Thursday, April 19, 2012

Notables. . .

Pat Gingras
Daytona State’s Surf Club closed out the 2011/2012 season with a second-place finish in the final Southeast/North Conference contest held in March at New Smyrna Beach.  Daytona State’s Pat Gingras claimed the College Longboard division title. With beautiful Florida weather, the waves were chest high and fun, providing plenty of quality scoring opportunities for the surfers. The Florida Institute of Technology’s “A” team has been virtually unstoppable all season and captured the 2011/2012 conference title.
Hundreds of Volusia County middle school students gathered at Daytona State College recently for a day of activities that focused on making science, technology, engineering and math relevant to their everyday lives. The goal of Volusia STEM is to foster an appreciation of these disciplines and help students develop critical thinking skills that will benefit them in their future careers. Read more about the day’s events in the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Dr. Amy Ringue and Dr. Les Potter from Daytona State’s Bachelor of Science in Education program were among 20 volunteers who traveled to Belle Terre Elementary School in Flagler County this month to work with students and show them through a variety of demonstrations that science can be fun. The weeklong program was spearheaded by the Museum of Arts and Sciences.
Also this month, Dr. Betty Nielsen Green from the College of Education participated as a judge in a session of the Volusia County High School Model United Nations, a chapter of the Florida High School Model United Nations. Students debated how to manage the depleted uranium of ammunition and weapons. Participating schools were Spruce Creek, DeLand and Deltona high schools. Students were required to represent 18 countries during the sessions. The local chapter focuses on teaching high school students the principles of diplomacy, compromise, and confidence in public speaking and leadership. Dr. Green is looking for interested persons who would like to participate as judges when the local chapter starts back up in September.  She also is investigating the possibility of launching  a Daytona State College chapter of the Model United Nations similar to programs already active at Stetson University and Bethune-Cookman University. Anyone interested may contact her at (386) 506-3091, email:greenbe@daytonastate.edu.
Daytona State’s Women’s Softball Team will play in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 8 / Florida College Softball Tournament April 27-29 at Exchange Park in Pensacola. The Lady Falcons, 27 wins and 15 losses overall this season, will square off against Indian River State College at noon on the first day of the tournament. Days two and three of the tournament will be broadcast live on the Internet by Panhandle Sports Broadcasting.