GOOD NEWS: Quest draws 1,000; coming children’s forum, more

42 schools take part in Trident Tech’s Quest

Staff reports | More than 1,200 students from 42 public schools throughout the tri-county area battled for top honors at the 30th Annual Quest Academic Competition held Saturday at Trident Technical College. The competition was developed by TTC to promote academic excellence, provide an academic challenge to students, and recognize top students, teachers and schools.

Students participated in four levels of competition to earn points in team competitions in math, science and social studies, and in individual competitions in composition, public speaking and visual arts. Schools whose students earned the most total points won overall awards at each level. Special competitions that did not contribute points toward the overall awards were held in automotive, computer aided design, computer programming, culinary, engineering design and construction, French, horticulture, Spanish, video/film and welding.

Overall awards were given to 12 schools. At Level I (grade 6) Gregg Middle School won first place, Buist Academy for Advanced Studies placed second and Rollings Middle School of the Arts finished in third place. At Level II (grades 7-8) Charleston County School of the Arts took top honors, Rollings Middle School of the Arts placed second and College Park Middle School earned third. At Level III (grades 9-10) Academic Magnet High School won first place, Ashley Ridge High School placed second and Cane Bay High School placed third. At Level IV (grades 11-12) Academic Magnet won first place, James Island Charter High School placed second and Fort Dorchester took third place.

In other good news:

Charleston Children’s forum: The First Meeting for Charleston’s Children will unite Lowcountry community members to engage with four national leaders who have transformed the education system in their communities to ensure that all students have access to an excellent education. Attendees will learn about innovative approaches to school creation, education talent recruitment, and community engagement; and explore opportunities to implement best practices in the Lowcountry. The event will start at 8:30 a.m. March 9 and will be held at the Royal Banquet and Conference Center at 4750 Abraham Street in North Charleston.

Anthem audition for RiverDogs’ games: The Charleston RiverDogs, the Class-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, will host auditions for those wishing to perform The Star-Spangled Banner from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. March 31 behind home plate at The Joe.  Should there be inclement weather, there will be no makeup date as in years past, but video auditions will be accepted. Those auditioning must fill out an audition form that can be found at www.riverdogs.com.  Forms must be filled out and submitted to communityrelations@riverdogs.com prior to the audition day.

New photography show: The City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs presents Altered Narratives at the City Gallery, located at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Waterfront Park March 19 through May 1, 2016, featuring the works of 12 modern professional photographers from across the United States. The exhibition will open with a reception on Friday, March 18, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.; the event is free and open to the public. Altered Narratives: 19^th-Century Techniques Merge with 21st-Century Visions explores historical photographic methods used today by contemporary photographers.