Ram Write-Up - Maple Valley Community Schools

Bruning and
Flanigan win
prestigious
awards
By Devon Hieber
Two Maple Valley-
Anthon Oto students
recently received prestigious
honors.
Amy Bruning was recently
awarded to the Des
Moines Register Southwest
Region Academic All-State
Top 10. Amy has scored a 32
on her ACT, ranked first in
her class. “It was quite an
honor to be the school’s
nominee to the Des Moines
Register Academic Team,
and it was wonderful to be
named to the Southwestern
District Top Ten Team,” Amy
quoted. Amy has also been
Page 2, The Ram Write-Up, Maple Valey Anthon-Oto Schools
involved in yearbook, class
officer, drama, Quiz Bowl,
trumpet, choir, 4-H, BPA,
DI, and church lector. Amy
is the daughter of David
and Sharyl Bruning of
Mapleton.
Alex Flanigan was recently
declared Academic
All-American. The requirements
to receive this honor
are to maintain a 3.5 GPA or
higher, play on the varsity
level for any athletic sport,
and demonstrate leadership
qualities. These students
are nominated by
their coaches. Alex is the
son of Mike and Tammy
Flanigan of Mapleton.
Trip to Houston
proves to be
successful for seven
MVAO students
By Austin Bettin
On March 10-12, seven
Maple Valley Anthon Oto
high school students participated
in the Space Settlement
Design Competition held at
the Johnson Space Center in
Houston, Texas. The Space
Settlement Design Competition
is sponsored by Western
Hills Area Education in Sioux
City.
The students involved in
the trip were Seniors. Adam
Bernard, Chelsea Finkbeiner,
Emily Henrickson, Kristine
Kueny, and Sine Chinakat;
Juniors Greg Blunk and
Jacob Malloy were also involved.
While at the competition,
the Midwest students joined
by 24 students from six
schools in the Houston area,
formed four aerospace companies.
Each company
elected a president and
formed a corporate structure.
Each student found a job
within the structure and received
training in order to
work for their company.
Each company was given a
Request for Proposal that
outlined what exists in space
in the year 2056 and defines
exactly what they are to design.
In less that twenty-four
hours, the task for each of the
companies was to craft a 50page
presentation, create a
35-minute oral presentation,
and prepare to answer questions
from a panel of judges.
The final proposal from each
company included a detailed
budget. This year the goal
was to plan for a space station
orbiting the planet of
Mars.
The purpose of Space
Settlement Design Competition
is to give talented high
school students the opportunity
to understand the work
done by engineers by involving
them in a highly realistic,
but compressed, engineering
tasks. This year
marked the ninth trip to
Houston by area students.
Front row: Greg Blunk, Adam Bernard, Jake Malloy, and Jim
Christiansen Back Row: Mrs. Cox, Emily Henrickson, Chelsea
Finkbeiner, Kristine Kueny,and Sine Chinakat