Sunday, February 28, 2010

World Maths Day

World Maths Day is the world’s largest education event where students compete in real time against other students from around the world, using the World Maths Day website.

In 2010, World Maths Day will be held on Wednesday 3rd March 2010, and more than two million students between 5-18 years from more than 200 countries are expected to log on take part in the free global event. Johannesburg will be flying the flag as host city for the 2010 event.

The best thing about World Maths Day is that you don’t have to be a mathematical genius to get involved. World Maths Day is designed for students of all ages, backgrounds, and all levels of ability. Students are encouraged to get involved in maths and ‘have a go’, and even have the chance to be a part of setting a world record – it’s free and all you need is internet access.

You can also take part in World Maths Day from your iPhone and iPod Touch. The World Maths Day mobile app now lets you answer questions while you’re out and about and still have them added to your online score.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Elementary SECME Olympiad Draws Gladiators of Science

Over 350 students from 43 elementary schools participated in Palm Beach County Elementary SECME District Olympiad today, Saturday, February 27, 2010 at Jeaga Middle School. Congratulations to the competitors! SECME (Science, Engineering, Communication, and Mathematics Enrichment) is a national organization with the goal of increasing the pool of students who will be prepared to enter and complete post-secondary studies in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, thus creating a diverse and globally competitive workforce.

Friday, February 26, 2010

NASA Life And Work On The Moon Art And Design Contest

NASA Life And Work On The Moon Art And Design Contest
Entry deadline April 15th (High School Students)

NASA, is inviting high school and college students from all areas of study, including the arts, industrial design, architecture, and computer design, to submit their work on the theme "Life and Work on the Moon." Artists are encouraged to collaborate with science and engineering students. Such collaboration is not required but would help to ensure that the work's subject is valid for the moon's harsh environment. Entries will be accepted in three categories: two-dimensional, three-dimensional, and digital, including video. For the first time, entries in literature (poetry and short stories) will also be accepted. Judges will evaluate entries not only on their artistic qualities, but also on whether they depict a valid scenario. Prizes include awards and exhibit opportunities. International students are encouraged to participate, but they are not eligible for cash prizes. Entries are due no later than Thursday, April 15, 2010. For more information about the contest and to register online go to, http://artcontest.larc.nasa.gov/

Thursday, February 25, 2010

200

Post #200. This is madness.

Madness? THIS! IS! SECME!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Gear Up for SECME 2010 Engineering Competition

Students from 43 elementary schools, 25 middle schools, and 15 high schools will participate in one of two Palm Beach County SECME District Olympiads this spring.

The Elementary SECME District Olympiad will be held Saturday, February 27, 2010 from 8:00 am – 3:30 pm at Jeaga Middle School located at 3777 N. Jog Road, West Palm Beach, FL, 33411. Jeaga is 2 miles north of Okeechobee Blvd, right by the Turnpike. Seminole SECME students can volunteer to assist and earn community service hours.

The Secondary SECME District Olympiad will be held Saturday, April 10, 2010 from 8:00 am – 3:30 pm at Santaluces High School. Santaluces is located at the intersection of Hypoluxo and Lawrence Road, 6880 Lawrence Road, Lantana, FL 33462. It is the responsibility of all students to arrange their own transportation to and from competition. Seminole SECME students please wear your black “Igniting The Mind Through STEM Education” t-shirts. For lunch we are arranging for Papa John’s pizza to be made on-site in their mobile kitchen.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Drop It, Build It, Launch It, Fly It, Thrill It


Saturday, April 24, 2010
The South Florida Science Museum and the Florida Engineering Society are proud to present the annual engineering competition that challenges students to build an unbreakable bridge, create a container to protect an egg from a 3-story drop, design the most aerodynamic paper airplane, blast off the ultimate water bottle rocket, and, NEW this year, design and build an operational roller coaster. Click here for more details and to register for the competition.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Book IT! Most Improved (Week 6)

Seminole Ridge High has proudly implemented a school-wide reading initiative since 2005 called Book It! All students at SRCHS are required to read a book of their choice during a designated 20-minute block of time every day. Students must acquire a certain amount of points each quarter by passing a Reading Counts quiz for each book they read. The program was developed and monitored by the media specialist and supported fully by administration.

Below is a chart of the students who have increased their Book It! points the most - thus the Most Improved. We looked at the students points from the second nine weeks and then compared the points to this nine weeks. The increase in points was the measure used in the ranking.

MOST IMPROVED STUDENT RANKING
Fifth Week- February 8-12, 2010

















Ranking this week

Student Name

Grade
Level

# of pts from 2nd nine weeks

# of pts for this nine weeks

INCREASE from 2nd nine weeks

8th

Ralph Regis

12th

309

283

26 pts

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Rocket Boys Trivia

Sonny receives an autographed picture of Dr. Von Braun for which occasion?
a. Christmas
b. His birthday
c. Winning the national science fair
d. The successful launch of Auk XXX to a height of six miles

In Chapter 9, Sonny asks his father what was the hardest thing he’d ever learned. "He smiled. 'Because even though I know it to be true, I don't want it to be true. I hate that it's true. I just can't imagine," he concluded heading back inside his office, "what God was thinking.'" The thing that Homer's dad is talking about in this quote is _____?
a. enthropy, the thermodynamic tendency of everything to move toward confusion and disorder as time passes.
b. the closing of the Coalwood mine when the coal was gone
c. the suspension of the Big Creek High School football team after the football fathers unsuccessful appeal
d. none of the above

In Chapter 24, "A Suit For Indianapolis” Sonny and a friend meet which important person after they go shopping in Welch for an outfit for the big science fair?
a. Senator John F. Kennedy
b. Dr. Wernher Von Braun
c. rock and roll singer Little Richard
d. none of the above

In Chapter 15, Mr. Turner, the Big Creek High School principal says which of the follow when explaining why Sonny is not allowed to take calculus?
a. Life is ironic. “Mr. Hickham , you have just learned a great lesson of life and it is this: Life is quite often ironic. You worked to get this class and now you will not be able to take it.”
b. The odds are against him. “Once in a while a lucky one will get out [of high school] on a football scholarship.”
c. He is out of luck. "In the queer mass of human destiny, the determining factor has always been luck."
d. He doesn’t need calculus. "You come from the best, hardest-working people in the world. You come from the toughest state in the Union. The Russians? I pity them. If they knew you like I know you, they'd be shaking in their boots!"

"One by one Sherman, O'Dell, Roy Lee, and Quentin placed their hands on top of mine. 'Rocket Boys,' I said. 'Rocket Boys forever!'" In chapter 10, a new boy joins them for the launch of Auk X. His name is _____?
a. Billy Rose
b. Calvin Suggs
c. John Eye Blevins
d. none of the above

In Chapter 13, Geneva Eggers saves Sonny from freezing to death when he attempts to sled back home from school during a snow storm. All of the following statements about Geneva are false EXCEPT for which true one?
a. After the rescue, Sonny looks for Geneva as the school bus goes by, but never waves and never mentions her to his mother.
b. Geneva saved Homer, Sr. when he was an infant. She rescuing him from a burning building, but did not save anyone else in the house.
c. As the town prostitute, Geneva teaches Sonny about having sex, in the backseat of an old Dodge.
d. Geneva is a widow who never remarried after her husband was killed in the mine. This lets her be one of Jake Mosby’s many “girlfriends” who he brings to watch launches.

“Until I began to build and launch rockets, I didn't know my hometown was at war with itself over its children and that my parents were locked in a kind of bloodless combat over how my brother and I would live our lives. I didn't know that if a girl broke your heart, another girl, virtuous at least in spirit, could mend it on the same night. And I didn't know that the enthalpy decrease in a converging passage could be transformed into jet kinetic energy if a divergent passage was added. The other boys discovered their own truths when we built our rockets, but those were mine.”
Identify the pair who break and mend Sonny’s heart on the same night.
a. BREAK: Dorothy Plunk, MEND: Valentine Carmina
b. BREAK: Dorothy Plunk, MEND: Emily Sue Buckberry
c. BREAK: Miss Freida Riley, MEND: Geneva Eggers
d. BREAK: Esther Bykovski, MEND: Dorothy Plunk

Saturday, February 20, 2010

The credit goes to the Hawks in the arena!


Congratulations to the inaugural National Science Bowl team from Seminole Ridge High. SECME students Kayleigh Previte, Ralph Regis, Zack Wiggin, and Robert Botkin drove down to Miami to compete in the regional match of the US Department of Energy NSB!


We lost in overtime on a technical foul -- our team's captain buzzed in fastest on the tossup question but responded to the question without first being recognized by the judge, so the team from Ft. Myers got the win from penalty points. The regional was double elimination. In the next match, the team from Plantation had, in the words of Zack, "ninja-fast reflexes." We knew the answers, but the other team beat us to the buzzer. If only we had had one more practice round to familiarize ourselves with the lock-out buzzer system.

Let's see: this is a simple tool to measure your reaction time with. The median reaction time is 215 milliseconds so far.

THE GOOD NEWS: Paeans of praise
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
- Theodore Roosevelt, "Man in the Arena" Speech given April 23, 1910
26th president of US (1858 - 1919)


THE BAD NEWS: We still lost.


THE OTHER GOOD NEWS: Just wait until the Brain Bowl at SECME Regionals on April 10th.

The U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl encourages high school students to excel in math and science. By raising the visibility of academic achievement in math and science, the program has succeeded in placing young people on par with their peers who excel in athletics. The Science Bowl is a fast-paced, exciting, and challenging competition.

DOE has partnered with SHPE and AHETEMS to bring this enriching competition to Hispanic serving areas across the country. The SHPE Regional Science Bowls engage Hispanic middle school and high school students in an enriching, challenging and competitive environment to motivate and heighten their interest in math and science. The competition is an intense and fun "Jeopardy"-style round-robin session preceding a double-elimination tournament. Teams, composed of four competitors and an alternate, are challenged to answer a range of multiple-choice and short answer questions in math, chemistry, biology, physics, astronomy, earth science and general science.

The winning team - participants and coach - from the SHPE Regional Science Bowls receives an invitation consisting of a complementary 4-day trip, to compete at the U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl, hosted in Washington DC.

As SHPE and AHETEMS continue to serve the needs of the Hispanic community and be a resource for the educational advancement and sucees of Latino youth, teams participating in the SHPE-sponsored Regional Science Bowls should strive to have at least 50% Hispanic participation (2-of-4, or 3-of-5). By increasing access to this competition, SHPE hopes to help inspire Hispanic youth see science, math and engineering as an exciting, challenging and fun career with lots of opportunties

Friday, February 19, 2010

Battle by the Bay of the Bots!

Battle By the Bay of the Bots!

Hello Everyone,

Here are a few points of information for you.

I've attached the Program Schedule:
8am Doors open, Team Check In, Robot Inspection, Practice Field open in Pit Area
8:30am Judging Interviews in Pit Area, Programming and Robot Skills Challenge on Competition Fields
9:45am Drivers Meeting
10am Opening Ceremonies
10:15am Qualification Rounds
12:30pm-1:30pm Lunch
2:30pm Alliance Selection followed by Elimination Rounds
4pm Awards Ceremony

Berkeley Preparatory School is located at:
4811 Kelly Rd.
Tampa, FL 33615

Parking:
Teams can enter from Kelly Rd. (the west entrance) and drop off their equipment at the Buc Stop. To get there follow around to the right going along the side of campus. At the stop sign take a left and you'll see the Buc Stop on your left before you get to the bridge. The large building you'd be facing is the Gym and Field House where our event will take place. The Field House will be our Pit Area and the Gym is where the Competition Fields are.

Concessions:
Our Bistro will be open with some breakfast items as well as other snacks and drinks.

Please Bring:
Remember your consent forms for the team to turn in at the Team Check In. Also remember your safety goggles.

Please email me if you have any questions. We will see you soon!

Keith Walka
Robotics Instructor
Help Desk Technician

Regional Science Bowl on Saturday

Dear coaches,

I have talked to many of you over the phone about different aspects of tomorrow's Regional Science Bowl and figured I'd give you a bit of a last minute update. As you know I'm one of the coordinators for the Department of Energy's Science Bowl in South Florida which this year promises to be more exciting than ever!

As for logistics:

The competition will take place at the FIU Engineering Center (NOT the FIU main campus). We're located just a few blocks north of the University's main campus. Address is as follows:

10555 W. Flagler St.
Miami, FL 33174
(located at the corner of 107th Ave and W. Flagler St.)
There'll be signs and people directing you where to go once you arrive.

Registration for the event will begin at 7:00 am on the first floor of the building. Please know that we expect the competition to begin by 8:00 am. If you have not checked in with us on the first floor, you will not be allowed to compete. There will also be no additional team registration the day of the competition. If there are any changes or additional registration that you need done, please let me know today! Thanks!

Please remember to bring a check for $40 per team made out to AHETEMS with you to registration. A light breakfast and lunch will be provided. Thank you!

Thanks again for your attention to all of these matters and I look forward to meeting you and your teams tomorrow morning!

Juan B. Rodriguez
NASA WaterSCAPES University Research Center
10555 W. Flagler St. EC-2330
Miami, FL 33174
(305) 348-0074
http://web.eng.fiu.edu/waterscapes


Test Your Science Knowledge
Here are some sample questions in the categories of Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Computer, Earth Science, General Science, Mathematics and Physics.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

GreEngineers at FAU

FAU is a proud participant of National Engineers Week. Every February the College of Engineering and Computer Science hosts various student and community outreach activities in an effort to increase awareness about the profession of engineering and to honor the achievements of engineers. In 2010 the E Week theme is “GreEngineering” and the anticipated events will be sponsored by the Engineering Student Council, including companies promoting “green initiatives” with displays and giveaways. FAU Alumnus and NASA Astronaut Steve Swanson spoke about his latest space mission, STS-119 to the International Space Station.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Partnering with the Pierce Panthers


While half the Hawks worked on the SECME banner and the VEX robot, the other half of Seminole SECME mentored their Panther proteges from Pierce Hammock Elementary School for the Olympiad on Wednesday, February 20th.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Free SAT Test For Juniors

The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) will be administered at our campus (SRCHS) during the school day Wednesday, April 14, 2010. This special test date is open to juniors only. Any junior registered for the Saturday, March 13 SAT, but who would rather take the April 14 test, should see his guidance counselor.

Students are not allowed to take both the March and the April SAT.

Registration information is forthcoming for the April 14 test, and all test registration fees will be paid by our school district.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Hawks soar at county science Fair

Several Seminole Ridge High biotechnology students earned awards for their research projects at the 2010 county science and engineering fair.

AJ Fandrey placed fourth in the ‘Environmental Science’ category with his project ‘Effects of Electricity Run Through Soil on the Amount of Nitrogen in the Soil.’ His project was funded in part by the Farm Credit Bureau of South Florida. Congratulations, AH

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Catch a Rising Star -- Monesar, that is.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
- Aristole (Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scientist and Physician, 384 BC-322 BC)



Congratulations, Carlos Monesar!
Carlos has been accepted at the University of Florida for the Fall 2010 semester. Seminole SECME is inspired by UF's SECME partnership program. I am proud of Carlos, and hope he can continue his habit of excellence with water bottle rocketry. Go Gators!





Friday, February 12, 2010

Newest Members of NHS

The National Honor Society (NHS)
and the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) are the nation's premier organizations recognizing outstanding middle level and high school students who demonstrate excellence in the areas of scholarship, leadership, service, and character. Four main purposes have guided chapters of NHS from the beginning: "To create enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote leadership, and to develop character in the students of secondary schools."

Congratulations to the following SECME students who will be inducted into NHS on February 18th! This invitation to join the National Honor Society comes in recognition of their excellent record of academics and personal accountability at Seminole Ridge Community High School. The SRCHS faculty is very proud of their accomplishments, and the SECME school coordinator specifically wishes to praise them publicly and recognize their achievement.

Family and friends are welcome to witness the induction into NHS on Thursday, February 18, 2010 by attending our Honors Reception and Induction Ceremony in the school auditorium from 6 PM to 8 PM.

Sophmore Robert Botkin

Junior Brian Bartels


Senior Taylor Martin

Senior Brian Masters

Senior Julian Yepes

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Garrett Morgan -- HERO!


ASME's monthly comic book series features events in mechanical engineering and ASME during the past 130 years — artist Ron Spellman's look into the life of Garrett Morgan -- hero of engineering!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Book It! Most Improved (Week 5)

Seminole Ridge High has proudly implemented a school-wide reading initiative since 2005 called Book It! All students at SRCHS are required to read a book of their choice during a designated 20-minute block of time every day. Students must acquire a certain amount of points each quarter by passing a Reading Counts quiz for each book they read. The program was developed and monitored by the media specialist and supported fully by administration.

Below is a chart of the students who have increased their Book It! points the most - thus the Most Improved. We looked at the students points from the second nine weeks and then compared the points to this nine weeks. The increase in points was the measure used in the ranking.

MOST IMPROVED STUDENT RANKING
Fifth Week- February 1- 5, 2010

















Ranking this week

Student Name

Grade
Level

# of pts from 2nd nine weeks

# of pts for this nine weeks

INCREASE from 2nd nine weeks

1st

Alexander "AJ" Fandrey

11th

33

217

184 pts

Monday, February 8, 2010

Open House at FSU Department of Scientific Computing

The Department of Scientific Computing at Florida State University is hosting an Open House to introduce our new undergraduate program in Computational Science. The new degree program should be of interest to and is well suited for those who like working on computers and who ordinarily would also be interested in any of the mathematical sciences (mathematics, computer science, statistics), or the natural sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, geological sciences, ...), or any engineering discipline. Thus, students in the new degree program will learn how to develop and apply new computational tools to solve science and engineering problems.

The new degree program, along with the already established Master's and Ph.D. programs, trains students in computational science by providing them with a mix of theory and practice, including substantial hands-on experience in the deployment and use of algorithms for scientific computing.

The Open Houses will be held at Dirac Science Library from 1-5pm on

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

and

Thursday, April 15, 2010.

For more information and to register, go to www.sc.fsu.edu.

Please address questions, or have your students address questions, about the new degree program to info[at]sc[dot]fsu[dot]edu

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Messages to M13, Miami, and the Green Mountains.

The Arecibo Message (for information on contacting aliens, click here).

How does life begin and evolve? Is there life beyond Earth and, if so, how can we detect it? What is the future of Daniel Lowenthal's life on Earth and in the universe?

The first two questions are the subject of the NASA Astrobiology Program. The last one could be answered at Florida Institue of Technology or at University of Vermont this fall. Congratulations on being accepted, Daniel!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

What's Up for February 2010? Jupiter's Moons.

See SDO Launch!
Mission: Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)
Launch Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Launch Window: 10:26-11:26 a.m. EST
Launch schedule subject to change.
The Atlas V rocket will launch NASA's SDO spacecraft to study the sun and its dynamic behavior. SDO is designed to help us understand the Sun's influence on Earth and Near-Earth space by studying the solar atmosphere on small scales of space and time and in many wavelengths simultaneously.


February 2010 - we celebrate the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first telescopic view of Jupiter and its 4 largest moons!

Friday, February 5, 2010

NASA GSFC celebrates Black History Month

Join NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., as they celebrated Black History Month. Each week in February 2009, a different African-American employee from GSFC was featured. The employees talked about their careers, career paths and, in some cases, obstacles and challenges they have faced. Click the NASA GSFC link for MPEG-4 downloads.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

FAU’s 2010 Engineers Week

Thank you for your RSVP to FAU’s 2010 Engineers Week celebration featuring Astronaut Steve Swanson on Thursday, February 18th. We look forward to having you and your students on our campus as we celebrate this exciting event. Registration begins at 9:00AM. Students will line up at 9:45 am for the banner parade and the program will begin promptly at 10:00 am. Students can be dropped off in Lot 16, by the Student Union and busses can park in Lot 5 for the duration of the program. Students should be picked up at 2:00 pm in Lot 16. I have included an agenda of the day’s events, as well as directions and a map of the campus. We will also have signs and staff directing you to the appropriate locations on the date of the event.

The program will begin with a Banner Parade of all the participating schools. Each school’s banner is required to incorporate the school name, group’s name, school colors and this year’s theme of "going green" and or/sustainability. At the beginning of the program, up to four students from each school will march in with their banner. The banners will be judged on their content, originality and overall appearance. We will announce the winners at the conclusion of the program.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

SECME annual themes

2009-2010 SECME: Igniting Minds Through STEM Education

2008-2009 SECME: Thinking Out of the Box

2007-2008 SECME: Lighting the Torch To Empower Future Leaders

2006-2007 SECME: A Launch Pad for the Next Generation of Explorers

2005-2006 SECME: Changing the World, One Student At A Time

2004-2005 SECME: 2lst Century Pioneers—Dreaming Today To Discover Tomorrow

2003-2004 SECME: The Global Road Map to Success

2002-2003 SECME: Vehicle of the Future – Engineered for Success

2001-2002 SECME: Equation for a Better World

2000-2001 SECME: Bridging the Technical Divide

1999-2000 SECME: Leveraging Partnership to Ensure Technical Talent for the New Millennium

1995–1996 SECME: Entering the New Millennium Through Science and Engineering

1996–1997 SECME: Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology – Using the Past and Present to Building a Better Future