Canton students shine at FPS State Bowl
By GuestOn Saturday, March 23, the Future Problem Solving (FPS) State Bowl Competition was held at Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay. FPS is an international program that encourages students to think creatively about issues. Teams, usually consisting of four students, are categorized in one of three divisions: Junior (grades 4-6), Middle (grades 7-9), and Senior (grades 10-12).
L-R: Renee Semple, Yasmine Kabbara and Meryl Prendergast
FPS teams work together to write a six-step booklet in two hours about a given topic. After competing at the Qualifying Bowl on February 2, four Canton FPS teams advanced to the State Bowl.
Three Canton students also attended the State Bowl as individuals. These courageous students, fourth grader Mary Kelley, fifth grader Sohil Apte, and 11th grader Alicia Healey, wrote the FPS booklet by themselves. The evaluations for the individuals will be coming in the next few weeks.
The FPS topic at this year’s State Bowl was Ocean Soup, which describes the accumulation of plastic in the oceans. After participating in the two-hour team booklet competition, the kids were given an hour and a half to prepare a skit based on their action plan that addressed a solution to the Ocean Soup problem. Dressed in elaborate costumes made of tin foil, streamers, hula hoops, lamp shades and other props, the teams enthusiastically showcased their solutions. The eighth grade Canton Middle Division team, coached by Jen Prendergast, won first place for their unbelievable action plan skit. The members of the team are Yasmine Kabbara, Meryl Prendergast, and Renee Semple.
The 12th grade Canton FPS team, coached by Renee Hanscom and consisting of Winnie Chen, Kyle Hanscom, Michaela Mellen, and Connor Shea, won first place for their marvelous skit in the Senior Division. Second place for the Senior Division skit went to the 11th grade Canton team coached by Susan Crespi. The members of the team, Lizzie Crespi, Pranathi Ganni, Sage Lee, and Katie Thomas, were joined by the three Canton individual competitors in their skit.
L-R: Sage Lee, Pranathi Ganni and Lizzie Crespi
For the Senior Division booklet competition, the 12th grade team of Dan Bronstein, Matt Derbin, Monica Johngiri, and Shawn Lynch won second place, while the 11th grade Canton FPS team, coached by Sue Bronstein, placed first for their division and qualified for the International FPS Competition at Indiana University this June.
Community Problem Solving (CmPS), another program associated with FPS, encourages students to proactively use the six-step process to improve their community. Alicia Healey, competing as an individual under the guidance of coach Melissa Healey, won first place for her project Mission Pet Safe and will be going to the International Competition. Team F.O.U.R.K. (Focusing on the Unique Renewal of Kreativity), coached by Susan Crespi and consisting of Lizzie Crespi, Pranathi Ganni, and Sage Lee, won first place for team CmPS Senior Division. They will also be attending internationals for their project, which hopes to increase the sustainability of the FPS program in Canton so that students will be able to improve their critical thinking skills.
Congratulations to all Canton FPS participants. They should all be extremely proud of themselves for their achievements. Thank you to all parents and coaches who have dedicated their time and effort to this worthwhile program. Special thanks to co-coordinators Sue Bronstein and Susan Crespi for all their hard work. We also would like to thank Marilyn Harris for her continued support of the program. Good luck to those competing at internationals!
Submitted by Lizzie Crespi, Pranathi Ganni and Sage Lee
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=19943
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