Kilmer Odyssey of the Mind Team Places 1st in State -- Off to WORLD FINALS!

A team from Kilmer Middle School won first place in Tumble-wood Division II (grades 6-8) at the Virginia Odyssey of the Mind tournament, held on April 14 in Aldie, VA. The team from Kilmer will be one of three from Fairfax County Public Schools to represent Virginia in the World Finals tournament at Michigan State University in late May.

Odyssey of the Mind is an international competition that offers creative problem-solving opportunities for students in kindergarten through college. Team members solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics, then compete at the local, state, and international level.

We are so proud of our Kilmer students!

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Kilmer Day of Service a Big Success

On Wednesday, April 17, all of Kilmer suspended regular lessons and participated in a Day of Service. View our press coverage surrounding the event.

• Kilmer Middle School Students Plan Day of Service on April 17 (FCPS Press Release, 4/15/2013)

• School's Day of Service Offers Lessons in Giving: Program encourages Kilmer Middle School students to ‘get outside their own box’ by Holly Hobbs (Fairfax Times, 4/18/2013)

• A Day of Service at Kilmer Middle: Students learn how to make a difference in their community and the world by Ngalula Tshishimbi (Vienna Connection, 4/22/2013)

• Kilmer Students Participate in Day of Service (Sun Gazette, 4/29/2013

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Kilmer Students Win Big on National Latin Exam

We are very proud of our National Latin Exam award winners. This year we had 46 students take the exam and 29 win awards -- congratulations to Kilmer's awesome Latin teacher, Cheri Miller and the following students:

Gold Medal winners (Summa cum laude)

• Nitin Rao (highest score in the school, missing only one question)
• Ravi Kodali
• Siri Doddi
• Coco Strassberg
• Emma Barberis

Silver Medal (Maxima cum laude)

• Nikita Semchev
• Melody Chiang
• Nikhil Roa
• Ryan Ha
• Thomas Mecherikunnel
• Brian Anderson
• Alyssa Czaban
• Akila Jayanthan
• Nirasha Abeysekera

Bronze Medal (Magna cum laude)

• Allison Lew
• Sam Murphy
• Chris Niu
• Rachel Wade

Honorable Mention (cum laude)

• David Choi
• Patrick Hufnagel
• Khoi Tran
• Jordyn Park
• Claire Heiden
• Teja Vayuvegula
• Timmy Chan
• Lia Rodriguez
• Nadia Hamad
• Emily Schwab

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Kilmer Students SWEEP Optimist Club Oratorical Contest

At the Optimist Club of Greater Vienna Oratorical contest held last evening, Wednesday, March 20, one boy and one girl from each of the local middle schools (Luther Jackson MS, Thoreau MS, and Kilmer MS) competed, speaking on the 2013 topic, "Why My Voice is Important."

Our Kilmer orators, Thomas Mecherikunnel and Maggie McAden, took first place medals for both the boys and the girls. Congratulations and best of luck to Thomas and Maggie as they move forward to the Zone 4 competition on April 20, and we commend coaches Barbara Appling, Kilmer Creative Writing teacher, and Ellie Altman, Kilmer Librarian, for their work helping prepare all of Kilmer's orators this year!

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Former Kilmer Students Find Science Fair Success

Five Kilmer students performed exceptionally well at the 58th annual Fairfax County Regional Science and Engineering Fair held at Robinson Secondary School on Friday, March 15 through Sunday, March 17. The fair is comprised of winning science and engineering projects from high school students representing public and private schools in Fairfax County, VA.

Kilmer alum earning grand prizes include:

• Supraja Chittari of Marshall High School in Biochemistry, “Effect of Turmeric on Memory Curves of Planarians.”
• Aaron Aguhob of Marshall High School in Engineering: Electrical and Mechanical, “Effect of Fractal Antenna Design: FM Transmission.”
• Jason Cui of Langley High School in Medicine and Health Sciences, “MicroRNA Biomarkers for Anti-Tumor Response.
• John Han of Madison High School and Jake Cui of TJHSST in Medicine and Health Sciences, “Improving Alternative Cancer Treatment.” 

The full list of winners can be found on the science fair web site.

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Kilmer Student Team is a 2013 Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Regional Winner

Pallavi Bhave and Joyce Tian were the Region 2 winning team for grades 7-9 in the 2013 Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision science competition. Their project was titled Food Allergen Detector and is explained as follows:

"The Food Allergen Detector will use Raman spectroscopy, a method in which a UV laser beam is focused on a food sample and the scattered light is detected. A small amount of the scattered light will change in frequency. The plot of the intensity of the "shifted light" versus the frequency is the unique Raman spectrum of the sample. The FAD will use a database of such Raman spectrums to identify and provide information on the presence or absence of common allergens in the sample."

Pallavi and Joyce were coached by Kilmer Science Teacher Susan Bates and mentored by Ashwin Bhave. The girls will go up against the winners from the other five regions for the national title. Congratulations on a rock star regional finish and best of luck to the team as they move forward!

Read the WTOP news story on this Kilmer team!

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Hayun Chong, Kilmer 8th Grader Wins Scholastic National Gold Medal for Art

Hayun Chong, an 8th grade student at Kilmer Middle School, has just been honored with the Scholastic National Gold Medal for Art in the painting category for her work titled "The Art Room." The Gold Medal is awarded for "the most outstanding works in the nation." Hayun and other winners will be honored at the National Ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City from May 30-June 1.

We could not be more proud of Hayun for this amazing accomplishment and commend Kilmer Art Teacher Charles Raubacher for supporting her on this journey.

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"About the Awards

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have an impressive legacy dating back to 1923 and a noteworthy roster of past winners including Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, Richard Avedon, Robert Redford and Joyce Carol Oates.

The Awards are an important opportunity for students to be recognized for their creative talents. Each year, the Alliance partners with more than 100 visual and literary-arts focused organizations across the country to bring The Awards to local communities. Teens in grades 7 through 12 can apply in 28 categories of art and writing for the chance to earn scholarships and have their works exhibited or published.

Submissions are juried by luminaries in the visual and literary arts, some of whom are past award recipients. Panelists look for works that best exemplify originality, technical skill and the emergence of a personal voice or vision.

In the last five years alone, students submitted nearly 900,000 original works of art and writing, and over $40 million in scholarships and financial aid has been made available to regional and national Awards winners by over 60 partnering top arts institutes and colleges. 90 years after they began, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have grown to become the longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in the U.S., and the nation’s largest source of scholarships for creative young artists and writers."

-- from The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards http://www.artandwriting.org/the-awards/

View the FCPS Press Release on Hayun and the other local winners

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