May 10, 2005

School Scene

Campbell students at 18th annual Tech Challenge Design Competition

Two Campbell teams won awards at The Tech Museum of Innovation on April 30. Nearly one thousand students presented their team’s devices, which were created to extinguish a simulated wildfire for the 18th annual Tech Challenge.

“I was truly amazed by all these kids, their dedication and great effort extended to produce and market these remarkable devices,” said Elaine Johnson. The “Wing and a Prayer” Team: Front row (left to right), Evan Johnson, Peter Lin, Jeff Gratton and Kevin Jani. In the back row from the left are Mithil Munshi and Joseph Carolan.

The fifth through twelfth grade student competition, held in San Jose, challenges future innovators to apply scientific principles in tackling a real world problem.

Based on The Tech’s ‘Design in Mind’ learning model, Tech Challenge is unique. It empowers students to work through open-ended problems that adults are still trying to solve.

“Through the design process, these kids apply a new understanding of physics, electricity and even robotics to get the job done,” said Craig Baker, vice president of Learning Experiences at The Tech. “It’s the process of working in a team, perseverance of working toward a solution and application of scientific principles that sparks their creativity and cements their futures as innovators.”

This year’s “Battle the Blaze” challenge, asked students to design, build and operate a device that can retrieve water (one water balloon) from a lake and deliver it to the fire (a designated target) on the top of the ridge. Along the way, students learned valuable lessons about wildfire prevention and its negative and positive impact on our environment.

For their fast completion of the challenge, thorough design journals, costumes and overall spirit, top honors for Best Overall teams went to Fremont’s Warm Spring Elementary School team in the Elementary division; Palo Alto’s Castilleja Middle School in the Middle School Division and Los Altos High School in the high school division.

Westmont wins Best Overall Device Demonstration
Westmont High School’s team “Wing and a Prayer” won an award for Best Overall Device Demonstration in the high school division. Participating members were Joseph Carolan, Jeff Gratton, Evan Johnson, Mithil Munshi (all Westmont freshmen), Kevin Jani (of Price), and Peter Lin (of Prospect). Their coach/mentor was Larry Gratton (Jeff’s dad), and they have been working on the project since December. 

“The team accomplished the task in 14 seconds flat!” said Evan Johnson’s mom Elaine. “This was an amazing time, and usually this team goes for the fastest record award, however, this year there was no award for speed, thus they received the “Best Overall Device Demonstration” award.

“It was an extremely interesting project to complete and deliver,” said Evan, “I had fun and can’t wait to compete again next year!”  

Coach Larry Gratton has been coaching a team since his son Jeff attended Capri Elementary School. Over the years the team has gained and lost a few members but the core group has remained the same.

“They seem to be coming up with more interesting ideas and working together better as a team now that they are in high school,” said Gratton. “I enjoy coaching and just sitting back and watching my team perform at the Tech.”

Rolling Hills wins Most Resourceful Use of Materials
Rolling Hills Middle School’s team, “Danger Contents May Be Hot” won an award for Most Resourceful Use of Materials in the middle school division.

For more information, visit www.thetech.org or call (408) 294-TECH.

Monroe, Rolling Hills and Westmont named California Distinguished Schools

Teachers and administrators at Monroe Middle, Rolling Hills Middle and Westmont High Schools have a lot to smile about these days: their schools have been selected as 2005 California Distinguished Schools.

On April 19 State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell announced that 192 California public middle schools and high schools have been selected as 2005 California Distinguished Schools. Twelve high schools also received a special award for their exemplary career technical education programs. The California School Recognition Program honors elementary and secondary schools in alternate years.

Of the nearly 2,300 middle and high schools in the state, fewer than 465 were eligible to apply for the honor based on their Academic Performance Index and Adequate Yearly Progress results. The 288 schools that filed applications this year underwent a rigorous selection process conducted by the California Department of Education (CDE) in partnership with the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association, and with the help of many local educators from across the state.

The schools were evaluated by teams of local educators under the direction of CDE, and those schools judged to be exemplary were visited by an outside review team to validate the application information.

Initiated in 1985, the California Distinguished Schools Program is celebrating its 20th anniversary. This year also marks the largest number of high school awardees in the long history of the California School Recognition Program, selected from the largest number of eligible high schools to date.

“At a time when we are challenging our middle and high schools to become more rigorous and more relevant to the lives and futures of students, I’m proud of these Distinguished Schools for setting examples of excellence,” O’Connell said. “I am encouraged that more and more high schools are taking up this challenge to reach new academic heights so they are able to experience this significant honor.”

O’Connell also applauded California’s 35 nominees for the 2004-05 national No Child Left Behind — Blue Ribbon Schools Program along with the 33 award winners of the 2003-04 national Blue Ribbon Schools Program. These schools will be honored along with the 2005 California Distinguished Schools.

Representatives from the California Distinguished Schools, this year’s Blue Ribbon School nominees and last year’s award winners, and recipients of the career technical education awards will be honored on May 20 at an awards ceremony and dinner at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim . The Disneyland Resort, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, is a major corporate sponsor of the event.