Mars receives $500 award
ADAMS TWP — The Mars New Year committee showed its appreciation to the Mars School District for having its students participate in a competition at the New Year event last month.
Mayor Gregg Hartung and committee member Shelly Watson, who coordinated the Meet the MARS Challenge! Science competition, presented a check for $500 to Superintendent Wesley Shipley at Tuesday night's school board meeting.
Nine of the 11 students who participated in the competition were from Mars High School, Watson said.
She credited the school's science teachers for encouraging their students to enter projects in the challenge, in which 100 fictitious earthlings encounter problems on the planet Mars that the students created and then solved using science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.
First Energy provided $12,000 in prize money for the competition, but only $11,000 was awarded to students.
Watson, Hartung and the Mars New Year committee agreed with the idea of the competition's judges that the remaining $1,000 should be shared between the two districts where the contestants came from, Mars and Karns City.
Watson said the teachers' encouragement meant more than just a monetary award for the students.
“With the support of the school board and principals, the teachers need to know how viable and valuable their input is, because some kids need to learn that they have confidence, because sometimes it doesn't come naturally,” Watson said.
The school board expressed its thanks to the committee for the competition and the event in general.
“The Mars New Year initiative is such a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our town,” School board President DayleFerguson said, “and we so appreciate that the committee includes our students and staff in the planning and the educational element of the event.”
