Seminole SECME 'Hawk Talk' newsletter Summer 2010

Seminole SECME 'Hawk Talk' newsletter Summer 2010

In the Summer 2010 issue of the Seminole SECME "Hawk Talk" newsletter
- Silver and Red: Seminole Ridge Hawks snatch silver during district engineering Olympiad
- Third Place Thriller: Piroli Wins for ‘Pipe World’
- DinoMight! Dinotopia at Norton Museum of Art this summer
- SECME Spotlight on Cindy Dosch
- SECME Student Shelby Weininger & Teacher Erich Landstrom Honored

Click here to download a PDF copy of our
Seminole SECME 'Hawk Talk' newsletter Summer 2010 issue.

VEX: Hear the cheers! See the tears.

The 2009-2010 VEX Robotics season has come to a close with the completion of the 201 VEX Robotics Competition World Championship last week in Dallas, Texas. The event was an incredible success, with well over 400 teams comprised of students ranging from upper elementary school to college level. The incredibly high caliber of competition, sportsmanship, innovation, energy and passion that filled the convention center and arena the entire three days was truly inspiring for all in attendance.

Why So Few? New NSF-Funded Study Points to Barriers Facing Girls and Women in STEM

In an era in which women are increasingly represented in medicine, law, and business, why do they continue to lag behind men in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)? AAUW sheds new light on the so-called STEM controversy with the release this spring of its comprehensive report, Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, which was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Grad Bash '11

Please bear in mind these dates as you plan SECME events in April, as they could effect high school seniors.

Dates announced for Grad Bash 2011 @ Universal Orlando
Friday April 15th,
Saturday, April 30th,
Friday, May 6th,
Saturday, May 7th

Drop It, Build It, Fly It, Launch It, Thrill It at the South Florida Science Museum
Saturday, April 16, 23, 30

American Cancer Society "Relay for Life" http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/

Acreage Chili Fest
http://www.acreagechilifest.com/

2009-2010 SECME County Coodinator of the Year for Palm Beach County, FL

Each year, The SECME Foundation hosts an annual SECME Celebration of Achievement Banquet, to honor this year’s Achievement Award recipients and celebrate the past year’s accomplishments. The banquet committee awards the SECME County Coordinator of the Year to three outstanding individuals (one elementary, one middle, and one high school). A nominee should be an exceptionally dedicated, knowledgeable, and innovative educator who has demonstrated leadership ability in advancing student development and outcomes in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and commitment to the SECME mission:
To increase the pool of historically underrepresented and under-served 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.

The following coordinators were honored on Sunday, April 25, 2010 at the 16th annual Celebration of Achievement banquet in Boca Raton, sponsored by the South Florida Industry Partners.

• Julie Beesley (Freedom Shores Elementary),
• Mercie Alcindor (Village Academy Middle )
• and Erich Landstrom (Seminole Ridge High)!
  

Julie Beesley-Freedom Shores ES, Mercie Alcindor-Village Academy MS,
and Erich Landstrom-Seminole Ridge HS

Congratulations to the 2009-2010 winners of SECME County Coordinator of the Year for Palm Beach County, FL!

Governor Crist Declares Teacher Appreciation Week 2010

Governor Crist Declares Teacher Appreciation Week 2010

WHEREAS, teachers should be accorded high public esteem, reflecting the value the community places on public education; and

WHEREAS, it is appropriate teachers be recognized for their dedication and commitment to educating students;

WHEREAS, teachers are entrusted with the educational development of our children; and

WHEREAS, teachers offer our children a thirst for knowledge, a solid education, and the inspiration to achieve and excel throughout life; and

WHEREAS, teachers are inseparable from learning at any age, benefiting individuals, communities and countries; and

WHEREAS, Florida’s teachers often make many sacrifices as they fulfill their countless responsibilities; and

WHEREAS, teachers have earned, and truly deserve, the gratitude and esteem of students, parents, and community members;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Charlie Crist, Governor of the state of Florida, do hereby extend greetings and best wishes to all observing May 3-7, 2010, as Teacher Appreciation Week.

2009-2010 SECME Outstanding Student of the Year for Palm Beach County, FL (High School division): Miss Shelby Weininger

Congratulations, Shelby Weininger! The South Florida Industry Partners for Education recognized Seminole Ridge senior Shelby Weininger as winner of the 2009-2010 SECME Outstanding Student of the Year award for Palm Beach County in the high school division. Shelby will be attending Florida Atlantic University in the fall, and she received a $3000 a year scholarship toward her double major in Psychology and Communication & Multimedia Studies.

(left to right) Shelby Weininger and Michele Williams, Interim Executive Director at SECME (Southeastern Consortium for Minorities in Engineering) @ Georgia Tech

DIt, BIt, FIt, LIt, TIt at SoFlSciMuse

The South Florida Science Museum and the Florida Engineering Society presented the annual engineering competition Drop It, Build It, Fly It, Launch It, Thrill It on Saturday, April 24, 2010. DiBiFiLiTi 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, construct an operational model roller coaster. Click here for more details. Hawk physics students from Seminole Ridge High School showcased their skills in “Drop It,” “Fly It” and “Thrill It.” Fizzix!

SECME Awards Banquet on Sun., April 25, 2010

The Sixteenth Annual SECME Celebration of Achievement Awards will take place on Sunday, April 25, 2010 from 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm at the Boca Raton Marriott at Boca
Center (click here for directions). This gala event honors this year’s Achievement Award recipients and celebrates the past year’s accomplishments. It includes student and coordinator awards, SECME Scholarship Awards, and a very dynamic guest speaker.

The following Seminole SECME participants are nominated for exceptional performance:
• SECME Student of the Year: Shelby Weininger
• Outstanding Student of the Year: Ryan Hamilton
• County Coordinator of the Year: Erich Landstrom

2010 VEX Robotics World Championship Is Here!

Greetings VEX Community,

We are thrilled to finally open the doors to the 2010 VEX Robotics World Championship. Day 1 is here and more than 400 teams are currently getting set up, practicing, passing inspection and getting ready for their first qualification matches at the Dallas Convention Center and Arena. And for everyone else, the entire event will be viewable on FIVE (5) independent webcasts - one for each division and the College Challenges. We know teams have many family, friends and fans around the world wanting to see the matches, so we've secured a webcast for each division so every match will be viewable throughout the tournament. You can find links to the webcast at RobotEvents.com

Webcast links, Full Team, Division and Match Lists Now Available
The links to each Division Webcast, The Team List, Division Lists, Practice and Qualification Match Lists, Match Results and Rankings, Event Agendas, Pit Map, Field Layouts and Awards will all be viewable here at RobotEvents.com. Real-time updated results, scores and rankings (no refresh necessary), along with links to follow your favorite team/division on Twitter and also the webcasts are available on the Championship page at: http://RobotEvents.com/championship

Event Details- There are 440 teams at this event - 396 teams in the Middle and High School tournament, 32 teams in the College Challenge World Championship and 12 teams competing to be the first ever BEST Robotics National Champion.

- The teams come from 14 different countries and 29 different US states.

- There are 25 total fields set up: 8 Division Fields (2 each), 2 College fields, 3 Skills Challenge Fields, 10 Practice Fields and 2 BEST fields (1 competition and 1 practice)

- There are 13 different jumbo screens: 4 Division Video Screens (1 at each), 4 Division Ranking Screens (1 at each), 1 Skills Challenge Ranking Screen, 1 College Ranking Screen, 1 College & BEST video screen and 2 main arena screens.

- There will be an incredible Celebration Party with thousands in attendance on Saturday evening

- There is a team photography booth, a full VEX store, demo fields for new games, a huge food court and an exhibitor area

The webcasts will begin Thursday afternoon when the Qualification Matches start. Friday will have a special opening ceremony, a full day of qualifying matches and skills challenge rounds, concluding with the unveiling of the new game for 2010-2011 VEX Robotics Competition Season. Saturday will include a short opening awards ceremony, the conclusion of the qualifying matches, the alliance selection & division playoffs, the Finals and Awards Ceremony where the 2010 World Champions will be crowned - all followed by the Celebration Party!

The Convention Center is full of excitement and energy. It's going to be an amazing three days and we hope everyone can catch some of the action on the webcasts.

Best Regards,

VEX Robotics Competition

Lyrid Meteor Shower tonight!

Happy 40th Earth Day!

2010 Seminole SECME Olympiad

Music: "The Hunter and the Kracken, pt. 2"

Remarks by President Obama on Space Exploration in the 21st Century

Prickly City by Scott Stantis for 03 April 2010

"Why spend money on NASA at all? Why spend money solving problems in space when we don’t lack for problems to solve here on the ground? And obviously our country is still reeling from the worst economic turmoil we’ve known in generations. We have massive structural deficits that have to be closed in the coming years.

But you and I know this is a false choice. We have to fix our economy. We need to close our deficits. But for pennies on the dollar, the space program has fueled jobs and entire industries. For pennies on the dollar, the space program has improved our lives, advanced our society, strengthened our economy, and inspired generations of Americans. And I have no doubt that NASA can continue to fulfill this role."

Air Command Water Rockets

Chris Garrett from Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne is a water rocketeer. I've just found the website of another: George Kurtz. Check out the evolution of his efforts with what the Air Command Water Rockets. He has great construction tips for the next step.

His blog covers the day to day progress of water rocket development by the Air Command Water Rockets team (for example, launch reports). It is also a facility for people to provide feedback and ask questions.

George lead me to Dean's Benchtop. Dean Wheeler is another water rocketeer. His website has online simulators specific for water bottle rockets to allow SECME students the ability to predict before they produce.

Success for Students at 2010 Seconday SECME Olympiad

On Saturday April 10, 2010, over 275 students from Palm Beach County Secondary schools participated in the Secondary SECME (Science, Engineering, Communication, Mathematics, Enrichment) Olympiad hosted by Santaluces High School. Students participated in a variety of competitions which included banners, brain bowl, bridges, essays, mousetrap cars, posters, and water rockets.

The 2010 overall district champions for both High School and Middle School are:

High School:
• 1st Place Overall – Suncoast High School
• 2nd Place Overall – Seminole Ridge Community High School
• 3rd Place Overall – Boca Raton High School
• Honorable Mention Overall – Royal Palm Beach High School

These mighty mathletes, these seniors from Seminole Ridge

The sixth annual Math Day at the Boca Raton Campus of Florida Atlantic University was held on Saturday, April 10, 2010, and this was the first year Seminole Ridge High School had students exhibiting their mathematical talents. Congratulations to our competitors: the mighty mathletes seniors Shannon Patelskyand Michael Martin!

The event is open to all mathematics faculty and interested students of high schools in Palm Beach, Broward, Martin, and Dade counties for individual and team competitions, keynote address and presentations on employment opportunities in mathematics, and math trivia. Cash of up tp $1000 for the winners, and other prizes were awarded.

A ranked list of the top 100 participants in the individual contest, and a ranked list of the teams, can be accessed from the navigation bar at the FAU Math Day website http://math.fau.edu/mathday/

Seminole SECME wins silver!

Seminole SECME won five trophies in the 2010 Palm Beach SECME regional Olympiad! We were awarded the 3rd place trophy, mousetrap car competition + 2nd place trophy, banner competition + 2nd place trophy, poster competition + 2nd place trophy, brain bowl competition =
2nd place overall Olympiads in the district!

Dr. Lynee McGee, principal of Seminole Ridge High School, and Erich Landstrom and Ed Batchelor, school SECME coordiators, are soaring on the Hawks awesome achievements!

Seminole Ridge SECME at the 2010 engineering Olympiad for the School District of Palm Beach County

Football practice
The object of VEX Clean Sweep is to attain a higher score than your opponent's alliance by moving as many balls as possible onto their side of the field and by "locking up" small balls in the triangular goals.
VEX Robotics
Students, with guidance from their teachers and mentors aim to build the most innovative robots possible and work together to obtain the most points possible. In addition to just having a great time and building amazing robots, through their participation in the VEX Robotics Competition and their work within their team, students learn many academic and life skills.

POSTER: Students create posters based on the Olympiad's theme.
• Third Place: Forest Hill
• Second Place: Seminole Ridge
• First Place: Suncoast
Senior Shelby Weininger with poster

Poster, 2nd place: Cindy Dosch (left) and Shelby Weininger (right)

MOUSETRAP CAR: Students build cars that are propelled by the spring of a mousetrap. All teams must have a mousetrap car (constructed and running), design drawing blueprint of mousetrap vehicle (MTV), technical report on MTV construction and operations. A combination of the scores from the race, the report, and the drawing is used to determine the winner.
• Third Place: Seminole Ridge - Silver
• Second Place: Boca Raton – Roaring Cats
• First Place: Suncoast – Exponential Engineers

Juniors AJ Fandrey (left) and Ryan Hamilton (right) in MTV competition

Junior Ryan Hamilton

Junior AJ Fandrey in MTV competition

WATER ROCKET: Students build a model rocket around a standard 2 liter soda bottle. All teams must have: rocket (constructed and launch-ready); design drawing blueprint of rocket; technical report on rocket; and mission patch design. At the Olympiad, rockets will be "fueled" with 355 milliliters of water and 60 PSI of air pressure. The rocket with the greatest combined "hang time" airborne and score will be declared the winner.
Seniors Carlos Monesar and Kate Woodbury with Mr. Chris Garrett from Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne

Juniors Brian Bartles and Cindy Dosch with Mr. Chris Garrett from Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne

BRAIN BOWL: Students compete against the clock and each other in a quiz show style contest filled with science and math questions.
• Third Place: Suncoast
• Second Place: Seminole Ridge
• First Place: Royal Palm Beach

SECME Olympiad - brain bowl Ralph Regis, Zack Wiggin, Daniel Lowenthal, Robert Botkin


Brain bowl 2nd place: Ralph Regis, Zack Wiggin, Daniel Lowenthal

Seminole SECME's five trophies from the 2010 Olympiad

Seminole SECME - 2nd place Olypiad overall in the county!

GO HAWKS!

Name of the Game - Calling All Freaks (and Geeks)

Clash of the Titans: The 2010 SECME OLYMPIAD

2010 SECME SECONDARY SCHOOLS OLYMPIAD
8:00 AM – 3:30 PM
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Santaluces Community High School
6880 Lawrence Road, Lantana 33462

Directions from I-95:
· Exit Hypoluxo Blvd. Go West approx. 2 miles to Lawrence Road (you will see the school on the north side of the road),
· turn north on Lawrence Road (light), go to the access road on the north side of the road, turn right,
· go to the second parking lot (student parking lot), park in front of the auditorium.

For more detailed directions, click on http://tinyurl.com/SeminoleRidgeHigh to Mapquest from Seminole Ridge High to Santaluces High School, 6880 Lawrence Road, Lantana, Fl.
• Park in the Student Parking lot (the second parking lot), located on the north side of the school. Entrance to the school is off of Lawrence Rd.

Santaluces High map

• Registration will begin at 8:00 AM just inside the entrance to the Auditorium. Upon arrival at the Olympiad, please sign in at the registration table.
• After you register, drop off your posters and banners for judging at the assigned location (Media Center). Then, proceed to the Opening Ceremony in the Auditorium.
• It is imperative that your team arrives on time to each event. If you arrive early, wait patiently. Bring a Book-It novel to pass the time.

2010 Palm Beach County SECME Secondary Olympad schedule

• Food items will be available: Pizza tickets: Cheese = $1.50, Pepperoni = $2.00. For planning purposes, pizza tickets will be on sale in the morning during registration and need to be purchased by 10:00 am. Other food: chips, candy, donuts =$1.00. Soda machines are on and filled $1.50 - $2.00.

GO HAWKS!

What's Up for April 2010

Have you ever seen the Space Station pass overhead? It's easy if you know when and where to look.


Robotics for Kids: NASA/JPL education specialist Ota Lutz offers tips to parents and students.

Megan Fox is hot for teachers

Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green speak out about the budget cuts affecting teachers and kids in California. Via Funny Or Die

Finishing Touches for the Olympiad

Poster
Banner
VEX
MTV

2010 SECME SECONDARY OLYMPIAD
8:00 AM – 3:30 PM
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Santaluces Community High School
6880 Lawrence Road, Lantana 33462


• Registration will begin at 8:00 AM just inside the entrance to the Auditorium. Upon arrival at the Olympiad, please sign in at the registration table and take your school’s envelope which will include: a map, schedule and your Brain Bowl line-up.

• After you register, drop off your posters and banners for judging at the assigned location (Media Center). Please remember that a 4” x 6” index title card must be affixed to the back of the poster in the lower-left corner. The contents of the title card are listed on page 37 of the Survival Guide. Next, rockets, bridges, and mousetrap cars should be taken to their designated locations for judging. They must go through preliminary judging for size and weight in order to qualify for competition. Then, proceed to the Opening Ceremony in the Auditorium.

• SECME Coordinators and accompanying chaperones are responsible for students being in place and on time for each of the competitions. It is imperative that your team arrives on time to each event. If you arrive early, wait patiently. To ensure the safety of all students and the integrity of the event, please make sure that your students are supervised at all times.

• Park in the Student Parking lot (the second parking lot), located on the north side of the school. Entrance to the school is off of Lawrence Rd.

• Food items will be available: Pizza tickets: Cheese = $1.50, Pepperoni = $2.00. For planning purposes, pizza tickets will be on sale in the morning during registration and need to be purchased by 10:00 am. Other food: chips, candy, donuts =$1.00. Soda machines are on and filled $1.50 - $2.00.

• It is highly recommended that your students wear hats and sunscreen for the outdoor activity: Water Rocket Competition.

• Please ask your students to bring something to keep themselves occupied (e.g., a book to read, a game to play, video games) during “down times.”

• Please check with your principal regarding TDE and/or field trip forms that must be completed prior to attending the Olympiad.

Santaluces Community High School
6880 Lawrence Road
Lantana, Florida 33462

Directions: Take I- 95 to Hypoluxo Rd. West to Lawrence Rd. School is on the NE corner of Hypoluxo and Lawrence Rd.

SECME Awards Banquet on Sun., April 25, 2010

The Sixteenth Annual SECME Celebration of Achievement Awards will take place on Sunday, April 25, 2010 from 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm at the Boca Raton Marriott at Boca
Center (click here for directions). This gala event honors this year’s Achievement Award recipients and celebrates the past year’s accomplishments. It includes student and coordinator awards, SECME Scholarship Awards, and a very dynamic guest speaker. It is not too late to get your reservations in for this great event. Price is $30.00 per person and make checks out to FAU SECME Foundation and mail it to Hazen and Sawyer, 7th Floor, North Tower, 4000 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood, Fl. 33021

The following Seminole SECME participants are nominated for exceptional performance:
• SECME Student of the Year: Shelby Weininger
• Outstanding Student of the Year: Ryan Hamilton
• County Coordinator of the Year: Erich Landstrom

National Lab Day

One Week Until Olympiad!

April at the Explorium

Here is what’s happening this month at the CHILDREN'S SCIENCE EXPLORIUM at Sugar Sand Park

Hours: M-F, 9a- 6p; Saturday/Sunday, 10a-5p
Phone# (561) 347-3912
http://www.scienceexplorium.org/

Traveling Exhibit: Toy Time

Science, history, and culture come together in this exhibit that uses no electricity – all movement is through simple machines and guest actions. More than 15 components with over 30 activity stations will keep you and your kids active, stimulated, and experimenting. Toy Time was developed by Museum Productions, LLC.
Those Fabulous Folk Toys
Lunging Lumberjacks: balancing toys are designed with the center of mass below the pivot point
Lily Landstrom and the "Dancing Duo"
Lily and Erich Landstrom explore the giant Jacob's Ladder at the Toy Time exhibit
Date: Through April
Time: Children’s Science Explorium hours
Cost: $5.00 suggested donation