Science and its innumerable avenues of exploration led 23 Thomas County Central High School students to attend the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Regional Science and Engineering Fair Feb. 10 in Tifton.

Thirteen of these students earned a chance to represent TCCHS at the state-level competition: Dru Jones, Laney Mobley, Riley Ambrose, Lilian Oaksford, Laylen Hines, Kathryn Covington, Layla Staley, Even Roberts, Kayden McClain, Caroline Westberg, Nayeli Badillo, Joleth Correon, and Claire Jones.

“I am extremely proud of all the students' hard work to prepare for region science fair,” TCCHS Science Department Chair Meagan Bradshaw said. “Students came prepared and ready for their judges' interviews.”

Freshman Claire Jones, 14, also won second place in the senior division (high school) for her project, “Don’t Be A Chicken.” Her experiment tested how various seasonings – salt, cinnamon, garlic powder and onion powder – would affect preserving a chicken thigh over five days. She hypothesized that salt and cinnamon would have the best results while the onion and garlic powders would be the least effective.

“I conducted my experiment by measuring the weight change of each piece of chicken,” Jones said. “Whichever ones lost the least amount of weight were coated with the best preservative, and whichever ones lost the most had the worse preservative."

Consistent dedication to advanced academics – especially in science, technology, engineering and mathematics – secured Thomas County Central High School’s place on a very selective list. 

TCCHS has achieved recognition from the Georgia Department of Education as an Advanced Placement Honor School in two categories: AP STEM and AP STEM Achievement.

Assistant Principal Dr. Erin Rehberg said TCCHS stands out in these categories because of its high number of AP courses (currently 20) and its faculty and students’ dedication to success.

“Earning this award means that our students have not only enrolled in the most challenging STEM courses offered at TCCHS, [but] they have also done remarkably well on the exams,” Rehberg said. “This honor speaks to the dedication of our students to achieve at the highest levels and to the dedication of our faculty to help them succeed.”

The GaDOE began recognizing AP Honor Schools in 2008. According to the Feb. 17 official press release, Georgia School Superintendent Richard Woods named 273 AP Honor Schools from 97 school districts. The 2023 honorees earned their titles based on 2022 AP courses and exam results. There are eight categories: AP Access and Support, AP Challenge, AP Expansion, AP Humanities, AP Humanities Achievement, AP Schools of Distinction, AP STEM and AP STEM Achievement schools.

On February 10 and 11, band students from Thomas County Central High School and Thomas County Middle School traveled to ABAC in Tifton, Georgia, to participate in the District 2 Honor Band Clinic. Nearly 100 students participated from the Thomas County School District, and this prestigious group honors the best youth musicians the state offers.

TCCHS Band Director Joe Regina said that the high school is well represented at district honor band every year, but having so many students selected is quite an achievement.

"I'm so unbelievably grateful that Thomas County Schools supports the fine arts the way that it does, which is something that you just don't find in every school district,” Regina said. “Everyone from the superintendent to the principals and administrators, down to the faculty and our tremendous band staff district-wide are all a part of this great accomplishment." 

Phoenix Brock, a TCCHS freshman French horn player, enjoyed his experience at District Honor Band. 

“I got to meet new people, and the food was really good which is a big plus for me,” Brock said. “Also, I felt like I really learned from the music we played. I hope I can grow as a french horn player and a member of the TCCHS Band. Overall, I would love to do this again next year!"