Wednesday, April 7, 2010
History Teacher of Year for NE Ohio
Mrs. Miller won the History Teacher of Year for NE Ohio at the district History Day contest at Case Western University. This award from the Ohio Historical Society is so well-deserved! Her students took top awards across most categories. Inside this issue you can read a full version of the Westlake Observer article.
Science Olympiads 2010
The 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students entered a new science competition this year. On Saturday, March 20th twenty-one teams from schools around the Metropolitan area competed in 31 different events at CSU. Birchwood students competing were: Amir I (1st place Science Bowl), Jack B (3rd place Aerodynamics), Sofia R (3rd- Aerodynamics), Caroline V (1st- Science Bowl), Isabela M, William L, Grace C, Yamenah A, Marco B (1st- Science Bowl, 2nd- Starry Starry Night), Alexis H, Adam I, Prathna K, Pheby L, Ammar M, Grace X, Haley Y, Hajira A (2nd- Starry Starry Night), Christine B, Nate C (1st- Bridge Building), Clive C (1st- Bridge Building, 1st- Circuits), Jorgen K (1st- Circuits), Kavya R (1st- Science Bowl), Shan S, Katelyn V, and Naomi W.
We owe a big thanks to all the parents who accompanied us. They, literally, ran the students to each event, picked them up, and made sure they made it to the next event! Thank you!
We owe a big thanks to all the parents who accompanied us. They, literally, ran the students to each event, picked them up, and made sure they made it to the next event! Thank you!
National Geographic Bee 2010
Congratulations to Trevor L for qualifying for the state level of the National Geographic Bee! Trevor is Birchwood's first two-year qualifier for the state competition. After winning the school level of the Bee, Trevor took a challenging written exam to qualify as one of approximately 100 students from across the state for the state level Bee which will be held at The Ohio State University, Mansfield Campus on April 9. Best wishes for Trevor's success in the state Bee!
Letters About Literature 2010
Letters About Literature is a national reading and writing promotion contest sponsored by the Library of Congress and Target. This year over 70,000 students from grades 4-12 read a nonfiction book, short story, poem, essay, or speech and then wrote a personal letter to the author. In these 100-400 word letters, the students reflected upon the affect the piece of literature had on their lives. Students from the state of Ohio submitted over 2,400 letters; 913 of these were from fourth to sixth graders. Of these 913 entries, only 36 advanced to state level (Round 3) judging. Birchwood School's fifth and sixth graders made up one-sixth of the total students from Ohio to reach Round 3 judging. These six students include Prathna K, Vinny K, Michael T, Peter A H, Kavya R, and Katelyn V. In the next round, the 36 entries were whittled down to six semi-finalists, and once again, Birchwood students finished very strongly. Of the six top essays chosen, half were those of Birchwood students: Kavya R, Katelyn V, and Michael T. Kavya then went on to win second place in the state of Ohio for her letter to Kathryn Lasky, who wrote The Night Journey, while Katelyn earned third place for writing to Ann M. Martin, author of A Dog's Life. Congratulations to these fine students for their success with clear written expression.
National Chemistry Week 2010
Way back in October, the 5th-8th grade students experimented with chemical reactions with copper pennies. Congratulations to Vinny K (5th grade winner) and Sanjana R (7th grade winner), who were chosen out of 550 entries. They and their families were invited to an Education and Awards Night Dinner.
Additionally, the 2nd-4th grade students participated in the National Chemistry Week 2009 poster contest. Students from six counties in the greater Cleveland area submitted entries relating to the theme "Chemistry - It's Elemental." Third grader Elizabeth P's poster was chosen as the winner for the K-5 category. She and her family will also attend the Awards Dinner on April 21st where she will be honored and awarded her prize.
Additionally, the 2nd-4th grade students participated in the National Chemistry Week 2009 poster contest. Students from six counties in the greater Cleveland area submitted entries relating to the theme "Chemistry - It's Elemental." Third grader Elizabeth P's poster was chosen as the winner for the K-5 category. She and her family will also attend the Awards Dinner on April 21st where she will be honored and awarded her prize.
Math Teams Shine In Ohio Mathematics League
The Birchwood mathletes continue to excel this spring. The school competed in Ohio Math League competition on the sixth, seventh and eighth grade levels. This competition is composed for 25 difficult word problems that must be completed in a forty minute period.
In the team competition, our sixth graders tied for second place in the state; the seventh grade team placed fifth and the eighth grade team also placed fifth.
In the individual competition the students excelled. In the sixth grade, Kavya tied for first place, Hajira, Dhweeja, and Clive tied for the third highest score; Nate tied for the fourth highest score, Christine tied for the fifth highest score, and Peter tied for the sixth highest score. In addition, Naomi, Katelyn, Jorgen, Stewart, Kareem, Shan, and Sachi earned the Birchwood School honorable mention.
In the seventh grade, Hassan tied for the third highest score in the state, while Alexander and Suzie tied for the seventh highest score. Trevor, Prithvi, Sunny, Marla earned the Birchwood School honorable mention.
In the eighth grade, Shawki tied for the second highest score in the state, Deepak tied for the third highest, Munim and Nathan tied for the fourth highest, Zaeem tied for the fifth highest, Grant and Ben tied for the eighth highest score. Carlf, LuLu and Clare earned the Birchwood School honorable mention.
On an interesting note, I allowed the fifth graders to participate in the sixth grade contest. If their scores were permitted, they would have had the seventh highest score in the state. Not bad!!!
In the team competition, our sixth graders tied for second place in the state; the seventh grade team placed fifth and the eighth grade team also placed fifth.
In the individual competition the students excelled. In the sixth grade, Kavya tied for first place, Hajira, Dhweeja, and Clive tied for the third highest score; Nate tied for the fourth highest score, Christine tied for the fifth highest score, and Peter tied for the sixth highest score. In addition, Naomi, Katelyn, Jorgen, Stewart, Kareem, Shan, and Sachi earned the Birchwood School honorable mention.
In the seventh grade, Hassan tied for the third highest score in the state, while Alexander and Suzie tied for the seventh highest score. Trevor, Prithvi, Sunny, Marla earned the Birchwood School honorable mention.
In the eighth grade, Shawki tied for the second highest score in the state, Deepak tied for the third highest, Munim and Nathan tied for the fourth highest, Zaeem tied for the fifth highest, Grant and Ben tied for the eighth highest score. Carlf, LuLu and Clare earned the Birchwood School honorable mention.
On an interesting note, I allowed the fifth graders to participate in the sixth grade contest. If their scores were permitted, they would have had the seventh highest score in the state. Not bad!!!
Continental Math League Test #5
Gold Award: Zaeem M, Mohammed M, Shawki A, Ben W, Lu-Lu S, Trevor L, Clive C, Dhweeja D, Maya F, Ammar M, Darius Z, Vinayak K, Pheby L, Prathna K, Haley Y, Anna H,
Silver Award: Nathan C, Carlf C, Clare P, Grant F, Miguel P, Sunny R, Sue R, Alexander I, Marla Bashour, Sean F, Jorgen K, Kareem T, Katelyn V, Jorgen K, Naomi W, Kavy R, Dayla A, Christine B, Nate C, Cameron S, Anthony C, Marco B, Grace X, Michael T
Bronze Award: Zach I, Prithvi P, Brad S, Hajira A, Adam I
Silver Award: Nathan C, Carlf C, Clare P, Grant F, Miguel P, Sunny R, Sue R, Alexander I, Marla Bashour, Sean F, Jorgen K, Kareem T, Katelyn V, Jorgen K, Naomi W, Kavy R, Dayla A, Christine B, Nate C, Cameron S, Anthony C, Marco B, Grace X, Michael T
Bronze Award: Zach I, Prithvi P, Brad S, Hajira A, Adam I
Math Olympiads Test #5
Gold Award: Mohammed M, Nathan C, Grant F, Zaeem M, Sunny R, Sue R, Trevor L, Marla B, Nate C, Kareem T
Silver Award: Shawki A, Deepak K, Lu-Lu S, Alex P, Prithvi P, Hassan S, Sarah D, Hannay Y, Hajira A, Clive C, Christine B, Cameron S, Kavya R, Vinny K, Michael T, Dhweeja, D
Bronze Award: Carlf C, Alexander I, Sarah C, Brad S, Jorgen K, Naomi W, Darius Z, Pheby L, Haley Y
Silver Award: Shawki A, Deepak K, Lu-Lu S, Alex P, Prithvi P, Hassan S, Sarah D, Hannay Y, Hajira A, Clive C, Christine B, Cameron S, Kavya R, Vinny K, Michael T, Dhweeja, D
Bronze Award: Carlf C, Alexander I, Sarah C, Brad S, Jorgen K, Naomi W, Darius Z, Pheby L, Haley Y
MathCounts Team At State
Birchwood was a state finalist in the MathCounts competition in Columbus, Ohio. The school was among the top 32 middle schools in the state – the top 4%. The team came in twelfth place. As individual participants Kavya came in 23rd place, Munim came in 38th place, Nathan came in 62nd place and Nate C came in 66th place. Good job, team.
Future Problem Solving 2010
After six months of hard work on three consecutive practice problems, the 5th – 8th graders held their breath while they waited for feedback on the 3rd problem: orphaned children. It had been a tough job to apply all six creative problem solving steps in just two hours with no teacher help. The teams had to wait three weeks before the news finally arrived. And arrive it did! Nine teams received an invitation to the State Bowl at Berea High School on April 23-24. They are now busy preparing on the topic of Food Distribution. (We welcome anyone who can speak on any angle of this topic.) The teams are:
Intermediate Division
LuLu, Munim, Ben, Grant, Nathan, Carlf, Shawki, Nardine, Zaeem, Deepak, Clare, Mahmoud
Susmita, Marla, Sunny, Hannah, Trevor, Alexander, Prithivi, Hassan, Nicholas, Sarah, Abhijeet, Alex
Junior Division
Nate, Naomi, Ammar, Hajira, Sachi, Grace, Alexis, Haley, Dhweeja, Vinny, Michael, Darius, Kavya, Prathna, Pheby, Marco
Intermediate Division
LuLu, Munim, Ben, Grant, Nathan, Carlf, Shawki, Nardine, Zaeem, Deepak, Clare, Mahmoud
Susmita, Marla, Sunny, Hannah, Trevor, Alexander, Prithivi, Hassan, Nicholas, Sarah, Abhijeet, Alex
Junior Division
Nate, Naomi, Ammar, Hajira, Sachi, Grace, Alexis, Haley, Dhweeja, Vinny, Michael, Darius, Kavya, Prathna, Pheby, Marco
5-6 Grade Science Day Winners
Dhweeja D and Vinny K, both science projects in the botany section, earned "Superior" rankings at the Western Reserve District 5 Science Day on March 20th. The District 5 Science Day is one of 16 statewide science fairs that feeds in the Ohio State Science Fair on May 8th. In the past, our students have received "Superior" rankings, or even placed first, but were not allowed to advance to the State competition. However, because of a rule change, this year, Vinny K and Dhweeja D advanced to the state competition.
3-4 Grade Math Awards
Special congratulations to the following students who earned a silver medal in the final contest of Continental Math League: Avi B, Maya D, and Abigail M, and the following students who earned a bronze medal: Sahej B, Sophie C, Michael H, Bianca H, Cam K, and Elizabeth P.
Special congratulations to Yamenah A and Isabela M, for earning a silver medal, and William L, for earning a bronze medal in the final contest of the Continental Math League.
Special congratulations to Yamenah A and Isabela M, for earning a silver medal, and William L, for earning a bronze medal in the final contest of the Continental Math League.
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