The Press-Dispatch
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Sports Wednesday, Februar y 15, 2023 The Press-Dispatch B-4 WES Science Bowl competes By Mendy Ross Correspondent news@pressdispatch.net Winslow elementary school fourth and fifth grade science bowl Teams compet- ed on-line on Thursday, Jan- uary 23 at the school, accord- ing to seven-year Wes sci- ence bowl coach and teacher Mrs. abby aldridge. This year the team placed 13th against schools all across Indiana. according to aldridge, the number of members for the team varies every year, based on teacher recommendations, the high ability program numbers and ILearn sci- ence scores. This year's team members included fourth graders naomi stafford, Car- ter Moss, nola Thompson and Maddy McCandless and fifth grade students stihl nal- ley, Kodee Miller, Tate Pauw, Gemma Gonzales, austin Vaughn and Piper Thompson. "It is an online competition with three rounds: team, ex- periment, individual," said aldridge. "The whole team works together in the first two rounds: team and ex- periment." The team has 30 minutes to read and discuss multiple choice questions. Then four individuals com- pete in the last round; which includes reading a short arti- cle and answering questions on their own. "I've always loved science," said aldridge, who gradu- ated from the university of evansville with a bs in biol- ogy. When she noticed that science bowl was one of the options for an elementary academic team, she decided to find out more. "I asked our principal if I could start a team for Wes," said al- dridge. "He was very support- ive, and we've continued with the team ever since." according to aldridge the competition topic changes every year. "This year we focused on kinetic and poten- tial energy and energy trans- formation," aldridge said. In december the team be- gan preparation for the com- petition, staying after school twice a week. students ex- plored science topics by cre- ating marble roller coasters, using online simulations and working together on math equations. students also had a chance to practice games and watch videos on Google Classroom to help them learn more outside the classroom. "This is a great opportuni- ty to expose students to new areas of science and create a fun experience," said al- dridge. "The competition pro- vides motivation for learning, but my main goal is just to get them excited about science. Hearing at least one student say something like "so that's it? We're done? I don't want it to be over," is the best." WES Science Bowl Team Members, front row (l to r), Naomi Stafford, Carter Moss, Nola Thompson, Stihl Nalley, and Maddy McCandless. Back row, Kodee Miller, Tate Pauw, Gemma Gonzales, Austin Vaughn, and Piper Thompson. The team competed on-line on Thursday, January 23, at the school. Youth First Today By Christine Weinzapfel-Hayden Is your child feeling anxious? Children are creatures of habit. They thrive in calm, consistent, predictable en- vironments. When there is change for them, or even when they have the anticipa- tion of change, it can create anxiety. as much as we would love to put our kids in a protective bubble, it is impossible to cre- ate a life for our children that is free of any fears or anxiety. rather, what we should aim to do is help give them the tools, the strength, and the confi- dence to navigate new, anxi- ety-provoking situations with confidence and bravery. sometimes it can be hard to tell what anxiety looks like, especially with older children who more naturally start to pull away from their families. some symptoms include new feelings of overstimulation (or becoming more easily over- stimulated), becoming "hy- per focused" on things they are worried about, feeling overwhelmed by daily tasks, or expressing fear of partici- pating in activities or leaving home. They could also have phys- ical symptoms, such as stom- ach aches, headaches, bow- el issues, or consistently feel- ing sick. as a parent, it can feel incredibly overwhelm- ing when your child is strug- gling in these ways. However, it is important to know there are many tools we can put in your toolbox to help guide them through their more dif- ficult moments. be a model of self-regula- tion. This means when we see that our child is feeling anx- ious, we want to help them learn how to self-regulate and express how they're feel- ing in a healthy way. It is im- portant to remember that our children need to be calm be- fore they can talk to us about what they are feeling. There are several great strategies for helping a child self-regulate when they are feeling "big feelings." First, I would recommend deep breathing with long, slow breaths. Inhale for four sec- onds, hold for four seconds, release for four seconds. The second technique is 5 -4-3-2-1 grounding, which helps chil- dren find five things they can see, four things they can hear, three things they can feel, two things they can smell and one thing they can taste. Help them with visualiza- tions. Visualization entails us- ing the mind to picture a place that makes them feel safe and calm. They can use this very powerful tool at any time. ask them to choose an ac- tivity you know they enjoy. This could include creating something artistic, being physically active, listening to or playing music, etc. by join- ing them in the activity while they are upset, you are re-en- forcing the activity as a cop- ing mechanism. anxiety is a big feeling. It can be overwhelming for the child as well as the parent. To- gether you can use healthy coping skills and communi- cation to help your child work through their anxiety. If you feel things are not getting better, profession- al help is always a positive choice for your child. Teach- ing our kids that it is okay to ask for help when they need it is also important. The youth First social Worker in your child's school is always avail- able to help as well. Christine Weinzap- fel-Hayden, MSW, LCSW, is a Youth First Social Worker at Corpus Christi Catholic School in Vanderburgh County and St. Philip Catholic School in Posey County. Youth First, Inc. is a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening youth and fami- lies, providing 83 Master's lev- el social workers to 110 schools in 12 Indiana counties. Over 60,000 youth and families per year are served by Youth First's school social work and after school programs that pre- vent substance abuse, promote healthy behaviors and maxi- mize student success. To learn more about Youth First, visit youthfirstinc.org or call 812- 421-8336. Minutes Matter By Jill Hyneman Correspondent news@pressdispatch.net a quick response can save lives and the community gave a quick response to the need to bring CPr/aed (Cardio- pulmonary resuscitation/au- tomated external defibrilla- tor) training to Pike County. CPr/aeP training in Pike County is scheduled for Feb- ruary 24th. The training spurred from a conversation by a Pike County resident with the Pike County Cham- ber of Commerce. Within 24 hours of a Face- book post about finding out if there is interest in bringing training to the county multi- ple organizations reached out to figure out a way to provide services and many people re- sponded that they would be interested in being trained. It was very apparent that there is a need for this type of training. The training will be for adult, Child and infant CPr/aed. Memorial Hospital Health and Wellness team will be facilitating the training, the Memorial Hospital Foun- dation funded the program (normally costs $65 or more) and sisson steel provided the facility fees and lunch. The training will accom- modate 12 participants and was filled by the first group that responded to being inter- ested in the training. "supporting all the com- munities Memorial Hospi- tal serves, including Pike County, is very important to our Foundation," said deidra Church, director of Memo- rial Hospital Foundation. "you never know if or when an emergent situation might strike, and being prepared with skills being taught in this course might make the difference between life and death of a loved one. Our Foundation is very proud to support this initiative and grateful for those investing in themselves by enrolling in the course." Having the session in February also ties in nicely with american Heart Month which is in February and is a time when all people can fo- cus on their cardiovascular health. The training will be held at the elmer buchta Technology Center. bridget butcher with the elmer buchta Technolo- gy Center said, "The elmer buchta Technology Center is a multi-faceted facility offer- ing co-working, prototyping, and workforce training. One of the recent initiatives cen- ters around safety and well- ness, specifically CPr/aed training." This american Heart as- sociation course is designed for those who serve as rescu- ers as part of their job respon- sibilities and for the general public who have direct ac- cess to an aed. skills taught include CPr, aed use, and relief of choking in adults, children and infants. In order to complete the course and receive the course comple- tion card, participants must successfully complete a skills evaluation in CPr and aed. The american red Cross website says that there are half-million cardiac arrests each year and CPr can help save a life if a person's breath- ing or heart stops. CPr can double or triple the chance of survival when bystanders take action. Training helps you to be safely, effectively and confidently prepared for the minutes that matter the most. If you would like to learn more about the upcom- ing training, to be put on a wait list for the training if anyone cancels, or show a need for additional training session please reach out to Jill Hyneman at chamber@ pikecounty.in.gov or bridget butcher bridget@buchtatech. com 812-380 -7070. Charger Kylon Bottoms steps inside on the defense for a shot in the junior varsity win over Tell City. James Capozella photo Charger Freshman Lane Frederick skirted the Tell City defense for a game high 14 points in the 55-22 ju- nior varsity win. James Capozella photo Charger sophomore Brenton Fryrear scored six points in the 55-22 win over the Tell City JV. Ten players got on the board for the Chargers including freshman Lane Frederick with a game high 14. James Capozella photo Pike Central Chargers JV