Suhani Gandhi, sophomore, placed in the top twenty of the final round in the Hotel and Lodging Management Event at the DECA Nationals April 28 in Anaheim, Calif.
Over 200 students competed in her event. Gandhi’s finish is the best a South student has ever done in the final round and she has never taken a business course at South.
Gandhi was part of a team that consisted of Katy Darr and Braden Decker, seniors, and Joakim Ekstrom, junior. Amanda Doane, DECA sponsor, accompanied the team.
South was the only school in the district to make it to nationals. Both Olathe East and Olathe North have DECA chapters, but Northwest does not. The top three students in each event from each state competition go to nationals.
Check out what Eyrie staffers are writing about this summer....
Brad Schultz:
My fishing partners and I made got to Duluth, MN today. We were delayed a couple hours by traffic and a faulty radiator fan. Smoke was pouring out from under the hood, and we ended up backing down the exit ramp of a rest area to fix the car. We had to dig through the trash to find some cups, and we filled those up with water to try to cool down the engine. The air conditioner is no longer functioning, but at least we’re on the way to Canada and not Mexico!
Construction project to create numerous challenges next year
Beginning May 26, the day after teachers leave the school, major construction on the school building will commence. Anyone attempting to enter the building over the summer will be in for a surprise since 15 of the 22 entrances will be unusable, leaving only seven accessible entrances into or out of the school.
Because of the additional 300 freshmen that will be attending soon, the school will be expanded and remodeled by J.E. Dunn construction over the next year. The scheduled finishing date for this project is August 2010.
Picture an elementary school—approximately 65,000-70,000 square feet. By the end of the construction, South will have about 20,000-25,000 square feet remodeled and about 85,000 square feet of additions which will add up to be approximately 335,417 square feet of school.
“This is the third construction project I have been involved with during my job of [being the] building principal, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Phil Clark, principal, said.
Despite the fact that the boys golf team has enjoyed limited successes in the win column this year, they have still had a good year.
“We have done alright, struggled a bit and the golfers haven’t all had a good round on the same day, but we are working towards it,” said head coach Rebecca Reyes.
The team has had minor successes over the course of the season, with the team placing 12th, 16th, and 10th at the meets so far.
The team is led by Scott Peck, Rustin Dowd, and Alex Waryan, seniors, and Jared Hynek, junior.
Peck has been the most consistent player over the course of the season, as he has been the best scoring player at their three tournaments as of April 27. He has shot 80, 81, and 82.
The Japanese Language Contest was held on March 7, at Shawnee Mission Center. Sammy Valluri, senior, won first in the Intermediate Kanji Bee, while Elise Prophet and Chantel Fulson, juniors, and Ken Chung, senior, took third place in poetry recitation.
Math students take second
Nine math students took second place for South at a contest by the Kansas City Area Teachers of Mathematics (KCATM) on Feb. 28 at Olathe East. The students received medals for their individual achievements in different categories.
Band students get great ratings at KSHSAA
Many of the band students participated in the KSHSAA Regional Solo & Ensemble Festival this past Saturday. Twelve students received a Division I rating and qualified to participate at the State Festival on Saturday, April 25 at Emporia State University.
Rebekah Watzig receives $1,000 award
Rebekah Watzig won the Arts Council of Johnson County "Shooting Stars" award on Sunday evening in the Classical Voice category. She will receive a $1000 scholarship for the honor.
Student wins writing award
Jordan Shaper, sophomore, won a $300 prize in the 2008 Kansas Letters About Literature contest. Shaper's letter was the top out of 1,000 Kansas students' letters. His has advanced to the national competition sponsored by the Center for the Book and the Library of Congress.
Forensic team qualified for nationals
Graham Jurgens, senior, and Devin Burns and Olivia Cruz, juniors qualified for nationals at the East Kansas National Forensic League tournament on April 17-18. Nationals will be held this June in Birmingham, Ala.
Despite the fact that the boys golf team has enjoyed limited successes in the win column this year, they have still had a good year.