On Saturday, May 19, more than 50 middle school students from across Berkshire County and their families gathered at Reid Middle School in Pittsfield to enter their model solar cars in the annual Berkshire Junior Solar Sprint (JSS). The Center for Ecological Technology (CET), coordinator of the event, is pleased to announce that the top 12 teams advanced to the Northeast Junior Solar Sprint Championship to be held on June 10 at the Springfield Science Museum in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Middle school students from the Berkshire region will join students from New England, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Washington DC. CET coordinated the JSS event with support from Berkshire Bank, Berkshire Gas Company, Energy Federation, Inc., Western Massachusetts Electric Company, Northeast Sustainable Energy Association and the U.S. Department of Energy. Additional contributors were Guido’s Fresh Marketplace, South Street Servicenter, Bob’s Elm Street Service, Bunnell Auto Parts and Haddad Motors.
The Junior Solar Sprint is a fun and educational competition for students in grades 5-8 who work in teams to build miniature vehicles powered by the sun and learn first-hand about non-polluting transportation. This year rain forced students indoors where they replaced solar panels with batteries to power their solar vehicles. “It was a great event, in spite of the rain,†said coordinator Cynthia Grippaldi. “Students had a lot of fun and learned firsthand that solar vehicles need battery back-up to run on cloudy days and at night.†Student cars were judged in four categories—innovative design, craftsmanship, technical merit, and performance (speed). The top three winners in each category are eligible to compete in the regional championship.
“We are thrilled by the creativity and enthusiasm of so many students, and excited that several now have the opportunity to participate in the regional event,†said Nancy Nylen of CET. “It’s great to see students and teachers working together on projects, and then to see their family and friends cheer them on at the solar sprint event. And we owe a big thanks to our generous sponsors for making this possible.â€
Students participating in the JSS came from Adams Memorial Middle School, Conte Middle School in North Adams, Clarksburg Elementary School, Herberg Middle School and Reid Middle School in Pittsfield, Monument Valley Middle School in Great Barrington, and Richmond Consolidated School.
Berkshire Junior Solar Sprint Results – 2007
Award - Car #, School, Name of Car, Students
Innovation
1st place: - #52 — Reid Middle School: "The Racing Piranhas"—John Krebs, Caroline Nadeau
2nd place: - #22 — Monument Valley Middle School: "322"—Bobby Teggi, Travis Wilton
3rd place: - #45 — Richmond: "Zoomer" - Kelsey Marzotto
(tie) - #10 — Clarksburg: “Candy Coated Turniquetteâ€â€”Brody Moran, Genavieve Twomey
Craftsmanship
1st place: - #33 — Herberg Middle School: "Fluffy Bunnies"—Leslie Martin, Emily Vigard
2nd place: - #30 — Herberg: "Spotted Lizard" —Nicole Chaves, Emily Murray
3rd place: - #70 — Adams Middle School: "Jive Turkey"—Greg Bosworth, Antonio Cardeno, Andrew Galisa
Technical Merit
1st place: - #23 — Monument Valley: "Brewstewcar"—Alfred Brewer, Louisa Carman, Annarose Stewart
2nd place: - #40 — Richmond: "The Lemon"—Megan Doerle, Sara Massery
3rd place: - #33 — Herberg: "Fluffy Bunnies"— Leslie Martin, Emily Vigard
Speed
1st place: - #54 — Reid: "Cricker"—Jordyn Biagiotti, Andrea Moreau, Diedre Lindsey
2nd place: - #60 — Conte Middle School: "Blue Streak"—Michael Reese
3rd place: - #52 — Reid: "The Racing Piranhas"—John Krebs, Caroline Nadeau
The Berkshire JSS is an annual event. For more information about the JSS or solar energy curriculum, contact Cynthia Grippaldi at CET, (413)-445-4556 ext. 25 or Nancy Nylen at nancyn@cetonline.org. CET is a 30-year-old community organization working with citizens and organizations to promote energy conservation and environmental education in western Massachusetts. CET is funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
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Pittsfield Little League's State Tournament Run Comes to an End
iBerkshires.com Sports
HOLDEN, Mass. -- The Bridgewater American 12-year-old All-Stars Saturday ended Pittsfield's run in the Little League state tournament with a 6-0 decision at Holden's CRA field.
For the second time in this tournament, one late inning was the difference.
In Thursday's tournament opener, it was a six-run five-run Bridgewater sixth that erased a three-run Pittsfield lead in an eventual extra-inning win for Bridgewater.
On Saturday, Bridgewater scored four in the bottom of the fifth to open up a two-run game.
Luke Schlatz went 2-for-3 with a double, and Anthony Sullivan hit a solo home run to lead Bridgewater's offense. Dominik Mombeleur struck out seven and allowed two hits in a complete-game win on the mound.
Myles Morrison-Gould had both Pittsfield hits, going 2-for-2 at the plate.
Carmelo Coco, Mason Fox and Sean Rozak split time on the mound, striking out four and allowing two earned runs.
Cassidy Flynn scattered five hits in a complete-game effort in the circle as Lenox upset top-seeded Hoosac Valley, 3-2, in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament. click for more
Brayden Durant struck out seven and walked one in a complete-game effort on the mound Saturday to pitch the Drury baseball team to a 6-0 win over Keefe Tech in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament at Joe Wolfe Field. click for more
Jason Codey struck out 13, walked two and allowed just an infield single as the Generals earned a 7-1 win over Wahconah to claim their third straight regional title. click for more
Gracelyn Wright struck out eight, and Genevieve Lagess went 3-for-5 with four runs batted in as the Hurricanes beat Monson, 17-3, to claim their first Western Mass title in four years. click for more
For the boys, Ward Bianchi helped lead the way with a win in the shot put and a second place in the javelin as the Mounties finished 16 points ahead of runner-up Pittsfield (pending the results of the pole vault, which were unavailable at 11 p.m. Friday night). click for more
