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

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

River Day is a beloved tradition that lets Kingfishers start the school year start with a bang. There is nothing like quality play time on the Black River to bring students together, old and new. Dr. and Mrs. Crosby kindly host this annual event and make sure everyone has a great afternoon.

After lunch on August 18, teachers drove students out to Mrs. Crosby’s house on the river. The first order of business was safety: students donned their life jackets as Mrs. Crosby explained the rules. Then, students headed to the floating docks to go kayaking, paddle boarding, or swimming. The air was filled with shrieking, splashing, and sunshine. New students got to know others–it is easy to meet people when everyone is flailing around in the water!

“Get to know them by flipping their kayak more than everyone,” was Morgan’s advice.

Kids could also go out on motorboats to enjoy the scenic river or go knee boarding and tubing. Dr. Crosby and Mr. Jim Edwards drove their boats. A lot of people tried knee boarding, and many were successful. “I actually got up on my knees this time,” Elijah said. Tubing was also quite popular. Mr. Jim Edwards had fun putting kids in the “spin cycle,” where he would pull the tube in a circle and send everyone on the tube flying.

After a few hours on the river, people began heading back to the deck where Dr. Simmons and Mrs. Patrick were grilling hamburgers and hotdogs. Kids also enjoyed many snacks, such as chips, watermelon, and plenty of desserts. After the cookout, everyone was then allowed to go back in the water for another hour or so. The day ended around 7:00 when parents arrived to collect their tired and happy children. River Day is always a blast–everyone has fun in or around the water and our school year starts off right. Thank you, Dr. and Mrs. Crosby!

By Annika

Spring is here and the high school decided to organize an egg hunt for the middle school, which took place April 19 during Open Forum and lunch. During third period, some high schoolers (Kelsi, Ella, Isaac, Annika, Emily, Morgan, and Bristol) hid most of the eggs outside, and hid the remainder in the downstairs hallway. There were several different-colored eggs, and they were color-coded. Most eggs contained candy, and there were even certain egg colors that were safe for kids with peanut allergies. The silver, golden, and bunny-shaped eggs had better prizes, like money, soda vouchers, and Hot Wheels cars. There was also a large clear egg containing a stuffed animal shaped like an ice cream cone.

After hiding all of the eggs, the high schoolers went into the Auditorium where the middle schoolers were waiting. They announced that the hunt was on. Everyone became very egg-cited when they found out what the prizes were. Baryck and Gracin tried to claim they were middle schoolers in hopes of being able to find the Hot Wheels. Students were then allowed to go upstairs to get their baskets, but some tried to search for the eggs before they were allowed to. After everyone got their baskets, the egg hunters stampeded down the stairs. “I was afraid the teachers would get trampled,” Mme Gates said. There was then a race to find all of the eggs hidden inside, before everyone headed outside. Students then began jumping and climbing up trees to try to get the eggs hidden in hard-to-reach places. It was pure pandemonium. After the hunt was finished, middle school students then got to enjoy and trade the things they found in their eggs. All in all, it was an egg-cellent event.

By Annika

The week after the school trip, on March 22 and 23, the High School and Middle School Math Meet Teams competed in the SCISA Math Meet. On March 22, the High School Math Team (Isaac, Ella, Kelsi, Annika, and Morgan) gathered at the school at 7:30 to head to the Sumter Civic Center. Once they arrived there, Dr. Gates took the team to Hardees for breakfast. The Middle School Math Team (Eleanor, Nathan, Sam, Nolan, and Branton) had a similar morning the next day with Mrs. Crosby, minus getting Hardees. Both of the meets began with the speed round. Students were given ten minutes to solve ten math problems. Then everyone was given one hour to answer 50 questions in the written test. While the participants ate lunch, the results were tallied.

TGS had some good results. For the high school, Morgan got the highest score on the team, and got eighth overall individually. For the middle school, Branton got the highest score out of the team, and the whole team got eighth overall. There are now some more trophies for our trophy case! Great job, Math Teams!

By Annika