School news from across Johnson County

Two earn perfect ACT scores

Two Blue Valley high school students have achieved something that less than one-tenth of 1 percent of ACT test-takers nationwide achieve — a perfect score of 36.

Colin Floyd, a Blue Valley senior, and Alex Thill, a Blue Valley Northwest junior, recently earned perfect scores on the college-entrance exam. Floyd and Thill join six other Blue Valley students who achieved a perfect ACT score during the 2015-16 school year: Blue Valley North’s Roxanna Hamidpour, Anja Tonkovic-Capin, Rachel Stutz and Anastasia Dmitrienko; Blue Valley High’s John Johnston; and Blue Valley West’s Jennifer Huang. The test covers English, reading, math and science.

Shawnee student wins 4-H scholarship

Jessica Gunkel of Shawnee was one of 67 students chosen by the Kansas 4-H Foundation to receive more than $70,000 in college scholarships for the 2016-2017 academic year, based on their involvement, leadership and citizenship as a member of Kansas 4-H.

Gunkel, 18, is the daughter of James and Vicky Gunkel, and is a member of the Johnson County 4-H Comet Tech club. She was awarded the Extension Step Ahead Scholarship and received $500.

State organization recognizes Olathe teacher

Bentwood Elementary first-grade teacher Nancy Smith is a 2016 Presidential Award Kansas state finalist. The finalists were announced in June at the Excellence in Math and Science Teaching Conference. Each finalist received a $500 cash award. Smith will now advance to compete for the national finalist title.

Olathe students excel at SkillsUSA

A team of students representing the Olathe Advanced Technology Center placed high at the SkillsUSA National Competition in June.

Jonathan Clark, Olathe North High School senior, placed third in Automotive Technology Service. Clark received nearly $40,000 in scholarships, a laptop from Toyota and a large variety of tools from sponsoring companies, including Snap-On, Irwin Tools, Bosch Tools and Carhartt.

Cole Trued, an Olathe Northwest High School senior, placed 15th in the Job Skill Demonstration Open, while Savanna Smith, an Olathe East High School junior, placed 16th in the Job Skill Demonstration A competition.

Olathe grad wins Comcast scholarship

Olathe Northwest High School 2016 graduate Brant Pitcairn received a $1,000 scholarship from Comcast NBCUniversal’s Leaders and Acheivers Scholarship Program. The program, funded by the Comcast Foundation, is a one-time, $1,000 scholarship awarded to the best and brightest high school seniors for their community service, academic performance and leadership skills.

This story was originally published July 28, 2016 at 4:33 PM with the headline "School news from across Johnson County."