LA PLATA, Md. (May 11, 2009)—Dr. James Craik Elementary School, John Hanson Middle School and Thomas Stone High School competed at the statewide Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) competition held April 30 at Morgan State University.
Teams from Craik won first place in two of the four elementary level competitions. Craik won first place in the Theme Park Ride event and tied for first place with Severn Elementary School in the On-Site Mathematics: Slope/Rate of Change event.
Hanson won second place and Stone won third place in the Bass Wood Bridge event.
The Craik team also competed in the Effective Communication, Balsa Wood Bridge and Scratch Banner competitions.
Hanson also competed in the Effective Communications, Scratch Banner, On-Site Mathematics: Slope/Rate of Change and Multi-Task Trebuchet events.
Stone also competed in the Effective Communications, Multi-Task Trebuchet and Electric Cargo Plane events.
Awards were given for first-, second-, and third-place teams and one overall state elementary and secondary winner is chosen. The school that earns the most points throughout the competition is chosen as the overall winner.
First-place winners at the state level in the Trebuchet competition advance to the National MESA Engineering Challenge next month. A national MESA competition for elementary level students has not been established.
This is the second year Charles County Public Schools competed as a separate Maryland MESA region, due to growth of participation in the program. In previous competitions, students from Charles County Public Schools competed in the regional competition with Calvert and St. Mary's counties.
Maryland MESA is designed to prepare students for academic and professional careers in mathematics, engineering, science, and technology. The program's goals are to increase the number of engineers, scientists, mathematicians, and related professionals at technical and management levels; and to serve as a driving force in encouraging and assisting minorities and females in achieving success in these fields.
Source: Charles County public school system