12 minute read
NEWS + NOTES
SYCAMORE
NEWS + NOTES
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VEX ROBOTICS TEAMS COMPETE AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Sycamore 6th and 7th grade VEX robotics teams finished their season by competing in the VEX World Robotics Championships on April 29 -May 1 in Louisville, Kentucky. The 6th grade team finished in 80th place, while the 7th grade team finished 95th place in the event, which included 396 teams. Both groups set their season high scores in their Alliance and Teamwork runs that included working with teams from China, Finland, the United Kingdom, and 14 different states within the United States. Easily beating expectations, the 6th grade team finished 30th while the 7th grade team finished in 58th in the Alliance and Teamwork
sections. All three of Sycamore’s VEX IQ robotics teams, earlier in the spring, competed with more than 300 teams in the Indiana State Robotics Championships at Lucas Oil Stadium. The 6th grade team scored a season high in both driving and programming, finishing third in the state in the Skills Challenge. The team’s programming score was a close second overall. The 7th grade team finished 13th overall in the Skills Challenge and narrowly missed the finals in Alliance by one point. The 5th grade team had a season-high driving skills score. n
BORGMANN INDUCTED INTO HEADMASTERS ASSOCIATION
Sycamore School’s Diane Borgmann was inducted into the Country Day Schools Headmasters’ Association in Chicago in June. CDHSA is a professional association of 100 independent school heads from around the country. Membership is by invitation only. n
SYMPHONIC BAND TOURS ST. LOUIS
The Sycamore Symphonic Band made a trip to St. Louis in April, visiting the St. Louis Basilica, participating in a clinic given by the bassoonists from the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and learning about ragtime music at Scott Joplin’s house. n
EARTH DAY AT SYCAMORE TWINS FROM SYCAMORE WITH EVA KOR
SYCAMORE 6TH GRADER EARNS GREEK MYTHOLOGY SILVER MEDAL
Sycamore 6th grade student, Nigel Cronin, who has a strong interest in ancient mythology and classical literature, received a Silver Medal on the National Greek Mythology Exam administered this spring. Nigel obtained a perfect score on the Greek Mythology test, a perfect score on the theme “Ancient Beginnings,” and he missed a perfect score by one question on the Homer’s Odyssey test. Typically, fewer than 15% of the more than 10,000 3rd-12th grade students around the world who take the National Mythology Exam qualify for Gold or Silver medals. n
4TH GRADE CELEBRATES EARTH DAY
The 4th grade held an Earth Day Festival for EC and LS students on April 20. Students created, planned, and developed their own Earth Day booths and welcomed parents and students to come and learn from the
Sycamore ecology experts! n
STUDENTS VOTE 7TH GRADERS TRAVEL FOR AUDIENCE WITH EVA KOR
Sycamore 7th graders made their annual visit to see Holocaust and Josef Mengele survivor, Eva Kora, and hear her share her inspiring story. Mrs. Kor, full of energy and spunk, spoke to our the students for more than 90 minutes. Afterwards, students had a chance to take pictures with her and ask questions. The CANDLES Museum in Terre Haute is now one of the three museums
in the country that is in the initial stage of preserving Holocaust survivors’ stories by creating holograms of the survivors. While there, students were able to ask a virtual Mrs. Kor a
variety of questions, and through the software developed by New Dimensions in Technology, listened to her funny and often poignant answers. To create the program, Kor was taped answering over 1500 questions, sometimes giving multiple answers to the same question. For example, the first-time students asked her favorite food, they learned that as a child, she enjoyed eating foods found on her farm, yet the second time they asked, they learned she now enjoys Chicken McNuggets at McDonalds. n
GIRL SCOUT TROOPS COLLECT SLEEPWEAR FOR SHELTER
Kindergarten through 8th grade Sycamore Girl Scout troops, in conjunction with this year’s World Thinking Day theme of Impact, collected and donated nearly 300 pairs of new pajamas, socks, and underwear for children and adults to a local homeless shelter. n
STUDENT PODCASTS MAKE DEBUT
Sycamore kicked off the “Eagle’s Nest” student podcasts on iTunes this spring, with two students interviewing each other about a particular book. It is a podcasting format created by middle school teachers, Beth Koehler and Beth Simpson. The first episode featured Brooklynn Sequeira and Jaclyn Copeland talking about Katherine Rundell’s book “Rooftoppers.” The second podcast released was a review of “The Red Pyramid” from Heidi Momodu and Kavi Shankar.
You can find all the podcasts on iTunes, by searching for Sycamore School. n
THE SYCAMORE DESTINATION IMAGINATION TEAM TOMMY KAPLAN & EMMA HERMACINSKI
DESTINATION IMAGINATION TEAM EARNS TRIP TO GLOBAL FINALS
The Sycamore Intelligence Squad, a 5th grade Destination Imagination team, earned a spot at Global Finals in Knoxville, Tennessee in May with a strong performance in the state competition. At the Globals, they joined 17,000 other students from 19 countries to compete, and placed 25th of 57 teams in their division of the “Maze Craze” challenge. According to the coaches, the top half is a huge honor for a first-year team. The DI competition combines STEM and the arts. Each team has a storytelling component combined with a science/technology piece. Sycamore was also chosen to represent Indiana in the Parade of Nations at Opening Ceremonies. At the state competition, the team (Emily Hackwelder, Nate Liang, Avi Maun, Alex Munn, Insia Zaidi, Lukas Fiur) placed second in the middle level Maze Craze technical challenge. Kathy Hackwelder and Jill Fiur were the team managers for the Sycamore DI teams. n
KAPLAN, HERMACINSKI COMPLETE MINI-MARATHON
Two Sycamore School 8th graders, Tommy Kaplan and Emma Hermacinski, ran the One America Mini Marathon in Indianapolis in May and finished in under two hours. Emma ran the 13.1 mile race in a time of 1 hour 59
minutes, while Tommy ran a personal best of 1 hour and 44 minutes. It was Tommy’s second Mini Marathon and Emma’s fourth. n
The Sycamore Academic Olympic team won the Academic Olympics at Cathedral High School for the 4th consecutive year in 2017-18, clinching the title with a 56-40 win over St. Simon. Congratulations to team members Henley Lynch, Vishnu Iyer, Emma Hermacinski, Jeremy Smart, Max Pfeffer, Miguel Spalding-Price, and coach, Tony Young. n
SYCAMORE 3RD GRADERS DONATE BOX TOP MONEY TO THREE CHARITIES
Sycamore 3rd grade students nominated organizations to be the recipients of their Box Top money. The class donated to FARE (food allergy research), ASPCA, and Riley Children’s Hospital. Each organization received $250. n
THREE NAMED SYMPHONY IN COLOR WINNERS
Megan France, a 6th grader, was chosen as a Finalist at this year’s Symphony in Color Competition. Nate Liang (grade 5) and Sophie Liang (grade 4), each received Honorable Mention. All three
works were exhibited at the State Museum
from April 2 to May 4. It is estimated that over 11,000 students across the state participated in the art contest, which is sponsored by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Association. n
TOM RIDGELY SYCAMORE CHESS TEAM
SYCAMORE ALUM NAMED HEAD OF ST. LOUIS SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
Tom Ridgely (’93) has been named the new Executive Producer of the Shakespeare Festival in St. Louis. After graduating from Indiana University, Ridgely and a friend headed for New York to start their own theater. Now the director
is taking on a bigger challenge. Ridgely, who moved to St. Louis in May with his wife, Jennifer Thompson, to take on the position, was chosen after a nine-month national search. He succeeds
Rick Dildine, who left to become artistic director at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. “The festival board members are excited that we
have found in Tom Ridgely a leader who will provide the artistic vision, entrepreneurial talent, organizational management skills and inspired drive toward innovation essential to Shakespeare Festival St. Louis’ continued growth,” Penny Pennington, board chair for the festival, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Tom’s expertise will ensure the festival continues to be a key contributor to the arts in our region.” n
CHESS TEAM EARNS 2ND PLACE AT REGIONAL
Sycamore competed at the Scholastic Chess of Indiana Team Regional and the 3rd grade and under team was composed of first grader, Madison Brown; second grader, Aditya Bhatia; and third graders, Benjamin Murray and John Coutant, and earned second place. n
THREE STUDENTS CHOSEN TO FILM FOR DESTINATION IMAGINATION
Congrats to Sycamore students Savannah Reymer, Kaia Starnino, and Cate Freudenberg, who were chosen by the national Destination Imagination organization to be a part of explaining to the rest of the country the new challenges in the DI team challenge competition. The winners had to qualify by reading a script, recording it, and then putting their audition on YouTube. The students
flew to New Jersey to film for the new scripts. Destination Imagination works with educators to develop seven new academic challenges in the fields of STEM, the arts, social entrepreneurship, and early learning. n
Sycamore students were members of the Indiana Jr. All-State Band in Fort Wayne for rehearsals and a performance at the IMEA (Indiana Music Educators Association) Convention in 2018. Eighth graders Luke Nargang (bari saxophone) and Eli Beheler (euphonium) joined a group conducted by Dr. Mark Spede, director of bands at Clemson University. A total of 350 students state-wide in grades 7-9 auditioned for the ensemble. n
SCIENCE BOWL TEAM FINISHES 2ND AT REGIONAL
Sycamore’s Science Bowl team finished 2nd in the regional competition in February, losing by one question in the finals. They were 4-1 in the round robin portion of the event. The squad lost their first match in the headto-head double elimination portion, forcing them to advance through the losers bracket. They swept through that competition, earning a spot in the final before narrowly losing to Carmel Creekside Middle School. n
SYCAMORE 1ST GRADER COMPETES IN NATIONAL ELEMENTARY CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP
Sycamore first grade student, Madison Brown, represented Indiana in the 2018 National Elementary Chess Championships in Nashville, Tennessee. This three-day tournament brought more than 2,000 of the top scholastic chess players and 650 teams from all over the nation. Madison competed in the K-1 Championship and ranked in the top 100 at the end of 7 matches. With a USCF rating of 698, Madison is now ranked #43 in the US by the United States Chess Federation for Top 100 Girls 7 and under. n
TANDRA WINS WRITING AWARD
For the second year in a row, a student from Sycamore has been selected as one of the five winners nationwide in the SBO (School Band Orchestra) Magazine essay contest. Sycamore fourth grader, Riti Tandra, was awarded a $1,000 cash scholarship for her winning essay in the grade 4-8 category. n
MADISON BROWN
WESLEY WONG WINS CONCERTO COMPETITION
Sycamore 4th grader, Wesley Wong, won the New World Philharmonic Concerto
Competition this spring. An accomplished violinist, he also performed, accompanied by the orchestra, at the Hilbert Circle Theatre on May 6. In addition, he regularly performs a stunning rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at various sporting events, including Sycamore home basketball games this year and a Purdue University baseball game this spring in West Lafayette. n
ABBY CHENG EARNS DISTRICT SPELLING TITLE: SECOND IN REGIONAL
Sycamore 6th grader, Abby Cheng, won both the Sycamore Spelling Bee and the North District Spelling Bee (for schools in Washington, Lawrence, Pike, and Wayne Townships, plus Speedway Schools, as well as any schools in Center Township that are not in the IPS system). She advanced to Regionals where she finished in second place. n
SEIFERT NAMED PRESENTER AT CENTRAL INDIANA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME
Sophie Seifert, a Sycamore 3rd grader, was the youngest out of the ten chosen by Junior Achievement Biztown to present at the Central Indiana Business Hall of Fame Gala in April. JA Biztown selects 10 kids each year from the 10,000 students who participate in the Biztown program to be involved in the black-tie event. Sophie had the privilege of introducing one of the laureates being inducted into the hall of fame. Sycamore teachers, Doris Fulwider and Erin Hellman, also attended the event. n
WESLEY WONG
Sycamore’s Middle School math team competed at the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire in the annual Exeter Math Club Competition. The EMCC included many of the top math teams from the New England area, but it also included teams like Sycamore that travel from across the country, and multiple international teams that travel from as far away as China. n
THOMPSON WINS GEOGRAPHY BEE
Congratulations to Charlotte Thompson for winning the school’s 2018 Geography Bee. Evan Guenthner finished 2nd.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR FINALISTS:
5TH GRADE: ALEX LIPKOVICH, LUKAS FIUR
6TH GRADE: MARIE COUTANT, KADEN XU
7TH GRADE: EVAN GUENTHNER, JULIA THOMPSON, CHARLOTTE THOMPSON
8TH GRADE: EMMA HERMACINSKI, DYLAN SHELTON n
ISMMA STATE WINNERS
MATHCOUNTS FINISHES 5TH AT STATE COMPETITION
The Sycamore MATHCOUNTS team took home 5th place out of more than 40 teams at the State MATHCOUNTS
competition at Rose Hulman. Individually, Sycamore was led by Olivia Williamson. Olivia was also the top scoring female at the contest. This marks the eighth time in the past 10 years that Sycamore has had the top female competitor at the state MATHCOUNTS competition. In addition to Williamson, team members included Jeremy Smart, Steven Sun, Miguel SpaldingPrice, and Grace Yang. Smart and Sun also finished among the top 24 competitors and qualified for the Countdown Round. Sycamore was the only team that had all 10 of its students qualify for the state competition. The other students competing for Sycamore were Karolena Zhou, Vishnu Iyer, Tanay Acharya, Akshay Guttikonda, and Nelson You. n
GRANLUND RECEIVES BAND AWARD
Sycamore School’s Band Director, Candi Granlund, received the New World Youth Orchestras Music Educator Award in May. She was nominated by Sycamore grad Madalyn Sailors, who wrote an essay describing how Granlund has influenced her life with music. New World Youth Orchestra, an organization based in Indianapolis, gives the award annually, to honor those who “develop the musical talent and nurture the personal growth of young people in Indianapolis and central Indiana through the rehearsal and performance of orchestral masterworks, both traditional and contemporary.” n
SYCAMORE MUSICIANS WIN GOLD, SILVER AT ISSMA STATE SOLO AND ENSEMBLE
Seven Sycamore School band students participated in the ISSMA State Solo and Ensemble festival at North Central High School. Congratulations to all the medal winners, and to Eli Beheler who qualified for the State event but was unable to perform due to an injury.
GOLD MEDAL: RHEA BHATIA,
ELLIE CHILDRESS, ELLA LONGORIA, JESSICA GODFREY
ALTO SAXOPHONE SOLO | GOLD MEDAL:
JESSIE GODFREY
BARI SAXOPHONE SOLO | GOLD MEDAL:
LUKE NARGANG
FLUTE SOLO | SILVER MEDAL: RHEA BHATIA
CLARINET TRIO | SILVER MEDALS:
AVA CABELLON, ELLIE CHILDRESS,
ELLA LONGORIA n
