EDITORIAL: Thumbs up to the Presidential Scholar candidates

Thumbs up to the five Pee Dee high school seniors who are among 68 identified as candidates for the 2010 Presidential Scholars program: Millie H. Griffin, Ramiz N. Hamid, Dominic Ranz E. Errazo and Somin Lee of the S.C. Governor’s School for Science & Mathematics, Amanda L. Grubb of Trinity Collegiate School in Darlington and Timothy Jiang of Wilson High School in Florence. The program honors young people for outstanding academic achievement, artistic excellence, leadership, citizenship and community service. The candidate pool consists of some 3,000 students with high SAT or ACT scores. A review committee will narrow that list to about 500 honorees in the semifinal round. About 120 students will make the final round and be invited to an awards program in Washington, D.C., in June. The Presidential Scholars program was created in 1964 to recognize academic achievement. It expanded in 1979 to salute students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, literary and performing arts and who are nominated through the nationwide youngARTS competition conducted by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts.

Thumbs up to the fifth-grade students of Royall Elementary School in Florence who raised more than $600 for the victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti. Thanks to Sloan Kelly, a fifth-grade student in Starla McRae’s class, a bake sale was organized to raise money for those who suffered in the disaster. “After watching the news coverage of the earthquake in Haiti, I wanted to do something to help the victims there,” Sloan said. Royall parents baked homemade treats that were sold Jan. 29 to all students and faculty members at Royall. All items were sold for 50 cents each. Thanks to all who participated in this effort, a check for $657 was presented to Anthony Hall, director of the Pee Dee Chapter of the American Red Cross.

McBee Elementary School Principal Dr. David Nutt gives thumbs up to his school for recognizing the importance of reaching out and helping others. After seeing the devastation in Haiti following the earthquake, students, faculty and staff decided to raise money to aid the victims. For a $1 donation, the donor’s name was written on an earth card and displayed on a We Care Wall. The school collected $400 and presented a check to Willard Hill of the American Red Cross. “Students learned the importance of global citizenship and helping others in need has no boundaries,” Nutt wrote.

Thumbs up to Williamsburg Technical College’s Alpha Sigma Gamma chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society for its $100 donation to the C.E. Murray National Honor Society to help with its upcoming trip to Washington, D.C. The school’s E. R Barr Chapter of the National Society is based on scholarship, character, leadership, service and citizenship. The students must have maintained an average of 90 or above for three consecutive semesters and may join by invitation only. Its advisors are Tammy Tisdale, guidance specialist, and John Conyers of the English department. The Alpha Sigma Gamma chapter, part of the society which recognizes and encourages academic achievement of two-year college students, recently placed second in the 2010 S.C. Technical Education Association Student Community Involvement Project competition.It has sponsored such community-enhancing events as canned food drives for St. Anne’s Catholic Church, assisting with Meals on Wheels for Vital Aging and raising money for the American Red Cross. Its advisors are Alecia Lawrence, general business instructor, and Judy Coker, assistant to the dean of instruction.