Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2013, Page 153

Description:	1^-UNDER THEicivcinesc sunSolar Bike Club worked toraise funds for theirexpensive trip to Japan.In a time of school budget cuts andfinancial shortages, it wasntuncommon for clubs to raise a littlemoney for their own trips. But in thecase of Solar Bike Club, that tripwas over 6,000 miles away toAkita, Japan, and it would requiremore than a little fundraising toget to the Land of the Rising Sun. Infact, they would need $25,000 toattend the World Solar Rally, a bikerace that combined raw athletictalent and solar-powered energy.Originally, the trip was muchshorter (and cheaper), with racesoccurring throughout the UnitedStates. But in 2013, the WorldSolar Rally was the last of its kind,leaving the club no option butJapan.The race was a relay in whichfour-member teams race bicycleswith solar-powered batteryattachments. The solar panel on thebike converted sunlight into energythat fueled the battery, giving therider an extra source of poweroff to theduring the grueling 15-kilometerrace. This combination ofengineering, strategy, and strengthwas, as junior Addison Elkinssaid, one of the most interestingcharacteristics of Solar Bike Club.Solar bike racing is veryunique, said Elkins, a three-yearmember of the club. There are fewevents that so seamlessly combineengineering and athletics, but solarracing does this perfectly.The two-week stay would alsoinclude stops at Mt. Fuji, the highestmountain in Japan, and Hiroshima,the sight of a massive World War IIbombing. It was an educationalexperience just as much as achance to race and compete, a factthat many members of the clubappreciated.The trip itself is about morethan just a race, said Elkins. It isan opportunity for the team toexperience another culture. Someof the best learning environmentsand opportunities can be foundthousands of miles from theclassroom.But all this planning,excitement, and opportunity wouldbe lost without the necessaryfunding. Fundraising and solicitingmoney was just as big a factor inthe clubs success as preparing abike and training for the race and,as junior Ashley Judge admits, justas challenging.Figuring out how toapproach people and [convince]them to contribute to your effort ischallenging, said Judge. Whetheror not you get a donation dependsa lot on your tone of voice and thewords you choose.The efforts of club memberspaid off, though—literally. Duringjust one fundraising cookout, theclub raised $1,480, getting themeven closer to their goal. Memberswould continue to raise moneythrough fundraisers and donationsin the hope of getting to Japan.-JAMES TANFORDMs. Cindy Kvales fifth period AP Physics class took abreak from their rigorous studies to create cardboardboats for a race on May 22. Below are the differentboat designs and explanations.We definitely over-estimated how big We could style the boat anyway we We designed it out of mostly oneit needed to be. We chose that wanted, and what better style than an piece of cardboard with no seams, soparticular shape with points at both actual boat? And the boat preformed that it would be completely sealed.- ends because we were hoping not to really well... it never sank until [senior] We also made the sides high enoughhave to turn around when we got to Connor Galvin and I decided to that water wouldnt spill in with mythe end of the pool. capsize it. wei9ht inside if-- sen/or Mary Anne Smart - senior Mark Gonzales - senior Benjamin Richmond
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/8705
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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