Two Darlington students named National Merit Scholarship finalists

Media release: Darlington seniors Connor Hallett and Indra Sofian are among the 15,000 students nationwide and the only two students in Rome and Floyd County to be named finalists in the 2014 National Merit Scholarship Program. Therefore, these students have the opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,000 scholarship awards, worth more than $35 million, that will be offered this spring.

“Both Connor and Indra are outstanding members of the Darlington Community, and we are extremely proud of their accomplishments,” said Sam Moss (’63), Darlington’s dean of college guidance. “It is quite an honor to earn finalist status in the National Merit Program, and we wish these young men the best of luck as they compete for scholarship awards this spring.”

Hallett, a resident student in Sydenham House, has taken 17 Honors and AP courses at Darlington. He is a member of Tri-M Music Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, the orchestra, and the varsity tennis and swim teams. Hallett has also received the E.L. Wright Award for Spanish 3 and the 2013 McKemie-Wilkinson Steel Drum Band Scholarship Award. He is the son of Kimberly and John Hallett of Lawrenceville, Ga.

Sofian, a day student, has taken 19 Honors and AP courses at Darlington. He is a member of Mu Alpha Theta, Spanish National Honor Society, the Math Team, the Chess Club, Coosa International Tennis Academy, the varsity tennis team, IMPACT Club, The Inkslinger staff and serves as an Admission Tiger Expert. Sofian has also received the E.L. Wright Award for Algebra 2 Honors, the University of Georgia Certificate of Merit and the Yale Book Award and the 2013 Scholar-Athlete Award for varsity tennis. He is an AP Scholar with Distinction. He is the son of Erwin Sofian and Julita Roesli of Rockmart, Ga.

Congratulations to the Unity Christian School Lady Lions for earning first place in GICAA Region with a double overtime win Friday night. Final score of 52-51. Source: Unity’s Facebook page

-Media release: Skills USA Georgia prides itself on helping students further their knowledge in career technical fields and giving them new challenges. Two students from the Floyd County Schools College and Career Academy accepted the challenge and excelled in the Skills USA Competition this year. Chance Smith, a senior at Pepperell High, and Matt Beard, a junior at Model High, both took home medals in the annual career technical skill showcase.

Chance Smith, a student in the Cisco Networking program at the College and Career Academy, brought home first place and the gold medal in the computer maintenance tech competition. He will now move on to represent the College and Career Academy at the state finals. Steve McGraw, instructor of the Cisco program said, “Chance prepared himself, worked hard in class and made himself stand out among his peers” Smith is no stranger to success in the competition. He finished second and won a silver medal in the state finals last year. McGraw added, “We expect he will do great again this year.” Cisco Networking prepares teens for the Internet economy and for the growing number of jobs in the field of information technology.

Matt Beard, a student in the Metals Technology program at the College and Career Academy, earned a third place finish and a bronze medal in the welding competition. The third place finish did not qualify Beard for the state finals but his teacher, Dr. Chesley Chambers, applauded his accomplishment. Chambers said, “Matt is a talented young man, he’s got a lot going for him.” In the Metals program, students experience working with sheet metal, welding, CAD design, and CNC plasma cutting. The program is accredited through the Construction Education Foundation of Georgia.

Skills USA Georgia is a career, technical and non-profit organization, designed for students who seek a career in a technical field. It is designed to challenge a student to work hard in the classroom and hone their craft. The Skills USA competition allows students to display their technical skill, perfect their skill to help them obtain an entry level job, and provides them more opportunities to further their education at a technical college.. The Skills USA Georgia yearly competition holds regional events to determine who will go to the state level competition. Students performing well at the state qualify for national competition.

The Optimist Club’s program will be held Tuesday, Feb. 25 at the Palladium beginning at 6 p.m. The Student of the Year Awards Banquet embodies the motto of Optimist International, “Friend of Youth,” with all local club activities focusing on developing the potential and recognizing the accomplishment of the youth in our community. Other youth recognition programs sponsored by the Noon Optimist Club include High School Student of the Month, Middle School Student of the Semester, and the Terrific Kids Awards Banquet for fourth- and fifth- grade students.

The primary goal of the Noon Optimist Club Student of the Year Awards Banquet is to publicly recognize the best of the best seniors in our community for their accomplishments during their high school tenure. Each high school had the opportunity to select one high school senior for nomination as a finalist in one of three categories. The selected students submitted applications that included a general application, a specific category application, a 500-word essay, and two letters of recommendation. The applications were then judged by Optimist Club members with the top three students in each category invited to the awards banquet.