Chief Moses sixth graders STEM contest state finalist

MOSES LAKE - Sixth graders in Kelly Frederick's class at Chief Moses Middle School took up a challenge laid down by the Samsung corporation - identify a problem in their community, then figure out how science and technology can help fix it. Their solution so impressed the judges that they will compete for the state prize in Samsung's Solve for Tomorrow contest.

The contest asks kids to apply what they've learned in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) classes in their solution. Chief Moses is the only middle school to make the finals.

The class received two Samsung tablets to help them with the project.

Frederick said the kids chose to apply technology to the problems of unemployment. They called businesses in Moses Lake and around Grant County to see what kind of jobs were available, asked about the training required to qualify for those jobs and how people might get the training they need.

There are a lot of jobs out there, explained Serenity Franz, who's one of the sixth graders working on the project. "All we had to do was call people." The puzzling part was that jobs were available, but people weren't applying for them, Madisyn Clark said.

"They say it's really hard to get into some jobs," Ruben Guerrero said. So the sixth graders are working on ways to use technology to help people get the skills.

They have also learned that there are a lot of qualifications for a job. Employers need skilled workers, but they are also looking for people who are honest, who have the intelligence to learn the skills and the work ethic to do the job, Frederick said. Employers told the sixth graders they need workers who are willing to learn new skills, Ashley Widner said.

Zoey Salvador said people can be intimidated by some of the qualifications when applying for a job, but they can get past that fear. "You have to try something first before you give up," she said.

The sixth graders scoured Grant County for businesses with STEM jobs, Frederick said. "They've been searching like mad dogs," she said. They prepared questions, talked to business owners and wrote down their answers, used all the information they received to come up with a proposal.

State winners will be selected in December. "We're keeping our fingers crossed," she said, demonstrating on both hands. But Tre Ramirez objected. "Only one (hand)," he said. "Two are bad luck."