillie McClain Woodland Middle

HIGH SCHOOLS

Bette Lordeman Brentwood High	Linh Nguyen Franklin Mariott Cool Springs Centennial High	Jan King Fairview High	Joni Donegan Franklin High
Patty Huber Independence High	Odessa Lankford Middle College High	Tina Yeager Celebrations Catering Page High	Dennis Jackson Ravenwood High
Michelle Behan Summit High

Congratulations to the 17 Williamson County Schools Destination ImagiNation teams that will compete next month against teams from around the world at the 2012 Global Finals in Knoxville.

Ten of the teams finished first in the April 14 statewide competition.  The first and second place finishers for each challenge are invited to the Global Finals, which will be held May 23-26 at the University of Tennessee.

Each team must pay for their own trip to Global Finals which is why many of the teams will be having fundraisers in the coming weeks.

Destination ImagiNation is the world's largest creativity and problem solving organization and inspires participants in all of its programs to learn the process, art and skill associated with problem solving.

TEAMS ADVANCING TO GLOBALS

Below are photos of some of the WCS teams that won first place at this year's statewide competition.

Chapman's Retreat Elementary	Franklin High
Heritage Elementary	Pearre Creek Elementary
Trinity Elementary	Woodland Middle
Spring Station Middle

This week's Academic All-Stars come to us from Fairview Elementary, Spring Station Middle, Summit High, Sunset Elementary, Sunset Middle, Westwood Elementary and Woodland Middle schools.  This honor is bestowed upon students who regularly show a good attitude and a dedication to their studies.

FAIRVIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Anna Moore	Fifth grader Anna Moore is among the top performers in her class at Fairview Elementary School.  That's one reason why she was recently chosen as the school's Academic All-Star for the 2011-12 school year. Principal Joan Tidwell says Anna is a generous and thoughtful student who consistently gives her best to produce high quality academic work.   "Anna not only works hard at every task assigned to her, she willingly lends a hand to students and staff any time there is a place where she can serve," said Tidwell. "Anna is one of those students whose work ethic and character are every bit as high as her academic performance."
Anna’s favorite subject is social studies because she likes history.  When she's not in school, Anna likes to play outside and hang out with friends. While she hasn't completely made up her mind about what she wants to be when she grows up, Anna says she might want to follow in her father's footsteps and become a missionary.

SPRING STATION MIDDLE SCHOOL
Catie Lawler	Seventh grade student Catie Lawler has been chosen as Spring Station Middle School's Academic All-Star for the 2011-12 school year. Catie's teachers say she is an exceptional young lady who works hard in class and always gives her best effort.  When other students are having trouble with the lesson, Catie makes a point to try and help them as best she can. Outside the classroom, Catie stays busy by being involved in many different activities.  In addition to being on the Spring Station dance team, Catie also enjoys cheerleading, soccer and dance.
When she's at home, Catie likes to help out around the house by cooking or helping her sister with her homework.  Catie also enjoys spending time with her grandparents and volunteering with other members of her church at a local nursing home.

SUMMIT HIGH SCHOOL
Ashlyn Anglim	She's lived in Tennessee for less than a year, but Summit High School sophomore Ashlyn Anglim has already made a name for herself.  Anglim was recently selected as Summit High's Academic All-Star for the 2011-12 school year. Principal Dr. Charles Farmer says Ashlyn is a model student who fits in perfectly at Summit High. "While she has outstanding grades, her actions outside of the classroom are equally impressive," said Farmer.  "Ashlyn is the starting second baseman on the softball team and she volunteers her time to teach social skills to some of our students with special needs."
Ashlyn and her family moved to Williamson County from New York last summer.  She says she loves going to school at Summit High because it's such a close-knit community. When Ashlyn is not at school, she enjoys hanging out with friends and going to the movies.  As for life after graduation, Ashlyn says she wants to go to college and earn a degree in either education or psychology.

SUNSET ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Connor Rigsby	Eleven year-old Connor Rigsby has been chosen as this year's Academic All-Star for Sunset Elementary School.  Connor's teachers say he's the perfect choice for this award because he sets a bar of excellence for himself and those around him. "Connor's determination and drive shine through in his academic studies," said teacher Cindy Dodd.  "Whether you meet Connor inside the classroom or on the playground, you are drawn to his friendly disposition and attitude." Connor began attending Sunset Elementary in kindergarten and says his favorite thing about the school is all the wonderful teachers.
Connor's favorite subject is social studies, which could serve him well considering he wants to study fossils when he grows up. When he's not in school, Connor loves to play his two favorite sports which are baseball and basketball.  He also enjoys camping and spending time with his family. In August, Connor will make the jump to Sunset Middle School, and while you might expect him to be a bit apprehensive, Connor says he's taking it all in stride.  "I'm not nervous at all," said Connor.  "I'm just going to ignore the older kids and be myself."

SUNSET MIDDLE SCHOOL
Shauna Blady	Eighth grader Shauna Blady has been selected as Sunset Middle School's Academic All-Star for the 2011-12 school year According to her teachers, Shauna is a conscientious, hard-working student leader who values in-depth understanding of concepts.  Not only does she excel in academic arenas, but Shauna is also a talented softball player who inspires both her peers and teachers with her enthusiasm. Having moved to Tennessee from Buffalo, New York in the fifth grade, Shauna says it didn't take long for her to get adjusted and make new friends.
"I've really enjoyed going to school at Sunset Middle," said Shauna.  "I like middle school because you get more responsibilities and you get to meet more people." Shauna is the starting pitcher and short stop on the school softball team.  She says she's loved playing softball since she was a little girl and hopes to join the Ravenwood High School team next year when she enters ninth grade. For a career, Shuana says she'd like to be a lawyer.  "I really want to be a prosecutor," said Shauna.  "I love learning about all the crimes and stuff."

WESTWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Zachary Oliphant	Westwood Elementary School fifth grader Zachary Oliphant is an upstanding student with a wonderful attitude.  That's why he was chosen as the school's Academic All-Star for the 2011-12 school year. "Zachary is kind to others and is very conscientious," said teacher Missy Poloskey.  "One of the best parts about Zachary is when he learns something new or makes a new connection his whole face lights up with a huge smile."   Zachary says he has loved going to school at Westwood and that the teachers there always give the students an opportunity to speak and ask questions.
Zachary's favorite subject is math because he says his teacher makes it fun.  When he's not in school, Zachary likes to play outside with his brothers and sister. Starting in August, Zachary will begin attending Fairview Middle School.  While he's sad to be leaving behind all of his favorite teachers, Zachary says he's excited about what the future might hold.  He also says he might one day like to be a teacher himself, possibly at the high school level.

WOODLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL
Emily Keith	Woodland Middle School sixth grader Emily Keith has been chosen as her school's Academic All-Star for the 2011-12 school year. Emily and her family moved to Williamson County from Los Angeles when she was in fourth grade.  Emily admits it was a strange transition but says she loves living in Tennessee and has made a lot of new friends. "I like going to school at Woodland Middle," said Emily.  "The teachers are nice and I've learned a lot here so I've really enjoyed it so far."
While she enjoys all of her subjects, Emily says her two favorite would have to be math and science.  "I have a great math teacher and I've always enjoyed learning about science," said Emily. When she's not in school, Emily stays busy with a number of different activities.  In addition to being on the softball team and the soccer team, Emily takes piano lessons and rides horses once a week. Emily says her love for horses might even one day lead to a career.  "I want to be an equine veterinarian when I grow up," said Emily.  "I really enjoy horses."

Time is running out for students to register for this summer's exciting Girls TEC Camp.  TEC Camp, which stands for Tackling Emerging Careers, is an annual event for female students who will be entering eighth grade in the fall.

This year's camp will be held June 4-8 from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. at Centennial High School.  Girls will learn about networking, communications, engineering, architecture, technology, law and hospitality, to name a few.  The cost is $50, which includes lunch each day and a t-shirt.

The deadline for REGISTRATION is May 4.  Space is limited and reservations will be held according to the date the application is received.  Contact Rebecca Collins at 472-4063 for more information.