SYCAMORE NEWS

Sycamore’s Science Bowl Team

Sycamore 5th in Nation at National Science Bowl Championships

Sycamore School, who won its regional competition in March for the 2022 National Science Bowl (NSB), competed in the NSB National Finals on July 9-11 in Washington, D.C. Sycamore finished 5th in the nation. The school’s previous best was a national runner-up finish in 2016. Five former Sycamore 8th graders, now high school freshmen, traveled to Washington D.C. to compete against the best teams in the nation. Owen Zhang, Justin Puno, Connor Kacena-Merrell, Sophie Liang, and Alex Cheng represented Sycamore School in two days of competitions, including the Cyber Challenge (6 hours), the Discovery Challenge (2 hours), and the main event, National Science Bowl (8 hours). The team was coached by David Schuth, Sycamore Middle School Science Teacher. While in D.C. the team was also able to take in some of the sights after the days of the competition.

Science Bowl 2022-23 Team Announced

A group of 29 students from 6th-8th Grades pitted their wits and knowledge against each other in competition to earn a spot on the 2022-23 Science Bowl Team. “This year’s competition was especially close and highly competitive,” Science Bowl coach, David Schuth, says. “There were five people tying for the last four slots.”

2022-23 SCIENCE BOWL TEAM:

Derek Ai (8) Alex Bramhill (7) Sonali Guttikonda (8) Sawyer Jackson (7) Riva Jain (8) Shayen Maun (7) Isaac Rabuck (8) Justin Warren (7) Sameer Zaidi (8) Nathan Zhang (8)

New Video Release: How and Why Series

Episodes of the new “How and Why “ digital series are online on the Sycamore YouTube channel. In the first episode, released earlier this fall, we peek behind-the-scenes with Chrissy Sweigart and her art students to watch them create their own prints, hear her talk about the history of printmaking, and how she learned the craft, and why the process is so satisfying for students. Thus far, six episodes have been released.

Parent Education Series Events for Winter

Upcoming events:

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2:15 PM

Sycamore’s Math Curriculum, hosted by Ruth Moll, Jean Wright, and Trent Tormoehlen

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 8:15 AM

Six Traits of Writing, hosted by Deb Stewart and Beth Simpson

Food Drive Surpasses Goal With Crooked Creek Donation

The Sycamore students and families contributed in record numbers to the Spirit Week Food Drive for the Crooked Creek Food Pantry in September. Sycamore was able to donate 6,125 items—over one ton of food—to the pantry. Early Childhood: 1,906 items Lower School: 2,166 items Middle School: 2,053 items The director of Crooked Creek, Steve Claffey, expressed his appreciation of the entire Sycamore community, telling students that he is thankful the families of Sycamore are invested in the health and well-being of those in our community. He is especially grateful that the food donated by Sycamore families was the same type of food we would share with our families at home, which is especially meaningful for the recipients of the donations.

Sycamore Middle School teacher Beth Simpson donates during the October blood drive at Sycamore.

Sycamore Holds Blood Drive

Sycamore’s Wellness Committee hosted a blood drive on October 27. Each year, more than four million people need blood transfusions. Blood donations bring hope to the families of premature babies, cancer warriors, trauma patients, and countless others. The Wellness Committee (a committee of ten Sycamore employees) that serves to strengthen our staff community through health and wellness activities, organized the event as part of Sycamore’s community service. All donated blood went directly to our local hospitals, where it will help the people in our community.

Sycamore Students Earn Summer Competition Honors

Academic Competition

The International Academic Competitions Elementary & Middle School US National Championships was held in June 2022 in Orlando, Florida, with more than 1,200 students from around the country in attendance, including several from Sycamore. In the 6th Grade Division Evan Ting placed 1st for the Historical Geography Exam. Sameer Zaidi reached the semifinals in the 7th Grade Division of the US History Bee and the National History Bee and the quarterfinals of the National Science Bee. Ting was also 3rd for the US Military History Exam, 4th for the Asian History Exam, and made the finals of the US History Bee (placing 5th overall) and the Academic Bee (placing 6th overall). Evan also made the quarterfinals of the National History Bee and the National Science Bee, and the octofinal for the International Geography Bee.

National History Day

The National History Day Contest took place over the summer with five Sycamore students representing the state of Indiana for this year’s theme of “Debate and Diplomacy.” Shayen Maun placed 5th in the country in the Junior Individual Documentary category with his submission “Ping-Pong Diplomacy: Thawing the Ice between China and the USA One Shot at a Time.” Avery Neumeister placed 6th in the country in the Junior Individual Exhibit category with her submission, “Panda Diplomacy: It’s Not Black and White.” Both were the top placing finalists across all categories in submissions representing Indiana.

History Olympiad

The International History Olympiad was held in July in Princeton, New Jersey and included participants from 27 states and 15 countries. In the Elementary Division, the team of Evan Ting (captain), Gavin Sigua, and Albert Zhang representing the state of Indiana finished 2nd in the International History Bowl and 3rd in the Hexathlon. For the Overall Individual Olympiad Championship, Sigua finished 2nd and Ting finished 8th in the Elementary Division. For Ting, Top 10 Finishes in Bee Competitions included the International History Bee (7th), History of STEM (2nd), Visual History (3rd), Recent History (3rd), Knockout (4th), Art History (4th), Scramble (6th) and Blitz (7th). Top 10 multiple choice exam finishes include the International History Battery Exam (6th), American Indian History Exam (4th), East Asian History Exam (4th), and South Asian History Exam (9th). Sigua finished 2nd in the Short Answer Written Exam and 1st for the Legacy of Alexander the Great Historical Simulation. Gavin also had several Top 10 Finishes in Bee Competitions included the International History Bee (5th), Recent History (6th), Knockout (9th), Art History(5th), Scramble (8th) and Blitz (5th) as well as the American Indian History Exam (8th).