February 2019 News
German 2 Students Excel at National German Exam
Friday, February 22, 2019
Twelve Indiana Academy German 2 students earned awards for their efforts on the National German Exam. The scores listed below reflects the percentile rank among all students, heritage speakers included, who took the test for Level 2.
Gold Medals were awarded to:
| Brandon Kem | 96% |
| Noah Migoski | 96% |
| Marc Bailey | 95% |
| Sam Shephard | 95% |
| Isabel Reynolds | 94% |
| Lillia Mangel-Martin | 89% |
Silver Medals were awarded to:
| Mary Wilson | 87% |
| Dawson Crisman | 84% |
| Hannah Jones | 84% |
| Dillon Linville | 84% |
Bronze Medals were awarded to:
| Ahna Abraham | 75% |
| Cameron Gage | 72% |
Middle row, l-to-r: Kaileb White, Logan Telschow, Sam Shephard
Front row, l-to-r: Isabel Reynolds, Hannah Jones.
On Saturday, February 16, nine of our German students attended the annual ISGA Staatskongress, hosted by the German Department at Ball State, and this year, our school won the Quiz Bowl competition. The winning team was made up of Hannah Jones, Noah Migoski, Isabel Reynolds, and Sam Shephard. Well done, team!
Congratulations to these students and their instructor, Ms. Heather Rogers, on their accomplishment and their continued dedication to learning the German language.
Academy Teams Win First Place in All Three Levels at Japanese Olympiad
Monday, February 18, 2019
All three levels of the Academy’s Japanese students won first place in the Japanese Olympiad of Indiana (JOI) held on Saturday, Feb. 16 on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. JOI is a Japanese language and culture quiz bowl for all high school students studying Japanese in Indiana. The annual competition has teams of high school students showcase their knowledge of Japanese language, culture, society and history. This year nine schools participated, with around 90 students competing.
In past years, the Academy only had a team for Level II. This year the Academy was able to have teams for each of the three levels. Congratulations to all three Indiana Academy teams and their instructor, Ms. Clara Chi, for winning first place!
Level II team (2 years of high school Japanese)
Captain: Kiersten Hardy
Kellie Geisel
Khristian Reed
Level III team (3 years of high school Japanese)
Captain: Katie Basey
Samantha Murray
Nicole Nguyen
Leah Chambers (alternate)
Level IV team (4 years of high school Japanese)
Captain: Kevin Gao
Alice Zheng
Sage Hamm
Academy Closed Wednesday (1/30) and Part of Thursday (1/31)
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Ball State University is closing Wednesday January 30 through 11:00 a.m. Thursday January 31 due to the anticipated extremely cold and dangerous weather. The purpose of this message is to provide all students with the same instructions regarding your classes. Classes will be conducted through an e-Learning format to avoid making up the missed school day at a later date.
Note to parents: The residence hall remains open during this time. Students are not being sent home.
For all Academy classes that meet on Wednesday, January 30
- Your instructor will contact you with instructions regarding your assignment. The contact will most likely be by e-mail, but a few instructors may have given information during class today.
- Each class assignment will require you to produce a product of some sort. The product will serve as evidence of your participation in the e-Learning class
- The product must be sent or given to your instructor no later than midnight on Friday, February 1st. Products may be turned in earlier if desired.
- The product will be your evidence of having attended class on the e-Learning day. Failure to submit your product will result in an unexcused absence and a zero for the assignment.
For any Academy classes that meets 8:00 – 11:00 on Thursday, January 31
- Classes that normally meet from 10:00 – 12:00 will meet at 11:00. Please plan on attending these classes.
- All other classes that meet prior to 11:00 are cancelled. However, your instructor may send you an assignment so watch your e-mail for instructions.
Study Hall
- Study hall is cancelled for Wednesday, January 30th.
If you have questions regarding your assignment, please contact your instructor.
If you have questions regarding an Academic situation or concern, please contact Dr. Jeff Smith or Dr. Dain Kavars.
Rising Stars of Indiana Class of 2020
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
The Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP) recently announced the Rising Stars of Indiana Class of 2020. Each Indiana high school was invited to recognize up to four students currently in the 11th grade, based on their academic achievement. Students recognized from the Indiana Academy are:
Allison Foury
Collin Kinney
Komal Kumar
Nicole Nguyen
The Indiana Academy, along with IASP, congratulates these students on all they have already achieved, as well as offering support and encouragement as they continue their accomplishments and expand their knowledge, growth and leadership skills well into the future.
Two Indiana Academy Teachers Awarded Grants
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. recently announced that two Indiana Academy teachers will receive a Robert P. Bell Education Grant. Funded projects are creative or innovative classroom projects designed to stimulate learning in students. Awards of up to $450 are available through the Bell Grants program, and eighteen local teachers will receive $4,863 for 13 projects.
Bell Grants for the second cycle of this school year that were awarded to the Indiana Academy:
- Thomas Arnold was awarded $112 to use sketching techniques to teach high school juniors to see the changes in the landscape of North America from different points in history to the present day. Students are instructed in collage and other art techniques to produce a final sketch that backdates their chosen present-day landscape to its circumstances before the arrival of Europeans, or even humans at all.
- Stephanie Nagelkirk was awarded $336 to provide high school juniors and seniors with an understanding of the Harlem Renaissance Period in African-American Literature and culture. Each student selects one historical figure who contributed to the period to learn about in detail. Students then plan an authentic formal party and assume the role of their researched character to share what they have learned with classmates.
Bell Grants are funded through the Robert P. Bell Teacher Grants Fund at The Community Foundation. This fund ensures that teachers have access to grants to help engage their students in meaningful ways for years to come. All Delaware County teachers are able to apply during any of the four grant cycles. Across the county, thousands of students benefit from Bell Education Grants each year.
Satellite Designed by Indiana Academy Students Set to Launch Aboard a NASA Rocket
Friday, October 19, 2018
Susie Cunningham, an Academy computer science instructor, along with a class of her students have been collaborating with a company called Near Space Launch (www.nearspacelaunch.com) on a “ThinSat” satellite project. Near Space Launch donated several of the ThinSat kits to the Academy. The satellite designed by the Academy students is only one of a few selected to have their ThinSat launch into orbit. The NG-10 mission that includes their ThinSat is scheduled to launch on November 15, 2018 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia aboard a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket on a resupply mission to the International Space Station. Update: The launch date for the ThinSat has been moved to NG-11 in the spring of 2019.
Susie and her students have been designing, building, testing, and operating the ThinSat kits since last year. Phase 1 of the ThinSat kit included components that could be used to learn about electronics and sensors, and perform small balloon flight experiments. The Phase 2 kit included an Engineering Unit of the ThinSat as a practice unit for the students to design and test their payloads. Their units, or exact replicas of them, flew on several high altitude balloon launches this past summer to perform an end-to-end test of the system. The Phase 3 Flight Units were built and integrated by Near Space Launch, using the design specifications or custom payloads delivered to them by the Academy.
Once the Academy’s ThinSat is launched and deployed into orbit from the Antares rocket, Near Space Launch will begin live streaming data over their servers, which can then be accessed by students at the Academy. They will be able to see the data from their satellite, along with data from every other school, streaming over the internet in real time. This will then allow them to perform data analysis and understanding of what is happening in orbit.
The Indiana Academy’s logo and signatures of the students involved with the project are included on the ThinSat that is set to launch aboard the NASA rocket. The launch date is subject to change, and this story will be updated if it does.
Ball State’s Teachers College Centennial Celebration
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
The Indiana Academy is honored to have three different filmmakers presenting their films as part of Ball State’s Teachers College Centennial Celebration.
Break My Bones – November 6 at 7 p.m. in Pruis Hall
Indiana Academy faculty member and Ball State alum, David Haynes, will present and screen one of his short films, Break My Bones, and discuss his upcoming short film, Base Camp, as part of Ball State’s Teachers College Centennial Events. Haynes will be joined by Anthony Collamati, a professor of New Media Studies at Alma College. Collamati directed both films and co-wrote Break My Bones. A trailer for Base Camp and stills from the production will be shown.
Haynes produced and co-wrote Break My Bones, which has played in 12 film festivals on the international festival circuit and won “best thriller” at the Hollyshorts Film Festival in Hollywood, CA, and “first prize in cinematography” at the Rhode Island International Film Festival. Break My Bones was also nominated for the Jury Prize at the Badalona Film Festival in Barcelona, Spain. Base Camp, Haynes’ newest project, will begin its festival run this year.
Goodbye World – November 29 at 7 p.m. in Pruis Hall
Indiana Academy alumnus Denis Hennelly will present his film, Goodbye World, as part of Ball State’s Teachers College Centennial Events. Originally from Wasbash, Indiana, Hennelly has written and produced a number of movies, and co-wrote Goodbye World. This movie is a relationship comedy that tells the story of a couple who raise their daughter while living off the grid until a disaster brings radical changes in the life they have been living and the way they view their friends.
Paradise Recovered – December 6 at 7 p.m. in Pruis Hall
Indiana Academy alumna Andie Redwine will present her film Paradise Recovered as part of Ball State’s Teachers College Centennial Events. A professional writer for nearly two decades, Redwine is a winner of the Hoosier Award for Film and the ISBDC EDGE award, presented screenwriting and filmmaking workshops with the prestigious Heartland Film Festival, and won a number of festival awards with her first film, Paradise Recovered, a feature that she wrote and co-produced. A proud Hoosier, Redwine created By The Glass Productions in 2009 to better tell stories that champion the strength of the human spirit.
All of these films are free events. No tickets are needed.
Academy Student to Perform with Muncie Symphony Orchestra
Friday, October 5, 2018
Sage Hamm, a senior at the Indiana Academy will be performing with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra (MSO) on Saturday, October 27 at 7:30 p.m. Hamm recently won the MSO Young Artist Competition in the Senior Division. Hamm is a classical pianist-in-training currently studying with Dr. Robert Palmer, Chair of the Piano department at Ball State.
Hamm started his piano studies at the age of five, and now stays active in state and national music competitions throughout the year. As a result of this past season’s competitions, he was generously awarded performance opportunities as a featured soloist with four orchestras across the state. At the beginning of the year he performed with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and with the Indianapolis Symphony at Hilbert Circle Theatre this past June.
The MSO “Symphonic Halloween” concert on October 27 at 7:30 p.m. will be at Emens Auditorium. All Indiana Academy and Ball State students are eligible for complimentary tickets. More information about the concert is available on the MSO website at www.munciesymphony.org/event/symphonic-halloween.
National Merit Commended Students 2019
Monday, September 24, 2018
The following seniors are being recognized as Commended Students in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program:
Grace Allman
Joseph Batis
Grace Charpentier
Reeya Chenanda
Dawson Crisman
Ian Efsits
Kellie Geisel
Eric Harman
Noah Migoski
Jacob Nichols
Sterling Saint Rain
Samuel Shephard
2019 National Merit Semifinalists
Friday, September 14, 2018
Congratulations to our 2019 National Merit Semifinalists:
Dryden Frecker
Daniel Karagory
Chloe Thomas
Jason Wroblewski
Benjamin Riggs
Sage Hamm
Rahul Agarwal
Lillian Weber