This Week on the Central Coast…
Students doing amazing things in science, robotics, and music while Marina prepares for its Earth Day celebration.
Monterey
Several students recognized at the Monterey County Science Fair
Nine Monterey High School students and ten Salinas High School students were presented with awards at the Monterey County Science Fair. Monterey High School’s success came partly from their two-year biotechnology program, which introduces students to the basic concepts that can be applied to other fields, such as healthcare, engineering, agriculture, and forensics.
At Salinas High School, many of the students worked with scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture lab in Salinas.
One of the winning projects, produced by a Monterey High School junior, was selected to represent the county at the International Science & Engineering Fair in Dallas in May.
The project titled “Can Beneficial Streptomyces Bacteria Prevent Growth of the Plant Pathogenic Fungus Fusarium?” is eligible for entry into the California State Science and Engineering Fair.
The articles include a full list of award-winners and their projects from the county science fair.
Seaside High School hosted the 2023 FIRST Robotics Competition
Seaside High School hosted the FIRST Robotics Competition for the second year in a row. It is also only the second year that teams have been able to compete in-person. The two-day event, which took place over the weekend, saw Monterey High and Seaside High competing against 34 other teams that came from across central and Northern California.
The students have been competing in preseason since August of last year, using robots from the previous competition to practice new ways to play, design, and program.
Monterey High School’s robotics coach and teacher says “Robotics extends beyond building robots. This program helps students develop leadership skills and further prepare them for their future careers. The sport enhances collaboration, critical thinking, shared creativity, and the ability to go through a design process together to develop solutions.”
Michelle Chen, the robotics coach and teacher at Seaside High, is also happy with how much her students are learning. “I’m very proud of how much they’ve learned in such a short time.”
Like many traditional sporting events, the competition brings the community together to help students achieve success. Both schools have received support from the Naval Postgraduate School and local professionals, such as Metal Specialties.
More information about the FIRST Robotics Competition can be found on their website.
Marina prepares to celebrate Earth Day
Marina is planning a community event on April 15 to celebrate Earth Day. The event will call upon the community to assist in the restoration of the Locke Paddon Wetland Community Park.
The event will take place from 9am to 1pm, though organizers recommend arriving a little earlier in order to pick a project. “Service project options will include planting native plant species, removing invasive plants, picking up litter, mural painting and sowing native seeds. No prior experience is necessary. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m.” They also recommend dressing in layers just in case of changes in weather.
In addition to the volunteer work, there will also be live music, free lunch for volunteers, kids activities, and various giveaways. Participants will also learn some useful gardening tips and how to identify native plant and animal species.
The city hopes this event will bring the community together to restore a valuable natural space.
Santa Cruz
A new student rock band took the stage at Aptos St. BBQ
Martin Sweet is not only a sixth grade teacher at Rio Del Mar Elementary School, but also the mind behind a couple of student rock bands. Both bands took the stage at Aptos St. BBQ last weekend. Sweet taught The Treble Makers last year before they graduated and moved on to junior high. His current band is called The Wild Ones.
Sweet himself plays in a band made up of fellow teachers called Hall Pass.
He believes that being in a band teaches the kids many important life lessons, such as overcoming stage fright in order to talk in front of a crowd and learning how to introduce songs. The hope is that what they learn from being in a rock band will help them do better in school. “I’m really curious how they are going to score in their testing. I venture to guess that they’ll do better because they feel better about themselves.”
Sweet takes care to pick songs that he believes the band can play well, but also lets them have their own choice. The band’s current set list includes “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath, “Buddy Holly” by Weezer, “Badfish” by Sublime, “Godzilla” by Blue Oyster Cult, and “Enter Sandman” by Metallica.
I searched for videos of the performances, but couldn’t find any. If anyone sees them, please add them to the comments!