April 2013
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We Applaud
National Merit Finalists Announced
Congrats to Brookwood's National Merit Scholarship Finalists: Alexis Brooks, Melanie Chandler, Ryan Nelson, Aaron Ragans, Jenny Truong and Eric Yao. These students are in the running with 15,000 nationwide for prestigious scholarships based on their scores on the PSAT. Winners will be announced in the coming months.
Broncos Chosen for Governor's Honors Program
Eight students are headed to Valdosta this summer as part of the Governor's Honors Program. This four week residential instructional program is designed to provide talented high school students challenging and enriching educational opportunities not usually available during the regular school year. Congratulations to Carleigh Brisendine (Communicative Arts), Ryan Chen (Math), Olivia Chong (Visual Arts), Griffin Dangler (Music/Jazz Electric Bass), Holly Gunder (Communicative Arts), Alexis Jacob (Visual Arts), Nick Na (Spanish) and Rachel Wagner (Theater).
Students of the Month
Congrats to our Students of the Month. The following students were selected by BHS staff for achievement, motivation and acts of service. Ahdejah Mack, Fulani Jabri, Kaitlyn Hawes, Villair Barrett, Eyosyas Gedion, Julia Bassell, Justin Dumrongkulraksa, Nathan Gill, Amanda Cao, Ian Daniel, Ryan Hillary-Edge, Sherdian Schuster, Xxavier Robertson, Olivia Schmidt, Emancio Montgomery, Ansley Davis, Ryan Cameron and Ravneet (Ravi) Bhullar. |
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We Perform
Dancers Attend Festival in Virginia; Audition for Programs
Students in the Dance Department traveled to Norfolk, Virginia to the Regional High School Dance Festival. Dancers participated in a variety of dance classes Thursday-Saturday and attended student and professional performances every night. While there, three Broncos auditioned for universities and summer dance intensives. Congrats to: Jordan Silas, who was accepted into Nashville Ballet's summer intensive; Ashley Baez, who was accepted into the dance program for Santa Fe University; and Katelyn Smith, who was accepted into Point Park's Dance Department and awarded a substantial scholarship to attend in the fall.
Chorus & Orchestra Rated "Superior" by Judges
Brookwood chorus and orchestra students were adjudicated at the Georgia Music Educators Association's Large Group Performance Evaluation. All four orchestras and three choirs earned "superior" ratings in performance. In addition, chorus students scored "superior" in sight reading.
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Senior Katie Howard |
In other choral news, senior Katie Howard attended the American Choral Directors Association Convention in Dallas as a member of the high school choir. Katie qualified for this national choir by auditioning with a vocal solo and scales, competing against hundreds of students from across the United States. Katie joined the other selected students for three days of rehearsal prior to their performance at the convention. |
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We Compute
Computer Programming Students Create Games, Control Robots
Congratulations to the following students who participated in the GA Tech Alice Competition. In this is annual competition, students write games or animations in Alice, a 3D modelling program. These students are all 1st year programmers taking Beginning Programming. The following Broncos were recognized.
High School Group Game:
1st Matthew Leopold, Shirish Vadali and Matthew Pendelton.
Most Creative: Jacob Britt and Miles Nolan.
Best Drama: Saif Issani, Chris Downs.
Best Adventure Game: Andrew White, Tuan Nguyen and Quan Le.
Best use of Sound: Adam Essig, Andy Ho and Daniel Boaitey.
 | | Programmable Finch robot |
Also, in 1st year programming, students have been programming Finch Robots to complete tasks like drawing, taking a human's temperature or run through an obstacle course. |
We Compete
DECA Students to Attend International Competition
Eighteen Broncos competed in the DECA State Competition. DECA's competitive events include categories such as marketing, business management and administration, finance, hospitality and tourism. The students listed below move on to the International DECA Competition this month in Anaheim, California.
Alex Lister - State Champion in Restaurant and Food Service Marketing
Kevin Tian - State Champion in Business Services Marketing
Daniel Komoroski - 2nd Place in Hotel and Lodging Management
Kevin Tian - 2nd Place in Entrepreneurship Testing
Jessica Barton - 3rd Place in Selling Testing
Caitlin Costello - 4th Place in Principles of Business Administration
Caitlin Costello - 4th Place, Selling
Taylor Bennett - 5th Place, Selling
Alex Lister and Christian Gochnauer - 5th Place, Business Operations Research
Ryan Anderson and Chester Von Pouke - 7th Place, Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team Decision Making
Matt Pallansch - 10th Place, Entrepreneurship Testing |
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Go Brrrrookwood Brrrroncos! This spring has tested even the most dedicated sports fans. Check out track & field parent Adrienne Levesque at the Gwinnett County Championship meet. Fans were rewarded though. Brookwood swept all the county titles. More from the Gwinnett Daily Post. |
MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPAL DEES
Dear (Contact First Name),
In the spring, it feels like school shifts into overdrive. On top of usual school business, we are busy planning big events for April, May and beyond. It's the time of year when we rely on your help more than ever. Parent volunteers are currently needed in the following areas.
- A quarter of our students are taking Advanced Placement classes and we will be proctoring tests for these courses every morning from May 6-17. Our staff can use help to monitor the tests.
- Student participation in our Athletics program continues to climb. To keep up with the numbers, booster club parents step up to help ferry and feed athletes, plus work the gates, concessions stands and more.
- Seven hundred and sixty Broncos will graduate in May. We want to make it an experience they will never forget. Volunteers are needed for the Senior Picnic, Senior Breakfast, Senior Letters Program, and the all-night party at Dave & Buster's, sponsored by the PTSA.
Students love to see the smiling faces of parents helping at school. We are lucky to be in a community willing to do so much for kids. I encourage you to find a way to connect with students and the school. Email links for project organizers are provided below for those who can lend a hand.
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We Three-Peat
Science Olympiad Team Earns Another State Championship!
On March 16, the Brookwood Science Olympiad Team competed in The State Science Olympiad at Southern Polytechnic State University. The competition had the 24 best teams in the state, including several magnet and charter schools, battling it out in 23 different events. On the way to earning Brookwood's third State Championship in a row and fifth state championship in the last six years, all fifteen Brookwood team members earned medals, a first at a state level competition. It was the most dominant performance in the history of the Brookwood Science Olympiad program. The five gold medals and fourteen medals overall are both new team records. Brookwood and GSMST, the second place team, will represent Georgia at the National Science Olympiad at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio on May 17-18.
Ice Hockey Team Three-Peats as State Champs
A big congratulations to members of the Brookwood Ice Hockey Team, who are State Champions for a third year in a row. Ice Hockey is a student-initiated club at Brookwood. More info on the team's website. |
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We Win
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Austin Fowler & Matt Stout |
Brookwood Juniors Medal in US Orienteering Championship
The US Interscholastic Orienteering Championships were held in Overland Park, Kansas in March. Brookwood junior Matt Stout won the Varsity Male title at the two-day event. Junior Austin Fowler took the bronze. Orienteering is a student-initiated club at Brookwood. The sport requires navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain. The sponsor is teacher Chris Michael. Interested students may see Mr. Michael in E35 or email him at chris_michael@gwinnett.k12.ga.us. |
We Commend 
Lindsey Thrift Awarded Travel Scholarship
Congrats to junior Lindsey Thrift. She has been awarded the Bertie Green travel scholarship and will go to Costa Rica this July. The Spanish Honor Society annually selects 24 students from the U.S. for the trip based on student transcript, essay and taped interview in Spanish.
Spanish Students Immerse in Language for a Weekend
Students Johnny Andia, Caleigh Derreberry, Rebecca Santiago, Grace Bullabaugh, Carleigh Brisendine, Alexis Zakers and Jordan Zakers, along with Spanish teacher Mary Meyer, participated in a Spanish Immersion Camp weekend with other Spanish students from Georgia. Students spent the entire weekend speaking and hearing Spanish. They spent Friday getting to know their 'familia', creating a family banner, learning songs, and finished off the evening with a bonfire and s'mores. Saturday, they explored topics in various workshops on topics such as Hispanic dance, drama, soccer, volleyball, scavenger hunt, board games and paper crafts. In the evening, they celebrated at the Carnaval with a parade of costumes, dancing and sopapillas. Brookwood's own Johnny Andia was selected as 'rey' of the Carnaval. Sunday, students purchased items in the 'mercado' with the 'pesos' earned from their camp participation and the 'familias' presented their dramas before heading back to the world of English.
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A few members of the Latin Club pose with a chariot donated by parent Mike Morrow. |
Other Foreign Language News
One hundred thirty advanced Spanish classes took a field trip to the High Museum to see the Frida and Diego exhibit in March.
The Brookwood French club had an easter egg hunt and a egg decorating contest. The winning egg was designed by student Michaela Hedges. |
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We Recognize
Simone Glenn Takes 3rd in Essay Contest
In March, Microsoft Corporation hosted its annual Student Minority Day at the Alpharetta headquarters. Students had the chance to tour the facilities, see innovative technologies, and learn about careers in the field. They also entered an essay contest about marketing a new product. Junior Simone Glenn placed 3rd in the essay contest and received a wireless keyboard and Microsoft Windows 8.
Kuttler Smith Takes 2nd in Tech Ed Student of the Year Contest
Congratulations to Kuttler Smith who was recognized as 2nd place winner in Gwinnett County Technical Education's Student of the Year contest. Kuttler received a $500 scholarship, which he will use toward furthering his education at GA Tech as a Mechanical Engineering student in the fall. |
Broncos Place at State Science Fair
Six Broncos placed at the State Science Fair in Athens in March. Congratulations to the following students for their hard work and accomplishment: Adarsh Suresh and Ryan Chen (3rd place); Rylee Mercer, Asiya Abbas and Emily Ruengvivatpant (3rd place); and Ruth Melka (4th place).
Readers Rally Team Takes 2nd
In March, the Brookood Readers Rally Team competed against 16 high schools in the Gwinnett Readers Rally, finishing second. Congratulations to team members: Lauren Cox, Kamsi Ede, Micah Henson, Brooke Lively, Justin Self, Autumne Sneed, Laboni Hoque, Daniel Boaitey and Molly Zahorian.
High Math Scorers
Congrats to the following students. They represent the top 5 Brookwood scores on recent tests from the Georgia Mathematics League.
1st Place - Ryan Chen, 2nd Place - Bowen Ewe, 3rd Place - Laboni Hoque, 4th Place - Corey Zheng and 5th Place - Chase Butler
In other math news, Ryan Chen and Corey Zheng were both semi-finalists in the Georgia Tech Math Competition in March. Ryan came in 10th place (out of over 400 students from around the southeast).
Beta Clubbers Attend Convention
Thirteen BETA Club members attended the 74th annual Georgia Senior Beta Club Convention. Our BETAs competed in a variety of events in a convention with over 70 other high schools from around the state. The following students received awards for their convention performances:
1st Place in Creative Writing: Melanie Chandler
1st Place in Science: Adarsh Suresh
2nd Place in Spelling: Sarah Kang
3rd Place in English: Sabrina Moin |
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