Tiger Talk
February 2013
FPS Goes into Third Year By: Zander Gibney Since 2010, fifth and sixth graders at NBE have been given a chance to compete in Future Problem Solvers (or FPS). In FPS, teams compete to solve problems inside a future scene--a futuristic setting with situations teams must identify and solve. Every so often, the topic of the future scenes changes. Currently, the topic is Megacities, or cities with a population over ten million. Fifth graders in FPS don’t do exactly the same thing the sixth graders do. They are getting to know and getting used to the FPS six-step process. When they are sixth graders, they will have a choice to become competitive and have a chance to go to the FPS State Bowl in Kearney, like the current sixth graders. This year, there are two sixth grade competitive teams. I asked two of the competitive sixth grade FPS members what they enjoyed the most about FPS, and here’s what they said: Kyle Jedlicka- “It’s fun trying to make it to state and the challenging, futuristic problems.”
Mrs. Cody monitors the sixth grade FPS class as they use Voice Thread to incorporate images and voice comments to learn more about the “megacities” concepts and vocabulary.
Louis Johnson- “I enjoy the feeling of having a completed booklet and solved problem at the end of every two hour session.” I also asked FPS state director and reading teacher here at NBE, Melissa Cody, why she first decided to bring FPS to our school. Her response: “I was involved in FPS as a kid and I wanted to bring that opportunity to the students at NBE.”
Last year, both sixth grade competitive FPS teams made it to the State Bowl in Kearney. One of the teams even earned third place. On February 18, 2013, the current teams held a two-hour session to make it to state. We will get the final information on March 4, 2013. Good luck and I hope you make it to state teams!