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USAYPT Champions

Faculty Reflections

Death rays & grains of sand: The sweet science of a physics fight

April 20, 2020

Upper School physics teacher Dr. Matt Greenwolfe has a lot of faith in his physics students.

Matt Greenwolfe with trophy

Even so, when he founded Cary Academy’s U.S. Association for Young Physicists Tournament (USAYPT) team five years ago, the idea of winning a USAYPT Championship seemed a far-flung dream. But after years of hard work, perseverance, and teamwork, he and his team of talented students can count it as a dream finally realized.

In early February, 12 members of CA’s USAYPT team*—Will Aarons ’20, Anna Cheng ’20, Colin Frazer ’22, Paul Ibrahim ’21, Myla James ’21, Owen Kadis ’23, Andrew Lake ’22, Matthew Modi ’20, Obinna Modilim ’22, Jay Sagrolikar ’21, Brian Wei ’22, and Colin Zhu ’20–traveled to the annual tournament in Exeter, New Hampshire. Led by Greenwolfe and fellow faculty members Charlotte Kelly, Dr. Robert Coven, and Dick Mentock, with assistance from Rachel Atay, and Betsy MacDonald, they were crowned USAPYT champions.

Greenwolfe is still smiling. “When the second-place team was announced, we all erupted. I had a physical, whole-body reaction, and a huge grin on my face. After trying for so many years to keep improving, we had done it.”

The U.S. Invitational Young Physicists Tournament is a prestigious international physics research competition and science debate tournament. Over the course of the year, competing schools research solutions to four complex physics problems, coming together to debate their solutions in front of a jury of professional physicists.

For 2020, the USAYPT problems involved measuring the length of one Astronomical Unit (the distance between the Earth and the sun), investigating Archimedes’ Death Ray, designing stable arrangements of spherical magnets, and exploring the physics of the apparent weight of an hourglass.

USAYPT telescope

“For the students who fully commit themselves, the amount of physics learning that takes place through this program can dwarf what is learned in class,” offers Greenwolfe. “Plus, they get the experience of undertaking a legitimate research project–with all its ups and downs and frustrations–for a whole year. We have to learn from each setback, each surprising result. We have to persist—and that’s just what we did.”

Tournament competition consists of rounds called “physics fights.” A student from the reporting team presents a summary of their research into one of the tournament problems. Next, a student from the opposing team is charged with helping the audience understand the strengths and weaknesses of the report by means of a series of discussion questions. After this conversation is complete, jury members question the presenting students directly. USAYPT teams are judged as much on their ability to ask and answer questions in the physics fight, as the quality of their research and initial presentations.

After facing reigning champions Phillips Exeter Academy, perennial powerhouse Phillips Andover Academy, and a team from the Republic of Georgia, CA stood in third place after the first day of the tournament, securing a spot in the finals. When the dust settled at the end of the second day, CA stood atop the standings of the six finalist teams—besting Phillips Exeter and the Nueva School for the championship–on the strength of their original research, presentations, and questions.

In addition to top-notch mathematical physics, Greenwolfe credits his team’s hard work, teamwork, and deep engagement with the problems as contributing to their success. Rather than relying on simulations developed by professionals or online data sets, the team worked hard all year to gather their own data. They tested it against their theories and their own simulations, discussing and debating it amongst themselves every step of the way.

USAYPT medals

Ultimately, those efforts resulted in a deeper conceptual understanding of the problems and left them well-prepared for tournament debate. “We could reason and answer unexpected questions without going back to a reference or equation,” explains Greenwolfe.

“We were professional in our questioning of other teams; we were always respectful, persistent in trying to have a deep conversation about the physics. We never intentionally tried to expose flaws or embarrass the other team,” he offers.

And now that they’ve reached the pinnacle, what comes next? The team is already gearing up for next year’s tournament, which CA will host at North Carolina State University. And they’re already pondering next year’s problems and are ready to get to work.

*In addition to the 12 members of the traveling team, fellow team members Russell Burns ’21, Ryan Chen ’21, Felipe Chiavegatto ’20, Harrison Coman ’23, Dane Fekete ’20, Allen He ’21, Sedef Iz ’22, Grace Jaeger-Sandruck ’22, Marvin Koonce ’21, Max Li ’23, Sophia Liu ’22, Scott Matton ’20, Rin Mauney ’22, Ashleigh Smith ’22, Eric Wang ’20, Oliver Wang ’22, Leah Wiebe ’23, Eric Xing ’20, and Han Zhang ’21 also made contributions to the problem-solving efforts.

Written by Dan Smith, Digital Content Producer and Social Media Manager

CA Curious

Innovation on Vacation

Athletics

Varsity boys’ track and field takes TISAC championship

This year’s all-school, extracurricular theater production is under construction

CA Curious

COVID-19, self-discovery, and the college search process

April 9, 2020

Ask most college counselors what they love about their job, and we guarantee they’ll respond with fervor, “The kids!” Here at CA, we’re no different: we delight in the daily rush of energy that comes from being around students in an active learning environment – their excitement, ideas, goals, challenges, and triumphs. Most of all, we love the time we’re privileged to spend developing individual relationships with students as they embark on a culminating experience at CA: the rite of passage that is the college search.

Our entire approach to the college search process is grounded in two basic premises. The first: that a successful process is a journey of self-discovery that leads to finding more than one place that will share a student’s values, stimulate them, and help them achieve their aspirations. The second: that finding these places begins with genuine self-searching to identify the qualities the student values the most. While helping students and families discover colleges is certainly a significant part of our work, by far the more interesting part is helping students discover themselves.

We’ve found ourselves thinking about how COVID-19 affects these processes – the process of self-discovery and the college process. And, although we share the sense of loss COVID has brought, we see some silver linings. 

We all have had to pause, to pivot, to reflect.

Students, as we’ve talked with you, we’ve loved hearing what you’ve been up to, the ways you’re spending your time, the old hobbies you’ve renewed, and the new interests you’ve developed. You’ve been reflective, generous, and inventive: you’ve created collaborative music videos; posed thoughtful questions to your peers, reminding each other of the importance of kindness; devoted yourselves to supporting your families, neighborhoods, and communities – and encouraged all of us to do the same.

What you’re doing right now? There is no better example of owning your learning. We understand that it’s tempting to dwell on what opportunities we’ve missed this spring, but we urge you to look at the unexpected windfall of time as a gift. There is absolutely no better opportunity to consider who you are and what matters to you. 

Still searching? For starters, you can never go wrong reading a book, spending time with your family, getting outside, bestowing a random act of kindness. Looking to learn something new? There are tons of free resources if you’d like to try coding, meditating, cooking, exercising, art-observing, language learning – to name just a few.

Whatever you do, do it with gusto and revel in it… and know that in the eventual college process, you will be valued for who you are and what matters to you. 

To borrow from the encouraging words of Tulane Director of Admission Jeff Schiffman in his March 24 blog post

“We totally get it. There are no sports. There is no spring musical. There is no dance recital. Listen, if you include on your Common Application activities section a list of all the books you read for pleasure during your social distancing, I’ll love it. Get creative. Maybe you love to paint and you go Instagram Live a few times and teach people to paint? You could be the next Bob Ross. Or maybe you’re a soccer player and you do a live video teaching people how to dribble a soccer ball on your own? Teaching guitar lessons? Yes please. We will love seeing anything you did during this whacky time.”

 So will we. Promise. Now, if you’ll excuse us, the outdoors awaits.

Written by Leya Jones, College Counselor

Magazine of CA

Follow the leaders: Spotlight on Youth Engagement Summit

Magazine of CA

Charging ahead.

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Together… at a Distance

News

Varsity robotics claims first tournament win in program history

March 2, 2020

During CA varsity robotics’ best performance in their seven-year history, the Chargers went 18-0 to claim their first-ever FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) tournament.

In the qualifying rounds, where 3-bot alliances are randomly created, CA’s robot charged off to a 12-0 record. It was not a breeze, though, as there were two matches that on paper looked like they would favor the opponent. However, CA’s extremely reliable bot consistently performed the scoring elements, including a climb at the end of the game where the bot does a robot version of a chin-up on a moveable beam. This proved to be crucial to the teams’ success because, in 18 matches, Bartholomew Richard Fitzgerald-Smythe (yes, that’s the robot’s name) successfully climbed 17 times. After match one, the win gave them the #3 rank, and they vacillated between 2nd and 3rd for a few matches. It wasn’t until their fifth victory that the team secured the #1 spot and never relinquished it — despite some heat from a fellow Cary team, Cortechs Robotics, who also went undefeated. The scoring system in FRC rewards winning alliances two ranking points per win, and an additional ranking point, if two robots are a able to climb and balance the moveable beam. The Chargers were able to secure that extra ranking point five times in the qualifying matches, while Cortechs’ alliances earned three ranking points only twice. That was the difference in the Chargers being ranked #1 with the Cortechs’ at #2.

At the end of the qualifying matches (where the alliances had been randomly assigned), there is an Alliance Selection process where the top 8 seeds get to choose who they want on their alliance for the rest of the tournament. As the number 1 seed, the Chargers got first choice and it was a no-brainer to go with the only other undefeated team, especially since their strategies were very complementary and had collaborated well in a qualifying match when they had the first successful balanced climb of the tournament and achieved (at the time) the highest score of the day. With Carrobotics (out of Chapel Hill) as the third bot to round out the alliance, they headed in the quarter-finals. In playoffs, alliances must win two matches to move on. If you’ve done the math, it only took two matches in each of the quarters, semis, and finals to be declared the winner of the Wake District FRC event. Win a win, comes a blue banner, and CA was finally able to bring home that elusive blue banner. They were also recognized as having the best autonomous program for consistency and reliability.

Please join me in congratulating the Chargers for their first-ever appearance on the #1 seed, highest seed they have ever captained, first-ever undefeated tournament, and first-ever tournament win. This puts them in an excellent position to play in the State Championship, as they currently have 78 district points. District points are awarded at the first two tournaments that teams attend, so it’s a cumulative process. However, with such a strong showing and an extremely reliable bot, the Chargers will likely qualify. Their next tournament is March 21-22 at Guilford HS, with the NC Championship on April 4-5 at Campbell University.

If you want to see more statistics or replays from the event, visit https://www.thebluealliance.com/team/5160/2020

Thank you to all the parents for their continued support, to the awesome kids, and to their other coaches Rachel Atay and Scott Allred.

Go Chargers!

Betsy MacDonald – US Design, Programming, and Robotics

Written by Betsy McDonald, US Design, Programming, and Robotics

Community

Senior’s passion for literacy, community, earns Gold Award

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Parents explore the student experience during Community Flex Day

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CA Model UN at MUNCH

Upper School

CA MUN earns Best Small Delegation at MUNCH

February 25, 2020

CA’s Model United Nations students had an outstanding performance at the UNC Model United Nations Conference, this past weekend. All of our students were either new to MUN or participating in a committee with brand new requirements and challenges. Cary Academy came home with several gavels and awards, including the Best Small Delegation Award, a first for the school. Ms. Barlaz expressed “special thanks to Addie Esposito (’20) for her stellar leadership!”

  • Addie Esposito: Outstanding Delegate, Jasmine Revolution Crisis Committee
  • Natasha Sachar (’22): Best Delegate, UN High Commission on Refugees
  • Julia Young (’22): Verbal Commendation, UN Office of Drugs and Crime
  • Claire Ferris (’21) and Loren Troan (’20): UN Conference on Trade and Development
  • Emma Esposito (’23) and Teja Wasudev (’23): International Maritime Organization

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Upper School

Speech and Debate on a virtual roll

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Taking a Risk: Leadership and Volleyball Camp, 2021

Community Conversations

Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day

Library from quad

News

Thirty CA Students Honored for German Profiency

February 20, 2020

Thirty Cary Academy Upper School students earned honors for their performance on the 2020 National German Exam, including one student earning the top ranking amongst all German students in the state. The proficiency exam, administered by the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG), tests listening and reading skills in German.

Gold Medal: David Go (’20; 1st place in all of NC!), Koa Kaliebe (’21), Addie Esposito (’20), Eva Hammer (’21), Obinna Modilim (’20), Claire Ferris (’21), Tommy Frank (’21), Kyle Murphy (’21), Sheridan Page (’20), Matthew Modi (’20), Hunter Moore (’20), Parker Perkins (’20), Max Feliu (’21), Alex Dietrich (’22), Chris Butulis (’22).

Silver Medal: Sara Martin (’21), Ryan Chen (’21), Hannah George (’20), Dorrit Eisenbeis (’20), Xavier deSouza (’21), Kendyl George (’22), Leah Wiebe (’23), Estella Monica (’22), Abby Smetana (’23), Jane Sihm (’22), Cy Reading (’22).

Bronze Medal: Jono Jenkins (’20), Katie Grush (’20), Rin Mauney (’22), Jenna Pullen (’23).

Frau Burgbacher wishes to give a special shout-out to the following students who scored 20 or more percentile points higher this year than last. “They really improved their skill level tremendously in just one year.”:
Katie Grush, Alex Dietrich, Estella Monica, Cy Reading, Sedef Iz (’22), Matthew Modi, Dorrit Eisenbeis, Mary Esposito (’21).

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6th

First MS Community Day of the Year

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Field hockey

News

Three CA field hockey players compete in National Indoor Tournament

February 17, 2020

This past weekend, Lakshmi Wood (’24), Alessia Cicuto (’24), and Charlotte Dadd (’24), members of the U14 Carolina All-Stars Field Hockey travel team were in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for the U14 Field Hockey National Indoor Tournament. Go Chargers!

Field hockey

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Athletics

Charger swimmers’ TISAC championship streak continues

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Pride and Promise

Faculty Reflections

Death rays & grains of sand: The sweet science of a physics fight

Valentine's Note

CA Curious

Several Valentine’s Day Notes 

February 13, 2020

The student pantomimed an explosion, his hands expanding outward from his head.  “Mind blown!” he exclaimed, though his smile belied the action.  His partner giggled.  “Wow,” another student added.  The teacher stood in front of the room, smirking at the figurative mental fireworks around the room.  He had just explained a facet of sequences and series to his Calculus II class, discussing how and why .99 repeating did, in fact, equal 1.  “Elementary school teachers like to keep it simple, but mathematicians really like to complicate things,” he added.  His students chortled some more. 

*** 

“Now think back to the Reader’s Theater,” the teacher said.  “Remember what Dickens was saying about crowds in the passage that the group shared?”  The students nodded.  “It’s like they are living creatures that can’t be controlled,” one student said.  Another added, “Even by the people who pull the crowds together.” “We see that today,” a third student continued.  “And that painting that we were just looking at—it really emphasizes the chaos.”  The teacher nodded as other sophomores chimed in. 

*** 

“Okay, now put down your music,” the teacher said.  “And,” she added, “Hold hands.” The students giggled and settled sheet music on seats, jostled for various locations, grabbed each other’s palms, then fell silent, their eyes forward. The teacher paused, made sure she had everyone’s attention, and raised her arms.  The voices lifted, swelling harmonies interweaving, the words echoing love and devotion and energy and melancholy, all wrapped in the melody and the rhythm and the blending notes, and all of us were wiping at our eyes as the Chorus finished that beautiful practice on a bleak Monday morning at 8:48 a.m. 

*** 

Throughout the period, the students laughed, mostly at each other.  They talked, asked questions, answered queries, made assertions, looked nervously toward me, scribbled notes, and talked a bit more.  The teacher shared vocabulary with them, corrected pronunciation, and asked them more questions.  In the forty-five minutes of class, I only heard three English words, and one of them really didn’t count: it was my nameEven before class, one studentwho was complaining in the hallway about having two more classes before she realized I was listeningswitched to Chinese mid-grumble the moment she stepped into the classroom. 

*** 

Every few days, I visit a classroom in the Upper School, slipping into the back of the class, trying not to startle the students, though many of them cast sidelong glances at me, a bit nervous as I settle with my notebook in hand.  Within minutes, though, they ignore me, focusing on the lesson, immersing themselves in the content.   

And, every time I enter these classrooms, I hear the echoes of why I fell in love with teaching decades ago: the moments of insight, the flashes of understanding, the bursts of humor, the unexpected creation of ringing art all because of that alchemical mixture of student interest and engaged teachers.   

Ask teachers what they love about CA, and they will say, “the students.”  

Ask students, and they will say, “the teachers.” 

So, it seems appropriate to celebrate these two incredible groups as we approach February 14th.  Add a bit of chocolate, and the day is perfect. 

Happy Valentine’s Day, especially to the students and adults who make the magic happen at Cary Academy. 

 

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6th

First MS Community Day of the Year

Magazine of CA

Follow the leaders: Spotlight on Migration Collaboration

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Artful Healer

CA varsity girls swimming state champs

News

Varsity girls swimming takes fouth consecutive State title

February 11, 2020

 

56-47-31.  No, not the combination to the safe buried deep in the hollows of Berger Hall but rather a testament to the hard work the young men and women put into this year’s swim season. 

56.  The size of the swim team this year.  These individuals were comprised of boys, girls, upper school, middle school, year-round and traditional season athletes; the biggest variance and challenge for any team on campus.  How does a team like this “gel” in order to become successful?  How do we manage the magnitude of personalities and needs?  Thankfully that challenge doesn’t fall squarely on the shoulders of the coaches.  The team’s Junior and Senior leadership helps lead the way.  By the time we make our way to GAC, one unified team is ready to compete.

47.  This year 47 athletes earned the right to compete in the biggest swimming event of the year through their achievement of state qualifying times.  Is 47 a lot?  Give me a little perspective.  Providence Day, an athletic powerhouse, arrived with the second largest squad – 30.  Ravenscroft School whose seasonal team measured 96 brought 25 to the dance.  47 is an intimidating number.

31.  The number of swimmers who qualified for Finals and scored in this year’s state meet – the number is simply staggering!  Again, the mixture of talent was evident.  14 girls and 17 boys, with the inclusive of 7 middle school students, were ready to contribute to a single goal; win a state championship!

Throughout last night’s competition personal bests abound, records fell, All State recognitions were earned and medalists were plentiful.  And, for the fourth consecutive year the girl’s team won the NCISAA State Championship in convincing fashion.  The boys, fell just short.  In a battle with nemesis Charlotte Latin (side note – are those ridiculously talented swimmers EVER going to graduate?), the team gave everything possible.  In a score which featured two teams earning over 300 points, the CA boys came up 23 points shy to claim State Runners UP; 120 points ahead of 3rd place Cannon School.

Details of individual swims will have to wait as official times seem to be stuck in hyperspace.  But, I wanted to post this result so the young men and women of CA swim could be recognized for last night’s effort and for another successful season.  Every coach commends you for your will to Commit, Train and Achieve.  A job well done!

Go Chargers!

– Athletics Director Kevin Jones

CA varsity girls swimming state champs
CA Boys Swimming 2020 runners-up

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World Language

Virtual German Day 2021 results: sehr gut!

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Chargers close out a fantastic spring season

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Reframing the Question

Library from quad

Upper School

CA’s SciOly teams are headed to States

February 3, 2020

Competing at Southeast Raleigh High School on February 1, Cary Academy’s Science Olympiad teams received the Spirit Award for the 2nd year running. Students demonstrated our community values of respect, integrity and compassion throughout the day and this was noted by several event leaders and other coaches.



As a team, JV had a solid 4th place finish with several event medalists. Varsity also finished 4th which earned CA a bid to the state tournament at NCSU on April 24-25! 

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Magazine of CA

Embracing Zigs Zags and Left Turns

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Cary Academy students honored as Catalysts for Change

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Welcome to the 25th Anniversary Year at Cary Academy!