The month of March conjures up images of buzzer-beating shots in championship basketball and first shoots of spring. At the Manchester Elementary Middle School (MEMS), however, this particular March is shaping up as a milestone for the school’s progress in middle school math achievements. The success has been recognized and celebrated both inside and outside the classroom this school year.
“Our latest internal testing shows that across the school our students are showing growth and higher levels of achievement in math,” said MEMS Principal Harrison Shulman. “But the improvement is most prominently with our middle school students and not just in the classroom. We are making a name for our math prowess throughout the state.”
Last fall, MEMS fielded its first robotics team composed of 7th and 8th grade students. The group competed with 18 Vermont schools in the Southern Regional Tournament in Springfield and captured first place in the Innovation Project category. Members of the winning group included: Aaro Abetti, Maddie Marino, Mark Klobusicky, Aurora Meyer, and Roger Blackburn.
“After reaching out to an archeologist, Dr. Rachel Schiender, from Massachusetts, the kids designed their own model for a shovel sifter,” said MEMS math instructor and Robotics Coach Scott Diedrich. “It’s a device used in archeology to sift and separate soil, gravel, and other materials. Our team used a 3-D printer to build their sifter and added magnets to pull out metals. It was pretty cool to see and the judges agreed.”
That performance earned them a place in the statewide Robotic Championships in Essex, Vermont. A winter snowstorm derailed the MEMS participation in the competition, but the enthusiasm is already building at MEMS for next year’s robotics campaign.
MEMS also continues to build its statewide reputation in the Vermont Mathcounts Championships. This tournament allows middle school students to demonstrate their math skills in both individual and team competition.
In February, the MEMS Mathcounts team captured its fourth straight Southwest Vermont Mathcounts crown, this time ahead of second place Maple Street at Mount Saint Joseph High School, in Rutland. The four person winning team included 8th graders Noah Kent, Chris Gihooly, and Zoey Santelli, as well as sixth grader Jasper LaConte. In the individual competition, LaConte and Kemp finished one and two respectively in the event. MEMS also qualified two additional individuals, Roger Blackburn and Mission Moraga Gray.
On Saturday, March 21st, the MathCounts team answered an early wake up call for a drive to the University of Vermont and the chance to compete for a state title.
“Unfortunately, we did finish in the top three for teams and no one placed in the top four individually,” said Diedrich who doubles as the Mathcounts coach.. “The students all worked extremely hard to prepare and the competition was intense. I am extremely proud of each and every one of them.”
The MEMS embracement of math this month includes more than statewide competitions. During the week of March 23rd, MEMS hosted visitors from the University of Albany who demonstrated how to pilot drones and robots around obstacles set up in the gymnasium. The kids got a chance to try their hand behind the wheel, too.
Math will also be a key element of the middle school Capstone Projects this month at MEMS, where kids demonstrate their growing range of knowledge in addressing real world problems. Math anchors the STEM learning model of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math that lies at the core of the Capstone Projects.
And while the middle school mathematicians showcase their learning, there are signs that the numbers-based performance is sustainable at MEMS. For the first time, MEMS fifth graders this year participated in the STARBASE program run by the US Government, in Rutland. The five week project allows students to roll up their sleeves to perform a number of STEM related tasks including robotics and rocketry. Their enthusiasm for STARBASE bodes well for continued math gains as they enter middle school next fall.
(Photo above: Mathcounts Coach Scott Diedrich (left) stands proudly with the MEMS Vermont Southwest Regional Champions/ Chris Gihooly, Jasper LaConte, Noah Kent, and Zoey Santelli.)
The MEMS Robotics Team gather with their coaches at the Southern Vermont Regional Tournament in Springfield.
MEMS fifth graders give hands-on learning in science, technology, engineering, and Math at STARBASE.