ROCK HILL—For the seventh straight year, the Olde English Consortium (OEC) will host its regional 10th grade Junior Scholars Day—a day of integrated fun and learning—at York Technical College.

On Friday, February 27, approximately 300 tenth-grade Junior Scholars from surrounding public schools will come to the college for the annual Junior Scholars Day, sponsored by the OEC and York Technical College. These high school sophomores have been identified as Junior Scholars by their school district and the state of South Carolina.

The students will spend the day at York Tech in order to (a) be recognized for exemplary academic and extracurricular achievement (b) participate in a day of learning and critical thinking, and (c) be exposed to both a college campus and college instructors. The day will begin with refreshments and an address by the leadership and administration of the college. Following words from York Technical College President Dr. Greg Rutherford and OEC Director Dr. Mike Fanning, students will be divided into groups for small group learning projects with York Tech faculty. (At approximately 10 a.m. the students will be divided into groups and attend separate critical thinking workshops/sessions across the York Tech campus. These sessions will focus on using technology to solve real-life critical issues. At the conclusion of the sessions, the students will gather at the Baxter Hood Center for a time of critical thinking presentations—with students taking lessons learned and applying them to a specific “mystery” designed to have students apply their newly-gained knowledge. The day will conclude with lunch at the Hood Center.

This year’s topics include the following: Urine for a Treat; Not Rocket Science, But It Could Be; What Makes a Good Trebuchet?; Lights, Camera, Action; Application of Light in Chemical Analysis; What Is a Polymer?; Facebook, MySpace, & Internet Perils; Behind the Mask, Mathematical Modeling; Telling Your Stories, Whatever They Are; Human Anatomy & Physiology; Impromptu Speaking; First Impressions; Drunk Driving Experience; CSI York Tech; If You See, Can You Believe It?; What’s He On?, and Programming Strategy.

The Olde English Consortium is an educational collaborative seeking to promote excellence in education through collaboration. Founded in 1976, the OEC’s members include the Cherokee, Chester, Clover, Fairfield, Fort Mill, Lancaster, Rock Hill, Union, and York school districts, as well as the University of South Carolina Lancaster. The OEC has also enjoyed a long, successful collaboration with York Technical College. A goal of the OEC is to bring all educational stakeholders together to improve education in the region and throughout South Carolina. The consortium serves approximately 70,000 students, approximately 7,000 educators, and thousands of the region’s honorable citizens.

York Technical College . 452 S. Anderson Road . Rock Hill, SC 29730