Area news in the field of education.

Five teachers noted for geography activities

Five area elementary school teachers were honored by the Kentucky Geographic Alliance for their &#8220Geography Action!” activities.

&#8220Geography Action!” is an annual K-12 education initiative sponsored by the National Geographic Society that provides multi-disciplinary resources for educators and students including lesson plans, activities, print materials, professional development opportunities and a service-learning campaign. The 2006-07 theme is &#8220Africa in 3-D: Demographics, Diversity, Discovery.”

The Kentucky Geographic Alliance (KGA) sponsored Bowling Green Junior High teacher Janet Burks for the training in Washington, D.C., in July to become the state coordinator and plan activities for Kentucky teachers related to the Africa content. The KGA is housed at Western Kentucky University and is coordinated by Kay Gandy in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and Scott Dobler in the Department of Geography and Geology.

Elizabeth Riggs, a fourth-grade teacher at Briarwood Elementary School, was the first-place winner and received $100. Her weeklong unit of study was focused on students gaining a greater appreciation of the continent of Africa and the cultural aspects that impact them in the U.S.

Second-place ($50) winners were Sandra Bollenbecker and Heather Mowles, fifth-grade teachers at Adairville Elementary School. During the week, an African native speaker shared facts about Africa and students made their own presentations about Africa.

Third place ($25) went to Cindy Pawley and Vivian Johnson from Auburn Elementary School. These teachers had students make African masks and collaborated to make large maps of Africa.

– For more information on the KGA, go to www.kga.org

Warren students excel at STLP conference

Students from Greenwood High School took three first-place awards at the Kentucky Student Technology Leadership Program conference May 10-11 in Lexington. Matt Graham was first in Programming, Kyle Marshall took the top award in Web Design, and Aaron Baker finished first in Technology Quick Recall. Greenwood’s Emmett Stephens took second place in Gaming, and Katherine Bromer of GHS was fourth in Showcase. Greenwood’s Julie Hansbrough earned honorable mention in Digital Photo Manipulation.

Warren Central High School brought home one first-place and two second-place awards from the conference. Janette Guzman and Brittany Akin took first in technical writing. In the Computer Troubleshooting/Bench Challenge category, Central’s Matt Howell and Wes Gilliland took second place. The team of Tyler Burysek, Megan McKee, Jamie Lokey, Adam Herron and Juliya Grigoryan took second place in the Kentucky Virtual Library public service announcement contest.

Students from Briarwood Elementary School took three awards at the conference. Sarah Mattison captured first place in Web site Design, and Caroline Davis was second in the same category. Lauren Butterfield and Shaina McDermott earned a blue participation ribbon in the Showcase category.

Natcher Elementary School students took one first place and two second place award. Ben Guthrie won first place in Original Digital Music. Kennie Wilson was second in the same category. Rachel Ford was second in Documentary Video.

Henry F. Moss Middle School earned the Gold Award for excellence in technology at the Kentucky STLP conference held in Lexington May 10-11.

WKYU nominated for five regional awards

WKYU-PBS, Western Kentucky University’s Public Television, was nominated for five awards in four categories for the 2007 Midwestern Regional Emmy Awards. The Midwestern Region represents 13 TV markets in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia.

This year several WKYU professional employees were recognized for their efforts in television arts categories. In the Magazine program category, David Brinkley, Cheryl Beckley and student Jessica Gibbs, a senior from Connersville, Ind., were nominated for the program, &#8220MainStreet.”

The station also received two nominations in the Community/ Public Service Announcement category. Beckley was singled out for her efforts in producing the &#8220WKU Centennial Moments” public service announcements that highlighted the WKU Centennial Celebration and Western’s first 100 years. Tony Noel and Brinkley were nominated for their joint effort on the &#8220Commonwealth Water Education Project” public service announcements (www.inyourwater.org) that strive to help keep Kentucky’s streams and rivers healthy for drinking, swimming, fishing, and boating – for current and for future generations.

And finally, Brinkley was nominated in two craft categories for lighting and short-form videography.

This year’s Emmy Awards will be announced June 23 in Columbus, Ohio.

– For more information on the Emmy Awards, visit www.ohio valleyemmy.org. To learn more about WKYU-PBS, visit www. wkyu.org.

Hayes accepted into UofL dentist program

Derek Hayes of Bowling Green was recently accepted into the University of Louisville Early Admission to Dentistry program.

Hayes will graduate this week from Bowling Green High School and begin undergraduate studies at the University of Louisville in fall 2007. He is slated for admission to the dental school in the fall of 2011.

ULEAD is a program designed to give early admission to the School of Dentistry to exceptional Kentucky high school seniors after completing their bachelor’s degrees at UofL.

Technology center recognizes graduates

The Health Sciences Program at Warren County Area Technology Center recently recognized graduates completing the Health Sciences Medicaid Nurse Aide Certificate and the Health Sciences Core 1 Certificate at their first annual awards ceremony. Students recognized were: Edmonson County High School: Angie Gregory, Cassie Carpenter, Sarah Kate Elmore;

Warren East High School: Katie Brooks, Brandi Gammon, Brittany Vincent, Brooke Haynes, Jessica Cline, Felicia Noghlabadi, Brittany Ward, Suzanne White;

Warren Central High School: Desiree Bruner, Bekah Stewart, Megan Adamson, Amanda Basham;

Greenwood High School: Paige Johnson, Whitnee Lee, Nan Willoughby, Lindsay Barnett, Shaynea Gallihugh, Ann Kirby, Emily Long, SaLonda McCoy, Richi Njoku, Courtney Pickler, Mika Spear, Jennifer Wainright, Sydni Willis, Keisha Woods.

The following students were recognized for completing their practicum and earning a specialty certificate:

Those awarded Health Sciences Nursing Skills Certificates were Brooke Haynes, Brandi Gammon, Katie Brooks and Brittany Vincent from Warren East.

Suzanne White from East earned the Health Sciences Medical Assistant Skills Certificate.

From Greenwood, Nan Willoughby earned the Health Sciences Dental Assistant Skills Certificate.

The Health Sciences Program allows high school students the opportunity to explore health careers.

WEHS students take honors in competition

Senior Joye Beth Spinks took first place in French Listening at the State Foreign Language Competition held May 12 in Lexington, and she was among nine WEHS students to bring home awards from the competition. Spinks also tied for 10th in French Grammar.

Ryan Davidson of Warren East was sixth in French Listening and sixth in French Grammar. East’s Leah Dieball took eighth in French Listening and tied for 10th in French Grammar. Johanna Torres and Kacy Kim of WEHS teamed up to take third in French Realia. The WEHS team of Cody Moore and Casey Harris took fourth in French Construction. East’s Emily Woosley was fifth in French Costume, and Greg Burkeen of East was fourth in Spanish Grammar.

Several make dean’s list at Transylvania

Bowling Green High School graduate and Transylvania University senior Patrick Coleman, Greenwood High School graduates and Transylvania sophomore David Bachert and senior Andrea Fitzpatrick and Marshall County High School graduate and Transylvania junior Katie Ouellette were named to the Dean’s List for the 2007 winter term.

To be named to the Dean’s List, a student must achieve at least a 3.5 grade-point average during the term.

Coleman, an accounting major, is the son of Penny Travelsted of Bowling Green.

Bachert is the son of Scott and Sara-Lois Bachert of Bowling Green.

Fitzpatrick, a biology major, is the daughter of Kenneth and Susan Fitzpatrick of Bowling Green.

Ouellette, a mathematics and physics double major, is the daughter of Edward Ouellette of Lexington and Lisa Graven of Bowling Green.

BGHS language students win at state

Congratulations to the following Bowling Green High School French and German students who competed at the state level May 12 in Lexington.

French winners include: Elizabeth Beiting, winning first place in oral proficiency and second prize in recitation. Maresa Arauza placed second for oral proficiency, and Cindy Lopez ranked fourth in oral proficiency. Erica Lawrence placed fifth in listening comprehension.

Among the German contestants, Sibela Nailovic placed first in literary recitation. Michael Bryant took second prize in grammar and vocabulary, and he also achieved third place in prose reading.

Rebecca Wilson graduates with honors

Rebecca Wilson, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Gene Wilson of Bowling Green, graduated with honors May 12 from the University of South Carolina.

An English major, Wilson wrote for the student newspaper &#8220The Gamecock,” was on the dean’s list for all four years of college and studied for a semester in Curitiba, Brazil. She will be working and residing this summer in Columbia, S.C.

Kwock gets degree at Lindsey Wilson

David Ryan Kwock, son of George and Laurie Kwok of Bowling Green, graduated from Lindsey Wilson College on May 12 with a degree in criminal justice.

He will attend Southern Illinois University School of Law this fall.

Cornock graduates from American School

Heather Renee Cornock, daughter of Kevin and Mary Cornock of Bowling Green, graduated in December from the American School in Lansing, Ill. She will be attending Bowling Green Technical College in August.

Osborne on dean’s list at Savannah College

Jackie Lynn Osborne of Bowling Green was named to the dean’s list for the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Ga.,

Osborne is a photography major.

Walker gets $20,000 scholarship from DoD

Matthew Christopher Walker received a scholarship of up to $20,000 to study a foreign language and culture abroad for a year.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, Walker will use the scholarship to study Romanian in Bucharest. He is the son of Dr. Carlton and Cornelia Graham Walker Jr., who are missionaries in Tokyo, and the grandson of Dr. and Mrs. Lewis Graham of Bowling Green and Mr. and Mrs. Carlton E. Walker Sr. of Richmond, Va.

Woodmen’s youth club works at shelter

Modern Woodmen’s Junior Youth Club No. 11852-1 partnered with the Bowling Green Jaycees and Camp No. 11908 to work earlier this month at the Bowling Green-Warren County Humane Society’s animal shelter.

The participated in Join Hands Day 2007 in which fraternal societies perform community service work.

Drakes Creek sets SBDM meeting

Drakes Creek Middle School Site-based decision-making council meets at 5 p.m. Thursday at the school.

Members will discuss staffing for next year and the textbook plan for next year.