Littleton Middle School

Littleton Middle School Alum Earns National Recognition for Science Fair Project

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Littleton Public Schools
Dr. Kelly R. Clenchy, Superintendent
33 Shattuck Street,
Littleton, MA 01460

For Immediate Release

Friday, Sept. 6, 2019

Media Contact: Kelsey Bode
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Littleton Middle School Alum Earns National Recognition for Science Fair Project

 

LITTLETON — Superintendent Kelly Clenchy is pleased to announce that a former Littleton Middle School student received national recognition this week for his eighth grade science fair project. 

Brandon LaVoie, who previously attended Littleton Middle School and now attends Nashoba Valley Tech, built a hovercraft as an eighth grade student last year. He tested the effect of ground temperature on the lift and speed of the machine, and proceeded to compete nationally after receiving a second place award at the Massachusetts Middle School State Science and Engineering Fair in May.

Lavoie was selected yesterday by the Broadcom Foundation and Society for Science and the Public as one of 300 Broadcom MASTERS. The Broadcom MASTERS program is a national competition that recognizes middle school students for exceptional Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) projects.

“Brandon used his knowledge of several STEM concepts and subject areas to make his project a reality,” Superintendent Clenchy said. “We’re incredibly proud of his work ethic and the project he put forth last year. I encourage all of our students to challenge themselves and utilize their STEM knowledge to the best of their abilities, as Brandon has, throughout their academic careers.”

Students are eligible to be nominated for the Broadcom MASTERS program only after placing among the top 10 percent of their peers at state and regional science fairs affiliated with the Society for Science and the Public. Each project entered into the competition is assessed by a panel of scientists, engineers and educators, and approximately 2,350 students applied to this year’s Broadcom MASTERS program.

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Littleton Middle School Country Expo Opens Window to the World

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Littleton Public Schools
Dr. Kelly R. Clenchy, Superintendent
33 Shattuck Street,
Littleton, MA 01460

For Immediate Release

Monday, June 10, 2019

Media Contact: Jordan Mayblum
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Littleton Middle School Country Expo Opens Window to the World

LITTLETON — Sixth graders took their classmates and guests on a trip to nations throughout the world last week at the annual Littleton Middle School Country Expo. 

The school gym served as the venue for the Expo on Thursday, June 6, with 125 students showcasing what they’ve learned about the countries they selected via lottery to explore in more depth. 

The Country Expo is an annual middle school tradition that allows students to build their understanding of different parts of the world while fostering an appreciation for diverse cultures and people. The event is the culmination of an in-depth interdisciplinary project that incorporates components of social studies, science, math and English/language arts.

Students shared their research on the geography, culture, politics, current events and other miscellaneous facts about the country they studied. Presentations also included food samples from the countries that were represented.

The tri-fold boards on display contained a wealth of information about each country, with students combining their studies to take a holistic view of each one. They created travel itineraries in their math classes, travel brochures in English language arts and climagraphs in their science and computer classes. Additionally, students prepared and practiced speeches in their social studies classes, resulting in thoughtful discussions with visitors to their respective projects.

Many students even went the extra mile by cooking food from the countries they studied, dressed up in the styles of their countries and brought in accessories to accent their presentations.

“The Country Expo was one of the most fun events ever,” sixth grader Sohana Sachdev said. “It was exciting to teach so many people about my country. At first I felt nervous to talk to so many different people, but then it got easier.”

“I was extremely impressed by the way the students took these projects and made them their own,” sixth grade teacher Lilly Ogden said. “Walking around the Expo truly felt like a trip around the world, and it was amazing to see and hear students who were so engaged and educated about their countries.”

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Littleton Middle School Students Earn First, Second, Third Place Awards at State Science and Engineering Fair

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Littleton Public Schools
Dr. Kelly R. Clenchy, Superintendent
33 Shattuck Street,
Littleton, MA 01460

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Media Contact: Jordan Mayblum
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Littleton Middle School Students Earn First, Second, Third Place Awards at State Science and Engineering Fair

LITTLETON — Superintendent Kelly Clenchy is pleased to announce that several Littleton Middle School students earned first, second and third place awards at the Massachusetts Middle School State Science and Engineering Fair this weekend. 

The fair was held at Worcester Tech High School on Saturday, May 11. Six Littleton Middle School students competed in the fair with five science and engineering projects. 

Madeline Shea, an eighth grade student, received a first place award at the fair for her engineering project. Shea designed a device to measure the amounts of ozone and particulate pollutants in the air, and she also learned how to code and created three prototype devices for her project.

Brandon LaVoie, an eighth grade student, was awarded a second place award at the fair with his hovercraft project. LaVoie built a hovercraft and tested the effect of ground temperature on the lift and speed of the machine.

For her project on the effect of UV light in the degradation of watercolor pigments, eighth grade student Katherine McDonagh won a second place award. She built a UV light chamber for her project to expose selections of watercolor pigment to UV light. She then used Photoshop to measure red-green-blue color values in pigments that both had been exposed to the light and had not.

Aparna Deokar, an eighth grade student, placed third at the fair for a civil engineering project. Deokar tested her hypothesis to see if bioconcrete could be made with a fungal material instead of bacteria, which is added to fill any cracks that may form in the concrete. She made a control concrete block, a block with fungal mycellium and a block with non-activated mycellium. Deokar then used a compression machine to create cracks in the concrete blocks and measured the sizes of the cracks over time. 

“The depth of knowledge and understanding of science and engineering concepts that these students exhibited with these projects is remarkable,” said Valerie Finnerty, an eighth grade science teacher at Littleton Middle School. “Each one of them found rich topics, researched extensively and conducted their work with close attention to detail. It is so exciting to see them recognized for their hard work.”

Shea, LaVoie, McDonagh and Deokar are eligible due to their success at state and regional science and engineering fairs to enter the Broadcom Masters program, a national competition for students who earn top scores in regional and state science and engineering fairs.

“It is thrilling to see our students using their big-picture understanding of science and engineering to conduct such high-level, challenging research,” Superintendent Clenchy said. “Congratulations to each of these students. Your hard work and knowledge of these topics is exceptional.”

Earlier this month on Friday, May 3, seventh grade students Hannah Jonsson and Julianna Magin also placed third at a regional Middle School Science and Engineering fair in Lowell with their project, titled “OJ All the Way.” Jonsson and Magin compared the amount of vitamin C in frozen, fresh and concentrated orange juice.

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Littleton Student Makes Cards to Support a Deeply Personal Cause

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Littleton Public Schools
Dr. Kelly R. Clenchy, Superintendent
33 Shattuck Street,
Littleton, MA 01460

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019

Media Contact: Jordan Mayblum
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Littleton Student Makes Cards to Support a Deeply Personal Cause

Seventh grade student Abby Nordhausen launched a website this February about her passion for paper crafts, and her decision to sell handmade cards to raise funds for the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA). (Courtesy Photo Beth Nordhausen)

LITTLETON — For Abby Nordhausen, crafting isn’t just a hobby. It’s a way to raise awareness — and funding for research — among friends and family about a disease she struggles with personally. 

Nordhausen, 12, is a seventh grade student at Littleton Middle School. She has Myasthenia Gravis, an autoimmune disease that affects her muscles, causing her legs to ache, her eyelids to droop, and regularly leaves her feeling exhausted.

Although her disease makes it hard for Nordhausen to participate in sports, she’s found her niche in making crafts and artwork. In addition to making cards, she enjoys crafting flowers and decorating her home around the holidays. For example, this Valentine’s Day, she decorated her home with paper hearts.

When she was approximately 9 years old, Nordhausen started selling handmade cards at family parties for $1. Since then, she’s continued to sell cards to family and friends, and has raised $200 to donate to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) to support research for a cure.

On Monday, Feb. 11, she launched “ASN Cards and Crafts” at abbynord06.wixsite.com/mysite, a website that shares her experience with Myasthenia Gravis, her efforts to raise money for the MGFA by selling cards to friends and family, and also offers tutorials on how to make paper crafts. Her older sisters, Emma, 16, and Anna, 15, helped her create the site.

“I decided to donate because I’ve always wanted to sell cards, but I don’t really need a lot of money,” Nordhausen said. “Because I have my family, and I’m lucky. I decided to donate the money so it can help spread awareness and let other people know about Myasthenia Gravis.”

“I just thought it would be a cool hobby to have, and to teach other people how to make these crafts,” she added. “I always have people asking, how do you do that? I decided to make a website to share it with everyone.”

Nordhausen said her favorite cards to make are birthday and thank-you cards.

“Abby is one of the nicest kids I’ve ever come across in my entire life,” said Littleton Middle School Principal Cheryl Temple. “It does not surprise me at all that she’d want to give to others.”

“They’re fun,” Nordhausen said. “They make people happy.”

Since she launched her website earlier this week, Nordhausen said she’s gotten a lot of support and interest from her classmates.

“Everyone has liked it,” She said. “I feel like it’s cool to let everyone know about my disease. They think it was actually a cool idea because I’m not just doing it to get money for myself. I’m doing it to share awareness about my disease and raise money for the foundation to help other people, not just myself.”

While Abby’s cards are currently open for sale only to friends and family, those interested in donating to the MGFA on her behalf can do so by clicking here and donating to support her family’s team for the Boston Myasthenia Gravis walk on Sat., May 4.

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