Sierra Madre Students Excel at Math Field Day and County Science Fair

On April 21,  Principal Gayle Bluemel announced that four SMS students had garnered exceptional awards in the county's science fair.

These 8^th grade students won a variety of prizes at the L.A. County Science Fair, held April 14 - 16 at the Pasadena Convention Center. They are now registered to participate in the State level at the California Science Center on May 2 and 3.

Additionally, 8th grader Nathaniel Thompson has been nominated to compete not only at State level, but also at the National level. 

Here's a look at our local students who took home awards and accolades:

Project Title: Are The Dosing Devices for OTC Liquid Pediatric Medicines Accurate?

Category: PHARMACOLOGY (J)

Third Place - Sierra Madre Middle School Science Fair

First Place - Pasadena Unified School District Science Fair

First Place - Los Angeles County Science Fair

Nominee - California State Science Fair

Nominee - Bradcom MASTERS^TM National competition for middle school students

Project Title: Visible Sound: Does the Surface Material Affect the Visible Patterns Created by Sound Vibrations?

Category: PHYSICS - GENERAL (J-1)

Hon. Mention – Sierra Madre Middle School Science Fair

Third Place – Los Angeles County Science Fair

Nominee - California State Science Fair

Project Title: Can Light Measure the Strength of Brewed Tea?

Category: PHYSICS - GENERAL (J-1)

Second Place – Sierra Madre Middle School Science Fair

Second Place – Pasadena Unified School District Science Fair

Hon. Mention – Los Angeles County Science Fair

Project Title:  Enzyme Catalyzed Reactions: How Does Temperature Affect Their Rates?

Category: PHYSICS - GENERAL (J-2)

First Place – Sierra Madre Middle School Science fair

Hon. Mention – Pasadena Unified School District Science Fair

Hon. Mention – Los Angeles County Science Fair

Nominee - California State Science Fair

These awards come on the heels of a SMS strong showing at Pasadena Unified School District’s Math Field Day, held at Eliot Middle School on Saturday, March 26. Armen Antonian, an SMS staffer, taught the 7^th grade Math Field Day team for the school.

In an email to Patch, Antonian summed up the proud moments for the math teams:

“Sierra Madre School won first place in all the grades that it competed in: from 4th to 8th in this year's Pasadena Unified School District competition. Our teams A and B (2 teams of 4 are allowed) won first and second place overall in the competition for 7th grade in the district.  The competition categories were Problem Solving, Number Sense, Statistics and Probability and Geometry. Our winning team will go on to compete at the Los Angeles County Math Field Day competition.”

Of the months long training and preparation process, Antonian continued:

“I pick the students based on previous year's math scores and how well they do initially in 7th grade Algebra 1. The students train once a week for several months after school.  On the day of the competition, everyone, students, parents, administrators, teachers, meet in our festive tie-dyed shirts (which students and parents help to create) before the competition.  Then, students are led to their rooms.  Two hours later everyone is back in the auditorium for the exciting awards assembly. Winning students get medals and ribbons and the winning school gets the annual trophy to keep until the next year!”

According to PTA president, Melissa Moore Castillo, teams took 1st place overall in 4th and 5^th grade and 3 rd place overall in 4th grade. The full roster of final team placement is listed in the PDF images with this article.

The top teams will go on to the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) Math Field Day to be held on June 4, 2011.