academic achievement
From left Robbie Hermanoff ’16, Dominique Tlomak ’14, and Jack Collison ’16 at Intel ISEF in Los Angeles.
STUDENTS COMPETE AT THE INTEL INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR
The road to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) began at the Upper School Science Fair, held in February at USM. Twentyfive students earned a place award and qualified for the Badger State Science and Engineering Fair (BSSEF), which took place in March at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Congratulations to the following students who qualified for the BSSEF: Jacob Bern ’16, Charles Bobbs ’16, Jenny Brostrom ’15, Charlie Burton ’15, Jack Collison ’16, David D’Ambrisi ’16, Linnea Fischer ’15, Drew Glaeser ’15, Arvind Goday ’16, Matthew Gogan ’15, Robert Hermanoff ’16, Max Levatich ’16, Adam Malkin ’15, Laura Marlin ’15, Robert Mason ’15, Dana Parekh ’15, Will Perry ’15, Noah Schatz ’16, Mac Schmidt ’16, Riya Sood ’16, Dominique Tlomak ’14, Michael Tucker ’15, Jacob Van Den Heuvel ’15, Julia Veitinger ’15, and Sam Wells ’16.
USM TEAM TIES FOR FIRST AT STATE MEET
MUSICIANS SHINE AT SOLO & ENSEMBLE FESTIVAL
Two teams represented USM at the Wisconsin State Scholastic Chess Tournament, held at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh on March 22 and 23. The USM Blue team became the first team consisting of Lower School and Middle School students to be named co-champions in the history of the tournament.
A group of 17 Middle School and Upper School students participated in the State Solo & Ensemble Festival on April 26 at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Students qualified for State after receiving high marks at district competitions around the Milwaukee area.
Three teams tied for first place, with Neenah being declared the overall champion via tiebreakers. However, the Blue team took it to the all-senior group in their matchup, defeating Neenah 27–13. The Gold team also had a strong showing, outperforming their seed with two team victories. In the K-5 section, Hersh Singh ’24 earned a trophy and Aradh Kaur ’26 earned a medal. Additionally, USM took third place in the Bughouse Team Tournament, with two USM teams earning Bughouse trophies. Congratulations to: Blue team
Zachary Chua ’19, Ritika Pandey ’20, Hadi Najeeb ’20, Divya Pandey ’22, Natey Ruzell ’22 Gold team
Yaseen Najeeb ’16, Noah Schatz ’16, Vinay Jain ’16, Taylor Benard ’15, Jordan Benard ’16
Due to USM’s spring break, only two students were able to attend the BSSEF. David D’Ambrisi placed second in the Physics Category with his project, “Optimizing Magnetic Fields.” Mac Schmidt presented his project, entitled “Evaluating the Efficiency of the Macintosh User Interface.” Congratulations to both students. Three outstanding students earned the privilege of competing as Intel ISEF finalists in Los Angeles in May. It was a grueling week, with students defending their work in front of up to 15 scientists. Students then participated in a public viewing where they explained their projects to school groups and interested visitors, which numbered in the thousands. Congratulations to the following finalists: Jack Collison ’16 – “Characterizing Axillary Lymph Nodes” Robbie Hermanoff ’16 – “A Study of the Effects of Incomplete Spiroids on the Drag Coefficient of an Airfoil” Dominique Tlomak ’14 – “Combinations of Immune Checkpoint Blockade Inhibitors and Lymphodepletion as Immunotherapy for Myeloma”
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USM TODAY | SPRING 2014
From left Zachary Chua ’19, Coach Fred Lange, Ritika Pandey ’20, Divya Pandey ’22, Keise Prewitt ’20, Hadi Najeeb ’20, Natey Ruzell ’22, Vinay Jain ’16, Noah Schatz ’16, and Yaseen Najeeb ’16.
After performing solo or duet selections in front of judges, every student received a gold or silver medal in the competition. Congratulations to the following musicians:
Gaby Musickant ’18 advanced to the national competition.
Middle School Musicians
Zachary Chua ’19 – Violin Solo, gold medal Gaby Musickant ’18 – Classical Voice Solo, silver medal Nathan Rankin ’18 – Piano Solo, silver medal Trevor Smith ’19 – Classical Voice Solo, silver medal Upper School Musicians
Anshul Bhatnagar ’17 – Piano Solo, gold medal Noelle Filali ’16 – Violin Solo, gold medal John Havlik ’15 – Clarinet Solo, gold medal Max Levatich ’16 – Classical Voice Solo, gold medal; and Musical Theater Solo, gold medal Peter Li ’14 – Classical Voice Solo, gold medal; and Musical Theater Solo, gold medal Arundhati Pillai ’17 – Flute Solo, silver medal Ethan Shuler ’16 – Bassoon Solo, gold medal; Classical Voice Solo, silver medal; and Classical Voice Duet, gold medal Philip Shuler ’15 – French Horn Solo, gold medal; Classical Voice Solo, gold medal; and Classical Voice Duet, gold medal Shivani Singh ’14 – Flute Solo, silver medal Evan Stroud ’16 – Cello Solo, gold medal; and Cello Duet (with a performer from a different school), gold medal Kyra Swanson ’16 – Musical Theater Solo, gold medal Lindsay Teisl ’15 – Lever Harp Solo, gold medal Olivia Williamson ’14 – Musical Theater Solo, silver medal
MIDDLE SCHOOL HISTORIANS PARTICIPATE IN NATIONAL HISTORY DAY
On May 3, 23 USM 8th-graders participated in the State National History Day (NHD) competition held at Edgewood College in Madison, Wis. Vying against the top students from across the state, the young historians demonstrated their research and presentation skills and wowed the judges with their historical acumen. Students qualified for the State competition after stellar performances at the Southeast Regional NHD competition in March. Of the 15 projects that were presented, four advanced to the final round of judging. One student will be traveling to the National competition in Maryland in June. Congratulations to Gaby Musickant who will be representing USM in the Individual Performance category. Of the other finalists, Ben Hayes (Individual Documentary) was chosen as first alternate. Gianna Affi and Mia Cudahy (Group Website) and Martha Daniels (Individual Performance) were also in the finals. Additionally, two USM projects were recognized with special awards. Bennett Huffman earned the Wisconsin History Award with his project in the Individual Documentary category. Eleanor Huffman and Maddie Meinecke took home the Women’s History Award with their Group Documentary. Congratulations to all the students who presented their projects at the competition! Other competitors included: Group Exhibit: Elaine Botros, Hailey Stephany, and Natalia Tovar Group Performance: NaaAyeley Aryeetey, Addie Damron, and Hira Malik Group Website: Shivam Agarwal, Liam Costomiris, and Stewart Lerner Individual Documentary: Nathan Rankin Individual Exhibit: Cameron Strawn and Yousef Friedman Individual Paper: Jonah Baade, Yousaf Malik, and Benjamin Rondini
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