Middle School News

Middle School Participates in Capital Regional Science and Engineering Fair

Several Middle School students took advantage of the opportunity to participate in the Capital Regional Science and Engineering Fair. 7th grader, Nishi Bhanderi, placed first in her category of Behavioral and Social Sciences and received a special award from The Office of Naval Research, as well as advanced to the State Science Fair. Her project dealt with how having a purpose affects times in running a set distance, and she was later featured on the on-line education company, Coursera’s, Instagram feed. Diya Patel placed second in the category of Cellular/Molecular Biology and Biochemistry with a project dealing with amounts of DNA in organic versus non-organic strawberries, Suhani Gawde placed second in the category of Plant Sciences. Belen Rambana, Caroline Couch, and Evie Romano also competed in the Science Fair.

Middle School Space Project

Each year, Maclay’s inspired 6th Grade students launch into discovering all things space-related. The research and creative projects culminated with a grand exhibit showcased in the library during the Celebration of the Arts. Mrs. Kutter led the way exploring the history of the Space Race. Students research important milestones of the Space Race and create political cartoons. Together, the class told the story with a powerful Space Race timeline. Mr. Dickson’s classes wrote STEM-inspired poetry, and Ms. Barton’s students explored Space Science benefits for humanity. These unique opportunities allowed our 6th grade students to dig deeper into exploration and discovery through an authentic learning experience.

Middle School Astronaut Challenge

Our Middle School Student Astronaut Challenge Team ended their time together with impressive accomplishments. After making it into the final competition, the team placed 3rd overall in the Engineering Challenge and placed 1st in Patch Design.

8th Grade History Fair

The 8th grade class participated in the National History Day Contest. Congratulations to Collins Barton and Megan Vegas (1st place) and Jamie Maloy and Easton Steffen (3rd place) in the State competition.

8th Grade End of Year Celebration

The Middle School Administration and teachers put together a fun end-ofthe-year celebration that included games, a cookout, music party, and a lot of class bonding as part of the official send-off to Upper School.

7th Grade “Trip”

The 7th Grade Washington DC trip looked a lot different this year. Due to the COVID travel restrictions, the Middle School team came up with a fun yet educational alternative for our 7th graders. The students started the day off with a virtual tour of the Supreme Court, followed by group activities and a virtual tour of the Spy Museum. Guests from the FSU Reservation came to campus to coordinate games and team bonding activities. After a barbeque dinner, students set up their individual tents on the practice field and watched a movie on the big screen. Everyone enjoyed the campfire, s’mores, music, and flashlight tag games later in the evening.

Middle School Spelling Bee

Hawa-Larai Hurrana won the Middle School Spelling Bee and advanced to the regional championship. Congratulations to our finalists Ethan

McIntyre, Melody Yu, Diya

Patel, Sophie Lombard, and

Megan Vegas!