Event Pictures
Members of the Albert G. Prodell NJHS that worked on the
Random Acts of Kindness chain.
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Congratulations to the winners of the PTA Reflections Contest:
Sophia Burke
Maegan Letscher
Joseph Brown
Samantha Hunt
Sarah Scarbrough
Jordan McClintock
Campbell Brant
Flame Challenge
Recently, Alan Alda threw down the gauntlet to scientist worldwide to explain what a flame is in a way that 11 and 12 year-olds could understand. The response was phenomenal; both from scientists and students who offered to judge the entries. Mrs. DeSimone’s Science classes offered to assist as judges. The students were very enthusiastic about their roles and took the job of judging very seriously. Initially, the team received 10 entries to evaluate. Later they were asked to review the final 7 finalists.
The range of entries ranged from long texts to cartoon videos. There were two incredible entries among the final seven and the students found it difficult to discern which the best was. Both were so creative. The winner was announced on June 3rd and the winner was one of the class favorites. If you have a chance, take a look at the final entries at
flamechallenge.com. You will most definitely learn what a flame is!
Mrs. Peterson's 8th Grade Students
Long Island, like so many areas, has traffic congestion problems. Many experts believe the best way to solve this problem is to design new transportation systems. One approach is to develop "MAGLEV" vehicles which float over a fixed track, supported (levitated) and driven by magnetic fields. This is like flying with lift provided by magnets instead of wings. At Albert G Prodell the eighth grade students in Mrs. Petersons technology classes designed and constructed prototype MAG -LEV vehicles. The top 15 students from Prodell competed against middle schools from all over long island at the Brookhaven National Lab magnetic levitation competition on March 28,2012. We are proud to announce that we had three winners in the five categories. Noelle Aronica took bronze in the scale model division, Matthew Corona took bronze in the futuristic division and Justin Hackle brought home the silver in the gravity category. Congratulations to the Prodell MS Tech Team.
7th Grade Students Produce Alternative Energy
Sixteen 7th grade Technology students attended an alternative energy production contest. These students worked during their lunch and recreation periods to design and create wind turbines to test in wind tunnels at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City. The students each designed a set of turbine blades which would be the most efficient at producing energy. Eight different groups tested a specific scientific variable that would affect the efficiency of the turbine. These scientific variables included length, weight, shape, material, blade pitch, gearing, quantity of blades, and air foil design. Students recorded and graphed their results. Students hypothesized about their designs and drew conclusions based on their findings. At the Kid Wind design competition the students presented their findings to a group of judges. The judges questioned and evaluated the students on their ability to defend their decisions on blade designs. The students competed against other middle schools from Long Island. Our students took second and third place in the Kid Wind Challenge For Wind Turbine Alternative Energy Production.
WRITERS' CELEBRATION
50 students from the Albert G. Prodell Middle School celebrated their writing and artistic talents at a breakfast on April 5th.
The students contributed writings on key topics of interest to the upcoming 6th grade class of 2012-13 into an orientation book that each 5th grader will receive at the spring orientations.
NJHS- Soles for Souls collection.
Seventh graders in Mrs. Moschetti and Mrs. Senneca's social studies classes demonstrated their knowledge of the US Constitution by creating projects that “enlightened” us on our constitutional principles. Students selected their projects based on their personal learning patterns. They were able to pick from choices that ranged from an A to Z flip book/scrapbook, essay, poster, model, and a letter to a representative. Many students chose to write letters to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and we are looking forward to getting responses back.