Metro-east students compete in National History Bee in Chicago

Three Immaculate Conception School, in Columbia, competed in the National History Bee in Chicago in June. James Ramette finished in the top third of the 300 seventh-graders competing. The contestants pre-qualified with a written test, online exam and regional competition. The national competition uses a quiz-bowl format with 10 students at a time answering questions from ancient history, world history and U.S. history.

Class pet

Teachers who want to build lessons around classroom pets can be eligible for a $100 grant to get the fish, reptiles or small animals they need. Pets in the Classroom is offering its second annual curriculum contest for pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade teachers. Winners will be announced Aug. 8. Go to www.petsintheclassroom.org/ to learn more and to submit an application.

Grants will be awarded in pre-kindergarten through second grade, third through fifth, and sixth through eighth, for each of three categories of animals: small animals/birds; reptile/amphibian; and aquarium/fish.

Interested teachers can submit lesson plans, including worksheets, photos, power point presentations, fliers and written lesson plans. Some entries will be featured on the Pets in the Classroom website to educate other teachers on using and adapting lesson plans with animals in their own classrooms.

FFA winner

Waterloo High School’s Future Farmers of America won the Banker’s Plaque from the state convention in June, prompting congratulations from State Rep. Jerry Costello II, of Smithton.

“The Banker’s Plaque is the top prize from the Illinois FFA, and to win this prize is an honor for the Waterloo chapter. The work that these students have done both inside and out of the classroom has been extraordinary, and it’s great to see that work honored by the state convention,” he said.

For more information about the FFA, go to www.illinoisffa.org/.

Camp Invention

Nearly 50 students enjoyed Camp Invention at Okawville Grade School in June, a week-long enrichment program. The Science, Technology, Engineering and Math program had several modules, including Crickobot, where students used solar power and circuitry to design cricket and spider bots using a motor. In Epic Park, they built a model of park to help ecological diversity thrive. They tested more than a dozen experiments in The Lab: Where Pigs Fly; and they used up-cycled gear motors and more to develop their own prototypes.

Smithton School also had Camp Invention from June 20-24.

Scholarships

▪  Seven students have been awarded a total of $7,500 in scholarships from the Great Southwestern Illinois Association of Plumbing-Heating-Cooling and Mechanical Contractors. Winners are: Michael Davinroy and Alexis Lugge, of Freeburg; Chandler Douglas, of O’Fallon, Katrena Jordan, of Lenzburg; Gregory Maxson, of Lebanon, Michael Schrand, of Fayetteville; and Timothy Thompson, of Ballwin, Mo. The cash awards are given to students planning to attend or are currently attending a trade school, vocational college or two or four-year institution, and are pursuing degrees in a field relevant to the industry.

▪  Two metro-east students, whose parents work at St. Anthony’s Medical Center, have been awarded scholarships through the St. Anthony’s Norbert Siegfried Scholarships for Sons and Daughters of Employees. Olivia Bievenue, of Red Bud, and Blake Schobert, of Collinsville, won the Academic Excellence Scholarships.

▪  Chayse Richardson, of Collinsville High School, won the Nicole R. Thorp Scholarship of $2,000 from GCS Credit Union. Criteria included actively volunteering in the community; Chayse’s volunteering included with the Special Needs Soccer Association and Project Lead the Way Program

▪  The Rotary Club of Swansea has announced two winners of the 2016 Chad Wood Memorial Scholarships. Each is for $3,000 and goes to 2016 high school graduates who live in Swansea. They are Hannah Geppert, of Belleville East High School, and Scott Semko, of Althoff Catholic High School. Hannah plans to attend Southwestern Illinois College and then Southeast Missouri State University to pursue a career in special education; Scott plans to attend the University of Illinois and pursue a degree in business.

This story was originally published July 5, 2016 at 1:23 PM with the headline "Metro-east students compete in National History Bee in Chicago."