school news
A focus on students, teachers and educational events in northern Beaufort County
Students to tour high school STEM, aviation programs More than 100 students will visit Battery Creek and Beaufort high schools this week to learn more about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and aviation courses and careers. “Aviation/STEM Days” will host students from Lady’s Island Middle at Beaufort High and rising juniors and seniors at Battery Creek High. The students visited Beaufort High programs on Wednesday and Battery Creek High programs on Thursday. Representatives from Technical College of the Lowcountry, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Boeing will talk with students about engineering- and
aviation-related academic courses and career opportunities. In addition, students will be able to see an AH-1 Cobra Attack Helicopter owned by the Celebrate Freedom Foundation. “There are so many opportunities nearby,” said Anthony Petrucci, the retired U.S. Marine who coordinates the aviation program at Battery Creek High. “And these are high-paying jobs like computer hardware engineers, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, aircraft mechanics, avionics, aircraft painters, aircraft technicians and flight engineers.” Among the larger regional employers are Savannah’s Gulfstream plant, where 8,000 employees build the world’s
most prestigious business jets; North Charleston’s Boeing plant, where 6,000 employees build the new 787 Dreamliner; and Greenville’s Lockheed Martin facility, where more than 1,000 employees overhaul large aircraft for the U.S. military. Students at Beaufort High can take college-level courses through TCL, and students in Battery Creek’s aviation program can take college-level courses through TCL and also from EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest university specializing in aviation and aerospace. Beaufort County is among a handful of school districts in the nation to offer “dual enrollment”
Embry-Riddle courses through the university’s Worldwide Campus, which has more than 150 centers around the globe, including one at Beaufort’s Marine Corps Air Station. Embry-Riddle has residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz. Battery Creek’s Military Science and Aeronautical Engineering Academy is one of three options in the school’s “Tri-Academies,” along with Arts and Humanities, and Health Sciences and Information Technology. The Tri-Academies is one of the district’s “programmatic choices” that allow students to enroll in schools outside their zoned attendance areas.
school notes BATTERY CREEK HIGH • Battery Creek High School Spring Drama is “Perfect Score” and will be performed at the John J. McVey Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. April 10, 11, and 12. Admission is $1 for students and $3 for adults. Join us as we look at the life of four teenagers during their senior year of high school. Follow them as they face reality, prepare for their futures, and accept their strengths and weaknesses. Will they make the most of their senior year or will they fill it with regrets? • Battery Creek High School Prom Committee to hold a car wash on Saturday, April 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Walgreens on Highway 21. • Calling Battery Creek High School Dolphins of classes 1979 and 1980 to save the dates August 29 -31, 2014. There is going to be a class reunion. Please contact Iris Hines at 561-222-9290, ihines9221@gmail.com; Pam Raber 843-476-0449, pamraber@ymail.com; Pastor Norman Jenkins 843-263-4356; and Rachel Pinckney 843-263-9254.
Fifth grade students from Riverview Charter School take a trip to Washington, D.C. Kahlia Edwards was the winner of the Whale Branch Elementary School Spelling Bee that was held March 6.
BEAUFORT ACADEMY • Friday, April 11: PreK and K students will take part in the MDA Hop-a-thon, which is MDA’s Disability Awareness Program. • Monday, April 14: Spring Break begins. Students return to campus on April 22. • Save the Date: Saturday, April 26, BA will host an alumni soccer game in honor and memory of Alex Apps (BA ’07) and William Trask (BA ’69). LADY’S ISLAND MIDDLE • Lady’s Island Middle School is holding the Coastal Connection Art Show on Thursday, April 10, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The show will feature a visual art display and performances by participating schools Lady’s Island Middle, Lady’s Island Elementary, Coosa Elementary and St. Helena Elementary • The “Relay for Life” is coming up on April 26. If you want to be involved, contact Ms. Tracy Beach at 843-322-3100 or email at Tracy.Beach@beaufort.k12.sc.us. • The Lady’s Island 5th grade Team is sponsoring a Yard Sale. The team is raising money to fund their STEM field trip in May to North Carolina. The cost is $10 per table and you keep the proceeds. Want to simply donate items to sell? The fifth grade team is also accepting donations. A link for information and registration is located center at the bottom of the schools web page (www. lims.beaufort.k12.sc.us) For questions and registration, please contact Ms. Portia 12
The Marine Science class at Beaufort Academy went to the Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club to test water turbines. The student groups each made their own design to try and harness the power of the tides. Here is the class with teacher Mrs. Karen Edmonds. Johnson at 843-322-3100 or email her at Portia.vaughn@beaufort.k12.sc.us. • The “Cougar Prowl e-Newsletter” for the Spring is out. It can be accessed by going to the Lady’s Island Middle School’s district web page (www.lims.beaufort.k12.sc.us). MISCELLANEOUS • Parents of Special Needs Students: Attend a parent workshop, Transitioning Out of Special Education. This workshop is designed for parents of students leaving high school and have questions of what their Special Needs
the island news | apirl 10-16, 2014 | www.yourislandnews.com
child will do next. Topics of discussion include definition of transition services, how families can get involved, and vocational assessment. The workshop will be Thursday, April 10, 2014, at Robert Smalls Middle School, Room J-1, from 6 to 8 p.m. Sponsored by Beaufort County School Parent/Community REACH Center and presented by Parents Reaching Out to Parents of South Carolina (PRO-Parents). This is a free workshop. All participants will receive a two hour certificate of attendance. Call to register: 1-800-7594776 or 803-772-5688.
The fourth graders at Beaufort Academy designed, created, and tested their Eggonauts. These structures were built to try and keep an egg from breaking when dropped. Pictured: Jack Carter Worrell and Rowan Higgins launch their Eggonaut as classmate Leith Gray looks on. st. peter’S • Congratulations to B. Murphy on her first place win at the Sea Island Regional Science Fair. In addition, the following students received Honorable Mentions for their projects at the Fair: K. Calkins, G. Davis, C. Ertwine, J. Horton and T. Wilson. Way to go Saints and Scholars!