Four Halsted six-graders win an Army award

NEWTON - Four sixth-graders from Halsted Middle School in Newton received an innovation, originality and creativity criteria award in this year’s national “eCYBERMISSION” competition. With this award, each team member will receive a $2,000 U.S. EE Savings Bond and a certificate of recognition from the U.S. Army. The “CyberNerds” team, comprised of students Addi Hillard, Anna Keimel, Hanna Balatero and Tamara Recalde, and led by team advisor Mitch Hillard, was recognized by judges for trying to solve a local traffic problem by synchronizing four traffic lights on Route 206/94 in its town. After experimenting with various driving times and researching the synchronization of the traffic lights with the local police and Department of Transportation, the team concluded that if the lights were properly synchronized, commuters would save time and money, and less pollution would be released into the atmosphere. “eCYBERMISSION” is a U.S. Army-sponsored, free, web-based, science, math and technology competition that allows students in grades six through nine to compete for regional and national awards while working to solve problems in their communities. In the past seven years, Halsted Middle School has won $8,000 in U.S. EE Savings Bonds by students competing in “eCYBERMISSION.” “We are extremely proud of these Halsted Middle School winners for their use of outstanding research, experimentation and analysis during this year’s ‘eCYBERMISSION’ competition,” said Mike Doyle, U.S. Army ‘eCYBERMISSION’ program manager. “These students were selected out of thousands of their peers, not only for their potential as future leaders in science, math and technology, but for their work to make their communities a better place to live.” For more information, visit www.ecybermission.com.