Rocket Scientists Foiled by Fractured Egg!

Seventh grade students from The Green Vale School in Old Brookville were the youngest rocket scientists competing nationally on May 11 for the first place prize of $10,000 and a team trip to the Paris Air Show in June.  They were the only team from Long Island qualified to compete at the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) held in Virginia, and one of only two teams from the State of New York.  Just being there was a huge accomplishment, but their goal was to win that trip to Paris.

The way to win in 2013 was to build a rocket weighing less than 650 grams that could fly exactly 750 feet into the air and back with a 15-inch parachute, within 48 to 50 seconds.  Any deviation in height or time adds points to a team's score.  After the first round of competition, the boys’ score was 5.92, putting them in third place out of 100 teams.  After the second round, for the top 24 rockets, their total score was 8.92 which put them in first place.  Their rocket flew as close to a perfect score of zero as any rocket ever flown in the 11-year history of TARC, and the high school team from Texas that landed in first place did so with a score of 29.24.

The hitch for Green Vale’s team, captained by Anton, was that their rocket's payload of a single raw egg suffered a hairline fracture during their second flight, disqualifying their second score.   "Broken egg; broken hearts," was all that Peter Zaloom, science teacher and rocket club mentor, could say of the results as he explained what happened. “The boys did the most impressive job of building and fine-tuning their rocket so that it would hit the mark and I am so very proud of them now, and I look forward to watching them compete again next year.” 

This is the third year in a row that the Green Vale School Rocket Club has qualified to compete nationally at TARC.  Sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association, the National Association of Rocketry and more than 24 industry partners, TARC saw record turnout in 2013 with 725 teams from 44 states participating. 

Fourth Grade Trip to Shelter Island: Marine Biology, Geography, Birds of Prey and Teamwork!

Photo Slideshow     Video Clip A     Video Clip B

Fourth grade students and their teachers -- Valerie Field, Cami Gallagher and Maggie Healey -- enjoyed a long day of adventures together on May 9.  Their trip on the American Beauty off of Shelter Island brought them much closer to marine life than some of the students would like, but it was educational for all. 

The interaction with a few birds of prey was another memorable experience and of course, good teamwork pays dividends in any setting. 

Photo Slideshow

Video Clip A

Video Clip B

The GV Organic Garden Springs to Life for New Season!

Garden Album - click for slideshow!

Just before leaving for Spring Break, students and Garden Committee members had a busy afternoon readying Green Vale's organic garden for a new season. Fifth graders and their first-grade buddies helped to weed the beds. The students from the Sustainability Committee spread the compost and brought out the trellises. Thanks to the new gloves and tools, digging in the soil was a song!  

We are looking forward to a fruitful season!

E. Blossom
evgeniaab@gmail.com

Year Six and Another Run at Nationals for The Green Vale School Rocket Club!

Nationals happen in May but qualifying attempts start now!

With great enthusiasm and much gratitude for their mentors, Dr. Mitch Pines and Mr. Ray Carlino, members of The Green Vale School Rocket Club are working hard to qualify for a third appearance at the Team America Rocketry finals to be held this May.

Club Mentors Make a Difference

Pines and Carlino are senior members of the National Association of Rocketry and are certified for Level III High Power Rocketry. What they build may look like “model rockets,” but the power and weight of their rockets requires FAA clearance for launching!

According to science teacher Peter Zaloom, "When I started the Green Vale School Rocket Club six years ago, with a small group of seventh grade boys in my study hall, I never anticipated the extraordinary relationship we would develop with Dr. Mitch Pines and Mr. Ray Carlino. As our guides and mentors for participation in the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) each year, they volunteer their time and expertise and have spent many a frigid winter morning to evaluate our qualifying attempts. In the past two years we had three club teams qualify for nationals – one placed 6th in the nation in 2011 and another placed 7th in the 2012 finals. Our rocket club is extremely grateful to Dr. Pines and Mr. Carlino for their unwavering support through years of rocketry fun, mishaps and great successes.”

What is TARC?

Sponsored by the Aeronautics Industries Association, TARC is one of the largest science competitions in the world. Each year, over 50,000 students from all fifty states participate in designing, building and flying a rocket to perform a very specific set of tasks. The top one hundred teams that qualify are invited to compete for more than $50,000 in prize and scholarship money each May, in Virginia. For more information on TARC visit rocketcontest.org.    

Winter Launches

This beautiful photo was taken by a parent, Michael Davis, very early on Sunday, January 13, 2103.              

Peter Zaloom, Stark Johnson and his Dad.