LEGO champs!
The Murray Middle School LEGO League team competed in the First LEGO League State Championship on Feb. 25 Washington Technology Magnet in St. Paul. This is the first time a LEGO League team from Murray went to state. The team’s project, Lead Poisoning in Bald Eagles and Other Raptors, can be found at sites.google.com/stpaul.k12.mn.us/leadpoisoninginraptors/. Shown here are team members and coaches, from left: Ashton Bricker, Noah Sullivan, Gaku Sato (parent and coach), Soren Sackreiter, Ian Culver, Sam Skinner, Nick Altringer (teacher and coach), Dhayalan Balasubramanian, Peer Solheid, Max Mills, Lyra Sat0, Kaya Solheid and Violet Schafer. Team member Peter Wenger wasn’t there the day the photo was taken. Photo by Kristal Leebrick
Murray students move on to regional History Day tourney
Murray History Day was held in February and a number of students are moving on to the regional tournament at Johnson High School on Saturday, March 18, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Listed below are the students and how they placed in each category.
Performance, individual: (1) Robel Hayelom, (2) Nora Thomey, (3) Amelia Moseman, (4) Audrey Power-Theisen, (5) Olga Vinces-Guevera, (6) Nanatale Bagurusi and (7) Kevin Torstenson.
Performance, group: (1) Tana Ososki and Aaron Ramsey, (2) Claire Driscoll, Fiona Jaurez-Sweeney and Bridget Lee, (3) Pia Banat and Lydia Westerlund, (4) Ayrion Gordon Jackson and Ashlyn Petit, and (5) Fiona Blank and Anna Gaudio. Honorable mention: Nila Yang and Jaela McQueen.
Exhibits, individual: (1) Peter Wenger, (2) Hemetii Si-Asar Apet, (3) Marisol Guevara, (4) Audrey di Gilaramo, (5) Dylan Aarness, (6) Tina Tang, (7) Abby Altman, (8) Ruby Kosiak and (9) Campbell Wencell. Honorable mention: Taylor Fairbanks, Graham Whitney, Olivia Miller, Damian Perry, Aidan Reihl, Ayden Brudnik-Voss, Valani Vang, Ethan Watson and Elliot Kramer.
Exhibits, group: (1) Claire Fortier and Lucy Hebble, (2) Kaya Solheid and Lyra Sato, (3) Rukiya Hussein, Anisha Majila, Sadia Hussein and Pei Wah, (4) Ellen Chinema and Aundrea Valdez, (5) Cha Koong Vang and Isaiah Cooper, (6) Ella Sundheim, Rosetta Haag and Tasneem Dahr, (7) Greta Berg and Maggie Fuller, (8) Levi Nichols and Charles Wriedt, and (9) Geneva Landon and Aubrey Ross.
Websites, individual: (1) Toby Felthauser, (2) Dhayalan Balasubramanian, (3) Sam Skinner, (4) Soren Sackreiter, (5) Sarah Parker, (6) Violet Eicher, and (7) Charlie Power-Theisen. Honorable mention: Naimo Mahamud, Liam Schwie and Drew Lancaster.
Websites, group: (1) Gajan Dileepan and John Mason, (2) Mary Holm and Tess Turnure, (3) Gelila Woldemariam and Emilie Hanson, and (4) Molly Clement and Caitlyn Coyle. Honorable mention: Max Mills and Veronica Sakorski and Drew Moseman and McKenna Frechette.
Documentaries, individual: (1) Mira Seeba, (2) Olivia McKee, (3) Charlotte Tracy and (4) Alex Le. Honorable mention: Pariz Battee and Will Path.
Documentaries, group: (1) Kyra Rocha, Anna Stratham and Paw Wah, (2) Anise Bates and Allie Rognerud and (3) Diego Guevera and Emerson Spencer. Honorable mention: Maddy Sjoberg and Katherine Kozack.
Historical papers: (1) Aidan Reynolds, (2) Bill Lancman, (3) Betty Hebble and (4) Jennifer Rosas.
Tutors needed
Murray Middle School provides an intentional intervention program called the “Pilot One-on-One Program” for at-risk students who are academically challenged. The program, now in its ninth year, focuses on students who typically do not have strong home support and are often living in crisis.
Students work with a tutor individually each day. Both the tutor and student study English, math, social studies or science together. Students also work on developing the tools they need to improve their study skills. Studies show that developing a caring relationship is critical to academic success in school. Volunteers get to know the middle-school student because they see each other every week.
Tutors are needed Monday through Friday for one to three hours from 11:08 a.m.-12:08 p.m., 12:12-1:04 p.m. and 1:08-2:00 p.m. Pick a day and time that works best for you for the semester. Murray is just four blocks from the University of Minnesota St. Paul campus.
All volunteers need to attend a 90-minute training and orientation session prior to tutoring and complete a background check form. The training sessions are available most days at 8 a.m. or 2:30 p.m. upon request.
Contact Cindy Thrasher, coordinator, to sign up for a training session or for more information at 651-293-8740 or cindy.thrasher@spps.org.
