Savannah Christian Preparatory School’s Layton Truax signed a letter of intent to play collegiate golf for Newberry College. Layton led the school to win the City Championship in April, by shooting a 73.

Layton has not only mastered his golf game, but he has also excelled in his academic studies as well. He is the recipient of three separate scholarships from Newberry for his academic, leadership and athletic excellence including: the Dean's Scholarship, the Newberry Scholarship and the Men's Scholarship. He will be pursuing a Pre-dentistry course of study.

SCPS’s golf team earned a Class AA Region Championship and Class AA State Championship Runner Up spot during his freshman year. Layton was also a Low Score medalist in the Class AA State Tournament his sophomore year and Low Score Medalist in Class A Regional Championship his junior year. He was also awarded “Most Valuable Player” his freshman and sophomore years. Along with being recognized for his distinguished play with Savannah Christian, Layton was also named “Greater Savannah Golfer of the Year.”

He is the son of Dexter and Joni Truax of Savannah.

The National Merit Scholarship Association has named two Savannah-Chatham County Public School System students as recipients of the National Merit Scholarship.

Marcel R. Williams, a senior at Savannah Arts Academy and Justin Z. Zin, a senior at Herchel V. Jenkins High School have each been awarded a $2,500 scholarship from the National Merit Scholarship Association.

The students were among 2,500 distinguished high school students who have won National Merit scholarships, announced recently by National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). These Merit Scholar designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding finalists in the 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program.

National Merit Scholarship winners are the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. They were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors. These Scholars may use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.

All finalists competed for these awards. To select scholarship winners, a committee of educators appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the Finalists and their high schools: the academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from two standardized tests; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the Finalist; and the recommendation written by a high school official. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s high school graduating seniors.

Five of Savannah’s public schools placed in the State Odyssey of the Mind Tournament in Columbus, Georgia, in a variety of divisions.

The following schools/teams who will now be headed to the World Competition on May 26-29, 2010 at Michigan State University are:

• Nature Trail’R:
Division 1 – Georgetown Elementary – 2nd PlaceDivision 3 – HV Jenkins – 2nd Place

• Discovered Treasures:
Division 1 – May Howard Elementary – 1st Place

• Column Structure:
Division 3 – Savannah Arts Academy – 2nd Place

• Food Court:
Division 1 – Marshpoint Elementary – 1st Place
Division 3 – Savannah Arts Academy – 2nd Place

The Savannah-Chatham County Public School System has extended the registration date for SCCPSS Specialty Programs. Individuals may register until Friday, May 21.

Registration forms should be submitted to the specialty program/school of choice before the close of the school day.  The registration form can be found on line at www.sccpss.com. Go to the Student tab, Pupil Personnel, and Student Registration Forms.