Stillwater and Halsted Schools do well in TransOptions Sprints

HARDYSTON — TransOptions announces the Division 2 winners of the 11th annual Junior Solar Sprints Competition (JSS) held on May 14, at Hardyston Middle School.

JSS is an Environmental Education program hosted by TransOptions, a non-profit, at no cost to middle school students, teachers or schools.

“Hosting the Junior Solar Sprints Competition demonstrates TransOptions commitment to the helping future generations learn about an alternative fuel, conserving resources and helping the environment,” comments John F. Ciaffone, TransOptions President. “We are proud to support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education with content that aligns to New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards and gratified by the ongoing success of this enrichment program."

Race day is the culmination of months of preparation by more than 3,500 students from 52 middle schools participating this year.

The teams started on a level playing field; each receiving basic components including a solar panel, a motor, wheels and axles along with rules for the Competition. Next came weeks of applying creativity, teamwork and science skills to design and build their unique model racing cars.

During the process, the students witnessed alternative energy first-hand as they harnessed solar energy to power their racing cars down the 66 foot long track.

Entries are judged in the categories of Speed, Engineering, Craftsmanship and Best Use of Recycled Materials. Each team is also required to submit a Documentation Portfolio providing a record of their concept, design, development and comments. A panel of volunteer judges, drawn from local businesses and communities, contribute their time and scientific expertise to evaluate student entries.

Immediately following the competition, awards were presented to each student on the winning teams.

The winners are:
Speed
1st Place — “110%” – McKeown School – Rayna Butler, Ryan Pollison, Kevin Murphy, Matt Kowalski

2nd Place — “Tree” – Stillwater School - Matt Cleaver, Sabrina Leonard

3rd Place — “Da Bomb” – Halsted Middle School – William Kimberly, Kevin Conway

Engineering
1st Place — “Flower Power 2” – Ogdensburg – RandilLyn Hornyak, Allyson Lame, Rebecca Shepard, Gabriella Ciasullo

2nd Place — “Silver Star” – Star Dust Home School - Hunter Gallo

3rd Place — “Twitter” – Ogdensburg – Scott Mueller, Alejandro Rojas, Audrey Janosko, Rebecca Bradner

Craftsmanship
1st Place — “Monster” – Sussex Christian School – Janel Faber

2nd Place — “Twitter” – Ogdensburg - Scott Mueller, Alejandro Rojas, Audrey Janosko, Rebecca Bradner

3rd Place — “Pride Rock” – McKeown School – Hannah MacMillan, Kathryn Merrill, Katrina Fernandez, Jada Guido

Best Use of Recycled Materials
1st Place — “Recycled Racer” – Mother of Devine Grace School – Stephen Furtkevic, John Peter Zappe

2nd Place — “Twitter” – Ogdensburg - Scott Mueller, Alejandro Rojas, Audrey Janosko, Rebecca Bradner

3rd Place — “Flower Power 2” – Ogdensburg - RandilLyn Hornyak, Allyson Lame, Rebecca Shepard, Gabriella Ciasullo

Documentation Portfolio (does not move on to the Inter-County Final)

1st Place — “Silver Star” – Star Dust Home School – Hunter Gallo

2nd Place — “Team M.E.L.K.” – Sparta Middle School – Kada Cernek, Mikey Botta, Lia Gaccione, Emily Argula

3rd Place — "Team Coastal Babes” – Sparta Middle School – Isabel Passerini, Brianna Lamoureux, Jeremy Dericks, Juliana McGuire

Students’ Choice (does not move on to the Inter-County Final)

1st Place — “Pride Rock” – McKeown School - Hannah MacMillan, Kathryn Merrill, Katrina Fernandez, Jada Guido

2nd Place — “Flower Power 2” – Ogdensburg - RandilLyn Hornyak, Allyson Lame, Rebecca Shepard, Gabriella Ciasullo

3rd Place — “Tree” – Stillwater School – Matt Cleaver, Sabrina Leonard

Additional Speed teams moving on:

“Terminator 2” – McKeown
“Jelly” – Stillwater

“YORO” McKeown
“Hot Rodney” - Halsted

Teams winning in Speed, Craftsmanship, Engineering and Best Use of Recycled Materials advance to the Inter-County Final competition which will be held at Ridgedale Middle School on May 28, with a rain date of May 30.