Whitefish school wins statewide tech competition

Whitefish Middle School has won new technology valued at approximately $26,000 after being named the Montana winner in the Samsung “Solve for Tomorrow Contest.”

A winner for each state was named in the nationwide competition that challenges students to use science, technology, engineering, arts and math skills to affect change in the community.

Teachers from schools across the country submitted lesson plans detailing how students would affect change. State winners were chosen based on the creativity of their overall concept and plan for execution, in addition to effectively piquing student interest.

Whitefish Middle School computer teacher Gary Carmichael created a lesson plan to encourage coding students to look deeper into a Montana designated Superfund site right in their backyard.

After researching newspaper articles, students learned that contaminant plumes have been found in the Whitefish rail yard, a Superfund site located north of the middle school where locomotive fueling and repairs take place.

“Students had no idea there was a pollution problem in Whitefish,” Carmichael said.

Through the research process, students learned about using reliable and unreliable sources from school librarian Dana Carmichael. It took some effort to find easily accessible information.

“The kids found it interesting in their search for any information that it was very difficult to find,” Carmichael said.

One source that proved very useful was the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, which had collected data over the past 15 years from monitoring wells at sites around town, including the playground.

“The DEQ opened the door to finding more information,” Carmichael said, noting that students corresponded with DEQ employees to answer their questions.

“They looked at what the DEQ was testing for. What were the levels of chemicals and what the chemicals could do if they exceeded levels recommended by the EPA,” Carmichael said.

“Overall they found pollution levels were going down — that’s a good sign,” Carmichael added.

Students examined the data in addition to researching the historical background of the pollution. The class also visited the Stumptown Historical Society to learn about the history of railroading. Students then designed websites to convey the information.

After students return from spring break, Carmichael anticipates having the new Samsung technology, which includes new laptops and tablets, ready to go for students to continue improving upon the project.

“Since the computers here are almost as old as the kids, I think they’ll be pretty excited,” Carmichael said.

“It was a wonderful experience to watch the students going through the process where they had to figure the task out for themselves and find out information. I was just the facilitator on the side. They drove the train — no pun intended,” Carmichael said.

Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.