Sarasota Middle School Teams Prep for National Tech Contest

Two teams of Sarasota Middle School students took top honors in their events at the Technology Student Association State Competition in February. The members of those teams and two other SMS students are preparing to compete in the National TSA contest June 21-25 in Nashville, Tenn.

TSA is a national, nonprofit organization of more than 150,000 middle and high school students who have a strong interest in technology. Members apply and integrate science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) concepts through co-curricular activities, competitive events and related programs.

One SMS team won first place state honors in Website Design. The team members were Brooklynn Wilhelm, Laura Winstead, Michael Vincent, and Tiana Goodwin.

Contestants in the Website Design competition were required to design, build and launch a website that demonstrated the team’s ability to research topics pertaining to technology. The SMS team developed a website featuring the history of the U.S. space program called  www.universetodiscover.com

In addition to building the website, team members were interviewed to demonstrate the knowledge and expertise they gained during the development of the website regarding Internet and web history, web design, and research about cutting-edge advances in technology. 

Another SMS team was comprised of members Tyler Maxwell and Mike Moran. They took first prize in the Techno Talk category.

In that contest, two students from one school were teamed randomly with two students from another school to form one four-person team. Their challenge was to have one pair build a structure out of sight of their partner team then instruct the partner team how to replicate it using only text messages.

At the state contest this year, 10 SMS students competed in nine categories. Eight SMS students qualified for the National TSA Competition by finishing in the top 10 of their challenge. About 2,000 schools from 48 states are scheduled to be represented at the national contest.

Hunter Jacob finished in the top 10 in both Career Investigation and Prepared Speech. Gianluca Marra was a top 10 finisher in Technical Writing.

A team comprised of Wilhelm, Winstead and Goodwin finished in the top 10 in the Environmental Focus category.

To cover their expenses for the trip to the National TSA Conference, the group will need to raise about $8,000. Contributions can be made to TSA advisor Jim VanFleet at Sarasota Middle School, 4826 Ashton Road, Sarasota, FL 34233.

More information about TSA is available at www.tsaweb.org.