St. Thomas More School wins Future City competition for third consecutive year
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
by: Rene Abadie
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
Scroll down for cutlines
HAMMOND – Three teams of middle school students from Baton Rouge took top awards at the state's Future City competition sponsored by Southeastern Louisiana University Jan. 25 and Feb. 1.
The team "Christopia," representing St. Thomas More Catholic School in Baton Rouge, took the top award for the third consecutive year at the event, which included seven participating schools from Louisiana and Mississippi. The judging was split over two weekends to accommodate teams unable to participate in January due to weather and road conditions.
The second place team was "Tropic Thunder City" of Scotlandville Pre-Engineering Magnet Academy of Baton Rouge, while third place went to "Team Baton Rouge" representing Episcopal High School of Baton Rouge.
Coordinated by the Southeastern Department of Computer Science and Industrial Technology, the regional Future City competition pitted seven middle school teams from Louisiana and Mississippi in a competition that involves the design of a virtual city using SimCity4 Deluxe software that is donated to the teams. The students were also required to write a research essay on their project, build a physical model using recycled materials, and make an oral presentation to a panel of judges.
This year's competition, sponsored in part by Shell and Entergy, focused on designing a transportation system for the team's model city. A $500 cash award was presented to the three teams that made the finals. Other sponsors included the National Engineering Week Foundation, CH2M-Hill Engineering and NCEES, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing professional licensure for engineers and surveyors.
The St. Thomas More team was coached by teacher Shirley Newman and included students Gabbie Taylor, Ann Nguyen, Vivian Brown and Jason Taylor. As winners of the Southeastern event, the St. Thomas More team will go to the national finals in Washington, DC, later in February.
Scotlandville Pre-Engineering Magnet Academy of Baton Rouge was coached by teacher Ingrid Cruz. Team members included Kerigan Ramsey, Kirsten Cannon and Aircka Gibbs. Episcopal High School student participants included Celia Kiesel, Izzy Goel, Parker Wyatt, Laura Kurtz, MacKenzie Robards, Gautham Mahes, Adam Reid and Sevy Breaux. The students were coached by teacher Elizabeth Connell. Episcopal High also earned the CH2M-Hill special award of $200 for presenting the most holistic approach in their presentation.
"The judges expressed to me their astonishment at what all these participants managed to do, particularly their impressive creativity," said Future City coordinator Cris Koutsougeras, professor of computer science at Southeastern. "They won our admiration and respect, and I believe they gained through this experience an understanding of future challenges and the means to conquer them. Competitions like this will have a positive impact in their lives and their future careers."
Other participating schools in the competition included Youngsville Christian School of Youngsville, La., two teams from Gautier Middle School of Gautier, Miss., and a team representing Colmer Middle School of Pascagoula, Miss. Colmer Middle School and team "Kirkland" from Gautier Middle School also shared the NCEES award accompanied by a $200 stipend.
"This event serves as a great opportunity for young students to work together as a team in a competition that involves science and technology," said Koutsougeras. "Future City is a fun but challenging event that helps students understand the roles that science and engineering can bring to solving problems. It is a tremendous learning opportunity for these young participants.
PHOTO CUTLINES
BATON ROUGE AREA (3)
1) ST. THOMAS MORE CLAIMS FIRST PLACE IN FUTURE CITY COMPETITION
HAMMOND – Team "Christopia," representing St. Thomas More School in Baton Rouge, claimed
first place in the regional Future City competition coordinated by the Southeastern
Louisiana University Department of Computer Science and Industrial Technology. Pictured,
from left to right, are teacher Shirley Newman, students Gabbie Taylor, Ann Nguyen,
Vivian Brown and engineering mentor Jason Taylor.
2) HAMMOND – Team "Tropic Thunder City, representing Scotlandville Pre-Engineering
Magnet Academy of Baton Rouge, placed second in the regional Future City competition
coordinated by the Southeastern Louisiana University Department of Computer Science
and Industrial Technology. Pictured at the event, from left to right, are students
Kerigan Ramsey, Airica Gibbs, Kirsten Cannon and teachers Jennifer Anderson and Ingrid
Cruz.
3) HAMMOND – Team Baton Rouge, representing Episcopal High School in Baton Rouge, placed
third in the regional Future City competition coordinated by the Southeastern Louisiana
University Department of Computer Science and Industrial Technology. Pictured at the
event, from left to right, are students MacKenzie Robards, Celia Kiesel, Izzy Goel
and Laura Kurtz. Episcopal High also earned the CH2M-Hill special award for presenting
the most holistic approach in their presentation.
LAFAYETTE AREA (1)
4) HAMMOND – A team from Youngsville Christian School participated in the regional Future
City competition coordinated by the Southeastern Louisiana University Department of
Computer Science and Industrial Technology. Pictured at the event, from left to right,
are Robert Russell, mentor Steele Russell, and Alex Russell. The winning team was
from St. Thomas More High School in Baton Rouge.
MISSISSIPPI (3)
5) HAMMOND – Team "Pantherville," representing Colmer Middle School in Pascagoula, Miss.,
participated in the regional Future City competition coordinated by the Southeastern
Louisiana University Department of Computer Science and Industrial Technology. Pictured
at the event, are, front row from left to right: Amber Grant, Laura Grace Warren,
Zaniya Matthews, Sherteres Lofton, Matthew Parker, Aston Smith; back row, from left:
Akalia DeSouza, teacher Susanne Cronier, Cameron Wells, Collin Young, Alison Long,
and Blayze Broadus.
6) HAMMOND – Team "Kirkland," representing Gautier Middle School in Gautier, Miss.,
participated in the regional Future City competition coordinated by the Southeastern
Louisiana University Department of Computer Science and Industrial Technology. Pictured
at the event, from left to right, are Steven Tait, Lili Sagaser, Jacob Marler, and
Alex Parr.
7) HAMMOND – Team "New New York," representing Gautier Middle School in Gautier, Miss.,
in the regional Future City competition coordinated by the Southeastern Louisiana
University Department of Computer Science and Industrial Technology. Pictured at the
event, from left to right, are Adan Nunez, Peyton Pound, Canyon Phelps, and Tamya
Sims.
