By Adam Pack
The Greenbrier County Board of Education met for their regularly scheduled April meeting on Tuesday, Apr. 12, at 6 p.m.
The first order of business was honoring the Greenbrier East High School’s InvenTEAM on their receiving the Lemelson Grant from MIT. The Team was on hand to present their new invention to the Board. The device, which these 20 students have been working on for upwards of a year, is a homing beacon system designed to be carried by spelunkers and cave visitors which will help emergency services find and or render medical aid to those lost or hurt in cave systems.
Each of the “leads” of the various teams (of which there were Administrative, Communications, Sustainability, Research, Financial, Tech/Coding, and Fabrication) came up to present the work and progress that each team has made to date.
Students explained that the device is a two part system. The system has an “inside unit” (a breadcrumb), which is carried by the cave travelers into the cave. The breadcrumb acts as a GPS tracker, and is able to send signals back to the outside unit. Users can vary these messages to communicate various needs in case of emergency.
As the list of teams shows that this was a holistic effort on the part of the students. The public learned that students have had to work diligently to do ethical research, contacting scientific research certification organizations across the country. Fabrication students also had to do hours and hours of testing and re-starting, as did their colleagues in the coding team. The sustainability team had the unenviable task of trying to find environmentally safe and sustainable ways of producing every part of the product, even the water and fire-proofing. The administrative team made sure everything was ordered in time and that everyone was well on task, while communications made sure to keep running visual documentation, and the financial lead kept track of all the money coming in, which will prove necessary for the group’s trip to Boston as it’s the team’s responsibility to finance their travel expenses.
Speaking of which, the presentation ended with a huge helping of thanks for the $20,000 already collected to all those who’ve donated, but with the news that the group still needs nearly $5,000. Interested individuals can donate to the team at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-greenbrier-east-inventeam-get-to-boston.
In other news, several other students were honored for their academic achievements. Winners and participants of the 2021-22 State Math Field Day Winners include, by grade;
4th Grade: Sean Clendenen (Lewisburg), Tayton Martin (Smoot), and Arabella Webb (Lewisburg, 2nd Place)
5th Grade: Emma Vincent (Lewisburg), Ellie Burns (WSS), Ava Taylor (Frankford)
6th Grade: Ben Butler, (WGMS, 6th Place), Noah Ramos (WGMS), Drew McClung (EGMS, 2nd Place)
7th Grade: Bhavya Patel (EGMS, 1st Place), Russell Reynolds (EGMS), Elijah Smailes (Homeschool, 6th Place).
8th Grade: Nathaniel Vincent (EGMS), Noah Edwards (EGMS, 5th Grade), Andrew Holt (EGMS)
9th Grade: Sophia Nguyen (GEHS, 1st Place), Mollie Pack (GEHS, 3rd Place), Jakob Tomlinson (GEHS, 4th Place)
10th, 11th, and 12th Grades: Kendra Culyer (GEHS, 3rd Place), Jonathon Nguyen (GEHS, 5th Place), Evan McClure (GEHS), Rylee Norman (GEHS), Peyton Barker (GEHS), Ian Hamilton (GEHS), Abby Dilley (GEHS), Carmen Fogus (GEHS), Elizabeth Bishop (GWHS)
Also honored were those students who placed at the HOSA State Leadership Conference Competition. GEHS Students traveled to Marshall University on March 18 and 19 to compete, and high in many categories.
Spirit Award: GEHS HOSA – 1st Place
Vet. Science: Alexia Tipton – 1st Pace
Public Health: Madison Carver – 1st Place, Sheridan Tolley – 1st Place
MRC: Josi Ervin – 1st Place
Prepared Speaking: Lauren Smith – 2nd Place
Researched Persuasive Speaking: Julia Smith – 1st Place
Health Career Display: Sara Whitt – 3rd Place, Daisha Summers – 3rd Place
Creative Problem Solving: Abigail Adkins – 1st Place, Elyza Crane – 1st Place – Halianna Holliday – 1st Plast
Forensic Science: Olivia Plybon – 1st Place, Heather Jones, 1st Place
Cultural Diversity: Shania Davis – 1st Place, Sophia Ngyuen – 2nd Place
HOSA Happenings: Grace Hylton – 1st Place
Health Issues Exam: Elyza Crane – 1st Place, Halianna Holliday – 2nd Place, Grace Hylton – 3rd Place
The Greenbrier County Board of Education is proud of all these students and their fantastic academic achievements. The Board will meet again next month on May 10 at 6 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend.
