Athens Academy Press Releases

Four members of the Athens Academy faculty and staff were recognized by the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) for their outstanding work in independent schools. Pre-first teacher Jane Inscoe and plant management technicians Frank McKinley, Fred Bridges, and Otis Harris received the Distinguished Service Award for each having dedicated at least 25 years of service to independent schools.
Mrs. Inscoe, Mr. McKinley, Mr. Bridges, and Mr. Harris were honored at the GISA Fall Conference on Sunday, November 5, 2006, at the Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School in Rabun Gap, Georgia. GISA is an association of private, independent, and parochial schools throughout the state sharing “a commitment to overall excellence and to the nurture and care of the physical, intellectual, social and moral development of all students.”
Mrs. Inscoe has been teaching in independent schools for 25 years and has been a pre-first grade teacher at Athens Academy since 1989. Before coming to Athens, she taught kindergarten at Durham Academy in Durham, North Carolina, and second grade at the Darlington School in Rome, Georgia.
Mr. McKinley begins his 40th year at Athens Academy this year and is proud to have been here since shortly after the school opened. Mr. McKinley oversees the Tillman Center and the lunch program for the Middle and Upper School.
Mr. Bridges is a familiar face in the Lower School, where he spends much of his day. Known to the children as “Mr. Freddie,” he has been at Athens Academy for 32 years.
Mr. Harris has been at Athens Academy for 25 years. He maintains the grounds of the school, making sure the campus is both beautiful and functional.
The entire school community congratulates Mrs. Inscoe, Mr. McKinley, Mr. Bridges, and Mr. Harris for their hard work and dedication to independent education and to Athens Academy.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 08:10 AM | Permalink

After their regional victory in the Georgia High School Association One Act Play competition, Athens Academy won the state competition with their entry, The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail. Eight schools from across the state competed on Saturday, November 11, 2006, at Lee County High School in Leesburg, Georgia. In addition, senior Aaron Strand won “Best Actor in the State” for his performance as Henry David Thoreau.

The Athens Academy One Act company included Aaron Strand, Carley Moore, Jake Parnell, Billy Pate, Sarah Schacher, Ethan Trice, Katie Ward, Emily Westberry, Helena Anderson, Scott Baumwald, Rory Brawner, Hayley Brown, Amy Bruckner, Libby Hansen, Cate Jackson, Molly Kent, Taylor Lavelle, Houston Mahoney, Umesh Patel, Matthew Leonard, Nate Crawshaw, Kelsey Ford, Blair Terry, Christine Shaw, Jasmin Patel, Meg Winthrop, Annie Cartwright, and Jeff Nordgren. Congratulations to these talented Spartans!

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 11:37 AM | Permalink

David Hou was recognized in October as a semifinalist in the 2006-07 Siemens Competition in Math, Science, and Technology. David, who is a senior at Athens Academy, was the only semifinalist to be recognized from the state of Georgia. His project involved his work this past summer at the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University, where he conducted an experiment concerning the anti-carcinogenic effects of a Vitamin E analog called alpha-Tocopheryl Succinate on squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
The Siemens Foundation, in partnership with the College Board, established the competition to promote excellence by encouraging students to undertake individual or team research projects in science, mathematics, engineering, and/or technology.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 11:33 AM | Permalink

Twenty-one members of the Athens Academy’s Class of 2007 have been named AP Scholars by the College Board. Each year the College Board recognizes students for their exceptional performance on Advanced Placement Exams, with specific criteria for several different categories of recognition. Students take the AP Exams after completing a rigorous and fast-paced year of college-level coursework. Only 18 percent of the 1.3 million high school students across the country who took AP Exams scored well enough to be recognized as AP Scholars.
Seven seniors qualified as AP Scholars with Distinction by earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more exams: Shub Agrawal, Phil Brudney, Lucy Fu, David Hou, Matt Leonard, Cora Beth Tench, and Chenzi Xu.
Six seniors qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.25 on all exams, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more exams: Helena Anderson, Sharon Covington, Thomas Johnson, Brandon Lou, Surili Sheth, and Neeraj Sriram.
Eight seniors were recognized as AP Scholars for earning grades of 3 or higher on three or more exams: Victoria Adams, Nate Crawshaw, Jackie Derron, Carley Moore, Allison O’Rear, Jasmin Patel, Trey Sinyard, and Emily Westberry.
The students will be eligible for additional AP recognition after completing their AP Exams this spring.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 11:08 AM | Permalink

During the halftime of Athens Academy’s football game against Athens Christian School, Blair Terry was crowned the 2006 Athens Academy Homecoming Queen. Miss Terry (center) is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Ron Terry of Athens. Other members of this year’s Homecoming Court include (l to r) Eleni Herrington, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Bill Herrington of Athens; Devon Farmer, daughter of Drs. Mark Farmer & Dorset Trapnell of Winterville; Kinley Perno, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lou Perno of Athens; and Victoria Adams, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Mike Adams.

During Athens Academy’s Homecoming festivities, Phil Brudney (center), son of Dr. and Mrs. Jeff Brudney of Athens was crowned the 2006 Homecoming King. His court included (l to r) Trey Sinyard, son of Dr. and Mrs. Robert Sinyard of Athens; Sam Pittard, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bob Pittard of Athens; Bevan Hopper, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Hopper of Athens; and Will Douglas, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Douglas of Bishop.

Posted by Kelley Cuneo at 08:36 AM | Permalink