Construction Challenge a Labor of Love for Stoughton High Students

Well past the end of the school day this past week, and late into the evening hours, a group of about a dozen Stoughton High students who are part of the school's Construction Challenge club were gathered in advisor Tim Norton's classroom getting ready for the Destination Imagination state competition.

Norton estimates that his Construction Challenge students, more than 30 in all, have spent hundreds of hours working on their respective projects this school year, and it all comes down to their performance during an eight minute presentation. 

But the hard work has paid off. 

Stoughton will have two teams competing at Saturday's competition, held at WPI - Team Diesel (Captain Kerry Backman, Captain Amanda Glickman, Emma Sinkus, Deana Sanford, Jacob Finer, Sheldon Oliveira and Val Sammarco) and Team R.E.E.L. (Captain Sarah Purcell, Dylan Freitas, Beth Sloane, Leslie Camilo, Jenna Morris, David Bunce-Grenon and Michael Cardoso). They will be vying for a spot in the international competition, held in Tennessee later this year. 

Both of these teams came in first place in their respective divisions at the Destination Imagination regional competition held at Whitman-Hanson High School March 16. Team Diesel competed in the Technical Competition, while Team R.E.E.L. competed in the Structural Competition. 

Construction Challenge is a competition rooted in science but has components involving art and design, acting, and writing, appealing to students with a variety of academic strengths. Each group will have a scientific challenge and as part of the presentation will have to design a set with props, come up with a story and draft a script, and act out a skit in costume. 

Students aren't just scored on scientific prowess; they are judged for all components which go into this event. Take for example Jenna Morris. Her murals for Team R.E.E.L. (she made 36 feet of paintings) earned her a Renaissance Award at Whitman Hanson, Norton said. 

For the Technical Competition, the objective of the event is to design and build small vehicles that are able to reliably, and accurately, travel specific distances. The team must use at least three different power sources for the vehicles, and present a story about the dangers faced by vehicles, told from the point of view of one or more vehicles. 

The Structural Competition involves building a structure of at least five different materials which has to be able to support the weight of compression and contortion. Like the Technical Competition, there is a skit and performance element. 

Stoughton had five teams and more than 30 students compete at the Whitman-Hanson competition. 

In addition to Team Diesel and Team R.E.E.L.'s first place finishes, Team Tim's Titans (Captain Hunter Goodrich, Kate Tumilty, Zach Gibb, Tessa McKeen, Erin Pike, Mike Sabanty, Jon Kerman) came in third in the Technical Competition at Whitman-Hanson. 

Team Armada (Captain Mike Paukner, Jalen Joseph, Chris Madden, Kazimir Sheputa, Katie Cellucci, Breanna Mendonca and Tevin Afonseca) and Team Bazinga (Captain Vicky Tran, Captain Susanna Noe, Dan Goldberg, Kiana Kountze, Guy Eddy and Gabby Medina) also competed at Whitman-Hanson in the Technical Competition. Both of these teams placed at this year's Stoughton High Science Fair. 

In getting ready for the regional competition, and now state competition, the students become night owls at SHS; room B103 (Norton's classroom) becomes a secondary home for the students. 

"It's a family. It's a lot of fun. You make so many friends along the way," Finer said. 

"It's so rewarding it's worth it," he said of the long hours. 

Glickman admits it can be frustrating sometimes but "to see it work in the end is worth it - to see all your hard work payoff." 

"People ask why we do it," Sinkus said. "There's really no answer - you start to love it, you start to come and you're hooked."

"This is why I teach," Norton said in response to his student's enthusiasm and dedication. "If these guys weren't so committed and worked so hard, I wouldn't be here. They make it worthwhile, they make it fun, they have a passion for it."