DWS Junior Beta Places Third at State Convention
The DeKalb West School Junior Beta Club finished third in one of the
competitions at the state convention in Nashville this past weekend. The
technology team of Kolton Slager, Bradley Pelham, and Riley Fuson earned the
honor and the right to move on to the National Junior Beta Convention in Texas
next summer.
“I am very proud that the Technology Team placed third out of all the schools attending convention,” said DWS Jr. Beta Co-sponsor Nadina Martel. “The video they created portrayed the theme “Broadening Beta’s Vision” very well. The team created a video that showed how Beta students can serve in small and big ways. They showed ideas of service growing from helping out at home, at school, in the community, the state, and the world.”
All three judges gave the DWS team scores in the top two levels of the rubric for all areas including a perfect “20” score in one category.
Twenty-eight students attended the three day event at Gaylord Opryland Hotel. Competing in the Performing Arts group were Alyssa Crook, Tess Barton, Brynn Harvey, Blair Gipe, Jaxon Humphrey, Kayleigh Overstreet, Xavier Parker, Brooklyn Sutherland, Maressa Rose, Jordyn Turbeville, Emily Young, Caroline Crook, and Wesley Kent. Tess and Caroline also performed as a duo this year. The rest of the club in attendance assisted with props for the performance.
“They took the stage and owned it the entire time they performed!” says Mary Puckett, who oversaw the team. “With only a few mistakes that were quickly corrected, the group gave western DeKalb County something to be proud of. The routine was based around “stepping” or step dancing. That type of dance uses the body and feet as a percussion instrument to make that complex rhythms and sounds with combinations of stomps, claps and slaps. Learning to step is a complex task that takes many hours of practice. The Bulldog step team was up for the challenge.”
Caleb Lawson entered the math contest, and Jackson Vantrease applied his talents in the Creative Writing contest. On the robotics team were Alex Antoniak, Marshall Farler, Brayden Carter, Thomas Damron, Evan Prichard, and Wesley Kent. The Book Battle students were Kenson Moss, Daniel Stiffler, and Presley Finocchiaro. The Living Literature team included Caleb Lawson, Jackson Vantrease, Presley Finocchiaro, and Daniel Stiffler. On the Engineering team were Ella Hendrixson, Grant Buterbaugh, Tess Barton, Brayden Carter, and Alex Antoniak.
“Each one of them worked hard to prepare for the convention, and I am so very proud of them all,” says Lead DWS Jr. Beta Club Sponsor Jessica Antoniak.
