Science

• California Environmental and Economic Honors
• Amgen Award
• 2007 Newsweek's Best High Schools, MLH in the top 500 in the nation.
• 2007 Largest number students recieving Buck scholarships
• 2007 Mira Loma makes it to the national sweet 16 Nature Bowl
• 2007 Mira Loma senior's computer simulation project puts him in running for finalist.
• 2006 Regional Science Olympiad winner
• 2006 NorCal Science Olympiad winner
• 2006 Mira Loma High, 6th in the National Science Olympiad
• 2006 Sacramento Regional Science & Engineering Fair winner
• 2006 History Day in California State Final winner. Third in the national competition.
• 2005 Sacramento Regional Science & Engineering Fair winners
• 2005 Science Olympiad Winner
• 2005 Moot Court Finalist
• 2004 Sacramento Regional Science & Engineering Fair winner
• 2004 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) winner
• 2002 Sacramento Regional Science & Engineering Fair winner
• 2001 Junior Nobel
• Past Accomplishments
  

Awards

California Environmental and Economic Honors.  Press Release, 2004 

Arcade Creek Project

As part of the core science curriculum at Mira Loma High School for the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, over 200 juniors and seniors per year participate in a comprehensive field study of Arcade Creek. This urban aquatic ecosystem provides riparian habitat and flood mitigation and serves as a working lab for the ongoing study involving Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Environmental Systems. Student-led teams work in six locations along the creek. Since inception, nearly 1,000 students have participated in the project - in addition to classroom study, all students contribute 40 hours each year to Arcade Creek.

Mira Loma is the only high school in Sacramento participating in the IB Diploma Program (one of approximately 60 schools statewide), a two-year comprehensive and rigorous pre-university curriculum intended for economically disadvantaged students. Successful IB candidates are typically granted advanced placement in the finest universities and colleges in the U.S. The Arcade Creek Project is tangible and a benefit to the community - and offers exceptional service learning. The curriculum definitely exceeds the California academic content standards according to the CDE.

For more information contact:
Cindy Suchanek
IB Environmental Systems Instructor
(916) 971-7415 Ext. 6656

Mira Loma Wins Governor's Environmental Award

Last night, Mira Loma received the Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award, the State's highest and most prestigious
environmental honor.  The school's Arcade Creek Project was one of only four projects in the State to be selected in the "Environmental Education" category, which recognizes "exemplary educational programs or curricula to raise children's awareness of, and involvement in, environmental issues".

The Arcade Creek Project is a comprehensive field study that is part of the core science curriculum for the IB program.  It includes juniors and
seniors in IB Biology, Environmental Systems, Physics and Chemistry.  Since its inception, nearly 1,000 students have participated in the project.  As the reviewers noted, "The Project is a tangible benefit to the community, and it offers exceptional service learning.  The curriculum definitely exceeds the California academic content standards."

Thanks to Congressman Doug Ose and County Water Resources Inspector Dave Tamayo, who provided letters in support of Mira Loma's nomination.  Congratulations to Mira Loma IB science students who work many hours to monitor and restore Arcade Creek.  And kudos to faculty leaders Cindy Suchanek and Dean Karagianes, whose vision and hard work makes this outstanding project possible.

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http://www.stan-co.k12.ca.us/SCOE/admin/nScienceOly/welcome.htm

2005 State Science Olympiad Results                                                                       

DIVISION B:

1st PLACE: Arden Middle School
                     1640 Watt Avenue
                     Sacramento, CA 95864
                     Coach - Chris Watson

2nd PLACE: Winston Churchill Middle School
                     4900 Whitney Avenue
                     Carmichael, CA 95608
                     Coach - Joel Carson, Jon Leister

3rd PLACE: Barrett Middle School
                     4243 Barrett Road
                     Carmichael, CA 95608
                     Coach - 

DIVISION C:

1st PLACE: Mira Loma High School
                     4000 Edison Avenue
                     Sacramento, CA 95821
                     Coach - Mark Porter

2nd PLACE: Rio Americano
                     4540 American River Drive
                     Sacramento, CA 95864
                     Coach -

3rd PLACE: Tokay High School
                     1111 Century Blvd.
                     Lodi, CA 95240
                     Coach -

Science Honors for Whiz Kids
3 student brainiacs from Northern California win 'junior Nobels'

Dan Levy, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, March 13, 2001

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/03/13/MN3511.DTL&type=science

Two Northern California students competing in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search were among the top three winners last night in the $1.25 million science contest sometimes called the "junior Nobels."

Nathaniel Craig, 18, of Sacramento's Mira Loma High School, placed second among 40 finalists and won a $75,000 scholarship for a project on the thermodynamics of glass-forming liquids.

Gabriel Carroll, 18, of Oakland Technical High School, took third place and a $50,000 scholarship for his work on predicting the number of holes in geometric representations of linear shapes.

The first-place winner was Mariangela Lisanti, 17, of Staples High School in Westport, Conn., who developed a new measurement apparatus that allows data acquisition at an unprecedented rate.

Lisanti, who won a $100,000 scholarship, said the components of her project cost $35.

A third Northern Californian, Hans Lee, 18, of the York School in Carmel, took eighth place and $20,000 for an engineering project that tests a torque control system to improve a car's handling.

The Intel awards, which used to be named after sponsor Westinghouse until the Santa Clara chip maker took over in 1998, have been recognizing outstanding scientific achievement by young people for over 60 years.

The winners were presented last night at a dinner at Union Station in Washington, D.C. Vice President Dick Cheney and Intel CEO Craig Barrett were in attendance.

"We applaud these young scientists -- our country's future leaders, thinkers and innovators," Barrett said. "Their grounding in science and math is crucial to making sense of today's technological world and making the best decisions for tomorrow."

Sacramento's Craig, who is a karate black belt as well as a physics prodigy,

said shortly after the awards were announced, "I'm waiting for my heart to start beating again.

"It's astonishing to have things end up the way they did," he said in a phone interview. "Nobody comes to Intel expecting to win."

Craig added that it was cool meeting Cheney -- and President George Bush, who gave the 40 Intel finalists a tour of the Oval Office on Thursday. But the bigger thrill came from meeting his science idols: Prof. Douglas Osheroff of Stanford, a 1996 Nobel laureate, and Prof. Frank Wilczek of MIT.

"Those guys are gods of applied physics!" Craig said.

Carroll, a math whiz who has been taking graduate-level courses at the University of California at Berkeley for the past three years to supplement his work at Oakland Tech, said he, too, came to Washington with no expectation of winning a top prize.

"I'm kind of surprised," he said. "I really didn't have a high opinion of my own project, but the judges seemed to think differently."

So how was he planning to celebrate?

"They've got some kind of party planned after this," Carroll said, referring to a private post-dinner bash at the posh Mayflower Hotel. "After that, I've got some homework to do."

Moot Court
Christian Brothers High School – First Place
Bella Vista, San Juan Unified School District – Second Place
Franklin High School, Elk Grove Unified School District – Finalist
Mira Loma High School, San Juan Unified School District – Finalist

By Ramon Coronado -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, March 12, 2006
Story appeared in Metro section, Page B2

More than 600 students from 43 high school and middle school teams participated in the annual Sacramento Regional Science Olympiad on Saturday at California State University, Sacramento.
The daylong event included 46 competitions.

About 200 event coordinators and staff assisted with the competition involving aspects of science and technology.

Mira Loma took first place in the high school division and Winston Churchill was the first-place winner in the middle school division.

The winning teams will compete in the NorCal State Science Olympiad on April 1 at California State University, Stanislaus.

2006 State Olympiad Results                                                                                                                          DIVISION B: 1st PLACE: Arden Middle School                      1640 Watt Avenue                      Sacramento, CA 95864                               2nd PLACE: Elkhorn Middle School                      10505 N. Davis Road                      Stockton, CA 95209                      3rd PLACE: Winston Churchill Middle School                      4900 Whitney Avenue                      Carmichael, CA 95608                      DIVISION C: 1st PLACE: Mira Loma High School                      4000 Edison Avenue                      Sacramento, CA 95821                      2nd PLACE: Rio Americano                      4540 American River Drive                      Sacramento, CA 95864                      3rd PLACE: Tokay High School                      1111 Century Blvd.                      Lodi, CA 95240                      Click on the following links to view the Individual Event Results

DIVISION B EVENTS - Results

DIVISION C EVENTS - Results

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SENIOR DIVISION WINNERS

1st Place - Overall Senior:
Vinayak Ramesh
A Collaborative Framework for Intelligent Wireless Sensor Network and Security
Cameras in Order to Enhance Security Systems in Schools
Oak Ridge High School

2nd Place - Overall Senior:
Dipika Gopal
Characterization of a Monoclonal Antibody Against Marburg VLP's
Mira Loma High School

1st Place Team - Microbiology:
Ziyeda Sidikov, Anna Vasilchenko and Angelique Moore
Retarding the Growth Rate of Escherichia with Varying Wavelengths of Light
Center High School

2^nd Place Team - Behavioral and Social Sciences:
Ashley Rubin, Crystal Charity and Nikita Singh
Mice and Their Reaction to Light
Center High School

3rd Place Team - Botany:
Adrian Ledesma and Fay Dennis
Differences in Flower Pigmentation in the Asteraceae Family
River City High School

1st Place - Behavioral & Social Science/Gerontology:
Ashveer Pal Singh
Bezti:  Perceptions About Cancer in a Punjabi Sikh Community
Mira Loma High School

2nd Place - Behavioral & Social Science/Gerontology:
Mindi J. Miller
The Affects of Cell-Phone Conversations on Reaction Time While Driving
Folsom High School

1st Place - Biochemistry/Chemistry:
Dipka Gopal
Characterization of a Monoclonal Antibody Against Marburg VLP's
Mira Loma High School

2nd Place - Biochemistry/Chemistry:
Albert Chu
Predicted Tyrosine Sulfation in Integrin B Subunits
Mira Loma High School

1st Place - Engineering:
Steve Wu
Optimizing Quadrupole Ion Trap Geometry By Computer Simulations
Mira Loma High School

2nd Place - Senior Engineering:
Vinayak Ramesh
A Collaborative Framework for Intelligent Wireless Sensor Network and Security Cameras in Order to Enhance Security Systems in Schools
Oak Ridge High School

3rd Place - Engineering:
Lisa Liu
The Best Way to Survive a Car Accident
Roseville High School

1st Place - Math & Computer Science:
Ryan Denlinger
A Maclaurin Approximation for Free-Fall Trajectories
Choices Charter School

2nd Place - Math & Computer Science:
Christine Chen
Making Doubly Even Magic Squares from a Quarter Pattern Expansion
Bella Vista High School

3rd Place - Math & Computer Science:
Emmanuel Villacampa
Achieving Optimal Data Compression
Mira Loma High School

1st Place - Medicine & Health:
Helen Liu
Extraction and Concentration of Elements from Momordica Charantia, and etc.
in Producing a Hypoglycemic Substance ("Plant Insulin") for Diabetes Mellitus Type I & II
Roseville High School

2nd Place - Medicine & Health:
Patricia Griffiths
Catecholamines and the B-2 Adrenergic Receptor Modulate Wound Healing
Mira Loma High School

3rd Place - Medicine & Health:
Stacey Stauber
Prosthetic Problems for Children With Acute Burns
Mira Loma High School

1st Place - Physics:
Ruslian Kurdyumov
Alloying Effects on Superconducting and Magnetic Properties of the La_1-xCe_xSn₃ System
Mira Loma High School

2nd Place - Physics:
Amanda Kelly
Art of M.I.
Christian Brothers High School

3rd Place - Physics:
Chio Chao
Specific Heat
Rio Linda Sr. High School

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Newsweek's 2007 High School Index and Washington Post's Jay Mathews rank Mira Loma High School as number 345 among the nation's almost 16,500 high schools.  Mira Loma High School continues to hold the top ranking for any high school in Sacramento County and all it's surrounding counties.  The California Department of Education listing of high school average SAT scores shows Mira Loma to be in the top 10 high schools for the area.

Such high rankings by two widely recognize measurements - and yet Mira Loma does not earn a 10 under the annual statewide school grading system.  Mira Loma's 2005 API score is only an 8.  How is this possible?  Unfortunately, many students do not take the STAR test, the main measurement included in the API,  seriously since it does not affect their chances to get into college.

SAT scores however, have a direct impact on a student's ability to get into the college of his/her choice. Thus, SATs reflect more accurately how well prepared students are for college.  Similarly, the rate at which students take AP or IB tests - the primary measurement in the Newsweek ranking -- also say a great deal about the academic rigor of a school.

In case you are not familiar with Washington Post's Jay Mathews High School Challenge Index you can read his "Class Struggle" column on http://www.washingtonpost.com  .  Some of his articles are shared via the MLH email list.  View some of the articles.