In early November, Mr. Wilkinson was recognized as the 2023 District 8 Outstanding Middle School Science Teacher by the North Carolina Science Teachers Association. Mr. Wilkinson came to Macon County Schools just a few years ago as our STEM teacher at Macon Middle School. He has worked to understand where students seem to be struggling in science and has created projects that provide concrete experiences that not only develop science concepts but integrate multiple disciplines and skills. Students are not only engineering and building bridges but are also collecting and evaluating data related to their strengths. Understanding the relationship between mass, gravity, and friction is taught through the physics of a zipline complete with a field trip to our local Highlands Aerial Park. Students are learning not only how to fly drones but also how to utilize data and images collected from the drones and their career applications. This past year, he worked with his colleagues to build and race soap box derby cars and accompanied students to the NC Gravity Games in Lenoir, NC. This is just the beginning of all the meaningful and engaging lessons Mr. Wilkinson teaches through his STEM classes. After school, Mr. Wilkinson can be found helping to coach the soccer team or mentoring students in the Macon Bots Robotics program.
Congratulations Mr. Wilkinson!