Fulton Science Academy Private School Wins Big in Science Olympiad Tourney

In a record-breaking performance, Fulton Science Academy Private School Science Olympiad Teams took first, second, and third places at the Science Olympiad Middle School Regional Tournament held at the University of North Georgia Gainesville Campus on Saturday, February 15. FSA 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade students won gold medals in 18 of the 23 events covering earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering.  The 41 team members won a total of 107 medals.  “Our students worked incredibly hard preparing for this tournament,” said head coaches Pam Walsh and Gloria Stathos. “We started in August. Each event meets at least an hour a week after school or on weekends and each student participates in three to six events. A lot of our parents help out as well, so it’s a big commitment for the entire family.” The school now qualifies to send one team of fifteen students to the state tournament to be held March 22 at Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta. “Under Science Olympiad rules, only one team from each school can advance to state,” explained Pam Walsh.

Events in which the school did particularly well include Boomilever (a balsa building/engineering event), Disease Detectives (epidemiology), Dynamic Planet (glaciers and climate change), Entomology (insects), Experimental Design, Helicopters, Road Scholar (map interpretation), Rotor Egg Drop (a balsa building/engineering event), and Sounds of Music (physics of sound and instrument construction).

The team will now focus on the finer details in preparing for the state tournament. “Our goal is to qualify for the National Tournament by placing first or second at state,” said Gloria Stathos. “Georgia has some really strong teams and every year the competition gets tougher.”

Here are the results for each event:

Anatomy – coached by Mrs. Ambari

1^st Place – Hasan Unal and Araneesh Pratap

3^rd Place – Sanjeev Uppalari and Prajwal Vedula

Boomilever – coached by Mr. Seker

2^nd  Place Sule Anik and Faith Lucas

3^rd  Place Soleil Moffitt and Susanne Deeb

4^th  Place Nadine Haddad and Christina Wang

Can’t Judge a Powder – coached by Dr. Kasani

2^nd Place – Vikram Ruppa-Kasani and Hasan Unal

3^rd Place – Sarah Lucas and Soleil Moffitt

Crime Busters – coached by Dr. Kasani

2^nd Place – Vikram Ruppa-Kasani and Hasan Unal

Disease Detectives – coached by Mrs. Lewis

1^st Place -- Nadir Lewis and Brian Shoffeitt

2^nd Place – Akash Bhatt and Prajwal Vedula

3^rd Place – Sarah Lucas and Katherine Li

Dynamic Planet – coached by Mrs. Walsh

1^st Place -- Aditya Choudhari and Jean Moorman

3^rd Place – Maryam Unal and Callie Webster

4^th Place – Matthew Stafford and Christina Wang

Entomology – coached by Mrs. Butler

1^st Place – Faith Lucas and Aditya Choudhari

2nd Place – Nadia Yanasak and Maya Shoffeitt

4^th Place – Susanne Deeb and Ivo Bakovic

Experimental Design – coached by Mrs. Stathos

1^st Place – Maryam Unal, Jennifer Near and Sophie Richardson

2^nd Place – Simon Wang, Sule Anik, and Mira Mutnick

4^th Place – Matthew Stafford, Akash Bhatt, and Nadine Haddad

Helicopters – coached by Mrs. Walsh

1^st Place – Faith Lucas and Nadir Lewis

2^nd Place – Susanne Deeb and Jennifer Near

Heredity – coached by Ms. Doraiswami

1^st Place – Araneesh Pratap and Karuna Kumar

4^th Place – Sruthi Chatrathi and Aditi Tekkam

Meteorology – coached by Mr. Ambardekar

1^st Place – Neel Ambardekar and Sule Anik

2^nd Place – Ananya Terala and Sruthi Chatrathi

Metric Mastery – coached by Ms. Fichter

3^rd  Place – Vikram Ruppa-Kasani and Elaine Wen

Road Scholar – coached by Mrs. Stathos

1^st Place – Neel Ambardekar and Mira Mutnick

2^nd Place – Sophie Richardson and Sruthi Chatrathi

3^rd Place – Sanjeev Uppaluri and Shivani Naraharishetty

Robo-Cross – coached by Mr. Kaya

1^st Place – Yusuf Tas

4^th Place – Hasan Unal

Rocks and Minerals – coached by Mrs. Walsh

1^st Place – Brian Shoffeitt and Jean Moorman

3^rd Place – Sanjeev Uppaluri and Nadia Yanasak

Rotor Egg Drop – coached by Mr. Seker

1^st Place – Sule Anik and Elaine Wen

2^nd Place – Maryam Unal and Aditi Tekkam

4^th Place – Shreya Puvvula and Shivani Naraharishetty

Shock Value – coached by Mr. Wang

1^st Place – Simon Wang and Brian Shoffeitt

2^nd  Place – Julian Hamelberg and Yusuf Tas

Simple Machines – coached by Mr.& Mrs. Shoffeitt

1^st Place – Jean Moorman and Brian Shoffeitt

2nd Place – Julian Hamelberg and Jennifer Near

Solar System – coached by Mrs. Walsh

1^st Place – Aditya Choudhari and Araneesh Pratap

2^nd Place –Julian Hamelberg and Yusuf Tas

Sounds of Music – coached by Mr. Yanasak

1^st Place – Katherine Li and Ananya Terala

2nd Place – Mira Mutnick and Faith Lucas

Water Quality – coached by Mrs. Butler

1^st Place – Vikram Ruppa-Kasani and Elaine Wen

2^nd Place – Susanne Deeb and Jennifer Near

4^th Place – Matthew Stafford and Akash Bhatt

Wheeled Vehicle – coached by Mr. Seker

1st Place – Sarah Lucas and Soleil Moffitt

3^rd Place – Akash Bhatt and Andre Hamelberg

Write It, Do It – coached by Mrs. Stathos

1^st Place – Karuna Kumar and Mira Mutnick

4^th Place – Katherine Li and Sophie Richardson

Channel 2 Coverage of FSA Cyber School Day

FULTON SCIENCE ACADEMY PRIVATE SCHOOL'S CREATIVE SOLUTION TO SNOW DAYS

Apparently, not all students are taking time off from their studies. At least, this is certainly not the case for students at Fulton Science Academy Private School.

After FSAPS had canceled school several times this year due to inclement weather conditions, Principal Kenan Sener at Fulton Science Academy Private School sent an e-mail to the FSAPS community and announced FSAPS Cyber School Days for Tuesday through Thursday. In his proactive e-mail to the FSAPS community on Monday, he said that "Based on the current weather forecast, we predict that schools will probably be closed for two or three days starting tomorrow (Tuesday). We cannot afford to miss any more school days. Therefore, we are announcing FSAPS Cyber School Days in case schools are closed."

What is a FSAPS Cyber School Day REALLY??? It is not much different from students taking on-line classes or from those participating in a home school program. On Monday, students were instructed to take all books, folders, and their iPads home in preparation for the possibility that FSAPS would need to cancel school due to inclement weather conditions and that their students would be required to work from home. During their students’ inclement weather days off, FSA Private School teachers assigned work to their students through the internet using e-mails and the school’s customized FSAConnect software. Teachers used creative ways to communicate the material such as YouTube videos, Prezi, and PowerPoint presentations, as well as, uploading documents and worksheets to FSAConnect. FSA Private School students were asked to complete a total of six (6) hours of work each day covering the subjects of Math, Science, Reading, Social Studies, Language Arts, Foreign language and thirty (30) minutes of Physical Exercise. The FSA Private School teachers made themselves available to students through FSAConnect and sent immediate responses to their questions, as well as, further explanations on-line to their parents via email. FSA Private School students and parents will sign and complete a FSAPS Cyber School Day form for each day communicating to the school that they have completed six (6) hours of work on each inclement weather school day. The tools that FSA Private School utilizes including a customized, real-time, on-line communication and progress monitoring program called FSAConnect and the program whereby FSA Private School provides iPads to all its 6th through 8th grade students makes this program both accessible and achievable.

Principal Sener said that the feedback from families was great. Here are a few of them:

"Love it!" - Lisa Machado, 5th Grade Parent

"Neel was super excited to start his work. You rock! Mr. Adams" - Achal Bhatt, 3rd and 6th Grade Parent

"I am loving Cyber School as a parent. It keeps the kids busy and learning school work even though school is out for three days. Thank you for thinking of the idea and kudos on getting the Governing Board to agree to it and mobilizing teachers to have everything ready in the short space of barely a day." - Anupa Doraiswami, 6th & 8th Grade Parent

"Hats off to FSA. I respect greatly and admire your decision for this week. Thank you for everything you do for our student" - Deepa Muraldhar, 8th Grade Parent

Principal Sener said that " Fulton Science Academy Private School will be sending a survey to all stakeholders next week to get further feedback and suggestions regarding the format and implementation of our Cyber School Days, so that we may continue to develop and improve the Cyber School Day program for use in the future when extraordinary circumstances may arise and result in the need to cancel on-campus classes.

FSA Private School Board Member, Angela Lassetter, said " As 91 counties are under a Georgia State of Emergency declaration, I believe that this is a very proactive approach to balance the need for meeting our annual instructional day requirement, while providing for the safety of our staff and students. It is, also, providential that our customized online communication/student progress monitoring tool, FSAConnect, can support this practice and it furthers our mission of a STEAM school by incorporating technology into our curriculum in an innovative and creative manner. I applaud our school leadership for putting our staffs' and students' safety first and doing so in an innovative manner that will protect the integrity of our instructional calendar and provide for the continued learning momentum of our students.

Above is a picture of 3rd grader, Neel Bhatt working at home and completing Cyber School Day work.

Spanish Class Enjoyed Their Trip to El PORTON

Eight graders at Fulton Science Academy Private School enjoyed their field trip to the Mexican restaurant, EL PORTON, where they connected the classroom learning with an outside social learning experience.

Spanish teacher Mrs. Adkins said "We enjoy engaging students in meaningful tasks within and outside the classroom."

The students ordered their food in Spanish, interacted with the waiters in Spanish, enjoyed the cultural atmosphere and finally asked for their bill in Spanish and paid. Mrs. Adkins received compliments from the restaurant staff for her students' Spanish language skills. It was a great day for everyone.

FSA School-wide Art Contest was Fun!

FSA 6th, 7th, & 8th grade students created some great artwork last semester for the school wide Art Contest. Those who entered their artwork in the official contest, we wish you all the best of luck! As promised, the results for the class-wide contest are in! Our panel of teachers have chosen the top three projects in each class and as well as a selection of honorable mentions.  

Congratulations to the following students:

Please stop by the art room this week to claim your prizes!

6th Grade:

1st - Sophie Chan

2nd - Christina Wang

3rd - Shivani Naraharishetty

7th Grade:

1st - Elaine Wen

2nd - Mira Mutnick

3rd - Gwyn O'Sullivan

8th Grade:

1st - Sule Anik

2nd - Brian Shoffeit

3rd - Alice Qiao

Honorable Mentions:

Afia Altaf

Nadia Yanasak

Nadir Lewis

Araneesh Pratap

Soliel Moffit

Katherine Li

Ananya Terala

FSA 5th Graders Reading to Kindergarten

FSA 5th grade students have been practicing reading with fluency and expression. In order to improve these skills, 5th graders have been spending a few Friday afternoons reading to Ms. P's kindergarten class! This has become a great way to practice reading aloud while demonstrating leadership, not to mention it has become a Friday favorite!

FIRST GRADE STUDENTS WISH EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY 100TH DAY OF SCHOOL

We've been together for 100 days,

Learning and growing in so many ways,

We've come together to sing and say,

Happy, Happy, 100th Day! 

Thursday, January 23^rd marked the 100th day of school for all students. First grade celebrated the 100^th day in a mighty big way!! Students demonstrated they are now 100 days smarter by applying mathematical concepts and skills through a variety of activities. Just to name a few, first grade estimated how many times they could jump in 100 seconds; used sparkly glitter and colorful paper to make 100 day crowns, hats, and glasses; identified several words that rhyme with the word hundred (This is harder than it sounds!); demonstrated how many ways the number 100 can be represented; gobbled down 100 different snacks; counted 100 super cool Pokémon figures, and the list goes on! As you can see from our smiling faces, the 100th day of school was 100 times the fun!! 

KINDERGARTEN 100th DAY CELEBRATION

As most Kindergarten classes do across the nation, our students celebrated the 100^th Day of School after counting and tracking each day all school year!  To prepare for this upcoming event, the Kindergarten students learned important facts and skills pertaining to 100.  The celebration of 100 days in kindergarten was first introduced in the 1981- 82 Newsletter of the Center for Innovation in Education.  Today, the sheer quantity of 100^th Day related books, activities, and merchandise is mind-boggling.  It’s tempting to try and do everything 100-related, and our kindergarteners would claim we probably did!  January 23^rd  was a fun-filled day of hands-on activities, games, tasty treats, and lots of parent volunteers who joined us to share in the celebration. 

The 100^th day is not just about math.  This easily becomes a cross-curricular celebration.  Students worked in small groups to write 100 words for a class display.  After we collected 100 words, students worked in teams to alphabetize them.  We wrote and illustrated about what we will look like when we are 100 using our individually aged photos from an aging application as inspiration, and wrote a sentence about what our “100” turned into!  Students worked in teams to try and build a tower of 100 solo cups, raced against the clock in boy and girl teams to try and pick up 100 pieces of paper, and used Sharpies to work on 100^th Day sun catchers.  Some of our most popular events included a “zero” eating contest, creating “Derdnuh” (10 each of 10 different snacks), creating necklaces of 100 beads, the 100 balloon drop, and of course getting photos with the teachers who turned into 100 year old ladies just for the day!

Fulton Science Academy Chess Team Won 2nd Place in MLK Tournament

On Monday, January 20, 2014 Fulton Science Academy Chess Team students competed at Martin Luther King Jr. Chess Tournament and won 2nd place as a team at the middle school level. Congratulations to FSA Math Team students, their parents and and our chess coaches for these wonderful results. FSA Chess Team includes Vikram Ruppa-Kasani, Katherine Li, Sidharth Marupidi and Charlie Furniss.

FSA ROBOTICS TEAM, ROBO-NATIONS WON "TEAMWORK AWARD" AT SUPER-REGIONAL QUALIFIERS

On Saturday, January 11th, our Robotics teams, Robo-Nations competed at FLL Super-Regional Qualifiers. 

Robo-Nations won the "Teamwork  Award". This award recognizes a team that is able to accomplish more together than they could as individuals through shared goals, strong communication, effective problem solving and excellent time management

Robo-Nations includes: Andre Hamelberg, Julian Hamelberg, Jay Lee, Saad Maan, Jean Moorman, Mira Mutnick, Yusuf Tas, Hasan Unal, Maryam Unal, and Simon Wang.