Competing against more than 800 top students from across the state, Adair County High School’s Gifted & Talented class garnered plenty of praise and won several awards last week at the Kentucky United Nations Assembly (KUNA) in Louisville. This is believed to be the first time ACHS has ever participated in the three-day program, which ran from March 23-25, 2017 and was presented by the Kentucky YMCA Youth Association.
“I’m really proud of how this class has made such a strong bond,” says Gifted & Talented teacher Candice Flatt. “They’re a good mix of students who work really well together, which is probably one of the reasons they won.”
After three solid months of hard work and preparation, the Adair County students – ranging from eighth grade through juniors and representing the country of Mexico – took home an award for Outstanding Cultural Attire and were named a Delegation of Excellence. Additionally, junior Austin Dipasquale was recognized as an Outstanding Ambassador.
“It was a very successful trip,” Flatt says. “The kids performed outstanding and worked together so well as a team, some of the best teamwork I’ve seen.”
Adair County’s cultural village, based on the Mexican wrestling style “lucha libre” featured a makeshift wrestling ring and students in full luchadore garb, masks and all. Unsurprisingly, it proved to be one of the top attractions at the entire event. “We had a big line of people waiting to come see it,” Flatt says. “We had wrestlers and referees, and then people could get in the ring and we did rock-paper-scissors as the ‘match.’ People would come through and then come back again a second or third time.”
Other events included a Security Council meeting and mock UN debate. While Adair County did not fare quite as well in the debate as it had with the cultural village, Flatt says the experience was still a positive one. “We know we’ll have to prepare differently next year,” Flatt explains. “Next year we’re coming back with a vengeance. We know we’ll have to be more careful with our wording and the terms we use. We already have three or four countries in mind that we might want to be. It was a great learning experience for all of the students.”
ACHS and ACMS students who made the trip for KUNA were Walter Baker, Hannah Brown, Austin Dipasquale, Emilee Flatt, Kelly Fudge, Caroline Hardwick, Blake Helm, Walker Karnes, Aaron Peck, Jeanene Pike, Billy Salmon, Elizabeth Stamper, Jaiden Taylor, and Kelsey Wiley.
By Wes Feese
Media Relations, Adair County Schools
