Doral Academy Prep places third in national math convention

The math team from Doral Academy Preparatory School recently competed in the Mu Alpha Theta National Math Convention in New York and placed third overall, winning 46 individual awards and six team awards.

The two first-place winners were Maria Vazquez in the Chalk Talk category and Dangely Canabal in the Circle, Perimeters, Areas, and Volume category. Other team awardees included Ethan Partidas and Anirudh Rahul with seven awards each; Felipe Contipelli, Allan DoLago, Logan Fontirroche, Tae Lee, Bhavya Soni and Raul Valle earned four awards each; Vivek Brahmatewari, Carlos Estrada, Carolina Mora, Karanveer Sandhu and Douglas Shu won three awards each; Tomas Alvarez earned two; and Jason Bravo, David Espinal and Maria Pelayo also earned awards.

The team was accompanied by their math teachers, including Marisol Amoedo, Gus Diaz, Sam Koski and Libby Manning.

National Leadership Forum

Adrian Enrique Sanchez, an elementary student at Aventura City of Excellence School, was nominated to participate in the National Leadership Forum: Pathways to STEM, an opportunity that’s given to elementary students in grades 3 to 5 across the nation to explore engineering, medicine or forensic science at the University of Florida.

“These students, who have already proven themselves academically, are challenged to work on real-world, student-created projects to bring their studies to life,” said Andrew Potter, chief academic officer of the program.

Adrian will participate in simulation and role-playing exercises to learn team-building, problem-solving techniques and presentation skills.

In addition, Adrian is a Duke Talent Identification Program participant, a member of the International High IQ Society, and was awarded the Nicholas Green Distinguished Students Award for the 2016-17 school year, an award given to one child in Florida, in grades 3 to 6, that recognizes achievements in academics, leadership, and the arts.

“When I was a small child, my mom inspired me to do many things,” said Adrian, age 11. “As a leader in the making, I have dedicated myself to helping people and the environment.”

One of the ways Adrian gives back to the community is through donating $1 out of his $5 allowance to a boy in Colombia who experiences severe bleeding due to malnutrition. He has also created a GoFundMe, with his mom’s help, to collect extra funding for the child.

When he’s older, Adrian plans to study chemical engineering at an Ivy League school.

“For my profession, I would like to go to Harvard or Oxford,” Adrian said. “It is my interest to become a chemical engineer and a famous soccer player.”

Palmer Trinity School

Palmer Trinity School’s administration recently added George Montes and Alexandra Cartaya to its development team.

Montes had 13 years of experience in education and worked as the director of development at Westminster Christian School, where he raised the annual fund participation by 45%. He is the new director of annual funds at Palmer Trinity.

Cartaya has been working with children for more than 15 years and served as the marketing and enrollment director at St. Brendan High School. She is the new director of alumni relations at Palmer Trinity.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools

The Miami-Dade County Department of Food and Nutrition has announced the free and reduced-priced meals policy for students under the national school lunch and breakfast programs.

Household size and income criteria will be used to determine eligibility, and this can be found on page two of the lunch application. Once approved, meal benefits are good for a year and parents are not required to alert the district of changes in income or household size during the one-year period. Households that participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Program must list the case number and sign the application.

Lastly, foster children will receive free meal benefits regardless of income. Households with children who are considered migrants, homeless, or runaway should call 305-995-7318 or 305-258-4115 for assistance.

To apply for free or reduced-priced lunch, parents are encouraged to apply electronically this year at http://nutrition.dadeschools.net. Paper applications are also available at the main office of each school in Spanish, Creole and English. Only one application should be completed per household and submitted to the main office of the youngest child’s school.

For information, call 786-275-0400.

This story was originally published July 31, 2017 at 12:30 PM with the headline "Doral Academy Prep places third in national math convention."