Newark Memorial High School’s Rocketry Club is preparing for the 2025 American Rocketry Challenge (ARC), with four teams designing rockets to reach a height of 790 feet and return safely within 41-44 seconds. Last year the club competed in NASA’s Student Launch Initiative (SLI) program for high school and college students, as well as the annual ARC program for the 20th year. Team captains include club president Isaac Pineda, club president Zayna Ansari, club vice-president Bateel Ibrahim, and club council member Corbin Lang. Teacher Abha Gaur is the club’s advisor.
NMHS Rocketry can continue their activity through the donations of community members, including Newark Rotary Club, Newark Unified School District, Newark Educational Foundation and donors who donated through the club’s GoFundMe campaign.
On March 2, Code Warriors robotics team from Fremont (Team #56459), became Champion’s 3rd Place winners at the FIRST LEGO League San Jose District Championship. They earned an invitation to the Western Edge Open in Long Beach, to compete against teams from across the country. For FIRST LEGO League Challenge, students tackle real-world challenges through robotics, coding and teamwork.
On March 15, in an event organized by the Scouts of America, Greenbelt Alliance and Save the Bay, almost 100 scouts gathered at Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge to pull weeds and collect trash. Ivan Chu, an American High School student and scout, wrote a report about the event, chronicling how students pulled up invasive plant species such as mustard and thistle, earning the thanks of Don Edwards employees.
Chu’s report quoted Thornton Middle schooler Saanvi Harisha, a member of Scouts Troop 2273 and Thornton’s Environmental Science Club, who noted, “Most people come here to hike and I feel like it’s just as important to give back if you hike here or hang out. Flooding is getting worse and even just cleaning up really helps with protecting our environment.”
Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge will host another cleanup on April 19. For more information, reach out to Victorina Arvelo at va*****@*******lt.org.
