Media Contact: Julie Kelly, Avondale School District, 248.537.6002, julie.kelly@avondale.k12.mi.us; Barbara Fornasiero, EAFocus Communications, 248.260.8466, barbara@eafocus.com
Auburn Hills, Mich. —April 16, 2015—- Avondale School District, an achievement-oriented learning community focused on student leadership and success in academics, the arts and athletics, is pleased to announce 14 students from the district have been invited to attend the 2015 International Future Problem Solving Competition at Iowa State University from June 10 to 14.
The students are: senior Adam Dignard of Rochester Hills, son of Rick and Sue Dignard; seniors Carly and Madison Gomez of Troy, daughters of Paul and Kim Gomez; freshman Adam Good of Rochester Hills, son of Jeff and Susan Good; seventh grader Avani Govindswamy of Rochester Hills, daughter of Kiran and Prabha Govindswamy; senior Olivia Helland of Rochester Hills, daughter of Thomas and Lory Helland; sixth grader Anjika Jain of Auburn Hills, daughter of Amit Jain and Nidhi Agarwal; junior Ben Lockard of Auburn Hills, son of Jim and Mary Beth Lockard; freshman Zach Loyd of Rochester Hills, son of Michael and Dawn Loyd; freshman Abel Palathuruthil of Rochester Hills, son of James and Ancy Palathuruthil; freshman Olivia Patch of Rochester Hills, daughter of Kevin and Maria Patch; seventh grader Thomas Quach of Rochester Hills, son of Tang and Hien Quach; seventh grader Thejas Rengaswamy of Troy, son of Srinivasan and Malini Rengaswamy; and seventh grader Qijia Zhou of Rochester Hills, daughter of Chongwen Zhou and Wei Chen. The Future Problem Solving Competition stimulates critical and creative thinking skills and encourages students to develop a vision for the future.
37 Avondale students competed at the Michigan Future Problem Solving Program’s state competition at Michigan State University on March 21 and 22. The Avondale Middle School team, comprised of seventh graders Govindswamy, Quach, Rengaswamy and Zhou, earned a second place skit medal and was named the second place booklet writing team in the middle division. The Avondale High School team, comprised of freshmen Good, Loyd, Palathuruthil and Patch, earned a first place skit and booklet trophies and was named Michigan’s middle division team booklet writing champions. Individually, senior Carly Gomez received third place for her slogan entry and was named a recipient of a Future Problem Solving Program International’s college scholarship. These accomplishments earned the students an invitation to the international competition in June.
Additionally, the Avondale High School team, comprised of Dignard, the Gomez’s, Helland and Lockard, learned at the Michigan competition they will be representing Avondale and Michigan at the international competition for their senior Community Problem Solving Project at R. Grant Graham Elementary. A Ford Motor Company representative recognized the Avondale High School team with trophies and a $1,400 Ford Blue Oval Scholarship to offset their travel costs for the international competition. Also representing Avondale and Michigan at the international competition will be Anjika Jain in the junior individual booklet writing competition.
“I am very proud of all of the Avondale students who participated in the Future Problem Solvers Program,” Laura Phou, who has coached the Avondale Future Problem Solvers since 2000, said. “The skills and experience these students are gaining through this program are invaluable. I have no doubt the students continuing on in the competition will continue to represent the Avondale community well at the international level.”
The first practice problem the team addressed this year was the concept of social media, examining the impact sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Skype, blogging and others have on people’s daily lives and what it means for truth telling and accountability. The second practice problem was processed foods, understanding where and how foods are produced with an increased global focus on health. The qualifying problem was propaganda, exploring how messaging will be spread in the future through digital media as well as understanding the techniques behind this type of communication. The state competition problem was enhancing human potential, scrutinizing the physical, emotional and cognitive ways people can enhance their potential and what, if any, this impact could have on the definition of ‘human’ in the future.
This year’s international competition theme is intellectual property. To learn more about the Future Problem Solving Program International, visit www.fpspi.org.
About Future Problem Solving Program International
Future Problem Solving Program International engages students in creative problem solving. Founded in 1974 by creativity pioneer, Dr. E. Paul Torrance, FPSPI stimulates critical and creative thinking skills and encourages students to develop a vision for the future. Students experience the excitement of creative thinking and the thrill of resolving complex problems with unique solution ideas when they participate in FPSPI. Competitions like Future Problem Solving Program International allow academically talented students the opportunity to showcase their creative skills in much the same way that sporting events showcase star athletes. Future Problem Solving Program International charters Affiliate Programs throughout Australia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. To learn more about the Future Problem Solving Program, visit http://www.fpspi.org/.
About Avondale School District
Avondale School District is a collaborative community of teachers, staff and families working together to assure student success. The district, encompassing portions of Auburn Hills, Bloomfield Township, Troy and Rochester Hills, celebrates the richness of a diverse student population and strives to be a model school community that prepares students to be lifelong learners and contributing citizens to the world that awaits them upon graduation. Learn more about Avondale Schools, an AdvancED accredited district, at www.avondale.k12.mi.us.
