2009 JSS Results

On a beautiful sunny Saturday in early June, more than 50 middle school students from across Berkshire County and their families gathered at Reid Middle School in Pittsfield to enter their model solar cars in the annual Berkshire Junior Solar Sprint (JSS).

The Junior Solar Sprint is a highly engaging science and engineering project that was originally started by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the early 1990s. Largely through the efforts of grassroots organizers and educators, the project has grown each year throughout the Northeast with well over 100,000 kids participating. It is a fun and educational competition for students in grades 6-8 who work in teams to build model vehicles powered by the sun and learn first-hand about non-polluting transportation.

In addition to the speedsters, teams compete for top awards in Innovation, Craftsmanship, and Technical Merit. The first, second and third place winners in these categories received trophies. All participants received a keepsake t-shirt and certificates of participation.

This year, CET added two new categories: Best Use of Recycled Materials and a kid’s choice Best in Show. Liam Nolan and Pietro Hogue from Reid Middle School won the Best Use of Recycled Materials with their sneaker inspired creation, Sloakers. They received a custom trophy designed and built of recycled materials by Betsy Mason from the ReStore Home Improvement Center.

The ReStore is a non-profit enterprise of CET that collects and re-sells valuable building materials making them available and affordable for home improvement and keeping them out of the waste stream.

Jiminy Peak Resorts donated 4 passes to their Mountain Adventure Park as the prize for the lucky Best in Show winners, Kyla Nichols and Nicole Belknap of Herberg Middle School. Their car was called Team Purple.

"Each year the JSS gets bigger and better. We are thrilled by the creativity and enthusiasm of so many students, and excited that several now have the opportunity to participate in the regional event," said CET's Nancy Nylen of CET. "It’s great to see students and teachers working together on projects, and then to see their family and friends cheer them on at the Solar Sprint event. We owe a big thanks to our generous sponsors for making this possible."

CET coordinated the JSS event with support from Energy Federation, Inc., Western Massachusetts Electric Company, Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, Berkshire Bank and Pittsfield Brew Works. Additional contributors were Guido’s Fresh Marketplace Jiminy Peak Resort, Bartlett’s Orchard, Morningside Bakery, Price Chopper, Harry’s Supermarket, Dunkin Donuts and Super Stop and Shop.

Students participating in the JSS came from BArT Charter Public School (Adams), Four Rivers Charter Public School (Greenfield), Herberg Middle School and Reid Middle School (Pittsfield), Nessacus Middle School (Dalton), Richmond Consolidated School and Conte Middle School (North Adams).

2009 Berkshire Junior Solar Sprint Results

Award	School	Name of Car	Students
Innovation
First Place	Reid Middle School	Snack Shack	Mitchell Omelenchuck, Andrew Stevens
Second Place	Richmond Consolidated School	Oscar Meyers Weiners	Ashley Harrington, Kelsey Marzotto, Olivia Piazza
Third Place	Herberg Middle School	Arrowhead	Alex Coles, Garrett Dempsey, Mike Ferrarin
Craftsmanship
First Place	Reid Middle School	Big & Slow	John May, Cameron Scholz
Second Place	Herberg Middle School	Falcon Flyers	Zack Rahilly, Ludwig Jean-Louis
Third Place	Four Rivers Charter School	The Little Hero	Morghan Jolly
Technical Merit
First Place	Herberg Middle School	Short Stop	Aoife Nester
Second Place	Reid Middle School	Inu Yasha	Ashley Reyes, Jessica Esperanza
Third Place Tie	Herberg Middle School	To the Max	Maxwell Spence, Jason Turner, Austin Cote
Speed
First Place	Four Rivers Charter School	The Little Hero	Morghan Jolly
Second Place	Reid Middle School	Inu Yasha	Ashley Reyes, Jessica Esperanza
Third Place	Four Rivers Charter School	Oops	Alex Thacker

These top 12 teams advanced to the Northeast Junior Solar Sprint Championship that was held on June 14 at the Springfield Science Museum in Springfield, Massachusetts, where they joined students from Maine to Maryland in a friendly regional competition.

We look forward to seeing more fantastic cars next year! If you're interested in starting a JSS team at your school, please contact Cynthia at (413) 445-4556 ext. 25.