Science Olympiad
After winning the state regional championship for the seventh time in a decade, a student team at Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic School will likely head to Georgia in May to represent the region in the National Science Olympiad Tournament.
The tournaments consist of about two dozen events requiring knowledge in biology, Earth science, chemistry, physics and technical writing.
The school started preparing for the competition in September, with students constructing airplanes, catapults, robots and bridges.
The pre-K-8 school, 1800 S. Kolb Road, is embarking on a drive to raise the $20,000 it will cost for the students, coaches and chaperones to attend the tournament, which will be held at Augusta State University on May 15-16.
To learn more, contact the school at 747-1027.
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Put down that cheeseburger, kiddo
Apollo Middle School students were challenged last week to work on their nutrition as part of a nearly $2 million research grant to reduce the risk of obesity and diabetes over three years.
Under the grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Carol M. White Physical Education Program, the YMCA of Southern Arizona, in partnership with the University of Arizona Nutritional Sciences Department and the Sunnyside Unified School District, are working in large part through student leaders to encourage physical activity, nutrition education and character development among students in sixth through eighth grades.
Students on Monday played Nutrition Jeopardy at lunch, held a fruit-tasting on Tuesday and participated in a blindfolded vegetable taste test on Thursday.
The challenge is part of a districtwide effort to boost physical activity and improve nutrition among Sunnyside Unified School District middle school students.
Roughly 87 percent of students in the district are Hispanic, with another 4 percent American Indian. Both groups are at higher risk for obesity and diabetes than Anglo students.
Drug-free winners
Four students from St. Johns High School won a video competition sponsored by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
Students were challenged to create a short video highlighting how they stay away from the influence of drugs and alcohol.
The students — Andrew Madrid, Wesley Ollerton, Lawson Neilsen and Kyler Lee — will share $500 for their one-minute video, which may be seen at www.PartnerUpAz.org /contest
Meanwhile, Attorney General Terry Goddard is asking eighth-graders to participate in a poster contest to convince peers of the dangers of methamphetamine.
Participants are asked to submit original posters that will stop teens from ever trying the drug by incorporating the message "Meth NOT EVEN ONCE."
Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. on April 15, with results announced in May. Contest winners will receive first-, second- and third-place prizes of $500, $250 and $100. Winning works will be used in a statewide public-awareness campaign about the dangers of meth. Go to www.azag.gov for additional information and contest rules.
Another link between Disney and TUSD
Tucson Unified School District Superintendent Elizabeth Celania-Fagen has held Disney up as an operational model.
She has long recommended "The Disney Way" to staff members trying to understand more about the company's take on delivering high-quality customer service and how the strategies might be adapted for the state's second-largest school district.
Now there's another Disney-TUSD connection.
The Opening Minds through the Arts program will be featured in "Pixar Passion: Getting to Creativity," a book by author Bill Capodagli, who wrote "The Disney Way" and who will be interviewing students, teachers and administrators about the importance of art and creativity.
The book will be published by McGraw-Hill in the fall.
