For Immediate Release
SS. Philip and James Catholic School takes third place at Northeast Ohio Genius Program
SS. Philip and James School students recently took third place at the Northeast Ohio Genius Program hosted by ArtsinStark. The program reaches over 350 students and hosts 72 teams from various schools in six counties-- Columbiana, Mahoning, Portage, Stark, Summit and Tuscarawas. On April 11, SS. Philip and James students competed at The Genius Rally. The Genius Rally is the program’s culminating event in the Great Court of the Canton Cultural Center for the Arts for all Genius Project finalists, teachers, administrators and
family members.
According to ArtsinStark, “The NE Ohio Genius Project for Schools seeks to ignite the inner genius of middle school students through a nine-week challenge. Touching on multiple academic standards including math, science, art and financial literacy which will inspire creative thinking, team building, and problem solving skills.”
Each participating school, including SS. Philip and James, received a sealed Genius Box in January containing all the materials needed to complete the challenge and an information packet. Six SS. Philip and James students worked for nine weeks to complete this year’s challenge: build a geodesic dome to support life on a new planet named, Planet X. In the challenge, and upon arrival on Planet X, the teams were instructed to construct a geodesic dome to serve as its base of operation. During this nine-week challenge, students completed extensive research exploration of Planet X by logging of all activities, encounters and discoveries each day. In addition, a biome specific animal was discovered, and a model of the animal had to be displayed in the final project. Together, the SS. Philip and James T.I.T.A.N.S., eighth graders Nick Savage, Haley Hatfield, Georgia Bentzel, and seventh graders Brigid Burke, Danielle Cook, and Alicia Varacky, created an intricate STEM-based project to combat the challenge at hand.
For their project, SS. Philip and James students created journal entries of sulfur gasses, volcanic traces and strange animals. They used geometry and the strength of the triangle to build a cardboard geodesic dome. The team paid particular attention to detail for their presentation at the Rally and included science lab coats and security scanners as part of their costumes. The Genius Rally is held on Week 10 of the program, and the SS. Philip and James team took home third place for their project.
SS. Philip and James Catholic School is a private, faith-based school which serves students from preschool through grade 8 and is part of Stark County Catholic Schools. The school has a reputation for academic excellence and a tradition of offering students access to many educational opportunities and partnerships, as well as numerous arts and athletic programs. SS. Philip and James offers numerous tuition assistance and scholarship programs, and is an Ohio EdChoice provider, as they are dedicated to providing a high-quality education, celebrating the unique God-given talents of every student, to families of all faiths, backgrounds, and income levels. To learn more about SS. Philip and James School please call (330) 854-2823.