On March 14, TGS celebrated Pi Day. Pi (π) is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, and its first three digits are 3.14, which is why it is celebrated on March 14. To celebrate, many students in Mrs. Crosby’s math classes brought pies to share, and some did activities related to pi. “I convinced Mrs. Crosby to watch the video 100 Digits of Pi,” Branton said proudly.
During lunch middle schoolers gathered on the porch to get slices of pie. There were two tables set out. One had nut-free pies, and the other had pies with nuts. After all the middle schoolers had gotten their slices of pie, the high schoolers were invited to participate. “It was a mountain of chocolate,” Bristol said. “It was delicious.” Students liked the apple pie and cookies & cream pie the best. Pi Day is a fun celebration that combines learning and food.
Here are a few photos of Kingfishers out and about on Spring Break.
Saylor, Sydney, and Kipper visited the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. “The trip was worth it because we got to see polar bears,” Saylor said.
Mme Gates and Dr. Gates visited their daughter Maddy in Washington, DC. “The cherry blossoms were magical,” Mme Gates said. They went to see a women’s professional soccer match, where the Washington Spirit defeated the Utah Royals 2-1. “It was good to see one of the players for the national team,” Dr. Gates said.
Larson flew to Canada and saw Niagara Falls. “It was very cold.” Larson said, “But Niagara Falls was worth it.”
Annika traveled to Massachusetts and also toured the University of New Haven. “The college trip was nice because I got to learn a lot more about the college and the different things you can do,” Annika said. “We did a lot of shopping in Massachusetts for the different foods they have up there that we don’t have down here.”
Sage toured Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina. “It was beautiful. There was a nice view from everywhere on campus,” she said, “I’m really excited to go to school there next year.”
Baryck took a trip to Hunting Island, South Carolina. He also went to the Darlington Xfinity Race and took a picture of the winning car! “Loud car go fast. Loud car go vroom,” Baryck said.
The TGS school trip began Tuesday at 6:00 AM, February 26, when Sherrie (our bus driver from last year) pulled up on Cleland Street. After loading up and saying goodbye to parents, it was quiet on the bus, because everyone was tired and most of them went back to sleep. It soon became clear we were heading south—Florida? We had multiple stops for bathroom breaks. The back of the bus, where all of the high school was, didn’t get as much peace as they would have liked, because a couple of middle school rascals were spraying Axe deodorant and discussing Vietnam. “It was not a totally pleasant experience,” said Bryan.
Our first stop was St. Augustine, the oldest city in the U. S. Right before we got there, Dr. Gates divided us into four teams (led by a junior or a senior) for our annual Team Challenge. We headed over to visit the Castillo de San Marco. One of the park rangers told us that we only had thirty minutes to walk around so we’d “better not waste time in the bathrooms.” Dr. Simmons supervised the tour inside. “You, read this plaque!” he told different students as we went from room to room. Once we had finished walking through all the open rooms, we climbed to the top of the fort. There we had an amazing view of St. Augustine and the ocean. There were also a few guard towers that everyone tried to squish into.
After seeing the fort, we strolled through downtown of St. Augustine to the Lightner Museum. Our tour guide was named Bill and he was excellent. Bill told us that Henry Flagler was the man behind the building. The building first started out as the Hotel Alcazar. It was fitted for the rich but closed in 1931 due to the depression and ensuing war. Otto Lightner purchased it fifteen years later and turned it into a museum for the very odd collection of items that he had purchased throughout his lifetime. We saw all kinds of strange objects: many different seashells, minerals, musical instruments, taxidermy. There was even a baby mummy from the Egyptian era (no photos or videos were allowed of the mummy). The museum also featured a taxidermied lion named Rhoda that used to be owned by Winston Churchill. “I kind of felt like we were at Ripley’s,” said Gracin.
The Hotel Alcazar used to have an indoor pool, fed from a sulphur spring. We saw that this area is now a small café. Above the café are two more stories that feature Art Déco furniture and very fine pottery. The hotel also had a sauna that was exclusive to men and was perfectly preserved. Bill closed our tour by showing us a giant painting of the Three Fates. The painting expressed how human life hangs by a thread. “It was quite unsettling,” said Sage. Outside of the museum in the courtyard was a little pond that was full of very large koi fish. We tried to feed them but the pellet dispenser just kept taking our quarters. Except for losing a few quarters, the Lightner Museum was a great experience!
When we left St. Augustine, we headed towards Port Orange to spend the night. Port Orange had fine dining for us: dinner at Chick-fil-A! The employees made our meal a good experience. They had us go ahead and sit down, then came around for our orders. We were able to relax, talk, and enjoy a nice meal. They did a fantastic job.
After Chick-Fil-A, we walked to the Port Orange La Quinta hotel. It was a nice hotel, and even had a pool. Corrin said, “The hotel was a nice break from the bus.” The interesting thing about the hotel was that some of the rooms were connected by doors, which led to some shenanigans. After everyone got settled, some went down to swim in the indoor pool. We then went to sleep. The next day we had to be ready early, so we ate our breakfast pretty quickly and loaded up the bus.
On the second day we went to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Cape Canaveral. Students were thrilled when they realized where we were going. Cries of “Yes! Yes! Yes!” were heard from the back of the bus. “I was smiling so much,” said Larson. “My cheek muscles hurt!” Approaching the visitor complex, we could observe the gargantuan rockets in the Rocket Garden. It was a cool and bright day, and the entrance to the complex was very intriguing, with a massive screen displaying John F. Kennedy’s passionate speech about going to the moon. After going through security, we were finally able to explore the complex. We started with a guided tour of the Rocket Garden. We learned that all of the rockets are real, and the majority of the rockets displayed were repurposed military rockets. After the garden, we split up into groups guided by one teacher and went into a museum which contained a variety of displays featuring rovers and rockets. A favorite attraction was the Space Shuttle Simulator, which Dr. Neubauer dubbed “The Shaken Baby Syndrome Simulator.” Students also enjoyed the gift shop, spending too much money on things like space helmets and space food. Corrin became The Gastronaut. We also had special appointments to do the Hyperdeck, a VR experience on the moon, which students really liked enjoyed.
Lunch was a picnic from our coolers in the picnic area of the KSC. It was a bit of a challenge, between the blazing sun and marauding birds, but we were well-fed and soon back on the bus, en route Gainesville.
After dark, we stopped on the campus of the University of Florida to go one of their cafeterias for dinner. The food was at different stations and there was a lot of variety. It did not take long for everyone to serve themselves and sit. The food was quite decent and some of the UF students were willing to talk to us. We were amazed by the size of the campus—it has 900 buildings!
By the time we finished, everyone was getting tired. We boarded the bus and headed out to what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. Our destination truly was the middle of nowhere—the Stephen C. Foster State Park in the middle of the Okefenokee Swamp. There was no light out there—just the stars. The bus pulled up into a row of cabins and we jumped off when our names were called—about ten people per cabin. The cabins had everything we needed: beds with sheets and blankets, fully-equipped kitchens, decent bathrooms and large porches. This is where we stayed for the next two nights.
On day three of the trip, we were allowed to sleep in a little bit in the absolute quiet of the Okefenokee. “That was the best sleep I ever had,” said Annika. Dr. Gates’ cabin hosted everyone for a delicious breakfast of bacon, eggs, cereal, fruit, and juice, prepared by Dr. Gates. Students brought their own plates and forks, went back for seconds, then took their plates back to wash. The day was cloudy and warm so after everyone got cleaned up, we headed outside. The Trading Post of the State Park attracted a lot of customers when it opened at 9:00.
Later in the morning, we gathered on the dock with state park rangers Alex #1 and Alex #2, who gave us each a paddle and a PFD. We partnered up and launched the canoes into a short canal leading to the swampy headwaters of the Okefenokee River. As soon as we turned the corner, we ran into wind and a strong current which made paddling extremely challenging. Some of the younger students turned back and some had to be helped back by Mrs. Crosby and Alex #2 in their kayaks.
Everyone else struggled up the river, admiring the sights and paddling like crazy. There were huge alligators all over the banks, and shore birds such as green herons, blue herons, night herons, curlews, cormorants, eagles, and buzzards. After fighting the water for a long time, we arrived at Billy Island and dragged our canoes up on the bank. It felt good to be on dry land! We wandered around and Dr. Gates gave us chocolate and water because we were missing lunch.
Alex #1 gave us a tour of the island, which is now deserted. But in the early 20th century, it was home to a settlement of 600-700 people who worked harvesting timber and naval stores. Billy Island shut done when all the trees were gone. We saw the remains of a railroad, an old car, and a water tank for the boiler.
The paddle home was a wonderful dream. We relaxed back and let the current carry us back to the Trading Post. “We still had to steer and avoid alligators,” said Baryck, “but it was a lot easier.” Dr. Simmons had taken those left behind back to their cabins. We were all dirty, cranky, and tired so we took a moment to shower and get cleaned up.
Dinner was early since we missed lunch, hosted by Mrs. Crosby and Mme Gates’ cabin. Dr. Gates served up roasted chicken breast sandwiches, beans, and potato salad to hungry students who turned up with a plate, fork, and knife. The MS occupied the picnic table behind the house, where they ate and played cards as it grew dark. HS relaxed on the porch and in the living room. Everyone eventually went back to their cabins, but some people visited other cabins to play cards or chat until lights out. People were very tired and we had an early start Friday for our trip home.
After having breakfast on Friday, everyone cleaned up the cabins, and loaded their luggage onto the bus. Once everyone and everything was on the bus, we started heading back to Georgetown. Many people spent the ride napping or talking with the people around them. Some of the middle schoolers even had a camera and were taking silly pictures of each other. The first stop we made was at a Pilot gas station, so people could use the restroom or get snacks and drinks. There were also many interesting items that students could buy, such as magnets, toy cars, and even taxidermied alligator heads, as well as several places where students could get food, such as Cinnabon and Subway.
After getting back on the bus, the seniors were given the privilege of deciding where we would have the final meal of the trip. After a brief discussion, they agreed on Zaxby’s. Dr. Gates then announced a tie-breaker challenge, since three of the teams were tied. For the challenge, he asked five questions, and each team was given one chance to give the correct answers, and whichever group got the most correct answers won. After having lunch at Zaxby’s, Dr. Gates announced that the teams would have until we passed McClellanville to submit their answers for the tie-breaker challenge. After teams had submitted their answers, Annika’s group was declared the winner. “My team has never won,” she said, “It was great to finally win after eight years!” A short while later we arrived back at school, and the tired Kingfishers gathered their luggage and left to go home. All in all it was a great trip.
For Open Forum on April 10th, Dr. Neubauer introduced Naomi Higgins. Naomi is a friend of TGS because she attended our school for several years. She recently graduated from Clemson with a degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, and Microbiology. Naomi talked about her time at college and her plans to attend USC in the fall to start her master’s degree in the same area.
Naomi said that for her first year at college, all her classes were online because of the pandemic. She was happy in her second year to begin in-person classes, where she got to listen and talk to her professors. “It was different to waking up and getting ready for class,” she laughed, “rather than just rolling out of bed and signing on to classes.” Naomi went on to discuss how she struggled to find a major she felt passionate about. She said, “It took me most of my college career to know what I really wanted to do”. She started in geology but quickly realized that she “was not that into rocks.” After exploring other science classes, she found out that she really liked epidemiology and public health. Now Naomi is looking forward to starting her master’s degree in Columbia this fall!
TGS thanks Naomi Higgins for coming and sharing her unique story of majoring in Public Health right after a pandemic with us. We enjoyed learning about her college experiences, and why public health is so important to our community. We wish her all the best!
On February 14, 2024, Dr. Dan Turner and Mrs. Trudy Bazemore talked to us about the renovation of the Georgetown County Library, which has been going on for over a year. We miss going to the library and are anxious for it to reopen. Dr. Turner and Mrs. Bazemore told us that the reopening may be this spring, perhaps in April. The first library in Georgetown dates from 1799, so our current library stands in a long and great tradition.
We can expect to see lots of changes when we finally go back in. One is the addition of a new auditorium, which can hold 100 people instead of 50. The new auditorium will be a great space for public programming and allow the library can host more and larger events. The old auditorium has been turned into a video editing studio, which is a very exciting development.
A film production class will be taught there to interested teens and adults once the library reopens.
Dr. Turner and Mrs. Bazemore assured us that we will love the changes. “Everything will be so fresh and different,” Mrs. Bazemore said. “We can’t wait for y’all to see it!” They closed by inviting us to help reshelve the 80,000 volumes that have been in storage all year, an offer we are going to accept gladly.
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.
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.”
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.
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 USSPlat-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!
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.
The Georgetown School 
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