FORT WAYNE – The National Weather Service in northern Indiana says northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio are likely to see more record-breaking heat on Monday.Maybe someday, there will be a new island formed just off the coast of Hawaii.
And maybe this island will be completely run on solar power and biofuel – which in layman’s terms is the breaking down of garbage to form renewable and safer energy than we have today.
This island, named Nono Miglio Mare Magnete, doesn’t exist in the physical world – yet. But it’s alive and well in the imaginations of six Woodside Middle School students whose creation earned them a trip to Washington, D.C., as part of the national Future Cities competition.
The team leaves Friday. A few weeks ago, the students exhibited a model of their creation in the regional portion of the Future Cities competition, which asked middle school students to build a sustainable city while thinking up new ways to meet the planet’s energy needs.
At the same time, these new energy sources had to keep the Earth safe.
Nono Miglio Mare Magnete – which translated from Italian is Nine Mile Sea Magnet, named because it sounded cool – garnered a first place at the regional competition, drawing surprise from the group’s members.
“We didn’t expect to win,” Chip Herendeen said. “It was shocking.”
The students said they began the project before Thanksgiving and worked on it after school and during winter break. They kept in touch through Google Docs, running ideas by each other and their teacher constantly, they said.
And each of them called it a team effort, with no one’s ego getting in the way.
“I was surprised when conflicts came up, or not even really conflicts but when they didn’t agree on something, how they handled it,” said Laura Smith, a science teacher at Woodside who worked with the group. “They each looked at what was best for the project.”
Recognitions
Will and Ginny Clark, Jack and Tammy Dyer, Diane Humphrey, Andy and Kathy O’Shaughnessy, and Ian and Mimi Rolland were named Jeremiah Milbank Society members by the Fort Wayne Boys and Girls Clubs.
Mariah Miller, a junior at Concordia Lutheran High School, has been selected to represent Indiana as a National Youth Correspondent at the 2012 Washington Journalism and Media Conference at George Mason University.
The following Allen County high school juniors were selected to represent their schools at the Lugar Symposium for Tomorrow’s Leaders: Srilatha Dasari, Anthony Kiefer, Luis Baeza, Mercylin Mbuguah, Anna Tatara, Amanda Fendel, Nataly Luja, Daniela Moeller, Alison Mansfield, Taryn Ahmed, Jordan Schoonover, Emily Warshaver, Katie Zellner, Natalie Archer, and Helen Lou. IPFW Chancellor Michael A. Wartell was recently named chairman of the Army Education Advisory Committee.
Scholarships
Fourth-grader Kevin Wang was a first-time champion at the Scholastic Chess of Indiana Individual State Finals, capturing the $1,000 Brian Yamin Scholarship.
Events
Sylvan Learning Center will offer 3 Group SAT/ACT Seminars on Sundays from noon to 3 p.m. in April, May and June. Call 436-2710 or 485-1330 for more information.
IPFW
The University Religious Forum will take place from noon to 1:15 p.m. Thursday in Walb Union, Rooms G-21 and G-21A.
Indiana Tech
Students interested in attending Indiana Tech in fall 2012 are invited to an open house from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday at the Fort Wayne campus. For more information or to register for the open house, call 422-5561 ext. 2205 or go to www.IndianaTech.edu/events.
