TSA, TEAMS, and Robotics Nationals, from left, Erin Perry - coach, Kathy McCormack - coach, Natalie Taggart, Dana McCormack, Aidan Newton, Noah Rutherford, Gaddiel Morales, Victor Mehovic, Douglas Dapp, Sophie Burk, Tamjeed Azad, Andrew Thelen, Eleanor Alley, Rocco Ahching, Emma Wu, Rob Dodson- coach, Karina Perez. Not pictured- Rebecca Cacicedo TSA advisor, Olivia Webb-coach, Angie Church, Sam Bulyalert, Stephanie Xian,Carson Bock, Mary Barton West, Meredith Stafford,Seth Majic, Jack Dowling, Caroline Burns, Adam Siegel
TEAMS 11-12 Team 1, from left, Tamjeed Azad, Gaddiel Morales, Aidan Newton, Jack Dowling, Angie Church, Natalie Taggart, and Dana McCormack - team captain
Teams 11-12 Team 2, from left, Andrew Thelen, Douglas Dapp, Adam Siegel - team captain, Seth Majic
Teams Middle School, from left Caroline Burns, Sophie Burk, Carson Bock - team captain, Eleanor Alley, and Karina Perez
Students from Signal Mountain Middle High School competed at the National TSA and TEAMS contests June 21-25 in Orlando, Fl. The Technology Student Association is a national, non-profit organization of middle and high school students who are engaged in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. TEAMS is a competition sponsored by TSA. TEAMS stands for Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science.
TSA awards the top ten in each competition. SMMHS had multiple top ten scores.
Mary Barton West, Sophie Burk, and Stephanie Xian scored 5th in the nation for Leadership Strategies- Middle School. Caroline Burns scored 7th in the nation for Prepared Speech - Middle School.
Jack Dowling, Dana McCormack, and Natalie Taggart scored 7th in the nation for Engineering Design- High School. Natalie Taggart, Gaddiel Morales, and Tamjeed Azad scored 6th in the nation for System Control Technology - High School. Dana McCormack was appointed as vice head of the TN TSA Membership Committee.
The Robotics team, comprised of Emma Wu, Sam Bulyalert, Rocco Ahching, Noah Rutherford, and Victor Mehovic scored in the top 20 in the nation.
SMMHS had three teams who qualified to compete at nationals for TEAMS. The TEAMS competition consists of a written essay about solving the problem of food deserts around the world, a prepared presentation on a testing method and community relations plan for potable water, and a problem solving competition that included the design of an air filter and engineering math problems to solve.
The middle school team, comprised of Carson Bock (team captain), Sophie Burk, Eleanor Alley, Karina Perez and Caroline Burns, scored 10th in the nation for Prepared Presentation, 9th in the nation for Problem Solving, 8th in the nation for the Written competition, and 10th in the nation overall.
The 11/12 Team 1, comprised of Dana McCormack (team captain), Natalie Taggart, Jack Dowling, Tamjeed Azad, Angie Church, Gaddiel Morales, and Aidan Newton, earned 5th in the nation for Problem Solving and 6th in the nation for the Written competition. All three TEAMS groups were outstanding competitors.
To prepare for the Prepared Presentation, students went on a tour of the Tennessee American Water Company led by Water Quality and Environmental Compliance Specialists II Logan Elmore and Lauren Gambino. Kim Moore and Daphne Kirksey from the TAWC helped to coordinate the visit. Students then spoke with TVA Senior Program Manager Lindy Johnson to brainstorm ideas on how to "design an appropriate testing method and community relations plan for potable water in the fictional town of Sundarhira, Bangladesh located near the Mohanandan River" (National 2017 Prepared Presentation TEAMS prompt). One of the students' favorite parts about the TEAMS competition is working with TVA to learn about current engineering endeavors.
Signups for next year's TSA and TEAMS will be held during school registration. Students can sign up for Robotics with Mr. Dodson at the start of the school year.