Page 4 of 12

Posted on

TGS Robotics Teams Head to State Competitions

Great news! Our two robotics teams are heading to States after winning amazing victories at their respective regionals (the FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Tech Challenge). For Open Forum on January 24 and 31, the two teams shared parts of their projects with the whole school. The Angry Nerds (Middle School) showed off a working violin that they had made and sang a song they had written about their project to the students. The Kingfishers (High School) brought down their robot to the Auditorium and put it through its paces. Everyone could watch it hang up a ring, throw a paper airplane, and suspend itself. We really enjoyed seeing both team’s hard work first-hand and congratulating them on their victories.

The good news started with Middle School in the FIRST LEGO League. On January 20 at Cane Bay High School, the Angry Nerds took a first place for their project to 3D print musical instruments so that any student could afford to buy one and learn to play. They did a great job researching the project and finding out that musical instruments and education are beyond the means of many families. The team figured out how to 3D print a violin and put on its bridge, strings, and pegs for about $60. Does the violin sound good? The manager at Andy Owings Music Store thought the quality was fine for student learners.

The team is now working on increasing the speed of their robots to try to do better in the robot part of the competition. We wish Mrs. Crosby, Dr. Neubauer, and the Angry Nerds all the best when they compete again February 17.

The Kingfishers, our high school team, headed for Dorchester High School in North Charleston on January 27 to compete against 21 other teams with their robot Phred in the FIRST Tech Challenge. Their competitions took place all day with almost no down time. Phred did his jobs exactly as he was supposed to and the Kingfishers found themselves in the final round competing for first place! We didn’t quite make it but we are still going to States, having brought home the second-place overall trophy.

Good luck to Dr. Gates and the “Nerd Herd as they head to Columbia on March 2.

Posted on

Ella Cheek: January 3, 2024

Our first guest speaker of 2024 was our own Ella Cheek. Ella graduated from TGS just last year and is the winner of our 2023 Senior Speech Award. Florida State is now her school and she had quite a lot to share about her experiences so far. Ella chose Florida State because it is strong in humanities and is a total change. So far, Ella, has been very happy down in Tallahassee.

Ella mentioned social changes she has had to face at Florida State after her time at TGS. The campus at Florida State is very large, with students commuting to class on electric scooters, the bus, and in cars. Ella said that when she first arrived, she had no friends. “I was lonely,” she said. “The only person I knew the first week was my roomate.” She realized that going to events and joining clubs was the only real way to find and make friends on a large campus. Luckily, she has ended up with a bunch of new friends after attending an engineering event.

College classes at Florida State are so large that it is nearly impossible to have a one on one conversation with the professor. Ella told us to cherish the ability to be able to talk with our teachers. Ella was also shocked to see how much technology is used in the modern college classroom. She quickly got the hang of it but she was not used to depending on her computer so much. Now that the transition is over, she has been having a great time.

Ella’s classmates Isaac and Kelsi were with us also for Open Forum. Everyone was glad to see them. Thank you all for the visit and thank you, Ella, for sharing your school experiences! Go Seminoles!

By Larson

Posted on

November 29: Giany Guedjo

Just after Thanksgiving break on November 29, we were introduced to Giany Guedjo, our guest speaker for Open Forum. He is currently the executive director at Carolina Human Reinvestment, a non-profit organization that specializes in promoting healthy lifestyles for kids in Georgetown County. He is also a talented linguist and speaks over 10 different languages. When he was a recent immigrant to the US, he learned to speak English in one year and three months at his first job over here, making sandwiches at Subway.

Giany was born in Bénin, a French-speaking country in West Africa between Ghana and Nigeria. Before emigrating from Bénin to the United States with his wife, Giany overcame very difficult conditions to get an education in Africa. For example, at his university in Bénin there were 2500 students in some classes. “Students broke windows to get in and get a good seat,” he said. “There were only 100 books for all those students.” After graduating as valedictorian, he worked at an orphanage and taught farmers how to market crops. Fourteen years ago, his wife won the US Immigration Lottery and they decided to move here.

Life is not easy for immigrants and Giany and his wife were no exception. The job at Subway allowed them to survive until Giany could get enough English to go back to school. He then got a Masters of Business Administration from Webster University. Even then, it wasn’t easy to find work. Giany learned of the job at CHR almost by accident but it is a great fit for him and he is now the proud executive director of this community nonprofit in both Georgetown and Pawleys Island.

One of CHR’s projects is community gardening. There are gardens in Georgetown, Pawleys Island, and at several area schools. People from the community and students can take home fresh produce and eat healthier, better-tasting food.  “Food is medicine,” said Giany. CHR also sponsors comprehensive after-school programs where elementary students can do their homework and practice their reading. Giany invited us to come read with kids as community service. CHR also has helped older kids find after-school and summer jobs in the community and managed the FoodShare program to help food-insecure families.

Giany told us that you should have fun in life, but you should get your work done first. He has a particular philosophy to conquering life, which is “when you do something, do it the hard way.” This is accompanied by a list of four rules: sleep hard, eat hard, play hard, and most importantly work hard. We would like to thank Giany for being our guest speaker for Wednesday and giving us the opportunity to do more community service with the CHR.

By Larson

Posted on

Teacher Spotlight: Dr. Michelle Neubauer

Dr. Neubauer grew up in the high desert of Colorado. She attended a rather small high school; her graduating class had only about 120 students. When she was in school, her mom would take her and her older brother to the Gulf of California to go sailing. This experience inspired her to become a biologist.

After graduating high school, Dr. Neubauer attended the University of San Diego. “I was going to college in southern California, or I wasn’t going to college,” she said, after falling in love with the beautiful campus. Overall, she enjoyed her experience in undergraduate school. She then went on to get her PhD at William and Mary in Virginia. There, she did her dissertation on nutrients and a certain type of worm in the Chesapeake Bay. 

After earning her PhD, she moved to South Carolina. Here, her first job was being a mom to her oldest daughter, Isabella. After a few years, she began teaching at Lowcountry Prep in Pawleys Island, where she met several of her current colleagues. Now, at TGS, Dr. Neubauer teaches most of the science classes, along with geography, which is one of her favorite classes to teach. Students enjoy her extensive knowledge of science and current events, as well as her wry sense of humor.

Dr. Neubauer has several hobbies. She enjoys many outdoor activities, including tending to her garden, walking on the beach, and riding her bike. She collected rocks as a child, and now collects fossils. Many students know that Dr. Neubauer is a fan of Marvel and DC content, which she became interested in because of her children.  However, she says she prefers the movies and shows to the comic books. Her favorite characters are Green Lantern and Wonder Woman.

What advice Dr. Neubauer would give to current TGS students? “You never know what experience, or what information is going to be helpful to you in the future,” she says, “so it’s important to get every experience. Do everything. Play every sport. Do every activity on our school trips.” 

By Annika

Posted on

The Perfect Day: Oyster Roast 2023

Every year TGS hosts our all-you-can-eat Oyster Roast. This fundraiser helps to support student scholarships (which over 65% of our student body relies on). This year, the event took place on November 5, 2023, at Francis Marion Park on Front Street. Before that day, our students and their families sold more than 150 tickets to friends and family around the Georgetown community. The tickets cost $30 each and went fast! This event was a huge success, but there was a lot of prep work before it began.

To prepare for the big day, students, teachers, and parents all brought in items including, napkins, silverware, chips, drinks, and items for the silent auction baskets. Dr. Gates ordered the oysters and picked them up in McClellanville. All of our families turned out to set up, manage stations, and clean. Our school is very grateful everyone who helped out, especially to Ms. Sandy (Kingfisher Crew president and master planner), to Ms. Amy for managing ticket sales, and to Mrs. Karen Hefferman who decorated the whole site with flowers and pumpkins so that it looked very festive and inviting. We cannot forget to express our appreciation to Dr. Tom Crosby and his crew of oyster cookers who kept the delicious food coming from start to finish. Sonny and Lori Burgoon and their family were instrumental in getting everything transported to the site and setting up the plywood tables. Guitarist Duane DeMello set the mood with great live music all afternoon. Kudos to everyone for a job well done!

The day of the Oyster Roast was amazing. There were multiple stations to either get drinks and hot dogs. If you were eating oysters, you claimed your spot at one of our eleven tables. All of the students were at their own station doing their very best for their community. The hot dog stand was run by Ansley, Branton, Caleb, and Gaines. Emily, Nolan, Jackson, and Saylor were helping with sodas and drinks. “Serving drinks has been exhausting,” Emily said, “People have been putting their blood, sweat, and tears toward this event but working has been fantastic!” Perhaps the most important student job was ferrying fresh steamed oysters to the tables. This was done by Kipper, Gracin, Evan, and Baryck.

As in years past, the community loved the Oyster Roast and had a lot to say about how it went. Shay Scott is a new TGS mom and she said, “This is an amazing day, and the oysters are perfectly steamed and salted.” Others, like Cameron Forehand, were very impressed with the organization. “The students did an awesome job putting on this fundraiser,” he said. Another attendee, Nicole Thomas, said, “The event is very awesome, and the oysters are delicious.”

The 2023 Oyster Roast pulled us all together. “This was the most successful oyster roast I have ever seen in the eight years I’ve been at TGS,” said Kingfisher Crew president Ms. Sandy. Congratulations, Kingfishers, and thanks to our many friends.

By Saylor

Posted on

Anchors Aweigh! Kingfishers race in the Corrugated Boat Regatta

Kingfishers designed, built, and raced three boats in this year’s Corrugated Boat Regatta, an event that has been part of Georgetown’s Wooden Boat Show for the past eight years. On the afternoon of October 22, the Chicken Sandwich, the Duck-tanic, and the USS Plat-eye competed against some twenty other entries in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd which had gathered on the downtown dock.

Preparations had begun two weeks earlier. Mr. Patrick’s Physics class started their project by building scale models, including one that looked like a car, to figure out the best shape, adhesive, and size. They chose a diamond shape with construction adhesive and duct tape for their vessel, the Chicken Sandwich.

Middle School jumped straight into building their boats, one done by the girls, and one done by the boys. Both boats were rectangular in shape, each with its own unique flair. The girl’s boat was called the Duck-tanic, because they believed it would sink like the Titanic. The boy’s boat, the USS Plat-eye, was named for a ghost in South Carolinian folklore.

Sunday came and all the cardboard boats were on display under the tent downtown with everyone milling around. Soon it was time for the race. Our school’s boats went against each other in the first heat. Zayne boarded the Plat-eye, Ansley and Willow got into the Duck-tanic, and Morgan and Corrin got onto the Chicken Sandwich. True to its name, the Duck-tanic immediately flipped, dumping the girls straight into the water. It was now the Plat-eye versus the Chicken Sandwich, and each side wanted to win. The race was close, but Zayne managed to pull through in the end, rowing the Plat-eye to glorious victory. The Chicken Sandwich finished the race with honor. But right when Morgan and Corrin were about to get out of the boat, the fair vessel sank. Corrin went into the water while Morgan narrowly escaped to the dock. 

Although we didn’t win any overall awards, the Wooden Boat Show was a blast. Our boatbuilding was truly a Kingfisher team effort under the supervision of teachers Mr. and Mrs. Patrick, Dr. Neubauer, Mrs. Crosby, and Dr. Gates. Thank you to everyone who came that day and showed their support, those who helped build the boats, those who donated supplies, and those who rowed the boats. It was a great day!

By Sage

Posted on

2023 Oyster Roast is Sunday, November 5

Come and get ’em! The Georgetown School is hosting its annual Oyster Roast on Sunday, November 5 from 1:00-4:00, at Francis Marion Park on Front Street. Enjoy all-you-can-eat fresh oysters and wonderful live music by Will Ness. There will be pileau and hotdogs, a silent auction, and beer, wine, and soft drinks for a cash donation. All proceeds benefit the scholarship fund of The Georgetown School.

Tickets are just $30 and include food plus your first beverage. This event is rain or shine. To purchase tickets, stop by Diamond Collection on Front Street or call the school at 843-520-4359.

Posted on

All Paws on Deck! Pawliday Card Competition

Art students at TGS recently turned their skills and creativity to helping a most worthy cause: St. Frances Animal Shelter. Four years ago, St. Frances began sponsoring the Pawliday Card competition. TGS students have entered every year, designing holiday greeting cards to be sold to benefit the animal shelter at local businesses such as the Purr and Pour Cat Café.

The competition was started by Morgan Lowry in 2020 as a way to raise money for the Saint Frances Animal Shelter. All money earned from the sale of the cards goes back to the shelter to pay for supplies and medical treatment for the animals. Extra funding is especially important this year because the shelter is overcrowded.

The Pawliday Card competition has three categories based on age, and TGS swept them all! The winner of the “ten and under” category was Rose (5th grade), the winners of the “11 and 12 year old” category were Ansley, Branton, Willow and Sydney (7th grade), and the winners of the “13 and over category” were Sara (9th grade) and Saylor (11th grade). “The kids did a great job,” Mrs. Patrick said, “I was thrilled that they care so much about animal welfare.”

All the winners were honored on Friday afternoon, October 27, in a ceremony out at St. Frances Animal Shelter. Our winning students received a matted and framed version of their artwork and a $25 gift card for Amazon! Congratulations to all and to Mrs. Patrick!

By Annika

Posted on

October 25: Ray Funnye

On October 25th, Ray Funnye, Director of Public Services for Georgetown County, was our Open Forum guest. Mr. Funnye is a native Georgetonian. He graduated from Savannah State University and began his career as an engineer in Atlanta. His line of work has taken him many places over the years, even to the Virgin Islands.

Mr. Funnye never intended on returning to Georgetown. “I told my dad I was leaving and never coming back,” he said. However, when he visited Georgetown for his brother’s funeral, he happened to get a job offer in public services. “It was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Mr. Funnye said. He has now worked in public services for 31 years.

Mr. Funnye told us that there are all kinds of opportunities in public services. Municipalities and counties hire a multitude of different people: lawyers, planners, engineers, truck drivers, environmentalists, and many more. “It’s a career of service,” Mr Funnye explained. “We are unsung heroes.”

Mr. Funnye explained that his job is to help the people of Georgetown thrive. People in public services help keep the city on its feet–from debris cleanup to city planning, the Department of Public Services does it all. “Knowing I am making a difference for others is important,” he told us. When Public Services hires people, they are not just looking for someone who can do a specific job, they are looking for leaders. Teamwork is extremely important, but so is the ability to lead a team. Mr Funnye told us public services is a very stable job, because humans will always have problems that need to be managed by others.

Overall, we learned that public services is a very important job. Without Ray Funnye and other public services people, Georgetown could not run as smoothly as it does. We salute the Public Services Department and thank Mr. Funnye visiting our school today.

By Sage

Posted on

September 20, 2023: Richard Nesbit

On September 20, 2023, we welcomed Richard Nesbit as our speaker. Richard is involved in the Carolina Human Reinvestment Project of Pawleys Island, where he spends a lot of time working in their Community Garden.  Richard also runs a small non-profit organization that helps kids in Africa who cannot afford to attend school. He shared video footage of some of his trips to Africa to see the students and schools he helps sponsor.  His efforts are focused on Uganda, where education is very expensive.

Richard told us about how he started his non-profit. Several years ago, he heard from a Ugandan student named John who reached out to him on Facebook Messenger. John told him about the war going on in his village. Things were so bad, John had no hope of continuing his education. Richard decided to set up a GoFundMe and raised 1000 dollars for John’s secondary education. John got his diploma and ended up going to university!

Richard shared his photos and videos of Uganda. We saw a beautiful countryside with small villages where Ugandans farm and try to make extra money the best they can. The children are very well dressed when they go to school because they respect the institution. Richard told us that they love school and even hang out there on Saturdays to see their friends.

Richard’s non-profit has now helped about 24 students. He never expected to be helping kids in Africa who cannot afford school but that is the way his life turned out. Richard’s talk was a remainder that we have no idea what life has in store for us or what may be asked of us one day. Thank you, Richard, for coming and speaking to us.

By Gracin