Etowah Students, Teachers Compete To Raise Money For STEM Classrooms

Some of Etowah High School's brightest students will battle against their teachers outside the classroom to raise money to bring STEM classes to their campus.

The Etowah High School Foundation will host its Academic Brain Drain Bowl at 6:30 p.m. Friday March 1 at Etowah High School's auditorium. 

The team will face off against the teachers in the competition, which will field questions on academic subjects and other areas such as trivia, pop culture and current events. 

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and admission is $3 for adults and $2 for students. The event is open for the public to attend. 

The proceeds will be used to fund the conversion of several classrooms at Chapman Intermediate School to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, or STEM, classrooms once the building becomes part of Etowah's campus. 

Chapman, which currently serves fifth- and sixth-grade students is slated to close once the replacement E.T. Booth Middle School facility opens by January 2014. 

The new facility's opening will allow students going into the fifth-grade to finish out their elementary school careers at their respective schools while sixth-grade students will start at the new Booth building. 

Etowah science teacher Dr. Vijay Purugulla will serve as master of ceremonies and judges include Dr. Brian Hightower, Assistant Superintendent of School Operations for the Cherokee County School District; State Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) and State Rep. Michael Caldwell (R-Woodstock). 

Kenneth Owen, district supervisor of internal audits, grants, accounting and budgets, will moderate the competition. 

Etowah Principal Keith Ball, a former social studies teacher, will serve as the captain for the teacher's team. The team includes: AP Physics teacher Brian Heglund; Honors Chemistry teacher Mystic Henderson; Honors U.S. History and AP Government teacher Ana Petit; Art teacher Joshua Saye; Honors Geography and AP World History teacher Mary Shell; Physical Education teacher and Etowah Football Coach Buddy Walker; AP English Literature and AP English Language teacher Kevin Wall; and Honors Pre-Calculus and AP Calculus teacher Dr. Wright Vermilya.

The Etowah Academic Bowl team, which is currently ranked as one of the top 25 teams in the country, is coached by English teacher Christina Hammonds and led by Etowah seniors Duncan Morgan, Dylan Morgan and Lucas Read. 

The foundation is seeking team sponsors and the team with the most donations will receive a 100-point bonus at the end of the evening. Donations made before Feb. 28th will be recognized in the event program.

Sponsorships in any amount can be made by contacting event organizer Valerie Johnson at vgmjohnson@bellsouth.net or on the Etowah Foundation's website.