WJHS students awarded for geometry projects

The top advanced math students at Woodard Junior High were recently presented with awards of excellence for their work on their geometry class projects by Architecture West, a division of Nicklaus Engineering Inc.

Judith Toensing's sixth-grade classes were assigned, in teams, to design a three-dimensional city block with a 10-story height limitation, following specific square footage requirements and incorporating residential areas, retail space, office space and parking space into the project.

Students also had to consider things such as what climate the buildings would be located in, traffic, walkways and accessibility from one building to the next, as well as solar panels, shade, less heat absorbing materials, windows and landscape.

Toensing worked to bring in experts from the architectural field to give the students further direction and guidance on their project and to also judge the finished products for first, second and third place team winners.

Architecture West principal architect Edward Fagin said that he was extremely pleased with the quality of the projects put forth by the students, so much so that it was difficult to narrow them down to just three winners. He added that he was pleasantly surprised at how the ideas that he and Victor Guzman, Architecture West architect and project manager, discussed with students in class were taken into account when they designed and built their projects, considering things like environmental sustainability issues.

The first place team, made up of students Henson Smith, J.D. Hanson, Shaniya Holmes and Cesar Hernandez, were awarded with certificates and trophies for their winning design.

Team leader Henson Smith, 11, said, “My favorite part of the project was whenever I got an idea, creating it with my own imagination.”

He said that his team finished all of the requirements for the project with time to spare, so they decided to go above and beyond and add a conservatory to the grounds to make the design more lifelike and realistic. The project also included a park with modern art that they made out of paper clips and twist ties.

“We used whatever we could find,” he explained, noting that his project was also made up of things like Styrofoam and cardboard.

Smith said that he was very happy and surprised when their team was announced the winner, especially when he saw how well the other groups' projects turned out.

Second place team leader James Meza, 12, said that his project featured details like rotating solar panels that rotated with the sun for each side of their buildings.

“I really wasn't expecting to get second, I really wasn't even expecting to place, but getting second was awesome,” he said.

Meza added that he never considered going into the architectural field before, but now he is considering it because of how much he enjoyed the project.

Team leaders Isabella Ortega, 12, and Eboni Andersun, 12, and their respective teams tied for third place.

In regards to receiving a top place, Ortega said, “I felt great about it because I worked really hard on the whole project ... I learned a lot of things. I figured out that I did need a lot of the things that Mrs. Toensing taught me in class.”

Andersun said that she enjoyed all the math that was incorporated into the project and would like to consider engineering as a future career choice.

Sarah Womer can be reached at swomer@yumasun.com or 539-6858. Find her on Facebook at Facebook.com/YSSarahWomer or on Twitter at @YSSarahWomer.