BEARDEN SHOPPER-NEWS • MAY 7, 2012 • A-9
Covenant Kids Run mascots Eddie B. Steady and Ace Smart congratulate Sequoyah Elementary School physical education teacher Becca Russell and principal Martha Hill during festivities to celebrate the school’s win of the Fittest School Challenge at the Covenant Kids Run. About onefourth of the student body participated in the run, which is an all-time record for the competition. In honor of the win, the physical education department received a check for $250 from the Knoxville Area Coalition on Childhood Obesity. Photos by S. Barrett
Sequoyah wins ‘Fittest School Challenge’
Sequoyah Elementary School 5th graders Brock Warwick and Lucy Marrett spoke to their fellow students about the fun and advantages of the school’s running club which had 80 members participate in the kids’ run. Lucy said she gets inspired by watching the kindergarten students try their best during club meets. Jason Altman, director of the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon (and kids run) said of the 8,000 people who participated this year, 1,406 were kids. That is a big jump from 1,000 who participated last year. “A lot of that is because of Sequoyah Elementary,” he said.
West High School valedictorians Garrett Holt and Greg Tate Photo by Betty Bean
Valedictorians take aim By Betty Bean West High School’s Class of 2012 has three valedictorians, all with identical 4.404 grade point averages. Last week, two of them talked about their plans for the future (we’ll catch up with Reagan Long before graduation). Greg Tate and Garrett Holt are headed for the University of Tennessee in the fall, both have big ambitions. Greg, the son of Tracie and Greg Tate Sr., is interested in photography and politics and originally wanted to study architecture in college, but “I decided I wanted to be able to eat before I was 40,” he said. So he’s going to study engineering with the aim of opening his own firm. “After I get a master’s in that, I want to see how easy it would be to get an MBA,” he said. Garrett, the son of Gary and Mary Holt, plans to study business at UT. He
has been active in Key Club and served as Tennessee/ Kentucky governor (there are 33 of them nationally). He is one of 30 students chosen from 1,100 applicants to serve on the State Farm Youth Advisory Board, which administers $5 million in learning grants. He will serve for two years. Then, in 2014, he intends to embark on a political career and plans to run for the District 4 seat on the Knox County Board of Education now occupied by first term incumbent Lynne Fugate. It’s not that Fugate is doing a bad job, he says, but he thinks he has something new to offer. Garrett says he will add a youth perspective, and “I don’t think age dictates ability. Not a lot of people run for office, but I’ve been in the public education system for 13 years. The person serving in my district ran unopposed, and that’s never the best thing. I don’t know how good my chances will
be, but at the end of the day, it’s getting out there and trying your best to do something you believe in. I’m going to put up a fight.” Greg, who says his favorite TV show is “Mad Men,” a wicked comedy about an advertising agency set in the 1960s, has already designed a campaign button – “Wear it for Garrett.” He also thinks he might like to try politics, but his timeline is different from Garrett’s. “If the opportunity presents itself, yes, I’d like to try it. But I would first want to start a business and let it be successful,” he said. The two are close friends who never felt particularly competitive and have thought about rooming together in college, although so far that isn’t working out. “There were about 10 to 15 of us who had a pretty equal course load. We had a pretty good idea of the top 10 in our class, but nobody was really competing,” Garrett said.
SCHOOL NOTES Bearden Middle
Episcopal School of Knoxville
■ Girls’ soccer team tryouts will be held 6-8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, May 14-15, for all female students and upcoming 6th graders at Deane Hill Recreation Center, 7400 Deane Hill Drive. Players need to attend both nights and wear shin guards and cleats. Bring a No. 5 soccer ball and plenty of water. Everyone is invited to try out. Info: Rebecca Gill, 805-2525 or rebegill00@comcast.net.
■ A White Linen “Feast in the Field” benefit will be held 6 p.m. Saturday, May 12, at the school. A farm to table supper will be served and an auction will be held. Tickets are $125. Dress is summer-casual. All proceeds will go to the school. The silent auction starts at 6 p.m., a children’s art auction is at 7:30 and dinner is at 8. Info: Alice Smith, 777-9032 or smith@eskknoxville.org.
West Valley science guys Lewis Wang and Albert Xue, students at West Valley Middle School, were acknowledged at the Knox County Board of Education meeting last week as junior winners of the special Superintendent’s Award, given by Superintendent Dr. Jim McIntyre to participants at the Southern Appalachian Science and Engineering Fair. McIntyre said more than 300 projects were submitted. His criteria for the Superintendent’s Awards are excellent technical aspects, “good science,” plus a “wow!” factor, the project is “kind of cool.” Wang and Xue looked at factors affecting the life of lithium batteries. Photo by S. Clark
BANKING JUST THE WAY YOU WANT IT. Greenway wins in history at state level For the ninth time, Greenway School students took top state honors and will advance to the nationwide National History Day competition in June. Abbey Huber won first place and the Dr. Rubin Brooks award for best research paper in the division. Awarded second place were Emma McLeod for her project on Jane Addams and Mallory Uphoff for her exhibit on the polio vaccine. Info: www.greenwayschool.edu. Photo submitted
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