School News

Sixty-three Hammond students participated in the Youth in Government Conference in Columbia and was not only recognized as the Premier Delegation, but passed nine bills and garnered several individual recognition awards.  The 31st annual Youth In Government Model Legislature and Court was held last week at the Statehouse and is the third-largest in the country with record turnout this year.  

Best Bill Award:  Amelia Gandhi and Maddy Best

Outstanding Statesmen:  Hannah Hedley and Cooper Holbrook

Conference on National Affairs (CONA) Delegate:  Lizzie Richards

CONA Alternates:  Justice Myers and Bailey Leaphart

"Youth in Government provides young people the opportunity to learn not just about government but their place in civic life,” SC YMCA Youth in Government executive director Mary Capers Bledsoe said. “We know that government and democracy only work if we participate.”

 

In an attempt to engage students in the core components of the fifth grade, social studies and history curriculum, Hammond developed a program that gives students an experiential opportunity to discover these early and primitive technologies.  

 

Last October, over 1.6 million students took the 2017 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test and entered the National Merit Scholarship Program, a nationwide competition for recognition and awards. Of those students, 50,000 were identified as high performers, with 16,00 moving on to Semi-finalist standing. Today I am pleased to announce that three Hammond students have been named National Merit Semi-finalists, representing less than one percent of US high school seniors. These students will continue in the competition, vying for scholarships based on skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. They have demonstrated outstanding potential, and we are proud of what they have accomplished. Congratulations to Justice Myers, Owen Ramsby, and Lake Barrett.

 

 

 

It all adds up!  Hammond had an impressive showing at the Clemson Calculus Challenge.  Schools representing South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia competed in the annual challenge.  The Skyhawk Mathletes placed second overall in Division 1, and second in the team portion of the contest. Team members included Tobi Ogunfowora, Sumant Rao, Alice Yang, Karl Cao, Enze Peng, Nicholas Jean-Gilles.

 

Over the past few weeks, Hammond's math team has scored impressive results in two university sponsored math competitions: Furman University Wylie Mathematics Tournament and Coastal Carolina's Math Tournament.

Hundreds of students from 57 different schools throughout South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama competed in the Furman University Wylie Mathematics Tournament this past Saturday. The competition included three ciphering rounds and a two-hour written contest. Individual awards were based on the written contest, and team awards were awarded based on the sum of the top three written scores of a team combined with the team’s ciphering scores.

Hammond had an exceptional performance this year's contest. Team captain, Tobi Ogunfowora, won sixth place on the individual contest. Moreover, Hammond was the Division 2 winner beating out 29 teams from all over the southeast. In addition to Tobi, Alice Yang and Sumant Rao remained calm under tremendous pressure and had impressive results in the individual and ciphering competitions. Filling out the team were Karl Cao, Elsa Saine, and Dami Olatosi who put in hundreds of hours to prepare for this and other contests.

 
Coastal Carolina Math Tournament highlights:

• Elsa Saine took second place on the level I contest in the small school division. It is of note that she had the second highest score in any division. She earned a medal and 75 dollars.
• Karl Cao took second place on the level II contest in the small school division. Once again, this was the second highest score at the tournament in any division. He earned a medal and 75 dollars.
• Tobi Ogunfowora had the highest score at the contest on the level II exam. He earned a medal and 100 dollars.
• The level II team of Tobi Ogunfowora, Karl Cao, Sumant Rao, Alice Yang, and Samantha Watson won the small school level II team award. Moreover, it was the top level II team score at the contest.

Way to go Skyhawks Mathaletes!

Two years ago, Middle School teacher Krissy Johnson's son was burned in a kitchen accident and received treatment at the Augusta Burn Center.  After realizing how much a donated stuffed animal meant to Mrs. Johnson's son while at the hospital, Hammond's National Junior Honor Society students held a tie-dye t-shirt fundraiser in hopes of purchasing stuffed animals for other patients at the hospital.  After a successful fundraiser, students appropached the maker of beanie babies, Ty Inc., and asked about a discount on stuffed animals.  Instead of a discount, the corporation decided to donate all the stuffed animals, giving the students the opportunity to make another charitable contribution, this time to the Southeastern Firefighters Burn Foundation. Students traveled to August, Georgia to present the gift of stuffed animals in hopes of helping young patients at the hospital.

 

 

 

Hammond's Dance Marathon was a huge success, raising $41,667.  All three divisions danced their way to one of the school's most successful community service projects to benefit the Children's Miracle Network, in particular, the Palmetto Children's Hospital. The student committee's goal of $30,000 was surpassed by over $11,000!

Miracle Network Dance Marathon is a movement benefitting Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, a non-profit organization that raises funds and awareness for more than 170 pediatric hospitals across North America. We are the only children’s charity committed to having 100% of the funds raised stay local to support local kids.  Since inception, Miracle Network Dance Marathon has raised more than $200 million for kids across North America- ensuring that no child or family fights pediatric illness or injury alone.

The Hammond math team took top honors in the SCISA Math Meet winning first place in the competition.  Skyhawk mathletes include Estelle McKee, Dami Olatosi, Elsa Saine, Vicki He, Samantha Watson, Tobi Ogunfowora, Sumant Rao, Alice Yang, Karl Cao, and Vincent Huang.

Individual Honors went to:

 

Sumant Rao won third place for the individual contest.

Tobi Ogunfowora won second place for the individual contest.

Congratulations to these Skyhawks for an impressive win!