Cornerstone Private Schools 6th Graders Named State Winners

Cornerstone Private Schools 6th Graders Named State Winners in the 17th Annual

eCYBERMISSION STEM Competition

The U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program Encourages Students Nationwide to Develop Solutions to Real-World Problems in Their Communities

Cumming, GA – Monday, April 13, 2019 – The U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) today announced 6th grade team Salinity Solution from Cumming, GA as a 1st place state winner and 6th grade team Superior Shelter from Cumming, GA as a 2nd place state winner in the 17th annual eCYBERMISSION competition – one of several science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) initiatives sponsored by the U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP). eCYBERMISSION, administered by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), is a web-based competition for students in grades six through nine. Students are challenged to work in teams of 3-4 to identify a problem in their community and use scientific practices or the engineering design process to develop a solution. Student prizes for each grade level are awarded at the state, regional, and national levels.

Salinity Solution worked together with Mrs. Michele Miskus Team Advisor, to investigate utilizing reflection to accelerate the rate of evaporation in the process of inexpensively desalinating simulated ocean water in order to solve the ever-increasing need for fresh water world-wide. Superior Shelter compared various ratios of soil types to assess their permeability. The ultimate goal of the research was to find an optimal mixture that would best allow water to escape before damage to residential or commercial structures ensued as flooding is a major problem for many areas in the United States.

The teams submitted their Mission Folder—the official write-up of the project— through the eCYBERMISSION website to be evaluated and scored by volunteer virtual judges. First-place state winning teams received $1,000 per student team member in U.S. EE Savings Bonds and second-place state winning teams received $500 per student team member in U.S. EE Savings Bonds.

“The remarkable projects submitted by these students demonstrate their commitment to tackling some of their communities’ most daunting challenges. The U.S. Army is truly awed by the thoughtfulness and originality behind the ideas put forth by these students,” said Christina Weber, AEOP Cooperative Agreement Manager. “I congratulate the state winners on their accomplishments and wish them luck in the next phase of the eCYBERMISSION competition.”

“We are so proud of all the state winning teams for their hard work, dedication, and ingenuity in applying STEM to solve problems in their communities and create positive change in the world around them,” said NSTA Executive Director Dr. David Evans.

In the next round of the competition, a panel of virtual judges will evaluate the top three scores from each region in each grade level. Sixty regional finalist teams will compete to advance as one of 20 national finalists at the National Judging & Educational Event (NJ&EE), taking place on June 16-21, 2019 in Washington, D.C.

For more information about the eCYBERMISSION competition, go to https://www.ecybermission.com .