6 minute read
Middle School Awards
Reilly Cox
Outstanding Fifth Grade Student Award
Megan Prince
Outstanding Sixth Grade Student
Molly Rickman
Outstanding Seventh Grade Student
TJ Cox
Outstanding Eighth Grade Student
Daughters of the American Revolution, Tomochichi Chapter Citizenship Award
Fifth Grade Keely Franks
Sixth Grade Drew Barron
Seventh Grade Kaden Hunter
Eighth Grade
KC Respress
Above and Beyond Award
Cindy Nwogu
House of the Year
The Ravens
PE Student of the Year
Everett VanOrman
Music Student of the Year
Caroline Smith
Art Student of the Year
Ava Hamon
Drama Student of the Year
Lizzy Wanner
Media Production Award
Fidel Ayala
Director’s Award Wyatt Franks
Scholar-Athlete
Zachary Carringer
GREAT Character Athlete
Josie Chesser KC Respress
Indian of the Year
Haygen James Clay Kafsky
It’s important to know where you are going in life and Tallulah Falls School students are learning how to get there.
According to World Geography teacher Amanda Rogers, this year, National Geographic was unable to sponsor its annual Geography Bee due to COVID-19.
"We wanted our middle school students to have an opportunity to compete in a school-sponsored geography bee to take its place," Rogers said.
SCHOOL-WIDE GEO BEE
For the third year in a row, Jedd Thomas of Cleveland finished in the top spot, with seventhgraders Bryson Perdue of Clayton and Dalton Blackwell of Cleveland finishing second and third, respectively.
"I am extremely proud of Jedd Thomas for his win three years in a row. It is evident that he has a love of geography," Rogers said. "Last year, Jedd took the state qualification exam and qualified to go to the state National Geographic Geography Bee; however, due to COVID, the event was canceled. Jedd’s love of geography and hard work allowed him to finish out his middle school career as a three-time champion!"
Thirty-three students in fifth-eighth grades opted to participate in the first round of written questions on April 19, with eight top scorers competing in a final verbal competition on April 28. In addition to the top three, other finalists included sixth-graders Megan Prince, Adelaide Tatum, Ethan Williams and Emily Shoemaker and eighth-grader Nick Edenfield.
CLASS OF 2021 GRADUATION
Delivering excellence in the face of adversity will be a hallmark for the Tallulah Falls School Class of 2021. After successfully navigating the academic year through a global pandemic, this close-knit group of seniors gathered on May 16 to mark the occasion of graduation.
Continuing the TFS tradition of intellectual achievement, the class earned more than $7 million in scholarship offers to more than 110 colleges and universities.
During the commencement ceremony, 73 seniors were recognized with all but 12 graduates accepting their diplomas in person. The remaining graduates were able to participate remotely from their homes across the world. Personal messages for each student from a faculty or staff member were included in the digital presentation.
President and Head of School Larry A. Peevy addressed the graduates, families, faculty, staff and guests and Chaplain Randy Morris provided a prayer. Peevy also extended greetings from TFS Board Chair Gail Cantrell. Peevy and Academic Dean Kim Popham presented diplomas and TFS Board Member Judy Forbes gave each graduate a commemorative pen, compliments of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs-Georgia.
“I am very proud of our seniors this year. I truly believe they all have very bright futures. I would wish you success, but success looks inward, significance looks outward and focuses on what impact you have on others,” Peevy said. ‘You have achieved success by being here today. Now go forth from here and strive to be significant!” Popham said the graduates left a legacy for future classes.
Both Valedictorian Baylee MacBeth and Salutatorian Caroline Turpin delivered a speech, expressing gratitude to family, teachers and others, reflecting on the memories of time spent with friends and acknowledging the impact of the TFS experience.
Visit www.tallulahfalls.org to view the video and additional photos from the event.
STAR
STUDENT & TEACHER
Each year, an academic highlight for the senior class is the announcement of the STAR Student and Teacher. Because of the pandemic, this year’s announcement was arrived a little later and the honoree is being honored virtually.
Pengyue “Peter” Wang of Tianjin, China earned the highest score on the SAT test and was in the top five percent of this year’s graduating class. Wang studied remotely due to travel restrictions in his home country of China. He selected upper school history teacher Adam Greiving of Clarkesville as the STAR teacher.
According to Wang, Greiving was instrumental in supporting the scholar’s academic ambition.
“I appreciate this recognition of my hard work on academics and Mr. Greiving’s support,” Wang said. “Mr. Greiving has pointed out to me history is a fantastic area for me to major in, and this enlightenment directly helped to ease my pressure when my SAT test was only weeks away. Mr. Greiving is a passionate expert on history and a great mentor to me, and he has made a profound impact on my future college career.”
Greiving’s admiration for the highachieving student is evident, but he has missed the personal interaction prevented by the pandemic.
“In my five years at TFS, Pengyue is one of the best history students I’ve taught. He is naturally curious and reads widely. He has an innate inquisitiveness and determination to find answers that have nothing to do with his teacher,” Greiving said. “Students who bring both thoughtful questions to a class and provide substantive answers in response are rare. Additionally impressive is that as a Chinese student, Pengyue’s command and mastery of the English language in both reading and speaking are without parallel.”
A four-year Presidential Scholar while at TFS, Wang has maximized the TFS experience, earning high marks in his academic classes and cultivating leadership skills as the manager for the cross country team and as a peer tutor. Additionally, he was a member of the TFS tennis team for several seasons and served as an analyst for the school’s robotics team.
This past summer Wang attended the Yale Young Global Scholars program, described as a “selective academic and leadership program that fosters intellectual curiosity, deepens understanding and inspires creative action across all borders.”
Other academic activities include membership in the National Honor Society and several global summer enrichment programs. He also published a paper through an independent study in history and English through Washington & Lee University.
The Student-Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program honors Georgia’s highest-achieving high school seniors and the teachers who have been most instrumental in their academic development, according to the PAGE (Professional Association of Georgia Educators) Foundation. The Rotary Club of Habersham County hosted the county’s STAR Students and Teachers on April 15. “Mr. Greiving is a passionate expert on history and a great mentor to me, and he has made a profound impact on my future college career.”
-Peter wang
