Oconee Co names STAR students, teachers

Oconee County names this year’s STAR students, who have each chosen their STAR teachers: student Paige Hackleman and teacher Jake Forrester take the honors at Oconee County High School. There was a three-way tie at North Oconee, where Stiles Begnaud, Cameran Butryn, and Yerahm Hong all had the same scores on their SATs. They chose as STAR teachers, respectively, Rob McMaken, Scott Smith, and Gavin Matesich.

From the Oconee Co School District website…

Oconee County High School STAR Student – Paige Hackleman, daughter of Tricia and Jeff Hackleman

STAR Teacher – Jake Forrester, Algebra II and Advanced Calculus teacher

North Oconee High School – three-way tie with the same SAT score

STAR Student – Stiles Begnaud, son of Yuka Kaneda and John Begnaud STAR Teacher – Rob McMaken, AP Art History and AP Human Geography teacher

STAR Student – Cameran Butryn, son of Sheri and Matt Butryn STAR Teacher – Scott Smith, Band Director

STAR Student – Yerahm Hong, daughter of HwaChoon Park and Soonseung Hong STAR Teacher – Gavin Matesich, AP Macroeconomics and US History in Film teacher

“Congratulations to this year’s STAR Students and STAR Teachers for this well-deserved recognition,” said Superintendent Jason L. Branch. “All four of these students have demonstrated sustained excellence through hard work, dedication, and perseverance in academics and extracurriculars. In addition to reaching this level of academic excellence with the strong support of their STAR Teachers, I would also like to commend the students’ K-12 teachers and parents for their support as well.”

To be honored as a STAR (Student Teacher Achievement Recognition) Student, the following criteria must be met:

• SAT scores must meet the national averages or above. The students who receive the award have the highest SAT scores in all three sections – critical reading, math, and writing.
• Class standing must be noted. The student must be in the top 10% or among the top 10 students numerically, whichever category provides the largest number of eligible students in his or her graduating senior class.
• The student that has been declared the STAR Student chooses the STAR Teacher.

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