In recognition and support of Highlands Intermediate School's award winning science program, the Pearl City Shopping Center (PCSC) Merchant Association made a $500.00 check donation to HIS Science Club Coach and Advisor Ms. Kathy Lin and her students on Tuesday, September 16 in a presentation at the HIS Science Department classroom lab.
The HIS Science Club team includes both seventh and eighth grade students who are very active with a full science learning curriculum and competition schedule throughout the school year and summer.
"The science club includes Robotics, Engineering, Technology, as well as many of our science programs including First Lego League, Robofest, First Tech Challenge, Sea Perch Underwater Robotics, and Mate Underwater Robotics," said Lin. “We also participate in science fairs as well as various S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) workshops."
The HIS Science Club is internationally recognized and is coming off a very successful 2013-2014 competition campaign that brought home multiple championships in state and international robotics competitions. The HIS Science Club Team also partnered with Pearl City High School students in competition that resulted in capturing an impressive high school state title.
"Last year we won several championships," Lin said with pride for her students and program. "We took first place at Robofest and we also won Sea Perch which is underwater robotics. We won first place overall among all the high school teams. Although we’re in middle school, we joined with some of the Pearl City High School students and they were able to be the overall state champions. So we took that group of students to represent the state of Hawaii at the International Underwater Robotics Competition in Michigan. We did really well at the competition. Their points earned first place for the project display which is a board that explains what they did for the entire robotics process. They also did really well in their engineering evaluation, garnering one of the top scores."
HIS Science Club eighth grader Lily Adcock returns with a year under her belt and valuable competition experience that she is eager to share while mentoring seventh grade team members.
“Now that I’m an eighth grader, I understand what problems the seventh graders this year have and how to help them without getting too frustrated," said Adcock. “I hope this year that we can compete a lot more because last year we did go to the international competition in Michigan, so hopefully we can do just as good this year and go somewhere too."
Adcock is also excited and motivated to compete in this year's Science Olympiad and hopefully make it back to the state finals and win a championship for team and school..
"I’m really looking forward to trying harder to do good in the Science Olympiad and learn more because last year we placed second at the state finals, so hopefully this year we can do just as good or better. Ms. Lin is a lot of help and she’s always really encouraging and a lot of the parents come and help and just make sure that we’re doing what we have to do,” commented Adcock.
Ms. Lin gave well deserved praise to her eighth graders for their efforts in mentoring the seventh grade team members. She also is grateful for the efforts given by the Pearl City students who volunteer their time to mentor her students as well.
"The eighth graders are doing a really good job," Lin said. "Every seventh grade team has an eighth grade mentor to help the students get their feet wet. For example, with the First Lego League, they know where things are stored because it is such a huge club and there’s only me. So the kids inevitably help each other. What’s really nice is we have several of the Pearl City High School students that are part of the First Tech Challenge Program this year. They are also around and are great mentors to our students as well."
This year's $500.00 PCSC Merchants Association donation is greatly appreciated as Ms. Lin and the HIS science department faces increasing event and competition registration fees and other program costs not covered in the school budget.
"Today’s Pearl City Shopping Center donation is going to help a lot," Lin said. "Five-hundred dollars may not seem like a lot to other people, but for our program, especially for this year, our funding in our school is really low. Many of our program registration fees are five-hundred dollars. That’s just for the registration fee. We are asking parents to pay for a lot of our materials. They're making a donation, but it’s directly towards their own children doing their own event. The Pearl City Shopping Center donation will probably go towards registration fees for the whole team, not just the individual child."
Ms. Lin has fostered a great working relationship and deep respect for HIS Principal Mrs. Amy Martinson who also attended the PCSC check donation presentation on September 16. Through the years, Principal Martinson and Ms. Lin have come up with a strategy and the means to overcome and work through annual school budget deficits that affect the science program.
"Mrs. Martinson has been the most wonderful principal that I’ve been fortunate to work with," Lin said. "She is the reason why I continue to work at this school because even though our budget is low this year, she and I work together to apply for grants. When she sees grant opportunities, she passes it to me and I will write them. Principal Martinson also writes the grants. Whenever our budget is a problem, she and I will manage to somehow find the money.”
By the way, when asked about her career goals and field of expertise that she is interested in pursuing? Lily Adcock responded, “I want to do something with chemistry and engineering, so I want to be a chemical engineer.”
MyPearlCity.com would like to wish Lily and the entire HIS Science Club students a very bright future and much success!
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Pearl City Shopping Center Merchants Association Board Members, Sheri Rolf (left),
and Shawn Taniguchi (right), present Lily Adcock, Highlands Intermediate School 8th
grade student and HIS Science Club team member, with a $500.00 check donation in
support of Highlands Intermediate School's award winning Science Club programs.
The donation will help offset program expenses such as competition registration fees for
the 2014-2015 school year. The check presentation took place in the HIS Science
Department classroom on Tuesday, September 16, 2014.
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
7th & 8th grade students representing the Highlands Intermediate School Science Club
are pictured with HIS Science Club Coach and Advisor Ms. Kathy Lin (siting, far left), and
Pearl City Shopping Center Merchants Association Board Members Sheri Rolf and Shawn
Taniguchi during the PCSC Merchants Association $500.00 check donation presentation.
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]