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Center Line Clintondale Cousino Fitzgerald Fraser Lake Shore Lakeview South LakeSterling Heights Warren MottTheVolume VII No.3CENTER PAGEMacomb Mathematics Science Technology CenterFall, 2006TEAM BUILDING SOPHOMORESFriday October 20th the sophomoreclass participated in an all day teambuilding camp. Teaming – learning tolisten to the ideas of others,compromising, working together toaccomplish an agreed upon goal,students discovering their strengths andweaknesses, and morning and afternoonstudents just getting to know each othera little better is what this twelve hourcamp was all about.The day started with brief interviewsand introductions of each other thenproceeded to a game of towel volleyballwhere if they didn’t work together theyfound out the towel would just rip. Thenoff for a walk to the bowling alley wherethe students enjoyed 3 games ofbowling. After lunch, students signed upfor certain events in the mysteryOlympics which had them doing suchthings as walking down the catwalk infront of their peers in student fashionedpaper diapers to competing in a burpingcontest. Next students were assigned togroups to follow a rotation of teambuilding/educational activities such aspaper airplane contests, making fractals,and discovering their unique learningstyle. As the day wound down, theysang math songs and made rain. Ibelieve fun was had by all, as manystudents thanked us before they left forthe evening - and that made everythingworthwhile.Fall, 2006IN THE CENTER PAGE Freshman HomecomingOctober SkyCapture the FlagSenior Summer LearningMole DaySenior ResearchMMSTC Has a New DirectorWalk for CancerHigh School PlannerMore MMSTC PhotosMMSTC Halloween Party MMSTC 22334455678Page One

Volume VII No.3Macomb Mathematics Science Technology CenterFRESHMANHOMECOMINGTheClass of 2010 held the SeventhAnnualFreshmenHomecoming!Parades and float building events werehighly attended.The 9A “Peanut Butter Jelly Time”ran all over the invited 10A “Santa’sHelpers.” The game was stopped as amercy. Ryan DuTour was selected bythe winning team as the “Most ValuablePlayer” after he pulled in seventouchdown passes thrown by CristianCiobotaru.The 9C “Pink Bunnies” lost aheartbreaker to the 9B “CookieCrumblers” by a sudden-death fieldgoal made by “Most Valuable Player”Jake Gleason. It was hard to detectthat it was actually Jeff Carothers whowas dressed as the “Crumbler” mascot.The halftime performances (fromboth the morning and afternoonmarching bands) were obviously“much-practiced” precision marchingdemonstrations for the “standing-roomonly” crowd’s delight. The gymnasticsexecuted by the “Bunnies” whileattempting a human pyramid was ofquestionable quality, however, DCdisplayed both grace and agility as heperformed a dance routine with the grillin the parking lot.Chef Estapa expertly grilled hotdogs over the roaring bonfire, and hugeprizes were awarded for skills displayedin all three sections.Fall, 2006Fall, 2006OCTOBER SKYStudents at MMSTC have been using a computeraided design package known as Solid Works sincetheir sophomore year. They have created CADmodels of various real products ranging fromchemistry glass wear, to Pi bling, and now, in theirjunior year Technology Class, they are creatingmodel rockets.Each part of the model rocket is beingdesigned and tested. This includes the moreimportant pieces such as the nose cone, fins andbody tube. After completion of their designs,students worked in the technology lab where theyused various machines to fashion the rocket partsout of balsa wood, foam, and cardboard.This year, MMSTC has a new machine knownas a VersaLaser to rapidly cut 2 dimensional parts.It’s a very simple and quick operation to send adesign to the VersaLaser which rapidly scrollsthrough soft materials such as plastic and balsawood under computer control. Shown below arestudents holding fins taken right out of theVersaLaser machine.Also this year, students combined mathematicsand physics equations together into a Javaprogram to predict the performance of theirrockets. The rockets were launched and theirmeasured altitudes were compared against theresults from the Java simulation. Shown below areseveral students with their rockets. MMSTC Page Two

Volume VII No.3Macomb Mathematics Science Technology CenterCAPTURE THE FLAG!This year the newly appointed Senior ClassCommittee of 2007 decided we all needed anevent to lighten the stress of our ongoing researchprojects. Not only that, but the 2006/2007 schoolyear is the first that the morning and afternoonseniors of MMSTC have been together in theclassroom. The goal was to get both sides ofButcher interacting together to make new friendsand get to know their classmen.Under the guidance of the math teachers, therepresentatives of the Committee divided thesenior class into two teams and left it up to them todecided their team name, color, and shirts. Thetwo teams became the black-clad “Big Joe andthe Jackson 28” and the red “Sup’s Kitchen.”Thanks to our very supportive Committee, we wereable to purchase T-shirts and puffy-paint that thestudents used to show their team spirit. If you readbetween the lines, you’re sure to catch an insidejoke or two (or maybe ten).On the chilly morning of October 5th, classeswere dismissed halfway into the day. After groupphotos and snacks, both teams were given theircolored flags to hide around Butcher Park. WithSup’s Kitchen on the playground and the Jackson28 hidden around the trees--it was show time!The game was a success!Everyoneparticipated and the thought of pressing homeworkdisappeared at least for a little while.TheJackson 28 found a way to escape from jailquicker through teamwork. Sup’s Kitchen hid theirflag a little too well that is, at least in a place noone was willing to retrieve. Everyone had fun andthere was laughter all around. We all wanted thegame to last longer, and in a way it always will.Final score? “It was a tie – both teamscheated!” Patricia Giacona-WilsonFall, 2006 MMSTC Fall, 2006SENIOR SUMMERLEARNINGMMSTC students took the summer of2006 to explore, learn, grow, andexperience a wealth of opportunities.The following list of seniors participatedin activities both locally and nationally: Madeline Barick took an Economicsclass at Macomb Community College. Ramsay Brasza - SummerEngineering Exploration Program atthe University of Michigan through theSociety of Women Engineers. Christopher Franco took classes atMacomb Community College in Biologyand Humanities. James Geyman took an Economicsclass at Macomb Community College. Bethany Morrell Was on the YouthSteering Committee for the New DetroitRace Summit. Caitlin O’Gara attended theSeidenberg Scholars SummerExperience at Pace University in NewYork City (Computer Science Camp). Rhett Rayos took an Economics classat Macomb Community College. Healso went to the Junior Statesmen ofAmerica Congressional Workshop .This was a Summer School Program atGeorgetown University. Amy Saelen took part in LITE Program(Lives Improved Through Engineering)at Kettering University. Adam Stone spent a week at theUniversity of Michigan Swim Camp. Monica Tadros took classes atMacomb Community College in Biologyand Humanities. Lauren Weiss took Spanish I atMacomb Community College Ryan Wrubel took a class in Spanishat Macomb Community College. Amelia Zessin has spent the last foursummers volunteering at the CrowIndian Reservation in Crow Agency,Montana.Page Three

Volume VII No.3Macomb Mathematics Science Technology CenterFall, 2006MOLE DAYSENIOR RESEARCHOn October 23rd 2006 from 6:02 am to 6:02The IDS, math and science departments arepm chemistry classes across the nationcelebrate the Mole Day and AmedeoAvogadro’s number (6.02 x 1023).This is notthe pesky creature that plagues our lawns,rather for a given molecule, one mole is amass (in grams) whose number is equal tothe atomic mass of the molecule. Forexample, one water molecule has an atomicmass of 18 grams, therefore one mole ofwater weighs 18 grams.To help grasp this abstract concept,students calculated one mole of somecommon household objects to illustrate theshear volume of a mole. For example, if youhad Avogadro's number of un-poppedpopcorn kernels, and spread them acrossthe United States of America, the countrywould be covered in popcorn to a depth ofover 9 miles. If we were able to count atomsat the rate of 10 million per second, it wouldtake about 2 billion years to count the atomsin one mole.After calculating moles in FST,sophomores created a PowerPointpresentation with all of their new mole factsin IDS, as well as plush mole mascots inchemistry. Some of the crowd favorites arefeatured below. It isn’t everyday that you geta sewing lesson in chemistry, but the nimblefingers of our MMSTC sophomores craftedsome amazing moles and lasting memories.happy to report that senior research is in fullswing. Most of the teams are currentlycompleting their data collection phase andare eager to pull everything together in theirconclusions.This year the biology topics range fromperfecting the isolation of DNA from chiveplants to testing the expansion andcontraction of isolated striated muscle.Physics students are exploring the world oftransistor use and the use of differentmaterials during insulation studies as well asa variety of other topics. Chemistry studentsare pressing the limits of their knowledgewith uncovering the hidden world of themolecule and how it interacts with itssurroundings.The projects are scheduled to end beforethe holiday break and presentationscommence immediately after their returnfrom the New Year break. The entireprogram is looking forward to an excellentset of research projects and presentations.Special thanks go out the superior mathdepartment at the Center for their work withthe students in selecting the proper statisticalanalysis to support their research results. Mark EstapaFall, 2006 MMSTC Page Four