February 2020 News
Science Olympiad Team Advances to State
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
On Saturday, February 8, the Academy Science Olympiad team traveled to the Regional round of competition in Bloomington. The team won medals in twelve events, finished third overall, and qualified to advance to the state tournament.
Competing for the Academy were Carlie Butler, Lehan Hu, Komal Kumar, Evy Lee, Bony Li, Nichole Nguyen, Derek Park, Grace Reynolds, Kavin Saravanan, Abbi Smith, Maddy Witt, Robert Xu, Anna Yang, and Zhiyu Zhang. Mr. Mike Mayfield, Mr. Josh Ruark, and Ms. Heather Rogers accompanied the team.
Congratulations to all! The state tournament will be held in Lafayette on Saturday, March 21.
Academy Instructor of Life Sciences Receives Prestigious Award
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Academy instructor Michael Mayfield has been selected as the 2018-19 recipient of the prestigious Battey National Educator Award. The award provides a plaque, an honorarium of $8000 to Mr. Mayfield, and a grant of $2000 to the Indiana Academy to be applied to our programs.
Kiara Goodwin, an Academy alum and current senior at DePauw University, nominated Mr. Mayfield for the award. Her nomination expressed the inspiration and vigor of Mr. Mayfield’s teaching style.
Mr. Mayfield will be recognized at the annual Chuck and Joan Battey dinner reception at DePauw University.
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.
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.
Indiana Academy Instructors Awarded Robert P. Bell Education Grants
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Robert P. Bell Education Grants are awarded to teachers and counselors for innovative ideas, programs, or classroom projects. Administered by the Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, four Indiana Academy faculty members, Michael Mayfield, John Marsh, Jennifer Robinson, and Les McSparrin were awarded a Bell Grant.
Students in the Human Anatomy and Physiology course taught by Michael Mayfield, instructor of life sciences, are studying the human cardiovascular system. As part of this study they will be dissecting a preserved sheep heart and illustrating the external circulation and internal structures. They will use computerized probeware to produce a three lead ECG (electrocardiogram) of their own heart. To help in mastering the material, they will transfer their drawings onto the front of a t-shirt along with a tracing of their ECG on the back. From this activity, Mayfield hopes the students will better understand the physical structures of the human heart and the flow of blood.
John Marsh, instructor of history, is another recipient of the Bell Grant. Marsh created a mock election process that expanded beyond the standard classroom teaching on the nomination process, electoral college, candidates, and issues. Students trained in the roles of the various poll workers, and then the polls were open during the nearly identical period as the official polls in Indiana on Election Day. Students followed the complete procedure when they came to vote. Through hands-on participation and responsibilities, the end result for students was a broad understanding of the election laws and procedures regarding this most central of citizenship rights.
French Instructor, Jennifer Robinson, instructor of French, had a variety of things happening during National French Week (November 4-10) and the grant assisted with and Arts & Crafts event during that week. For that event students focused on the hand-painted pottery traditions in the Brittany region of France. Their pottery pieces were decorated using permanent markers, and they created personalized signatures following the example of the true Quimper artisans. Finally, to extend the reach of this project beyond the walls of the Academy, each student made one pottery item for themselves and a second to offer to someone in the community. Each item includes a student-produced card explaining the Quimper tradition, an explanation of the significance of the chosen design, a brief biography of the student artisan, and some facts about the French language.
Students in biochemistry are embarking on a 5-7 week course with Les McSparrin, instructor of chemistry, to explore a real-world laboratory project that is problem based. The students will be isolating the DHFR protein from transformed E. coli colonies. What makes this a “real-world” project is that the students will be using the same procedures and apparatuses that are currently in use in biotechnology labs across the United States. Student won’t just be learning about the function of the protein itself, but they also will be learning techniques that will carry over to college and/or the workplace. Since the field of biochemistry and biotechnology is growing at such a rapid pace, students will have a considerable advantage over other students who don’t have this skill set upon graduation. He wishes to enhance in-class discussions of DHFR and other protein folding with hands-on experiences.