Page 10 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • June 5, 2013 Waldwick Waldwick High School students Joe Hurban, Jeremy Macomber, Trevor Ramundo, and Kyle Sandve have won the Thomas Edison Foundation Design Competition for their creation of a hat that doubles as a solar-powered MP3 player. Waldwick Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patricia Raupers acknowledged the students and their teacher, James Drechsel, at a recent board meeting. She also noted that the high school will receive a $500 grant as the result of the team’s win. “We all know the importance of strong educational programs in science, mathematics, and technology to both our students personally and for our nation to compete globally. “We are very proud of our efforts here in Waldwick to promote high levels of student achievement in these curricular areas,” Raupers said. The competition, which was held last month at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, drew approximately 30 teams from various New Jersey schools. Drechsel said he believes the members of the winning team benefitted from their recent experience in another student design competition. That experi- Student team wins design competition Girl Scouts earn awards ence, along with their attention to detail and written documentation of the design process, he said, furthered the team’s effort. The educator explained that the students ultimately stood before 16 judges throughout the four levels of adjudication. Drechsel added that Pico Turbine, a New Jersey-based energy company, has offered the senior members of the team internships as the result of their team’s performance in this competition. “I was pretty impressed,” Drechsel said of the team. “They didn’t get overly nervous. They knew their material well. “It was refreshing to see students compete like they do in sports, but for academics.” He added that the students were required to incorporate solar, wind, or hydrogen power and were encouraged to use recyclable materials. Drechsel explained that the concept of the Thomas Edison Foundation Design Competition is that people learn through failure. He noted that the Waldwick students attempted various iterations of their project before they hit upon success. Two Waldwick Girl Scouts were recognized for their work on their Gold Awards. Kimberly Marsden received the Gold Award for her work with voting earlier this year by speaking with students at Waldwick Middle School and local senior citizens. In addition, she registered high school students to vote and had a speaker come in to discuss voting with the senior class. Kaitlyn McWha is still working on her Gold Award, and will complete it when she will run a concert in June to raise funds for the Center for Food Action. The girls are pictured with Mayor Tom Giordano. Waldwick Girl Scouts Carrie Cunningham, Michaela MacFarran, and Allison Johnson earned their Silver Award by helping the Center for Food Action in Mahwah. The center was in need of school supplies for local children. The girls raised money by running Bake Sales, writing to companies, and advertising and placing collection boxes around town. They donated 97 backpacks filled with school supplies.