Technology students perform at state competition

ATHENS, Ga. – The Technology Student Association (TSA) is a Career Technical Student Organization (CTSO) at Fannin County High School and Middle School focused on engaging students in engineering and technology related activities and projects. During the course of the year, the students attend several competitions and leadership training events.

From March 14 through 17, the TSA students from Fannin County High attended the State Leadership Conference in Athens, Georgia. Students competed in events such as VEX Robotics, Electrathon Cars, Extemporaneous Speech, Technology Debate, Photography, and Problem Solving. Nineteen high school students and nine middle school students attended the conference.

“I am extremely proud of the effort that our high school and middle school students put into the state competitions. These students are building life-long skills in time management, critical thinking, and professional conduct. I am looking forward to watching these students compete at the national level this summer,” Bubba Gibbs, engineering teacher at Fannin County High School, stated.

The Fannin County High School Chapter was the 20th ranked chapter out of a total of 75 chapters attending from the state of Georgia. FCHS competed with schools of all sizes, regardless of school size or type. The following FCHS students were recognized for their performance in the top 15 or higher in each event:

Earning a top 15 ranking in the state is a great achievement for these students. They spent many hours working on their projects outside of the normal school hours, and their hard work has paid off. Several of them have earned the right to attend the TSA National Conference being held in Atlanta from June 22 to 26, 2018. Isaiah Cargle qualified for the state VEX tournament and competed in the top 32 tournament.

Middle School Finalists:

Tech Bowl – third place – Luke Pelfrey, Kaelin Cornelius, and Tyler Ensley;

Chapter team – seventh place – Abby Vest, James Kyle, Lucas Barnstead, Kaelin Cornelius, Bryce Ware, and Luke Pelfrey;

Problem solving – second place – James Kyle and Bryce Ware;

Outstanding student – seventh place – Abby Vest;

First Lego League – seventh place – Luke Pelfrey, Sam Jabaley, Tristen Siler, James Kyle, Abby Vest, and Kaelin Cornelius; and

Vex Robotics – Top 3 Middle Schools – Two teams – Lucas Barnstead and James Kyle; Bryce Ware and Tristen Siler.

Photos:

Dragster – Brayden Foster proudly showing his second-ranked CO2 Dragster. His car was awarded a gold medal for Best in Show, and he will be headed to Nationals.

Flight Endurance – Ben Collins holds his third-place airplane. Ben placed seventh last year at the state competition, and he will be headed to Nationals.

High School Attendees,left to right, front – Rowan Shewmake, Hunter Alexander, Patrick Conner, Gene Carbonell, Will Garland, Steven Setser

Middle – John Moler, Joshua Truelove, Ramtin Doroodchi, Brayden Foster

Back – Josey Chambers, Christian Jensen, Gavin Gibbs, Isaiah Cargle, Nelson Soriero, Jonathan Squires, and Eli Young.

High School Top Ten Finalists, left to right – Hunter Alexander (seventh place in Outstanding Student, eighth place in Webmaster, and eighth place in Debate), Jonathan Squires (eighth place in Debate, 14th in Coding, and 15th in Video Game Design), Brayden Foster (second Place and Best in Show in Dragster), and Nelson Soriero (fourth place in Photographic Technology)

Middle School Attendees, left to right, front – Rachel Prater, Kaelin Cornelius, Abby Vest; back – James Kyle, Bryce Ware, Lucas Barnstead, Luke Pelfrey, Sam Jabaley, Tristen Siler.

Problem Solving Middle School, left to right – Bryce Ware and James Kyle are proud of their third place finish and are qualified for Nationals.

Technology Bowl Middle School, left to right – Tyler Ensley, Kaelin Cornelius, and Luke Pelfrey show off their third-place trophy.

University of Georgia (UGA) Softball Game – Steven Setser and Joshua Truelove having fun at the UGA Softball game.

Vex Robotics, left to right – Lucas Barnstead, Gavin Gibbs, Isaiah Cargle, and James Kyle.

Middle school finalists – Middle school attendees proudly display their finalist trophies.

Electric Car Team – Joshua Truelove, Hunter Alexander, Patrick Conner, and Josey Chambers show off their 11th place Electric Car.

The Fannin County School System does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, religion, creed, or disability in admission to its programs, services, and activities, in access to them, in treatment of individuals, or in any aspect of their operations. For additional information or referral to the appropriate system coordinator, contact the system superintendent’s office at 2290 East First Street, Blue Ridge, Georgia 30513 or 706-632-3771.