E.V. Cain Middle School boasts academic award winners

It's been a year of success for E.V. Cain Middle School students. Over just a few months, 25 students have accepted more than 30 academic awards and participated in statewide competitions. Five students placed in the Roseville American Legion Auxiliary, Post 169 Essay Contest, and 20 students were recognized as winners in the Sacramento Regional STEM Fair Competition. "We are so proud of these students and the amazing teachers and parents who encouraged and helped them achieve such high honors," Auburn Union School District Superintendent Amber Lee-Alva said in a news release. For the second year in a row, E.V. Cain students swept the competition and had winners in first, second and third place for seventh-grade and eighth-grade entries in the American Legion Auxiliary's Americanism Essay Contest. E.V. Cain has participated in the American Legion competition for three decades. Each year, thousands of students from across the United States are encouraged by their local American Legion post to submit a writing that explores patriotism, freedom and what being an American means to them. The theme of the essay changes every year, but the goal of the American Legion remains the same - that the students who participate will gain a new respect for their country that will last a lifetime. This year's competition was open to 13 local schools, and the entries were judged by American Legion members. The contest allows students to showcase their talent and ability in English and creative writing. Contestants also had the opportunity to earn a cash prize ($35 for first, $15 for second and $10 for third). "I want the kids to connect with the community and also show them that writing pays," said Shirley Paris, teacher of the seventh-grade winners. Eighth-graders MacIntosh Kistner (first) and Lacie Delgado (second) were recognized for essays titled "What Makes America a Great Nation." Seventh-graders Sofia Golden Carpenter (first), Zachary Somers (second) and Trajan Zanon (third) were recognized for essays titled "What Does the Pledge of Allegiance mean to me?" "I'm passionate about the pledge and what it means to me because I have a lot of family in the military," Carpenter said. First-place winners Carpenter and Kistner will move ahead to a Tri-County competition between Placer, El Dorado and Nevada County schools. The Sacramento Regional STEM Fair is hosted by the NorCal STEM Education Foundation for sixth- through 12th-grade students from Amador, Butte, El Dorado, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Solano, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties. Students are asked to pick a topic and develop an experiment or design related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The submissions include a project presentation with a video and quad chart. This year's competition was virtual and allowed students five minutes to present their projects to a panel of judges. The judges then questioned the students. The video submissions overviewed each project, while the quad chart highlighted the research question/engineering objectives, methodology/project design, data analysis/results and interpretation and conclusions. The competition sponsors encouraged participants to pick a topic they love since they believe "STEM is in everything." E.V. Cain students won 18 percent of the total awards for the STEM Fair, with four winners heading to the California State Science Fair. "I am so proud of our E.V. Cain students," said Scott Johnson, E.V. Cain principal. "Having joined the team this year, it really illustrates for the community something that I have come to know - E.V. Cain is full of talented students, paired with vibrant, dedicated and passionate staff. That is a winning combination. You all will be hearing more from E.V. Cain Middle School very soon on this front, I can say that."