Whale Branch seniors earn two-year degrees
Six Whale Branch Early College High School seniors picked up their high school diplomas on May 26 having already earned two years of college course credits.
The students took advantage of a partnership with the Technical College of the Lowcountry that allows Whale Branch students to take college courses – and earn two-year associate’s degrees – while still in high school and at no cost to themselves or their parents. The TCL degree represents a two-year head-start as the students work toward earning a bachelor’s degree or entering the workforce.
The six Whale Branch seniors actually earned “double” TCL associate’s degrees in both Arts and Science.
They are Thomas Felver, Destiny Hall, Briona Millidge, Liliana Molina, Thomas Vicuna and Judah Wood.
Twelve other Whale Branch seniors graduated with college certificates for completing significant college-level coursework at TCL. They are: Ebony Beasley, Tariq Clark, Kendra Crawford, George Delaney, Jordan Johnson, Kaya Maat, Elisabeth McMillan, Micaela Minter-Ford, Dayvon Polite, Tyleasha Robinson, Evelyn Serrano-Mundo and Shawna Wright.
“Students and their parents are the big winners,” said Superintendent Jeff Moss. “Students can earn four-year college degrees in just two years, so they pay for only two years of tuition. Earning college credits without having to pay for them is a good deal.”
The joint WBECHS-TCL initiative is completing its sixth year. While any district student can take college-level courses at TCL, Whale Branch High’s instructional program is built around its TCL partnership.
Public works plants trees with students
The end of spring break provided a surprise for some Beaufort County students.
Beaufort County’s Public Works Department, Solid Waste and Recycling Section, received a grant through Keep Beaufort County Beautiful, and partnered with Beaufort County School District staff to identify three schools to receive a fruit tree garden.
Each garden was planted with a mixture of 11 different varieties of apple and pear trees.
Trees were planted at James J. Davis Early Childhood Center, St. Helena Elementary and Whale Branch Elementary to provide fresh snacks and to help promote healthy food choices. The tree gardens will also add to the students’ environmental studies.
Thirty trees were purchased by Keep Beaufort County Beautiful with funds provided by a Keep America Beautiful/UPS Foundation tree grant.
The tree vendor, Ty Ty Nursery, was so impressed with the project that it donated an additional 30 trees, allowing for a total of 60 trees to be planted – 20 at each school. Trees were shipped at “fruit-bearing” size in an effort to bring quick results for the students. The gardens are expected to yield fruit this fall.
The school district provided site preparation. The Beaufort County’s Public Works staff and a volunteer team from Horticulture Management Services enhanced the soils and planted all the trees. Watering will be provided by the students along with school district staff.
Local students graduate college
Local residents graduated from Clemson University at the May 2017 commencement ceremonies.
They are:
• Jameel Mahmoud Abbess IV, of Beaufort, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.
• Madeline B. Anderson, of Beaufort, who graduated with a Master of Education in Counselor Education.
• Savannah N. Bowman, of Beaufort, who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies,
• Jean C. Bridgers, of Beaufort, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management.
• Michelle Marie Britton, of Beaufort, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management
• Zachary A. Brown, of Beaufort, who graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Financial Management.
• Katelin Ann Edlin, of Beaufort, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
• Hope Yu Jie Keane, of Beaufort, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology.
• Luca Clinton Kimbrell, of Beaufort, who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education.
• Adam E. Lipsitz, of Beaufort, who graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering.
• Elizabeth C. Rhodes , of Beaufort, who graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology.
• Grace D. Stewart , of Beaufort, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Language and International Health.
• Frances Carolyn Thorpe , of Beaufort, who graduated with a Master of Public Administration in Public Administration.
More than 3,400 students received degrees at the May 11 and 12 ceremonies.
Promotions, additions at Beaufort Academy
There are several new additions to the Beaufort Academy’s team.
Carol Ann Richards, learning specialist; Lower School curriculum coordinator
Carol Ann Richards is Beaufort Academy’s learning specialist as well as its new Lower School curriculum coordinator. She is originally from Hampton, but moved to Beaufort a little over 10 years ago.
She graduated from Winthrop University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education.
Richards attended graduate school at Columbia College and received a Master of Education degree in Divergent Learning.
This is currently her 20th year of teaching. She was a special education resource teacher for 11 years in the public school systems of Hampton, Lexington and Beaufort counties. This is her ninth year as the learning specialist for Beaufort Academy. Carol Ann’s daughter, Ava, is a rising second grader and has been attending BA since Pre K-3. Her husband, Scott, is the head football coach for BA.
Kimberly Morris, third-grade teacher
Kimberly Morris was born and raised in Chapin and has been teaching for 10 years.
She graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies, and remained at USC for her first graduate degree, a Master of Arts in Teaching, which she earned in 2006. In 2013 she completed her second Masters, an M.Ed. with a focus in Elementary Administration and Supervision from Southern Wesleyan University.
Morris has several years’ experience as an educational and behavioral consultant, and is children’s/young adult acquisitions editor for Lowcountry Scholars Press. In 2015 she served as a member of the national selection committee for the National Endowment for the Humanities K12 teachers’ institute “America’s Reconstruction: The Untold Story,” and will be assisting with the institute again in the summer of 2017.
She is married to Dr. J. Brent Morris, who is an author and history professor at USC Beaufort. They have one son, Daegan, a rising BA second-grader.
Peggy Good, fourth-grade teacher
Peggy Good grew up in New Jersey in a home of educators and has spent the past 10 years in New Canaan, Ct., with her two children.
Her family has spent summers at Fripp Island where Good’s parents reside.
She received a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from The Catholic University of America. She has done post graduate work at the Maryland School of Law and is completing her Master’s in Special Education at Fairfield University.
Her 10-year teaching experience has been in Montclair, N.J., and Stamford, Ct., at the elementary level (six of those years she spent as a fourth grade teacher).
