The Savannah-Chatham County Public School System is proud to recognize the student achievement at Coastal Middle School during the 2010-2011 school year. Students represented the school in many extra-curricular activities at the regional, state, and national levels. We congratulate them on their accomplishments and look forward to another great school year.
Madison Fontaine (8th grade) and Ciara Hodges (8th grade) were trained as ambassadors for Operation: Military Kids. Operation: Military Kids is the U.S. Army's collaborative effort with America's communities to support children and youth impacted by deployment. Recently, they attended a Chatham County Commissioner's meeting where they were presented a proclamation.
Cace Milner (8th grade), Sarah Quante (8th grade), Marquis Waiters (8th grade), Breanna Glenn (8th grade), Elizabeth Magyar (8th grade), and Amanda King (8th grade) competed in the Student Media Festival. Their documentary, “Bullying,” focused on bullying in today’s schools. Their work was rated “Superior” at both the district and the state levels out of several hundred entries. This summer, the group will represent Coastal Middle School at the International Student Media Festival in Jacksonville, Fla.
For the second year in a row, several Coastal Middle School students placed at the Foreign Language Association of Georgia’s (FLAG) Annual Spoken Language Competition. More than 500 students from across the state participate in this competition annually. This year, four 7th graders participated with two students, Katya Rybin (7th grade) and Sydney Doe (7th grade), placing “Superior” at the French I level. Mallory Bilyeu (7th grade) achieved a rating of “Excellent” for French II, and Kiara Patton (7th grade) achieved a “Notable” rating for French II.
Coastal Middle School won both first and second place in the Fair Housing Poster Contest conducted by the Chatham County Fair Housing Council. The students were asked to create an advertisement and write an essay about the Fair Housing Law. Kayla Butsko, an 8th grader, won first place and received a laptop computer from the Savannah Area Board of Realtors. Another 8th grader, Greta Wood, won second place and a $100 cashier’s check from the Board of Realtors. Both students were recognized at the June Board of Education meeting for their awards.
Two Coastal Middle School students excelled at the Regional Social Science Fair. Lexi Elmgren (6th grade) and Cat-Tien Nguyen (6th grade) won first place at the district and regional competitions. The topic of their project was The Political Effects of International Poaching. Each year, the competition is sponsored by The Georgia Council for the Social Science.
Coastal Middle School competed in the Georgia Book Awards Quiz Bowl in April, which was held at DeRenne Middle School, and won first place in this competition! Students who participated on the team included, Shane Allen (6th grade), Kenji Cabahug (6th grade), Tajorean Jenkins (6th grade), Bonny O'Donnell (6th grade), Cameron Durham (7th grade), Aspasia Karfakis (7th grade), Katina Karfakis (6th grade), and Andrew Durden (8th grade).
Three 7th grade Coastal Middle School students attended the Regional Science and Engineering Fair at the Georgia Tech Savannah campus. All three student representatives won awards, including the Grand Prize Best Middle School Science Fair Project. The three winners were Nicholas Flint (7th grade), Chase Polak (7th grade), and A.C. Williams (7th grade). Other awards received include: Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Award of Excellence: First Place - Middle School Division – Nick Flint, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Award Name: Building Science & Engineering - Second Place Award - Middle School Division – Nick Flint, American Meteorological Society: Certificate of Outstanding Achievement for Ability and Creativity in Atmospheric Science Exhibit – Chase Polak, Skidaway Marine Science Foundation for Excellence in Marine Science and Environmental Research – Chase Polak, The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics: Special Recognition – First Place Award, Middle School Division – Chase Polak, Savannah College of Art and Design: Honorable Mention – Middle School Division – A. C. Williams, Army Corps of Engineers: First Place – Middle School Division – A. C. Williams, National Society of Professional Engineers: Innovative Engineering Award – Middle School Division – A. C. Williams, Office of Naval Research: First Place – Middle School Division – A. C. Williams, Georgia Tech Savannah: First Place - Excellence in Engineering – A. C. Williams, Georgia Tech – Savannah Regional Science and Engineering Fair: Best in Category – Energy and Transportation, Middle School Division – A. C. Williams, and Georgia Tech – Savannah Regional Science and Engineering Fair (Sponsored by the ACSE/Plunkett Foundation): Grand Prize Winner – First Place - Middle School Division – A. C. Williams.
Stemming from their accomplishments at the local level, Chase Polak and A. C. Williams then advanced to the state level of Science Fair Competition. Coastal Middle School was again well represented. The competition was held on April 1 and 2 in Athens, Ga. Both representatives from Coastal Middle won awards, including a second place award for Chase Polak in the area of energy and transportation and a first place award for A. C. Williams. In addition to his first place award, A. C. was presented a special award from NASA, and a special award from Broadcom Foundation. The Broadcom award is especially noteworthy, as this award entitled A. C. to participate in the Broadcom Masters National Science Competition for Middle School Science and Engineering projects.
Odyssey of the Mind is a creative competition that allows for students to demonstrate their creativity and ability to think outside the box. This year a Coastal Middle School team won first place at the regional Odyssey of the Mind competition. This award allowed the team to participate at the state competition. The team, Le Tour Guide, created an eight-minute play that took group members around the world to three locations. At the state competition, the team placed third, missing an opportunity to compete at world competition by less than 10 points. Group members of Le Tour Guide include: Ellery Duck (6th grade), Ellie Pinkerton (6th grade), Savannah Patenaude (6th grade), Gracie Thompson (6th grade), Malcolm Williams-Green (6th grade), A. C. Williams (7th grade), and Catthalina Proongsak (8th grade).
This year Coastal Middle School had a team compete in Model United Nations. The team was comprised of 13 CMS students who competed against other local schools in several areas. Three students received awards for their participation. Alex Hale (8th grade) won a Distinguished Delegate Award for his prowess on the Organization of the Islamic Conference Committee. Sia Karfakis (7th grade) and Katina Karfakis (7th grade) won Honorable Mention for their skills in the General Assembly.
The National Junior Honor Society inducted 181 Coastal Middle students. The criteria to be nominated for the NJHS are based on academics and character qualities. In order to be nominated academically, a student must have no grade below an 80 in any class with an average of at least a 90 for each semester.
Finally, the 7th grade students concluded a community and service project. During the year, students studied the culture and political and economic systems of countries in Africa and Asia. Students then collected pennies to donate to the Pennies for Peace program. As a grade level, the students collected more $250 for the organization. Proceeds will be sent to help establish schools in Afghanistan through the Pennies for Peace program.
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