Bronco Tradition for October 2012

October 2012

In this issue...

We Achieve

National Merit & Achievement Semifinalist Named

Congrats to the seven Brookwood students who have been named National Merit Semifinalists: Alexis Brooks, Melanie Chandler, Ryan Nelson, Aaron Ragans, Raymond Richardson, Jenny Truong, and Yili Eric Yao.

And, congrats to our National Achievement Semifinalists: Ruth Melka, Naana Obeng-Marnu and Jamani Smith.

All of these seniors were selected for the honors based on PSAT scores from their junior year. They are now in the running with students nationwide for thousands of dollars in scholarships.

We Commend

Bronco Musicians Chosen for Elite Ensembles

Congratulations to string students Emma DeJarnette and Janae Thompson who were accepted into the Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra for the 2012-13 season.

Congratulations to Do Young Kim, Nam Kim, and Micah Jo who were accepted into the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra.

These Bronco band students were selected for the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony: Kevin Choi, clarinet; Drew Hooper, percussion; Bryton Merritt, horn; Steven Ren, tenor sax; & Jack Thorpe, alto sax.

Charis Hanson (flute), Kenny Bader (oboe) and Mikaela Pavin (alternate on tuba) have been selected by the Metropolitan Youth Symphony.

We Create

Art Department Creates Unique Club Shirts

Rather than buying matching club t-shirts, the art department is creating its own. The art club, with the help of the National Art Honor Society, voted on a design and will be using color theory to tie dye all shirts. Each will be a unique and different piece of art that the groups will wear to show unity in the arts.

Art clubs are also working on a huge banner that will hang in the Commons Area during the Homecoming Dance. The banner will match the dance theme, VIBE: A Night of Lights and Sounds.

We Innovate

Entrepreneurship

Students Participate in Program with Other Area Innovators

Brookwood Entrepreneurship students are a part of the Entrepreneurship Alliance, an education program aimed at teaching the youth of Snellville the basics of starting their own business. This year-long class, taught by Cindy Bazzell (2011-12 Teacher of the Year) includes field trips, business mentors, guest speakers, entrepreneurs-in-residence, and an annual Community Investor Fund to assist in the start up and growth phases of the most successful Entrepreneurship Alliance Businesses. The program was featured in this issue of Snellville Spirit magazine.

Brookwood High, South Gwinnett High, Snellville Middle and Crews Middle are all participating in the alliance. If your student is interested in signing up for the Entrepreneurship class for the next school year, he or she can see Ms. Bazzell in B5 during course registration in February.

We Celebrate

Students of the Month Named

Congrats to the September Students of the Month. These students were chosen by BHS teachers and staff for motivation, achievement or acts of service. They will celebrate at a pizza party in their honor later this semester.

Department Students of the Month

David Gray, Diana Orellana, Andre Neptune, Bonnie McRae, Adarsh Suresh, Connor Murphy, Louis Jihoon Kim, Connor Veith

and Taylor Strom

Bronco Service Awards

Janet Galvez, Jonathan Cantrell, Della Kramer and Nicole Riley

We Succeed

Fencing Wins First Tournament

The Fencing Club took first place at the On Guard High School Fencing Tournament at Lambert High, winning the following events: Men's Epee, Women's Epee, Men's Foil, and Women's Foil. BHS took second for Men's Saber.

Medalists (3 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze)

Gabrielle Issa (Gold Epee)
Jason Jang (Gold Foil)
Nikki Puvvada (Gold Foil)
Lucas Montouchet (Silver Epee)
Anna Thornton (Silver Foil)
Skylar Shearer (Silver Saber)
Ian Eichwald (Bronze Epee)
Carleigh Brisendine (Bronze Women's Epee)
Skylar Shearer (Bronze Foil)
Colin McRae (Bronze Saber)

Also earning school points for Brookwood: Ben Wakim (Epee) and Evan Brown (Foil)

We Lead

PTSA Student Reps Named

Congratulations to

Aizaz Shaikh, Bhargav Patel, Danielle Ajagbe, Jenny Choi, Jocelyn Pozorski, Regan Jolley, and Shyam Dhanani. These students were chosen to represent the student body on the PTSA board and will work on events such as Red Ribbon Week in October.

Teacher of the Year Laura Stanley was a 2001 UGA Honor Grad, Drum Major & Captain of the Red Coat Band.

A MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPAL DEBBIE DEES

Greetings!

The College Board released SAT score results this week and Brookwood student scores continue to climb. In 2012, Broncos scored an average of four points over 2011 results. This is the highest score of any non-magnet Gwinnett high school.

We have many reasons to celebrate our students' academic achievement. Student success is certainly due in part to the many wonderful teachers we have. One way we honor teachers is by selecting a Teacher of the Year to represent us at county and state competition.

Students admire Laura's competence & passion, mixed with a big dose of fun. (In photo, at a recent football game, crowd surfing in the band.)

When I first saw the list of teachers who were nominated by their peers, my heart filled with pride. All of them are incredible teachers who have dedicated their lives to making a difference with students. We narrowed the field to three finalists. The final three (Band Teacher Laura Stanley, Latin Teacher Ashley Allgood, and Language Arts Teacher Amber Simmons) submitted video applications. Through faculty and staff voting, we selected Laura as our Teacher of the Year.

Watching our students interact with our teachers is the highlight of my day. I'm honored to work beside all the dedicated professionals at Brookwood.

Warmly,

Debbie

P.S. We have just received word that Laura will represent Brookwood as one of 25 semi-finalists in Gwinnett County Public Schools Teacher of the Year competition.

We Speed

Varsity girls (in photo), JV boys & JV girls cross country brought home county championships.

JV girls celebrate their victory.

Cross Country Teams Dominate at County Meet

Varsity Girls, JV Girls, and JV Boys all took first place in the recent Gwinnett County Championship Meet at River Green XC Complex in Duluth. Varsity Boys took third. Complete story in the Gwinnett Daily Post.

We Remember

In photo, the horseshoe is transported from the Field House to the Stadium by golf cart prior to the Archer game.

The Legend of the Horseshoe

Have you ever wondered about the origins of the large horseshoe sculpture that is ever present at Brookwood football games? We asked some of the folks that were here when it came to Brookwood about the sculpture and have documented their answers here.

The horseshoe was donated to the football program in 1992 by then Touchdown Club President Buzz Brown. Buzz's son was the team's quarterback at that time. In the beginning, the horseshoe was carried down to the field for regular season games that were played at home. In 1996, the team convinced coaches that the horseshoe should accompany the team on the road for the playoffs. The Broncos won the State Championship that year and the horseshoe has been going on play-off road trips ever since. The horseshoe is made of wood, cut with a chainsaw, then painted and stained. Cracks have appeared naturally as it has aged.

Having you seen players rubbing it before game time? Many believe it brings them luck.

We Score

Congrats to the JV Softball Team. They went 5-0, winning the Gwinnett County Tournament. Great job, ladies!

JV Football Undefeated!

Congrats to the JV football team. They are 4-0 on the season.

We Play

Orchestra Enjoys Lock-in Fun

Orchestra lock-in

In September,

Brookwood string musicians and their conductors enjoyed a night of fun at the Stars and Strikes in Stone Mountain. A group of ninety-five bonded over all night bowling, laser tag, arcade games & bumper cars.

We Care

International Club Holds Bake Sale

In September, the International Club promoted a bake sale. 100% of the proceeds from the bake sale went to PartnershipsInAction, an initiative of the Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. This organization is committed to alleviating poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy, primarily in Africa and Asia. Overall, the International Club collected $113 to donate to the foundation. We thank all the volunteers who organized the event and those that bought from the bake sale.

We Applaud

In September, theater students attended a Saturday workshop on stage make-up application, sponsored by Eddie's Trick Shop. The students learned the latest techniques and supplies available. Learning experiences such as these are a big reason why Brookwood theater productions are so professional.