HOSA Shines at International Leadership Conference
Ballard High School’s Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) chapter proudly represented Jefferson County Public Schools on the national stage, taking 16 students to the highly competitive HOSA International Leadership Conference in Nashville. Led by Biomedical Sciences teacher Kristin Howell, Ballard had the largest delegation from any JCPS school, marking a significant milestone for our growing program.
Over the course of four days, students competed in a wide range of events that tested their health-related knowledge and professional skills. While Ballard did not bring home any awards this year, the experience was incredibly valuable. Students participated in educational workshops, engaged with exhibitors from top colleges and national health organizations, and built lasting connections with fellow future health professionals from around the globe.
We are proud of our students’ commitment, professionalism, and passion for healthcare, and we look forward to continued growth and success in the years ahead.
Ballard FBLA Competes on the National Stage in Anaheim
Under the leadership of business teacher Jill Napier, Ballard High School sent 20 students to the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, California. Representing both Ballard and the state of Kentucky, these students competed in a range of high-level individual and team events, showcasing their talent in areas such as Broadcast Journalism, Sales Presentation, Data Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Cybersecurity, Public Service Announcement, Partnership with a Business, and Business Management.
In addition to competing, students engaged in workshops focused on leadership development, business skills, and career readiness. The conference also provided valuable networking opportunities with FBLA chapters from across the country, helping students build connections and gain insights into future career paths.
Outside of the conference, the group took advantage of their time in Southern California by sightseeing around the Los Angeles area, making the trip both educational and unforgettable.
Congratulations to Marleigh Durrett, Alex Balas, Payton Heffernan, Lucy Bentley, Maddie Mowry, Lizzie Dohn, Andrew Adams, Lucas David, Avery Washam, Kate LaBarbera, Lucas Neimeyer, Scott Jennings, Alex Lundgard, Benji Kiziminski, Carson Baker, Makaylah O'Neil, Erin Williams, Remy Aldridge, Olivia Mardis, and Ella Weishaar for representing Ballard with professionalism and pride.
Congrats Ballard's Concert Choir
FBLA State Results
We had 24 students qualify for the National Conference in Anaheim!!!
Payton Heffernan, Maddie Mowry, & Lucy Bentley
1st place - Sales Presentation
Alec Balas & Marleigh Durrett
1st place - Broadcast Journalism
Lizzie Dohn, Lucas David & Andrew Adams
1st place - Financial Stmt Analysis
Avery Washam, Lucas Neimeyer & Kate LaBarbera
3rd place - Partnership wi Business
Remy Aldridge, Olivia Mardis, & Erin Williams
3rd place - Public Service Announcement
Makaylah ONeil, Ella Weishaar, & Carson Baker
4th place- Data Analysis
Alex Lundgard & Benji Kiziminski
4th place - Business Management
Thanusree Puchakayala, Sofiya Syed & Varnika Vegesna
2nd place - Computer Game / Programming
Ben Matheis
3rd place - Intro to Business Concepts
Sriya Sangaraju
4th place - Intro to Business Procedures
WAY TO GO BRUINS!
HOSA State Leadership Conference Results
Ballard HOSA had another fantastic showing at the State Leadership Conference this year (in just our 3rd year as a chapter!). Please congratulate the following students when you see them!
1st Place Winners
Rujula Kolwalkar - Health Informatics
Rikki Pardue - Medical Reading
Anusha Gadekari & Emily Gdowski - CERT Skills
Abby Luttrell, Aishanvi Vinayak, Alisa Ali, Katey Buskiewickz, Tristan Goodin - Medical Reserve Corp
2nd Place Winners
Muhilan Balasubramanian - Epidemiology
Vansh Chabhadiya, Sachith Nimmala, Rocco Lucas, Sainiraj Shivakumar - Public Health
3rd Place Winners
Eman Hamada - Biotechnology
Yamini Kannan Madhavan - Clinical Laboratory Science
Camila Castro Castillo - Dental Science
Harini Srinivasan - Family Medicine Physician
Lilah Price - Veterinary Medicine
Finalists (Top 5)
Ruthvika Addala - Occupational Therapy
Sana Turkmani - World Health & Disparities
Gianna Kanongara - Pathophysiology
Miya Davis.- Research Poster
These students are invited to compete at the International Leadership Conference in Nashville this June.
Louisville Regional Science Fair 2025
We are excited to announce that Ballard won First Place ($400) in the Louisville Regional Science Fair for 2025. We competed against other schools like NOHS, Central, Trinity HS and Noor Islamic School. First and Second Place winners get to advance to the Kentucky State Science Fair March 29th at EKU.
Bailey Kaiser was our showstopper with several Specialty Awards and 1st place in her category.
We swept the Environmental Engineering Category 1-4th place!
Please give a hearty congratulations to the following students. Not only do they get to have the pride of their own achievement but won significant cash prizes as well!
Thank you to Glenda Jones who is on the Board of LRSEF and was there all day, and Joy Cox came to support her students as well.
It's a Great Day to be a Bruin! Come see our new hardware in the trophy case in the South Lobby.
Animal Science
Dahlia Zhao 3rd place
Miya Davis 4th place
Behavioral and Social Sciences (out of 20 projects!)
Sana Turkmani 1st Place
Biomedical and Health Sciences
Wyatt Wheelock 3rd Place
Chemistry
Mihira Sumanasekera and Easha Heelage 2nd Place
Charlie Franco 4th Place
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Anna Shumway 1st Place
Alyssa Jones 3rd Place
Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics
Alexander Osman and Taruna Petluri 2nd Place
Environmental Engineering
Bailey Kaiser 1st Place
Harini Chivukula 2nd Place
Miller McArthur 3rd Place
Varnika Vegesna 4th Place
Materials Science
Michael Brown 1st Place
Mathematics
Breken Free and Jameson Mattingly 3rd Place
Microbiology
Adithya Gandhapudi and Arya Gandhapudi 2nd Place
Physics and Astronomy
Rocco Lucas 2nd Place
Vihaan Dakshini 3rd Place
Plant Sciences
Venkata Pragnya Hansa 2nd Place
Robotics and Intelligent Machines
Reyansh Tandon 2nd Place
Shankar Devarakonda and Anushree Vispute 3rd Place
Systems Software
Aditi Raje 1st Place
Jayaditha Seereddy 4th Place
Translational Medicine
Asmita Shanmuganathan 4th Place
SPECIALTY AWARDS
Community Service and Social Benefit Award
Bailey Kaiser
Civil Engineering Award
Bailey Kaiser
Women in Geological Sciences Award
Bailey Kaiser
Community Impact Award
Easha Heelage and Mihira Sumanasekera
Creative Project Award
Easha Heelage and Mihira Sumanasekera
Food and Beverage Technology Award
Charlie Franco
Excellence in Civil Engineering
Bailey Kaiser
Clear Thinker Award
Aditi Raje
Excellence in Animal Investigation
Miya Davis
Global Environmental Impact
Alyssa Jones
Engineering Achievement
Bailey Kaiser
Conservation and Waste Management Award
Harini Chivukula
Environmental Science Award
Anna Shumway
NOAA Award
Miller McArthur
Child Health and Wellbeing Award
Anna Shumway
Stockholm Water Prize
Alyssa Jones
Miller McCarthur
US Air Force Achievement
Michael Brown
American Chemical Society Award
Mihira Sumanasekera and Easha Heelage
District Governors Cup Results
Content Area Test Results (Top 5 places in each subject area advance to Regionals Feb 22nd)
Mathematics: Taylor Thompson 3rd Place
Science: Sam Shumway 1st Place AND Robert Wohlgehagen 2nd Place
Social Studies: Clayton Long 1st Place AND Teddy Marx 3rd Place
Language Arts: Sam Shumway 1st Place AND Michael Whaley 5th Place
Arts & Humanities: Taylor Thompson 1st Place AND Michael Whaley 4th Place AND Jackson May 5th Place
Written Composition Results (Top 5 advance to Regionals Feb 17th)
1st Place - Isabella Martinez
2nd Place - Alyssa Pollard
Special thanks to Jay Crocker for grading the writing prompt essays on behalf of Ballard!
Future Problem Solving Results (Top 2 advance to Regionals Feb 17th)
3rd Place - Ballard High School (Isabella Martinez, Amelia Dries, Penelope Curley, Makaylah O’Neil)
Quick Recall Results (Top 2 advance to Regionals Feb 22nd)
JCPS takes care of business - Eastern and Ballard both advancing as 1 and 2 seeds for Regionals.
OVERALL DISTRICT GOVERNORS CUP POINTS:
1st Place - 51 points - Ballard High School
2nd Place - 39.5 points - Kentucky Country Day
3rd Place - 31.5 points - Eastern High School
4th Place - 1 point - Phoenix School of Discovery 1 point
WAY TO GO BRUINS!
BALLARD'S NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARS
Congrats to Ballard Freshman
Wyatt Weddle
Ballard freshman Wyatt Weddle has been selected to participate in the US Naval Academy’s 2024 Summer STEM Program. As one of 350 participants out of more than 5000 applicants, Wyatt will have the opportunity to create, build, and explore in world-class lab facilities at one of the “Top 5 Undergraduate Engineering Programs” in the country, according to US News & World Report. Through modules including “Storm Chasing”, “Reverse Engineering”, and “Searching for Unobtanium”, participants will learn hands-on with Navy Midshipmen and faculty while living on-campus in Annapolis, Maryland.
International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles- AWARDS
Congratulations to Ballard Junior Muhilan Balasubramanian who won a $5000 specialty award prize!
UofL's Stop the Bleed Course
UofL Health just certified 70 Biomedical Science students with the Stop the Bleed Course.
Way to go Bruins!!
CONGRATULATIONS
COOPER RISINGER
The CJ's
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Many thanks to all who voted for Cooper!
FBLA State Conference Results
Ballard High School had a very successful state conference! We have 28 students advance to the national level! We captured trophies in 22 events and was awarded 2nd largest chapter in the state of Kentucky. These students have the opportunity to compete in Orlando in June. Please congratulate them!
Business Ethics – 1st place
Mackenzie White
Laura Worth
Olivia Martin
Entrepreneurship – 1st place
Rachel Sprowles
Landon Hanners
Financial statement analysis – 1st place
Kiley Adkins
Jackson Wood
Introduction to business presentation – 3rd place
Maddy Mowry
Lucy Bentley
Reese Johnson
Business management – 5th place
Saanvi Vinod
Priya Gautam
Business Plan - 3rd place
Alex Balas
Peyton Heffernan
Matilda Gorley
Introduction to event planning - 5th place
Sriya Sangaraju
Alex Lundgard
Introduction to Fbla – 4th place
Sameen Vatankah
Data analysis – 3rd Place
Krithik Nadimpally
West Franklin
Kate Harrison
Journalism – 1st place
Ben Teitel
Broadcast Journalism – 1st place
George Givens
Kate Schuler
Partnership with a business – 3rd place
Caroline Massey line
Anthony Rice
Ella Kappesser
Electronic career portfolio – 1st place
Renelleda Saint Hilaire
Graphic design – 2nd place
Ben Cullens
Allie Finewood.
Retail management open testing - 1st place
Lucas Niemeyer
Nonprofit management open testing– 1st place
Saanvi Vinod
Securities & investments – 4th place
Kelly Litzau
Client service – 2nd Place
Abby Waterman
Parliamentary procedure – 5th Place
Patrick Raderer
Olivia Mardis
Botand Kriszan
Lucas David
Carson Baker
Visual design – 1st place
Jill Bennie
Avery Carlton
Bulletin board – 2nd place
Remy Aldridge
Audrey Iglehart
Bailey Moreland
Visual design – 1st place
Jill Bennie
Avery Carlton
Accounting - 2nd place
Fizzah Syed
Congratulations to ALL our Music Performance groups from Band, Choir , and Orchestra for earning DISTINGUSHED ratings in every performance category! CHEERS to all student performance and Instructors! Thank you Ballard Bands for finishing strong!
KYSEF Results
Ballard sent 18 of our best science fair projects to EKU Saturday to compete against the best in the state and here are the results:
Earth and Environmental Sciences:
Grace Reck 2nd place
Embedded Systems:
Easha Heelage 3rd place
Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design:
Mihira Sukmansekera 1st place
Software:
Summon Gebrilibanos and Leo Li 3rd place
Technology in the Arts:
Leona Haight 1st Place
Translational Medicine:
Zanab Pervez 3rd place
U.S. Army Special Award: Kevin Brothers
U.S. Navy Special Award: Mihira Sumansekera
Please congratulate them! These projects started in August of last year and have been built, tested, re-tested and completed over the past 7 months. They had to make it from our school fair to Region and then yesterday at State. Reminder- we are sending Muhilan Balasubramanian to ISEF in Los Angeles this April to represent Team Kentucky. We have proudly sent at least one student to ISEF almost every year for the last 41 years.
HOSA Leadership Conference
The HOSA State Leadership Conference concluded this morning and Ballard had an amazing showing for only our second year at the conference. What's more, we had the second largest delegation! Please congratulate the following students if you get a chance next week – 21 of them are eligible to compete at the International Leadership Conference this June in Houston.
Biotechnology - 1st Place Tristan Goodin
Clinical Specialty - Top 5 Sara Abduljalil
Biomedical Debate - 2nd Place Abdullah Alfatllawi, Mack Lindroth, Jada Washington
Creative Problem Solving - Top 5 Sim Kinser, Max Lucas, Krithik Nadimpally, Tanish Saddala, Pranjal Sharma, Hayden Staebler
HOSA Bowl - 2nd Place Siri Endluru, Hira Gopang, Mareeha Iqbal, Grace Phillips
Cultural Diversities and Disparities - 1st Place Cherry Shein Soe
Medical Reading - 1st Place Rikki Pardue
Nutrition - 2nd Place Akshay Kolwalkar
Pathophysiology - 3rd Place Gianna Kanongara
Emergency Medical Technician - Top 5 Grace Reck, Nandhika Veeramalli
Epidemiology - 1st Muhilan Balasubramanian
Medical Reserve Corps Partnership - 2nd Place Alisa Ali, Katey Buszkiewicz, Golshid Esmaeily, Abby Luttrell, Aishanvi Vinayak
Extemporaneous Writing - Health Policy - Top 5 Eleanor Esterle
Prepared Speaking - 2nd Place Latika Soni
Healthy Living - 2nd Place Megan Trapp
Research Poster - 2nd Place Vihaan Dakshini
Thank you all for contributing to their success!
Ballard Jazz
CONGRATS to the following Ballard Jazz members on their acceptance to the 2024 University of Louisville Honor Jazz Ensemble!
Sam Tindall - Lead Trombone
Agustin Millan-Uribe - Lead Guitar
Luke Carman - Drums
Cora Brandstatt - Trumpet
Carson Thompson - Alto Saxophon
State Governors Cup Competition Results & Recruitment
Future Problem Solving Team (Friday Night), coached by Bryan Rich, advanced from Region 7
Amelia Dries, Eman Hamada, Isabella Martinez, Makaylah O’Neil
Quick Recall (Sunday Afternoon), coached by Bryan Rich, advanced from Region 7
Omar Caballero, Brennan Davis, Golshid Esmaeily, Jackson May, Rikki Pardue, Sam Shumway, Romeo Tapia, Taylor Thompson and Michael Whaley all competed and drew a tough card in Swiss pairing in Round 1 of the state tournament on Sunday afternoon (playing the eventual state champion Paul Lawrence Dunbar).
Content Assessments (Saturday Morning):
Cooper Russell took the State Mathematics test
Brennan Davis took the State Science test
Sam Shumway took the State Language Arts test
Taylor Thompson took the State Arts and Humanities test
Omar Caballero took the State Social Studies test - PLACED 5th in the State of Kentucky!
Written Composition (Saturday afternoon)
Isabella Martinez PLACED 3rd in the State of Kentucky!
The writing prompt this year was intriguing, involving whether large corporations should be responsible for reparations payments due to hardships brought upon society due to climate change. For a more detailed breakdown, ask Bella or Mr. Crocker for more information!
****Special thanks to Jay Crocker for being willing to grade essays in the evenings after school back in January for Districts, in February for Regionals, and early on Sunday morning for State competition for our kids to be able to compete in this event!
I’ve been involved in this program for 14 years and I’m very excited about where our Academic Competition program is headed in the coming years, but we need your help! If you know of any freshman/sophomores that would be a good fit for us to begin recruiting to represent the best and brightest of Ballard, please don’t hesitate to send them to me in S101, Bryan Rich in S217, or Scott McDonald in N145. We have a lot of upperclassmen and need to start passing the baton to some of our up and coming rising freshmen and sophomores!
Thank you so much for your continued support and GO BRUINS!
60th Anniversary Louisville Regional Science Fair Competition
Ballard faced very stiff competition from many schools, notably Gatton Academy, who have the academic and technical resources of WKU to assist their students, which ours do not. But Bruins do not give up and did very well.
All First and Second Place projects are advancing to State competition at EKU on March 23rd. Each Place prize also includes a cash award commiserate with their place.
Please congratulate Muhilan Balasubramanian is going for a repeat to the International Science and Engineering Fair in L.A. this May.
Please Congratulate the following students for their Category Awards and also Special Area awards.
Behavioral and Social Sciences:
Second Place: Sarah Gauhar
Biochemistry:
Second Place: Nandhika Veeramalli
Third Place: Satya Hasini Ambati
Biomedical and Health Sciences:
Fourth Place: Dolores Wood
Chemistry:
First Place: Sage Synder
Earth And Environmental Sciences
First Place: Grace Reck
Embedded Systems:
First Place: Easha Heelage
Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design
Second Place: Mihira Sumansekera
Third Place: Owen Yoffee
Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics ( A TOTAL SWEEP of the CATEGORY!)
First Place: Eldino Kilim and Abinandhan Ramkumar
Second Place: Sophia Sapienza
Third Place: Ahmed Al Rawi
Fourth Place: Nathan Pennell
Environmental Engineering:
Third Place: Rujula Kolwalkar
Fourth Place: George Reeves and Maddie Thompson
Materials Science:
First Place: Connor Hamm
Third Place: Claire Sharon
Microbiology:
First Place: Muhilan Balasubramaian
Fourth Place: Henry Fan and Reva Kapoor
Physics and Astronomy:
Second Place: Alyssa Jones
Plant Sciences:
First Place: Jackson May
Second Place: Elyse Wilcox
Robotics and Intelligent Machines:
First Place: Kevin Brothers
Second Place: Henry Carnahan
Systems Software:
Second Place: Summon Gebrelibanos and Leo Li
Fourth Place: Aarush Rajguru
Technology Enhances the Arts:
Second Place: Leona Haight
Translational Medicine:
First Place: Zanab Pervez
SPECIALTY AWARDS: Many of these come with a cash prize as well.
Achievement in In Vitro Biology- Muhilan Balasubramaian
Enginering Award: Henry Carnahan
Engineering Achievement Award: Eldino Kilim and Abinandhan Ramkumar
Conservation and Waste Management Award: Mihira Sumansekera
U.S. Stockholm Junior Water Prize: Rujula Kowalkar and Sage Snyder
U.S. Airforce: Connor Hamm
Yale Science and Enginering Association: Zanab Pervez
Excellence in Civil Engineering Award: Nathan Pennell
Global Perfection Award: Kevin Brothers
Child Health and Well Being Award: Nora Adler and Pryia Gautam
Community Service and Social Benefit Award- Summon Gebrelibanos and Leo Li
American Chemical Society- Sage Synder and Nandhika Veeramalli
Green Environmental Friend Award: Rujula Kowalkar
Science Champion- Kevin Brothers
At Large Nominated students to STATE: Sarah Gauhar and Mihira Sumansekera
WE ARE PROUD OF OUR BRUINS!
Kentucky Educators Rising State Conference
Ballard entered 20 events and ended up with 13 first-place and 3 third-place finishes
3rd Place in Children's Lit K-3: Abigail Faris and Sydnei Rhodes
1st Place in Children's Lit K-3: Kira Wicker and Patrick Raderer
3rd Place in Children's Lit Pre-K: Anya Basemore
1st Place in Spanish Children's Lit K-3: Camila Castro Castillo
1st Place in Ed Rising Leadership Award: Catherine Davis
1st Place in Exploring Administration: Mia Reilly
1st Place in Exploring Support Services Michelle Aguilar
1st Place in Exploring Support Services (JV): Alayna Burke
1st Place in Arts Lesson Planning: Sydney Dunagan
1st Place in Social Studies Lesson Planning: Madelyn Cain
1st Place in Creative Lecture: Abigail Bizzel
1st Place in Educators Rising Moment Speech: Aniah Coleman
3rd Place in Educators Rising Moment Speech: Alyssa Pollard
1st Place in Impromptu Speaking: Aiddan Robinson
1st Place in Public Speaking: Richard Davidoff
1st Place in Teacher-Created Materials: Sage Snyder
CONGRATULATIONS!!
FBLA REGIONAL RESULTS
Accounting I - 1st place
Fizzah Syed
Advertising - 2nd place
Ali Dugla
Banking & Financial Sys - 3rd place
Hira Gopang
Leo Li
Andrea Salazar Cortes
Broadcast Journalism - 1st place
George Givens
Kate Shuler
Business Ethics - 1st place
Olivia Martin
Mackenzie White
Laura Worth
Business Management - 3rd place
Visnupriya Gautam
Saanvi Vinod
Client Service - 1st place
Abby Waterman
Data Analysis - 2nd place
West Franklin
Kate Harrison
Krithik Napimpally
Economics - 2nd place
Omar Caballero
Electronic Career Portfolio - 1st place
Renelleda St. Hilaire
Entrepreneurship - 2nd place
Rachel Sprowles
Landon Hanners
Financial Statement Analysis - 1st place
Kiley Adkins
Jackson Wood
Future Business Educator - 1st place
Willa Perito
Graphic Design - 1st place
Benjamin Cullens
Alli Finewood
Healthcare Administration - 1st place
Mareeha Iqbal
International Business - 1st place
Grace Phillips
Introduction to Business Communication - 1st place
Fatima Brown
Introduction to Business Presentation - 3rd place
Lucy Bentley
Reese Johnson
Madeleine Mowry
Introduction to Business Procedures - 3rd place
Sean Jennings
Introduction to Event Planning - 1st place
Alex Lundgard
Sriya Sangaraju
Introduction to FBLA - 1st place
Sameen Vantankhah
Introduction to Financial Math - 3rd place
Jackson Mowry
Introduction to public speaking - 3rd place
Ava Brent
Journalism - 1st place
Ben Teitel
Management Information Systems - 3rd place
Nicholas Hayden
Caleb Miller
Marketing - 2nd place
Jace Benner
Lily Berg
Victoria Spadafora
Networking infrastructure
Sam Pegliasco
Chapter Newsletter
Henry Fan
Nevaeh Winstead
Leticia Barbosa Prata
Miya Bellefant
Parliamentary Procedure - 2nd place
Carson Baker
Lucas David
Botand Krizsan
Olivia Mardis
Patrick Raderer
Sales Presentation - 2nd place
Caleb Harrison
Matthew Schwartz
Securities & Investments - 2nd place
Kelly Litzau
Spreadsheet Application - 2nd place
Kate Mardis
Visual Design 1st place
Jill Bennie
Avery Carlton
Word Processing - 2nd place
Braxton Frazier
Chapter Bulletin Board
Remy Aldridge
Audrey Iglehart
Bailey Moreland
CONGRATULATION BRUINS!!
Congratulations to the Ballard Jazz Ensemble and the "Spiked Coffee" Combo on their performances at the U of L Jazz Fest
In addition to performing, they received rave reviews and comments from some of the nations most celebrated Jazz Artists- including Craig Bailey - Saxophone; he worked and performed with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers and Ray Charles and his Big Band.
The Ballard Jazz Ensemble earned a silver medal ward for their performance and the following students received outstanding performer recognitions:
Jazz Ensemble
Isaac Davis - Trombone
Luke Davis - Trumpet
Annabelle McClellan - Piano
Carlos Thompson - Drums
Carson Thompson - Saxophone
'Spiked Coffee' Combo
Luke Carman - Drums
Annabelle McClellan - Piano
Agustin Millan Uribe - Guitar
Carson Thompson - Saxophone
Regional Governors Cup Results
Written Assessment Results (Top 5 places in each content area advance to State Finals Saturday March 9th)
Mathematics: Cooper Russell 5th Place in Region
Arts & Humanities: Taylor Thompson 4th Place in Region
Science: Brennan Davis 2nd Place in Region
Language Arts: Sam Shumway 2nd Place in Region
Social Studies: Omar Caballero 4th Place in Region
Written Composition Results (Top 5 advanced to State Finals Saturday March 9th)
1st Place - Isabella Martinez in Region (Thank you to Jay Crocker for agreeing to grade the English writing this year again!)
Future Problem Solving Results (Top 2 advance to State Finals Friday March 8th)
1st Place - Kentucky Country Day
2nd Place - Ballard High School (Eman Hamada, Makaylah ONeill, Isabella Martinez, Amelia Dries)
Quick Recall Results (Top 2 advance to State Finals Sunday March 10th and March 11th)
1st Place - Trinity High School
2nd Place - Ballard High School (Omar Caballero, Sam Shumway, Rikki Pardue, Brennan Davis, Romeo Tapia, Taylor Thompson)
Ballard played Trinity in the first round and beat them 36-18, We had to beat them three times to win the championship and fell short in the last two matches by 3 points in a very close battle. Both teams advance to the Pool play rounds at the Galt House on March 10th (and may advance to Monday’s Finals Bracket depending on Sunday’s record)
OVERALL DISTRICT GOVERNORS CUP POINTS:
1st Place - Trinity High School 47.5 points
2nd Place - Ballard High School 27.5 points
3rd Place - Louisville Collegiate School 20.5 points
4th Place - Kentucky Country Day School 17.5 points
5th Place - Mercy Academy 6 points
6th Place - Assumption 5 points
7th Place Tie - (0 points earned) - Sacred Heart, Atherton, Eastern, Jeffersontown, Fern Creek, Seneca, Southern, Moore, Phoenix School
2024 SCHOLASTIC ART AWARDS
The Visual Art Department is thrilled to announce the winners for the 2024 Scholastic Art Awards! The Scholastic Art Awards is the longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in the U.S. and the largest source of scholarships for young artists.
Our exceptional Ballard Visual Art students created artworks that were chosen from over 1,500 submissions throughout the region.
Gold Key:
Eunice Fanai (2)
Riley Martin
Mattie Berry
Bryce Hardin (2)
Gold Key Portfolio:
Eunice Fanai
Kate Piegols
Silver Key:
Eunice Fanai
Avery Grumley
Mattie Berry
Audrey Hayes (2)
Penelope Blount
Nena Walorth
Caroline Shreve
Honorable Mention
Ashleigh Heitz
Kelsey Green
Addyson Priest
Leila Reilly
Anabelle Ruiz
Kierstyn Smith
Eunice Fanai (2)
Katie Gdowski
Anna Mulcahy (2)
Luca Pendleton (2)
Keira Bradford
Audrey Hayes
Kate Piegols (2)
Morgan Locke
Avery Fulmore
Sofiya Yakubchik (2)
Mallory Ohlson
41st BHS Science Fair Awards!
Animal Science:
1st Niko Burklow
2nd Connor Burkholder
Behavioral and Social:
1st Sarah Gauhar
2nd Lillian Payne
3rd Fatima Brown
Honorable Mention: Allysa Pollard
Biochemistry:
1st Muhilan Balasubramanian
2nd Nandika Veerimali
3rd Bhavyasree Puchakayla
Biomedical Health:
1st Dolores Wood
2nd Megan Helander
3rd Satya Ambati
Honorable mention: Anusha Gadekari
Chemistry:
1st Sage Synder
2nd Alyssa Jones
3rd Elizabeth Falkner
Honor Mention : Emily King
Earth and Environmental:
1st Grace Reck
Embedded Systems:
1st. Easha Heelage
Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design:
1st Owen Yoffe
2nd Mirhira Sumanesekera
Honorable Mention: Yalini Ravishankar
Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics:
1st. Eldino Kilim
2nd Nathan Pennell
3rd Jawad Chaudhry
Honorable Mention: John Richards
Environmental Engineering:
2nd George Reeves and Maddie Thompson
3rd Rujula Kolwalkar
Materials Science:
1st Claire Sharon
2nd Connor Hamm
3rd Jake Glogower
Honorable Mention: Alexandra Barghout
Mathmatics:
1st Penelope Kincaid
2nd Nora Adler and Pryia Gautam
3rd Braxton Thompson
Microbiology:
1st Henry Fan and Reva Kapoor
2nd Emily Gdowski
Honorable Mention: Liliah Price and Lucas David
Physics and Astronomy:
1st Ahmed Al Rawi
2nd Sophia Sapienza
3rd Henry Allen
Plant Science:
1st Elyse Wilcox
2nd Jackson May
3rd Addison Angemeier
Robotics and Intelligent Machines:
1st Henry Carnahan
2nd Summon Gebrelibanos
Systems Software:
1st Kevin Brothers
2nd Aarush Rajguru
3rd. Prajwal Rajashekar
Technology Enhances the Arts:
1st Leona Haight
Translational Medical Science:
1st Zanab Pervez
DISTRICT GOVERNOR'S CUP RESULTS
Written Assessment Results (Top 5 places in each subject area advance to Regionals Feb 17th)
2 advancing in Mathematics: Golshid Esmaeily 4th Place, Cooper Russell 5th Place
2 advancing in Science: Brennan Davis 1st Place, Muhilan Balasubramanian 2nd Place
3 advancing in Social Studies: Romeo Tapia 2nd Place, Omar Caballero 3rd Place, Brennan Davis 4th Place
3 advancing in Language Arts: Sam Shumway 1st Place, Omar Caballero 2nd Place, Rikki Pardue 4th Place
3 advancing in Arts & Humanities: Sam Shumway 1st Place, Romeo Tapia 2nd Place, Taylor Thompson 3rd Place
Written Composition Results (Top 5 advance to Regionals Feb 12th)
1st Place - Isabella Martinez
5th Place - Jada Washington
Future Problem Solving Results (Top 2 advance to Regionals Feb 12th)
1st Place - Kentucky Country Day
2nd Place - Ballard High School (Isabella Martinez, Amelia Dries, Eman Hamada, Makaylah O’Neil)
(Eastern 3rd)
Quick Recall Results (Top 2 advance to Regionals Feb 17th)
1st Place - Ballard High School (Sam Shumway, Omar Caballero, Brennan Davis, Taylor Thompson, Romeo Tapia)
2nd Place - Kentucky Country Day
(Eastern 3rd, Phoenix 4th)
OVERALL DISTRICT GOVERNORS CUP POINTS:
1st Place - Ballard High School 63 points
2nd Place - Kentucky Country Day 41 points
3rd Place - Eastern High School 18 points
4th Place - Phoenix School of Discovery 1 point
CONGRATULATIONS!!
Varsity Academic Team
Congratulations to the Varsity Academic Team for a JCPS League Tournament 2nd Place finish.
Sam Shumway - 1st Place in JCPS Language Arts
Omar Caballero - 3rd Place in JCPS Language Arts
Taylor Thompson - 4th Place in JCPS Mathematics, 5th Place in JCPS Arts and Humanities
Brennan Davis - 4th Place in JCPS Science, 4th Place in JCPS Social Studies
Cooper Russell - 5th Place in JCPS Mathematics
2nd in JCPS Quick Recall Regular Season (hardware incoming)
2nd in JCPS Quick Recall Tournament (hardware incoming)
They will continue their dominance next week at the KAAC Governors Cup Districts Academic Team Events, in hopes of advancing to Regionals and eventually States (they have already qualified for Nationals in May)!
Please congratulate these students as well as the rest of our Academic Team on their performance this fall season.
CONGRATS TO OUR LADY BRUINS
On Saturday, December 30th, our Lady Bruins Basketball team defeated South Oldham to win their first championship in 10 years. Under our new head coach, Coach Eric Browning, the team went 4-0 over the three day tournament in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Congratulations Lady Bruins on the first of many future championships.
Microsoft Office Specialist 2023 State Championship Fall Qualifier Results
During the break, the Microsoft Office Specialist 2023 State Championship Fall Qualifier results were announced. Ballard is once again well represented in the Kentucky results for PowerPoint.
1st place - Hayden Sanders
3rd place - Yarlini Ravishankar
8th place - Andrew Fagan
As the Kentucky Fall Qualifier PowerPoint Champion, Hayden Sanders has been invited to compete in the MOS National Championships in Orlando, FL this summer.
Congratulations!!
CONGRATS TO THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS ON THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS!!!
ALL COUNTY CONCERT BAND
Luke Ashley, Clarinet - 6th Chair
Clayton Long, Tenor Saxophone - 2nd Chair
Trevor Heitz, Trumpet - 8th Chair
Ryan Martin, Trombone - 1st Chair
Joel Lee, Euphonium - 2nd Chair
Kaylen Sheth, Tuba - 1st Chair
ALL COUNTY SYMPHONIC BAND
Sam Kik, ,Trombone - 6th Chair
ALL COUNTY WIND ENSEMBLE
Annabelle McClellan, Flute - 6th Chair
Gabriel Shea, Baritone Saxophone - 1st Chair
ADVANCING TO ALL STATE ROUND TWO
Annabelle McClellan, Flute
Gabriel Shea, Baritone Saxophone
Congrats to these outstanding musicians! They will perform as members of the ALL-COUNTY BAND CONCERT on Thursday, November 30 @ 7:00 PM at Male High School.
CONGRATS to the Bruin Marching Band
CONGRATS to the Bruin Marching Band on their Third Place Ranking at the PRP Derby City Classic!
Additional Awards
Music Performance 2nd Place
Color Guard - 1st Place
2023 College Board National Recognition Program Awardees
CONGRATULATIONS to the below students who earned this academic honor because of their GPA of 3.5 or higher and outstanding performance on the PSAT/NMSQT®, PSAT™ 10, and/or AP® Exams
Awardees (as of August 17) at Ballard High School are listed below:
• Jada Washington: NAARA
• Madison Gomez: NHRA
• Omar Caballero: NHRA
• Summon Gebrelibanos: NAARA
Award Key:
National African American Recognition Award (NAARA)
National Hispanic Recognition Award (NHRA)
National Rural and Small Town Award (NRSTA)
National Indigenous Award (NIA)
KMEA State Jazz Assessment and State Solo & Ensemble Festival @ UofL
On Friday the Ballard Jazz performed at the KMEA State Jazz Assessment.
The ensemble performed exceptionally and received a Distinguished Rating!
On Saturday morning the following students performed at the State Solo & Ensemble Festival at the University of Louisville. Each of these students had to qualify at the local level to be invited to participate. I am very happy to report that they ALL received Distinguished ratings as well. Students are listed below:
Annabelle McClellan, Flute Solo
Flute Quartet: Annabelle McClellan
Alex Bradshaw
Zoe Matteson
Agustin Millan Uribe
Saxophone Quartet: Adon Rosales
Greyson Sanders
Clayton Long
Gabriel Shea
Trombone Quartet: Seth Jolly
Sam Kik
Owen Yoffe
Sam Tindall
Congratulations to these outstanding musicians!
American Chemical Society Awards
Please congratulate the following students: Muhilan Balasubramanian, Nandhika Veerimalli, and Bhavyasree Puchakayala for being recognized by the American Chemical Society awards dinner last night.
They earned the distinction because of their first or second place award in Chemistry or Biochemistry during the Louisville Regional Science Fair. First place students received a check and a book and second place winners received a book.
We are proud of their accomplishments.
Governor's School for Entrepreneurs
Congratulations to the following Ballard students accepted to the Governor's School For Entrepreneurs.
Jackson Broecker 11
Kirshika Lungani 10
Krithik Nadimpally 11
Alejandro Stewart 11
Ballard had the 2nd largest number of accepted students of all public or private schools in Jefferson County.
Governor's School for the Arts
Congratulations to the following students for being accepted into the Governor's School for the Arts! 🎨 🎭 📸
Since 1987, GSA has hosted over 5,000 talented high school sophomores and juniors from across the state for their intensive summer program. Students audition for a coveted spot in one of 9 different arts disciplines (Architecture + Design, Creative Writing, Dance, Drama, Film + Photography, Instrumental Music, Musical Theatre, Visual Art, or Vocal Music). For three weeks over the summer, they will be guided by a faculty of professional artists and educators on the campus of the University of Kentucky to live, breathe, eat, and sleep the arts!
Eunice Fanai - Visual Art
Leila Reilly - Film + Photography
Allie Rahman - DramaG
Katie Gdowski - Alternate: Visual Art