Applauding Our Accomplishments
Emerson students doing what they do best
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DESTINATION IMAGINATION TEAM TAKES TROPHY
Congratulations to Jon-Michael Taylor (4) and the Saline Seven, a Destination ImagiNation Team of fourth graders for their astonishing first place finish at the Affiliate State Competition April 17, 2010! The Saline Seven was the only team to get a grade of “Outstanding” for their performance, earning them a 1st place trophy and a trip to the Global competition in Knoxville, Tennessee. They will be representing the State of Michigan, and competing against 30 countries in the Project Outreach middle school level May 25- May 29th.
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A2 SKATEPARK BENEFIT ART SHOW
Congratulations to Celeste Adams, Hannah Glick, Sydney Hutnik, Syd Ohl, Elijah Reische, Gabby Skifstad, and Danielle Sarns for their participation in The A2 Skatepark Benefit Art Show. The events benefits the design & construction of Ann Arbor's first Skatepark. 50 artists custom designed and painted skate decks to be judged by a panel. After the May 15 show at the Vault of Midnight, the decks will be on display for two weeks. Top of page
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2010 NATIONAL FRENCH CONTEST WINNERS
The National French Exam is a standardized test that is administrated nation-wide once a year. Students are measured against others students with the same approximate amount of contact hours with French. 15 Emerson students took the test all together. 7 landed in the top 10 in the state. Congratulations to one and all!
Winners by Level, Chapter, and National Rank:
SEVENTH GRADE:
01A 1 Hannah Cesnik 6;
01A 2 Rae Brigham 8;
01A 7 Sophie Anderson 13;
01A 7 Madeleine Caughey 13
EIGHTH GRADE:
1A 2 Savannah Rodriguez 5;
1A 7 Celia Knapp 10;
1A 9 Henry Ellis 12
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EMERSON ARTISTS TAKE A BOW AT MICHIGAN ELEMENTARY EXHIBITION
Artwork by Anagha Nayak (5) and Claire Conway (3) has been selected by the Michigan Art Education Association for a state display of superior artwork! Their pieces will be displayed in the Elementary State Exhibition from June 14-25, 2010 at the Kendall College of Art and design in Grand Rapids. Congratulations! Top of page
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GOOD WISHES TO A GOOD FRIEND
Recently two Emerson Middle School girls, Therese Larson and Sarah Ferris heard that a good friend from another school was diagnosed with leukemia. A friend, fellow athlete, and peer was going to be facing some difficult times. In an effort to cheer her up and keep her aware how much we all care, Therese approached the 6th grade girl’s advisories. They worked together to create a bulletin board of good cheer and good humor. The girls made a flower out of the bulletin board, each petal carrying well wishes on one side and a joke to brighten her day on the other. Sarah and Therese will deliver the gift – and all of our good thoughts this weekend. We all wish her well! Top of page
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2010 WINNING CHESS MOVES
Sam Kidd and Robbie Riles both took first place in their respective grade/divisions at the
Wardcliff Tournament in Okemos. They both scored 4.5 out
of 5 games.This has been an amazing chess year for Emerson, winning the State
Championship in February and the team doing so well in other
tournaments. Top of page
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SECOND STAR TO THE RIGHT AND STRAIGHT ON!
Emerson students Gabby Keen (8), Jeremy Glick (8), Olivia (5) and Soleil (2) Ponce de Leon, and Ashley Harlock (2) appeared in the Young People’s Theater presentation of Peter Pan. Emerson alum, Ari Axelrod, played the role of Captain Hook. Performances were April 22-25 at
Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, University of Michigan. Top of page
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EMERSON WRITERS IN ANTHOLOGY OF POETRY
Five 3rd graders in Gillian Ferrington's class have been honored by The Anthology of Poetry: Bridget Chemberlin,
Omar Hassan, Nikhil Deenadayalu, Panayiotis Georgakas and Ava Hoffman. The student's work will appear in The Anthology of Poetry which is published once a year and accepts students' entries from all over the country. Congratulations! Top of page
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2010 EMERSON SCIENCE OLYMPIAD
Emerson made a strong showing against older and more experienced teams as the school competed in the Science Olympiad for the second year. With eleven 6th graders, we were the youngest team in the competition. Emerson placed 6th overall out of 15 teams, medaled in 12 out of 23 events, and won three 1st place medals: Dynamic Planet, Shock Value and Science Crime Busters. Other
medals included one 2nd place (Solar System), three 3rds (Battery Buggy, Wright Stuff and Compute This), two 4ths (Fossils and Bio-Process Lab) and three 6ths (Ecology, Ornithology and Junkyard Challenge). Hats off to Emerson's scientists! Top of page
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2010 JAPANESE QUIZ BOWL RESULTS
Every year the Emerson teams do well in Japanese Quiz Bowl -- and this year they did very well indeed! Of 10 Emerson teams, 6 went to the finals in this statewide competition, in two cases competing against each other for highest award. These are the students who participated in the quiz bowl:
Jake, Emi, Daria, Ethan, Grace: 2nd place in Elementary division.
Rephael, Powel, Hayden, Truman, Alex: 1st place in Elementary division
Therese, Katy, Nani, Haley, Eli: 1st place in Division I
Philip, Grant, John, Zeb, Jordan: did't make it to final, but got total of 30 points (2 wins, 1 loss)
Josh, William, Avery, Alec: didn't make it to final, but got total of 32 points (2 wins, 1 loss against high school team)
Tim Sonal, Alex Vidvic, Michael Dang, Ethan Tucker: did not make it to the final, but they got 33 points ( 2 wins, 1 loss against high school teams )
Elijah, Ben, Emily, Olga: Division III 2nd place against all high school teams
Zane, Ben, Duncan, Claire, Gabbie: Division III 1st place against all high school teams
Caleb, Yasha, Shahzaib, Em Winfield, Lauren Carpenter ( Alumni team ) 3rd place in Division IV, tied with the other Emerson alumni team and lost at the tie breaker
Margot Pontius, Miles Grofsorean; 2nd place in Division IV Top of page
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2010 NENGAJO CONTEST WINNERS
Congratulations to Emerson's Japanese Language Students for their artistic - and often comical - Nengajo (New Year's Card) Contest submissions. The annual competition among state schools with Japanese programs is sponsored by the Japanese Teachers Association of Michigan and the Japanese Consulate in Detroit. Several of Emerson's creative card makers received awards. ELEMENTARY:
Artistic-1st place in all Michigan, Annelore Fleischmann;
3rd place in all Michigan, Jake Hutnik; Original 2nd place in all Michigan, Anya Nayak; Comical 2nd place in all Michigan, Connor Fancett. MIDDLE SCHOOL:
Original 1st place in all Michigan, Emily Newman; 3rd place in all Michigan, Alec Vidovic;
Comical 1st place in all Michigan, Olga Sokolova; 2nd place in all Michigan, Duncan Braun. Top of page___________________________________________________________________________
FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD!
November 2009 - Emerson students Ben Chambers, Ashley Harlock and Alexandra Howell, along with past Emerson Alum, Mackenzie Kimball, show their acting talents in the classic epic, The Wizard of Oz. The Young People's Theater of Ann Arbor production appears at the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre located on the University of Michigan campus.
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2009 BETTER NEWSPAPER CONTEST AWARDS
Members of Iowa Press Association studied over thousands of entries submitted by Michigan newspapers when they judged the 2009 Michigan Press Association Better Newspaper Contest.
Heritage Newspapers' Washtenaw County publications have earned 24 awards in the Michigan Press Association's Better Newspaper Contest, including 12-year-old movie reviewer Ryan Michaels (8), who is now a two-time MPA award winner, grabbing honorable mention for columnist again with his reviews in the Milan paper. Congratulations Ryan! Top of page
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NATIONAL FRENCH EXAM RESULTS
Each year, the 7th and 8th graders take the National French Exam (Le Concours National). This is a standardized test. At the seventh grade level (01A), approx. 8,000 students nationwide took the test. At the eighth grade level, (1A), approx. 25,000 students participated.
Here are our Emerson results:
Seventh graders:
Savannah Rodriquez, 1st in the state and 4th in the nation; Jeremy Glick, 4th in the state and 8th in the nation;
Celia Knapp, 5th in the state and 10th in the nation;
Henry Ellis, 6th in the state;
Kat Marx, 8th in the state;
Sydney Ohl, 10th in the state.
Eighth graders: Daniel Rothschild, 1st in the state, 3rd in the nation;
Tori Johnson, 2nd in the state, 4th in the nation;
Rachel Parker, 4th in the state, 6th in the nation;
Emma Powell, 4th in the state and 6th and nation;
Katherine Loreman, 5th in the state, 7th in the nation.
Shalini Kota, 6th in the state, 8th in the nation;
Dana Johnson, 7th in the state, 9th in the nation; Lalitha Ramaswamy, 8th in the state, 10th in the nation; Shoham Geva, 10th in the state;
Emily Wu, 10th in the state.
Congratulations to our hardworking students! Top of page
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SPANISH NATIONAL EXAMS
Congratulations to world language students who received
recognition for excellent performance on the 2008 National Spanish Examinations. “Attaining any placement or honorable mention for any student on the National Spanish Examinations is very prestigious,” said Kevin Cessna, National Director of the Exams, “because the exams are the largest of their kind in the United States with well over 115,000 students participating in 2009.” The exams are administered each year from grades 6-12, and are sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.
Silver Award, 8th Grade: Joe Hakim; Bronze Award, 8th Grade:
Evan Chavis; Honorable Mention, 8th Grade:
Chris Klein,
Cecilie Simo,
Shreya Bahl,
Thomas Hadl,
Ben Merte,
Ryan Ferris; Gold Award, 7th Grade:
Julia Doyle***Grand Prize Winner; Silver Award:
Adriana Hassan,
Eitan Rubinfeld,
Gabriela Skifstad,
Morgan Bradford,
Caroline Zubieta; Bronze Award, 7th Grade:
Niket Parikh,
Sajani Desai,
Lauren Lanzo; Honorable Mention:
Sarah Ferris,
Noah Crimmi,
Matthew Shanley,
Annie Rudisill,
Danielle Sarns,
Ryan Michaels. Top of page
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EMERSON KIDS EXCEL AT SCIENCE OLYMPIAD
We’re very pleased to announce that Emerson Middle School students did a great job in the 2009 Science Olympiad. This was the first year our school participated in the Olympiad competition with a full team of fifteen students, and our kids were very successful. Fourteen middle schools from Southeastern Michigan came to Washtenaw Community College last month to take part in the Olympiad. Emerson took sixth place overall, and our kids medaled (1st, 2nd or 3rd place) in six of the 22 events, which included a variety of science tests and challenges. Tim Wilson coordinated a team of ten parent and teacher coaches, to which we offer our most sincere gratitude. Congratulations to the fifteen students who invested extra hours on evenings, weekends and the all day event last month. We celebrate each of the following young scientists: Ananya Mayukha, Emily Wu, Shalini Kota, Shreya Bahl, Emma Powell, Shoham Geva, Mateo Todisco, Chris Klein (8th graders), Duncan Braun, Noah Crimmins, Sam Kidd, Graham Gerdes (7th graders), Sonal Bahl, Nishant Kheterpal and Rahul Gupta (6th graders). We can’t wait to see our returning students continue the great work next year, and to watch our graduating students continue their fantastic science careers! Top of page
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EIGHTH GRADER AWARDED INTERLOCHEN SCHOLARSHIP
Dana Johnson was one of two Ann Arbor Middle Schoolers awarded a 1/2 tuition scholarship for the orchestral program at Interlochen Arts Camp for this summer. Congratulations Dana!
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FIFTH GRADER WINS FILM AWARD WITH "YOU LOVE YOUR DOG"
Nani Wolf was the winner in the "student film category" at the Millers Creek Film Festival on March 13th, at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. Nani's three-minute, informational film, titled "You Love Your Dog," stressed the importance of picking up after your dog to protect water quality. She won a "Millie" award and a cash prize, part of which Nani has decided will go to the Humane Society, and part to the Huron River Watershed Council. Nani was thrilled by the audience's reaction to her film, and winning the award was the "icing on the cake."
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2009 JAPANESE QUIZ BOWL RESULTS
The students in the Japanese program have been preparing for the Japanese Quiz Bowl, and the results were very impressive. Two teams won 1st place and one team won second place in this state wide competition. Two of the Emerson elementary teams made it to the final and they faced each other. One of the 6th grade teams also won 1st place in the middle school Division I. 7th and 8th students teams did not quite make it to the final, but they competed evenly against high school teams. An Emerson alumni team came very close to the final (they had three-way tie to be the finalist) and they lost by 2 points. Considering alumni students meet once a week privately with me, they did a great job against other high school students who have class every day. If you see these students, please congratulate them for their achievement. Elementary 1st place (team Midori): Tim Arvan, Olivia Popp, Therese Larson, Ethan Tucker, Katy Ross. Elementary 2nd place (team Kuro): Justin Baker, Anna Argento, William Derksen, Philip Ognenovski, Alex Vidovic. Middle school Division I 1st place (team Zo): Emily Newman, Avery Whitaker, Josh Krivan, Olga Sokolova. Top of page
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MICHIGAN ART EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION SHOW
We applaud our Emerson artists whose work was displayed at the Michigan Art Educators Association, Region Three Art Show: Meera Bhagat, Bernie Kellman, Avery Lynd, Emma Nightingale, Olivia Sedlacek , Gabriela Skifstad and Alexis Squires. Four students were finalists and their artwork continued on to Lansing for final judging: 2nd Grader Emma Nightingale - Handmade Paper Collage Bird, 3rd grader Avery Lynd- Wool Felt - Mini Rug, sixth grader Alexis Squires - Oil Pastel, Color study, and 7th grader Gabriela Skifstad - Colored Pencil, Tessellation. From the finalist category, the top 15 works of elementary, middle school and high school were chosen to remain in Lansing as part of the Governor's Show and we are proud to announce that Avery and Gabriela were awarded this honor. We are so proud of all of our students at Emerson and the amazing art that they create! Top of page
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3rd GRADER AND TEAM EXCEL AT DESTINATION IMAGINATION REGIONALS
Jon-Michael Taylor and four 3rd graders from Saline received a First Place in the Destination Imagination Regionals on March 7, 2009. The team chose the most difficult Central Challenge - designing two machines that cooperate with each other and represent two countries. They were required to perform specific tasks within specific zones 20 feet apart and one of the machines had to bear the weight of one of the team members. No manpower or plug in to electric outlets allowed. Jon-Michael's team was the youngest elementary age group competing in this division and will go on to compete in the State Tournament on April 4. Good Luck to all! Top of page
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CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF MUSIC PERFORMERS
Oriana Gulvezan and Hannah Chesnik from 6th grade, along with a group of kids from Ann Arbor Suzuki Institute, were invited to perform at Mixon Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In addition, they will be taking two classes taught by virtuoso violinist/teacher Steven Sims. They have been preparing for this concert since last October, and we are very proud of their hard work.
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EMERSON'S OWN MOVIE CRITIC
In October, Ryan Michaels (7), became the youngest ever recipient of a Michigan Press Association (MPA) Better Newspaper Contest award. Ryan writes movie reviews that are regularly published in the Saline reporter and the Milan-News Leader. Ryan received honorable mention in the category of local columnist from the 141 year old MPA. Look for Ryan’s movie reviews online at www.ryanthemoviecritic.com. Congratulations Ryan! Top of page ___________________________________________________________________________
OUR 2009 MATHCOUNTS PARTICIPANTS
Congratulations to the 2009 MathCounts participants from Emerson! Daniel Rothschild (8) placed 3rd overall and will advance to the State competition. Niket Parikh (7) placed sixth. Top of page ___________________________________________________________________________
ALL-STATE BAND AND ORCHESTRA MAKE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC
Congratulations to our MS Band and Orchestra members who participated in the All-State Ensembles at the MSBOA Conference in Grand Rapids. They had the opportunity to work with outstanding national clinicians and to perform with students selected by audition from across the state. We applaud your commitment to your music and your interest in seeking opportunities that will help you to grow! All-State Band and Orchestra Participants: Shreya Bahl, Nick Wilson, Alan Zhou, Emma Sandberg, Helen Rucinski, Emily Wu. Top of page ___________________________________________________________________________
2009 NENGAJO CONTEST WINNERS
Congratulations to Emerson's Japanese Language Students for their artistic - and often comical - Nengajo (New Year's Card) Contest submissions. The annual competition among state schools with Japanese programs is sponsored by the Japanese Teachers Association of Michigan and the Japanese Consulate in Detroit. Several of Emerson's creative card makers received awards. Elementary: Artistic - 1st Alex Vidovic;
Original - 1st Olivia Popp, 3rd Christopher Chen;
Comical - 1st Ian Yi, 2nd Kate Moss. Middle school: Artistic - 2nd Ben Gianpetroni, 3rd Elizabeth Kennedy;
Original - 1st Avery Whitaker, 2nd Zane Phillips; Comical - 3rd Molly Gelb. Enjoy Nengajo Contest Artwork here. Top of page
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Vibha Lama, InHo Shin, Manda Desai, Wendy Roberts, Marchell Burgess, Grace Yum, Mike Stovall, Kathy Salley, Laurie-Anne Koziol, Colleen Spencer, Linda Xu, Jin Zhang, Joan Gregorka, Lenny Dale. Top of page
