Thomas Academy has a lot to cheer about this month.
Not only did they honor their teachers during teacher appreciation week, but students from the school were recognized for outstanding achievements not only right here at home, but in Brunswick County as well.
The public charter school recently celebrated teachers in a number of ways. On Monday, students were encouraged to write messages for educators. This was a way to bring the kids into the fold and add a personal touch to the activity. On Tuesday, teachers received small gifts, and on Wednesday, a dessert reception was thrown by the Boys and Girls Home Resource Development team. Angelina’s Pizzas catered a luncheon for instructors on Thursday, and Friday, the week was wrapped up with yet another small gift.
“I know that our teachers are the reason our students are able to find academic success,” said Principal Dr. Cathy Gantz. “I have only been here since December, but I know that the teachers in our Thomas Academy classrooms are bringing the best out of the students because of their commitment to developing the whole student.”
Academy science fair ends in a tie
The Thomas Academy 2022 science fair ended in a tie for first place this year. Amelia and Lorelei Hopkins’ project, “Dissolve: Which Substance Dissolved Gummies Fastest,” and Wesley Smith’s project “Mold” took joint honors. Other projects presented at the fair included a vehicle made of recycled objects, a volcano, a study on the skeletal system, and a demonstration of the impact of blockages on airways.
Teacher Tara Haynes coordinated the event, and her fellow teachers Drake Harper, Courtney Swoboda, and Leo Wilson helped to judge the competition. This was the first year that the academy did a science fair, and Gantz says they are hopeful that at next year’s event “there will be even more participants.”
Thomas Academy writers recognized by Southport Woman’s Club
A trio of students were recently recognized as the winners of the Spring Creative Writing Contest sponsored by the Southport Woman’s Club in Brunswick County. Celia Mitchell, Lorelei Hopkins, and Wesley Smith were awarded a framed certificate, at $50 Barnes & Noble gift card, critiques of their entries by the judges, and a copy of Natalie Goldberg’s book “Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within.”
The contest was open to all students at Thomas Academy, and the young scholars were invited to write five pages on any topic of their choice. Each of the three winners had very different stories to tell.
Smith’s subject was vampires while Hopkins chose to write about a young ghost. Mitchell did not take a supernatural direction. She wrote about a middle school experience instead.
Each of the three writers had their reasons for entering the contest.
“I’m moving to Germany in a few months, and I wanted to enter the contest again before the move,” said Smith.
Mitchell has a love and talent of writing, and she revised something she had already written to submit for the contest. Hopkins was following in her mother Melissa’s footsteps.
“My mom likes to write, and I wanted to give it a try,” said the youngster.
Southport Woman’s Club members Ronni Rose, Janet Banks, and Jere Abernathy presented the awards, and Ann Rankowitz and Maddie Blomgren of the organization served as judges.
Since its founding in 1909, literacy has been the club’s focal point. Their successors started the first library in Southport, and the organization has remained focused on their main goal while supporting a variety of local charities.
“While we have a long history of supporting projects at Lake Waccamaw, this contest is a great way to move that support toward a core of literacy,” said Rose. “I really enjoyed reading all the entries. Hearing from the students about why they entered will help us to get more entries for next year.”
