By Jessica Dunn

 

On Friday, September 20, 2024 UConn ECE hosted our annual UConn ECE Cardboard Boat Race at the UConn Avery Point Campus drawing just over 400 attendees in­cluding students and instructors from 12 different UConn ECE high school partners from across the state. We were also joined by UConn Avery Point and Storrs Administrators, faculty, and staff, and a very special Guest of Honor, Jonathan XV!

 

With an energetic crowd and a packed agenda of academ­ic presentations, the event was a true celebration of both scholarship and creativity. We are grateful for the unwav­ering support of our UConn ECE partners and colleagues who make this event possible year after year.

The day began with a warm welcome from Chris Todd, Executive Director of the Office of Early College Programs, and Dan Mercier, Director of Academic Affairs at UConn Avery Point. Their inspiring remarks set the tone for the day and encouraged students to embrace the opportunities to collaborate with their peers and engage in collegiate experiences.

 

After the welcome, students transitioned from the beautiful Gazebo Lawn, overlooking the mouth of the Thames River, to the classroom where they heard from distinguished UConn Faculty. Presentations covered a variety of topics related to the event, such as engineering, politics, history, and archaeology. The morning sessions featured:

• Professor Kroum Batchvarov – Black Sea MAP Project
• Professor Matthew McKenzie – Navigating the Past: A Seafarer’s Approach to Studying History
• Professor Frank Griggs – Maritime Politics: Making Waves of Progress?
• Professor David Giblin – Engineering a Cardboard Race Boat: A detailed look at the mechanics, constraints, trade-offs, and decision-making.

These sessions helped students dive deep into the academic topics related to maritime studies, engineering, and more setting them up for the afternoon’s hands-on competition.

 

The theme for this year’s race was “Chariots Afloat”, in honor of the Paris 2024 Olympics and as a fun nod to the iconic movie Chariots of Fire. Students arrived prepared, having carefully designed and built boats made solely of cardboard and duct tape. They also came up with creative boat names to fit the theme. Just as we had hoped, the students came to the event well-prepared and determined to persevere in the infamous Cardboard Boat Race.

 

Among the twelve participating high schools, 24 boats competed for the coveted Cardboard Trophy. The Morgan School had proudly displayed the trophy for the past two years hoping to bring it back home for the third year in a row. Although the competition was tight, and The Morgan School placed in two of the four heats, Daniel Hand High School broke their streak and brought home the Cardboard Trophy as the winners of the Championship Race! Daniel Hand High School’s Usain Boat set the record for the fastest completion time during the initial heats, and then took first in the Championship race as well. They will display the Cardboard Trophy until next year, when a plaque with their school and boat name will be affixed to the trophy, and then be passed along to the 2025 Champions!

 

Thank you to all our UConn ECE partners for your support in making this event a success year after year. Kicking off the school year with over 400 UConn ECE Students on our UConn Avery Point Campus is a true testament to the strength of our community and to the dedicated and passionate students we serve. Congratulations to all participating schools and teams!

 

Heat 1 Trophies

#1 The Narwheel – Bethel High School

#2 Fish N’ Chips – Ledyard High School

#3 ROB (Recycled Olympic [village] Bed) – Daniel Hand High School

 

Heat 2 Trophies

#1 Gold Medal Cruiser – The Morgan School

#2 Banana Keel – Ellington High School

#3 Seiugis – Bethel High School

 

Heat 3 Trophies

#1 The Floating Scotsman – Ellington High School

#2 LeBoat James – Manchester High School

#3 Steeple Chasers – East Granby High School

 

Heat 4 Trophies

#1 Usain Boat – Daniel Hand High School

#2 Socra-Seas (SS) – Bethel High School

#3 Poseidon’s Champion – The Morgan School

 

Championship Race Usain Boat – Daniel Hand High School

Best Visual Design Award Rowe v Wave – Daniel Hand High School

Best Boat Name Award Sorcra-Seas (SS) – Bethel High School

Interdisciplinary Collaboration Award – Daniel Hand High School

People’s Choice Award Trident’s Point – University High School

 

 

 

 

By Jessica Dunn

 

On October 24, the University of Connecticut’s Early College Experience (ECE) Program Office along with UConn ECE Italian Faculty Coordinator, Dr. Tina Chiappetta-Miller, hosted the highly anticipated 3rd annual Italian Immersion Day & Quiz Bowl. The event, which took place at UConn’s Storrs campus in the Student Union Theatre, set a record for participation. Over 100 students from six high schools across Connecticut came together for a day of competitive fun, language immersion, and cultural celebration.

 

At this year’s event we welcomed students from Bristol Central High School, Newington High School, Plainville High School, Holy Cross High School, Torrington High School, and Southington High School. After the welcoming remarks, the students broke up into several small groups to sit in on Ital­ian language classes with UConn graduate teaching assistants. This unique opportunity to experience college learning in an authentic college environment is a highlight of the partnership between UConn’s ECE program and Connecticut high schools.

 

After lunch, the head-to-head showdown of the Quiz Bowl took center stage in the theatre, where the atmosphere was electric. Excitement among the students was clear as teams answered questions cover­ing everything from grammar and vocabulary to Italian history and geography. The competition was tight and in the end a tiebreaker was needed to separate 2nd and 3rd place.

Holy Cross High School finished in first place, Bristol Central High School in second, and third place went to Pla­inville High School. The MVP round was also quite lively, with Luis Hysen­llari of Plainville High School taking home the medal.

 

UConn ECE Italian Immersion Day & Quiz Bowl serves as an important opportunity for high school students to deepen their understanding of the culture while strengthening their lan­guage skills in Italian. With about 15 high schools in Connecticut offering ECE Italian as part of their curriculum this year, it was inspiring to see so many students and instructors in attendance, celebrating their shared passion for the language.

 

We are so pleased that this event continues to grow in popularity. As part of our mission to foster a strong community of students and educators dedicated to advancing their understanding of Italian language and culture, we look forward to bringing it to you every year. The experience is not only an academic challenge but also an unforgettable cultural exchange that leaves partici­pants with lasting memories and a deeper appreciation of Italian.

 

Congratulations to the 2024 winners and many thanks to all this year’s participants.

 

 

 

 

By Jessica Dunn

 

On November 14, 2024, the University of Connecticut’s Early College Experience (ECE) Program Office along with UConn ECE French Faculty Coordinator, Dr. Florence Marsal, hosted the annual French Immersion Day & Quiz Bowl on the UConn Storrs Campus. This year’s event had over 120 students attend representing nine different UConn ECE partner high schools across Connecticut. We welcomed students from Coventry High School, Daniel Hand High School, Glastonbury High School, Lewis S. Mills High School, New Fairfield High School, Wilton High School, Bristol Eastern High School, Jonathan Law High School, and Norwich Free Academy.

 

Students started the day in the Student Union Theatre where they heard from OECP Executive Director, Christopher Todd; the Literatures, Cultures, and Languages Department Head, Dr. Jennifer Terni; and the UConn ECE French Faculty Coordinator and host, Dr. Florence Marsal. Chris welcomed students and instructors to Storrs with a brief commentary on the intertwined histories of the United States and France, particularly the shared revolutionary ideals of the late 18th Century, and the significant cultural, political, and intellectual exchanges which have shaped their paths as modern democracies. Dr. Terni spoke about Technopole, the UConn dual degree in French and engineering that offers great opportunities to travel and internship in France, while Dr. Marsal individually welcomed each participating high school, and provided them with guidance on how the event would unfold. Students were encouraged to take advantage of the opportu­nity to interact with the UConn French Teaching Assistants during the morning immersion sessions, to collaborate with their peers from across the state, and to bring their best to the afternoon’s Quiz Bowl competition.

 

It was evident students were excited to be at the event, and to share their passion for learning the French lan­guage. After the morning immersion sessions where students discussed a wide variety of topics, such as comedy, paintings, BookTubers, European travel, the Breton regional identity, and fairy tales, they mental­ly prepared themselves for the jeopardy-style Quiz Bowl Competition in the afternoon. To accommodate the higher number of teams who entered the competition than in years past, Dr. Marsal shifted the format of the competition. Instead of single elimination rounds, each team competed a minimum of two times this year. The teams who achieved the highest number of correct answers advanced to the next round.

 

This format allowed all teams to be on stage and in the spotlight at least twice, which was a great improvement from years past, but it did create very close competition! After the first rounds, five teams were tied for the most correct answers and one team with over double that number of correct answers. Norwich Free Academy was deemed the Champion with the most correct answers after the first rounds. The competition then continued with single representatives from each of the five high schools coming to center stage to battle for second and third place.

 

Teams were eliminated one by one as rounds progressed, leaving Bristol Eastern High School and Glastonbury High School bat­tling for their positions. In the last minutes of the competition, Bristol Eastern came out on top, taking home 2nd place and Glastonbury High School took home 3rd place.