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RHMS students win Congressional app contest
RHMS app winners
From left, teacher Sybil Finnegan, Ryan Cranford, Joseph Kim, Luca Dichiera and Cole Goldhill with certificates they received from Rep. Buddy Carter, right, at Richmond Hill Middle School Friday. The boys were named winners in the Congressional App Challenge for Georgia's First Congressional District.

An interest in nature and technology came together for four Richmond Hill Middle School students to help them become winners in the 2017 Congressional App Challenge.

The team of Cole Goldhill, Luca Dichiera, Joseph Kim and Ryan Cranford were named winners in Georgia’s First Congressional District for creating “Wing Finder,” an app that lets users identify butterflies.

Congressman Buddy Carter was at the school Friday morning to recognize the team. More than 4,100 students on some 1,000 teams in 190 congressional districts nationwide competed.

Each team had to create a video explaining how the app works. Wing Finder’s can be seen at https://vimeo.com/240677512#t=0s.

By uploading a picture of a captured butterfly, users can link to a database and search throughout Georgia to find information about butterflies, including host plants, wing span and if it is a male or female.

The boys agreed that the app could be expanded to other states, as well as to other wildlife. They said they spent about three weeks working on it.

Carter’s presentation included a signed copy for each student of his remarks that were read into the Congressional Record on Wednesday.

“I am proud of these students in Richmond Hill for doing such a great job coding and creating this app,” Carter said in his remarks. “Seeing what these students can achieve through technology truly gives me great hope for the future of our country.”

The Congressional App Challenge is now in its third year. 

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Groups hand out scholarships
RH theater scholarship
Richmond Hill High School senior Jacey Shanholtzer shows her Dawn Harrington Berry Spotlight Award, which was awarded by the Richmond Hill Community Theatre and includes a $500 scholarship. With her are Tom Harris, Ashlee Farris, Brett Berry and Kim Diebold. The award was created in memory of Dawn Harrington Berry, a long time RHCT member and president who died in 2016. - photo by Photo provided.

Three reports recently presented scholarships

Richmond Hill High School senior Jacey Shanholtzer received the Dawn Harrington Berry Spotlight Award, which was awarded by the Richmond Hill Community Theatre and includes a $500 scholarship. The award was created in memory of Dawn Harrington Berry, a long time RHCT member and president who died in 2016.

Garden Club

The Richmond Hill Garden Club recently awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Katherine Wood and a $500 scholarship to Carly Vargas, both seniors graduating from Richmond Hill High School.

The awards were presented May 8 during Honors Night at RHHS.

Wood plans to attend Green Mountain College in Vermont and major in environmental studies.

Vargas plans to attend Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee, to pursue a degree in either environmental studies or biology.

The garden club awards a $1,000 scholarship annually to a local high school senior who plans to major in a field related to environmental concerns, plants and/or gardening.

This year, due to having two exceptional candidates, the garden club awarded an additional $500 scholarship.

Exchange Club

The Exchange Club of Richmond Hill recently named Caroline Odom as its student of the year.

The club each month during the school year names a student of the month, and the student of the year is chosen from among those winners.

Awards are based on academic performance, community involvement and leadership.

Monthly winners receive $100, with the annual winner getting a $1,000 scholarship.

The Exchange Club has been recognizing students for more than 30 years.

Odom will go on to compete in the Georgia District Exchange Club against students from across the state.

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