PRM Students Take 1st Place in eCyberMission Competition

KINNELON, NEW JERSEY – June 7 – The U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) has announced Kinnelon students 1st Place state winners in the 18th annual eCYBERMISSION competition – one of several science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) initiatives sponsored by the U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP).

Competing as Team Nerdz, 7th grade students Tucker Edwards, Elizabeth Gillen, Sophia Gillen, and Marina Kijak competed in eCyberMission as an extracurricular project with Team Advisor Jemi Gillen-Ruth. The team researched the positive effects of the video game Tetris on student anxiety. Team Nerdz defended its 1st place 6th grade eCyberMission win from 2019. Edwards, Gillen and Gillen are 7th grade students at Pearl R. Miller Middle School in Kinnelon. Kijak attends Unity Charter School in Morris Plains. “The team exemplified creativity and perseverance in developing and testing their hypothesis,” stated their advisor. “These students are curious and determined and challenged themselves to create an interesting scientific experiment.” The team submitted its Mission Folder—the official write-up of the project— through the eCYBERMISSION website to be evaluated and judged.

First-place state winning teams received $1,000 per student team member in U.S. EE Savings Bonds.

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