Students representing several area schools earned spots in the state event with outstanding showings at the 2012 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Regional Science and Engineering Fair held in early February at the UNC Charlotte campus. The UNCC event was sponsored by the university's Center for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education.

As a result of their entries in the UNCC competition, Grace Poteat of Huntersville Elementary School will take part in the state competition in the elementary division; Andrew Van Wingerden of SouthLake Christian Academy, Carolina Gilland of Bradley Middle School and Sydney Capps of Lake Norman Christian School will participate in the junior division; and Jules Carter of North Meck High School will be among the senior division competitors.

In addition to the honor of advancing to the state event, several of the students also picked up numerous honors and awards in specific categories at the UNCC fair.

Poteat won the Discovery Place "Discovery Award" and was among the Earth Awareness honorees. Van Wingerden was singled our for honors by The Academy of the Carolinas, Gilland was recognized in the American Meteorological Society, Broadcom Masters and N.C. Water Works and Water Environment Association categories. And Carter was a winner in the Association of Women Geoscientists, STEM excellence in research, RICOH, U.S. Army and Navy/Marine Corps categories.

Other special award winners included Lake Norman Christian students Lexi Mecum, who won the LS3P Architects award and was recognized as a Broadcom Master; and Emma Beightol, who also earned Broadcom Master honors.

Black history projects on display at St. Mark

St. Mark Catholic School is honoring Black History Month with a school-wide awareness project that highlights the achievements of more than 100 influential African Americans.

Every teacher in the school was asked to select a famous black American to feature on their classroom door or entryway. Scientists, politicians, actors, artists, authors, civil rights leaders and many more positive role models are part of a project that provides a tangible learning tool for the students.

The idea for the project was a joint effort by computer teacher Deborah Ludde and fifth grade teacher Linda Dunn. The goal was to create a school-wide community project that recognized the contributions of African Americans by engaging students from kindergarten through eighth grade. Some displays are quite complex while others speak to children as young as five.

The displays were created by the school's teachers, parents and students. While some of the classroom displays highlight just one person, others are classroom-wide projects wherein each student learned and wrote about a different person. There are posters, collages, murals, and paper quilts with many created from original student artwork.

But the project is more than just a visual display – it is an educational tool. The project criterion specifies that each display must include five facts about the person being featured. In addition, from Feb. 21 to 24, students will tour the hallways on a scavenger hunt to find the answers to questions contained within the displays. Each grade will get a different set of questions.

Walking through the hallways, students and visitors will learn Oprah Winfrey has pushed for laws to protect puppies, James Earl Jones was the first established celebrity to appear on Sesame Street, Denzel Washington donated $2.5 million to build a church in Los Angeles, author and illustrator Jerry Pinkney has dyslexia and that Harriet Tubman had a scar on her head from an injury suffered while helping a slave to escape when she was just 13 years old.

The music classrooms feature prominent musicians such as Nat King Cole while the art room features famous artist Dave the Potter, an enslaved African American who made stoneware pottery in the 1800s. The athletics department is featuring Wilma Rudolf, the first track and field woman athlete to win three gold medals in the Olympics, and the library features a floor-to-ceiling display of Levar Burton, host and executive producer of the children's program Reading Rainbow.

McKinney student among indy spellers

McKinney Academy in Davidson was well represented in the recent Mecklenburg District-Wide Spelling Bee for Independent Schools.

Chloe Buckner, a fifth grader at McKinney, placed eighth among 15 students from independent schools in the county in the event held as part of the qualifying for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. To be entered in the county event, students had to earn a spot by performing as the first or second top speller at their individual school.

McKinney Academy is a private school on Armour Street in Davidson serving students from Davidson, Huntersville, Cornelius, Mooresville, Charlotte and throughout the Lake Norman community.

Students hip-hopping for Habitat project

You are invited to join students from three local middle schools as they hip-hop and be-bop as long as they can to help families in need of a home. As part of an ongoing effort to raise money for an Our Towns Habitat for Humanity project, students at Bailey, Bradley and J.M. Alexander middle schools will sponsor a "Hip-Hop-a-thon" Saturday, Feb. 25. The event, with refreshments and a deejay, will be held at Kadifit, 19725 Oak Street in Cornelius, from 1 to 3 p.m.

Area residents are urged to participate or to sponsor a student. The cost is $5 and will benefit the united effort by the schools to raise enough money to finance the construction of a new Habitat for Humanity home this spring for a selected family in Huntersville.

In addition to sponsorships, donations will be collected at the door. For more information about the event, visit www.kadifit.com or call 704-577-1283.

ASU Graduates, academic honors

Students from north Mecklenburg communities were among those earning degrees and qualifying for academic recognition during the fall semester at Appalachian State University in Boone.

The list of students completing studies toward degrees at ASU included honor graduates Thomas Ulmer and Rachel Johnson of Huntersville. Ulmer earned a bachelor of science degree in exercise science and Johnson earned a bachelor of fine arts in graphic design.

Other area residents earning ASU diplomas during the fall semester included:

• From Cornelius: Justin Ckezepis, Eric Handsman, Tucker Munday and Ryan Tavenner.

• From Davidson: Eric Babbitt, Andrew Finney, Megan Jordan and Martha Moye.

• From Huntersville: Drew Gulledge, Whitney Hall, Christopher Kohlmeir, Michael Laco, Megan Lively, Brittany Love, Lee Mulcahy and Kelly Stage.

Students earning Chancellor's List honors were:

• From Cornelius: Brittany Boggs, Karson Collins, Christina Ford, Ashlee Gerring, Heather LaDu, Megan Lawson, Cassondra MacLeod and Kimberly Pappas.

• From Davidson: Jessica Anklin, Mary Burgess, James Devine, Michael Falcone, Patrick Harrow, Carter Smith, Charles Wagster and George Williams.

• From Huntersville: Brittany Bivins, Jacquelynne Greco, Christopher Grunert, Meghan Mahoney, Geoffrey Mulock, Caroline Reid, Robert Ruthenberg, Katherine Spangler, Jennifer Stephens and Whitney Wright.

Students earning ASU Dean's List semester recognition were:

• From Cornelius: Danielle Campoli, Andrew Carlsen, Kristen Gilmore, Victoria Medina, Shahdi Montazeri, Tanner Pardue, Jordan Sapp, Chandler Short, Charlton Stikeleather, Andrea Strejcek, Jennifer Takes, Ryan Tavenner, Jessica Washam, Kevin Washam and Jillian Wright.

• From Davidson: Kathleen Armstrong, Lindsay Armstrong, Marianna Bowden, Byron Dollar, Shelby McKinney, Kaitlin Pace, John Schumacher and Katherine Sherrill.

• From Huntersville: Matthew Alexander, Brian Andersen, Laura Andrews, Taylor Barnwell, Kathleen Black, Danielle Bleser, Laura Boone, Ashley Bouchez, Audrey Boyle, Christopher Coley, Alyssa Cuddy, Benjamin Gupton, Elizabeth Barnwell, Nicholas Harris, Kristen Henry, Sarah Honeycutt, Rachel Johnson, Anna Johnston, Shane Margeson, Lauren Marshall, Samantha McAulay, Kimberly McCraw, Lindsey McCreary, Jessica McMicheaux, Ian Myers, Kerry Mylett Jr., Caitlin Owings, Amy Rhoads, Brianna Ruggles, Kendall Smith, Samantha Stearns, Thomas Ulmer, Donna Wike, Paige Williams and Kailin Yoh.

Broad scholarship deadline March 1

As the 2011 Broad Prize winner, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has received $550,000 to be used for college scholarships for CMS students.

The Broad Foundation is accepting applications through March 1. All eligible students are urged to apply for the scholarship. Students and parents can visit www.broadprize.org to learn more about eligibility, the application process and deadlines.

Student art featured at Light Factory

An exhibit that includes work by local high school students will be on display through May at The Light Factory, 345 N. College St., inside Spirit Square in downtown Charlotte.

Students from Hough High School, along with students from Olympic and Garinger high schools, created works for the exhibit through the Earth Exchange program.

Earth Exchange is a project and exhibition designed to illustrate student views on the environment through photography and poetry. The project began last fall when The Light Factory collaborated with the students to increase environmental awareness. Through guest lecturers and hands-on learning experiences, the students formed opinions about what is happening in the world around them.

In November, students experienced a field trip during which they tested water quality, saw a landfill and toured a "green" building. An overnight stay at Camp Thunderbird gave students time to connect with each other, create photography and write poetry in a natural setting. They learned the importance of building safe fires and how to "leave no trace behind" in natural environments. During the course of their field trip, the students learned about "farm to fork" and sustainable farming.

Artist Daniel McCormick inspired the students with installations he made to help rebuild a fragile watershed and the students discussed the environment with Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx.

Earth Exchange is presented by Piedmont Natural Gas. Sponsors include the Blumenthal Foundation and Harvest Moon Grille. The Light Factory is supported by the Arts and Science Council of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and North Carolina Arts Council.