Nine Finalists Vie to Perform at Teacher of the Year Celebration
March 19, 2011
SOUTH CAROLINA – March 18, 2011 – Now it’s up to the voters !
Nine student performances from across South Carolina havebeen chosen as finalists in the “This School’s Got Talent” contest for publicschool students. The winner will now be chosen through public voting on the South Carolina Future MindsFacebook page. South Carolina FutureMinds is the hub of private support for the state’s public schools andcreator of the contest. Voting endsThursday, March 31, and the winner will be announced April 1.
Sponsored by BB&T, this first-ever contest drew morethan four dozen video submissions from across the state, all hoping to bechosen as the main entertainment for South Carolina’s largest celebration ofstatewide public education: the SouthCarolina Teacher of the Year Celebration. That event is set for Wednesday,April 27 in Columbia.
Finalists were chosen by members of the Teacher of the Yearorganizing committee.
“This has been just a tremendous display of the ‘hiddendiamonds’ in schools all across our state,” said Trip DuBard, executivedirector of South Carolina Future Minds. “Our teachers are helping someterrific new artists find their voice. And whether these students choose thisas a career, or pursue another passion, the exposure they have had to art willenrich their lives forever.”
In addition to naming a new state Teacher of the Year andshowcasing great new talent, the April 27 event will feature remarks bynational Teacher of the Year Sarah Brown Wessling and has an honorary hostcommittee that includes Gov. Nikki Haley, Education Superintendent Mick Zais andleaders of the state House and Senate.
Supported by corporate sponsors including BMW, Michelin,BlueCross BlueShield, Piggly Wiggly of the Carolinas, Bojangles’ and manyothers, the South Carolina Teacher of the Year Celebration is taped by SCETVfor later rebroadcast across the TimeWarner Cable system.
The “This School’s Got Talent” contest began Feb. 1 and hasbeen open to public school students between 1st and 12thgrades in all South Carolina school districts. Entries could be submitted by anyoneage 18 or over.
The submission period for video entries began February 1 andended Tuesday.
The winner will be announced on April 1. Viewers may casttheir vote for each video one time per day during the voting period. There areno age restrictions on voting.
For more information about the video contest, visit http://www.facebook.com/southcarolinafuturemindsor call 803-741-5646. Watch the “This School’s Got Talent” video introductionat http://scfutureminds.org/blog.
About South Carolina Future Minds
South Carolina Future Minds is a 501 (c)(3) organization dedicatedto promoting excellence in South Carolina’s K-12 public schools by partneringwith corporate donors to find and support successful school programs. SCFM promotesinnovation for excellence in public education by equipping and advocating foreducators as they prepare South Carolina students to thrive in a globalcommunity. For more information on South Carolina Future Minds, visit http://www.scfutureminds.org or jointhe SC Future MindsFacebook page.
“This School’s Got Talent”
2011 Finalists
Voting Begins March 17 on the South Carolina FutureMinds Facebook page and goes through March 31. The winner performs at the SouthCarolina Teacher of the Year Celebration Wednesday, April 27 in Columbia.
- All Star Steel Band – L.W. Conder Elementary Arts IntegratedMagnet School in Columbia. This group performs rock and pop hits on steeldrums.
- Arts Unlimited – Saluda River Arts Academy. West Columbia. Thisenergetic group performed a rollicking rendition of “Stand Tall for SouthCarolina.”
- Caitlin Gilliland – SouthPoint High School, Rock Hill. Caitlin sang a moving version of “At Last.
- Caitlyn Penter – Ocean Bay Middle School, Myrtle Beach. Thiseighth grader sang “Beautiful.”
- Codi Lester – Newberry Middle School, Newberry. Codi playedguitar and sang an original song “Dreamer.”
- The Honors Chorus – Logan Elementary School, Columbia. TheHonors Chorus performed a moving rendition of the song “Fireflies.
- Rachel Henderson and Choir – South Point High School, RockHill. Rachel and the South Point High School Concert Choir performed aselection from “The Color Purple”.
- Rachel Tripp – Fort Mill High School, Fort Mill. Rachel submitted a video of singing, dancingand acting.
- Tyné Freeman – Richland Northeast High School, Columbia.Tyne’ performed an original interpretation of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi.”
