2015 State Champions

COMMUNITY PROBLEM SOLVING

JUNIOR DIVISION


Stop TADING


Ever noticed how many people are distracted while driving?  They’re either looking at their phones, texting friends or updating their Facebook status.  The 6th grade CmPS team found that one-third of their day is impacted by distracted drivers.  In response, the STOP TADing (Texting and Driving) project was created by TEAM DRIVE to educate drivers about the dangers of distracted driving.  TEAM DRIVE created a website, social media accounts, YouTube channel and PSAs which played on national radio.  We also participated in April’s Distracted Driving Awareness month and published video games for drivers to experience distracted driving risks firsthand. 

 

 


Team DRIVE on YouTube: 


ATAOGUZ, AXLAND, BRZOSKA, CASTAIN, DAL PRA, ELLIS, GRUBER, HARKLEROAD, LIN, MOEAI, PRUITT, SMALL, SMITH, ZETINA-JIMENEZ


Coaches Heather Lynch and Justin Parmenter

WADDELL LANGUAGE ACADEMY

 

Click below to see Team DRIVE's VLOG


Team DRIVE





2013 State Champions

COMMUNITY PROBLEM SOLVING

MIDDLE DIVISION


1ST PLACE
F.O.O.D.: FINDING OUR OWN DIET


E.E. WADDELL LANGUAGE ACADEMY

Charlotte, NC  

Coaches HEATHER LYNCH & JUSTIN PARMENTER

BARRO-BARRERA

MAXWELL

READ

RITTER

ROJAS

WHITSON

WRIGHT


UP: Because we are concerned about nutrition, how might we, the Waddell 7th grade CmPS team F.O.O.D. (Finding Our Own Diet), promote students’ understanding of nutrition so that they can make healthy food choices and be more focused in our school and community?


AREA OF CONCERN:

            Last year we made many plans and did lots of research but we didn’t get too many outcomes to our project.  We incorporated these plans and research into evolving our area of concern for this year. Previously we spent a lot of time and effort in applying for a large grant to start a school garden.  We did not win that grant and the team was disappointed.  We decided that this year we would pursue other options in funding a garden including alternative grants, fundraising, money from the PTSA but we would not give up our goal of starting a garden.  We know that a garden would outlast our time at school and be used by the future students of our school.  We also learned through research last year that we wanted to continue to address school lunches.  By trying to improve the quality of food through altering the school lunches, we can help kids’ nutrition.  Knowing that it is difficult to change the opinions of people our age, we want to start with the younger students in educating them about nutrition and healthy choices, specifically the Kindergarten classes.  Kids can make better choices in their diets, if we show them how to do so through the benefits of nutrition. Improving diets helps kids live a healthy, academically enriched life. Results from many studies show that there is a strong link between good nutrition and academic performance.   As these kids grow up and lead healthy adult lives, they can in turn to educate their own children. We are interested in getting “real” prepared “in-house” food through our school cafeteria while still following state and federal guidelines.  Our passion for this project comes from our plans benefitting multiple people and it’s educational to be involved with gardening.  We will teach younger kids not only about nutrition but about caring for the school garden.    

 To continually broaden the impact of healthy choices, we will create a school garden, expand the garden and harvest the products to supplement the school lunch program.  Students will grow and raise various plants, vegetables, fruits and herbs to make our school lunch better tasting and healthier and have a say in the school lunch offerings.  Our school, Waddell Academy, is the only Kindergarten through Eighth grade public world language immersion magnet school in our district, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC.  Our entire school staff and students moved to a newer building at a new site last year.  Thus fifty years of outdoor and environmental work completed at our previous site –Smith Academy-was lost.   Our new building and landscaping is only ten years old and located on 127 acres in the urban area of Charlotte.   Our county, Mecklenburg is 526.28 square miles and has more than 850,000 residents.  Our concerns are not just for the health of the 1,300 students within our K-8 school, but also that of the entire county as we all come from various parts of the county.  Any solution or solutions to this problem that we address will definitely impact our entire school and county.