• Ola Winds, a wind ensemble from Ola High School in McDonough directed by Joshua Walker, won the inaugural Winds Open Class World Championship at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. The event sponsored by WGI, a nonprofit organization producing indoor color guard, percussion, and wind ensemble competitions, had more than 12,000 participants.
• Woodward Academy kindergartner Marissa Jones was selected by Georgia State University for the Saturday School for Scholars and Leaders Program. Marissa is the only kindergarten student selected this year. The program provides educational opportunities for gifted and talented children in fine and applied arts, math, and science. Marissa recently completed a Rocks, Minerals, and Crystals research project and later this month begins working on Lego Robotics with WeDo.
• Two Georgia students were winners of Young Entrepreneur Awards, and $1,000 scholarships, from the National Federation of Independent Business' Young Entrepreneur Foundation. Jared Sawyer of Druid Hills High School runs Jared Sawyer Jr. Ministries, which produces CDs and DVDs and offers leadership coaching, and plans to attend Morehouse College. Kelsie Nolan of Gilmer High School in Ellijay owns Paint Your Sole and plans to attend Columbia University.
• Stephanie Engwall, a third-grade teacher at Gwinnett County's Shiloh Elementary School, will join 154 of her peers from around the country this summer for a a weeklong, all expense-paid professional development program sponsored by ExxonMobil and PGA Golfer Phil Mickelson. The Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy focuses on using real-world examples and hands-on experiments to build excitement about science, technology, engineering, and math. Participants will work with a curriculum developed by the National Science Teachers Association and Math Solutions. More than 1,500 teachers applied.
• Brookwood High School in Gwinnett County has won the State Science Olympiad competition for the fifth year in a row. Brookwood has won first place at the state level seven out of the past eight years. In 2010 Brookwood placed second at the state competition. Only the first- and second-place winners at the state competition are invited to compete at the National Science Olympiad Competition each year. This year the 31st competition will be May 15 and 16 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
• Birney Elementary in Marietta was the only school in Georgia, and one of 50 nationwide, to receive a $1,000 grant for National PTA's Take Your Family To School Week. Birney was recognized by State School Superintendent Richard Woods and Georgia PTA President Rita Erves during PTA Day at the Capitol in March.
• Kennesaw State University President Daniel S. Papp has named Keisha Hoerrner dean of University College. Hoerrner has been interim dean of the college since January 2014. Prior to her appointment as interim dean, Hoerrner was associate dean of University College, department chairman of first-year programs, assistant department chairman of university studies and director of learning communities. She is a professor of communication and previously held a faculty position in communication at Louisiana State. She joined the Kennesaw State faculty full-time in 2000.
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