MESA VICTORIES

Congratulations to the Orchard Park School (OPS) 7th and 8th grade MESA team for their awesome showing at the 2021 MESA Preliminaries on March 16, 2021. MESA stands for Mathematics, Engineering, Science, Achievement and is an extracurricular college and career prep program that focuses on increasing student diversity and achievement in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This year, OPS middle school students had the opportunity to learn about and compete in the following areas:  “Stick Together” - using math, science, and engineering to construct popsicle stick bridges; “Scratch” - designing and creating an interactive video game while learning about programming principles; and, “NEDC: National Engineering Design Competition” - using a microprocessor to engineer a human-centered solution to an individual or group equity issue.

     In the “Stick Together” bridge competition, the 8th grade team of Cassandra Harvey and Alycia Escalante won SECOND PLACE, while 8th grade teammate, Caleb Headley-Pouard, earned a THIRD PLACE finish. For the “Scratch” competition, 7th grader Clayton Brandt placed SECOND. The four-person NEDC team brought home a FIRST PLACE finish with their equity invention to aid students with attention and motivation difficulties. The team consists of 8th grader J Ting, and 7th graders Natalia Cortez, Bethany Fumar, and Yaretzi Costilla-Gutierrez. Lastly, the three-person 8th grade team of Kendelle Hanson, Ashley Garciduenas-Pritchard, and J Ting also placed SECOND in an “escape room” style math competition. Again, congratulations to these hard-working students who placed on their divisions as well as to all others who participated in this amazing program. Those who finished first or second will be moving on to the next level of competition this month! 

According to the MESA director, “MESA supports students to develop their confidence, competence, and love of STEM by building a community that fosters curiosity and exploration.” This sentiment is echoed in the words of 8th grader J Ting who said, “MESA is so hands on with lots of room for creativity and exploration.  I’ve learned so much!” Eighth grader Caleb Headley-Pouard also commented, “My favorite part was interacting with other people and trying to brainstorm.” 

    Good luck to these Orchard Park School MESA participants and their advisors - science teacher, Susan Caguyong, and art and computer teacher, Seth Cordes - as they move on to their next competition! 

TK-Kindergarten Enrollment for 2021/2022 begins Tuesday, February 16th. Enrollment information can be found on this website under Our School/General Information/2021-2021 Enrollment. 

The online Enrollment form can be accessed on our school district's website or the link below. 

Online Enrollment

OPS is proud to announce that Natalia Cortez (7th grader from Orchard Park School) is  the winner of the MESA Launch Week -Tik Tok challenge contest. 

Middle/High school MESA students throughout the western states took part in a MESA Launch. 

One component of a week long series of MESA webinars and classes was the TIK TOK challenge... in which students were to make a pitch for a design to make life better for a member of your family. Check out Natalia's award winner video. CONGRATULATIONS NATALIA!!

Good Evening Orchard Park families,  

Attached below is a link to a short, 6 minute, video about supporting students at home during distance learning. It is intended to provide ideas for support and to convey the importance of establishing a designated learning place at home.  

Thank you,  

Mr. Dacus 

Buenas noches familias de Orchard Park,  

A continuación se adjunta un enlace a un video corto de 6 minutos sobre cómo apoyar a los estudiantes en casa durante el aprendizaje a distancia. Su objetivo es proporcionar ideas de apoyo y transmitir la importancia de establecer un lugar de aprendizaje designado en el hogar.  

Gracias  

Sr. Dacus 

Supporting Student Learning at Home