GOVERNOR'S SCHOOL PUPILS SCORE VICTORIES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 23, 1992                   TAG: 9202230140
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: Southwest Bureau
DATELINE: DUBLIN                                LENGTH: Medium
GOVERNOR'S SCHOOL PUPILS SCORE VICTORIES
Students have probably never looked happier going to school than those returning to the Southwest Virginia Governor's School on Friday from the 1992 Academic Excellence Conference at Virginia Tech.
They brought with them the top awards in both senior and junior team competitions in their division, as well as first place in an engineering event - construction of a weight-bearing bridge made entirely of toothpicks.
It was the first time the nearly-2-year-old magnet school had entered the conference. So the noise, whoops and spraying of Silly String streamers out of cans at one another - unlikely to be tolerated any other time - were forgiven.
The two-hour team competitions in six divisions, depending on school sizes, gave each team 145 questions covering biology, chemistry, computer fundamentals, English, mathematics and physics. Team members could consult one another and use books they brought along.
Senior team members from the Southwest Virginia school were Brooks Moses, Eddie Simmers and Aaron Smith from Pulaski County; Marty Fowler, Carroll County; Toby Hall, Wythe County; Brian Weaver, Giles County; Jia Liu, Grayson County; and Chris Sutphin, Bland County.
Juniors on the other team were Aaron Mumaw, Floyd County; Sam Turner, Carroll County; Phuong Lui and Chastity Friend, Pulaski County.
Jerian Abel, a faculty member, worked with the students in practice sessions in the weeks leading up to the conference. She said the teams mainly practiced strategy in working out their answers quickly and accurately.
"We're really proud of them, to go in for the first time like that," said Pat Duncan, director of the Southwest Virginia Governor's School. "In knowing the students, I felt that they could really compete well if given the opportunity."
Moses and Simmers of Pulaski County won the toothpick bridge competition with a structure that supported 1,023 pounds. One entry, which held 1,004 pounds, was disqualified; and none of the others bore more than 983 pounds.
Moses said each bridge-building team was given 800 toothpicks. "We only used 794 of them," he said.
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB