By: Asia Guting, Rhysa Lee, Aifua Moe (Highlands Voice student journalists)
What do building robots, crime busting, and CPR have in common? All three are science-based activities that Highlands Intermediate School students won at their state competition. They are going to national competitions in Nebraska, California, and Kentucky.
Science Olympiad is a competition where students compete in events pertaining to various scientific topics, such as anatomy and bridge building. Chanel Hunter, an 8th grader on Hui’ Manao is one of the 15 students who are on the winning team and will be heading to Linclon, Nebraska. Chanel said that it is very challenging becasue she had to learn a lot of information and it was very time consuming. “It feels great… it made me feel like I can acomplish greater things because I didn’t know I could reach those kinds of levels… and it also makes me feel like I can do good in the world,” Chanel said with a big smile.
Meanwhile, Ms. Okai and the Vex team will be going to Louisville, Kentucky for the Vex Middle School World Championship! Their task is design a robot which can build a skyriser, a tower out of cylinders and cubes. They will be going up against some of the best teams in the nation.The team members are Victor Menchaca, Alexander Meneses, Royce Shioi, Brayden Tanji, Dustin Tomi, and Mehgan Verdadero-Ting.
Next month, Highlands First Lego League team will be flying up to California for Nationals on May 15-17. This team of 10 members took 1st at regionals and states last year. All competitors have their own robot to complete tasks that the judges give them. They also have to understand core values and come up with an innovative solution to solve a real world problem. They work very hard, staying after school until 6 and never taking breaks on the weekends. They also have had professional help from the founder of Procpr.org Roy Shaw, Electrical Engineer Clyde Suzuki and Fire Operations Captain Hee. Proud member Kyle Makai is very nervous but is also ready for the challenges that come.
Principal Amy Martinson who will travel to the University of Nebraska-Linclon with the science olympiad team said, “I’m very proud of all of the students who were part of these major accomplishments. They bring honor to not only the school, but the state of Hawai’i.”
To read more articles from the Highlands Voice team of student journalists and photographers, log on to the Highlands Intermediate School web site at: http://www.highlands.k12.hi.us.
Photo courtesy of Highlands Intermediate School
Photo courtesy of Highlands Intermediate School
Photo courtesy of Highlands Intermediate School
Photo courtesy of Highlands Intermediate School