May 2018 News
Explore the “Cave of Time” at the Indiana Academy
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Students at the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities are currently involved in May Term, a unique two-week program that happens at the conclusion of every spring semester.
May Term is a graduation requirement for Academy students and provides them with opportunities to take in-depth courses on special subjects, travel, and participate in internships. Each year brings new courses and experiences. This year there are over 20 different courses including Forensic Science and Japanese Manga as well as travel opportunities ranging from Australia to Yellowstone National Park, to name just two trips.
One of this year’s May Term projects, the “Cave of Time” is led by John Marsh, Instructor of History, and explores the wonders of four of the world’s most famous caves. Visitors to the exhibit will encounter the prehistoric artwork found in Chauvet and Lascaux caves in France, Cueva de las Manos (Cave of Hands) in Argentina, and the exquisite Buddhist artwork of China’s Dunhuang Caves along the Silk Road.
The “Cave of Time” was constructed by 16 students, who will serve as tour guides. During the tours, the student guides will share the meaning and the stories behind the amazing works of art as visitors take a museum-quality, flashlight journey through winding passages with rough walls, dripping water, and a partially excavated burial site.
The exhibit is free and open to the public from 4-7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 23 with no reservations in Room 209 of Burris Laboratory School. Tours run every 15 minutes.
Financial support is provided by a Robert P. Bell Education Grant through the Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. In-kind support is provided by Gill Bros. Furniture and the Back to School Teachers Store.
Located on the picturesque campus of Ball State University, the Indiana Academy is a nationally ranked two-year public high school for high ability juniors and seniors coming from anywhere in the state.
Indiana Academy Takes First Place in Academic Super Bowl State Finals
Monday, May 7, 2018
Two teams from the Indiana Academy participated in the statewide Indiana Academic Super Bowl Championship. The Academy’s science and math teams both finished in first place. The math team won with 5 points separating them from the teams finishing in second place while the science results came down to the wire with the final score being 23-22. The last time the Academy took two state championships in the same year was 2008 when the Academy also brought home the math and science trophies.
Hosted by the Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP) the Super Bowl finals took place Saturday, May 5 on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette. The theme of the Academic Super Bowl this year was World War I. Various academic subjects were tested based on this specific period of time, and each subject area looked at the developments in that field around the time of WWI. The Academy’s math and science teams qualified to compete in the state finals after winning at the regional competition on Tuesday, April 17 that included approximately 5,100 students representing 282 high schools from across the state.
Congratulations goes to the Academy’s Academic Super Bowl coach, Mr. Joshua Ruark, Instructor of Mathematics, and the following members of the winning teams:
Tony Qing
Conner Partaker
Charlotte Chen
Qifan Yang
Ryan Martinez
Eric Ma
Sterling St. Rain
National Latin Exam
Friday, May 4, 2018
The results are in from the National Latin Exam which our Latin students took in February and we had very many students who received a distinction of some sort. Congratulations to the following students and their instructor Mr. Evan Ward on their accomplishments on the Level 1 exam.
I — Those who received a Cum Laude distinction:
Cassidy Rager
Jade Jameson
II — Those who received a Magna Cum Laude distinction:
Han McCoin
Tayah Lowe
Elliott Whiteside
Nora Slaven
Veronica Barber
Kaylee Bright
III — Those who received a Silver – Maxima Cum Laude distinction and honorary medal:
Mckenna Reid
Alex Newhall
Rachel Stephens
Mattie Vanvleet
Paige Lang
Jill Hale
Drew Wheatley
Micayla Roginski
Natasha Carlton
Grace Allman
Ian Efsits
Aaron Dowdle
Jacob Nichols
IV — Last but not least, those who received a Gold – Summa Cum Laude distinction and honorary medal (meaning that their exams had near-perfect scores):
Grace Alvarez-Rosario
Grace Siefker
Katelyn Kaiser
Judy Liu
Hannah Ridgeway
Preston Dunithan
Euge! (Well done!)
National German Exam
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Earlier this semester, students in the Academy German 202 class took the 2018 AATG National German Exam. The listed percentiles indicate the performance of students in comparison to all students (nation-wide) taking the exam for Level II.
Earning a Gold Medal:
Grace Moore — 98th percentile
Amy Gong — 94th percentile
Sara Ahmad — 93rd percentile
Isaac Solloway — 90th percentile
Collin Banasiak — 89th percentile
Earning a Silver Medal:
Justin Linville — 83rd percentile
Earning a Bronze Medal:
David Stephens — 77th percentile
Congratulations to these students! This is a testament to their commitment and hard work in learning the German language and to the outstanding instruction and preparation they have received from Dr. Gislind Pentecost last year and Frau Rogers this year.
Envirothon Teams Travel to Purdue
Thursday, April 26, 2018
As our busy April begins to give way to May, the Academy Envirothon Teams traveled to Purdue’s Research Farm for the state competition. Competing for the “Opossums” were Grace Nelson, Samantha Williams, Cassidy Regan, Emily Cook and Theo Hunt. Our “Racoons” were Victoria Granat, Annalyne Doll, Lily Fillwalk, Grace Moore and Yifei Liu. Our ever-steadfast reserve on call was Ben Mooreman.
The teams competed in the areas of Forestry, Wildlife Biology, Soils, Aquatic Biology, Pasture management and a field practical test. Additionally, they presented to a panel of professionals a pasture management plan for different areas in Delaware County. While not finishing in the top three both the Opossums and Racoons did impressive jobs at the competition earning ice cream on the way back. The teams were accompanied by Ms. Stephanie Naglekirk and Mr. Mike Mayfield. A hearty congratulations are due to all the “furry creatures” and the impressive effort put forth.
ACTR Olympiada of Spoken Russian
Monday, April 23, 2018
On Saturday, April 21, 8 Russian students accompanied by Mrs. Heather Rogers and Mr. Shane Crider traveled to Indiana University in Bloomington to participate in the annual Indiana Regional ACTR Olympiada of Spoken Russian.
Angela Cartwell — Gold Medal (Level 2)
Alma Miles-Morillo — Gold Medal (Level 2)
Emily Cook — Silver Medal (Level 2)
Nathan Buehrer — Gold Medal (Level 1)
Grace Nelson — Gold Medal (Level 1)
Jake White — Gold Medal (Level 1)
Isabel Reynolds — Silver Medal (Level 1)
Eowyn Mroczek — Bronze Medal (Level 1)
Congratulations to these students on their outstanding performance.
Teacher Awarded Funding for Creative and Innovative Classroom Project
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Clara Chi, Indiana Academy instructor, was awarded $450 to expose high school juniors and seniors to Japanese culture through animation and film. After watching a series of Japanese animations, students will create their own comic books using manga art style. Students will illustrate their knowledge of Japanese culture through their art and present it to the class.
Bell Grants are funded through the Robert P. Bell Teacher Grants Fund at The Community Foundation (www.cfmdin.org). This fund ensures that teachers have access to grants to help engage their students in meaningful ways for years to come. Individuals can contribute to the endowment fund to memorialize a special teacher, honor a retiring teacher or teacher celebrating a work anniversary, or to simply show their support for K-12 education in Delaware County. Awards of up to $450 are available through the Bell Grants program. Funded projects are creative or innovative ideas or programs designed to stimulate learning in students. All Delaware County teachers are invited to apply during any of the four grant cycles.
Academic Super Bowl Results
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Indiana Academy academic teams competed at the regional Academic Super Bowl Competition on Tuesday, April 17, with excellent results.
The Math, Science, and Social Studies teams took first place in Division 4. English took second (on a tie breaker) as did Interdisciplinary (by one question). Fine Arts took fourth place.
Math and Science both qualified for the State Championship in May. The Math team had the highest score throughout the state in the regional competition and the science team had the second highest. Social Studies missed qualifying for state by a tie break and the English team fell short by 1 question.
The following students are to be congratulated on a job well done:
Joseph Batis, Yifei Chen, Caitlin Daub, Amy Gong, Abby Guyer, Jillian Hale, Toby Holman, Claire Hubner, Eric Ma, Jacob Nichols, Conner Partaker, Tony Qing, Isabel Reynolds, Gabe Rodriguez, Sterling St. Rain, Samantha Williams, and Rose Winters.
HOSA Leadership Conference
Friday, April 13, 2018
The Indiana Academy HOSA “warriors” attended the State Leadership Conference in Indianapolis from April 9–11 in order to participate in learning sessions and compete in various subjects. The Health Occupations Student Association (HOSA) promotes knowledge of Health Professions and the skills required in the professions.
The Academy group did well making the finals in Original Medical Innovations (Hailey Chang, Amber Zhao, Risha Mehta and Yuna Lee), Interviewing skills (Priya Chaudhary), Pharmacology (Michelle Cai), Epidemiology (Yuna Lee & Priya Chaudhary), Human Growth & Development (Risha Mehta), Medical Law & Ethics (Yuna Lee), and Nutrition (Amber Zhao). Yuna Lee took first place in the state in both Medical Law and Ethics and Epidemiology.
Participating in other competitions (Sports Medicine, Physical Therapy, Biomedical Lab Science, Medical Math, & Pathophysiology) were Lily Adney, Katie Decker, Rahul Agarwal, and Libby Haupert.
The group was accompanied by Mr. Mike Mayfield and Ms. Susie Cunningham. Congratulations are due these students on an excellent effort over a good and busy couple of days.
Academy Student Named Indiana Academic All-Star
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Congratulations to Keith Murray on his selection as a 2018 Indiana Academic All-Star. The forty Indiana Academic All-Stars and 50 Regional All-Stars will be recognized at a luncheon on Friday, April 27th at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis. The recognition is sponsored by the Indiana Association of School Principals and recognizes students for outstanding Academic performance as well as extra-curricular involvement and accomplishments. Each student nominates a teacher who has been most influential in their Academic progress and development. Mr. Les McSparrin has received that nomination and will also be recognized at the luncheon. Congratulations to Mr. McSparrin for this recognition.
This is the second consecutive year that a student from the Indiana Academy has been selected as one of the 40 Indiana Academic All-Stars and our third All-Star or Regional All-Star in three years.