Pickens County Schools Teachers of the Year

Back Row, left to right
HCES TOTY Rhonda Lane, PCMS Principal Chris LeMieux, Not Pictured PCMS TOTY is Claire Eubanks, Vice-Chairman Jerry Chastain, Superintendent Mike Ballew, JMS Principal Bruce Godfrey, JMS TOTY Donny White, PHS Principal Chris Williams

Front Row, left to right
HCES Asst. Principal Joeta Youngblood, HES Principal Sherry Mullins, HES TOTY Charlotte Haughwout, TES Principal Deb Longshore, TES TOTY Denise Fox, PHS TOTY Sue Ellen McCormick, JES Principal Nonnie Weeks, and JES TOTY Judy Pinson.
(click image for larger view)

Special thanks to Mrs. Mary Land (PCMS band director) and Clara Pantazopoulos (assistant band director) for helping to instruct this talented group of students.

Congratulations for the PCMS First Lego League Robotics Team for qualifying two teams to compete at the state championship held at Georgia Tech on January 20. On January 20, 2007 Pickens County Middle School, FIRST Lego League (FLL) teams 1651 and 1652 culminated six months of intensive training in engineering, programming, physics, and nanotechnology (science at the molecular level) when they competed in the FLL Northwest Regional Qualifier at Wheeler High School. Out of a field of 33 teams, both PCMS teams scored in the top-third (7th and 9th place respectively) and advanced to the state championship tournament.

Special congratulations go to team 1652, which took second place in the research category. Members Roy Dallas, Jake Kennedy, Branden McClain, Michael Stephens, Jake Andrews, Gabriel Lott, Kyle Smith, and Austin Steele presented “Improving Night Vision Goggle Performance with Nano-Phosphate Lithium Ion (A123) Batteries.” They discussed how the new, lighter, more powerful A123 batteries can replace the heavy, quickly-drained lithium ion batteries used by the military. Of particular merit, they tested their hypothesis that the A123 batteries lasted ten times longer than the current lithium ion batteries. Three of the members, under the direction of engineer Scott Martin, wrote a computer program for the Lego Mindstorms RCX computer brick, which identified, data logged, and graphed every 2-percent drop in the intensity of a light bulb powered by an A123 or regular lithium ion battery.

Team 1651 also received high marks for its research presentation of “Amorphous Silicon Technology.” Members Christopher Kapelet, Lydia Lingerfelt, Miron Martishev, Mitrofon Martishev, Brett Robertson, and Ember Waller discussed how nano-sized silicon chips (one-hundred-thousandth the size of a human hair) are revolutionizing solar power. They tested an 18-volt, light-weight, flexible, solar charger by (a) charging an iPod, cellphone, fan, and generator battery and (b) measuring the voltage output under different lighting conditions.

Of particular note, four students (Jake Kennedy, Miron Martishev, Brett Robertson, and Austin Steele) traveled to the University of the South to work with Dr. Deon Miles, a chemistry professor. Under his direction, the students synthesized and analyzed quantum dots, fluorescent molecules used in a multitude of nanotechnology applications, including night vision goggles and solar laminates.

Special thanks to Jeanne Beecken (faculty sponsor and coach), William Beecken (team sponsor and coach), Clark Beecken (current engineering student and coach), Phil Floyd (retired test flight engineer), Brian Watt(current mechanical engineer), and Scott Martin (current electrical engineer) for helping to coach and mentor this excellent group of students.

Also, special congratulations to the PCMS Robotics program for being selected as this year’s recipient of the Spotlight on Technology Award presented by Kennesaw State College and University for PCMS’s nanotechnology research and robot development. Several members of the PCMS robotics team were asked to present on Capitol Tech Day (January 23) at the Georgia State Capitol.

Congratulations to the PCMS 6th grade Math Dragons for winning the 2007 Spring Berry College Math Contest on February. Team members include Brett Robertson, Paul Tran, Lynn Tran, Bryan Morris, Cheyenne Hass, Ashton McWhirter, Tiffanie Rainoff, and David Lee. 6th grade Math Dragons competed against 17 other public and private middle school teams in individual and team competitions and finished with a final team score of 670. The top math team scores were as follows:

• PCMS – 670
• Calhoun Middle – 605
• Bagley Middle – 600
• Jasper Middle – 590
• Woodland Middle – 590

Other notable teams include private schools Heritage Middle School (545), St. Mary Parochial School (545), and Sonoraville Middle (510),Gilmer Middle (485).

Special thanks to PCMS faculty members Carrie Stephens, Paula Henderson, Diane Jackson, and Jeanne Beecken who coached and/or taught math to the members of the 6th grade PCMS Math Dragons during this school year.