Best in class: Creativity takes teams to Odyssey of Mind world finals
• Parkview High School's Odyssey of the Mind teams advanced to the world finals after wins at the state tournament in Columbus. The "Furs, Fins, Feathers & Friends" team won first place, and the "Something Fishy" team placed second, advancing them to compete in the world finals May 25 – 28 at Iowa State University. Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem-solving program for students from kindergarten through college. It's an "interscholastic sport" and is meant to promote and encourage creativity and teamwork among the participants.
• The GeekSpace Gwinnett Odyssey of the Mind team (Makerspace) won first place at the state tournament and will be among more than 800 teams from across the United States and 25 countries competing in the world finals at Iowa State University. Team members are from: Mill Creek High School: Bailey Martinez-10th, Dani Williams-9th, Josh Bingham-9th; Gwinnett School of Math, Science & Technology: Kyle Patel-11th, Ben Breer-10th; Mountain View High School: Suraj Modi-9th; Marist High School: Lexi Bohm-10th. Coaches are Ben and Janie Martinez. This will be the second consecutive trip for the team. Last year it took first place in the state, finished 4th out of 44 teams at the world competition and received the Ranatra Fusca Award, the tournament's highest honor awarded for exceptional creativity and risk-taking.
• Suzette Weinhardt is the 2016 Fayette County Teacher of the Year. Weinhardt, a math teacher at Sandy Creek High, was one of three finalists chosen from 26 school-level teachers of the year who were vying for the honor. The two runners-up are Carol Gibby, a language arts teacher at Flat Rock Middle, and Laura Crews, a fourth-grade math and science teacher at Inman Elementary. Weinhardt will represent Fayette County next year in the Georgia Teacher of the Year competition. The 10 finalists for the state will be announced sometime between late March and early April 2017.
• Woodward Academy first-grader Ryan French competed in the Level 3 Gymnastics Georgia AAU State Championship meet on April 16. Ryan finished second overall in her age group, competing against gymnasts from around the state in the vault, floor, bars, and beam events.
• The Georgia Scholastic Press Association has awarded The Knightly News, Pace Academy's Upper School student newspaper, a "Superior" rating, the highest in the General Excellence category of the 2015-2016 statewide newspaper competition. The Knightly News website, entered into the competition separately, received a rating of "Excellent." The Knightly News co-editors-in-chief are seniors Dori Greenberg and Joe Loughran. Lee Wilson is their faculty advisor.
