LRSD Spotlight

From left: team members Boshan (Bob) Zhao, Helio Liu, David Ye, Jackson Berry and coach Lenora Murray.

Central High School’s Science Bowl team took first place in the Arkansas-Oklahoma Science Quiz Bowl competition at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith on February 12. Team members include seniors Helio Liu and Jackson Berry and juniors David Ye and Boshan (Bob) Zhao, team captain. They dominated the field, winning every round they played by more than 30 points. Their two closest competitors, Huntsville and Edmond, lost two rounds each.

As state champions, Central will attend the National Science Bowl competition in Washington, D.C., for a week in May where they will compete against 63 other teams from around the country and participate in other science challenges. They will vie for the right to advance to the international competition this summer in Australia. The National Science Bowl is sponsored regionally by the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, with Dr. Dan Pinzon as coordinator, and nationally by the U.S. Department of Energy. This is the only academic competition sponsored by a branch of the U.S. government.

Central team coach Lenora Murray noted that the boys, along with their alternate player (sophomore Whitney Gao), spent many after-school sessions practicing for this competition.  Two of the team members will practice for nationals during their Academic Competitions class. This marks the first time in many years that Central has fielded a team for this national competition, and hopefully it will spark more interest in Central’s fledgling Physics Club and other academic competitions.

The Siemens Foundation and the College Board recently named Dr. Vickie Logan as a recipient of the 2009 Siemens Award for Advanced Placement for teachers. Dr. Logan, who teaches Pre-AP and AP Biology at Parkview Arts & Science Magnet High School, was the only teacher from Arkansas among the 50 educators nationwide who were chosen to be so honored. The award comes with a $1,000 grant to be used by the school to support math and science education. Thanks to Dr. Logan’s efforts and dedication in the classroom, students at Parkview have been able to experience success with rigorous college-level courses that will enable them to continue to excel at the college level and beyond.

Congratulations to Forest Heights 8th Grade Girls and Pulaski Heights 8th Grade Boys! These two teams won the 8th Grade Finals held on Thursday, February 18 at Hall High School.

The Ninth Annual THEA Awards were held on February 7 at the THEA Foundation Center for the Arts. Twenty Arkansas high school seniors from all corners of the state received scholarships totaling $50,000. THEA's scholarship competition is open to any Arkansas high school senior enrolled in public, private, charter or home school.

The Visual Arts competition requires each student to respond to a specific theme based on one of Thea Leopoulos' journal entries. This year's theme was "Personal Strength." One hundred and ninety-five seniors from 55 high schools across Arkansas entered this year's competition.

Visual Arts winners:
2nd place, Okieve Blackwood, Hall High School; $3,500 Scholarship (shown above).
3rd place, Cathleen Brignac, Parkview Magnet High School; $3,000 Scholarship.
Honorable Mention, Anna Zerull, Central High School.

This year's Performing Arts Scholarship auditions were held on January 16 at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre and included 95 seniors from across the state.

Performing Arts winners:
1st Place, Shannon Rookey, Parkview Magnet High School; $4,000 Scholarship.
3rd Place, Isaiah Bailey, Central High School; $3,000 Scholarship.
7th Place, Dariane Mull, Central High School; $2,000 Scholarship.
9th Place, Brandon Nichols, Parkview Magnet High School; $2,000 Scholarship.
10th Place, Jeremy Grandison, Parkview Magnet High School; $2,000 Scholarship.

The THEA Foundation is a nonprofit, public foundation founded by Linda and Paul Leopoulos in memory of their daughter, Thea Kay Leopoulos, with the mission of carrying Thea’s legacy forward through advocating the importance of art through educational and promotional activities and to encourage individual participation in art through scholarship, partnership and other programs. Thea blossomed after discovering her artistic gifts in painting, writing, speech and drama, and the THEA Foundation was created soon after her untimely death as a way to provide other young people the opportunity to develop their gifts.

Charlotte Cook of Carver Magnet Elementary is one of 40 teachers to be awarded a fellowship with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Endeavor Science Teaching Certificate Project was created to promote highly qualified teacher status in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education across the nation. As a Project Fellow, Ms. Cook will earn graduate credit and a certificate in STEM Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, in New York City.

"Through this program, educators learn how to deliver cutting-edge science into the classroom, promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics education," said Joyce Winterton, Assistant Administrator for Education at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This includes proven NASA and NASA-sponsored educational resources to meet specific learning goals."

NASA Endeavor provides live, online, interactive graduate courses with NASA content and materials. The project inspires teachers to make changes in their classroom practice, igniting students’ interest in STEM. The project allows educators an opportunity to deliver a greater understanding of NASA discoveries to inspire the next generation of explorers, scientists, engineers and astronauts.

NASA also is working in partnership with state departments of education to assist educators in meeting state certification requirements. This highly competitive project is administered by U.S. Satellite in Rye, NY. Funding for the program is provided through the NASA Endeavor Teacher Fellowship Trust Fund in tribute to the dedicated crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger.