Math pays for Will Calciano during the Mathletics competition

Will Calciano of York School earned the $1,000 Richard Morgantini Scholarship for being the top-scoring student taking the advanced calculus exam during the 48th annual Mathletics Competition Saturday, May 14, at Salinas High School.

Mathletics is a math contest held annually to encourage excellence in math, and recognize the achievements of individual students and the schools they represent.

Nearly 300 upper elementary, middle and high school students from 36 Monterey County public and private schools participated in the event, which tests students in one of ten levels: fifth grade math, sixth grade math, seventh grade math, eighth grade math, integrated math 1, integrated math 2, algebra 2, math analysis, calculus AB and calculus BC.

First, second, and third place winners in each level received an Olympic-sized medal and gift card. In addition, top-scoring schools for each of the ten tests were awarded certificates.

More than 100 students were recognized for the top-scoring abilities, be it with a medal or an honorable mention. You can get the full list of the winners here.

Gonzales students shine at MESA competition

The Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) Schools Program at CSU Fresno held its annual regional competition the weekend of April 9, and Gonzales MESA students did great. Here's how they fared (by competition)

Medal winners: 

 Egg Drop 9th-10th Grade
1st Place - Eduardo Hernandez & Alfredo Valdez
3rd Place - Anahi Soto & Priscilla Flores

Egg Drop 11th-12th Grade
2nd Place - Palmera Ochoa & Maria Duran

Mousetrap Car Power - 9th-10th Grade
3rd place - Ivan Lopez

Balsawood Bridges Strength to Weight - 11th-12th Grade
2nd Place - Richard Martinez & Vicente Rios (848 lbs.)

Design ribbons:

Mousetrap Car Design - 9th-10th Grade
3rd place - Ivan Lopez

Balsawood Bridges Design - 11th-12th Grade
1st Place - Richard Martinez & Vicente Rios

Since its founding at UC Berkeley in 1970, MESA has encouraged students—especially those from underserved populations—to learn about math, engineering, and science in new and exciting ways. MESA has a tradition of preparing students to go to four-year colleges and universities. Many MESA alumni go on to graduate with math and science-based degrees and go into professions in these fields.

Students had a great time at the regional competition, science teacher Max Feldman said. His students have been participating in MESA competitions for a number of years, and they always get a lot out of them, he said.

Congratulations, boys and girls! A life of science awaits you!

Free science professional development for K-12 educators at Hartnell College

Hartnell College will be hosting a NASA STEM Day professional development day for local K-12 educators on Saturday, April 16. 

Educators will participate in hands-on workshops to learn space-travel related STEM activities to bring back to their classrooms. Hartnell has partnered with the Monterey County Office of Education and UCSC MESA to get bring this opportunity to as many educators as possible. There will be a number of world-class speakers during our opening.

"This collaboration with NASA Ames has allowed us to provide this invaluable opportunity to our local K-12 teachers. Teachers do such an important job with our K-12 students, we always appreciate opportunities to support them," said in a statement Shannon Bliss, dean of academic affairs for math, science and engineering.

Deadline to register for this free event is April 13, 2016. To register click here.

The workshops will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, at Steinbeck Hall on the main campus, 411 Central Ave., Salinas For questions, contact Director of K-12 STEM Programs, Maggie Melone, at mmelone@hartnell.edu or call (831) 7556970.

Come support our budding scientists during the science fair!

More than 500 students from middle schools and high schools from across the county will present over 350 science projects in this year’s Monterey County Science and Engineering Fair Competition held from Friday, March 4 through Sunday, March 6.

The public is invited to view winning science projects at Cal State Monterey Bay University Center from 11:00 a.m. until the awards ceremony at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 6.

Fair participants are drawn from public, private, parochial and home-schools in Monterey County. This is a chance for student to demonstrate original research. They work independently or in teams to address questions in a wide-variety of scientific fields including Computer Science, Environmental Science, Medicine & Health, Chemistry, and Biology.

Students display their research projects and present their findings orally and through written journals to a team of 100 scientists who volunteer as judges.

Science Fair projects are awarded prizes with 22 top projects becoming eligible to participate in the California State Science Fair. The top three Senior Division projects may be eligible to participate in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, which will be held in Phoenix, Arizona in May.

Come take a look. You'll be impressed.

Lincoln Elementary students get up close and personal with a cow

Students at Lincoln Elementary in Salinas learned how milk and dairy foods get from the farm to the table when a real cow and calf visited the school on Feb. 25.

The experience was brought by the Mobile Dairy Classroom, sponsored by Dairy Council of California. The learning lab teaches K-6 students about cow anatomy, cow care on the farm, the milking process and agriculture technology. Instructors integrate Language arts, math and science into the lesson, which aligns with Common Core State Standards. Students also learn about healthy food and activity choices.

“For many students, this is the first opportunity they have to see a cow up close,” said in a statement Brandon Roberts, the Mobile Dairy Classroom instructor. “And while the students are having fun, the lessons they are learning are important.”

Mobile Dairy Classroom – the original Farm-to-School program in California – began in the 1930s as a joint venture between dairyman Clarence Michel of Edgemar Farms and Dairy Council of California. Michel would travel weekly to schools in his area in a truck built to accommodate a real cow and teach children how milk and dairy foods were produced.

These days, the Mobile Dairy Classroom reaches more than 453,000, with six full-time instructors who travel to elementary schools, agriculture days and fairs throughout the state. The assemblies are offered at no cost to schools and are part of dairy farm families’ and dairy companies’ efforts to give back to the community. California dairies support the program by providing cows and calves for assemblies.

Foothill Elementary hosts science day

Foothill Elementary had what administrators believe is the school's first ever Science Day on Wednesday. Students had a chance to choose three different sessions of hands-on activities that addressed the Next Generation Science Standards, said Principal Lauren Park.

"Teachers presented science experiments in chemistry, botany, zoology, physiology, geology, and physics," she said in an email. "Students experimented on chemical changes, how electricity turns on light bulbs, extracting periodic table iron from food, how rate and time affects distance, how the human taste buds are affected, and much more!"

Judging by the photos  and Park's enthusiasm -- science day was really special. "Our teachers took the bold step to be innovative in coordinating the best experience for our students."