Tuesday, December 30, 2008

2008-2009 SECME IMPLEMENTATION PLAN: Brief history of the school’s SECME program.


Seminole SECME began in August 2007 under the coordination of Erich Landstrom (previously coordinator at Boynton Beach Community High School).

Erich Landstrom received a Citibank Success Fund Grant of $841 to launch his Rocket POWER (Positive Outcomes While Enjoying Reading) program. During Rocket POWER, SECME students at Seminole Ridge read and discussed the special talents and training necessary to become a rocket scientist. They were then be challenged to design, construct, fly and recover handmade, high-powered model rockets with two “egg-stronauts” onboard.

The Citibank Success Fund awards cash grants to support innovative classroom learning projects that encourage at-risk students to succeed in academics and stay in school. These funds, awarded by the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County and Citibank, allow educators to develop innovative, easily replicable, grassroots programs, providing students with an opportunity to succeed and to associate that success with continued school attendance. Landstrom received the grant check during a dinner reception on Tuesday, September 25, 2007. The money was spent on books and rocket construction supplies.

During weekly meetings of an after-school SECME Club (Science, Engineering, Communication and Mathematics Enhancement), students read from non-fiction, how-to books on model rocketry, including The Handbook of Model Rocketry and Rocket Boys: A Memoir, the autobiographical reminiscences of Homer Hickam, Jr. whose life was influenced by rocketry.

SECME students then designed, constructed, and flew their own high-powered model rocket. This rocket, with a payload of two raw Grade-A large eggs, must reach a specific altitude of 750 feet and return undamaged to the ground within 45 seconds.

Seminole SECME competed in its first district Olympiad along with approximately 250 secondary students from Palm Beach County middle and high schools on Saturday, March 29 at John I. Leonard High School from 9:15 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Lighting the Torch to Empower Future Leaders was the theme of this year’s SECME competition for students interested in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. The club returned with several honors in their inaugural outing:
• In the category of Balsawood Bridge Building, Liz Camp (l) and Vicki Glass’s (r) structure held 68 pounds before breaking.
• In the category of Water Bottle Rocket, Nick Moore’s and T.J. Gipe’s rocket was airborne for 7.8 seconds.
• In the category of Brain Bowl, the Hawks fell to second-place winners Forest Hill High School.
• Kelsey Chase (essay) and Kaitlin Kilpatrick (poster) earned honors for submissions on the theme “Lighting the Torch to Empower Future Leaders.”

On Saturday, April 26, 2008 SECME students Marlon Alfonso, Ed Bachelor, Kyle Cuthbert and Rob Ponga were entrants in the “Drop It, Build It, Fly It, Launch It” competition at the South Florida Science Museum. More than 150 students from Palm Beach County competed in four competitions:
• Drop It: design a package to protect a raw egg from cracking after a three-story freefall;
• Build It: design an “unbreakable” bridge out of balsa wood;
• Fly It: design the ultimate paper airplane;
• Launch It: blast off a two-liter bottle rocket lofted by compressed air.

From June 21 to June 29, 2008, Erich Landstrom attended the 32nd annual SECME summer institute teacher academy at Tuskegee University.

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