STAR Banquet Will Honor Students Chelsea Nix and Brittany Binowski
Chelsea Nix is the STAR student for Jasper County High School. She chose Michael Cooper as her STAR teacher.
Brittany Erin Binowski is Piedmont Academy’s STAR student. She selected Charlotte Crawley as her STAR teacher.
As each student represents her own school, one will be chosen the Jasper County STAR Student to compete at the future district competition.
The STAR (Student Teacher Achievement Recognition) student is the senior who has the highest score on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT). The test score used must be from a test administered on or before last November. The student should also be in the top 10 percent of his class, or among the top 10 students numerically, to receive the honor.
The local STAR banquet, honoring the STARs from both schools, will be held next Thursday, Feb. 23, at 12:30 p.m. at the Monticello Government Complex. Also at that time, the county STAR student will be named.
{{more}}
Miss Nix is a senior who excels academically, and is also involved in several extracurricular activities. She is active in the drama club, community theater, Science Olympiad, Student Council and Beta Club.
Miss Nix an officer in Drama Club, and has been awarded “Best Actor” for the past two years in Region One Act Play competition. She has competed in literary all four years in dramatic interpretation and essay and has represented the region at state competition.
The daughter of Allan and Lianna Nix of Monticello, she has three siblings, Dylan, Austin and Paige.
Miss Nix is considering entering the University of Georgia in Athens, but is undecided about her major.
She said that she chose Mr. Cooper as her STAR teacher because he teaches outside the classroom… giving guidelines for life.
Mr. Cooper encourages her to think and perform “outside the box” and explore and extend her talents to the extreme. His expectations for her are higher than other students because he believes she can perform at a level above others.
He has helped shape her as a person, not just academically, but emotionally as well, she said.
Piedmont Academy announces its 2006 STAR Student is Brittany Erin Binowski, the daughter of Gary and Sharon Binowski of Conyers. Miss Binowski selected her high school English and Spanish teacher, Mrs. Charlotte Crawley as her STAR Teacher.
When asked why she chose Mrs. Crawley, Brittany responded by saying, “She has taught me many valuable lessons during the past three years in both English and Spanish. It is evident in her lectures that Mrs. Crawley possesses an abundance of knowledge to share with her students, and relates to each on both an academic and personal level.
“Mrs. Crawley communicates her lessons well and demonstrates to her students that learning the material and growing as a person are equally important. In tough situations, she strives for justice and teaches everyone that perseverance and empathy are valuable life skills.
Miss Binowski continued, “Her teaching goes
beyond regular classroom lessons and expands to include personal relationships. She is constantly trying to better herself and communicate her lessons in the most effective way possible.
“Mrs. Crawley is an admirable person and an excellent teacher who sets a good example for everyone with whom she comes in contact. I appreciate the guidance I have received from her within the past three years and hope that she continues to teach many others, both inside and outside of the classroom, for many years to come.”
Miss Binowski started attending Piedmont Academy in the sixth grade.
She has earned the honor of “Yearly Special Distinction” for each year of attendance and she was selected by her senior class mates as “Most Likely to Succeed” Senior Superlative.
Besides being one of the top academic students to attend the school, Miss Binowski’s involvement in school activities includes playing the clarinet in the school band and being chosen for All-Select band; being a first soprano in the school chorus; member of the literary team where she excelled in oral interpretation and extemporaneous speaking; and she is currently the Retrospect yearbook editor.
Miss Binowski also represented the student body by being on the Homecoming Court all four years of high school. Miss Binowski was on the first webmaster team that designed the school’s web page and participated in the State Technology Fair.
She has served on the debate team, class vice-president in the student council, Community Projects Chair for Y-Club, member of the Beta Club where she entered the National Society of High School Scholars.
For two years, Miss Binowski was a varsity cheerleader as well as a member of the track team. She was awarded the Student Athlete Award in both sports during the times she was a member of the team.
Mrs. Crawley noted, “Brittany is one of those delightful students who make teaching both rewarding and challenging. Her desire to master her assignments reveals an admirable intellectual curiosity that will bring her much success in pursuing her goals. Brittany’s dependability and extra contributions to the school’s programs, enhanced by a ready smile and a cheerful attitude, make her a refreshing spirit in the educational arena.”
Besides leading a very busy school schedule, in her spare time Miss Binowski said she loves to read. Her favorite book is All the King’s Men by Robert Penwarren. She also holds a part-time job at Carmike Cinemas in Conyers where she has been employed for one and a half years and she was recently promoted to Assistant Concessions Manager.
Because of her love of the subject and her many aspirations due to Mrs. Crawley, Miss Binowski has decided to pursue a college major in English. Miss Binowski will attend the University of Georgia and hopes to become a writer or editor upon completion of college.
