Math-elites Win 2nd 4th Place at PBAU

Seminole Ridge students had a fourth-place finish at the annual Palm Beach Atlantic University high school mathematics and computer science competition on Saturday, November 09, 2013. Teams of teenagers from across Martin and Palm Beach County attended the calculating contest, from Port St. Lucie Centennial to Spanish River were among the scores of students solving real-world problems. And for the second consecutive year, the Hawks finished in the top tier.

The team members lead by Captain Sam Smith are math whizzes from the school’s SECME engineering and MAθ (Mu Alpha Theta) math honor society. During the competition, students solved three sets of paper and pencil problems in algebra, trigonometry, statistics, probability, and pre-calculus problems using Texas Instruments graphing calculators.

The team from Suncoast High School in Riviera Beach was declared champion of the 3-hour competition Coach Kay Mathews, science teacher for Biology, is proud of the Hawks' honorable mention.

Volunteering at the PBAU math competition are former Seminole SECME students and recent graduates Andrea Olave and Priscilla Cerqueira

Rocketeers Advance to Nationals

At its May 15 meeting the school board recognized Seminole Ridge SECME as overall champions in the 2013 district Olympiad model rocketry contest. Team Osprey now advances to the SECME national competition next month at Embry-Riddle College of Engineering in Daytona Beach. Congrats!
 

(Photo, L-R: brothers Nick Smith and Sam Smith, Kim Smith [no relation] with championship certificate.)

2013 SECME Teachers of the Year have Roots in Palm Beach County, FL

SECME, Inc. (formerly the Southeastern Consortium for Minorities in Engineering) has selected Dawn DeWitt from Palm Springs Community Middle School in Palm Beach County, Florida, and Richard McCombs from Statesboro High School in Statesboro, GA as the 2013 SECME National Co-Teachers of the Year.

McCombs and DeWitt will be recognized June 22, at an “Evening of Elegance” celebration sponsored by ExxonMobil to be held during the 37th Annual SECME Summer Institute, at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, June 16-23.

McCombs was surprised with the announcement Wednesday afternoon during the school’s weekly faculty meeting by SECME representatives from the Georgia Institute of Technology via Internet, Bulloch County Superintendent of Schools Charles Wilson, SHS Principal Marty Waters and members of the SHS staff. “I thought this was an announcement about Georgia Southern becoming the 44th SECME member university in the nation,” McCombs said. “I couldn’t do this without all of you,” McCombs expressed to his faculty peers.

According to a statement released by SECME (formerly the Southeastern Consortium for Minorities in Engineering), the two outstanding educators were selected from a pool of nominees based on submission of extensive portfolios that were adjudicated by a panel of educator and community leaders. SECME also stated that the co-winners “demonstrated exemplary accomplishments in building and/or sustaining a successful SECME school program through creative and enriching curricular/extracurricular activities, thereby increasing the number of historically under-represented students who are interested in, and academically prepared for, studies in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM).”

"IM" IS OUT - THINK IT'S POSSIBLE! Hawks Fly 2nd Place Finish

THINK IT'S imPOSSIBLE? THINK sySTEMatically. THINK SECME! Seminole Ridge SECME takes second place during district engineering Olympiad

Seminole Ridge SECME is the winner of five trophies and ribbons at the 2013 SECME Olympiad engineering competition, including second place overall for Palm Beach County! Teams from sixteen high schools in Palm Beach County participated in the engineering contests at Santaluces Community High School in Lantana on Saturday, February 23, 2013. Students squared off in competition to race mousetrap powered model cars, launch model rockets, build and break model balsa wood bridges; in general knowledge games during the "Brain Bowl"; and in literary and artistic competitions with essays, banners, and posters.

(Photo: the SRHS SECME team; front row, L-R: Mr. Ed Batchelor and Mr. Erich Landstrom; back row: Nicholas Smith, Kimberly Smith, Kyle Reilly, Patrick Dickson, Kyle Whirlow, Victoria Simmons, James Carter, Cody Summerlin, Jarrett Rimel, and Sam Smith.)

The competition of cogitators was fierce. And the Hawks soared high: honorable mention - balsawood bridge; second place - banner; second place - water rocket (Team Seniors); first place - water rocket (Team Osprey); second place overall in the entire district! Coaches Erich Landstrom and Ed Batchelor, the school SECME coordinators, and principal James Campbell congratulate the Hawks on their awesome achievements.

(Click on the first picture to flip through the Seminole SECME team competing at Santaluces High School for the 2013 Palm Beach County School District SECME Olympiad on Saturday, February 23, 2013)

20130213 SDPBC SECME Olympiad

Hawk Senior Wins Tech Service Scholarship

Congratulations to Hawk tech support student Mitchell Lafferty (photo, left). Mitch is on the VEX robotics team and is the winner of the Palm Beach County school district’s 2013 Pat Oliphant Memorial Student Technology Service Scholarship. Lafferty will receive the $500.00 award at the May 15 school board meeting.

If You (Drop It, Build It, Fly It, Launch It, Thrill It), They Will Come

Just a reminder: after the Olympiad this month, next month is Drop It, Build It, Fly It, Launch It, Thrill It - one of the most popular engineering events for students in South Florida.

DiBiFiLiTi will take place Saturday, March 9, 2013 in Dreher Park, from 8am - 3pm. The South Florida Science Museum, in partnership with the Florida Engineering Society, invites students compete for cash prizes in five different areas:

• (Drop It) The perfect egg container to protect it from a 3-story drop
• (Build It) An unbreakable bridge
• (Fly It) The most aerodynamic paper airplane
• (Launch It) The ultimate water bottle rocket
• (Thrill It) A thrilling roller coaster

Cash prizes awarded to 1st - 4th place winners for elementary, middle and high school categories. Last year, my daughter won $75 for her water rocket, so tell your SECME students its time to turn their payload into a paycheck!

Register now at 
http://www.sfsm.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=events.details&content_id=297

Let's Plan for VEX Next Year!

Each season’s VRC game is a complex challenge for teams to design and build a robot for. Each year a new game is released in April; students design and build robots throughout the year, competing at local events. 

But certain game aspects repeat themselves, year after year. Team 1614 has been playing VRC five years now:

• VRC Season 2012-2013 Sack Attack 
• VRC Season 2011-2012 Gateway 
• VRC Season 2010-2011: Round Up 
• VRC Season 2009-2010: Clean Sweep 
• VRC Season 2008-2009: Elevation

At today's meeting, we made a list of some of those aspects. It is reasonable to predict that whatever robot is designed for VEX next year will need to address these challenges:

• FIELD ELEMENTS - Many game objects
• FIELD ELEMENTS - Height Challenge of different sized goals
• FIELD ELEMENTS - Different sized game objects
• FIELD ELEMENTS - Played on foam mats
• AUTONOMOUS MODE - tape on the field requires sensor(s) to follow tape
• AUTONOMOUS MODE Followed by DRIVER MODE
• DRIVER CONTROL MODE - Assisting our alliance partner if overturned
• STRATEGY - How to score/descore objects
• STRATEGY - Organization! A place for everything. Don't waste time looking
• STRATEGY - Alliance selection scouting reports
• STRATEGY - Selling ourselves, advertising for alliance partners in playoffs
• STRATEGY - Interview with Judges
• STRATEGY - Have fun!

LET’S PLAN FOR VEX NEXT YEAR! SOLUTIONS
Next year's robot should be versatile enough to address those challenges with some core design philosophy:

• ROBOT BASE - Holonomic base, Omnidirectional wheels
• ROBOT BODY - Low Center of Gravity
• ROBOT BODY- Scissor Lift
• ROBOT BODY - Motors in bottom
• ROBOT BODY - Battery Access, add weight to bass
• ROBOT BODY - Short telescoping arms for hard to reach heights
• STRATEGY - 2nd controller
• STRATEGY - photos of other team robots -- what's working for them?

Remember the 7 Ps: Prior planning and practice prevents piss poor performance!

Palm Beach Atlantic U. Math Competition

Below is a link to a diagram of the Palm Beach Atlantic Campus. The contest will be in the second floor of #24 on the map. Guides will be there to direct you to the registration area. Parking could be in the lot on the corner of Dixie and Pembroke, west of #24, in the lot just east of #24 off Okeechobee Blvd, or in the Parking Garage at the corner of Dixie and Pembroke. The gate code for the parking garage is two-two-four-six-star. Registration will begin Saturday morning at 8:00 am, with introductions and directions starting at 8:30 am. There will be coffee, juice, and muffins/danish available from 8-8:30. Also, lunch will be provided after the third and final round of the contest. Calculators are permitted, but cellphones need to be turned off and not used during testing. I look forward to seeing you and your students on Saturday morning.

https://a248.e.akamai.net/akamai-cache.trustedpartner.com/docs/library/PalmBeachAtlanticUniversity2010/PDFS/Parents%20Council/NewMap1.pdf

Dr. Steve Selby
Mathematics and Computer Science Department Chair
Palm Beach Atlantic University

AES Engineers Scholarship Deadline Oct. 5

Scholarship Deadline - October 5, 2012


We will be awarding $500 to the winner(s) each year.

Application Process

Students will submit an essay on one of the two topics that appear on the scholarship page of our web site http://www.aesengineers.com/scholarships.htm Full details are available on our site.

Drop It, Build It Engineering Competition 2012

Drop It, Build It, Fly It, Launch It, Thrill It 2013

Di-Bi-Fi-Li-Ti is a design competition for cash prizes challenges kids to build an unbreakable balsawood bridge, create the perfect carton to protect a raw egg from a 3-story drop, fold and fly the farthest-flung paper airplane, blast off the best water bottle rocket for max time airborne, and create a thrill-packed roller coaster. The South Florida Science Museum in partnership with the Florida Engineering Society provides a premiere out-of-school STEM competition to elementary, middle and high school students offering substantial cash prizes for the top four finishers in each of the five engineering categories:

1. Drop It: Design and build a shipping container that will prevent an uncooked egg from breaking when dropped from two successive heights, up to 50 feet.
2. Build It: Given a range of physical dimensions and using appropriate building materials, construct the lightest truss-frame bridge capable of supporting the greatest weight.
3. Fly It: Given a sheet of paper, design an airplane that will fly the longest distance.
4. Launch It: Construct a rocket propelled by “fuel” (12 ounces of water) and air compressed to 60 psi that will be launched at a predetermined angle to reach the maximum height and flight time possible.
5. Thrill It: Design a roller coaster to convey a marble or steel ball within designated parameters, so that it stays rolling the longest, is the most interesting to view and has a theme.

Enjoy a fun filled family day of science and engineering exploration on Saturday, March 9, 2013 from 8 AM to 3:30 PM. Students are responsible for their own transportation to and from the event.

More information is available online at http://www.sfsm.org/

AES Engineering scholarship

AES Engineering
AES Engineering is pleased to be able to continue offering scholarships to motivated students to help in the furthering of their education.


Scholarship Criteria

Our belief is that achieving a high grade point average should not be the only criteria for determining who deserves to be helped. For that reason we are offering a scholarship that will be awarded on the basis of character, as determined by evaluated the essays that are submitted.

Scholarships are intended for our future leaders across a wide spectrum of fields of study. This award is available to high school seniors and all students attending a post secondary educational facility.

You are not required to be taking Engineering courses to be eligible.

How to Apply

Students must submit an essay of no more than 1000 words in answer to the following question:
What are your dreams for your future? When you look back on your life in thirty years, what would it take for you to consider your life successful?

Amount of award: $500.00
Deadline for entry: October 5, 2012

Submit essay to: scholarships@aesengineers.com

There is no application packet for this award. Please do not include your resume at this time.

Be sure to include your full name as well as the name of the school you are attending this year and your plans for next year.

PBAU Math and MODS VEX

Click on the first picture to flip through the photoalbum of Seminole Ridge SECME on Saturday, May 12, 2012 at the Palm Beach Atlantic University mathematics and computer science competition. In Fort Lauderdale, Coach Landstrom, Bert Sivongsay, and Jesse Mendheim demonstrated VEX Robotics at the Museum of Discovery and Science.

Seminole Ridge students Samuel Smith, Mitch Vasquez, Jaret Rimel, Seham Ahmed, and Keith Miner participated in the 4th annual Palm Beach Atlantic University mathematics and computer science competition on Saturday, May 12, 2012. Nine high school teams from Boca Raton to Ft. Pierce attended the competition.

The team members are math whizzes from the school’s SECME engineering and MAθ (Mu Alpha Theta) math honor society. During the competition, students solved three sets of paper and pencil problems in algebra, trigonometry, statistics and pre-calculus problems using Texas Instruments graphing calculators.

The team from Atlantic Community High School in Delray Beach was declared champion of the 3-hour competition. Atlantic’s 5-member winning team consisted of seniors Hayden Jansen (also winner of the Pathfinder Award in Mathematics), Michael Klionsky (Valedictorian), Gowri Nayar, Hanif Ahmed and Benny Tom. Atlantic’s winning team members won TI-Nspire graphing calculators and $375 in gift certificates to Best Buy. It was the second competition championship for Atlantic in the last three years of the competition.

Following Atlantic in 2nd place was the team from Suncoast Math/Science/Engineering (MSE) Magnet School. Seminole Ridge finished behind Suncoast and Atlantic High Schools, for a fourth place finish, and received $10 gift cards to Best Buy. Coach Ed Batchelor, math teacher for Algebra 2 and Geometry Honors, is proud of their honorable mention.

-----

Meanwhile, it was mechanical mayhem at the Museum of Discovery and Science in Ft. Lauderdale on May 12th as mentors and high school students from engineering programs teamed up for robotic demonstrations. Seminole Ridge students Bert Sivongsay and Jesse Mendheim showcased VEX Robotics, with the school's "The Iron Dragon v3" running a maze and manipulating Gateway game elements of barrels, balls, and rings.

Other teams from West Broward, American Heritage, and Cypress Bay showcased FIRST Robotics (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) shooting hoops in the "Rebound Rumble"

VEX and FIRST programs are designed to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership

2011-2012 SECME Outstanding Angel of the Year for the School District of Palm Beach County, FL: Kim Seager

Congratulations to Kim Seager, P.E. with FPL and President of the Society of Women Engineers (Region D - Southeast Florida). At the Eighteenth Celebration of Achievement Banquet on Saturday, May 5, 2012, the South Florida Industry Partners For Education recognized her with the 2011-2012 Palm Beach County Outstanding Angel Award for outstanding SECME support at the High School level! Here is her letter of nomination:

2012 Dwyer Award Winner SECME Coordinator Victoria Stedt

Wellington Teacher Honored With Dwyer Award

Equestrian Trails Elementary School teacher Victoria Stedt with some of her SECME Club students at an event last year.

20120506 SECME Achievement Awards

(Click on the first picture to flip through the Seminole SECME captain Caitlin Nicole Miller receiving a 2012 FAU SECME Scholarship at the 18th Annual Celebration of Achievement Banquet on Sunday, May 06, 2012)

SECME Awards Banquet on Sun., May 6, 2012

The Annual SECME Celebration of Achievement Awards will take place on Sunday, May 6, 2012 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: Caitlin Miller
• Outstanding Student of the Year: Sam Smith

FAU AWARDS $12K SCHOLARSHIP TO SEMINOLE RIDGE SECME STUDENT

Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science will award a four-year SECME scholarship worth $12,000 to senior Caitlin Miller. Miller will be honored on Sunday, May 6, 2012 at SECME’s annual Celebration of Achievement banquet sponsored by industry partners that includes students, parents, teachers, school administrators, industry representatives and guest speaker.
Captian Caitlin Miller and Mother Miller
Seminole Ridge SECME coordinator and physics teacher Erich Landstrom said, “Caitlin truly belongs to what anthologist Margaret Mead once described as that small group of thoughtful, committed citizens who we should never doubt can change the world. Under her leadership, the Hawks soared high, taking home six trophies and ribbons at the annual engineering Olympiad. Caitlin helped me grow the school’s SECME program in very important ways. For example, this past November Caitlin lead our participation in “Engineering Family Fun Day,” a free annual event in Dreher Park that the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) hosts for Palm Beach County students. Caitlin also assists younger students. When students from Seminole Ridge volunteered to mentor the SECME program at Pierce Hammock Elementary School, Caitlin was the first to arrive and help their teams to build water rockets. Another instance of Caitlin bringing out the best was the “Let’s Build Something Together” challenge during February’s SECME Olympiad for elementary schools. She volunteered herself and her friends to give up a Saturday and to help with the “Gotta Regatta,” where students had to build a model boat and race them a filled rain gutter. Caitlin organized the activity so that nearly seven hundred students from 51 schools could see who had the fastest ferry.”

SECME students selected for the 2012-13 academic-year award receive a renewable $3,000 per year. Students must meet the academic requirements for admission into FAU and have participated in the SECME program in their high school. Applicants must major in Engineering, Mathematics, or Science, achieve a minimum score of 1450 (all three sections) on the SAT or a 21 on the ACT.

Brenda Simmons, director of FAU’s Division of Engineering Student Services, serves as the SECME director for FAU and chairs the SECME Industry Advisory Board. “It is very rewarding for me to work with the South Florida Industry Partners for Education, Broward County and Palm Beach Public Schools to increase the pool of talented students prepared to enter and succeed in science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” said Simmons. “The SECME program offers exceptional opportunities for K-12 students to learn, achieve, and become excited about engineering and science based careers.”

SECME is a pre-collegiate program whose mission is to increase the number of under-represented minority students qualified to enter and complete courses of study in the STEM disciplines. Since its inception in 1975, the SECME program has helped to increase the number of minority engineers, scientists and mathematicians by enriching students’ academic preparation from grades K-12 while providing experiences to help raise their levels of aspiration. Teacher training is a significant piece of the equation in order for the program to succeed. It is a coordinated effort with 37 universities, 70 corporations and governmental agencies in 15 states, as well as the District of Columbia. FAU became an official SECME university during the 1986-87 academic year.

Florida Atlantic University 's College of Engineering and Computer Science is committed to providing accessible and responsive programs of education and research recognized nationally for their high quality. Course offerings are presented on-campus, off-campus, and through distance learning in bioengineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, geomatics engineering, mechanical engineering and ocean engineering. For more information about the college, please visit www.eng.fau.edu .

Palm Springs Middle And Suncoast High Continue To Stand Out In SECME Competitions

Students from 16 middle schools and 15 high schools participated in the 2012 Palm Beach County SECME Secondary Olympiad on February 25 at Santaluces High School. During the Olympiad, students participated in a variety of competitions which included mousetrap cars, water rockets, bridges, brain bowl, banners, essays, and posters. The theme for this year’s SECME program was “SECME: Plan It ٠ Build It ٠ Live It!”

“SECME is an excellent program that provides students with opportunities to apply hands-on problem solving techniques to real engineering challenges. They get to design, test, re-design, and re-test until they produce a working model – pretty much the same way engineers do their jobs,” said Bruce Wear, SECME District Coordinator.

The following schools were the overall district winners at the secondary level:

Honorable Mention: Don Estridge Middle School
Second Place (TIE): Bak Middle School of the Arts
Second Place (TIE): Eagles Landing Middle School
First Place: Palm Springs Middle School

Honorable Mention: John I. Leonard High School
Third Place: Seminole Ridge High School
Second Place: Royal Palm Beach High School
First Place: Suncoast High School

The following individual students, teams, and/or schools were the top winners in individual events:

ESSAY:
First Place: Eagles Landing Middle – Sarah Palumbo
First Place: Suncoast High – Lily Shrayfer

BANNER:
First Place: Bak Middle SOA
First Place: Seminole Ridge High

POSTER:
First Place: Loggers Run Middle – Ashley Ramirez
First Place: Jupiter High – Selena Harman

BRAIN BOWL:
First Place: Eagles Landing Middle
First Place: John I. Leonard High

WATER ROCKET:
First Place: Bak Middle SOA – Team Flyers
First Place: Suncoast High – Positively Charged

BRIDGE:
First Place: Don Estridge Middle – The Smarticle Dragons
First Place: Suncoast High – Positively Charged

MOUSETRAP CAR:
First Place: Palm Springs Middle – The A-Team
First Place: Suncoast High – Just Do It

Palm Springs Middle School and Suncoast High School will represent the school district at the SECME National Student Competition which will be held on June 26, 2012 at the University of Alabama. In addition, essays written by Sarah Palumbo from Eagles Landing Middle and Lily Shrayfer from Suncoast High will advance to the national competition.

This was the fifth overall win for Palm Springs Middle School and the eighth overall win for Suncoast High School.

According to Carol Marshall Smith, SECME Coordinator at Suncoast High School, “SECME is the bridge between academics and application. It teaches you to not become satisfied and to always strive for improvement.”

SECME (Science, Engineering, Communication, and Mathematics Enrichment) is a program that strives to increase the pool of students who will be prepared to enter and complete post-secondary studies in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This program reaches out to students who are historically under-represented in the STEM fields with the long-term goal of creating a more diverse workforce. The School District of Palm Beach County supports the goals and mission of SECME.

For more information, contact Bruce Wear, SECME District Coordinator, at (561) 357-1125 or bruce.wear@palmbeachschools.org.

Kavli Science Video Contest: Save the World through Science and Engineering

CALL FOR ENTRIES FOR THE KAVLI SCIENCE VIDEO CONTEST

The Kavli Foundation is challenging Grades 6-12 students across the world to brainstorm and share their ideas!

This year's central theme, or driving question, is how to "Save the World through Science and Engineering".

Grades 6-12 students make a short video ( :30 - :90) that shows how scientific discoveries and inventions can improve our lives and change our world, either right now or in the future.

Students compete for the chance to win $2000 (first prize) and a travel stipend to Washington DC to attend the festival.

The winners are also honored in an awards ceremony, hosted by Bill Nye, as part of the festival.

Entries are due no later than March 21, 2012.

For more information contact Stacy Jannis, USA Science & Engineering Festival
Student Contests and School Programs Outreach Coordinator, jannisprods@earthlink.net, 301.585.3981, or visit the website: http://www.usasciencefestival.org/2012festival/contests/kavli-video-contest

PLAN IT – BUILD IT – LIVE IT – WIN IT!

PLAN IT – BUILD IT – LIVE IT – WIN IT! Seminole Ridge Hawks take third place during district engineering Olympiad

Seminole Ridge SECME is the winner of six trophies and ribbons at the 2012 SECME Olympiad engineering competition, including third place overall for Palm Beach County! Teams from fifteen high schools in Palm Beach County participated in the engineering contests at Santaluces Community High School in Lantana on Saturday, February 25, 2012. Students squared off in competition to race mousetrap powered model cars, launch model rockets, build and break model balsa wood bridges; in general knowledge games during the "Brain Bowl"; and in literary and artistic competitions with essays, banners, and posters.
Seminole SECME takes 3rd place in 2012 Olympiad
The competition of cogitators was fierce. And the Hawks soared high: honorable mention - brain bowl; honorable mention - mousetrap powered vehicle; second place - water rocket; second place - poster; first place - banner; third place overall in the entire district! Coaches Erich Landstrom and Ed Batchelor, the school SECME coordinators, and principal James Campbell congratulate the Hawks on their awesome achievements.

(Click on the first picture to flip through the Seminole SECME team competing at Santaluces High School for the 2012 Palm Beach County School District SECME Olympiad on Saturday, February 26, 2012)

20120225 SDPBC Secondary SECME Olympiad