Contact: Linda Topoleski, 412-281-2345 Or: West Geauga Middle School

ltopoleski@dymun.com Irene McMullen, 440-796-6825

Team of Students from West Geauga Middle School

Named Finalists in National Science/Community Service Competition

Win Trip to Walt Disney World®

Students Develop Plan for ‘Smartschool’ Using RFID Technology to Automate School Tasks that Waste Time or Threaten Security

AUBURN, NY,—April 21, 2006—Bright ideas, solid research and teamwork won a team of students from Chesterland, OH, a spot as finalists in the Christopher Columbus Awards, a nationwide program that challenges middle-school students to explore opportunities for positive change in their communities. West Geauga Middle School students Nick Pirc, Mariah Wright, Benjamin Clayton McMullen and Claire Slusarz, and their coach, Irene McMullen, had placed as semi-finalists earlier this month and will now compete in a group of eight finalist teams nationwide vying for the grand prize—the $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant.

Concerned by statistics showing that American students are falling dangerously behind their international peers in academics, this team of students decided to investigate how the middle-school environment could be made more conducive for learning. They first surveyed sixth-grade students and found that issues such as opening lockers, having items stolen from lockers or leaving supplies in lockers were top concerns of theirs and led to delays in getting to classes. Further, teachers noted that taking attendance in each class deducted a total of 50 minutes from their teaching time each day.

Initially, the students decided to devise a new type of school locker that would open and close electronically. After talking with engineers and telecommunications experts, they learned that this same technology could be used to take classroom attendance, pay for school lunches and other tasks. Their invention, the Smartschool RFID tag which the kids wear on lanyards around their necks, connects to a computer database to control lockers and keep track of student transactions and belongings, including musical instruments and library books. It also provides reports to teachers and administrators. Students use their fingerprints to securely activate their own tag each day.

A panel of community leaders, scientists and experts in science education judged this idea as one of the top eight entries in the U.S. Over 1,200 students and coaches participated nationwide.

Team Wins a Trip to Walt Disney World®

The team and their coach win an all-expense-paid trip to the Walt Disney World® Resort, where they will compete in the Christopher Columbus Awards' National Championship Week, May 28-June 2, 2006, plus a $200 grant for each team to further develop their project.

Each member of two Gold Medal winning teams will receive a $2,000 U.S. Savings Bond, and one team will receive the $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant as seed money to help bring its idea to life in the community. The Grant winning team will receive support from the Christopher Columbus Awards staff and continued guidance from their coach and community leaders.

The finalists will also attend the Christopher Columbus Academy, a custom-designed educational program. Conducted by scientists, engineers and educators, the program reveals the science and technology behind the thrills and excitement of Epcot® and the Magic Kingdom.®

Positive Community Change

The Christopher Columbus Awards challenge teams of middle-school students to explore and discover opportunities for positive change in their communities using science and technology. The program is now in its tenth year and has attracted nearly 14,000 students from diverse backgrounds all across the U.S. The program is sponsored by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation (www.columbusfdn.org) with support from the National Science Foundation and it is endorsed by the National Middle School Association. Past winners have included: another team coached by Irene McMullen from Lyndhurst, OH, whose project involved saving brook trout in area streams; a group of Native American girls who built a study hall out of straw on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, and a group of students from Pennsylvania who developed a video/motion sensor device for school buses that deters motorists from trying to pass illegally.

Strong Participation from Girls, Minorities

The program attracts many students who may not typically enter a science competition. More than half of the entrants are girls, and more than a fourth are from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, statistics that are higher than those of most science competitions. The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation believes the teamwork aspect and community focus draw a broader range of students to enter.

About the Sponsor

The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation is an independent Federal government agency created by Congress in 1992 to encourage and support research, study and labor designed to produce new discoveries in all fields of endeavor for the benefit of mankind. The Foundation has established Frontiers of Discovery–Work in Progress and Discover the Future, programs that recognize “cutting edge” innovations, innovative ideas of America’s youth, and honor teachers. These programs include the Homeland Security Award, Christopher Columbus Awards, National Gallery for America’s Young Inventors and the $10,000 Freida J. Riley Teacher Award.

For more information, call 1-800-291-6020 or visit www.christophercolumbusawards.com.

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