July 14th 2011

Byng students win e-CYBERMISSION awards

Three teams of Byng Junior High students are 2011 winners in the U.S. Army E-CYBERMISSION web-based national competition that promotes science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. Eleven students will receive a total of $18,000 in U.S. Savings Bonds for their research projects addressing community problems. Two other teams are Honorable Mentions for submitting high quality mission folders.

The Sleepy Heads team, comprised of ninth graders Andrea Burnsworth, Andrew Daniel, Haley Robertson, and Dylan West, won first place in Oklahoma and in the Southwest/Pacific region of the U.S. for their project focused on sleep deprivation of teenagers. Each team member will receive $3000 and an expense paid trip to the National Judging and Education Event in Washington, D.C., June 20-25. The Sleepy Heads will compete with three other 9th grade teams for the national 1st place award, which includes an additional $5000 for each team member.

Ninth grade team, The Wild Flowers, won second place in Oklahoma for their project based on the effects of indoor and outdoor plants on human physical and emotional health. Kelli Case, Wyatt Shaw, and Reid Wall will each receive $500 in Savings Bonds.

The Monarch Flutterbugs are second place 7th grade winners in Oklahoma for their project addressing the decline in monarch butterfly habitat and population in their migration path. Amanda Daniel, Kendall Fike, Anna Hatcher, and Halle Williams will each receive $500 in Savings bonds for their work.

Ninth grade teams recognized with Honorable Mentions are: Radon Riders team members Kai Jorgensen, Neil Jorgensen, Rebekah Perkins, and Ryan Rico for their project concerning indoor radon levels; and Food Factor team members Nikki Deering, Sean Jesse, and Katelyn Wade for raising awareness of the health risks of pesticides on food.

Projects of all teams included extensive research, experimentation, and data analysis. Students consulted with scientists and other experts, and communicated their findings in writing and during educational presentations. Many types of technology were used by the students.

Students on all teams will receive certificates of recognition from the U.S. Army and a STEM kit. They will also be recognized with an award from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) signed by Governor Mary Fallin and Michael Carolina, OCAST Executive Director.

Since 2005, Byng Junior High students have earned $164,000 in E-CYBERMISSION Awards from the U.S. Army. BJHS teacher sponsors are Linda Lancaster, 7th grade, and Deborah Cornelison, 9th grade.

Managed by the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., the eCYBERMISSION program awarded more than $800,000 to students from across the nation and in Department of Defense Education Activity schools overseas.

eCYBERMISSION is a free, web-based, STEM competition for students in grades six through nine. The eCYBERMISSION competition encourages and rewards students from a diverse range of proficiency levels, interests and backgrounds. Since the programs inception in 2002, eCYBERMISSION has awarded more than $7.6 million in U.S. EE Savings Bonds in support of the STEM leaders of tomorrow. The program allows students to compete for regional and national awards while working through the scientific method to solve problems in their communities.

The program selects teams with the two highest scores in each grade and region as the first-place and second-place regional winning teams. eCYBERMISSION also awards a team in each grade and region in four criteria award categories. These categories include Application of Science, Math & Technology; Innovation, Originality & Creativity; Benefit to the Community; and Team Collaboration & Communication. Each student on the 96 regional winning teams will be awarded a certificate of recognition from the U.S. Army and between $2,000 and $3,000 in U.S. EE Savings Bonds.

The team, Phone Zone, comprised of students Lindsey Fox, Devyn Harrison, Raygn Geiger and Sarah Sanford, and led by Team Advisor Deborah Cornelison, was recognized by the judges for informing the community of the potential health risks associated with using cell phones. Their experiments revealed that a majority of the students in their school were unaware of the potential health risks and that signal strength, location and placement of the phone all contributed to carrying electromagnetic field (EMF) levels. After compiling their results, the team created a video, PowerPoint presentation, brochure, PhotoStory, poster and web site to present to the students at their school.

The team, Swinger Patrol, comprised of students Anita Melendez, Crystal Tovar, Jessica Scott and Shadley Grove, and led by Team Advisor Linda Lancaster, was recognized by judges for its investigation into hazardous playground behaviors and equipment. Based on its research, experiments and observations, the team learned that elementary students have a high risk of being injured while playing on the playground and educating students will assist with decreasing risk of injury and help keep children safe.

We are extremely proud of each of the regional winning teams for their creative and innovative use of outstanding research, experimentation and analysis during this years eCYBERMISSION competition, said Maj. Gen. Nick G. Justice, commanding general, RDECOM. These students were selected from thousands of their peers, not only for their potential as future leaders in STEM but for their work to improve and make a positive impact on the communities in which they live.

Since inception, students from the Byng Junior High School have won $146,000 in U.S. EE Savings Bonds through the eCYBERMISSION competition.

More than 71,000 students from across the country and in U.S. territories and DoDEA schools worldwide have participated in the competition since 2002. This year, 13,218 students registered for eCYBERMISSION and formed more than 3,300 teams.

eCYBERMISSION will host the 2010 National Judging and Educational Event (NJ&EE) in Baltimore, Md., from June 20 26, 2010. The top 16 first-place regional winning teams will compete for an additional $5,000 in U.S. EE Savings Bonds and the national title in each grade.

For more information on the eCYBERMISSION program, the 2010 NJ&EE or for a complete listing of the 2010 eCYBERMISSION winning teams, contact Rachael Lighty at 1-866-GO-CYBER (462-9237) or visit www.ecybermission.com.

Similar Posts:

Share

Tags: Win, Win Ecybermission

No Comments yet »

Trackback URI

Leave a Reply

« | »