We are so proud of junior Shelby Mode! She has been awarded a $25,000 scholarship from the Horatio Alger Association. She is one of only 105 students in the entire country to receive the Association's National Scholarship (https://scholars.horatioalger.org/about-our-scholarship-programs/national-scholarships/)

Dreher is Proud of Five Blue Devils named as National Merit Finalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation

Some 15,000 of the high scorers on the PSAT/NMSQT given in spring, 2022, representing less than one percent of the nation’s high school graduating seniors, qualify as Finalists. They have an opportunity to advance in the competition for some 7,500 Merit Scholarship® awards which are announced later in the spring.

Dreher is pleased to have five students qualifying as Finalists:

Jacob Merrill, son of Susan Merrill and Mark Merrill

Bryce Outten, son of Caryn Outten and F. Wayne Outten

Philip Sophocleous, son of Maria Sophocleous and John Clements

William Varner, son of Margaret Varner and Kevin Varner

Audrey White, daughter of Alicia Wilson and Scott White

 

Senior Patton Courie has qualified as a National Commended Scholar based upon the PSAT/NMSQT he took in October of 2021.  Commended students meet the national minimum qualifying score. Out of 50,000 recognized students, around 34,000 fall into this category. For the 2022 scholarship cycle, the national minimum qualifying score was 207. 

Patton is the son of Anna Courie and Albert Courie.  

Congrats to seniors (l to r) Sean Ruff, Ty'tianna Miller, and Robert "Bobby" Day for being selected for Project SEARCH. They will be trained for jobs in the hotel industry, often at Embassy Suites or at another placement of choice. They went through an interview process and skills task analysis.

Celeste Smith, Special Education teacher, reports with pride that Savannah Bannister has been accepted to Victory WORKS, a program operating the Heyward Store at Heyward Career Center. At the end of her training, Savannah will be placed in a customer service job at Walgreens, Starbucks, etc., or a Richland One site.

 

 

Zachary Franks Hopkins and Katherine Tam have won scholarships from the Columbia Rotary Club. Zachary and Katherine excelled at a rigorous application process which included an essay, letters of recommendation, and an in-person interview.  Each will receive $20,000 in scholarship money to help fund their college educations.

Zachary and Katherine will be honored at a Rotary Club celebration at Seawell's in May. Kevin Kirkley, our Director of Counseling, will introduce these two students.  Chorus teacher Hannah McKenzie (named by Zachary) and retired AP US History teacher Pamela Rose (named by Katherine) will be recognized as "Teachers Who Made a Difference."

Congratulations to senior Lindsey Steele, a Teacher Cadet in Michelle Powell's Dual Enrollment Class.

Lindsey has received a Teaching Fellowship at College of Charleston. Teaching Fellows receive up to $24000 ($6000 a year for four years), advanced enrichment programs, and opportunities for professional development and community involvement.

 

Congratulations to junior Tyra Helper. She has been selected as a QuestBridge College Prep Scholar. Among other benefits, Tyra will attend an all-expense paid summer program at Emory (or another top college) and will have a head start on a full scholarship to prestigious colleges in the fall.  

Tyra is among the very top students in the junior class.  She has been heavily involved in Advanced Placement courses - this year taking AP Chemistry, AP Research, and AP English Language - and in Project Lead the Way Engineering courses.

Details about the QuestBridge College Prep Scholar Program are at https://www.questbridge.org/high-school-students/college-prep-scholars#:~:text=The%20College%20Prep%20Scholars%20Program,to%20apply%20to%20top%20colleges.

Congratulations to Dreher seniors Truc (Susan) Nguyen and Juan Cortes-Hernandez on being awarded QuestBridge scholarships. The QuestBridge program matches students with select colleges and then, in conjunction with their matched college, covers the cost of tuition, room and board, books, and travel with no loans or parental contributions required.

To be considered for the QuestBridge match, a student must be outstanding academically despite facing financial challenges. Both Susan and Juan are well in the top ten percent of the Class of 2023, and both have GPAs in excess of 5.0.

Susan will be attending Tufts University in Boston and Juan will be attending College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.  

Susan is the daughter of Quynh Nguyen and Juan is the son of Maria Hernandez.

Details on qualifying for the QuestBridge Scholarship  are on the program's website: https://www.questbridge.org/about

Congratulations to junior Benjamin Brown on being awarded the 2023 MLK Dream Keeper Scholarship. This recognition came during the 35th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration in Columbia.  Benjamin is shown here with Superintendent Witherspoon (left) and Alex English (right).

Equally as exciting for Benjamin, he has been selected to participate in the 2023 Disney Dreamers Academy – one of only 100 teens across the country to be selected and the only South Carolinian. Way to go Benjamin!

The Seal of Biliteracy is a nationally recognized credential that certifies a student’s proficiency in English and at least one other language. Eight seniors and juniors won South Carolina’s Seal of Biliteracy certificates and medals.   They are (from left to right in photo) Diego Thrasher, Dyann Solis-Fleshey, Amelie Galimba, Xavier Harris, Madeline Kuester, Julissa Velasquez, Emma Keller and Ebi Okoduwa (not pictured). 

For information on how to earn the SC Seal of Biliteracy, visit the SC Department of Education website: SC Seal of Biliteracy Guidelines

Junior Classical League Individual Awards

From Magistra Latina, Dr. Nicoleta Hodis:

On March 11 Latin Club students participated in the SC Junior Classical League Forum. Dreher placed first, and participants garnered many individual awards. "The picture of their award ribbons is a perfect illustration of their academic and artistic achievements."

South Carolina Junior Classical League 2023: Dreher’s Individual Awards

Sarah Bobertz 

1^st Place: Costumes, Teaching Chart  

2^nd Place: Classical Geography 

Alex Kolomoets 

1^st Place: Grammar, Vocabulary I, Teaching Tool  

3^rd Place: Pottery, Pen & Ink 

Mia Williams 

1^st Place: Acrylic 

2^nd Place: Digital Art 

3^rd Place: Grammar I 

Madison Green 

2^nd Place: Greeting Card, Costumes 

Gaby Williams 

1^st Place: Derivatives Advance, Minecraft Model 

Courtney Jolly 

1^st Place: Handmade Doll 

2^nd Place: Grammar Advance 

Alex Greytak 

1^st Place: Minecraft Model (Colloseum),  

2^nd Place: Photography, Small Model 

3^rd Place: Derivatives Advance 

Jude Knoepp 

3^rd Place Grammar Advance 

Lucinda Pringle 

1^st Place: Costumes 

3^rd Place: Sculpture 

Ella McLean 

2^nd Place: Jewelry 

Micah Doberne-Schor 

1^st Place: Minecraft Model 

Paul Jenkinson 

2^nd Place: Map 

Grace Rivers 

1^st Place: Cartoon, Digital Enhanced Photography, Mixed Media 

2^nd Place: Pencil, Color Pencil 

Reed Smith  

1^st Place: Photography,  

2^nd Place: Teaching Tool 

3^rd Place: Grammar Advance, Teaching Chart 

Angelyn Gonzalez 

1^st Place: Decorative Stitchery 

Leila Pregnall 

1^st Place: Digital Art, Greeting Card, Watercolor  

Ellie Moore 

1^st Place: Pencil 

2^nd Place; Costumes 

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Latin Students Excel at National Latin Exam

From Magistra Nicoleta Hodis:

In March, Dreher's Latin students participated in the National Latin Exam, an academic competition sponsored by the American Classical League and National Junior Classical League. They were joined by more than 100,000 students from the U.S. as well as foreign countries such as Australia, China, Japan, Canada, and Spain.

Our Latin students received the following awards. 

Silver medals/Maxima Cum Laude: Alexandra Kolomoets (10^th ) and Reed Smith (11^th )

Magna Cum Laude: Samantha Norris (12^th ), Lily Burke (10^th ), Courtney Jolly, Paul Jenkinson,  Kajeanna Presley, Leila Pregnall (9^th )

Cum Laude:  Gaby Williams (11^th ),  Alexander Greytak, Jude Knoepp, Luke Hering, Jaxin Black (9^th )

Certificates of Merit: Zachary Franks- Hopkins (12^th ), Kendall Gipson, Andrew McCarty, Caleb (Liu) Jiale (10^th ), Zaire Ross-McCloud (9^th )

Junior Calder Weinberg will represent SC at Eastern National Gymnastics Championship

Congratulations to junior Calder Weinberg. He placed third in both rings and parallel bars (Level 9) at USA Gymnastics men’s regional championships held in Savannah. He will represent South Carolina at the Eastern National Championships on April 28 in Fort Lauderdale.