Academic Pentathlon Nationals
Donation protected
My name is Amanda Reinhart. I am a middle school teacher at McMillan Magnet Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Eighty two percent (82% )of our students qualify for free and reduced lunch. McMillan is an ethnically diverse STEM magnet and the only middle school in the state to offer Project Lead the Way classes.** I teach 8th grade Spanish and 7th/8th grade Honors Special Projects (HSP.) Through HSP, I have had the opportunity to work as the Academic Pentathlon coach for 3 years.
(** Free and Reduced Lunch is a federally funded lunch program that provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost/free lunches to children. Magnet schools attract students from outside the regular attendance area by offering specialized courses. Our school offers unique courses in STEM--science, technology, engineering and mathematics--that cannot be found at other middle schools in Omaha. Project Lead the Way is a nonprofit organization that provides a transformative learning experience for K-12 students and teachers acorss the US through pathways in computer science, engineering and biomedical science. Read more at pltw.org)
Academic Pentathlon is a competition experience for students of varying academic abilities. It is a smaller version of the high school Academic Decathlon. Each year, students across the country are provided a theme and study materials in the areas of Literature, Fine Arts, Social Science, Science and Math. Students work tirelessly to immerse themselves in these categories, studying hard to compete in essay and multiple choice test competitions. (Read more at http://www.usad.org)
The middle school level is picking up steam, and will be hosting its 3rd annual National competition in Boise, ID this year. With the help of gracious donors and car-washing students, we were fortunate to raise enough money to participate in the National competition for the past 2 years. In 2014, we placed 7th and in 2015, we placed 3rd. We are hoping to return to the National competition and hold on to (or surpass!) our personal record this year in Boise!
We hope to fly our teams (18 students total) to Boise, Idaho and get them to Boise State University where the competition will be held. The students will get the chance to experience the University (an awesome opportunity for kids about to enter high school), as they will bunk in the dorm rooms for the weekend. We will also need to provide some meals for the students, as our registration fee only covers lunches and the awards banquet at the conclusion of the competition.
Many of our students have never left the state of Nebraska, and if they have, it has been by car. The majority of our students have never had the opportunity to fly, or enter a different time zone. We hope to provide students with an opportunity to explore a different part of the country and be exposed to a bigger world than Omaha. Plus, they have worked so hard to compete this year, it would be a wonderful culmination of hard work and celebration simply to GO to Nationals.
Last year's students were grateful for the opportunity to compete at the national contest in Dallas. They learned that hard work pays off. They were thankful for the chance to compete with students from other states and make friends from places near and far - even Hawaii! They were excited to fly for the first time to a different city, and take advantage of Dallas's cultural offerings. They were thankful to experience this with great friends, and for the chance to create memories that will last a lifetime. They were grateful that donors and mentors cared enough about them to fund their trip and support this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Should we raise enough money this year, we will be traveling from Omaha, NE to Boise, ID at the end of May. We would need to begin our journey on Thursday, May 19, 2016 and would return to Omaha on Saturday, May 21, 2016. We would need the funding before this, so as to make travel arrangements in time for all students to travel together with the coaches.
Thank you for taking the time to read our story. I hope that you see the power of this academic, social and travel experience for my students. It is only with the generous donations of caring people that our students will be able to compete this year. Please find it in your hearts to donate to our cause, and help send us to Academic Pentathlon Nationals 2016!
(** Free and Reduced Lunch is a federally funded lunch program that provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost/free lunches to children. Magnet schools attract students from outside the regular attendance area by offering specialized courses. Our school offers unique courses in STEM--science, technology, engineering and mathematics--that cannot be found at other middle schools in Omaha. Project Lead the Way is a nonprofit organization that provides a transformative learning experience for K-12 students and teachers acorss the US through pathways in computer science, engineering and biomedical science. Read more at pltw.org)
Academic Pentathlon is a competition experience for students of varying academic abilities. It is a smaller version of the high school Academic Decathlon. Each year, students across the country are provided a theme and study materials in the areas of Literature, Fine Arts, Social Science, Science and Math. Students work tirelessly to immerse themselves in these categories, studying hard to compete in essay and multiple choice test competitions. (Read more at http://www.usad.org)
The middle school level is picking up steam, and will be hosting its 3rd annual National competition in Boise, ID this year. With the help of gracious donors and car-washing students, we were fortunate to raise enough money to participate in the National competition for the past 2 years. In 2014, we placed 7th and in 2015, we placed 3rd. We are hoping to return to the National competition and hold on to (or surpass!) our personal record this year in Boise!
We hope to fly our teams (18 students total) to Boise, Idaho and get them to Boise State University where the competition will be held. The students will get the chance to experience the University (an awesome opportunity for kids about to enter high school), as they will bunk in the dorm rooms for the weekend. We will also need to provide some meals for the students, as our registration fee only covers lunches and the awards banquet at the conclusion of the competition.
Many of our students have never left the state of Nebraska, and if they have, it has been by car. The majority of our students have never had the opportunity to fly, or enter a different time zone. We hope to provide students with an opportunity to explore a different part of the country and be exposed to a bigger world than Omaha. Plus, they have worked so hard to compete this year, it would be a wonderful culmination of hard work and celebration simply to GO to Nationals.
Last year's students were grateful for the opportunity to compete at the national contest in Dallas. They learned that hard work pays off. They were thankful for the chance to compete with students from other states and make friends from places near and far - even Hawaii! They were excited to fly for the first time to a different city, and take advantage of Dallas's cultural offerings. They were thankful to experience this with great friends, and for the chance to create memories that will last a lifetime. They were grateful that donors and mentors cared enough about them to fund their trip and support this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Should we raise enough money this year, we will be traveling from Omaha, NE to Boise, ID at the end of May. We would need to begin our journey on Thursday, May 19, 2016 and would return to Omaha on Saturday, May 21, 2016. We would need the funding before this, so as to make travel arrangements in time for all students to travel together with the coaches.
Thank you for taking the time to read our story. I hope that you see the power of this academic, social and travel experience for my students. It is only with the generous donations of caring people that our students will be able to compete this year. Please find it in your hearts to donate to our cause, and help send us to Academic Pentathlon Nationals 2016!
Organizer and beneficiary
Amanda Reinhart
Organizer
Omaha, NE
Joseph Lecci
Beneficiary