LA PLATA, Md.—Nathan Radtke, an eighth-grade student at Milton M. Somers Middle School, was recently named as one of 300 semifinalists in the 2008 Society for Science and The Public Middle School Program.
The program is for middle school students and students are nominated for the program based on submitted written essays of their science, math, and engineering projects used to compete in regional and state science fairs during the 2007-08 school year.
Semifinalists are also chosen for earning high awards for their project at their regional science fair. Radtke's project, "Keep Your Eye on the Line: A Robotic Journey", won first place in the junior division engineering category of the Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) Science Fair.
Radtke, along with the other semifinalists, was selected from more than 1,900 entrants and 30 finalists will be selected later this month. Finalists will receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., in October and will compete for more than $40,000 in scholarships.
During this trip, finalists will present their original science fair projects and will compete in team science activities that will test knowledge of science, problem-solving, teamwork and leadership skills. The top 10 finalists will win scholarships, prizes and scientific excursions.
Additionally, five other CCPS students were nominated for the program. They are: Andre Burton, an eighth-grader at Somers; Caleb Craft, an eighth-grader at John Hanson Middle School; Cayley Dymond, a freshman at North Point High School; Katherine Kamin, an eighth-grader at Piccowaxen Middle School; and Michael Porter, an eighth-grader at Somers.
More than 7,500 students nationwide were nominated for the program at science fairs throughout the spring. About 1,900 of these nominees submitted an online entry by the deadline and won an entry prize.
Source: Charles County Public School System