Students show ingenuity during Innovation Week

ByMarcy Curtis

Inventions range from cupholders for wheelchairs to misting umbrella

The sky was the limit during South Sanpete School District’s fourth annual Innovation Week, Nov. 1-5.

Innovation Week winners at Ephraim Middle School were: Back (L-R): Andrew Rowley, eighth grade, first place; Makayla Lewis, eighth grade, third place; Coby Rasmussen, eighth grade, second place; and Alistair Wasden, seventh grade, first place. Front (L-R): Jacob Frischknecht, seventh grade and Blake Johnson,  seventh grade, tie for third place; Joseph Johnson, seventh grade, second place; Kenlee Carlisle, sixth grade, first place; and Jase Jones, sixth grade, second place.

According to Jodi Anderson, innovation trainer for the district, more than 1,500 students, representing all schools in the district, participated in the event.

Students chose what they wanted to design, build, craft, produce, construct, write, draw, compose, invent, discover, create and explore, she said. At the end of the week, judges looked over the entries at the secondary schools and chose winners. There were five or six winners in each middle school and high school.

Superintendent Ralph Squire and Assistant Superintendent Trevor Powell presented winners with prizes and certificates. Prizes from local businesses were randomly given to the secondary students and teachers who participated. Students at the elementary schools received an ice cream sandwich.

Anderson said that Innovation Week has only three guidelines:

• Students can only enter once.

• Entries should be presented in a digital way.

• All entries must be created during the 2021-22 school year.

Innovation Week instructors, participants and winners at Gunnison Valley Middle School were: Andree Benap, Mrs. Laura Barlow, Maddie Mortensen, Mrs. Debbie Pike, Assistant Superintendent Trevor Powell, Dillion Dyreng, Trey Rock, Gracie Owens, Hannah Anderson, Taylee Anderson Scott Anderson, Dawdree Olsen, Lincoln Pratt, Shae king, Briggs Hendrickson, Maddie Pratt, Ally Taylor, Jaycee Cox, Superintendent Ralph Squire, Alondra Duran, Paxton Saunders, Jasper Parker, Landon Olsen.

 Students used their iPads to present their projects. For example, if a student created something, the student could make a video of the project with the iPAD and submit the video as his or her entry.

Some examples of entries from Gunnison Valley High School include a song written from sounds on the farm, a cup holder for a wheelchair, a Star Wars Lego animation video, sketches of a prom dress and photographic illusions. 

Manti High School student entries included a recipe for crème brulee, an original song, a gun case with a lock that could be opened with a card similar to a credit card, an infomercial for a vacation and a few original dances.

Ephraim Middle School came up with a stained-glass dragon, a movie trailer that featured characters from an original story, a pong game created in Scratch software and a pool table made out of a box.

 Gunnison Valley Middle School created an umbrella that sprays a mist of water on hot days, a clever way to add patches to pants with holes, a pencil holder attached to pants and a dissolvable straw.

Teachers were a tremendous support in this endeavor, Anderson said. They gave students time to work, taught them how to use digital tools and offered encouragement.

Technology specialists at school sites were key to making the week a success, Anderson said. They set up the technology so students could display their presentations. They also took pictures and made a school video of participants and entries. 

Participants in Innovation Week winner presentation at Manti High School included Karen Soper, principal; Ryan Peterson, Trevor Powell, assistant superintendent; Emmeline Egg, Sadie Roberts, Matthew Lundenberg, Isaac Smith, Ashton Sorensen, Brielle Knapp, Ralph Squire, superintendent; Olga Willey, teacher;  and Susan McFarlane. Not pictured: Dax Braithwaite and Alison Olson.