Blood Drives in Danger?

Blood Drives in Danger?
by Cameron Edlund, Ridge staff writer
Originally appeared in The Ridge, the school newspaper for Seminole Ridge High, Volume 8, Issue 14

Our school hosts blood drives throughout the year, and science teacher Mrs.Shawna Ahmad coordinates those drives with help from the National Honor Society blood drive committee, resulting in our students donating the most blood of any school in Palm Beach County for some time now.

If you happened to be in the courtyard during the last drive, you saw science students launching bottle rockets in a spectacular fashion. Hundreds of rockets were launched, labeled—as an incentive to give—with the names of those who donated. Twenty-eight rockets, launched before any others, were fired off in honor of those who died in the Sandy Hook school shootings. It was a touching ceremony to watch, and a pretty cool one.

Unfortunately, the system that worked for so long was changed for the last drive, and maybe for many to come. Students who wished to participate used to be able to choose any class to ‘skip’ to donate blood. Of course they all chose their worst class, usually a ‘core’ class, to skip. The core class teachers had had enough, leading to new restrictions: students are no longer allowed to cut a ‘core’ class to give blood, so many don’t bother signing up for the drive.

Along with the food and the reward of saving lives, kids donated in order to skip class. Sound ugly? What can you expect? We're just kids! And without the ‘skip class’ incentive, blood donations have dropped significantly—you could see how few people were sitting in the waiting room to donate. Unlike in previous years where we were packed like sardines, no one struggled to find a seat.

We must ask the ‘core’ teachers: is this new restriction really worth it? Is missing one class that wrong? It might be any of us—or them—lying on a table someday in need of blood!

I See Icy Worlds: Titan & Europa Essay Contest

For students in the United States in grades 5-12, NASA will soon be holding an essay contest about Saturn's moon Titan & Jupiter's moon Europa. The contest deadline will be February 28, 2013. The contest website is here: http://icyworlds.jpl.nasa.gov/contest/. Questions about the Titan & Europa essay contest can be sent to: titaneuropa@jpl.nasa.gov

The topic of the Titan & Europa essay is either a mission to Saturn's moon Titan or to Jupiter's moon Europa. Both of these missions would study a world that is exciting for astrobiologists(*).

Your assignment is to decide which of the proposed missions would be more interesting to you, and why. Be creative, be original, and ask good questions that you hope the mission would answer.

The Titan mission would include a Titan orbiter and a Titan balloon. The Europa mission would include a Europa orbiter and a Europa lander. The orbiters, balloon, and lander would each have science instruments to study either Titan or Europa.

In your essay, you can include information about what science instruments you would put on the orbiter and balloon or lander, if you wish, based on what you hope to find on Titan or Europa.

Winning essays will be posted on a NASA website, and winners and their classes will be invited to participate in a videoconference or teleconference with NASA scientists.

Contest videos about Astrobiology, Titan, and Europa can be found here:
http://icyworlds.jpl.nasa.gov/contest/videos/

(*) Astrobiologists are scientists who study the origins, evolution, future and distribution of life in the universe. The main question astrobiologists are trying to answer is: "Is there life beyond Earth?"

Seminole Ridge High students use blood drive to honor Sandy...

Seminole Ridge High students use blood drive to honor Sandy Hook, Challenger tragedies


By Jason Schultz
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

THE ACREAGE — Seminole Ridge High School students on Monday held a blood drive and launched water rockets to honor victims of two tragedies, one recent and one decades old.

Students held their annual blood drive and dedicated it to honor the memory of the 26 people killed during the December school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Newtown, Conn. — though no blood or money is being donated from the event directly to any Sandy Hook-related charity efforts.

For each pint of blood donated by students and staff, the students — who were part of the school’s science and engineering club — launched a water rocket.

The blood drive event on Monday was also held to mark the anniversary of the death of local teacher Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher to fly in space. Her death during the Challenger space shuttle disaster happened exactly 27 years ago on Jan. 28, 1986.

Seminole Ridge High Students Honor Sandy Hook Victims &Space Shuttle Astronauts

Seminole Ridge High Students Honor Sandy Hook Victims

Posted by: Natalia Arenas

- January 29th, 2013

Seminole Ridge High School students in the SECME Engineering Club and the National Honor Society chapter hosted a special blood drive to honor the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary.

 

Seminole Ridge HS Science students in Mr. Landstrom's AP Physics class.

The Hawks have yearly hosted a “GIVE BLOOD—IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE” blood drive that recognizes that giving blood is a small sacrifice with great rewards. Each donation can help to save up to three lives. For every pint given, SECME celebrates by letting the student launch a personalized pressurized water rocket launch.

Working in teams, SECME students constructed water rockets from two-liter soft drink bottles and other materials, which are propelled by the “fuel” of a pint of water and air compressed to 70 psi.

This year, to honor and reflect on the loss of the twenty children and six educators in the community of Newtown, CT who were the victims of the senseless and horrific acts of violence at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Seminole Ridge High students released 26 water rockets into the sky, dedicated toward each individual killed in the shooting.

January 28^th is also significant as the day of remembrance for Sharon Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher to fly in space. McAuliffe was selected from among more than 11,000 applicants from the education profession for entrance into the astronaut ranks. She was planning to conduct experiments and teach two lessons from Space Shuttle Challenger. On January 28, 1986, her spacecraft disintegrated 73 seconds after launch. Blood donations will be dedicated in memory of her and her fellow crewmates.

 

Stephen Peterson and Melissa Garrity hold the mission patch for mission patch and crew portrait for STS-107. STS-107 was the 113th flight of the Space Shuttle program, and the final flight of Space Shuttle Columbia. The seven-member crew died on February 1, 2003 when the Columbia orbiter disintegrated during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere.

 

Andrea Olave and Jeff Rizzo help dedicate the water rockets. For every pint donated, SECME celebrates by launching a ‘personalized’ water rocket.

 

Alec Gilbert and Cameron Schneider help prepare the remembrance rockets for launch. Working in teams, SECME students constructed water rockets from two-liter soft drink bottles and other materials, which are propelled by the “fuel” of a pint of water and air compressed to 70 psi.

 

For more information contact Erich Landstrom at (561) 422-2600 or via email at erich.landstrom@palmbeachschools.org.

 

 

###

 

Public Affairs Contact: Natalia Arenas – (561) 357-7662 – natalia.arenas@palmbeachschools.org

 

Seminole Ridge Students Honor Sandy Hook Shooting Victims with Blood Drive and Remembrance Rockets.

On Monday, January 28, 2013, Seminole Ridge High School students in the SECME engineering club and the National Honor Society chapter will host a special blood drive to honor the victims of the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary.  

The Hawks have yearly hosted a “GIVE BLOOD—IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE” blood drive that recognizes that giving blood is a small sacrifice with great rewards. Each donation can help to save up to three lives. For every pint given, SECME celebrates by letting the student launch a personalized pressurized water rocket launch. Working in teams, SECME students constructed water rockets from two-liter soft drink bottles and other materials, which are propelled by the “fuel” of a pint of water and air compressed to 70 psi.

This year, to honor and reflect on the loss of the twenty children and six educators in the community of Newtown, Connecticut who were the victims of the senseless and horrific acts of violence at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday, December 14, 2012, the NHS and SECME students will release 26 water rockets into the sky, dedicated toward each individual killed in the shooting.

January 28^th is also significant as the day of remembrance for Sharon Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher to fly in space. McAuliffe was selected from among more than 11,000 applicants from the education profession for entrance into the astronaut ranks. She was planning to conduct experiments and teach two lessons from Space Shuttle Challenger. On January 28, 1986, her spacecraft disintegrated 73 seconds after launch. Blood donations will be dedicated in memory of her and her fellow crewmates.

Donations are accepted at Seminole Ridge on January 28^th from 7:30 AM to 2:30 PM. Seminole Ridge Community High School is located at 4601 Seminole Pratt Whitney Road, Loxahatchee, FL 33470. For directions, click on http://tinyurl.com/SeminoleRidgeHigh to Mapquest a route.

On Jan. 28th, Give Blood -- It's Not Rocket Science!

Give Blood - It's Not Rocket Science!

NASA has an agency-wide Day of Remembrance every January to pause and reflect on the tragic loss of the crews of Apollo 1, space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, and all of those who have given their lives in the cause of exploration.



The nation will never forget Jan. 28, 1986, nor its indelible images. On this solemn day, we join the NASA family and all Americans in honoring the brave men and women who gave their lives in the pursuit of space exploration. We honor their memory by dedicating ourselves to a better tomorrow.

Giving blood is making a small sacrifice. The men and women who lost their lives in the name of space exploration helped get us to this day, and it is our duty to honor them the way they would have wanted to be honored – by focusing our sights on the next horizon,  and inspiring the next generation of explorers as we venture farther into space than we have ever gone before

Our Goal = One Mole!

Donate a MOLE lot of blood!
Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012
OUR GOAL = ONE MOLE
22.4 liters = 47 pints!
Please give

20111026 WSRH News coverage of "Give Blood - It's Not Rocket Science"

Thank you everyone for supporting the October blood drive. We broke our own school records! We registered 243 people, collected 191 units, and we were short a mobile! It broke down on the way to our school.

We do realize that students were in the lobby/on the mobiles longer. We even had to turn some of our afternoon appointments away as a result. Otherwise, we would have reached our goal of 200 units!

Thanks to the SECME/Mr. Landstrom's students for launching rockets in donors names! The theme was Give Blood: It's Not Rocket Science!

Dates of next drives: January 30 Odd, April 30 Even, May 30 Odd (new donors only)

We want to thank you for your support with the interruptions in class. Mrs. Smith/Mrs. Muckle were calling down the students who had not shown up at their designated time to donate. This is done to ensure students are not skipping or abusing the opportunity. Students should be coming back to class with their appt. card signed/time stamped.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.
Shawna and Stacey
NHS

Brains and Heart! Seminole SECME's annual "Give Blood = It's Not Rocket Science" blood drive

Seminole Ridge High National Honor Society and SECME students hosted a blood drive at school on Wednesday, October 26 from 7:30 AM to 1:00 PM. Our theme is “GIVE BLOOD—IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.” It’s a fun and unique way to teach people how easy it is to save 3 lives; much simpler than the science, engineering, and math (STEM) that it takes to blast off a water rocket.
(Click on the first picture to flip through the photostream)

20111026 Give Blood It's Not Rocket Science

For each pint of blood donated, SECME students celebrate with a rocket launch. The 2 liter bottle rockets are fired off with 60 PSI compressed air and a pint of water symbolical dyed red with food coloring.

To successfully launch, it takes the physics of projectile motion, the polynomial equations for parabolic paths, and the practice of precision engineering. But to donate blood, all a student needs is to be in good health, at least 16 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, have turned in a signed parental consent form, and present a photo ID.

And Florida’s Blood Centers will donate approximately $20 per unit of blood collected to the Scholarship Assistance Foundation to support students with tuition assistance for attending colleges, universities, institutions, and technical centers by furthering their education in STEM subjects!

Give Blood (But You May Find That Blood Is Not Enough).

Give Blood, It's Not Rocket Science on Nov. 16

GIVE BLOOD—IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE!
Each pint improves ‘STEM’ education

Seminole Ridge High National Honor Society and SECME students will host a blood drive at school on Tuesday, November 16 from 7:30 AM to 2:30 PM. Our theme is “GIVE BLOOD—IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.” It’s a fun and unique way to teach people that donating blood is easier than the science, engineering, and math (STEM) that it takes to blast off a water rocket.

For each pint of blood donated, SECME students celebrate with a rocket launch. The water bottle rockets are fired off with 70 PSI compressed air and a pint of water symbolical dyed red with food coloring. It takes the physics of projectile motion, the polynomial equations for parabolic paths, and the practice of precision engineering to successfully launch. To donate blood at Seminole Ridge, all a student needs is to be alive, in good health, be at least 16 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, have turned in a signed parental consent form, and present a photo ID.

And Florida’s Blood Centers will donate approximately $20 per unit of blood collected to the Scholarship Assistance Foundation to support students with tuition assistance for attending colleges, universities, institutions, and technical centers by furthering their education in STEM subjects!

Give Blood—It's a Race Against Time!

Give Blood—It's a Race Against Time!
Join the Big Red Bus and the little mousetrap cars as National Honor Society and SECME students host Florida’s Blood Centers for an on-campus blood drive 7:30-2:30 Tuesday, March 23. The drive’s theme draws attention to the urgency for donors: every two seconds, someone in America needs blood.

And for every pint of blood donated, SECME will run a ‘mousetrap vehicle’—racers built by students and powered solely by the energy release of a mousetrap spring. In the district’s annual engineering Olympiad, students compete to see whose mousetrap vehicle goes the farthest.

The process for whole blood donation usually takes about one hour; the blood collection itself is usually about 10 minutes. All donations are processed and available for use within 48 hours, but blood can only be stored for 42 days, and blood platelets expire after five days! So the blood bank has a constant demand for donors.

For additional information about donating blood, contact NHS sponsor Mrs. Shawna Ahmad: ahmadsh[at]palmbeach[dot]k12[dot]fl[dot]us

Give Blood - It's A Race Against Time!

Join the Big Red Bus and the Little Silver MTV

Give Blood - It's A Race Against Time!

National Honor Society and SECME students at Seminole Ridge Community High School will host a blood drive Tuesday, March 23, 2010 from 7:30 AM to 2:30 PM. The theme “GIVE BLOOD – ITS A RACE AGAINST TIME!” draws attention to the urgency for donors. Every two seconds, someone in America needs blood.

And for every pint of blood donated, SECME will symbolically race a mousetrap vehicle (MTV). MTV racers are models built by students and powered solely by the energy release of a mousetrap spring. In the annual engineering Olympiad, SECME students in the Palm Beach County School District compete to see whose MTV travels the furthest distance. Winners are invited to race at the summer national competition.

How long does it take to give blood?
The process for whole blood donation usually takes about one hour. The blood collection itself is usually about 10 minutes

How long until my blood is used?
All blood donations are processed and available for use between 24 and 48 hours. But blood can only be stored for 42 days, not indefinitely. And platelets (from whole blood or by apheresis) expire after five days! A three- to five-day blood supply is considered stable. So the blood bank has a constant demand for donors.

How long do I wait between blood donations?
Donate whole blood every 56 days.

For additional information about donating blood, contact NHS sponsor Mrs. Shawna Ahmad: ahmadsh [at] palmbeach [dot] k12 [dot] fl [dot] us

Go Hawk Heros!

Seminole SECME and National Honor Society students at Seminole Ridge hosted a blood drive Tuesday, November 17, 2009. Our theme “GIVE BLOOD—IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE” spotlighted students’ achievement in science, tech, engineering, and math (STEM) classes.

Florida's Blood Centers donates ~$20 per unit of blood collected to scholarship assistance for students attending colleges, institutions, and technical centers. And for every pint of blood donated, SECME students launched a water bottle rocket—a two-liter soda bottle filled with compressed air and water. We collected 165 pints, launched 200 rockets, saving almost 500 lives and raising over $3000. Go Hawk Heroes!





As SECME students launched hydro rockets into suborbital flight, their names orbited high overhead, part of NASA’s latest shuttle mission STS-129. Last spring, SECME co-captain Aleen Touma lead the collection of the Class of 2010 names. Seminole Ridge joined with more than 500 other schools worldwide to sign posters for Student Signatures in Space, sponsored by NASA and Lockheed Martin.

Participating schools received Embrace Space posters for student signing, and Lockheed Martin scanned their signatures onto a disk flown aboard space shuttle Atlantis. They will be returned for permanent display along with a flight certificate and a photo of the mission crew.

If you would like more information, please contact Seminole SECME school coordinator Erich Landstrom at (561) 422-2600.

Blood and Water

Give Blood -- It's Not Rocket Science
Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Seminole Ridge Community High School

Seminole SECME and the Seminole Ridge National Honor Society students hosted a blood drive Tuesday, November 17. Our theme “GIVE BLOOD—IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE” spotlighted students’ achievement in science, tech, engineering, and math (STEM) classes. Florida's Blood Centers donate approximately $20 per unit of blood collected to the Scholarship Assistance Foundation to support tuition assistance. We collected 165 pints, and for every pint of blood donated, SECME students launched a water bottle rocket—a two-liter soda bottle filled with compressed air and water.

Designing, building, and flying a water bottle rocket ignites students’ minds with a real-world application of STEM. Students manipulate and control variables. Math and science studies are necessary to complete the process—the physics of Newton’s laws of motion, the projectile motion, polynomial equations for freefall calculations, parabolic paths, and the practice of true engineering. These are the tools that an engineer uses to solve a problem. Go Hawk Heroes!

WSRH PSA: Give Blood - It's Not Rocket Science

Give Blood - It's Not Rocket Science!

GIVE BLOOD—IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE!

Each pint improves ‘STEM’ education
Seminole Ridge National Honor Society and SECME students will host a blood drive Tuesday, November 17 from 7:30 AM to 2:30 PM. Our theme “GIVE BLOOD—IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE” spotlights students’ achievement in STEM classes: science, technology, engineering, and math.

Florida's Blood Centers will donate approximately $20 per unit of blood collected to the Scholarship Assistance Foundation to support tuition assistance for students attending colleges, universities, community colleges, institutions, and technical centers.

And for every pint of blood donated, SECME students will launch a water bottle rocket—a two-liter soda bottle filled with compressed air and water. SECME coordinator Erich Landstrom says, “Designing, building, and flying a water bottle rocket ignites students’ minds with a real-world application of STEM. Students manipulate and control variables. Math and science studies are necessary to complete the process—the physics of Newton’s laws of motion, the projectile motion, polynomial equations for freefall calculations, parabolic paths, and the practice of true engineering. These are the tools that an engineer uses to solve a problem.”

HOW TO GIVE BLOOD:
To donate blood, students must be in good health, be at least 16 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, have turned in a signed parental consent form, and present a photo ID.

The quick and simple donation process includes registration, a health history survey, and blood pressure and iron level checks. A technician performs a brief medical screening to check blood pressure, pulse, and temperature and hemoglobin levels. This helps assure safe blood for patients, and also provides a quick check-up for donors. The entire process takes about 45 minutes, while the actual donation will only take about 10 minutes. Each donor also receives a free cholesterol screening.

The blood donated can be divided into platelets, plasma, and red cells. One pint can be used to help three different people. Blood is used for surgeries, emergencies, heart bypass, and cancer treatments. All blood types are welcome; however, Florida’s Blood Centers has a particular need of blood types O-negative and AB-negative, and of platelets.

For additional information about donating blood, contact NHS sponsor Mrs. Shawna Ahmad: ahmadsh (at) palmbeach (dot) k12 (dot) fl (dot) us