Robots, Scholars and Bees! Oh, my!
Dear Families,
Congratulations again to the members of the Middle School Robotics Teams who continued their winning ways with excellent performances at this past weekend’s FIRST Lego League Manhattan borough competition. Both teams have now qualified for the citywide competition that will take place at the Javits Center in March. The Advanced Team won 1st place in the Champion’s Award category. It “is the most prestigious award that any team can win. It celebrates the ultimate success of the FIRST mission and FLL values”. When the scores from their Project Presentation, Technical Presentation, Robot Performance and Teamwork were added they received the highest score out of the whole event. The Rookie Team won 2nd place in the Robot Design Award category where “judges look for teams whose robot stands out for innovation and dependability”. This is an incredible achievement for a group of kids in their first competition. Click here for pictures of the event.
On the subject of achievement, I want to acknowledge our 2008-2009 Irwin Scholars. The Irwin Scholars program is a merit-based scholarship that recognizes eighth graders for their sustained commitment to academic excellence, active participation in the life of the Middle School, service to the community, demonstrated leadership, and the potential to serve as a community leader in the High School. This year we had a most excellent cohort of applicants; this made the selection process all the more difficult because the quality of applicants was so strong. I would like to extend my thanks on behalf of the faculty and administration to all of the applicants for their thoughtful essays and am pleased to share with you the 2008-2009 Irwin Scholars. They are Liam C., Thomas, Dominic, Edith, Anna, Isabella and David.
At this Wednesday’s Middle School Meeting, we had our annual National Geography Bee. To kick off the Bee competitions, last week at Middle School meeting we were joined be documentary filmmaker Celine Cousteau. Celine, the daughter of ocean explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau and granddaughter of legendary filmmaker Jacques Cousteau, spoke to us about her many projects and expeditions around the globe and her efforts to raise awareness about our relationship to the natural world and to each other. Her visit was truly inspirational.
Following Celine’s visit, students competed in their homerooms to identify our eight finalists. The first round was exciting and challenging. Students pondered a range of questions and supported each other as we worked through this preliminary competition. A number of these competitions were decided by tie breakers, which added to the excitement. So with a thank you first to all of those students who participated, the participants in the Final Round were as follows: Fifth Grade – Atticus and Ethan G., Sixth Grade – Andrew and Carlo., Seventh Grade – Julian and Logan, and Eighth Grade – Dominic and Edith. At the end of the Final Round, two students – Ethan G. and Julian – moved on to the Championship Round. The Championship Round was decided after 3 questions with Julian emerging as the champion. Next week, he will take the qualifying exam for the State Geography Bee competition. The state level competition will take place in the spring in Albany, NY. Congratulations to all of the finalists for a job well done!
In addition to the good fun that the National Geography Bee provides, it also points to the critical importance that a basic understanding of geography plays in being an informed citizen of the world. As technology makes the world smaller and increases our interconnectedness, we should not let ourselves be fooled into thinking that the boundaries, borders, and geographic features of our planet don’t matter any more. The geography of our planet provides a key to understanding important aspects of history and culture and provides a lens for focusing on issues that are “of the moment.” Knowing where something is by necessity establishes a relationship between places. With an understanding of place, we can gain a deeper insight into the people who inhabit that place while we simultaneously gain new insights about our own place in the world. It is these moments of insight that help to define us and our relationship to the larger world.
So much to be proud of in the middle school. With the third quarter just underway and second quarter reports about to go out, this is a great time to check in with your child about their developing strengths as scholars, technological innovators, and citizens of the world.
I hope that you will also make Monday, January 19th “A Day On and Not a Day Off” in honor of MLK and the historic inauguration of Barack Obama, which we will watch live as a Middle School community on Tuesday. Click here for a list of service opportunities for youth and families on the MLK holiday.
Be well,
Mark