On Wednesday, April 20, 2016, Mrs. Patrick and Dr. Neubauer invited 6^th and 7^th-graders to help fix up a garden on the corner of Dozier and Highmarket Streets so that it will attract butterflies and bees. The garden is our school’s contribution to Earth Day 2016 (Friday, April 22).

The group of gardeners (“dream team”?) went out to an abandoned raised bed on county property. They found the bed in a sad state. Lantana bushes which the county had planted were doing fine, but the bed had been invaded by weeds and fire ants. First, Mrs. Patrick killed untold amounts of fire ants.  Then she took her magical “pickaxe” (as the kids called it) and began fiercely pulling weeds left and right. Then everyone started to pitch in. There were many jobs to be carried out, but as everyone knows, with a little teamwork anything can be accomplished. Everyone worked hard and had a good time weeding, planting some new plants and carrying water (9 buckets across Dozier Street!). There were also many roots to be pulled, but again Mrs. Patrick saved the day with the magical pickaxe.

This butterfly garden now looks pretty good and will be enjoyed by many people and bugs for years to come. It was definitely a good deed for our community and our environment. Thank you to Mrs. Patrick for assisting in this wonderful action and a big thank you to Dr. Neubauer for putting this project together. These Kingfishers wish everyone a Happy Earth Day!

By Zachary Wesolowski

First-year Kingfishers dissected jellyfish on Wednesday, April 13 for Biology. The whole lab smelled like the ocean as Dr. Neubauer plopped a fresh jellyfish from a paint bucket onto all the students’ trays. Students had different reactions to these invertebrates: Ashley was sort of afraid of them while Ty started digging right in there. Students found the jellyfish very slimy and squishy, but also tougher than you might think.

For most of the students, this was their first dissection. Some thought the whole process was gross but others thought it was fun. Most of them made neat cuts but at least one chopped, poked and stabbed his poor creature. The actual dissection procedure was rather complicated: students had to carefully cut open the jellyfish in specific areas in order to find and identify its parts. Surprise! Grayson’s and Wilfredo’s jellyfish had a crab living inside of it.

By Zachary Wesolowski

Avery Rose’s 3-dimensional piece The End earned her a major prize at the Horry-Georgetown County High Schools 15^th Annual Juried Art Exhibition. After considering about 95 entries, jurors awarded her an Honorable Mention for her use of non-traditional materials. Everyone is thrilled with her success, especially Mrs. Patrick. “Last year, Avery Rose made us proud by being chosen for the show,” she said, “And this year she gets an award! What does the future hold?”

The End features three black plastic filigree dolls in the act of falling on the pages of an open book. You can see it and many other great pieces at the Burroughs and Chapin Art Museum through May 22.

On April 9, Kingfishers got together in New Beginnings, in downtown Georgetown, for their annual prom. The theme was “Alice in Wonderland.” The junior class had worked long and hard to have everything ready. They got up bright and early Saturday morning to finish decorating before going home to get ready for the night. After everyone got dressed up and went to dinner, the students and staff started coming in around 6:30 and the party began.

“The entire night was full of good vibes,” said Josh. As soon as the students arrived the dancing started. Josh and Joe created a playlist and manned the DJ station. Everyone had a blast dancing, but Langston stole the show! (He was beet red and sweating, having the time of his life, to the point of slow dancing with one of the cardboard cut outs!). Everyone was dancing—even Sra. Yorky and Dr. and Mme Gates. The dance floor was rocking all night until the music cut off at 10.

The juniors did an amazing job on the decorations this year, most of which were hand-made under Lochlyn’s direction. Juniors had hand-painted cardboard cut outs, turned books into center pieces, created paper flamingos, and cut out cardboard streamers for the front windows. There was a black light tunnel with glowing paintings representing the Rabbit Hole. Some of the food even went with the theme, like Joe’s card rice crispy treats. Cameras were placed around the room for the guests to use and one even printed the pictures right there. Savanna said, “The Polaroids really made the moments come alive that night!” Juniors went all out and did a great job.

Prom this year took a lot of work and time, but when the guests arrived that night and saw how well it turned out, the effort was all well worth it. “This was the best prom yet,” said Nathan. Thank you to students, parents and faculty for making Prom 2016 a great occasion.

by Meredith Owens

Mrs. Patrick’s high school art students have been pushing themselves lately.  Nine of them completed individual projects to compete for entry in the Horry-Georgetown County High Schools 15^th Annual Juried Art Exhibition. Jurors viewed some 400 pieces at schools all over these two counties, judging them on craftsmanship, originality, and a clear understanding of the principles and elements of design.

Avery Rose’s 3-dimensional piece The End was selected for display at the Myrtle Beach Museum. The End, whose main colors are black, red and white, features three stages of a falling figure, black plastic filigree dolls atop an open book. “In just a brief moment, a life can end, like the ending of a book,” Avery Rose said. “Her story is never told.” Avery Rose also said that working on her piece was interesting: “I was just studying falling and then remaking it.”

The Annual Art Show will be held at Myrtle Beach Art Museum from April 17- May 22, 2016. The opening reception and awards ceremony will take place on April 17 from 1pm-3pm at the museum and everyone is invited. Jim Arendt, Coastal Carolina University Gallery Director, will be judging the art work. We are so proud of the hard work and artistic skills of our Kingfishers, and special congratulations to Avery Rose and Mrs. Patrick!

(by Meredith Owens and Laura Gates)

TGS math students celebrated a very special day in the history of the universe: March 14, 2016–otherwise known as 3.14.15. These are the first five digits of the mysterious and powerful number that ancient Greek mathematicians called “pi.” Students brought lots of delicious pies but Mrs. Crosby didn’t allow them to eat any until they successfully calculated the area and circumference of an 8″ pie. (In case you’ve forgotten, the circumference of a circle is pi times the diameter and the area is pi times the square of the  radius.)

Mrs. Montgomery’s fifth-graders have been staying busy! Once a quarter, they go visit their friends at Morningside Assisted Living.  There, the residents tell their stories as fifth-graders interview them. Everyone enjoys the conversations and the kids have a great opportunity to practice their listening and recording skills. “We are building friendships!” says Mrs. Montgomery.

 

On February 18, the class went to the Gaillard Center in Charleston to see the “Building With Boeing” exhibit. Students enjoyed the highly interactive displays, and even got to build a model of a supersonic jet and become a bird using virtual-reality technology. “It was amazing, incredible!” said Graham. “My dad enjoyed it a lot, too!” said Lucy. The students were able to view the latest flight technology, including a “robotic bee” used to collect information about pollen. Thank you Mrs. Montgomery and chaperons for an awesome day.

(interviews by Zachary Wesolowski)

Brian Williams, our newest senior, was named to the SCISA Regional All-Star basketball team. The “North” played the “South” on Saturday, March 5 at Wilson Hall in Sumter and won 93-76. Brian had an amazing game. He played 15 minutes 40 seconds and scored 16 points, besides making 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 4 blocked shots. We are so proud of Brian for a fantastic regular season and this post-season honor. Thank you, Coach Connell and Go Kingfishers!

Dr. Neubauer, Mr. Patrick and Mrs. Montgomery put in a lot of hard work to guide our young researchers with their projects. From studying sharks to testing Wi-Fi, our 2016 Science Fair had a little of everything.  The 2016 big event took place on February 25 in the downstairs front hall. Well-dressed students patiently stood by their projects all morning as a panel of judges circulated and asked questions. By lunchtime, they had chosen the winners and Dr. Neubauer announced them in a special ceremony at the end of lunch.

Science Fair trains students in the scientific method. Students must also learn to present their findings in a clear and compelling way on the boards. Finally, they must practice persuasive speaking when talking about their projects with the judges. Science Fair  allows development of these three valuable life skills. First place honors went to Isaac Shumard (4th-6^th grades), Margaret Buxton (7^th-8^th grades), and Lochlyn Hejl (9^th-12^th grades). All winners are looking forward to participating in the Lowcountry Science Fair at the College of Charleston on April 5.

 Many thanks to our distinguished panel of judges: Frank Johnson (meteorologist, Channel 13), Dr. Dan Hitchcock (Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology), Beth Thomas and Melissa Heinz (National Estuarine Reserve Reserve) and three senior students of Coastal Carolina marine biology professor Dr. Julie Harding.