Donations sought for East Lake care closet
UnifiEd, a local education advocacy nonprofit, is hosting a donation drive for a new care closet at East Lake Elementary School.
Care closets are already located in some schools in Hamilton County, especially within the Opportunity Zone. The most well-known closet is located at Orchard Knob Middle School and includes clothes, toiletries, school supplies and laundry facilities for tridents and their families.
"We are excited to announce that we are organizing a supply drive for East Lake Elementary School," according to a news release from UnifiEd.
Items the group is looking for include: school uniforms (male and female polo shirts in blue, white, navy, yellow; male pants/shorts in khaki or navy; female pants/skirts/shorts in khaki or navy), socks, boys and girls underwear, ponytail holders, hairbrushes and combs and non-perishable snacks, including individually wrapped items like granola bars, Goldfish, or individual boxes of cereal.
Other items needed include: toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, feminine sanitary products, gloves, scarves, winter hats and throw blankets.
UnifiEd is collecting donations though Dec. 13. The group plans on setting up the closet from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Dec. 14. Donations can be dropped off Monday through Friday during normal business hours at UnifiEd's office at at 1609 McCallie Ave.
For more information, email Josh Singh at josh@unifi-ed.org.
Schools recognized for civics education
Seven Hamilton County Schools have been recognized as 2019 United States Civics All-Star Schools. The schools earn the designate when all members of the senior class have earned at least a 70% on the U.S. Civics Test.
The schools include Chattanooga High Center for Creative Arts, Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences, Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, Hamilton County Collegiate High at Chattanooga State, Ivy Academy, Sale Creek Middle /High and STEM School Chattanooga.
Last year, three schools in Hamilton County earned the designated. These schools have a head start toward meeting new guidelines and recognition opportunities for Civics coming next year. In March, Gov. Bill Lee announced schools would have the opportunity to earn the Governor's Civics Seal during his State of the State address.
The Governor's Seal will recognize schools and districts that prioritize teaching history and civic values. The state is also currently holding a contest encouraging students to submit designs for this new seal. Students in grades K-12 who attend a Tennessee public or charter school are eligible to submit a design in the contest. The winner will receive a $1,000 scholarship. The deadline to enter the contest is Dec. 13.
For more information, visit the Governor's Civics Seal online.
UTC team participates in cybersecurity competition
A team from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga as one of 13 that recently participated in a cybersecurity competition at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The lab hosted the Department of Energy's fifth collegiate CyberForce Competition on Nov. 16. The event brings together student teams from across the country to compete at 10 of the DOE's national laboratories.
"This competition teaches students real-world cybersecurity skills on how to prepare for, monitor and respond to attacks on their infrastructure. The national labs benefit by making direct connections with top students and university mentors," said event organizer Jeffrey Nichols, a cybersecurity scientist in the Cyber and Applied Data Analytics Division, in a statement. "One of our recent interns was a former competition participant, and one of our past adult volunteers from outside ORNL is now an employee here at the lab."
This year students either defended a solar power plant, an electric grid system, manufacturing facilities or a high-performance computer system during the competition.
If you have news about local schools you'd like included in Class Notes, email Meghan Mangrum at mmangrum@timesfreepress.com.