Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) teams competed last month in the regional Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) Showcase at North Point High School. MESA helps prepare students for academic and professional careers in mathematics, engineering, science and technology.

First-, second- and third-place teams in each challenge at the regional showcase receive awards with the first-place team of each challenge advances to the state competition.  

The advancing teams are from Berry, William A. Diggs and Dr. Samuel A. Mudd elementary schools, Mattawoman and Piccowaxen middle schools, and La Plata High School.

The state competition — MESA Day Showcase and Awards Ceremony — is May 2 at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab Campus in Laurel.

Elementary-school teams compete in four challenges including the Storybook Theme Park Ride Challenge, Community Clean-Up Challenge, Planetary Lander: An Expanding Structure Challenge and Wearable Technology Challenge.

Middle and high school challenges include the National Engineering Design Competition (NEDC) Challenge, Community Clean-Up Challenge, Planetary Lander: An Expanding Structure Challenge and Wearable Technology Challenge.

The following teams placed at the elementary-school level:

Planetary Lander Challenge

• Berry, first place. Team members are Jade Belle, Malcolm Hill Jr., Eliana Pillera and Jordan Weeks. School coordinators are Marietta Wachowski, Amber Wachowski and Shauntia Pickeral.
• Dr. Mudd, second place. Team members are Zoe Bennett, Adriana Galdamez Martinez, Clara Stanley and Zendaya Savoy. School coordinators are Brandy Alexander and Maribel Reyes.
• Indian Head Elementary School. Team members are Jasper Lockington and Ryan Spieldenner. School coordinators are Caitlyn Grimes and Megan Swinea.

Community Clean Up Challenge

• Diggs, first place. Team members are Bryce Muschette, Bryce Thompson and Bryson Wooster. School coordinators are Traci Davis and Michael Johnson.
• Berry, second place. Team members are Ian Beck, Kaiori Belle, Dylan Huynh and Ariana Magar. School coordinators are Marietta Wachowski, Amber Wachowski and Shauntia Pickeral.
• Dr. Mudd, third place. Team members are Miguel Alvarez Flores, Johanna Archila Ochoa, Za’Mir Bannister and Zi’Eir Bannister. School coordinators are Brandy Alexander and Maribel Reyes.

Storybook Theme Park Challenge

• Diggs, first place. Team members are John Aaron Bassig, Alianna Grace Moten, Aamir Logan and Danny McFadden Jr. School coordinators are Traci Davis and Michael Johnson.
• Berry, second place. Team members are Braelon Bowen, Lauren Elliott, Aaron Parkar and Sadia Qureshi. School coordinators are Marietta Wachowski, Amber Wachowski and Shauntia Pickeral.
• Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School, third place. Team members are Damiel Golden, Owen Hackett, Samantha Johnson and Scarlett Roberson. School coordinators are Clarissa Roper and Mollie Wathen.

Wearable Technology Challenge

• Dr. Mudd, first place. Team members are Joshua Ferguson, Noel McPherson, Amanda Sanchez and Elizabeth Rodriguez Zelaya. School coordinators are Brandy Alexander and Maribel Reyes.
• Mitchell, second place. Team members are Cassidy Legge, Camden Gibney, Matthew Leech II and Iris Holbert. School coordinators are Clarissa Roper and Mollie Wathen.
• Dr. Thomas L. Higdon Elementary School, third place. Team members are Natalie Myers, Neneh Malima, Matthew Keener and Jacob Duley. School coordinators are Tricia Mehall and Tarra Heasley.

The following teams placed at the middle-school level:

Planetary Lander Challenge

• Mattawoman, first place. Team members are Eliana Joy Natividad, Isabella Tewodros, Kylie Kim and Ruth Nyamaah. School coordinators are Caner Dewees and Elaine Voltz.
• Piccowaxen, second place. Team members are Safia Boubertakh, Peyton Bedard, Elijah Prichard and Mahi Sharma. School coordinators are Sherrie Gibney and Melissa Scott.
• Milton M. Somers Middle School, third place. Team members are Colin Liston and Mark Jackson III. School coordinators are Michelle Darty-Cureton and Traci Parham.

Community Clean Up Challenge

• Piccowaxen, first place. Team members are Elsie Bowling, Robbie Linn and Luke Riffle. School coordinators are Sherrie Gibney and Melissa Scott.

National Engineering Design Challenge

• Piccowaxen, first place. Team members are Elise Jennings, Lillian Merkle, Teagan Rooney and Nicholas Williams. School coordinators are Sherrie Gibney and Melissa Scott.
• Mattawoman, second place. Team members are Jayven Caulder, Anna Huynh, Aidan Parkar and Rayjon Stanford.
• Benjamin Stoddert Middle School, third place. Team members are Darasimi Odubena, Mouhamed Kebe and Izolda Deugoue Pouani. School coordinators are Ahriel Walker and Deborah Spencer.

Wearable Technology Challenge

• Piccowaxen, first place. Team members are Bryson Sherman, Charlotte Fenton, Brendan Tillotson and Ayden Zeolla. School coordinators are Sherrie Gibney and Melissa Scott.
• Matthew Henson Middle School, second place. Team members are Kailani Allen, Caidence Pickeral, Kylee Kruszewski and Logan Williams. School coordinators are David O’Neill and Mike Forrest.
• John Hanson Middle School, third place. Team members are Donald Parks, Finn Butson, Ambica Mahato and Eldana Asrat. School coordinators are Kenneth Tebit and Marquitta Thompson.
• The following teams placed at the high-school level:

Planetary Lander Challenge

• La Plata, first place. Team members are Corry Dang, Mohsen Husain and Gaven Wu. School coordinators are Rachel Clark and Marisa Capalbo.
• North Point, second place. Team members are Greyson Barnidge, Eliam Quirante, Ethan Escasinas and Gabriel Calungcagin. School coordinators are Jessica Davis and Kyle Finley.

National Engineering Design Challenge

• La Plata, first place. Team members are Paul Blachek, Pranesh George, Elijah Merkle and Marcellus White. School coordinators are Rachel Clark and Marisa Capalbo.
• North Point, second place. Team members are Natalia Prozik, Madelyn Lehrter, Aiden Mobley and Sarah Roszell. School coordinators are Jessica Davis and Kyle Finley.
• St. Charles High School, third place. Team members are Clyde Agustin, Gabriel Barrera-Ruiz, Kavon Washington and Ibrahim Osman. School coordinators are Leah Pennington and Terence Stone.

Wearable Technology Challenge

• La Plata, first place. Team members are Grace Dinnea and Steven House. School coordinators are Rachel Clark and Marisa Capalbo.

 

About CCPS

Charles County Public Schools provides 27,904 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 38 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Mike Blanchard, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial M. Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (employees/ adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event. 

CCPS provides nondiscriminatory equal access to school facilities in accordance with its Use of Facilities rules to designated youth groups (including, but not limited to, the Boy Scouts).