Category: Social Emotional Learning

Science olympiad Scores at National Tournament

5/22/2017

Piedmont's team Finishes 7th overall, Takes 1st place in 3 Events

Even prior competition, we were proud of Mr. Ciambrone and the Piedmont Science Olympiad team. Fellow Piedmont students and staff sent them off to Wright State University with a parade to celebrate and now that they're back, we still couldn't be prouder of their 7th place national finish.

The Science Olympiad National Tournament consists of multiple science tasks. Piedmont Crimebusters, Dynamic Planet, and Hovercraft teams each scored 1st in the nation -and the Food Science team placed 2nd. It's such a pleasure to watch these students work and work hard they did, not just at the tournaments, but at practices and at home, too!

After their steller sciencing was done, the team found time to relax at Kings Island before heading back home with all their medals.

from the official Press release:

Piedmont IB Middle school from Charlotte was one of the top US Middle schools to compete and place in the top ten category at the prestigious 2017 Science Olympiad National Tournament held at Wright State University, Dayton, OH on May 19th – 20th. The highly talented team won 8 medals which include 3 Golds and 1 Silver medal in STEM subjects such as Hovercraft, Dynamic Planet, Crime busters and Food science to name a few out of 23 subjects. After placing first at both the Regional Tournament held at UNC Charlotte on March 11th and the State Tournament held at NC State university, Raleigh, on April 23rd, Piedmont IB middle school advanced to represent North Carolina at the National Tournament and placed 7th overall. This is the 4th year in a row that Piedmont IB middle school has won the Regional and State Championship in North Carolina.
"We are so proud of our entire team and how hard they've worked this entire year! 7th place at nationals is a amazing accomplishment!“ said Jackie Barone, the principal of Piedmont IB middle school.
“We encourage them to champion excellence in everything they do remembering that they are One Team, and they did that 100% all season!" Said Coach Corina Mota who also won the Coaching Excellence award at the National Tournament.
One of the nation’s most prestigious science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions, Science Olympiad brings together 120 top middle school and high school teams advancing from state-level competitions. Rigorous hands-on and lab events led by experts from government agencies, top universities, industry and Science Olympiad state chapters cover topics in robotics, physics, epidemiology, astronomy, chemistry, meteorology, coding and engineering. “These winning teams exemplify the best America has to offer in science, technology, engineering and math,” said Gerard Putz, Science Olympiad president and co-founder. “We are proud of their incredible achievements and know their schools and communities will welcome them home like champions.”
Please see the official Press release from the National Tournament at this link:https://www.soinc.org/sites/default/files/uploaded_files/2017NatlTournPreRelease.pdf

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Stop Motion Studio Makes a Splash

12/8/2015

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Check out our brand new Stop Motion Video studio in action.

Thanks to Mrs. Newburger and the PTSA for making it possible.

"I only work in black. Or very dark gray."

-Batman creates a prop for the group's video.

Gabe (who's had stop-motion training and it shows) made this Lego stop motion video in fewer than 20 minutes, rushing down to the cafeteria for lunch so he could get back up to the MakerSpace and create.

Check it out. We might see him at the Oscars one day!

Students are collaborating on a number of projects and the process is almost as fun to watch as to create.

This shows the creative process of one student just getting started - first time at the studio and he created this in just one lunch period.

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Scholars and Athletes

5/21/2015

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"Piedmont Open Middle School, an IB World School. What makes us special? We're a family. Our students are not only scholars, they are scholar/athletes."

- Mrs. Marie Delaney
School Counselor

A Piedmont scholar/athlete/musician with trophies she handmade from Solo cups and spray paint for student-run intramural games #divergenthinking

The above quotation is taken from a student interview with Mrs. Delaney for our Cam Newton contest video (embedded at the bottom of this page).

It only takes a glance at the wins recently featured on our closed-circuit scrolling announcements (below) to prove Mrs. Delaney's point: Piedmont students excel in athletic and scholastic endeavors and show winning character. We have a national-champion Science Olympiad team as well as state champion sports teams, Do the Right Thing winners and academic contest winners.

I've written about it before, but I'll say again, we are something special and YOU are part of the reason why. Whatever your gifts are- students, teachers, staff and parents- you share them with your school and help us all be great together.

Thank you again for being you.

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Test Prep Piedmont-Style

5/20/2015

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The six grade and eighth-grade teams today each showed one aspect a fabulous test prep, as seen in the two photo collages.

Eighth-grade teachers went the extra mile and created goodie baskets for their almost grads in honor of their hard work during their prep rotations, where they ran special review sessions to make sure students mastered their core content.

Sixth grade teachers Mrs. Lyttle and Ms. McCarthy got their students ready for test day tomorrow with a yoga relaxation lesson for their students to help them focus and get a good night's rest. Thanks to all the teachers and students who've given their best and worked so hard this year.

You're prepared and you have a lot to be proud of! Now take a breath, get some rest and enjoy the test.

Ms.Case and Mr. Joyce congratulate the lucky winners of the baskets teachers made for their students. "It's cool to play school" and these winners worked extra hard in their review sessions.

Ms. Lyttle's room and the dance studio were taken over by yoga mats for the sixth grade test anxiety combat lesson! Click the photo to read more about the lesson.

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Civil Rights Gymnasium

5/19/2015

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The gym has transformed into a civil rights museum, with exhibits designed and created entirely by 8th grade history students. Here are a few of the projects

For the second year in a row Piedmont 8th graders have built their own Civil Rights Museum. This year the museum was visited by two distinguished leaders of the civil rights movement, Mr. Harvey Gantt and Rev. Dr. Jesse Douglas. Please read more about their historic visit and advice here, however the students work is the star of this post:
The photos speak for themselves as students did not shy away from topics that are hard, nor did they dumb down or sugar coat the era into a simplified story that makes it all seem easy. Hats off to the 8th grade social studies team for their leadership in the value of a true and deep study of the past.