Memories:
2004-2005
Eisenhower's 2004-2005 Academic Team
is the new NAL National Champions!
On May 3rd 2005,
after nearly nine months of hard work and study, the Eisenhower
Academic Team defeated a team from Winston-Salem, North Carolina,
70-48 to claim the 2004-2005 National Academic League Championship.
Eisenhower led the whole game, but in reality it was actually
a close game. Eisenhower went into the final round with only
a 6 point lead, before taking over in the final quarter.
The team is composed of two
teams, the buzzer and creative teams. The buzzer team plays
rounds 1, 2, and 4. They answer questions about a variety
of topics ranging from English, History, Geography, Science
and Math. The creative team spends the first 30 minutes of
a game preparing a presentation on a topic, and then they
present for the judges during round 3. Ms. Peck, the mentor
for the creative team, thinks round 3 is the most stressful.
She claims "You have one shot. You blow it and it's over."
Students who want to be part
of the team have to try out through a test and an interview
at the beginning of the school year. Every year about 60 students
try out for the 25 spots on the team. Once the team is selected,
the hard work begins. Members of the academic team begin practicing
at the end of September. Both teams practice for an hour after
school with the buzzer team practicing about 3 times a week,
and the creative team one hour a week. Buzzer team members
are handed a 3 inch stack of study guides, and are expected
to read and learn all the material that is in those study
guides. Creative team members practice public speaking and
teamwork along with memorization of a variety of facts.
The games begin in January,
when all Jr. High Schools from Granite School District battle
it out for the district championship, and an entry into the
national tournament. Hopefully at this point all the hard
work starts to payoff. As for Eisenhower, that was exactly
the case. Eisenhower cruised through district play winning
the championship, averaging 96 points per game, and setting
a district record, of scoring 125 points in one game.
During district play the creative
team also competes for a trophy for best presentations in
the district. Eisenhower's creative team won this award this
year with an average of 23 out of 25 points on their presentations.
Upon winning the district championship
Eisenhower was awarded with an entry into the national tournament.
Most games are played at the University of Utah through video
conferencing devices. Eisenhower moved further into the tournament
with a 74-48 win over a team from Washington State in the
first round. They then cruised to a 67-32 win over a team
from Pennsylvania, and earned a spot among the final four
teams in the country. During the semifinal game Eisenhower
met up with a great team from Orion Jr. High school from Weber
School District. Eisenhower emerged victorious with a 103-71
victory. Eisenhower knew they had their work cut out for them
entering the finals, but their hard work again paid off, and
they became national champions for the 2nd time in school
history.
After winning the championship
the team was met by hundreds of cheering students and staff
members at the school. The team was pleased to know that they
had the support of their school. The team mentors this year
were Ms. Peck, Mr. Mann, and Mr. Chambers.
Eisenhower's recent accomplishment
and win in the National Academic Leaque was featured in the
Deseret
Morning News of May 4, 2005. (Eisenhower also won the
NAL national championship in 2001-2002.)
World Record-Setting Junior High
Seccessfully Breaks Two More World Records!
Lastest Record: World's
Tallest Ice Cream Cone
On March 3, 2005,
Eisenhower Junior High School set two new world records: The
World's Fastest Human Conveyor Belt and the World's
Longest Balloon Chain Made in One Hour. With the addition
of these two new world records, EJH now probably holds
more world records--totaling four--than any other school in
world! (In 1987, EJH set the world record for the Largest
Loaf of Bread ever baked--at 307 pounds; and in 2004, EJH
broke the world record for the the Longest Paper Clip Chain
every constructed--at 22.17 miles long).
To establish the record for the World's
Fastest Human Conveyor Belt, one hundred students
transferred a mattress weighing 11.4 pounds a distance of
nearly 180 feet in exactly two minutes and one second! The
rules for this record stated that "During this record
attempt, one hundred people must pass a weighted object (at
least four feet long and weighing over ten pounds) along a
human conveyor belt as fast as possible. This weighted object
must be passed by people laying flat on the ground who transfer
the object as quickly as possible by rolling their bodies
in the same direction while avoiding the use of their hands,
arms, feet and legs. (Heads and chins can be used to guide
the object or keep it on course.) If the object falls off
on the ground the attempt fails."
To establish the record for
the World's Longest Balloon
Chain Made in One Hour, twenty people (18 students
and two adults) blew up over 1,200 balloons which they then
linked together to construct a chain that measured 708 feet
long. The rules for this record stated that "Twenty participants
must blow up balloons and link them together within one hour.
All balloons must be intertwined and must be uniformly visible,
countable and measurable at all times. The length of the balloons
must be determined by using a precise method of measurement."
The idea for setting and breaking
the above two mentioned world records--which were officially
accepted as world records by The
Book of Alternative [World] Records on March 25, 2005--originated
with thirty 9th Grade GT (Gifted and Talented) Geography students
and then quickly spread throughout the student body of the
school. According to school principal, Nancy Jadallah, "Attempting
world records are more than fun--they also teach important
educational skills to students, including creativity, organization,
cooperation, communications and logistics." For more
information about these record-setting accomplishments, contact
any of these teachers at EJHS (4351 South Redwood Road, Taylorsville,
Utah, 801-685-5154): Mr. Clayton Brough (Geography), Mr. Kelly
Huntington (English), Mrs. Denise Fiack (Physical Education),
Mr. Charles Morris (Science), Mr. Tom Sharpe (Science), Mr.
Nermin Sasivarevic (Physical Education) or Mr. Malamene Wong
(Mathematics).
In March 2005,
thirty Gifted
and Talented (GT) Geography students at Eisenhower Junior
High School (shown below) helped establish World
Records for Schools (WRS). From January through March
2005, these students researched and documented many of the
world records that now appear on the WRS website. In April
2005, the Granite Education Foundation awarded an educational
grant to World Records for Schools. WRS is now financially
supported through modest contributions from educators and
teachers.
Eisenhower's Read-A-Thon & Activity
Night Raises $4,000 !
On Friday, February
18, 2005, over 260 students participated in a ten-hour Read-A-Thon
and Activity Night at Eisenhower Junior High, and raised over
$4,000 in donations to the American Red Cross and Eisenhower’s
Pre-School Equipment Fund. The Read-A-Thon and Activity Night
(called "BFB") went from Noon until 10 PM, and included
three separate DEAR times (Drop Everything And Read), along
with two full-length movies in the school’s auditorium.
Other activities included educational games and contests,
a special presentation and exclusive pre-book unveiling by
a professional cartoonist, and a hearty dinner in the school
cafeteria.
Picture of Eisenhower students at the
BYU Foreign Language Fair, April 15, 2005:
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