Gordon Central High - 2007-2008 review

2007-2008 review

Gordon Central's Aida Wins Region!

Gordon Central High School's production of Aida has been a smashing success! After a successful run at GCHS, and first place in the region, the troupe will take the show on the road as they participate in athe state one-act competition in Valdosta, Georgia.

Pictured here are Adam Bradford (Radames), Alejandra Guillen (Aida), Tara Clance (Amneris), Nicole Smith (crew member), and Jana McDaris (stage manager).

Gordon Central High School is happy to announce that Mrs. Shannon Rainwater has been selected as the Teacher of the Year for 2007-2008. Mrs. Rainwater teaches 10th and 11th grade English. Being a Warrior through and through, she is always actively involved in a variety of other extra curricular activities.

Gordon Central Football players recently enjoyed reading to students at Belwood Elementary School.

GCHS Hosts Craft Night for Big Brothers Big Sisters

Members of the Gordon Central High School chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America recently hosted a 'Craft Night' for boys and girls who participate in Big Brothers Big Sisters in Gordon County. The children who enjoyed games such as 'Wrap the Mummy', 'Spooky Musical Chairs', and 'Halloween Bingo', along with lots of other fun-filled activities. With the help of FBLA members from both GCHS and Sonoraville High School, children decorated cupcakes, Halloween crowns, and pumpkin plates. A committee of 20 FBLA members from GCHS met weekly to plan and prepare for the annual event, which was held at GCHS. A spookily good time was had by all!

GCHS Science Club collects over 300 toys for the Marines' Toys for Tots Project. Science Club officers are pictured here along with visiting Marines, including Rudy Voyles, a 2006 GCHS graduate. Officers are President Heather Hudgins, Vice-President Haley White, Secretary Genevieve Rodriguez, Historian Brendan Trujillo.

GCHS Students Help with The Kentucky Project

Gordon Central High School Science Club members recently collected items for The Kentucky Project. The Kentucky Project, which is based in Calhoun, is now in its 12th year of helping families and individuals in depressed areas of eastern Kentucky. New and gently used winter-weight clothing, toys, school supplies, toiletries, and personal hygiene items were collected by the students throughout October and November. Also, the GCHS student body and faculty donated $150.00 towards the purchase of food items to fill food boxes for families in Kentucky. The Science Club is directed by Mrs. Vickie Duncan of GCHS, and Carol Helms is Project Coordinator for The Kentucky Project.

And the Winner is...

Academy Awards/Oscars--A Walk Down the Red Carpet

The Gordon Central competetion recently celebrated their season at the year end banquet.

Seniors LaDonna Land, April Hobby, Kacey Hightower, Emily Snelling, and CJ Brown were given special "Oscar" recognition

--Kacey Hightower was awarded the Academic Award

--All of the cheerleaders were honored as 7AAAA Region Champs and 8th in State.

Environmental Science at GCHS

Scrap wood and foam became a treasure chest. Bottle caps and glitter turned into gold coins. Other transformations were old bath salts into sand, fish from old clothes hangers, and foam into a coral reef. Deep inside the chest, there is a 'message in a bottle', hidden inside a recycled soda bottle. Students Brittany Gilliam and Kayla Dowdy devoted two and a half days to creating their project, while they explored ocean ecology and simultaneously learned about recycling. They completed the project in conjunction with Mrs. Landers' environmental science class at GCHS.

Positive Person Awards for Second 9 Weeks

These students were chosen by their teachers to receive an award for being a positive person at GCHS! Front L-R: Sage Putnam (10th), Samantha Duvall (10th), Laura Beth Stone (12th), Josh Depaz (12th), Emma Reese(9th), Kacey Hightower (12th). Back L-R: Sara Talley (11th), Haleigh Burris (9th), Bo Bryant (9th), Coley Davis (11th), Drew Thornton (10th).

Lions Club honors Gordon Central's STAR Student Marie Richardson and her STAR teacher Darlene Callan.

The Calhoun Lions Club announced that Marie Richardson and Darlene Callan are Gordon Central's STAR student and teacher. The STAR Student program has been around for fifty years, and the the Calhoun Lions Club has sponsored the program in Gordon County for 49 years. Marie and Mrs. Callan were honored at a banquest on Feb. 26. Only one student from a a school system may go on to compete in region and and then state. The Gordon County system winner was Marie! Way to go!

Student Achievement is the focus of new Gordon Central Partnership

Gordon Central High School and Sonoraville High School have created a partnership with Shaw High School from Columbus, Ga. to focus on student achievement. Recently, local school facutly meet with both Sonoraville and Shaw to discuss the initiative. This collaborative planning activity took place at beautiful Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga. PAGE- Professional Association of Georgia Educators, sponsored this one day collaboration. The focus was on the Working On the Work (WOW) Framework. The WOW Framework has a laser like focus on students as customers and the design of engaging work to increase student achievement. PAGE sponsored this activity with teachers planning and discussing the process of design, engagement, and protocols.

Pictured are Gordon Central team members: Mr. Brock, Mrs. Landers, Mrs. Utz, Mrs. Holland, and Mrs. Wilson

Lions Club honors Gordon Central's STAR Student Marie Richardson and her STAR teacher Darlene Callan.


Chemical studies illustrate which life forms can survive in a wetland.	Students survey the biotic index in a flowing stream.
Teambuilding activities are important for lab work.	Students Students learn that each organism in a foodweb affects the other members.
	AP Biology Students Conduct Field Work Students from Gordon Central High School's AP Biology class recently visited The Blue Ridge Outdoor Education Center in Toccoa, Ga. After participating in team building activities, the students conducted field labs to study forest and freshwater ecology. During a 1.5 mile hike up the mountain, the students used night vision and other senses to observe nature at night. They also debated the impact of humans and their economic needs on the environment.
A tired but knowledgeable class poses on the steps prior to heading home to Calhoun.

GCHS Students Bring Home Awards for Mock Trial

On Saturday, Febrary 23, the Gordon Central Mock Trial Team competed in their region tournament in Canton, Georgia. The team performed exceptionally with two students bringing home individual awards. Junior Sarah Welty won the award for Outstanding Attorney, and Freshman Tricia McIntyre won the award for Outstanding Witness. Georgia's Mock Trial program was developed in 1988, and is sponsored by the Young Lawyer's Division of the Georgia Bar Association. Mock Trial is a very rigorous program that helps students learn about the Georgia legal system, as well as helping students develop critical thinking, public speaking, and oral advocacy skills. This is the seventh year that Gordon Central has competed in the Georgia Mock Trial Competition. The team, coached by Gordon Central teachers Renee Hughes and Kindra Watters, is also assisted by local attorney, Scott Forster, who has coached the team for all seven years of competition.

ToothPick Bridges

Recently, Lori Todd's and Marne Wilson's math classes uncovered the mathematics involved in building full scale bridges by using toothpicks and glue. The forces involved with toothpick bridges exemplifies the forces that are involved in Truss bridges built today.

Through experimentation and testing, students reproduced the forces of a full scale bridge by building a toothpick replica. The forces involved include compression, tension, torsion, and shear force.

The requirements for the the project included the use of only toothpicks and wood glue, evidence of triangles, and bears the weight of at least one geometry textbook without breaking. As you can see, some students' bridges went above and beyond the required weight limits!

SchoolCenter Picture

Fractured Fairytale Winner

Darius Gilbert, a junior at Gordon Central, recently won the high school division of the Fractured Fairytale contest sponsored by the Calhoun-Gordon County Library in support of library month. Darius wrote The Real Storyof Little Red Riding Hood from the wolf's stream of consciousness. A book will be purchased for the library in Darius' honor. On his left is Wayne Minshew, executive director of the Calhoun-Gordon County Council for a Literate Community and on his right is Dianne Cronon, Branch Manager of the Calhoun-Gordon County Library.

CLOUD CHAMBERS IN CHEMISTRY

GCHS students create their own cloud chambers and observe subatomic particles. The dry ice super cools the alcohol vapors in the chamber. The students then use flashlights to observe alpha and beta particles as they produce trails through the vapor. This hands-on activity produces scientific observations that verify the existence of protons, electrons and neutrons.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE GETS CHARGED UP!

I am in Mrs. Landers' 4^th block class. At the time this picture was taken, we were learning about static electricity and the flow of energy. What I am touching is called a Van de Graaf Generator. This generator transfers the energy currents throughout your body. The reason for my hair standing out like it is, is because the charges of my hair and the charges being sent through are the same. Therefore, the strands of my hair were repelling against one another. That is why my hair stands up like it does. Anyways, Mrs. Landers' class is really fun and she teaches you so much stuff. -Ashton Reed

In the past week, my physical science class and I learned about electricity. As a project, we learned about the Van de Graff Generator and how it works. Although it seemed scary, I was curious. Then I finally put it to the test. I put both my hands on the Van de Graff Generator and I felt such energy flowing all through my body. It has so much voltage that it causes every single strand of hair to stand on its end. You see, every single strand in your hair has enough net charge to make each strand repel each other strongly. It was a very awesome experience. -Susi Aviles (Ms. Landers and Tanya Holden and Tanya Holder are also pictured)

The past two days, my physical science class has been experimenting with electricity. We used a Van de Graaff to do so. When I touched it and my teacher turned it on, I felt the electricity go through my body. Then my hair stood up. I felt the electricity in my hair. It felt kind of weird, but cool at the same time. I learned that electricity is fun but can be dangerous. -Stuart Wishart (Jonathan Peek is also pictured)

Gordon Central raises money for Relay For Life

Students, faculty, and staff all came together to raise money for the American Cancer Society and the Relay for Life. The school earned over $4,000 for the event by participating in a variety of fundraisers. Students competed in "Bucks for Bowling"; a faculty bake sale was held; and the Warrior Baseball team took on the Warrior faculty in a spirited softball game.

Gordon Central's Coat-of-Arms in Living Color!

As part of her Art class with Mrs. Penny Dobson, GCHS senior Crystal Carden is decking the halls with murals in true Warrior spirit. Crystal has received an Art Scholarship from the acclaimed Savannah College of Art and Design. You can see Crystal's art in the Attendance Office and she is promising there is more to come. For more information on the coat-of-arms, keep reading below.

Our Coat-of-Arms: The Gordon Central Warrior forms the school crest. Flanking the warrior are a peace pipe and a tomahawk, symbolizing peace and war. The warrior's shield is supported by the feather wand of the Eagle Dance. The eagle, our nation's symbol, was the sacred bird of the Cherokee Nation. The shield consists of three sections. The bottom section is emblazoned with the symbol of the Cherokee Nation. The top left section features the scales of justice surmounted on a map depicting the joining of the Conasauga and Coosawatee Rivers, which come together to form the Oostanaula. The star indicates the location of New Echota, the capitol of the Cherokee Nation. The top right section displays the Great Seal of the State of Georgia. Dividing these two sections is a 'torch of learning'. The school's monogram "GC" forms the flame of the torch in blazing red. We are proud of our school and our coat-of-arms speaks of it- Warrior Pride!

NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY

On February 7, 2008, the Gordon Central National Honor Society inducted thirty-three new members. Administration and parents looked on proudly as inductees continued the tradition by signing the National Honor Society ledger. The inductees are as follows:

Left to Right: 1^st- Sandra Cruz, Sara Talley, Megan Treglown, Shelby Morris, Tara Clance, Lacey McLemore, and LauraBeth Stone. 2^nd- Belsy Garcia, Mona Al-timimi, Lauren Hilley, Cecily Willis, and Ricky Doshi. 3^rd- Aumi Brahmbhatt, Sarah Welty, Lacie Ralston, Jake Davis, Darius Gilbert, Lacey Wilkins, Lisa Couch, and Matt Crawford. 4^th- Kunjal Patel, Misty Blaylock, Amanda Baldwin, Chad Patterson, and Brandon McFry. 5^th Timothy Aldridge, Alan Marvel, Jarrod Smith, Matthew Darby, Mark Rhinehart, and Dillon McFry. Not Pictured-Brendan Trujillo and Kayla Barnes.

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The Gordon Central Competition Cheerleading team recently won first place in region competition. They will now compete in the state championship this Saturday!

Good Luck!!